18 replies to this topic

[Praehotec8]

Hey guys, I own a catapult A-1 and am looking for some advice on how to finish my loadout.

Currently I have 2 X LRM 15 and 2 X SRM 6

I have endosteel and am planning to upgrade to an XL engine 265, which will give me back 6 tons. I would like to add a little more firepower but not sure what is the best.

Should I add a couple of LRM 5s?
Change the LRM 15 to 20s?
Stay the same and add artemis?
Just carry more ammo? (right now I only have 4 tons and 2 tons, respectively)

I am aiming for a largely longe-range fire-support mech with enough punch up close to fight of lights/mediums that get too close. What do you all prefer for the cat A-1?

[Scruffinator3K]

A pair of Streak SRM2's might help a lot for close, fast enemies. Artemis is also a great buy, it wiill tighten up your missile groups significantly, doing wonders for SRM's.

[DivineEvil]

I've managed to use all specialized builds for A-1, using custon key binding for additional method to run trough your weapon groups, using E key, either right or left directed group switch, and assuming separate group for each single launcher. They work by holding left mouse button and pressing E accordingly to preferred rate of fire and heat buildup.

A-1 "Squall"
6x LRM5 setup. Specialized long-range support variant, it is designed for continuous, rather than burst long-range shots. Since developers decided to nerf LRM damage and default locking mechanism, that build might feel a bit weaker than it were before the Artemis implementation (around 800-900 damage in any given game). The key moment of that design is that it severely disrupts direct-fire targeting of any mech it locked on by constant barrages of 5 missiles with half/full second periods and abuses any current focus fire on particular chassis damage already dealt. That makes opponent's Brawlers, especially Centurions and Hunchback unable to efficienty fight whatsoever, until they're managed to escape your fire. It's especially good when you have an ally with TAG or NARC units installed. LRM5 are less weight-efficient, than LRM15, but allows to waste much less ammunition on broken lock volleys and manages heat much more gradually.

The drawbacks are that any enemy mech approaching melee range spells your doom, so that you must always keep the track of enemy squad positions, get someone to cover you from Lights and avoid any direct confrontation, even if that means leaving your base for the enemy to capture. You might adapt that build by having better Engine to run away from other Heavy or Assault mechs and keep firing as long as you further than 200 kilometers from them. Alternatively, you can keep the weak Engine, but install the Artemis system in order to inrease your damage efficiency by about 50%.

My own build were featuring tremendous 1440 ammo supply (12 tons of missiles alone), enough to tear down several Heavy mechs with little help from allies over entire match, from head to toes. It's kinda griefing build, due to terrible repair costs your targets have to pay after the match in order to restore mech, which is pretty much pulverized. MIssiles worth a lot, but they pay off on their damage. If you've been compromized and have no chance to escape, let your opponents to core you down in order to pay little to no IC's for rearming and repairs, instead of twitching and ending up with rearming tons of missiles that have been blown away for nothing.

A-1 "Torrent"
6x SRM4 build, specialized to abuse enemies with determined armor locations. This build allow to quickly locate weak points and wither entire armor layers from every part the target mech possess. SRM lower ammo requirement allows for be efficient even with mere 4-6 tons of ammo, allowing for average power Engine and full armor build. These benefits can be swapped for even stronger engine (hit-and-run), Artemis (shooting arms or legs in a jiffy), or NARC+Ammo swap for even more accurate fire. Regardless of the specifics, this build is practically impossible to negate heavy heat build-up, thus it's good only for support other short-range brawlers, rather than going berserk by yourself.

A-1 "Seeker"
6x SSRM build, the typical Streakapult. It's a very popular build for novice players as well for those, who possess low-end PC, since it requires little to none targeting skills. This build is a horror of any Light mechs, but quite flawed against heavier opponents due to low DPS rating. Low weight of SSRM lauchers allow for full-armor, top-speed and no-heat builds, that allows Cata to assassinate enemy Light mechs while being quite hard to being killed herself. Viable choice if you've just too tired of these little pests running around.

Edited by DivineEvil, 13 November 2012 - 03:35 AM.

[Thirdrail]

I have two of these. One love cat with 2xLRM20 w/Artemis and a pair of medium lasers, and a streak cat with 6xSSRM. I don't think I could go back to the LRM15s after the 20s. The medium lasers aren't terribly powerful, but the longer I play with them, the better I get at using them. They forced me to really pay attention to the armour status of enemy mechs, and shoot for soft spots, which was a good habit to get into. The advantage is that they only weight 2 tons, total, and never run out of ammo, which leaves you with extra weight for things like armour and LRM ammo. The streak cat is great for hunting lights, and fights at bases.

I've been running into more flack cats since Artemis came along, where someone uses all Artemis SRMs, and those things are really scary at close range. I think they're kind of the new streak cats. I have not built one yet myself.

You might also try mounting a TAG for your LRMs. It makes them a little more effective, at least between the ranges of 181m and 400m.

[DivineEvil]

Thirdrail, on 13 November 2012 - 03:41 AM, said:

I have two of these. One love cat with 2xLRM20 w/Artemis and a pair of medium lasers, and a streak cat with 6xSSRM. I don't think I could go back to the LRM15s after the 20s. The medium lasers aren't terribly powerful, but the longer I play with them, the better I get at using them. They forced me to really pay attention to the armour status of enemy mechs, and shoot for soft spots, which was a good habit to get into. The advantage is that they only weight 2 tons, total, and never run out of ammo, which leaves you with extra weight for things like armour and LRM ammo. The streak cat is great for hunting lights, and fights at bases.

I've been running into more flack cats since Artemis came along, where someone uses all Artemis SRMs, and those things are really scary at close range. I think they're kind of the new streak cats. I have not built one yet myself.

You might also try mounting a TAG for your LRMs. It makes them a little more effective, at least between the ranges of 181m and 400m.

A1 Catapult possess no Energy slots. C4 got two of them, but it's out of discussion.

[Praehotec8]

Thanks for the advice guys! Divine, I like your build ideas, they sound good, especially the sqall (although I don't like the idea of having no defense against mechs that get in close). One question I keep debating is whether it is more efficient to get artemis or just max out my weapon slots and use the tonnage on extra gross firepower. As I can earn CBills, I plan to try out different builds of weapons, but I'm trying to decide what to try out first.

[HlynkaCG]

ALternatly you can mix and match, my "Aegis" Catapult A-1 runs with 2 LRM-15s and 4 SSRMs

[Praehotec8]

HlynkaCG, on 14 November 2012 - 11:02 AM, said:

ALternatly you can mix and match, my "Aegis" Catapult A-1 runs with 2 LRM-15s and 4 SSRMs

I tried that type of build for a while, but I just feel like the SSRMs didn't have the punch I wanted up close (although seeking was nice). Two SRM 6s have more firepower, but I am trying to figure out where to go to further optimize my build for my playstyle (mostly long-range support, but not helpless when cornered).

[HlynkaCG]

Praehotec8, on 14 November 2012 - 11:32 AM, said:

I tried that type of build for a while, but I just feel like the SSRMs didn't have the punch I wanted up close (although seeking was nice). Two SRM 6s have more firepower, but I am trying to figure out where to go to further optimize my build for my playstyle (mostly long-range support, but not helpless when cornered).

Fair enough, but I'm not looking for "Punch" so much as something to make the enemy's lights think twice before getting too close.

Also keep in mind that the Streak SRMs have a longer effective range than the SRM-6s which means that if you can get an opponent inside that sweet-spot of 190-270 meters you can truly ruin his day with a single combined volly.

ETA
If you play around with engines and upgrades (XL + Endo) you might just be able to swing LRM 20s on this build

Edited by HlynkaCG, 14 November 2012 - 12:00 PM.

[Ragor]

My A1:

300XL
Endo Steel
Artemis
4x SSRM2 (2t)
2x LRM 15 (6t)
maxed armor except legs (40)

[HlynkaCG]

@Rangor

How much of a bonus do you see yourself getting from the Artemis?

With it only effecting the LRMs I'd almost prefer to swap the two tonnes for more ammo or an AMS

[Praehotec8]

Well, I finally ground up enough CBills for an XL engine, and then added two LRM 5s, so my loadout is now:

2X LRM 15
2X LRM 5
2X SRM 6

I also added another ton of ammo and a heatsink, and I notice what feels like a significant increase in ranged damage from each volley, particularly on heavy mechs. I feel pretty happy with SRM 6s for the unfortunate close encounter, but am still looking for opinions/advice on longe-range.

What do you all feel about the differences between this build, and say, 2X LRM 20

or 2X LRM 15 + artemis
or 4X LRM 10, etc...

Thanks for all the replies and advice! (and for the record, I do feel the 2X SRM 6 outweighs the tracking of the 4X SSRM 2s by a small margin....it's priceless seeing a light mech flinch when you nail it with a full volley...can almost see the look of surprise on the pilot's face if they weren't expecting it)

[DivineEvil]

Praehotec8, on 14 November 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

Thanks for the advice guys! Divine, I like your build ideas, they sound good, especially the sqall (although I don't like the idea of having no defense against mechs that get in close). One question I keep debating is whether it is more efficient to get artemis or just max out my weapon slots and use the tonnage on extra gross firepower. As I can earn CBills, I plan to try out different builds of weapons, but I'm trying to decide what to try out first.

Well, friend, for that all-round thing, there's just one build I can suggest:
Standard Engine 260
Standard Armor 416/422
Endo-Steel
Double Heat Sinks (1 in each side torso)
Artemis
2x LRM10 (4 tons of ammo)
2x SRM6 (2 tons of ammo)
2x CASE
Artemis increase efficiency for both LRMS and SRMS (making them fly more packed). DHS provide 1.42 Heat Efficiency, just enough to keep you from long breaks between firing. Ammo is just enough for mixed range combat, and should be installed into side torsos in order to save it in case one of your Arm has been broken. CASES protect you from excessive damage if your side torsos are down. Armor is just below for integer tonnage, all maxed but legs. FF is a money hog.

Installing XL Engine will allow you to add AMS package, single jumpjet (more make no effect) and more ammo for lauchers you seems to rely on more.

Edited by DivineEvil, 14 November 2012 - 02:15 PM.

[Praehotec8]

DivineEvil, on 14 November 2012 - 02:13 PM, said:

Artemis increase efficiency for both LRMS and SRMS (making them fly more packed). Installing XL Engine will allow you to add AMS package, single jumpjet (more make no effect) and more ammo for lauchers you seems to rely on more.

Do you feel that artemis improves effective missle hit rate/damage enough rather than opt for simply a greater number of missles per volley (i.e. more or bigger launchers) with more carefully aimed /timed shots?

I would love to make all all-out ranged support mech, but in PUGs (which is where I play) it feels necessary to be somewhat self-sufficient at all ranges as you often may not have backup.

It would be nice to lose some weight from JJs, but I enjoy using them and I am sure one day, possibly soon, they will be fixed and more than one will be needed.

Thanks again for the advice!!

[Hex Pallett]

I've been running 2xLRM15 + 4xSSRM2 during closed beta. Very powerful build and covers all ranges, plus the sweet-spot damage range between 180m and 206m where you can Alpha and deal massive damage. Only drawback is the price of rearming and maintenance.

[Ragor]

HlynkaCG, on 14 November 2012 - 12:08 PM, said:

@Ragor

How much of a bonus do you see yourself getting from the Artemis?

With it only effecting the LRMs I'd almost prefer to swap the two tonnes for more ammo or an AMS

With Artemis it is about the same like with regurlar LRM while the target is being tagged.

Damagewise you'll do about the same, but the missiles are better focussed (=spread less) and therefor you definately do earlier the 'killing blow'.

[Bagua]

Since yesterday I am running a 6x SRM6 A1 with a 260 standard and DHS.Heat is an issue but controllable.
It is a pretty devastating and quick tin opener as short range but it is missing the speed to bridge the distance on open terrain.
I will play some hours with it and than switch to 6x SRM4 (prolly with Artemis) and a bigger xl engine to find out which works better for me.

I strongly recommend to open the missle bays when the game starts, it impoves the SRM aiming greatly.

Edited by Bagua, 16 November 2012 - 02:43 AM.

[RFMarine]

so is artemis a good investment for say a centurion with 3 SRM 6's and endo steel? will it really tighten up the SRM grouping?

[Bagua]

RFMarine, on 16 November 2012 - 02:30 AM, said:

so is artemis a good investment for say a centurion with 3 SRM 6's and endo steel? will it really tighten up the SRM grouping?

Jop, I got a CN9-A with 3 Artemis SRM6 and I love it. You should put in a 260XL for speed IMHO.