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Your First Mech (The Elaborate, Detailed Elp Mech Guide To {Some} Lasting, Functional Builds For New Players)


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#21 Cybermech

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Posted 10 November 2012 - 06:12 PM

Nice thread there..... how did you fit all that media on there??
I sense something ain't right ;)

If you or anyone has any guide or threads they liked could you please post it here
Sorry for jumping in on your thread protection... just im that kind of guy :P



I run the centurion a lot and don't even bother with changing the engine with all varriants.

With upgrades I would go for structure and double heat sink.

2x medium laser in the arms (weapon group 2)
2x medium pulse in the CT (weapon group 1)
2x srm6 in the right torso (weapon group 3)
2x srm ammo
1x case in the right torso
10x heat sink

Armor.
Right Arm 25
Left Arm 9
Right leg 38
Left leg 38 (did not change any other armor section i think)

Edited by Cybermech, 10 November 2012 - 06:32 PM.


#22 Elizander

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Posted 10 November 2012 - 08:35 PM

View Post8RoundsRapid, on 10 November 2012 - 10:00 AM, said:



Ah, ok, strip weapons not armor. I get it.

Still, I dont understand the why Cent is no good for teams? I have 2med lasers, 2pulse lasers, 2lrm5s and an ams on mine. I profit 100K+ on a win and 50-80K on a loss. Most matches over 300 damage w/ usually 3+ assists and one or 2 kills. Thats not good for the team?

I'm not tryin to derail your very lovely thread tho, so I'll desist w/ the centurion stuff, hehe.

thanks for your reply!

See you on the battlefield.


Cents are alright. More people just find other mechs more effective, but if you can do well in a Centurion then there is absolutely no problem.

#23 Spirit of the Wolf

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Posted 10 November 2012 - 09:22 PM

Well, I actually have 3 mech designs here which I think are very sturdy. Two Atlas-D, and one Catapult-K2. The two Atlai designs I made myself from testing things repeatedly, and the Catapult design I just encountered in a game earlier today, courtesy of manicx782. He was on my team, and he did quite well.
In regards to my favorite Atlas build: it requires a bit more skill than some other mechs, mostly because you have all 3 types of weapons (energy, missile, ballistic), with widely varying ranges.

The SRM top out at 270m, and the LRM go to 1000m. You need to keep range in mine when playing this mech, and not just button spam, because that won't work. Also, ammo management is key. There have been matches where I ended up wasting a lot of LRM ammo because either other people couldn't spot well, or I lost line of sight on my target. Not as much of a problem with the AC/5, because people usually destroy it before I can use up all the ammo.

Weapon group arrangement:
I have the dual AC/5 on my weapon group 1, set to delayed fire (backspace).
I have the medium lasers on weapon group 2, also set to delayed fire.
The SRM are set to group 3, which I have added a secondary key to so that I can use 'E' to fire them.
The LRM are set to group 4, and I have a 4-button trackball mouse, so I use the button under my middle finger to fire them.
When I first made the build, Artemis wasn't out, and it worked fine then, but keep two things in mind:
  • In the time that has passed since I originally made the build, the heat levels of almost ALL of the lasers have gone up substantially, so heat management for energy weapons is more important now.
  • LRM damage has been slightly nerfed (from 2 per missile to 1.7 per missile), and Artemis makes tracking better, but also weighs more, takes up more slots, doubles the ammo cost of missile weapons, and is an all-or-nothing upgrade. If you select the Artemis upgrade, it applies to ALL missile weapons on that mech, regardless of whether you want it or not on a particular missile weapon.

My favorite atlas build.
Mech Name:

AS7-D(F) (although if this is not a founder's mech, name it whatever you want)




Mech Model:

Atlas AS7-D (mine is a founder's, but it works the same whether it is or isn't a founder's mech)




Mech Class:

Assault




Tonnage:

100.00/100.00




Speed:

53.4 KPH




Armor:

576/614




Firepower:

55/175




Heat Efficiency:

1.19/2.00

OR

1.12/2.00*

(*If you remove 2 heatsinks in the right leg to use the Artemis IV system with the missiles.)




Ammo:

LRM Ammo x3 (540 shots)

AC/5 Ammo x4 (120 shots)

SRM Ammo x3 (300 shots)

AMS Ammo x1 (1000 shots)

OR

LRM Ammo + Artemis IV x3 (540 shots)

AC/5 Ammo x4 (120 shots)

SRM Ammo + Artemis IV x3 (300 shots)

AMS Ammo x1 (1000 shots)




Modules:

2 slots (without the extra slot earned by getting mastery of the Atlas-D mech variant)




Upgrades:

Ferro Fibrous Armor: NO

Endo-Steel Internal Structure: YES

Double Heat Sinks: NO




Mech Loadout:

Head:

Armor:

18/18

LRM Ammo x1

OR

LRM Ammo + Artemis IV x1 (double the cost of regular LRM ammo)

Center Torso:

Front Armor:

90/124

Rear Armor:

34/124

Standard Engine 330

(3 of 3 heat sink slots used)

Heat Sink x2 (additional, outside engine)

Right Torso:

Front Armor:

52/84

Rear Armor:

32/84

AC/5 x2 (16 tons)

C.A.S.E. x1

AC/5 Ammo x3

Left Torso:

Front Armor:

46/84

Rear Armor:

38/84

LRM 10 x1 (2 slots, 5 tons)

SRM 6 x1 (2 slots, 3 tons)

C.A.S.E. x1

AMS Ammo x1

LRM Ammo x2

SRM Ammo x3

AC/5 Ammo x1

OR

LRM 10 + Artemis x1 (3 slots, 6 tons)

SRM 6+ Artemis x1 (3 slots, 4 tons)

C.A.S.E. x1

AMS Ammo x1

AC/5 Ammo x1

LRM Ammo + Artemis IV x2 (costs twice as much as regular LRM ammo)

SRM Ammo + Artemis IV x1 (costs twice as much as regular SRM ammo)

Right Arm:

Armor:

68/68

Medium Laser x1

(Structure) x1 (dynamic)

(Structure) x6 (unmoveable)

Left Arm:

Armor:

68/68

Medium Laser x1

Anti-Missile System x1

(Structure) x1 (dynamic)

(Structure) x5 (unmoveable)

Right Leg:

Armor:

65/84

Heat Sink x2

OR

SRM Ammo + Artemis IV x2 (costs twice as much as regular SRM ammo)

Left Leg:

Armor:

65/84

(Structure) x1 (unmoveable)








Second favorite atlas build (I rarely use this one, just because I love my other one so much.)
Mech Name:

AS7-D (name it whatever you want if it's not a founder's mech)




Mech Model:

Atlas AS7-D




Mech Class:

Assault




Tonnage:

100.00/100.00




Speed:

55.8 KPH




Armor:

608/614




Firepower:

60/175 [62/175 If you use the build detailed by the square brackets below.]




Heat Efficiency:

1.42/2.00 [1.40/2.00 If you use the build detailed by the square brackets below.]




Ammo:

AC/20 Ammo x7 OR x10 (49 or 70 shots)

AMS Ammo x1 (1000 shots)

SRM Ammo x3 (300 shots)




Modules:

2 slots




Upgrades:

Ferro Fibrous Armor: NO

Endo-Steel Internal Structure: YES

Double Heat Sinks: YES/NO (depends on which variation of this design you prefer)




Mech Loadout:

Head:

Armor:

18/18

(Structure) x1 (unmoveable)

Center Torso:

Front Armor:

90/124

Rear Armor:

34/124

Standard Engine 345

(3 of 3 heat sink slots used)

AC/20 Ammo x2

Right Torso:

Front Armor:

52/84

Rear Armor:

32/84

AC/20 x1

C.A.S.E. x1

AC/20 Ammo x1

Left Torso:

Front Armor:

46/84

Rear Armor:

38/84

SRM 6 x2

C.A.S.E. x1

AMS Ammo x1

SRM Ammo x3

AC/20 Ammo x3 [Either this, or one DHS, (which is only 1/3rd the weight, but takes up the same space), in which case, see the notes on the arms.]

Right Arm:

Armor:

68/68

Medium Laser x1 [If the LT has a DHS in it, replace this with a Medium Pulse Laser.]

(Structure) x7 (unmoveable)

Left Arm:

Armor:

68/68

Medium Laser x1 [If the LT has a DHS in it, replace this with a Medium Pulse Laser.]

Anti-Missile System x1

(Structure) x6 (unmoveable)

Right Leg:

Armor:

65/84

AC/20 Ammo x2

Left Leg:

Armor:

65/84

AC/20 Ammo x2






Now, those two builds are 100% mine, but the build that my teammate had for his K2 in almost entirely unknown to me. What I do know is that he had 1x gauss, 1x AC20, 2x tons of AC20 ammo, 3x tons of gauss ammo, and no other weapons. The only other thing I'm certain of is endo-steel structure, and a top speed which I think was in the 60s. I don't know his armor, and I have NO idea what his armor placement would be. However, this seems like a fairly viable build to me, provided you know how to play it. (Ex: don't fire the AC/20 at someone who's 750m away.)


I've always found the first atlas build to work extremely well, but I've been playing LRM support for about a week now, so I changed my build. (But I kept this one documented.) I also save everything, especially when I find a build that I REALLY like. These atlai are perfect examples. As for the K2, I think it would be fun to test it, but I don't know whether or not I'd like it.


Also: the Jenner-D build is one of the best builds in the game. I love that thing. Zipping around at nearly 140KPH without the 7.5% speed boost conferred by the elite mech skill "Speed Tweak". Including the skill takes it from exactly 138.8 KPH to 149.21 KPH, which might is the second fastest mech in the game (as of right now). The fastest mech would be a commando, (which has a max base speed of 139.3 KPH), with the "Speed Tweak" skill, which would make it top out at 149.7475 KPH (Although the loss of 10 tons of armor and weapons might not be worth it to some players.)

*EDIT*
Remembered another build that's sorta fun to play, but not very useful for grinding (for me, at least -- maybe it'll work better for you); use the Hunchback-4G, and put 3x AC/2 in the right torso. Then set the AC/2 to the same weapon group, and set it to delay-fire. You will never stop firing, because by the time you finish firing cannon #3, cannon #1 has already cooled down and is ready to fire again. Just make sure that when you set it to delay fire, you hold the fire button for that group down, and that you don't just press it repeatedly, because that will mess up your timing. Also, because the AC/2 has a very high range, and causes cockpit shaking, it can act as a harrassment sniping mech. Won't do much damage very fast, but it'll really tick-off that gausspult who's trying to snipe you from across the map. It's hard for them to snipe when they're being hit by cockpit shake not just every 4 seconds (like when their gauss is shooting at you), but constantly, assuming that you can keep your crosshairs on their mech.

I have a huge list of builds I tried out and saved during closed beta, but either they were not exceptionally, incredibly good, or they had already been mentioned on here in some varient (I don't use the exact same jenner build, but it's very close). The only one that wasn't mentioned was the first atlas build.
And I KNOW that that's a good build.
Also, as a nod to what manicx782 said earlier when I mentioned the first atlas build to him, that it was a 'Jack of All Trades', may I suggest a name for it? (Unfortunately, I can't name mine, because it's a founder's mech.)

The "Jack of All Raids"
;)


tl;dr
...You expect me to summarize that? :P

Edited by Spirit of the Wolf, 10 November 2012 - 10:44 PM.


#24 Pantherjay

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Posted 11 November 2012 - 12:26 PM

Ok. I'm new to MWO...... trying to build the hunchy zombie and I'm half a ton short of being able to put the 5th double heatsink in it. Also havent upgraded to the Artemis system and ammo, so my question is after adding the Artemis upgrades does that decrease tonnage enough to add the 5th heatsink? Other than that I've faithfully followed all of the build guide.

#25 Spirit of the Wolf

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Posted 11 November 2012 - 01:17 PM

View PostPantherjay, on 11 November 2012 - 12:26 PM, said:

Ok. I'm new to MWO...... trying to build the hunchy zombie and I'm half a ton short of being able to put the 5th double heatsink in it. Also havent upgraded to the Artemis system and ammo, so my question is after adding the Artemis upgrades does that decrease tonnage enough to add the 5th heatsink? Other than that I've faithfully followed all of the build guide.


First of all, if you don't have any missiles on your mech, Artemis IV is totally useless.
Secondly, it increases both tonnage and slot count by 1 for each missile weapon you have in your loadout if you have Artemis equipped.

So to answer your question, no: upgrading to Artemis will not decrease your tonnage.
I feel the need to ask, because it is often overlooked, but... did you make sure that not just your upgrades, but also your armor levels match as well?


PS.
In regards to my previous post. IDK what the f*** happened to the formatting, but every time I tried to edit it, it seemed to get worse. I left it alone. Sorry that it's hard to read.

#26 Pantherjay

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Posted 11 November 2012 - 01:39 PM

Yep...matched all the armor amounts, switched the engine...as I said, I followed the build faithfully other than the Artemis systems...and from the sound of it, that will make me even shorter on tonnage available...so I'm clueless what I'm doing wrong...unless I started with the wrong base Hunchie. But the model number was 4SP, and again, the build was the "Zombie" spec.

EDIT
Ok. double checked and it seems I somehow over-looked the endo steel structure.

Problem solved, my bad.

Thanx.

Edited by Pantherjay, 11 November 2012 - 01:51 PM.


#27 Raynz

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Posted 27 November 2012 - 05:11 PM

Hello, I'd just like to confirm that the Commando 2D build is no longer valid? I tried making it exactly like the guide states but it's impossible to do so. Mechlab requires I add 1 more DHS, and I also don't have the tonnage available to equip the AMS.

#28 Thrak

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Posted 28 November 2012 - 03:55 AM

We call the 6 x SRM 6 A1 a 'popcat'. On account of it making things go 'pop', and going 'pop', in equal measure. And generally the best strategy is to 'pop' up.

pop.

#29 Mattiator

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Posted 11 December 2012 - 04:43 AM

Bumping for great justice! These builds are still viable even in today's environment. I'll pester Protection to see if we can get a new ECM Raven.

Edited by Mattiator, 11 December 2012 - 05:02 AM.


#30 Wolfcp

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Posted 11 December 2012 - 07:06 AM

These are serviceable builds, but does no one else see the problem with recommending an XL build w/Artemis and FF? Personally, I think a good "first build" for a new player should be a decent build out of the box with minor tweaks to weapons systems and such, so no XL or super expensive upgrades like Artemis or FF which will only make them lose money on a loss, and likely get frustrated with the lack of income.

Very nice guide overall and thanks for making it; it is excellent for players who have some Cbills already and are looking for guideline mechs, but we should also make some "on the cheap builds" for very new players!

Edited by Wolfcp, 11 December 2012 - 07:08 AM.


#31 Crawford

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Posted 21 January 2013 - 08:42 AM

Hi, I'm new and I've been building the gausscat one (saving for the engine!). My question is where are the 10 heatsinks equipped? Can't see them in the screenshot. Thanks.

Edited by Crawford, 21 January 2013 - 08:42 AM.


#32 Protection

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Posted 21 January 2013 - 08:53 AM

View PostCrawford, on 21 January 2013 - 08:42 AM, said:

Hi, I'm new and I've been building the gausscat one (saving for the engine!). My question is where are the 10 heatsinks equipped? Can't see them in the screenshot. Thanks.


All ten of them are in the engine. You don't need to equip any of them.

And the Gausscat remains one of the dominant viable heavy mechs; even after the Gauss explosion nerf.

The Gaussback was the real victim of that nerf. Now any large blast to the Hunch pretty much kills it.

#33 Crawford

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Posted 21 January 2013 - 08:59 AM

Ah I see, great. Thanks for the fast reply!

EDIT: First match with the gausscat, got 4 kills and 2 assists. First time top of the scoreboard :D

Edited by Crawford, 21 January 2013 - 12:10 PM.






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