82 replies to this topic

[RetroActive]

I've been paying my dues in the trial mechs for awhile now and I'm ready to purchase my first mech. I don't feel right in a light or medium, and I don't like the role Catapults play on the battlefield. The idea of a speedy heavy with decent firepower appeals to me. I also like staying at medium to close range. From the mechs currently in the game, it seems that my best option is a Dragon.

I played MW4/MW4: Mercs competitively for many years, so I'm fairly familiar with how things work.

My question is: Is the Dragon a viable first mech? Will I be able to make a decent profit after repairs/reloads with this mech? I know I'll have to buy an XL engine to make the Dragon effective. Will repairs to the XL engine eat into my profits too much?

Any wisdom the community can impart would be greatly appreciated, along with any good Dragon variants/loadouts!

Thanks in advance!

[Squidhead Jax]

RetroActive, on 05 November 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

I've been paying my dues in the trial mechs for awhile now and I'm ready to purchase my first mech. I don't feel right in a light or medium, and I don't like the role Catapults play on the battlefield. The idea of a speedy heavy with decent firepower appeals to me. I also like staying at medium to close range. From the mechs currently in the game, it seems that my best option is a Dragon.

I played MW4/MW4: Mercs competitively for many years, so I'm fairly familiar with how things work.

My question is: Is the Dragon a viable first mech? Will I be able to make a decent profit after repairs/reloads with this mech? I know I'll have to buy an XL engine to make the Dragon effective. Will repairs to the XL engine eat into my profits too much?

Any wisdom the community can impart would be greatly appreciated, along with any good Dragon variants/loadouts!

Thanks in advance!

With an XL in, expect post-death repairs to be a bare minimum of about 45k. My 350XL/ES/DHS Dragon has brushed close to 100k a few times. Whatever you do, don't get FF.

My favorite chassis too.

Edited by Squidhead Jax, 05 November 2012 - 11:21 AM.

[Zyllos]

I say that a STD engine is completely fine in the Dragon. While the XL engine gives you better cooling/weaponry, I typically drove my Dragon in a STD.

[Odins Fist]

Oh no, please tell me you didn't buy a Dragon as your first Mech.... Ouch

[MrPenguin]

Buy a commando.

Seriously... theirs no reason NOT too.

[Enigmos]

Yes, the Dragon is a fun mech once you have outfitted it properly. It is one of the few mechs where it can make sense to run an XL engine (Jenner, Cicada, and Cats are the othrs so far in my view). Any of the three variants are viable, just pick yours from the hardpoints you think you will use.

[KuruptU4Fun]

In all honesty it's what you want to do. The Dragon is a good mech to run with.

[Korobug]

You'll be moving at 80 with a stock engine, I haven't felt a need to be any faster than that, but you have to know your torso twists. People will be glaring at that right arm of yours because that's quite a loss if they blow it off. If you can keep it attached long enough to get a kill or two and play carefully you should be fine.

[Broceratops]

congratulations on emerging from the grind. XL engines are pretty costly to repair.

If you're looking for a money making mech, I think the catapult would be better. I never liked the dragon (or hunchback or centurion) for the reason that they all have their main weapons stacked in specific areas which are easy to take out. Catapults are solid though and you can abuse the meta with LRM/SSRM/Gauss for $$$

[Tickdoff Tank]

I love the Dragon. I have 3 of them that I switch between. But, the Dragon can be tough to pilot. The weapon loadouts are rather limited, it is easy to run too far ahead and attract the entire eneymy team and not have the speed to get away like a light mech can.

I also find that the best Dragon configurations use an XL engine, which is VERY expensive. The large engines that Dragons thrive on take a lot of weight, which leaves you with an underpowered mix of weapons (in stock configs). Endosteel is a MUST on a Dragon, but I think you get your money's worth from the XL.

My current favorite Dragon:

Dragon 1C

325 XL (87kph, 94 with speed tweak)
2 Large Lasers
2 Medium lasers
1 SSRM2
AMS (2 tons ammo)
Lots of DHS

Is a great mech to hunt light mechs with, has good range and speed to fight the heavies. Can run a little hot if you are not careful, but it is a lot of fun.

If you prefer ballistic weapons, or a gauss, just let me know, I have several other builds that I will share with you.

[Darkmoose]

RetroActive, on 05 November 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

I've been paying my dues in the trial mechs for awhile now and I'm ready to purchase my first mech. I don't feel right in a light or medium, and I don't like the role Catapults play on the battlefield. The idea of a speedy heavy with decent firepower appeals to me. I also like staying at medium to close range. From the mechs currently in the game, it seems that my best option is a Dragon.

I played MW4/MW4: Mercs competitively for many years, so I'm fairly familiar with how things work.

My question is: Is the Dragon a viable first mech? Will I be able to make a decent profit after repairs/reloads with this mech? I know I'll have to buy an XL engine to make the Dragon effective. Will repairs to the XL engine eat into my profits too much?

Any wisdom the community can impart would be greatly appreciated, along with any good Dragon variants/loadouts!

Thanks in advance!

It can be once modified. Be careful of the Ultra AC/5 it jams and the LB-10-X has a bit too much spread. I put a Gauss Rifle, 2 Med Lasers, and an SRM-6 on mine, but you have to downgrade the engine to a 240 or get a 300 XL. XL Engines and Missile Ammo Will eat into profits, as will FF Armor, and Endo Steel. if you win not so much, of you lose but get kills, assists, not so much, if you lose and don't get get kills, assists, you may go negative. XL Engines can also die faster, as they take up space in all three torsos. Loose the left or right and you are just as dead as if cored. Hope that helps.

[Roughneck45]

If you can make good use of its mix of speed and firepower it is an excellent choice.

The XL engine repair is not that bad. Just dont get FF, costs way too much to repair.

If i may recommend a build, XL300, gauss 3 tons ammo, srm 6 1 ton ammo, 4 medium lasers. Leg armor is stripped a bit. Endo steel and Double heatsinks.

It can run a little hot if you dont have proper laser discipline, but you would be hard pressed to get a dragon with more firepower than that and still be effective IMO.

[GioAvanti]

Its a decent mech and its one that double heat sinks help (even with the current nerfed version coming out soon).

Maybe try 2 large pulse lasers, an ac5, and a streak srm2 if you want to fight close.

Personally, (if I could fit this) 2 ER Large Lasers 1 Gauss and 1 LRM10.. might have to make the engine slower.

Generally mediums and heavies do well with XL engines because speed = less hits on you... plus your ac5 would be rocking them a lot.

[Rathe]

Dragon is a good mech for XL because it's difficult to hit the side torsos from the front (don't let them hit your rear though).

One of my favorite dragon builds from closed beta was LRM + Gauss sniper dragon. you have the speed to dictate range, get behind them, snipe them, if your team starts losing, rush their cap.

[Darkmoose]

Roughneck45, on 05 November 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

If you can make good use of its mix of speed and firepower it is an excellent choice.

The XL engine repair is not that bad. Just dont get FF, costs way too much to repair.

If i may recommend a build, XL300, gauss 3 tons ammo, srm 6 1 ton ammo, 4 medium lasers. Leg armor is stripped a bit. Endo steel and Double heatsinks.

It can run a little hot if you dont have proper laser discipline, but you would be hard pressed to get a dragon with more firepower than that and still be effective IMO.

Same build I run, just I use more armor and 2x Med Lasers. Gauss/SRM-6 Combos are Great.

[Alexandrix]

The dragon itself isn't a terrible mech,and can sport some decent weapons with some tweaking.The worst thing about the dragon isn't the mech itself,it's that the other team gets a heavy mech to match it....usually a streakcat,gausscat,or LRM boat.All of which,in the current meta game,are more deadly depending on pilot and situation.

[Esarai]

I just got my first Dragon a little while ago. Went with a 1N for the versatility on the hardpoints. I upgraded it with Endo Steel and two extra tons of armor, 1 LL, 1 SSRM 2 with 1 ton ammo, AC2 w/ 2 tons ammo, AMS w/ 1 ton and 4 SHS to keep it cool. It's not a heavy hitter, and god help you if you get into a brawl with an Atlas, but I find that it works wonders as a fire support mech (and distraction, if necessary). Good for suppressing other support units. The 4 SHSs work wonders to let you keep firing well after other mechs have shut down, and makes sure that pauses in your firing are minimal. This is the setup I've opted for given my limited resources. I'm saving up to add some more fun features to it.

After action the most expensive items to repair are going to be the armor (regardless of whether it's FF or standard) and the SSRM2 ammo. On bad days the repair bill runs me ~50kcb, and on good days ~20kcb.

So yeah, I find that the Dragon is very versatile in the roles it can assume on the battlefield; snipe, drop missiles, or saunter up and punch people in the face--your choice. As a first purchase for someone not suited to lights and mediums, Dragon is a pretty good start. I've also seen that in certain configurations it works wonders against Gausscat and Streakcat setups. Once saw a man in a Dragon waste an entire lance of Streakcats all on his own. Nothing but pure magnificence and badassery.

And another note--the AC5 sounds tougher, but the AC2 has longer range and a higher dps than the 5, at the cost of more heat. Oh, add a Gauss Rifle only and watch your heat efficiency shoot up to 4.2.

Edited by Esarai, 05 November 2012 - 12:03 PM.

[RetroActive]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm surprised there were only two negative comments! It sounds like the Dragon can be a viable mech for a first purchase. Hopefully the repair/reload costs don't kill me.

Any other feedback is also welcome!

[AC]

Long time Mercs player here myself. I can tell you that I don't think you will be happy with the Dragon. It is nothing like what it was in Mercs. IMO, the closest thing to the dragon in mercs is the Centurian. I think you might like that better, and you won't need to do extensive upgrades to make it viable.

[CasualCat2001]

Tickdoff Tank, on 05 November 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:

I love the Dragon. I have 3 of them that I switch between. But, the Dragon can be tough to pilot. The weapon loadouts are rather limited, it is easy to run too far ahead and attract the entire eneymy team and not have the speed to get away like a light mech can.

I also find that the best Dragon configurations use an XL engine, which is VERY expensive. The large engines that Dragons thrive on take a lot of weight, which leaves you with an underpowered mix of weapons (in stock configs). Endosteel is a MUST on a Dragon, but I think you get your money's worth from the XL.

My current favorite Dragon:

Dragon 1C

325 XL (87kph, 94 with speed tweak)
2 Large Lasers
2 Medium lasers
1 SSRM2
AMS (2 tons ammo)
Lots of DHS

Is a great mech to hunt light mechs with, has good range and speed to fight the heavies. Can run a little hot if you are not careful, but it is a lot of fun.

If you prefer ballistic weapons, or a gauss, just let me know, I have several other builds that I will share with you.

I'd be curious about some of your other builds. I have a 5N and having been playing around with various loadouts. I like the gauss, but I feel like I'm wasting the 3 ballistic hardpoints then. Currently have a 280XL engine. Also always using an AMS.

Here are the various weapon loadouts I've been trying:

• Gauss, SSRM2, ERPPC, SL
  
• A/C2 x3 (chainfire), SSRM2, MLx2
  
• U-A/C5, A/C2, ERPPC, ML
  
• Gauss, A/C2, SL X2

I've tried 2xMGs to fill out the ballistic hardpoints too, but didn't feel like they were worthwhile plus this mech doesn't really feel like it should be in brawling range.