17 replies to this topic

[Relishcakes]

I recently picked up the Cougar Blood adder because i like its look and the idea of those nice high ballistic mounts but either I'm lost in the sauce, or this mech is just not great.

Just using its omni and So8 i was running 2x UAC5 and 2x LRM5. didnt have issues with ammo thanks to the So8, which was nice but i couldnt achieve better than 300 damage in a match and rarely got a kill.

I swapped to 2x HLL and 4x HML as i had been using with my Cou-C and its easily double damage.

Is it that my brain is so sanded and smoothed so that taking this thing and becoming the sun is my only choice? or is the cougar just that much of a mess at the moment?

[LordNothing]

mine got lower numbers as well. of course they buffed ammo twice since then. i think i like the fury better for this job and the adder doesn't have any problems either. the cougar is definitely the weaker of the bunch.

[crazytimes]

I run it with a cUAC5+cUAC10. Maximises quirks and is workable whilst keeping So8.

There are better builds for it dropping the So8 and running cUAC10 + cERM or
cUAC10+cERPPC. Builds on grimmechs.

[LordNothing]

crazytimes, on 01 January 2024 - 07:21 AM, said:

I run it with a cUAC5+cUAC10. Maximises quirks and is workable whilst keeping So8.

There are better builds for it dropping the So8 and running cUAC10 + cERM or
cUAC10+cERPPC. Builds on grimmechs.

always ran my adder with a uac10 and heavy med lasers. somewhere i changed out the uac10 for a uac20 and downgraded to smalls heavy lasers, probibly had something to do with ammo quirks. i used to run it a lot in fp, it could face tank a mauler and win (provided the pilot was at most t3 or a low t2).

Edited by LordNothing, 01 January 2024 - 09:07 AM.

[Samziel]

Mixing ACs and LRMs is not a good idea. Like crazytimes said UAC10+UAC5 is probably the best build for it in SO8. Laservomit is good too but doable on any Cougar.

I think Cougars are just bad in general. They have potential for firepower but they're too big and slow. You can get decent results with them if you're careful and hug bigger targets than you but even then its difficult.

Edited by Samziel, 01 January 2024 - 09:28 AM.

[aardappelianen]

absolutly love the big guns in your face on this mech, but they blind you and you really can't afford the aditional facetime c-uacs demand because this mech is so flimsy and and easily separated at any range.

i don't know about weapon hitboxes but sometimes it feels like the mech is just side torso's

best i could get out of it was 2pp and ecm, and always try to be surrounded by your team

edit: also i like the hand actuators on the cougar, why am i not allowed to have them on all the arms? it just leaves the blocky bit anyways

Edited by aardappelianen, 01 January 2024 - 12:31 PM.

[Relishcakes]

Samziel, on 01 January 2024 - 09:27 AM, said:

Mixing ACs and LRMs is not a good idea. Like crazytimes said UAC10+UAC5 is probably the best build for it in SO8. Laservomit is good too but doable on any Cougar.

I think Cougars are just bad in general. They have potential for firepower but they're too big and slow. You can get decent results with them if you're careful and hug bigger targets than you but even then its difficult.

Yeah, uac+lrm is bad, but the damn thing doesnt have the ability to take shots or the speed to flank so SRMs are an awful pick imho. If the ballistic slots in the side torsos were just a little bit bigger so they could support a gauss. i think it wouldnt be bad.

[Captain Caveman DE]

cougar is great for faction, and sadly, kinda very-meh in qp.

the one good thing about it:
for its weight, it can carry a sh*tload of stuff. 35t well spend in fw.

that fact is meaningless in QP, where weight is "ignored" and mindless nascar is a thing.

[w0qj]

You're not alone... have you ever seen a COU-Prime(S)?

I got the Cougar Ultimate Mech Pack, so I have access to these three (3) mechs with +30% CBills Bonus:

COU-BA Hero Mech
COU-Prime(S)
COU-H(P)

All Cougar variants have the exact same CT bonus: (not bad for a 35ton mech!)
+5% Heat Dissipation
-5% Cooldown
-20% Overheat Damage

A) But I always ended up with the same mech layout:
ECM Head
2xHLL + 4xHML
-5% Cooldown
-5% Energy Cooldown
+5% Heat Dissipation
-20% Overheat Damage
~It's literally a shoot and hide build... but once in a while it can outright kill a weakened Heavy or even an Assault mech!

B ) The only other build that I found effective (but lots of other LRM mechs does a better job):
ECM Head
4xLRM15
4x Missile LA/RA/LT/RT gives you:
-10% Missile cooldown
-10% Missile heat generation
+15% Missile velocity
+10% Range
-5% Cooldown

Not bad for a 35ton mech!!
(But other mechs does a better LRM job...)

==> I actually enjoyed playing this mech, but above HLL+HML build is the only viable/effective one for me...
(Trust me; I've tried!)

Edited by w0qj, 02 January 2024 - 08:32 AM.

[kalashnikity]

I tried the BA, best I could find was a UAC10/UAC5

Cougar can be a brutal mech, I ran the last team Solaris event with 5*SPL 3*SRM6, my partner used an SRM24 Kit fox, we were undefeated.

[Relishcakes]

w0qj, on 02 January 2024 - 08:01 AM, said:

You're not alone... have you ever seen a COU-Prime(S)?

I got the Cougar Ultimate Mech Pack, so I have access to these three (3) mechs with +30% CBills Bonus:

COU-BA Hero Mech
COU-Prime(S)
COU-H(P)

All Cougar variants have the exact same CT bonus: (not bad for a 35ton mech!)
+5% Heat Dissipation
-5% Cooldown
-20% Overheat Damage

A) But I always ended up with the same mech layout:
ECM Head
2xHLL + 4xHML
-5% Cooldown
-5% Energy Cooldown
+5% Heat Dissipation
-20% Overheat Damage
~It's literally a shoot and hide build... but once in a while it can outright kill a weakened Heavy or even an Assault mech!

B ) The only other build that I found effective (but lots of other LRM mechs does a better job):
ECM Head
4xLRM15
4x Missile LA/RA/LT/RT gives you:
-10% Missile cooldown
-10% Missile heat generation
+15% Missile velocity
+10% Range
-5% Cooldown

Not bad for a 35ton mech!!
(But other mechs does a better LRM job...)

==> I actually enjoyed playing this mech, but above HLL+HML build is the only viable/effective one for me...
(Trust me; I've tried!)

I absolutely love your A build. ive been running it since they released the heavy lasers. Was hoping i could change to something different and mix it up.

[crazytimes]

Relishcakes, on 02 January 2024 - 06:30 PM, said:

I absolutely love your A build. ive been running it since they released the heavy lasers. Was hoping i could change to something different and mix it up.

2 HLL + 4ERML synchs well and is better heat management given it's a 35t light. With ECM, it's close to Hunchback alpha, just with a bit more cooldown.

HLL+HML is a bit spicy given the lower heat capacity/sinking, especially post December clan HS nerf.

[Meep Meep]

This is how I run mine when I want to use the ballistics omni.

cou-ba

Hide in your ecm and toss out 20 point double taps at almost 800m. Shame its engine capped at 81kph.

[Relishcakes]

Meep Meep, on 03 January 2024 - 12:53 AM, said:

This is how I run mine when I want to use the ballistics omni.

cou-ba

Hide in your ecm and toss out 20 point double taps at almost 800m. Shame its engine capped at 81kph.

with the quirks this thing has i dont think you'd even need 4 tons of ammo but i've considered it.

[Meep Meep]

Relishcakes, on 03 January 2024 - 10:23 AM, said:

with the quirks this thing has i dont think you'd even need 4 tons of ammo but i've considered it.

It goes quicker than you would think. Better to have more ammo and be able to take any range shot for at least some damage and not worry about wasting it. With max range skills you will still be doing 10 points of damage at almost 1000m.

[crazytimes]

Relishcakes, on 03 January 2024 - 10:23 AM, said:

with the quirks this thing has i dont think you'd even need 4 tons of ammo but i've considered it.

His build with the ECM breaks the So8 quirks and loses a lot of the ammo bonus.

I tried the 2xcUAC5 and it just felt like too much face time for my skill level, but I suppose the ECM would help.

[aardappelianen]

Meep Meep, on 03 January 2024 - 12:53 AM, said:

This is how I run mine when I want to use the ballistics omni.

cou-ba

Hide in your ecm and toss out 20 point double taps at almost 800m. Shame its engine capped at 81kph.

why not put the ammo in the arms at least ?

[Meep Meep]

aardappelianen, on 03 January 2024 - 04:14 PM, said:

why not put the ammo in the arms at least ?

Because if they get shot off then you lose the ammo. Case is built into all clan mechs so if you lose a torso to ammo explosion it won't kill you.

crazytimes, on 03 January 2024 - 03:12 PM, said:

His build with the ECM breaks the So8 quirks and loses a lot of the ammo bonus.

I tried the 2xcUAC5 and it just felt like too much face time for my skill level, but I suppose the ECM would help.

The arms give half the ammo bonus of the so8 which is more than enough especially if you take the two ammo nodes.

As to face time this isn't a facetime mech. You should be abusing the ecm and ridge and corner poking behind your line or on the flanks. Just have to make sure you keep up with the nascar given its 81kph.

Edited by Meep Meep, 03 January 2024 - 10:23 PM.