78 replies to this topic

[CannonFodder86]

Finished Master on all three Commandos couple days ago. Currently playing around with the new Cataphract, but I'll updated and add some stuff to the guide soon.

Nuck Fewton, on 24 November 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

I named it, "Pinprick"
I love the little guy but even I admit that streaks need a nerf. I thought they were almost fine before this latest change. I'm wondering what module to buy first, maybe the capture one?

Sounds more than just a "pinprick" against other lights lol. Not sure if the new 360 tracking module will let you keep SSRM lock behind you. if it does it should be pretty good. The targeting info speed might be good too, could save you from accidentally jumping a streak cat lol.

vietnamabc, on 24 November 2012 - 06:20 AM, said:

Great guide but how long does it takes you to elite the 3 COM and is COM a good C-Bill grinder?

By the time i was done with Mastering all 3 of my COMs i was sitting on 27million(+whatever i put into buying a Raven 3L). So maybe round 33million CB for mastering 3COMs. I skimped on the engine tho. just used the XL210 from the Raven and swapped them into the COM i was leveling, as Mylar suggested on page1.

[Malegrim]

Incredible post! 2 thumbs up and I agree with pretty much all of your points.

[ropanock]

I have seen a lot of hate aimed at commandos but thanks to this guide i have managed to have a lot of fun hunting catapults with my 2D

[darqsyde]

Handy Guide.
I'm (almost) 3/4 on all 4 COMs, and I've got to say that this guide has helped immensely.

All of my COM's have an AMS fit, and I have found that it helps both me and my group stay up longer and is usually worth the tonnage and the space.

I've also found the Sensor Booster (+15%) module to be reasonably handy, especially when paired with a Beagle. Nothing like getting a lock at 1.3km.

I try not to get tangled up with other lights, and snipe/ninja on the bigger mechs.

[Ewigan]

Why use an AMS? Well, if you tend to be around your pack it makes sense.
But mostly you are at least a bit apart from it.
And then you can hide and dodge most LRMs, even if you are wide in the open.
So again: Why an AMS?

[SlimJim8519]

Thanks for the great info pack, I've been playing mainly Commando for most of my mech career (which is....3 days?)
and really appreciate some clear info.

[Krav]

Bump for Commando justice! (and to vote for sticky)

[Athomahawk]

Ewigan, on 27 November 2012 - 12:22 AM, said:

Why use an AMS? Well, if you tend to be around your pack it makes sense.
But mostly you are at least a bit apart from it.
And then you can hide and dodge most LRMs, even if you are wide in the open.
So again: Why an AMS?

Agree, AMS is not necessary for the skilled/situationally aware pilot and takes up valuable tons that could be spent somewhere else.

[BunnyWabbit]

I'm running a 1-B fully maxed and I have to say the commando honestly is not that great of a mech in general. Without the xl you pretty much have to run ams to keep lrm from just destroying your measly 25 ton mech. Once you put in an xl you can run without the ams and use the spare tonnage for more weapons or armor. Personally I'd say if your looking for a light mech go jenner or cicada because they just have so much more speed an reliability. If you really love commandos then probably the best build would be to grab the full missile platform and stack ssrms and just run by people and spam. You can also run a laser build with dhs with a LL and 2 mls fairly well and take advantage of the arms. Its not really even worth going commando though unless you really really love them because just going dhs and xl 210 will cost you over 5 mill+the commando cost. Even then you will just be a unique kind of average light mech at best.

[Torqueware]

BunnyWabbit, on 29 November 2012 - 08:55 PM, said:

I'm running a 1-B fully maxed and I have to say the commando honestly is not that great of a mech in general. Without the xl you pretty much have to run ams to keep lrm from just destroying your measly 25 ton mech. Once you put in an xl you can run without the ams and use the spare tonnage for more weapons or armor. Personally I'd say if your looking for a light mech go jenner or cicada because they just have so much more speed an reliability. If you really love commandos then probably the best build would be to grab the full missile platform and stack ssrms and just run by people and spam. You can also run a laser build with dhs with a LL and 2 mls fairly well and take advantage of the arms. Its not really even worth going commando though unless you really really love them because just going dhs and xl 210 will cost you over 5 mill+the commando cost. Even then you will just be a unique kind of average light mech at best.

Keep in mind it's opinions like this that help the commando immensely. People underestimate me all the time when I roll commando. That's when I roll around the back and give them a sucker punch they won't soon forget!

I get more than 500 exp a match, and do 4x my tonnage in damage or more.

It's the player, bro, not the mech.

[WarfieldSRT]

I honestly love my 3A. You really have to spend time with it. I feel like a lot of people probably played with the Jenner because obviously its a bit easier, has more tonnage, whatever. I'm not really sure theres anything the commando can do that a Jenner can't do better, and like Torque said, I use that to my advantage. People never see me coming. I run an Xl195, 2 ssrms, and 2 mpl and often do 300 damage in a match, and get almost 1k xp on a win with all the spots/kills/assist I get.

[Ewigan]

@Warfield: i really like my 3A too, but in comparison it is really really fragile. my 2D and 1B both have nearly maxed/maxed armor, run XLs, DHS, Endo, Med pulse and streaks.
my 3A runs just like yours (with added endo) and i just can't fit armor on it.

[BunnyWabbit]

Commandos arent bad per say its just they are outclassed atm. Mando is actually a really good escort with ll and 2 ml+ams and full upgrades. You wont ever overheat and you have decent damage output. The problem is really that if you try to control the game through flag caps or a lot of combat you tend to get killed. Its also not really that great of a scout because there are a ton of mechs right now that can take you out in one alpha easily so what I've noticed is commando tends to be the opposite of invisible. Entire teams will instantly focus you to try and get the easy kill even when youre moving at 139. It also seems now that srms are more common and it takes little skill to potshot a light mech as it zooms by.

[Athomahawk]

Pure scout/ewar commando with ECM + TAG:

Quote

Model Name: COM-2D
Variant Name: "Kitsune"

Engine: 195 XL Engine
Internal Type: Endo Steel
Armor Type: Std Armor
Heat Sinks: 10 (7) Double Heat Sinks

Tonnage: 25.00
Speed: 126.4 kph
Armor Total: 176
Alpha Strike Damage: 20.00
Alpha Strike Heat: 10.00
Firepower: 5.54 dps
Heat Efficiency: 73.68%
Effective Range of Loadout: 270m

Right Arm: Streak SRM2 x 2
Left Arm: TAG
Right Torso: Double Heat Sink x 2
Left Torso: ECM, Double Heat Sink
Center Torso: Streak SRM2, Streak SRM Ammo
Head: Streak SRM Ammo
Right Leg:
Left Leg:

File created using MWO Mechbay and edited by Athomahawk

[stjobe]

Athomahawk, on 01 December 2012 - 09:44 AM, said:

Pure scout/ewar commando with ECM + TAG:

Looks very similar to the build I theorycrafted yesterday, and probably will be running after the patch.

[Derk Talon]

Thanks for this great guide! I'm not much of a poster but i'll add mine: Lappuggla. She hasn't got that big of a punch, weapons are defensive only. This build is all about scouting and Counter ECM, its about supporting the team:

Chassis Name: Commando
Model Name: COM-2D
Variant Name: Lappuggla

Engine: 195 XL Engine
Internal Type: Endo Steel Internals
Armor Type: Standard Armor
Heat Sinks: 10 (7) Standard Heat Sinks
Tonnage: 25,00
Speed: 126,4 kph
Armor Total: 176
Alpha Strike Damage: 10,00
Alpha Strike Heat: 10,00%
Firepower: 2,86 dps
Heat Efficiency: 87,50%
Effective Range of Loadout: 270m

Armor
Head: 16/18
Right Torso: 12/24
Right Rear Torso: 12/24
Center Torso: 16/32
Center Rear Torso: 16/32
Left Torso: 12/24
Left Rear Torso: 12/24
Right Arm: 16/16
Left Arm: 16/16
Right Leg: 24/24
Left Leg: 24/24


Weapon Locations
Right Arm:
Streak SRM2
Center Torso:
Streak SRM2

Equipment
TAG
ECM
BAP

[Ewigan]

stjobe, on 01 December 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

Looks very similar to the build I theorycrafted yesterday, and probably will be running after the patch.

Yeah, starting tomorrow i will definitely run this or a similar build. Not sure about the TAG though, so far my 2D runs with 3 SSRM and 1 Med.pulse.
So for the ECM i would ditch and SSRM or my med pulse....
And definitely my only so far module on top: Sensor Range extension.

[stjobe]

Ewigan, on 03 December 2012 - 02:25 AM, said:

Yeah, starting tomorrow i will definitely run this or a similar build. Not sure about the TAG though, so far my 2D runs with 3 SSRM and 1 Med.pulse.
So for the ECM i would ditch and SSRM or my med pulse....
And definitely my only so far module on top: Sensor Range extension.

You need the TAG to be able to lock on to ECM-shielded targets; you probably want to run your own ECM in disrupt mode most of the time to stop Streaks from locking onto you.

[Athomahawk]

Yup, tag will get you a lock on another light with ecm outside the 180m bubble. Also, once you get inside 180m you can set your ECM to cancel theirs. This type of commando will work well escorting a gunboat jenner to provide ecm bubble and counter light capability.

Edited by Athomahawk, 04 December 2012 - 08:26 AM.

[Demoulius]

Figured id post in this amazing thread been a Commando piplot since ive been in the game but the netcode has been getting crappier and crappier and now I dont bother anymore streakcats (and streaks in general) together with impossible to hit enemy lights (netcode and me beeing in europe...) were also ruining the fun for me. Now with ECM in the game I might try it again

Favorite setup on my 1B was 2 medium pulse lasers and a streak with 1 ton of ammo. ES and standard 150 engine, max armor aside from 1 point in each leg. I havent experimented to much with bigger engines due to (almost) always dropping with teams. Staying somewhat close to your team and more or less always having someone able to cover you means the stock speed is most of the times enough. I know when to run and when to stay so I dont need more speed

Lately ive added BAP (to aid with scouting) to the design though and had to downgrade the weapons. I swapped them for 2 medium lasers (1 in each arm) and a small laser. I thinking of upgrading to FF, dropping a heatsink and getting the MPL again. I miss their punch

I also got a 2D. 3 streaks, single medium laser. With 2 tons of ammo this baby packs a whallop like the 1B though this one has suffered from the terrible netcode as of late and prevailance of more streaks lately... Im looking to get an XL200 and ECM for it though, keeping my armor and weaponry intact. Got enough money for it even.

And the last one is the 3A. Max armor, standard engine and 2 medium lasers and SRM6/2streaks with 2 ton (in whichever config) mean hes a nice harasser. The torso mounted missles are incredibly easy to guide to their target like the others, not playing him anymore due to lag and streak issues.

I see so many light pilots in this game who are piloting like they are an drunk Atlas pilot... They bump into everything and everyone and just clip their way through victory. Only thing they need to worry about are streaks.... Id like to see tripping back in the game to bring the element of skill and carefull intel gathering back in.... Make one mistake, trip or overheat and you are dead like it should be.... I miss running this little guy