7 replies to this topic

[ShadowThunder77]

should i get the Raven RVN-3L,Cicada CDA-3M,Commando COM-2D or save up for an Atlas AS7-D-DC??

[ShadowThunder77]

which of the above mechs should i get??

[Zynk]

IMO it depends on your play style which weight class is your favorite?

If it's just to "HAVE ECM" I would pick the Raven.

I picked up the D-DC but I need 2 more Atlas' to master my Founders but will keep the D-DC.

I'm also going to get another I like the commando but the raven already has ECM & BAP so I would have to free up weight in commando for the extra 3 tons for those 2.

[Aethon]

The answer is: CN9-A.

But, from the ones you listed, CDA-3M. It can be set up as a light mech with the durability of a medium, or a medium with ECM and good firepower. It works great as a support gunner, as you can carry a Gauss Rifle or AC/20, and present a rather small target profile to the enemy. You also have two little arm shields on the sides that can be used to soak up fire, so use them aggressively. I've elited my Cicadas and am working on Master (got distracted by the Centurion, though...), and I have to say, it's one of my two favourite chassis in the game.

[Sikosis]

well, if you're F2P the least painful way to get yourself to a D-DC the quickest, is to get in the awesome trial mech, use weapons grouping and cycle those groups . . . then stay with the biggest mech on your team that doesn't seem to be doing the dumbest things ( walking straight into the enemy, out of bounds, or in circles ) and when he targets something close and engages it, you help him blow the living crap outta it. Do that til you get GOOD. I mean you're living most rounds and have a kill or two, if not a couple kills then at least a decent amount of damage done with a fair amount of assists. After that point step into the cheapest of the lighter variants, probably the Commando 2D. For several reasons, it's the lightest mech (25tons) meaning it's not going to cost you a whole lot (around 3 million if I recall) . . . you can mount AMS / ECM and protect yourself and your fellow units, you can put SRM2s on it ( or streaks if you wanna dumbfire - aka fire and forget ) also have a medium laser on it (energy weapons are good to have) now you're actually pulling on energy two ways, the SRMs / Streaks & the laser. . .so you'll have to group the missiles and make sure you watch how many alpha strikes (firing all weapons at once) you can pull off on a target. . . if you run SRMs instead of Streaks you learn to aim (lead or pin your target on a proper angle in order to maximize the probability that your fire will hit and do the maximum damage possible - never thought geometry would come into a useful context in your life did you!) This will make the transition into bigger mechs where the possibility of ballistic weaponry will come into play, or that magical moment when PPCs (PulseParticleCannons) will come into your presence and the awareness of what that entails and once balanced will eventually mean to a pilot that has mastered ballistic & energy/ballistic weapons control will be able to do Think Happy Happy Joy Joy Thoughts Good Citizen! So back to the call of it all . . . the cost, the protective nature of the environment you will operate the mech in ( lag-shield love and goodness, no accountability or recourse for poor piloting <aka no collision> ), and the activity level you will enjoy with that relative comfort you'll enjoy as you trounce around the map with no cares dishing out what ever damage you can while taking great care to not present yourself to the 8 enemy targets that will half ignore you (while you kakkle with glee as you pick them apart from the back <invisible to their nekkid eye>) while the other half try to chase you down and draw a solid bead on you trying to figure out if its 15m in front or behind or maybe 30m at the 45 degree angle that they have to find and fire on in order to hit you! Now don't get me wrong, the ability to jig and jive, zig and zag all over the place like a drunken monkey kung fu master takes some effort and time to understand and acquire, so you will die and die a lot, but don't worry. . . it's not that expensive of a repair cost and it won't happen often enough to be a real concern

After that you'll have to decide if you want to purchase the other two variants you need in order to gain more access to the pilot tree skills and also keep an eye on your GXP grind, so that you can purchase the special tree skills. . . but by that time you'll have discovered a group of people hopefully that you like or declared loyalty to a faction and either gotten into Community Warfare or hooked up with a LoneWolf / Mercenary Company and hope that this mission has a better luck associate with the draw. . . but hey, you're not playing World of WarPanda, where pets battle and boys and girls hold hands and kiss. . . You're a MECHWARRIOR ONLINE Pilot!

"The dance of battle is always played to the same impatient rhythm. What begins in a surge of violent motion is always reduced to the perfectly still." - Sun Tzu

[ExecutorImperious]

The Commando has very little durability, so unless you are a master mech jock, it's likely you will be caught out of position and made short work of.

The Cicada will be a better choice than it currently is once autocannons get their projectile speeds increased.

It's also worth noting that the Atlas arguably uses ECM differently. The other three use ECM so they can't be found, the Atlas uses ECM so that it and their friends can't be found.

[Lykaon]

I would recomend the Raven 3L for a recon/E-war mech over the Cicada or Commando.

The commando is pretty much dependant on a 3 SSRM2 and ECM build.Few other builds of the 2D are seen in competitive matches.The commando's lower tonnage also preculdes the use of other support equipment that may benefit a team.

The Cicada 3M lacks missile hardpoints and as such can not take advantage of easy mode...er I mean streak launchers.

The Raven 3L can pack quite a bit onto it's 35 ton frame offering quite a bit of group support.

My build is ...

Raven 3L
Ferro fibrous armor (stock with 3L) near max armor minus 1 point on each arm and each leg
Endo steel
10 DHS
Beagle Probe LT
ECM RT
AMS with 1 ton ammo in H
TAG
2 med. lasers
2 SSRM2 with 2 tons ammo in CT

I am quite fond of this build as it fills the roles of recon, E-war and scout hunter equally well.

It is also worth mentioning that the Atlas AS7D-DC uses ECM in a very different way.I find that I run disrupt as we manuver into possition and switch to counter mode when hostile ECM becomes present.As such an ECM Atlas is generaly the anchor in a manuver to close into combat.

My Atlas AS7D-DC is a bit pricey as it uses endo steel and DHS as well as a standard 350 engine (61kph atlas with ecm)
My weapon loadout is

Gauss with 3 tons ammo
2 large lasers
3 SSRM2 with 3 tons ammo
ECM

on occation I swap the gauss for an AC 20 with 4 tons ammo but need to be more causious with heat.

[Elizander]

ShadowThunder77, on 07 December 2012 - 09:38 PM, said:

should i get the Raven RVN-3L,Cicada CDA-3M,Commando COM-2D or save up for an Atlas AS7-D-DC??

I was about to recommend the HBK-4SP but I see what you did there!