48 replies to this topic

[Protection]

This is a guide, to help new players assemble their first "viable" mech; without wasting C-Bills on an experimental design, or spending money on a chassis that they later regret and sell off. So these are some suggestions for builds, so that new players can assemble something that will still be usable in fiercer environments.

These builds are not absolute, and totally modifiable. You can put in smaller or larger engines, you can add ammunition or take out or put in different (similar) weapons with extra tonnage, or adjust armour. These designs are, by no means, absolute, and generally quite flexible - to be tailored to your needs. These are not absolute or guaranteed successes, but the are designed to be viable into the current "endgame meta," while being reasonably within reach for any first time purchase for relatively new players. This, by no means, covers every single 'viable' build, and again - these are not absolute, but guidelines for new players to build from.

So without further ado...


LIGHT

(***** Player's Choice)

The Jenner-F (often called the Slas-Jenner or Flashlight), is viable for the high octane twitch gamer. Speed if the largest asset and positioning is key. Good armour for the weight class, complete with jumpjets and good hitboxes - makes it a real menace, and hard to defend against.


(***** Player's Choice)

The Jenner-D offers the advantage of streak missiles, allowing for twitch maneuvers while still landing 'locked' shots and harassing with missiles and respectable damage. A strong alternative to the 6 x Small Laser Jenner.



So you bought a Raven, huh? Well, worse thing have happened. Maybe they will be better once modules and Role Warfare are more implemented. In the meantime, might as well try to make something usable out of that Raven you bought, Well, sadly, this is as close as you are going to get.



The Streak-Commando is one of the few and only things that a Commando can do better than a Jenner. It is important to understand how much more vulnerable and destructible that the Commando is compared to the Jenner, but the 3 x Streak SRM2 build is still a respectable harasser and light hunter.

MEDIUM



The Cicada is basically a fat, substitute Jenner, and the 2A seems to be designed around that premise. The hitboxes are larger, the maneuvering is worse, and there are no jump jets, but this medium can still get the light mech jobs' done.




(***** Player's Choice)


The 4H "Gaussback" can be built in several different ways, but none of them really change what the mech is all about. It functions as a minor sniper for the early parts of the game, and transitions well into a major brawler as lines close in. A powerful threat that should never be overlooked.



It's a shadow of its former glory (the beloved 115 kph Slasback), but the modern 4P is still a force to be reckoned with. Packing a powerful and precise punch, it can deliver good burst damage while harassing and is a powerful addition to any brawl.



(***** Player's Choice)

The 4SP is one of the most flexible and versatile chassis in the game, and the 'zombie' (zombie meaning a standard engine) can dominate close combat and soak damage better than any other medium currently in the game. Makes a nice 'roamer,' able to fill in almost any role as required.



Centurions are not an ideal mech, but if you insist on running one, might as well try to make it effective, Usually, this involves stripping anything important out of the extremely large and 'blow-offable' arms, to make it a functional zombie harasser.



The much faster Centurion - tries to strike a balance between speed and firepower given the extremely large and vulnerable chassis. It has the potency of being an extremely agile 50-ton mech, but without the desirable build of the rival Hunchbacks.


HEAVY



Much more popular in the Euro timezones than the North American timezones, the Dragon can still find a small niche as the only fast heavy. With a decent compliment of weapons, it can really be a decent disruptor, although not an ideal replacement for a K2.



By no means the most perfect of builds (and the legendary player probably deserves a better tribute than this middling design), but a functional use for the Dragon. It can dish out good damage and hold its own while keeping good speed and armour.




The Streak Cat is diminishing in popularity after the rather significant nerfs to SSRM2s, but remains a solid light mech hunter - able to crush lights and mediums in close quarters. It has a lot of trouble against assaults and is very vulnerable to snipers targetting the large ears.



The SRM-Cat or "Flakcat" is a potent Alpha striker that suffers from a very high maintenance cost, heat problems, and ammunition shortages - all in exchange for one of the most devastating left clicks in the game. High risk, high reward mech.


(***** Player's Choice)

An absolutely reliable support build - it can transition well from LRM support into a semi-effective brawler if required. Has enough missiles to last a very long game, and is flexible enough to be aggressive.


(***** Player's Choice)

The Gausscat remains one of the premier, dominant mechs - good armour, strong in brawls, remarkable as a sniper, and totally dependable - really a top notch design with lots of room for customization (larger engine, increased secondary weapons, more armour, etc) - the two Gauss combination is still a powerful force, even if it is finally facing some interesting competition. Really, quite good at everything.


ASSAULT



The infamous 'Honey Badger' is back in the latest incarnation of the 9M Awesome. Other Awesome chassis lack the speed to compete, and the many medium and medium pulse lasers make brawls against it unpleasant. It can outrun anything it cannot outgun.



(***** Player's Choice)

The classic Grinder might be a little outdated, but it is still a respectable Atlas build and able to go toe to toe with any other build imaginable. Lot's of room to customize this design as you like, but reliable enough to get the job done - a real beast in close quarters.



Steel Jaguar pioneered the design, but now it is a common sight on the MWO battlefields. The latest version adds a much larger engine, and replaces the vulnerable XL with a heavy but reliable standard engine. A strong direct fire support mech with decent brawl capabilities.



(***** Player's Choice)

The deadly new Grinder DDC Atlas, even more of a threat in brawls, with almost all of the long range direct fir support of a Jaguar Atlas - it is a brutal piece of opposition, although it does have a few heat management problems. It can still prove devastating in close combat.

[Flash Yoghurt]

You put together some nice, solid builds. The only problem I see with them is the use of powerful XL engines in many designs. Most new players won*t be able to afford those, as they are often much more expensive than the mech itself.
I'd say these are more advanced builds for which a substantial amount of grinding has to be done.

[Bagheera]

Ammo placement on the Zombie-4sp is interesting. Very close to my build, but I drop the head laser for case, put the ammo in a different spot, and have 3 tons rather than 2. Can't recall, but I must have 1 less DHS than your example, but heat is rarely a problem unless I stop paying attention to it a protracted brawl.

Love that build.

* - having the head laser makes for a better Zombie, admittedly. Been plenty of matches where I missed having it.

Edited by Bagheera, 10 November 2012 - 05:13 PM.

[Vechs]

Your builds look good, but I do see some things that could be problems:

1) XL engines in many builds -- new players aren't going to be able to afford to buy these or run these, and XL engines are more punishing to new players because they get killed much, much easier. I would almost suggest a rule against any XL usage on a mech intended for someone new to the game.

2) Storing ammo in your torsos. Legs and head are the best spots for ammo, and I know those are some XL builds, still, it's good to get into the habit of storing ammo in the safest spots.

[Gidonihah]

Flash Yoghurt, on 10 November 2012 - 03:53 PM, said:

You put together some nice, solid builds. The only problem I see with them is the use of powerful XL engines in many designs. Most new players won*t be able to afford those, as they are often much more expensive than the mech itself.
I'd say these are more advanced builds for which a substantial amount of grinding has to be done.

The builds are quite expensive yes.

Here is some tips for Sub-versions to use while you are building towards the finished product.

The Zombie SRmback is nearly completely functional with just Endosteel, drop the headlaser for a small. 260 Engine isnt actually required either.

The Gaussbacks are functional without a xl260, just use the Standard 200. Be warned you are slow.

The Grinder Atlas doesnt actually need DHS, and is amusingly pretty cheap as it doesnt require a new engine.

Gausspults can do the same thing ACpults do, use a standard engine.

The Honeybadger Awsome and all the Lights are the hardest to modify into acceptable "budget" versions, speed is just so important that you need that xl engine. Streakmando is slightly doable, you will be slow but your lockon can still help you kill other lights. For the Awsome concentrate on higher longrange firepower like a standard awsome until you can get your Charge on.

Centurions are fine for cost, Dragons can be done with a standard but really like Xls.

Surmcats really want Double HS at least, you can get away with skimping elsewhere, but that heat needs to be managed.

Going budget is naturally inferior to the full builds, but the posted builds are full blown Optimized builds.
You can work towards them.

[Nokkeli]

Good builds but I can't really agree with the others. Grinding for an xl engine won't take that long, I had one only a few days after buying my first mech.

[Protection]

Vechs, on 10 November 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

Your builds look good, but I do see some things that could be problems:

1) XL engines in many builds -- new players aren't going to be able to afford to buy these or run these, and XL engines are more punishing to new players because they get killed much, much easier. I would almost suggest a rule against any XL usage on a mech intended for someone new to the game.

On the 'afford' side of things, I'm moreso offering these as suggestions for "finished" builds for players to work towards, not so much as stop-gap moneymaker designs. As for the risks of XL - it's a fair warning, especially on larger mechs, but Jenners and Ravens get hit in the side torso so rarely, and speed is absolutely vital to their survival, I would really urge any would be light pilots to go for the largest XL possible on their small mechs. A rare side torso hit is far less likely to get you killed than moving 30kph slower than your opponents (or their missiles).

Quote

2) Storing ammo in your torsos. Legs and head are the best spots for ammo, and I know those are some XL builds, still, it's good to get into the habit of storing ammo in the safest spots.

Good suggestion, and totally up to player preference.

[Gidonihah]

Bagheera, on 10 November 2012 - 05:10 PM, said:

Ammo placement on the Zombie-4sp is interesting. Very close to my build, but I drop the head laser for case, put the ammo in a different spot, and have 3 tons rather than 2. Can't recall, but I must have 1 less DHS than your example, but heat is rarely a problem unless I stop paying attention to it a protracted brawl.

Love that build.

* - having the head laser makes for a better Zombie, admittedly. Been plenty of matches where I missed having it.

The Hunch is my build.

I have two tons of ammo due to my playstyle, I rarely get through both tons before one or both of my Srms have been disabled, due to this the Medium head laser is invaluable for keeping my damage up as I tank damage and body parts.

I am aware that other players are less frugal with the SRMs so increasing the amount may be worth it.

Since you have forgone the head laser you will run quite a bit cooler than me, so the DHS loss is unimportant.

I keep the head laser on a seperate hotkey from the arms and SRMs, so if you dont like a 3rd hotkey for a single weapon you may also choose to forgo it.

[Bagheera]

Gidonihah, on 10 November 2012 - 05:28 PM, said:

The Hunch is my build.

Nice. I actually did a head-laser for my 4G with the AC20. I just don't use it until I'm zombied out or out of rounds. Or occasionally with a target is standing still and I want to hit with all barrels.

I do tend to get a little trigger happy, so the extra rounds are a nice crutch for my bad aim (and admittedly less than stellar core2duo/gtx560). Folks with better aim probably better of with 2 tons.

I'm hearing a few folks advocate for putting ammo in the legs? Seems counter-intuitive to me, wouldn't an ammo explosion just leg you? Or are there enough other used crits in the leg that the likelyhood is low enough not to worry about it?

Edited by Bagheera, 10 November 2012 - 06:46 PM.

[p00k]

noticed on your D-DC, left screen has it with 2 mlas, right has it with 2 mplas. *ahem*

[Ursh]

I just bought the Commando with 2 energy and 2 missile hardpoints as my very first mech. I modified it to use 2 medium lasers and double SSRM 2. I've been pretty happy with it so far. I put ammo in the head, and with the ssrm in the center torso, I can zombie about as much as a commando can zombie.

I don't have the cbills saved up yet to upgrade the engine to something that will allow me to pack a bit more speed and punch.

Overall, really happy with it though.

[WarPickle]

I agree new players will never be able to afford XL engines on their first mech without some insane amount of grinding

I got excited to see some new player builds.. until I started seeing XL..

[ChivaIry]

what would be helpfull would be a total c-bills cost of each build...
I only started yesterday... but have racked up 2 mill in 1 night... so hoping i might just go all out and buy one of them jenner builds within 3 or 4 days if the total cost is around 8 mill or so... or is it much higher?

[Bagheera]

The builds aren't intended to be "first builds." They're design goals, competitive min/maxxed builds posted up so new players will have a target build to work towards (saving FakeSpaceBucks for that XL or DHS upgrade) without wasting time and FakeSpaceBucks with failed experimentation.

Think of it as a public service. Folks who've been at this a while and had the luxury of closed beta resets to experiment with sharing their knowledge with the masses. I do not claim to have said knowledge, but I like the mechlab. Go figure.

[ChivaIry]

so i started yesterday and so far im up to 4 mill..... should i go for my first mech yet?? and if so what would u spend 4 mill on?? or should i keep saving?

[Jaynen]

ChivaIry, on 11 November 2012 - 03:25 PM, said:

so i started yesterday and so far im up to 4 mill..... should i go for my first mech yet?? and if so what would u spend 4 mill on?? or should i keep saving?

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

[Viraku]

Quick question on the zombieback 4sp< I cannot find the 15th heatsink in your build. I see three left torso, two right torso, and none anywhere else. (my current has 3 left 3 right 1 center for a total of 14, and I don't see anywhere to put another DHS) Fill me in on what I missed?

[armitage]

Viraku, on 11 November 2012 - 10:38 PM, said:

Quick question on the zombieback 4sp< I cannot find the 15th heatsink in your build. I see three left torso, two right torso, and none anywhere else. (my current has 3 left 3 right 1 center for a total of 14, and I don't see anywhere to put another DHS) Fill me in on what I missed?

What size engine do you have, a 250-270 rated engine will carry 10 heatsinks inside itself, the above mech has 2 RT, and 3 LT for 15 total heatsinks. Having 7 heatsinks in the mech and 7 in the engine suggests you have a stock engine and no double heat sinks.

Edited by armitage, 12 November 2012 - 11:11 AM.

[Viraku]

I'm running the stock 200 engine right now, Just upgraded to DHS, but it sounds like the extra HSinks are from the engine, so that answers my question. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[PsychoJosh]

Here's my situation, I've been playing for a long time now and I've really grown accustomed to the Trial Atlas and Catapult. I feel that these mechs serve my playstyle quite well, I love being a combat powerhouse with the Atlas. I've saved up nearly enough for an Awesome 9M but I'm wondering if I should get it? Does the Honey Badger suit my playstyle? Because I like to be a formidable force in close brawls.