27 replies to this topic

[Guided Bullets]

I have played the 8Q heavily and have over 100k of mech exp. Based on my experience, use the 8Q with 5PPCs. You can with 6PPCs but the tradeoff is the engine size. Go with DHS only, no other upgrades. In fact, i can alpha 4 ER PPCs then alpha 5 ER PPCs before shutting down.

The biggest disadvantage to this build is the netcode. Even if they buff the speed of the PPCs, you will not be able to handle light mechs at close range at all. Try it, do a fast torso turn left or right then half-way, fire a PPC. You will see that the PPC does not travel where the crosshair is. Its hard to make snap shots.

There is also a firing delay (which is true for AC20 as well..). When my finger presses the mouse button, then release it, then a few milliseconds later, the PPC animation is displayed on my screen. If i am moving, its usually not where i targetted the PPC to be. Sometimes it shows that the PPC hits, but the paper doll shows no damage. Sometimes it shows that the PPC misses, but the paper doll shows damage.

The second disadvantage is the weapon convergence. Because PPCs travel so slow, the PPC on your left torso will not hit at the same place as your right torso PPC. This is true when you and the enemy are moving. If you are facing the enemy mech and both of you are moving in parallel at the same speed, without compensation, your shots will often land on the targets behind him.

To get a good shot, you need to guess where the server is saying your enemy is, compensate for lag, compensate for travel time, check his vector and then fire. This means when the enemy mech is moving, it is very hard to land a hit on the enemy. To get a good shot, it is often not enough to just measure delta and compensate for that. This is because your enemy is not where you see on the screen.

However, if both mechs are still, it is very easy to headshot the enemy. I have done it to a Gauss Catapult, Hunchback and even Atlas without zoom at 800m-1000m. Once in a while, you can find such mechs.

Lastly, choose ER PPCs. The heat is aweful, but its something you have to deal with using this build. PPCs are neither short range nor long range, making it a poor choice as compared to Large Lasers. Lights, mediums, heavies and even assaults will swarm over you as they can encircle your slow 60kmh mech at 40meters radius.

Hope this can give you some insight to the Awesome and how you can make this mech awesome for you too.

[J4ckInthebox]

6PPC awesome = instant overheat.

but if your aim is good, it can be nasty. very. nasty.

[ShadowThunder77]

but is it "Awesome" enough to core an atlas in 5 alphas or less with presise aiming??

Edited by ShadowThunder77, 13 December 2012 - 03:43 AM.

[Frostbeast]

I play my awesome 9m with 2 ppc, 4 med laser, 1 srm6 (1t ammo) and 22 dhs. You cant overheat with just shooting the 2 ppc and you are good at close combat too.
I like the normal ppc more than the ER version. Because ppc cant hurt allies when they run before you and you hit them accidently (90m min range)

Edited by Frostbeast, 13 December 2012 - 04:07 AM.

[ShadowThunder77]

but is it "Awesome" enough to core an atlas in 5 alphas or less with presise aiming??

[GreenpuptheWrecker]

On paper, it looks like you can fit 4x PPC with a Standard 200, endo-steel, ferro-fibrous (or strip out more armor), shave off a ton or two of armor, and fill with 22 single heat sinks. This comes out to 1.11 heat efficiency.

I'd favor a more balanced build personally.

[ShadowThunder77]

u completely missed the pun.

[Jakob Knight]

On the issue of convergence, arm and torso mounts are very difficult to center on the same part of a moving target due to the difference in aiming speeds. Thus, you might hit with 4 PPCs, but because one or two of those are arm-mounts, those shots will not add to the damage of the torso hits, blunting some of the effect.

Loading up on PPCs to the point you are a one-shot wonder that explodes as soon as you fire does not help your team, especially since every mech in the game will survive one volley of PPC fire. You need to plan on multiple firings without becoming a loss to your team to make them work.

1-3 is the most I would go, and that would depend on how many heat sinks could be stuffed into every corner of the mech with the other items I wanted to put on it.