245 replies to this topic

[De La Fresniere]

I suppose every build has either space or weight to spare...

Maybe I'm biased. I was just trying to fit a Gauss with an XL 350 and it would have been doable if I'd just had a couple more tons free for ammo, so 1.5 tons (along with a slight Armor loss) would have made a huge impact.

I really do like the 350 better.

[De La Fresniere]

That's odd.

I just couldn't fit a decent Ballistic weapon (I only like the Gauss because you have time to aim it properly and it does all its damage to a single section), so I looked at SRMs instead. After installing a SRM6 and two tons of ammo, I had a significant amount of weight left to work with, so I traded my four MLs for two LLs.

Oddly enough, it kinda works. The LLs give me 18 damage at a good range and the missiles add another 15 when I'm close enough to hit with all of them.

Since I gotta get pretty close to use the SRMs effectively, I was thinking of trying 4xMPLs instead of the LLs, trading a lot of range for a good deal more more damage (18 -> 24) as well as a slightly increased rate of fire for even more damage.

Damn, I love trying stuff.

[Pariah Devalis]

I felt underguned at range with 2xLLas, 2xMedLas. I mean, it had its moments, but all it did well was maim people. After the 60th person was able to steal my hard earned kill, it forced me away from that. 4xLLas is nice. I am on the fence between the xl280 and 300. The extra speed is fantastic, but I go from an SRM6 to an SRM4. Still significant damage, however.

I also really enjoyed ERPPC, Gauss Rifle, 2xMedLas, as well. Ran cool enough and had a very heavy handed alpha strike. It actually hit hard and fast enough to go toe to toe with twin gauss mechs and make them worry.

Edited by Pariah Devalis, 21 December 2012 - 04:23 PM.

[Wintersdark]

Playing with Mech loadouts is the best part of all Mechwarrior games

I'm still trying to figure out a good way to keep my Gauss rifle, and swap out a pair of MLAS for a PPC. Need to scrounge up more weight to free. If I drop the SSRM2+1ton ammo as well, that frees up 4.5tons; still need 2.5 more. Have a 300 engine now, dropping to a 285 would free that space, but.. It's only 4kph, but IMHO it's at a pretty critical speed right now. At 81kph, only the very fastest Hunchies and Centurions can outrun me , and no heavies can. Going down to 77 allows cata's and awesomes to get faster and a lot more HB and Cents.

On the other hand, it would increase long range firepower, and I find the SSRM2, which useful vs. lights, doesn't really add a lot of damage to the average engagement. It's nullified by ECM, can't be component-targetted, and does little damage on its own. In engagements with minimechs, I find the primary weapons are more effective - a carefully lined up Gauss round educates Commandos and Ravens nicely. Mix in a PPC blast...

[Demoned]

just updated my Fang
XL 300 engine LB-10X 2 to of ammo
2 large laser's
SRM6 2 ton of ammo
12 DHL
heat efficiency 1.22

love it absolutely love it. me and 2 lance mates not our best, but bloody good fun

[Novawrecker]

Robert Corso, on 19 December 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

I was considering this AC20 Build. The build works out correctly in the Mechlab software. I havent' bought the flame yet so dont know if this will work in the actual game.

Std 280 engine
12 (11) double HS
394 Armor
FF Armor
Endo Steel Internals
AC20 4tons ammo, 4x Medium Lasers

I've looked into running a smaller engine for the Mad (Crazy) Dragon variant. I dropped down to a 275 engine, used +1 DHS (in engine), up'd the small laser to a medium (for a total of 4) and up'd AC ammo by 2 tons (4 tons total). This Flame variant still runs 81kph (w/tweek) and carries 12.5 tons or standard armor.

I wanted to thank you for the suggestion as it has helped increase this variants potention a tad more.

[Novawrecker]

Been working (excruciatingly) on Fang variants. I'll admit I have been spoiled with Flame's hardpoint layout. But here's my crack at Fang. Each configuration will run at least at 81 kph (w/Speed tweak)

Azure Dragon -

12 tons standard armor
300 XL engine
x1 U-AC5 w/ 2 tons of ammo
x1 PPC
x2 Medium lasers
x1 SRM6 w/ 1 ton ammo
x1 AMS w/ 1 ton ammo
+ 4 Double heatsinks (two in engine)

Coiled Dragon -

12 tons standard armor
300 XL engine
x1 LRM 10 w/ 2 tons ammo (only reason it's not a 15 was due to the blasted location the missle point is at and it's space restrictions *grr*).
x3 Large lasers
x1 AMS w/ 1 ton ammo
+ 6 Double heatsinks (two in engine).

Scaled Dragon -

275 Engine (standard)
12.5 tons standard armor
Heatsinks changed to Double heatsinks
x1 Gauss rifle w/ 2 tons ammo
x1 SRM 4 w/ 1 ton ammo
3x Medium lasers

Edited by Novawrecker, 28 December 2012 - 08:37 AM.

[De La Fresniere]

I tried a funny build on Flame.

XL 350
4xSL
1xGauss +3 tons of ammo

It worked pretty great for two matches. Fast, and 12 damage on a short Recycle time gets surprisingly good results. The Gauss is always good against large targets.

Then, the following three matches, I got absolutely destroyed by LRMs every time (though the last time was because a Stalker teleported several meters, apparing ahead of me and blocking my escape route).

I'm thinking I should start considering AMS. With the Stalker, LRMs are back in business and ECM mechs are often unavailable (didn't get one in the PuG or they went Light-hunting on their own).

Tonnage, tonnage, slots... it's really hard to make it work.

[Buffie]

Since I haven't seen it yet:

355XL
4xMLAS
1xSRM6
1xUAC/5

4 tons UAC ammo
1 ton SRM ammo
320 armor, much shifted from legs to torso

The UAC lets you tag people at a decent range & is good for suppression & getting assists at range, but where it shines is inside 250m. Try to play it like a commando & get behind your target or split them off. Conserve the SRM ammo & only take close, sure shots, otherwise, pepper generously with UAC & MLAS fire & if they overheat, move in & alpha until enemy mech is golden brown. Remember, your UAC shoots high left up close, so put your crosshair just at their nose & your UAC and SRM will land perfectly on target inside 150m (especially if they're moving).

Heat can be an issue (mostly just in Cautic Valley) so I try to stick to the UAC if I can & only open up when I know I can hit. Stick & move, stick & move.

[Ryebear]

Flame:
2 LLs, 1 in each arm
AC/10 in Torso
SRM 4 in CT (SRM 6 spits out 4 then 2 missiles which is crappier)
12 DHS
300XL
Armor at 368
Heat Efficiency at 1.15

Managed my first 6 kill/2 assists round with this build (With a TK and my volley that killed the last enemy ended in me suiciding)

Edited by Ryebear, 22 December 2012 - 04:43 PM.

[Xenon Codex]

Robert Corso, on 19 December 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:

I was considering this AC20 Build. The build works out correctly in the Mechlab software. I havent' bought the flame yet so dont know if this will work in the actual game.

Std 280 engine
12 (11) double HS
394 Armor
FF Armor
Endo Steel Internals
AC20 4tons ammo, 4x Medium Lasers

I've been having a lot of fun with this build, now that I finally got the AC/20 firing delay and lag compensation halfway figured out. I went with a STD 300 as I've realized that with my play style in the Dragon it's not so much top speed, but the overall responsiveness of the Mech afforded by the larger engine (torso twist, braking and acceleration) that is important. My final build looks a bit heat inefficient at 1.06, but it's not too bad in the field since you won't be firing the AC/20 constantly. I have each set of arm lasers in groups 1 & 2, and the AC/20 in group 3, so it's easy to manage.


STD 300 engine (90 kph with speed tweak, it's a full 10% now!)
11 DHS (put the extra in arms to absorb damage)
358 FF Armor
AC/20 3 tons ammo, 4x Medium Lasers

Lately I've been averaging about 2 kills per game with lots of assists. However, it's not so much the damage or kills, it's the sheer exhilaration of launching an AC/20 slug into a mech and watching the pieces go flying!

[Bhael Fire]

Voo4386, on 18 December 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

Works best if you are the type to stay back out of combat or you just enjoy some sniping from time to time.

XL300
Endo Steel
DHS

LA - 1x PPC and 1x Large Laser
RA - 1x PPC and 1x Large Laser

16 double heatsinks.

Nice build. I use a similar build for my Flame, but swapped out the PPCs for Pulse LLAS.
Also, I grouped the LLAS/PLLAS in the left arm to the left mouse and the right arm to the right mouse. Helps when shooting from around corners.

[Laniarty]

350XL (103kph speed tweak)
ES
FF

2x ML
1x LL
1x PPC
1x SRM6 (2T ammo)
AMS (1T ammo)
14 double heatsinks

1 ML in each arm, PPC in right arm and LL in left arm. I use the PPC and LL when closing, and stop using the PPC in knife range and switch to the SRM and MLs.

Edited by Laniarty, 23 December 2012 - 07:41 AM.

[De La Fresniere]

I've been trying the 4xLL again and I'll admit it's pretty damn good.

Cons: high heat generation, heavy so you can't equip a 350 Engine, highly vulnerable to being disarmed.

Pros: good range, good immediate damage potential (find someone, deal 100+ damage in the first 8 seconds), and most importantly it's highly accurate so you can choose where to put your damage.

I think I'm going to try going for legs in the next few matches. Many fools stripping leg armor.

Setup is this:

XL 300
4xLL
19 DHS
Max (400) armor

You can't fire often, so place your shots well. Don't forget to turn to redirect damage to your less damaged parts when you're not firing.

[Daekar]

I ran the 4x LrgLas build with an XL300 for a while, but it was boring. Not quite easymode, but not very interesting to play for long periods. Right now my Flame is hosting 4xMedLas, 1x LB10X, 1xLRM10. Don't know if the LRMs are worth it or not, might swap for SRM6.
At one point I tried 2xERPPCs and 1xLRM10, but hit detection for PPCs is so bad at anything but long range that I gave up. In particular, there was a Catapult I ended up brawling with. According to my reticle, I must've put at least 90-100 damage into his armor-stripped CT, and more on other locations. He never seemed to take any damage despite a blinking reticle and armor doll.... so I dropped PPCs altogether.

[AxeHammer]

I've been having a blast with this build as its better for High Ping situations {playing from china} than hoping for a hit with ballistics.

Xl-360
2 x LLas
2 x Mlas
Streak Srm
1 ton ammo
AMS
1 ton ammo
5 x DHS
Max armor on the arms and side torso.

Top Speed 106kph
Heat Eff. 1.18

Not a brawler, more like a fast skirmisher.
Plays very well in conquest due to its speed, but in assault one needs to play a support role and hang out with the ECM atlas

[HeliosRX]

Wintersdark, on 21 December 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:

Playing with Mech loadouts is the best part of all Mechwarrior games

I'm still trying to figure out a good way to keep my Gauss rifle, and swap out a pair of MLAS for a PPC. Need to scrounge up more weight to free. If I drop the SSRM2+1ton ammo as well, that frees up 4.5tons; still need 2.5 more. Have a 300 engine now, dropping to a 285 would free that space, but.. It's only 4kph, but IMHO it's at a pretty critical speed right now. At 81kph, only the very fastest Hunchies and Centurions can outrun me , and no heavies can. Going down to 77 allows cata's and awesomes to get faster and a lot more HB and Cents.

On the other hand, it would increase long range firepower, and I find the SSRM2, which useful vs. lights, doesn't really add a lot of damage to the average engagement. It's nullified by ECM, can't be component-targetted, and does little damage on its own. In engagements with minimechs, I find the primary weapons are more effective - a carefully lined up Gauss round educates Commandos and Ravens nicely. Mix in a PPC blast...

I'm actually unsure as to why you seem to be having trouble squeezing in a PPC. From your description last page, I assume you're currently running PPC, 2 MLas, and a Gauss, which would add up to 24 tons of weaponry if you do decide to knock off the near-worthless single SSRM2. This does not include variable ammo amounts. I happen to be running 2 ERLLas and a Gauss for 25 tons, and I'm not finding any significant problems besides Heat (cannot Alpha more tha 6 times in row, but that's already good enough for the support role I run) and a XL300 engine and 15 or so DHS. I also armor myself into the 320/330s range, whih isn't shabby... Given my present build I'm not quite sure why you have a lack of available tonnage... I'm assuming DHS, btw. Could you please elaborate on your current build so that I can make recommendations?

Pardon my somewhat sketchy English; typing on an iPhone on a bus is hardly optimal.

[Wintersdark]

HeliosRX, on 23 December 2012 - 11:51 PM, said:

I'm actually unsure as to why you seem to be having trouble squeezing in a PPC. From your description last page, I assume you're currently running PPC, 2 MLas, and a Gauss, which would add up to 24 tons of weaponry if you do decide to knock off the near-worthless single SSRM2. This does not include variable ammo amounts. I happen to be running 2 ERLLas and a Gauss for 25 tons, and I'm not finding any significant problems besides Heat (cannot Alpha more tha 6 times in row, but that's already good enough for the support role I run) and a XL300 engine and 15 or so DHS. I also armor myself into the 320/330s range, whih isn't shabby... Given my present build I'm not quite sure why you have a lack of available tonnage... I'm assuming DHS, btw. Could you please elaborate on your current build so that I can make recommendations?

Pardon my somewhat sketchy English; typing on an iPhone on a bus is hardly optimal.

Endo steel, DHS, 384 tons of armor, XL300 engine, 4xMLAS, Gauss Rifle + 3 tons, AMS + 1 ton, 16 heat sinks. Already pulled the SSRM2, replaced with heat sinks while I'm fiddling. I tried with a variety of other SRM's, but they don't offer much. A single SSRM does very little (and is useless with ECM). I've tried with the various SRMx's, but not with a lot of use. I'm finding a single 2 or 4 isn't really a lot of damage to be worth the tonnage (with ammo) and the 6 is just too big - have to give up too much to wedge it in.

Anyways, with the 4xMLAS and SRM, I had to get closer, which leads to more smacking, requiring more armor I want to move over to PPC's (or, ideally, ERPPC's so I'm not crippled up close). In a perfect world, two of them, but I'm unsure of my ability to control the heat.

Increase engagement ranges, and most importantly for me to front-load my damage. I'm finding I'm terrible maintaining a hit on a specific location with lasers over their whole duration. Movement, terrain, evasion, I end up spraying laser fire across the enemy mech and doing little to any one spot. The up side is I end up doing a pretty decent amount of damage over a battle, the downside is I'm not killing/maiming enough. It's big, meaningless numbers, with the gauss rifle pulling all the weight.

I can be pretty accurate with the rifle, though, and find using PPC's elsewhere that I can be with them as well. So, while they may be technically not as good as lasers, in my hands they're a fair bit better.

I figure I'll have to experiment with less armor... But I get all vulnerable feeling that way

[Tenzan]

Any of you Flame Gauss users have issues with carrying an explody weapon in an XL torso slot at all?

I have a UAC/5 in mine which does a solid, if unspectacular job.

[Wintersdark]

Tenzan, on 24 December 2012 - 03:52 AM, said:

Any of you Flame Gauss users have issues with carrying an explody weapon in an XL torso slot at all?

I have a UAC/5 in mine which does a solid, if unspectacular job.

No. Because if they're critting your side torso, they're going to be critting your engine in short order anyways.