120 replies to this topic

[Kmieciu]

For me, even with 150 ping, Gauss is still king. It`s the weapon of a true professional. 15 points of pinpoint, immediate damage up to 660 meters with negligible heat every 4 seconds. No amount of torso twisting can save you. Combined with 89 kph means that I can engage each and every target from the beginning to the end of the round. 40 rounds of Gauss ammo means 600 points of theoretical damage.

Combined with 4xML and SRM6 you can tear through the rear armor of an Atlas and halfway through his internals before he twist his torso. I usually use only the medium lasers in circle fights, and save the SRM6 for those special occasions. 2xMPL with 2xSSRM2 might be better against non-ECM lights but against a RVN-3L it`s best to aim for the leg with 4xML and hope for a lucky Gauss shot.

High ROF/DPS builds are for brawlers. UAC is best on a Cataphract or an Atlas.

Edited by Kmieciu, 07 January 2013 - 11:52 PM.

[Verrue]

Having the funniest combat here with a team of 5 dragons lately (yeah , !!)


we tore up : 2 lrm catapult , 1 stalker, 1 k-2 catapult, 1 cataphract , 1 centurion + 1 ligth (didnt see him die)

Secret sauce to win : circle combat

They did have more fire power, but running around building in ice map helped much with the dragon speed.

anyway,

[Roughneck45]

Not a fan of your builds personally.

Gauss, 4 Mlas, and an SRM6 is still the best possible Dragon build you can have.

If you downgrade your firepower from that, you need your engine to be as close to max rating as possible so the speed can make up for it.

Also, sensor range, target info, and capture accellerator, should all be used if possible.

Edited by Roughneck45, 11 January 2013 - 02:44 PM.

[TheUnderking]

Personally I don't see how this is an advanced guide especially since you advocate MGs in one of your builds.

Now my personal favourite Dragon build is :
350xl
DHS, ES, FF
2 LL, UAC5 +4t

You won't get kills often, but you're a threat to everyone out there and you're just too slow to get lagshield.

[One Medic Army]

Finally got a working 1N build for myself:
LBX with 2 tons ammo
2x SRM4s with 2 tons ammo
2x medium lasers
XL 350

Not as fun as my 1C build, but I needed a third (after 1C and flame).
1C:
2x PPC in LT
2X medium lasers in LA
SRM6 with 1 ton ammo
XL 350

[Scrawny Cowboy]

Dragon 1N "Lizard Spit"

300 XL Engine
12 Double Heatsinks
Endo Steel
LBX RA 2t ammo
ER PPC LT
Two SRM 4's CT 1t ammo
Med Pulse LA

Absolutely love this build. Still have the speed for maneuverability and hoofing it to bases. ER PPC for sniping obviously but also sometimes in brawls for alphas. The build itself runs very cool, long as your are careful with your ER PPC shots but in close fighting you rarely come across clear shots for PPC's anyways. The Med Pulse and LBX make this an excellent light mech hunter; would use streaks instead of the two SRM 4's but given how ECM is I stayed with the nice 20 damage punch. I've gone toe-to-toe with a DDC, danced with two circling lights, and flanked LRM boats. This build lets you play any role and kick rear armor doing.

[HeliosRX]

Very interesting builds, everyone... Why does everyone seem to hate sniper and gauss builds?

Well, taking my inspiration from the 3055 Falconer 75-tonner...

XL300 Engine
Endo Steel
Double Heat Sinks - as many as will fit, I forget (using a mac atm)
Gauss Rifle + 2 tons ammo
1X ERPPC
2X MDLAS

I don't actually sacrifice too much armor for the build, surprisingly! Hit-and-run, especially with those long-ranged weapons, or dash up close and unload an alpha, then get out fast with that 81KPH.
What do you guys say about that CT missile slot? Is it even worth putting stuff there rather than going for more DHS or ammo? Does it really help in the long run?

[Malsumis]

I love to have range on all my setups. I find most players can't do much outside of 300m, and most setups are geared for fighting while hugging the enemy. So I've been having a blast using LL's. They work at range and in close just as good, and by the time most enemies get into that 400m range they are missing some armor or even dead. So with that here are my 2 favorite Dragon builds:

Flame

Endo Steel
DHS
XL300 engine
4 Large Lasers
1 STRK2 with 1 ton ammo

Rest goes to heat sinks and armor to your liking.

Can get hot if you only know how to alpha strike, but if you can play this build is deadly. I can hold my shots on any location with the lasers being in the arms and once my enemy gets in close they get a few missiles for good measure. I'll usually fire alpha strikes while at long range or fire 2 x 2 to keep constant damage on an enemy. Speed is 89 with speed tweak, and 81 without. I find 80kph to be a good all around speed and when you have the range this setup has, speed is not as important.


Dragon 1N

Endo Steel
DHS
XL300 enging
2 Large Lasers
1 Gauss Rifle (3 tons ammo)
2 STRK2s (1 ton ammo)

Rest to heat sinks and armor to your liking

Once again this setup has range. This setup will do just fine in tight as well. The gauss gives this build a little more sniper ability than the Flame setup however this build is a little more heat efficient. The LL's I usually fire together but I do have the one mounted in the arm on its own group as well. This setup works very well when in tight with the 2 streak missiles. I've considered swapping the streaks out for an SRM4 as well due to ECM, but haven't had too much trouble with ECM as the rest of my weapons do plenty of damage.

[Cerlin]

A thorough guide, as a dragon pilot I approve. It is a good place for people to start. When it comes to engine/weapons I feel a dragon loses its purpose if it it does not outrun other heavies. I always run at least an XL 315 (stolen from my catapults) and maximum XL 340. Any more engine and I have less firepower than a medium of comparable speed, and any slower a cataphrach can chase me down. I tend to not ever use all the ballistic slots in the same area, I would rather have an AC 10 instead of 2 AC5s. It is just personal preference but in general several of my builds are similar to yours.

As for play style, I play a dragon like a heavy cavalry. I am always charging around harassing other mechs, especially slower ones. With a speed over 90kph you can escape most situations and the dragon has enough armor for you to keep all your wingy bits attached. This is my best way of playing but I will say a dragon is heavily dependent on how you play personally. I am a terrible long range full speed sniper so I go for mid/short range builds with my dragons.

[UnseenFury]

340xl, ES, FF, 10 DHS.
101 kph with speed tweak.
Gauss+4tons of slugs, ER PPC.

Resaults:
8 games in a row:
6 games over 500 damage, 4 kills each.
2 games over 500 damage, 3 kills each.

The thing is a beast.

[Paul McKenzie]

confused why you would build your dragon slower than the fast awesome on some of these builds.

[Princeps Yarema]

This totally is not a mech for beginners. But the 1c was my first purchase, so my K/D ratio pretty much tanked until I learned how to drive the thing.

Anyways, here's my builds

DRG-5N "Hannibal"

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c46935b1597df5d

AC5, AC2, SRM 4, 2 ML, XL 300, Endo.

Waiting to get DHS, but this build is very fun. The AC5 + AC2 is a good compromise, I feel. Dual AC5's don't put out enough rounds, and dual AC2's just tank me with heat. This way, you get a bit of both worlds, rof + not too bad heat. SRM 4 and 2 ML do pretty well to finish off weakened opponents. Also, my ping is terrible so I can't hit lights for crap, which inspired me to put the AC2 on in the first place. The rof helps somewhat with lag shielding. It's totally an option to replace the SRM 4 with a streak.


DRG-1C "Hasdrubal"

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7a70da76ed7c8b8

This build changes the most, but the basic set up is always:

XL 300, Endo, 4 SL.

Again, waiting for DHS. I can't run 4 ML's since they're too hot, but 4 SL are pretty okay with heat but actually put out respectable damage. The current build I'm running has a streak to lighten up the tons and help with lights, and an AC/10 to give some nice punch. In the future, I want to upgrade to a XL 350 to highlight the speed of the mech.

Oh yeah, here's something I learned from experience: BE SURE TO PUT ARMOR ON YOUR REAR. One of the Dragon's strengths is to be able to run away, so your backside is going to see more enemy fire than usual.

Edited by Princeps Yarema, 02 February 2013 - 04:16 PM.

[TechKnight1337]

After a lot of work, I'm finally happy with my Dragon 1C. I don't like ballistics, particularly at speed, hence this build.
DRG-1C

[khorazy]

Im running a 1n atm with 1x lbx10 2x mpls 2x srm 4s a 335 xl dhs and endo

Never runs hot and if u stick with the big guys and use your speed to skirmish most the time theyll focus on the assaults and if they focus on u well use ur speed and let the assaults do there job very fun mech tho

[slipshot]

the dragon build i enjoy the most at the moment is
drg-flame
shoulder mounted ac 20 (great for hills)
4 med
std 300 eng
all upgrades endo fero double heat

i find this the best brawler type build and i can dish out great dammage up front and can survive well without the xl eng
89.6 with speed tweak.

the xl builds are great to but i don't like the sniper long range builds with this as much as the cataphract builds that and listening to the other team yell about the dragon that just will not die is always a bonus. I avg 400 to 550 dps in a normal match with this build and the a shoulder mount ac 20 is great when your cored so you can peek out over a hills and corners without exposure of of your center.

Edited by slipshot, 13 February 2013 - 06:49 AM.

[TechKnight1337]

I recently got a 1N and built him with two LPLs and two SRM4s. DRG-1N build
I'm not sure what it is about this one, but it just doesn't seem as effective as my 1C (2 LL, 2MPL, 1SRM6 360XL).

Edited by TechKnight1337, 15 February 2013 - 03:12 AM.

[Lugh]

Verrue, on 11 January 2013 - 02:07 PM, said:

Having the funniest combat here with a team of 5 dragons lately (yeah , !!)


we tore up : 2 lrm catapult , 1 stalker, 1 k-2 catapult, 1 cataphract , 1 centurion + 1 ligth (didnt see him die)

Secret sauce to win : circle combat

They did have more fire power, but running around building in ice map helped much with the dragon speed.

anyway,

Even more secret sauce way to win..criss crossing alpha strike combat where there is no danger of running into or through your buddies...

COLLISIONS are coming back soon and bad habits formed now will be difficult to overcome when they do..

[Mavairo]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...4ad960c781df2e9

Fang build. It's a long range mobile sniper setup. Of course like all dragon setups it's best if you stay moving, and it's more than quick enough to stay mobile. I've got some other variants I'll be piddling with on it later, but that's the one I wan tto try out once I pick up the Fang. I had a 1N that was setup fairly similar pre DHS and pre current ER Large heat levels, that got me my first few kills so it'll be interesting to see how this fang stacks up and shakes down.


Fang 2.0
2 LLs
1 AC10
1 ML
XL320 engine
15 Double Sinks
Same armor distribution bias as the above listing.
With speed tweak it moves at 95 kph. And once you get your timing down, it's not uncommon to bag 500 damage, and score 3 kills or 3 assists. If people start looking at you funny and decide that they want some of your big CT, **** and present arms, STs, etc to them. Preserve that 60-62 front armor as long as possible, because you'll definitely need it by the end of a match if your enemy is any good.

It rips components off of mechs with frightening regularity. It's a variation of my 5N, just with a ML instead of an SRM6 in the crotch.

Edited by Mavairo, 16 February 2013 - 11:07 PM.

[TechKnight1337]

TechKnight1337, on 15 February 2013 - 03:11 AM, said:

I recently got a 1N and built him with two LPLs and two SRM4s. DRG-1N build
I'm not sure what it is about this one, but it just doesn't seem as effective as my 1C (2 LL, 2MPL, 1SRM6 360XL).

I ended up dumping the two SRM4s for two SSSRM2s, and now it's running much more effectively. I still prefer my 1C, but this seems like a functional 1N build.

[Irvine]

Flame
320xl
Gauss
3MPL
TAG

The tag+MPL combo helps with heat efficiency and targeting. If the tag can hit it so can the gauss