59 replies to this topic

[Guyver]

hi guys, actually i'm having fun on my commando with TAG, but i want to try something different like sniping with a gauss rifle. (want to be on the other side of the fence. )
hunchback is the best to go for a gauss platform? possibly a 2xgauss.

thanks!

Edited by Guyver, 30 October 2012 - 09:03 AM.

[Adridos]

Catapult K2 without question.

[armitage]

Catapult K2 is the only chassis that can currently mount 2 gauss rifles. It also does it really well. The hunchback is ok, but aiming with it can be odd since it doesn't always hit dead center where you aim the cross hair.

[Dexxtaa]

You won't be able to fit 2 gauss rifles on a hunchback.

The "best" and only chassis right now for holding 2 gauss rifles is the Catapult K2.

You will, however, be a sitting duck for anyone who decides they want you dead, since you sacrifice your armor and weapons to fit two of them.

[Jooky SeaCpt]

Guyver,

The fotm right before the open beta wipe was the "Gausscat" a 2x gauss cannon Catapult-K2. Already last night I started seeing them again in pre-made groups.

[McVenner]

Hunchback 4G/H can easily fit a Gauss Rifle and is rather fun.

The Catapult K2 can fit twin gauss rifles, though it requires more work as you'll need to degrade the engine plus fiddle a little with the armor.

[Namwons]

for a single gauss, hunchback is best. K2 is only one for dual atm, but its not the best sniper...my atlas is

[ltwally]

I have just one word for you: Gausscat.


I have just one link for you: Ohm's Guides

[Guyver]

thanks for the quick replies guys!

ltwally, on 30 October 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

I have just one word for you: Gausscat.


I have just one link for you: Ohm's Guides

saw that guide... very well detailed! knowing how much heat/damage does a single weapon is half the battle.
probably i will go for a well-rounder hunchback until i discover more of the game. (even because the cat cost 2M more. )

other unrelated question: the game is hosted only on US servers? i'm getting around 150ms in every game (i'm in europe) and it's quite frustrating.
they plan to add some european servers too?

[Zelator]

I personally think the Atlas is the best Gauss and/or sniper platform. You can out/dps a cat with dual PPC/ERPPC and x1 Gauss and your not useless once ammo runs out. To be honest the CAT is too fragile (Shoulders just melt like butter) and the dependancy on the even more fragile gauss rifles and no backup weapon.

I dont see what the gausscat hype is all about, every time I see one its just being focussed by LRM's, I think their only dangerous before the battle line is set and they are sniping outside LRM range with Thermal vision. An Atlas can snipe and fill other roles too.

But in your situation I would save up for a Hunchback, if this is your account it seems you dont have founders mechs and the Catapult and Atlas look to be very expensive in your current situation.

[endeceive]

Another fun gauss build is a centurion, gauss on the arm, 2 or 3 streak SRMs in the torso.

When you run a gauss cat, it can be fun, but you also attract a lot of attention. This one makes you less of a target, and the streaks are devastating if a light comes to try and take you out. I usually do a lot of damage with this build.

[Felicitatem Parco]

The high heat efficiency means the Gauss Rifle's sustained rate of fire is literally just that; there are no heat limitations to presistent firing of Gauss Weapons. Twin Gauss Rifles on the Catapult K2 is certainly the most heat-efficient, and nearly the most powerful-single-volley sniping platform a Pilot can have, currently. Single Gauss Rifles can be mounted on almost everything else with a ballistic hardpoint, however it commands a significant portion of your Mech's weight capacity.

With any other weapons system, this would be particularly burdensome. With an AC/20 your adding 14+ tons of weapon and ammo, plus using the heatsiks onboard, it effectivly "commands" more weight than just the sum of gun and ammo. This needs to be factored into the rest of your Mech's loadout; since the Gauss Rifle doesn't tax your heatsinks, you can envision the Weight of a Gauss Rifle + Ammo to be simply subtracted from the remaining weight you have available to use... and then you build your Mech from there.

This freedom of build is particularly liberating with single Gauss builds.

[M U A D D I B]

RAVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!!!


4x ...

[wanderer]

The best sniper? The aforementioned K2 Gausscats.

Single-Gauss 'Mechs? The Hunchback is cheap and effective at it while the Dragon can get it's gun places faster.

[EtherDragon]

Any mech is capable of fielding a Guass, as long as they have a ballistic slot with enough crit space to mount it. Generally, this isn't an issue as the ballistic hard-point is in a place where there can be plenty of room, such as the Side-Torsos or Arms of a mech.

As pointed out some natural choices are (from lightest to heaviest) the Raven, the Hunchback, the Dragon, the Katapult, and the Atlas. There are others, too...

Now to break down the pros and cons of each:

The Raven
It has multiple ballistic hard-points, but they are both in the same location, and the Gauss takes 7 crit slots to mount, so you can only fit one in there. But there is room for another ballistic, like the AC2. It is, however, a lightly armored choice - and with lower tonnage you won't be able to take more more than a Gauss with you, unless you invest in some high tech (Endo-Steel, Ferro-Firbous, XL Engine, all of which are EXPENSIVE)

The Hunchback
This is actually a great platform for a Guass. The HBK variant with the AC20, already has a huge gun mounted. You can easily swap it out for a Guass, and improve your heat profile a lot! Consider, changing your remaining MLAS for MPLAS for better DPS, when you Guss isn't suitable. However, it suffers from the same problem as the Raven, all it's ballistic hard-points are in the same section, meaning there is only room for a single Gauss. (A single guass is still a heck of a thing, delivering 50% damage, around 7-8points at 1320m)

The Dragon
This Mech has its ballistic point mounted in an arm. Leaving you less likely to suffer super cricital damage if the Gauss explodes (which it will likely do if internally damaged!). Again, the one-sided hard-point only has room for a single gun. But the Arm flexing gives you much better use with it.

The Catapult
There is a Catapult variant with two machine guns mounted, one in each side torso. This is the only variant (currently) that has the right ballistic hard-point configuration to mount more than one Guass. The main weakness is, Guass are heavy - dedicating 30 tons of your 75 tons to just the ballistic weapons leaves little weight for other stuff. People often save up for an XL engine in this configuration - which has it's own set of advantages and disadvantages - the largest advantage being a lighter engine for the same rating.

The Atlas
All Atlas builds come with a huge freaking gun sticking out their right side. Some of them have many ballistic hard-points in their Right Torso, but as with all big guns, critical space limits you to a single one. The Atlas K, in particular, comes with a Guass standard. The main weakness of this mech is that it's big and heavy, and tends to be a main target when in the brawl. Also, having 100 tons of Mech hide in the bushes to snipe is really a waste of front-line punching power. But it caries the room to mount a Guass with a bunch of supporting weaponry that helps keep you relevant in many situations.

With ALL of these builds - you never want to rely on a ballistic weapon alone. It runs cooler than lasers, but relies on ammo, which you can run out of or it can get an internal hit and explode. The coolest thing about the Guass is that it can put out a decent amount of hurt at ranges that are immune to LRM fire (at 1300m, it's still doing 50% damage!) and it has no minimum range. Plus, it's a light weight when it comes to heat. However, it's fire cycle time is the same as an AC 20, with only 75% of the punch in a fist fight, for essentially the same weight.

I like my Guass built Atlas, it gives me something to fling at LRM boats when I don't feel like rushing into a tackle, but has enough punch to compliment the rest of my Alpha Strike when I do get into a wrestling match.

[Rathe]

If you want to go with the most common and powerful, dual gauss K2 is great. Cockpit shots like this are considerably harder now, however.

If I were you, I'd try the LRM + 1 gauss sniper dragon or the 5SL + Gauss brawl back

Edited by Rathe, 30 October 2012 - 01:08 PM.

[Nuclear Weapon]

Go REAL sniper / glass canon, 2 ERR PPC + 2 Gauss riffle...

That might leave you with 10 armor and slow as hell... but last time I did I was able to 1 shoot a lot of mechs arround...

[SmithMPBT]

Damn they didn't lock down the thread before people started mentioning Gausscats!

[MustrumRidcully]

Guyver, on 30 October 2012 - 09:24 AM, said:

other unrelated question: the game is hosted only on US servers? i'm getting around 150ms in every game (i'm in europe) and it's quite frustrating.
they plan to add some european servers too?

No ETA yet. But it's planned/wanted, AFAIK.

[Juvenal]

Like it or not, heresy or not, the Gausspult is still probably the best Gauss platform out there at the moment...


And yes, I'm pushing my own video here. I have no shame.