27 replies to this topic

[Crown Warrior]

Well, one thing about being a noob is learning the hard way all the time, from scratch
I have been playing with the Trial mechs and eventually have managed to put together a few mill to get the first owned mech. I, being a total noob, picked RVN-2X and since then I have been completely broke
This thing is so under powered, slow and has very low armor. Besides the fact that I rarely see anyone playing them at all, is this thing good for anything at all? Should I cut my losses and get rid of this thing?
I have even spent a lot of credits and XP points and upgraded it to the max, but I still can't manage to do more than 100~150 damage in any match.

Here is my loadout:
Medium Lasers: 2
Large Laser: 2
SRM 6 + Artemis: 1 ← the Artemis upgrade does not seem to do anything at all, don't waste your money
Double Heatsinks: 12
Standard Engine 190
Endo-steel structure
Ferro Fibros Armor

[Tonberry]

cut out the large lasers they are going to generate too much heat and put a bigger engine in
the artemis tightens the spread of the srms so you will hit more towards the centre of your crosshairs rather than all over the place
id suggest replacing the SRM with streaks and removing the large lasers and replacing with 2 medium lasers then put in the biggest engine that fits whilst making sure the heat is around 1.25
you can keep the srm6 for a bit more punch however
if your still not liking the build check out http://mechspecs.com/

Edited by Tonberry, 17 November 2012 - 11:57 AM.

[Kalthios]

Expert Raven pilot here. The 2X is a great little mech. Buff the armor up, use doubles and endo, don't need FF. Use an xl 200-210.

You can use 2 ML and 2 LL, but will need more heatsinks than you can fit while using FF and srm6+artemis. You'll need to drop ff, artemis, and switch out the srm6 for an LRM 5.

Alternatively, you could mount 4 ML and an SRM6 for some good damage.

If you are playing with a lance that has LRM support, you could pick up 3 MPL, a TAG, and a SRM6/NARC.

[CrazyPenguin]

The Raven is my favorite chassis. It's viewed as underpowered because the stock variants are, but with some upgrading you can have some great mechs. The first thing you need to do is to upgrade the engine to an XL, either a 210 or a 225. The extra speed increases survivability moreso than the extra crits in the side torso removes survivability. I prefer the 225 engine myself, as it's slightly faster and is only half a ton larger if you factor in heat sinks, since the 225 needs 1 external heat sink while the 210 requires 2.

My favorite 2X build is 4xML and 1xSRM6+Artemis w/2 tons of ammo, with nearly full armor (not completely full), Endo Steel, and many heat sinks. The arms are small, and you move fast, so they can remain comparatively unarmored. Fully armor your legs, probably two thirds of the time I die is because a leg of mine is shot off.

Speaking of legs, unless you're shooting at an already damaged mech, try to leg the enemy. If you shoot for the CT, your lasers will hit the side torsos and even arms as well, and as you're moving around you'll hit both the front and back. If you miss a leg, you will probably hit the other leg, and there's no difference between the front and back armor of the legs. You can take down heavies and assaults by yourself if you do his. Plus, you get more money from salvage by legging an enemy than by destroying their engine/CT.

Edited by CrazyPenguin, 17 November 2012 - 12:59 PM.

[CannonFodder86]

Not a Raven pilot myself. But i do have the 3L.

Try using:

• SSRM2, 1xAmmo
  
• 4xMPL
  
• Endo-Steel
  
• Up Armor to about 5-6ton
  
• Stack as many HS as you can

You lose the long range hit of your LL, and the weapons run hot. But you should be able to put out alot of damage in a short time. Use two weapon group one with all weapon on an alpha(SSRM wont fire unless locked so no worries), the other with them set to chain fire to mitigate heat problems.

[Dreadp1r4te]

Severe Raven enthusiast here! I love my little Squawkbox. I've driven all 3 variants with great success, and I'd love to offer ya some tips. I don't really endorse using lagshield as an advantage, so none of my Ravens are too fast, but they're fast enough to make heavier 'Mechs panic a bit!

So on my 2x, which is what you're working with, I use:

2x MLas, 1x LLas, 1x SRM6 + 2 tons ammo
XL 225 engine, DHS with 3 external HS for 12 total DHS
208 points of armor

So, your MLas and SRM6 are your primary weapons, and the extra ton of ammo gives you ammo to "waste" so to speak when shotgunning them at other light 'Mechs, but they really shine in the butt-touches department when you ninja around behind an Atlas and alpha his rear torsos. The LLas also comes into play here, just pick a torso and start focusing it from behind. I can usually get 2-3 kills a match, and respectable 300-500 damage per match as long as I'm careful. Don't ever EVER sit still unless you're behind an enemy and he's the only enemy nearby. Otherwise, use ninja alphas by weaving in and out of cover/buildings/hills while going full tilt, dumping alphas on the enemy as you weave around him and letting your heat cool off while evading. Your DHS offers plenty of cooling to allow ample fire, just don't lean on everything constantly and you'll be fine.

On my 4x, I run a similar build, but not quite the same:

2x MPLas, 1x SRM6, + 2 tons ammo
XL225 engine, DHS with 5 external sinks for 14 total DHS
224 points armor, 1x Jump Jet

Since the 4x is gimped into using projectile weapons, and most (good) projectile weapons are too heavy to use on a 35 ton 'Mech, I use the 4x as a more survivable ninja platform. With its jump jets and 105kph top speed, it can easily outmaneuver most larger 'Mechs; landing quick hits on the rear torsos with the MPlas and SRM6 bursts, and evade away before taking too much damage. You might be able to get away with dropping 2 HS and equipping AMS for some more defense, but I usually run with a team that has ample AMS coverage so my build can concentrate on effectively attacking from behind, etc.

On the 3L, however, I had a bit more flexibility with more tonnage available, a slightly smaller engine, and a few more toys:

2x MPLas, 1x SRM6 + 1 ton, 1x SSRM2 + 1 ton, TAG
XL210 engine (Stock for that chassis), DHS (can't remember how many sinks, I think 12 total
Stock armor rating

Same build as the 4x basically, but with the addition of the SSRM2 you now have even more Light defense, allowing you to chase off lights that might be harassing your Lance. Otherwise, it plays the same, and if your team has LRMs, feel free to light up targets with the Tag for increased accuracy/faster locks. Also, tagging a target (used to?) make SRM6 salvos fire narrower. I'm unsure if this is still the case since Artemis, but it might.

Anyways, I hope this guide helps you! Now I'm off to see if I can cram a UAC5 in my Raven 4x.

[CrazyPenguin]

Cram a UAC/5? Psh, you can cram an AC/20 in there and still have four tons of ammo. XL195, ES, FF, SHS. You will have exactly 0 critical slots left.

[LagomorphPrime]

I'm running a 3L right now with 2MPL, 2 SSRM2, and TAG. XL 280 for speed and 12 DHS. I actually have more heat sinks than I really need, and I don't use the TAG often, but they're just placeholders til ECM and BAP become useful. Plus I'm at max armor, which I'll trim a bit down the line as well. But for now I'm fast, decently armored, and can chew through backs and legs at a decent pace or flee any fight that isn't going well.

Oh, and if being broke is a problem step one is to dump that FF.

[VS21314]

LagomorphPrime, on 17 November 2012 - 02:26 PM, said:

I'm running a 3L right now with 2MPL, 2 SSRM2, and TAG. XL 280 for speed and 12 DHS. I actually have more heat sinks than I really need, and I don't use the TAG often, but they're just placeholders til ECM and BAP become useful. Plus I'm at max armor, which I'll trim a bit down the line as well. But for now I'm fast, decently armored, and can chew through backs and legs at a decent pace or flee any fight that isn't going well.

Oh, and if being broke is a problem step one is to dump that FF.

^ Only good build here,

Running something similar but using the BAP and Guardian Placeholders because that's what im going to be running come ECM patch.

[CrazyPenguin]

It's the only good build here because above we were giving 2X builds instead of 3L builds, and the 2X can't provide as good of a build as the 3L.

[VS21314]

Thread title is generalized to "Raven".

A common misconception, a good build on a terrible mech does not make that mech good nor will that build remain good on that mech.

The answer that the OP is looking for is yes, the 2X is indeed a horrible variant.

Try the 3l or don't do raven, no good clan is gonna field a 2X when it matters.

Edited by Mugi, 17 November 2012 - 02:48 PM.

[LagomorphPrime]

It can. The only major difference is engine size, but you can still get a lot of speed out of a 2X. I think any build with as much engine as you can fit and armored up is going to be off on the right foot in a Raven.

And Mugi, I was running around with my BAP and ECM loaded in too for awhile, but I decided since we have no ETA on either I may as well use those 3 tons for other stuff in the meanwhile.

I'll also agree the 2X is the weakest of the Ravens, though.

[VS21314]

LagomorphPrime, on 17 November 2012 - 02:50 PM, said:

It can. The only major difference is engine size, but you can still get a lot of speed out of a 2X. I think any build with as much engine as you can fit and armored up is going to be off on the right foot in a Raven.

And Mugi, I was running around with my BAP and ECM loaded in too for awhile, but I decided since we have no ETA on either I may as well use those 3 tons for other stuff in the meanwhile.

I'll also agree the 2X is the weakest of the Ravens, though.

Its going to be very soon most likely since the devs have it on the test center already.

You can get a lot of speed but its still too slow.

Go up against a premade with 2 gauss cats and you'll end up dying in half a second.

I would recommend before buying mechs for new players is to learn what the basic variant stats mean and how fast each mech can go in the end.

Edited by Mugi, 17 November 2012 - 02:53 PM.

[Dreadp1r4te]

Mugi, on 17 November 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

Thread title is generalized to "Raven".

A common misconception, a good build on a terrible mech does not make that mech good nor will that build remain good on that mech.

The answer that the OP is looking for is yes, the 2X is indeed a horrible variant.

Try the 3l or don't do raven, no good clan is gonna field a 2X when it matters.

Driving a RVN-2X right now... got 4 kills... top of the board.
Don't needlessly discourage. The 2X has 4 energy and 1 missile, and a dummy shield arm that can be used as a shield via torso twist. Don't discredit a chassis just coz you can't make it work. Just learn its strengths and how to use it. The only 'Mech in this game I discredit as being mostly useless is the Dragon chassis. ;D

[VS21314]

Yes, kills.

The most reliable of statistics.

I'm giving a fair warning, if you pilot a 2x consider switching now if you ever plan on doing any form of organized group vs group. It's nothing like a pug match.

Edited by Mugi, 17 November 2012 - 02:58 PM.

[LagomorphPrime]

It's not that the 2X is terrible, it's just not as good as having jump jets or a notably higher top speed. After I got my Elite skills filled for all 3 variants I put a lot of thought into which one I was going to keep and unlock the module in. I chose speed over jump jets, but it was a tough call. The 2X never really factored into the competition because after all the matches I'd gone through in Ravens I just found it lacking in the potential of the 3L or 4X.

$0.02

[Dreadp1r4te]

Mugi, on 17 November 2012 - 02:55 PM, said:

Yes, kills.

The most reliable of statistics.

I'm giving a fair warning, if you pilot a 2x consider switching now if you ever plan on doing any form of organized group vs group. It's nothing like a pug match.

(Top of the board in XP, 8 assists, 4 kills, 600~ damage... are those reliable enough for you? -.-)

While yes, the other chassis have advantages they also come with cost. I do PREFER the 3L, but the 2X is notably cheaper and easier to get into while still offering more effective firepower than the 4x. Just MY $0.02.

[CateranEnforcer]

3L user here. Been running in a 295XL, 2x SSRM2, 3xMPL build for a bit now. There's some decent fiddle room here as well. Some or all lasers could be changed to MLs, the engine could be dropped slightly, and you could even throw in a TAG if needed. Plenty of wiggle room for ECM and such assuming the Jenner doesn't end up being better anyways. The 3L does have more module slots than all but the JR7-K, but that variant has fewer hardpoints than the other Jenners. We may see more RVN-3L's running around once jump jets will require more than 1 to get the full usage out of them and we get some good things to do with the module slots.

[themoob]

For fun I made a mobile long range support Raven. 1x ER LL, 1x AC2, 1x LRM5. It's pretty fun and actually kind of handy in a firefight.

The only drawback is that if another light finds you, you're in trouble.

[Aetam]

I am Jenner pilot myself and only tried a Raven in the closed beta, but the Raven 2X has the same hardpoints as the Jenner-K.
I use:
4 med laser
1 streak 1t ammo
1 ams 1t ammo
xl 300 engine
232 armor
endo
ff
12 dhs
1 jj
You can run the same thing (except the jj) on your Raven but it is a bit expensive. The ams also isn't that important at the moment, so you could drop that and get more heat sinks.
You are light mech, speed is your weapon. So I would suggest a fast engine.

The 2X has decent hardpoints so your mech choice was not that bad. But you need more armor and more speed.