48 replies to this topic

[Tbolt82]

Hi guys, new MWO player here.

I've noticed a lot of these loadouts use small lasers. Is there a reason to picking small over medium lasers?

I know they generate less heat, but 90m range seems awfully limited?

[DowncastAcorn]

Having never used them myself, I think small lasers are mainly used in builds that want to put out a lot of damage continuously at short range. The slunchback is a great example; why would you mount all medium lasers when you can just mount smalls, which do their damage slightly faster and have a higher recycle rate to boot?

Running all meds you WILL overheat eventually. Meds have to wait four seconds from the start of one firing cycle to the start of the next (1 sec for beam to finish, 3 sec for recycle), where a small las only does two less damage for a 3 sec firing cycle (.75 sec beam, 2.25 sec recycle). You give up .25 dps for half heat, which will really make up for it when you're still firing and the other guy has to wait and cool down or he blows up.

[Tbolt82]

I guess it comes down to playing style then, because with an effective range of 270m the medium lasers will let you start DPS'ing a lot sooner than a small laser?

[DowncastAcorn]

very true, so you can see where the build falls short. most slunchbacks mount mediums in their arms to compensate.

[Elizander]

For a point of comparison with the HBK-4P:

7 Small Lasers will give you a 21 point damage Alpha strike on a very short cooldown and you can spam this at least 10 times or so on SHS.

7 Medium Lasers will give you a 35 point damage Alpha strike on a longer cooldown and more range, but you shut down after 2-3.

So, using the heat limit as a gauge, assuming a long brawl, you will ideally (not always since you gotta run and duck and stuff) get 210 damage out of 7 Small Lasers and only 105 damage out of 7 Medium Lasers. This isn't -entirely- accurate but you get the rough picture.

You are running around with your team, shooting in a large brawl. If it doesn't end after 12-15 seconds, the Small Laser Hunchback will start doing more overall damage than the Medium Laser Hunchback.

With DHS, the Small Lasers are practically heat neutral (almost, you won't even notice it).

[ceycoon]

i have a question, at the raven build, the raven has so many weapons, can i buy more slots or how did that go?

[Murcock]

Excellent thread, altho abit old. Did anything in particular change other than the implementation of ECM?

[LT Kinslayer]

Jaynen, on 11 November 2012 - 06:45 PM, said:

I would recommend the Hunchback 4SP because its a good solid chassis and the setup it comes with is great without tweaks

This is a good choice. It is rather easy on this chassis to increase in power and efficiency in small steps (c-bill investment).
My personal favorite, even though it is not marked as an optimal build, has a 260 normal engine, close to max armor, endo, DHS, heat 1.34, 4 ml, 2 srm4 w/ 2 tons of ammo. It gives you long sustained damage (as long as you take the time to line up your srm shots to increase hitrates) without having to be too careful about heat. It's true effectiveness, as with any other mech, comes mostly from positioning; being at the right place at the right time. This either comes naturally or needs recognition and focussed training to get better at.

PS: Any mech that fits your playstyle is a lot better than one that does not, no matter how "OP" the other one is supposed to be.

Heat got changed apparently so now I can run with 2 SRM6 and 3 tons ammo and still go at 1.35 heat. \()/

Edited by LT Kinslayer, 15 January 2013 - 01:30 PM.

[Protection]

This thread is rather outdated. I'll see if I can get something more fulfilling and comprehensive up in the not too distant future.