245 replies to this topic

[Lanessar]

In a Flame, I've been playing pretty religiously for the last week.

I'm using a 300XL engine right now, with 18 DHS and an ERPPC, 2xLL and SRM6. I don't see how the FF internals will work in this mech and give you any sort of space to work with unless you're not running an XL engine - seems to "pigeonhole" your build unless you want to pay for upgrading/downgrading when tinkering.

My assessment:

1. 4xLL - damaging, but very boring. Heat was fine, actually reduced the DHS to 16 and filled the tonnage with AMS+ammo, more armor. I like at least one weapon to give some "oomph", a nice bit of screen shake, and LL don't quite do it.
2. ERPPC - I'm on the fence about this weapon. On the one hand, at 600m, it's a stand-up weapon with only a few hit or convergence issues. It's got a fast refresh time (good) and it certainly gets someone's attention if they get hit by a blast. Two and they're scrambling (even Atlases). Close combat, I'm not sure it's worth the extra heat. See my notes below.
3. 3xML really does some good damage in brawling range. I'd really want a 350XL in there to switch to ML.
4. LRM5 or LRM10 could make this a good support mech, but then you lose the close-up and personal punch that SRMs can deliver when things get close. I've given a 6 SRM to the face on a couple of lights and even with lagshield, they **** really quick instead of staying in your face.
5. While I haven't gotten the spacebux together for it yet, I'm really looking forward to the 350XL engine. Using a 360 seems like too little gain for the downsides if you are frugal with the bux. I'm casual, so 6 mill is a bit of work for me.

The other posters pretty much summed it up, IMHO. Mobility is key for this chassis. I think once I get it closer to 90kmph, survival will be much easier. Losing your arms basically finishes you in most of the energy-heavy builds, so going for the 4xML and UAC or Gauss build might be the best route, as you have enough weapons without your arms to carry a fight if needed.

I personally like 3-4 weapon systems, but I also have a MX500 mouse with 6 accessible buttons. Once I go over 4, it's harder to keep track of stuff or utilize all the weapons. On this mech, you really can only manage 3-4, so that works out.

Basically,the Flame is a highly flexible mech chassis which can be geared for brawling, support, or striking. It's speed possibilities actually make me want to get to master. I've never been interested in the DRG chassis before this, through 4 months of closed beta I never bothered to master it. This one really makes me interested in continuing with other DRGs, I'm just not sure on the Fang's layout.

On a tangent:

I'd really enjoy this chassis more if the ERPPC was a more reliable weapon. Seems like 1 in 10 shots (even stationary) it does no damage, even though it appears to hit the torso/arm. In close combat, this becomes very evident. I've shot through a mech's head at close range and it apparently had a convergence/arm location issue where it flew between a phract's arms and totally missed. While visually I can identify the convergence issue that occurred (and it was user error), it's not as reliable as a laser weapon. As far as the long-range experiences, even 1 in 10, make you doubt what you see sometimes. I have an AC phract, and I don't get the misses like I do with the ERPPC, and since they are both "projectile" in nature (and both arm-mounted), I have some questions about why the behavior is so different for me from one weapon to the other. Granted, this is experience from about 50 matches thus far.

Edited by Lanessar, 27 December 2012 - 07:45 AM.

[Wintersdark]

I love the ERPPC's, but it's very hard to justify the heat generated. I've been working on my Dragon mastery (as noted previously) and playing with various builds - but in every case, while locations differ I've stuck to the Dragon hardpoint limits.

I spent a lot of time with a Gauss Rifle and 2xERPPC's. It's extremely effective at range, and hits like a truck in close combat, but you can't keep firing the ERPPC's long enough to be anything other than a sniper. Even with just two, no other heat generating weapons, and a decent thwack of heat sinks, you can overheat fast. I wish I could run regular PPC's, but without backup weaponry for close range that's a build begging to be ganked by... well, anything that gets in close.

Further, as Lanessar noted, I've found that very frequently, up close my ERPPC's miss inexplicably. No great lateral motion, crosshairs at dead center of a Cataphract's (enormous) torso at some 30 meters, and still neither hits. I don't have this problem with other weapons (the Gauss, for example, will definitely hit). At this range, even without the PPC's increased projectile speed, hitting should be virtually instant.

It's been my experience that even with my terrible laser target holding skills, Large Lasers are simply superior weapons in most circumstances. You maintain close-in DPS, and don't inexplicably miss. Vastly less heat generated. Save a crit slot and two tons. I'll eagerly await the tweaks to PPC's in January.

So, now I'm rolling with a Gauss Rifle, ERPPC, Large Laser, and 2 Medium Lasers (as much as I hate Medium Lasers - they're by too large a margin the Perfect Weapon in MWO, but that's another post entirely), and a 255XL engine(chosen because it was in my garage). Once I can afford a 350XL, I'm going to try a few different speedy hit and run builds, but buying and selling Dragon chassis's for elite rankings has been very pricey.

[De La Fresniere]

Really, I can't find anything comparable to 4xLL.

High damage (36) that you can place wherever you want, good range, decent damage per heat considering it's an all-Energy build, very good heat dissipation (19 DHS on my usual build)...

Aside from being fairly heavy and having all weapons in the arms where they're more vulnerable, it's pretty fantastic.

It's almost a shame. The Flame could support a bunch of different (and more interesting) builds, but the poor weapon selection/balance just doesn't allow it.

[Lanessar]

Well, for it's weight, it does pretty well. Looking at comparable weight mechs (sans the Catapult), it holds it's own. I would love another 5 tons, too, but 2xLL and an AC/10 is nothing to scoff at for a load out. 3xML or 4xML with some dakka and SSRMs is possible as well.

Boating lasers is always tricky, especially if you're running DHS. Using a UAC/5 with ML, you can get rid of a lot of HS that you need for a LL/ERPPC build. Just playing around lightly and centering around a UAC/5 in the torso, running a 350XL pretty much gives you all the sinks you need (14 doubles) to have a varied load out.

I've gotten the flame up to a 43 alpha with a 300XL and ERPPC, 2xLL as well as an SRM6. While not "focused", it does dish it out at various ranges pretty durn well, and pulling 600 damage in a match is not a hard feat.

[Tremendous Upside]

Lanessar, on 27 December 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

In a Flame, I've been playing pretty religiously for the last week.

I'm using a 300XL engine right now, with 18 DHS and an ERPPC, 2xLL and SRM6. I don't see how the FF internals will work in this mech and give you any sort of space to work with unless you're not running an XL engine - seems to "pigeonhole" your build unless you want to pay for upgrading/downgrading when tinkering.

My assessment:

1. 4xLL - damaging, but very boring. Heat was fine, actually reduced the DHS to 16 and filled the tonnage with AMS+ammo, more armor. I like at least one weapon to give some "oomph", a nice bit of screen shake, and LL don't quite do it.
2. ERPPC - I'm on the fence about this weapon. On the one hand, at 600m, it's a stand-up weapon with only a few hit or convergence issues. It's got a fast refresh time (good) and it certainly gets someone's attention if they get hit by a blast. Two and they're scrambling (even Atlases). Close combat, I'm not sure it's worth the extra heat. See my notes below.
3. 3xML really does some good damage in brawling range. I'd really want a 350XL in there to switch to ML.
4. LRM5 or LRM10 could make this a good support mech, but then you lose the close-up and personal punch that SRMs can deliver when things get close. I've given a 6 SRM to the face on a couple of lights and even with lagshield, they **** really quick instead of staying in your face.
5. While I haven't gotten the spacebux together for it yet, I'm really looking forward to the 350XL engine. Using a 360 seems like too little gain for the downsides if you are frugal with the bux. I'm casual, so 6 mill is a bit of work for me.

The other posters pretty much summed it up, IMHO. Mobility is key for this chassis. I think once I get it closer to 90kmph, survival will be much easier. Losing your arms basically finishes you in most of the energy-heavy builds, so going for the 4xML and UAC or Gauss build might be the best route, as you have enough weapons without your arms to carry a fight if needed.

I personally like 3-4 weapon systems, but I also have a MX500 mouse with 6 accessible buttons. Once I go over 4, it's harder to keep track of stuff or utilize all the weapons. On this mech, you really can only manage 3-4, so that works out.

Basically,the Flame is a highly flexible mech chassis which can be geared for brawling, support, or striking. It's speed possibilities actually make me want to get to master. I've never been interested in the DRG chassis before this, through 4 months of closed beta I never bothered to master it. This one really makes me interested in continuing with other DRGs, I'm just not sure on the Fang's layout.

On a tangent:

I'd really enjoy this chassis more if the ERPPC was a more reliable weapon. Seems like 1 in 10 shots (even stationary) it does no damage, even though it appears to hit the torso/arm. In close combat, this becomes very evident. I've shot through a mech's head at close range and it apparently had a convergence/arm location issue where it flew between a phract's arms and totally missed. While visually I can identify the convergence issue that occurred (and it was user error), it's not as reliable as a laser weapon. As far as the long-range experiences, even 1 in 10, make you doubt what you see sometimes. I have an AC phract, and I don't get the misses like I do with the ERPPC, and since they are both "projectile" in nature (and both arm-mounted), I have some questions about why the behavior is so different for me from one weapon to the other. Granted, this is experience from about 50 matches thus far.

Using FF wouldn't "pigeon-hole" your build at all. It will simply either be possible or not possible to run depending on what you've set your priorities to be. I don't build a mech out thinking solely about which weapons loadout I want to run. I build out based on the "role" I'm expecting to fill with the mech. If you're looking to run more of a long-range build and do most of your fighting beyond 270m, then you'll probably need to pack "bigger" weapons, more ammo, etc., and FF may not work or fit for you. If you're planning to engage targets at a wide variety of ranges or do a lot of striking/brawling and put a bigger emphasis on speed (as I do), then you'll likely need to settle for building out with a number of smaller weapons/bigger engine - and then FF is something you can add on to give you a little more weight to play around with...

It doesn't cripple you - and if it does, you simply shouldn't upgrade to it. I have 13 free critical slots available on my YLW. It's running endo, DHS, XL280, AC20, and 2 MPLs. I typically carry 4 tons of ammo on the mech, and if I skimped down to 3, I could run FF on it as well. Would I do this? Of course not. I "need" the extra ton of ammo, and there's no real benefit to gain from FF in this case. I'm already maxed on my engine size. I'm already maxed on armor, and I've got the heaviest/biggest weapons I can pack into the chassis there already. I'd have to "lose" a ton of armor to gain 1.2 tons - which I wouldn't be able to spend anyways, short of changing to something like a gauss rifle instead of the AC20 (which I have no interest in whatsoever).

On the other hand, I'm running a endo, FF, and DHS with an XL350 on my Fang and Flame DRGs. The Fang is running an AC10, 3 MLs, and an SRM4 or 6. By default, that mech comes with 320 armor pts - which is honestly pretty lousy for a heavy mech. Running FF gave me an extra 1.2 tons to help bump my armor up to 394 (it didn't cover ALL of that on it's own) - and that helps to keep my arms attached to my torso...

FF isn't something you should build around from the start. It's something you add at the end when it's possible. Simple as that... It's not as big a benefit as endo steel or DHS - but if you're sitting with an XL320 at the end of your build, and half a ton of free weight, then adding FF could help put you into an XL335 instead for a ~5kph boost to your top speed. Or you could use it to buff your armor up, add another ton of ammo, etc. There's absolutely no downside whatsoever for doing it. It either fits or it doesn't, depending on how many crit slots you finish with once you've set your build...

[Ryebear]

Ryebear, on 24 December 2012 - 10:29 AM, said:

350 XL
3 Medium Lasers
AC/10 +3t Ammo (can cut 1 tonne of ammo for 1 medium laser lower HE to 1.15)
SRM 4 +1t Ammo
Armor: 394
Fire Power: 35
Heat Efficiency: 1.27

So I settled on a build very close to this:
350XL
4 Mediums split into LA/RA groups
AC/10 LShift +2t ammo
SRM 4 +1t Ammo
FF/Endo/DHS no space or weight leftover
Armor: 368 or 394 cant recall which
Heat Efficiency is 1.15 or so

The short range of the medium lasers really limit the mechs ability to sneak behind enemy lines and rack up decent damage while being far enough away to not have to put myself in significant danger. Now I have to play the mech as a sort of quick reponse brawler/kill mopper upper. I can get anywhere on the map fairly quickly, dish out a boat load of damage quickly and get out quickly if things go sour, but I probably dont make many friends by taking the kills they worked hard on.

It really excells at finishing off mechs who retreat behind their own lines thinking they are safe. I can run them down and finish them off and circle back to my team's battle lines but doing this makes me exceedingly vulnerable to LRM or getting targeted by a light who I cant stop and kill without getting swamped by the big guys.

Generally speaking I die to CT destruction before I lose and arms and that is caused by getting overwhelmed by LRMs (3+ LRM boats focus firing pug stomping type stuff) or run into dual guass users (there is no angle that protects both front and back CTs at once to spread dmg) or after getting 2-4 kills in a prolonged brawl/firefight (at which point I did my job, could shut down in a corner, if my team loses, thats their failure not mine.)

[Gigaflop]

I use a Stock Fang upgraded to double heat sinks and Ferro Fibrous armour (which I added 38 points to)

I do okay with it

Edited by Gigaflop, 27 December 2012 - 03:57 PM.

[Raso]

I am considering getting a Flame. I put together a build here and wanted input on it before I committed.

[De La Fresniere]

Raso, on 27 December 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

I am considering getting a Flame. I put together a build here and wanted input on it before I committed.

Hmm... 20 damage's worth of aimed weaponry plus 20 damage's worth of spray-and-pray gets you decent enough damage.

However, your armor is low (especially the legs), you probably have too little ammo for your Ballistic weapon and your heat capacity/dissipation appears very low as well. You're suffering a *lot* from tonnage due to the Standard Engine.

If you insist on using a Standard Engine, I'd replace the LB10-X with an AC/20 and remove two Medium Lasers as well as one ton of SRM ammo (with one SRM4 you shouldn't need two tons). You'd still have 40 damage's worth of weapon but 30 would be aimed and 10 spray and you could afford to remove the two heat sinks so you could invest the tonnage into armor or extra AC/20 ammo.

Ideally, Dragons use XL Engines (a 300, 350 or 325).

Edited by De La Fresniere, 27 December 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[Raso]

De La Fresniere, on 27 December 2012 - 05:00 PM, said:

Hmm... 20 damage's worth of aimed weaponry plus 20 damage's worth of spray-and-pray gets you decent enough damage.

However, your armor is low (especially the legs), you probably have too little ammo for your Ballistic weapon and your heat capacity/dissipation appears very low as well. You're suffering a *lot* from tonnage due to the Standard Engine.

If you insist on using a Standard Engine, I'd replace the LB10-X with an AC/20 and remove two Medium Lasers as well as one ton of SRM ammo (with one SRM4 you shouldn't need two tons). You'd still have 40 damage's worth of weapon but 30 would be aimed and 10 spray and you could afford to remove the two heat sinks so you could invest the tonnage into armor or extra AC/20 ammo.

Ideally, Dragons use XL Engines (a 300, 350 or 325).

Huh, I didn't realize the side armor was so low. I'll definitely have to rework that build.


And after some minor tweaks I have this.

Wow, it's like the exact same build but it actually has armor and cooling and junk! (that was my first time using that tool, don't know why I failed so bad with it!).

I figure the build would have be up close and personal so while one might say spray and pray I say crit seeking. Admittingly, however, I may be trying to hard to build the Flame like a Hunchback 4SP....

Edited by Raso, 27 December 2012 - 06:17 PM.

[Wintersdark]

Raso, on 27 December 2012 - 06:09 PM, said:

Huh, I didn't realize the side armor was so low. I'll definitely have to rework that build.

Note that you can put two of those heatsinks into your engine (see the 0/2 on the bottom of the engine display on the CT?) and free up 6 crit slots.

I run my Flame with pretty similar armor loadouts, really. Side torso loss is VERY rare. The Dragon's CT is enormous, so it draws the vast majority of enemy fire. However, I run exclusively long range weaponry, and only fight up close in the mid/late battle, so I'm generally not subjected to focused fire.

However, IMHO you want more armor if you're going to be running 4xMLAS, because you need to be close, and Dragons - even fast ones - are generally too large to escape a lot of fire like lights and some mediums do.


Edit: Oh! That's an STD300! Why not pull off a DHS from each side torso, the STD300; install an XL300 and put those two DHS's back into the engine. You'll end up with the same slots used, but free up sufficient tonnage to maximize your armor.

Edited by Wintersdark, 27 December 2012 - 06:30 PM.

[De La Fresniere]

Raso, on 27 December 2012 - 06:09 PM, said:

Huh, I didn't realize the side armor was so low. I'll definitely have to rework that build.

Dragons are pretty hard to hit in the frontal side torsoes because of their huge center torso and large arms; it's one of the reasons why people usually get an XL Engine. With a Standard Engine though, you get a special bonus: you can afford to leave one side (the one with no Ballistic in it) much lower than normal. If it breaks, you still only lose a Medium Laser (probably at a moment when heat is starting to get high, too, so even less of a loss).

With so much weight invested into Engine power, you need to protect your legs. Damage from frontal and back attacks all go against the same armor value, so it can get stripped off faster than you'd expect, and losing a leg is usually followed by a very quick death.

Tuned, it could be a pretty nice striking/brawling build. It's got enough firepower, speed and durability.

[Wintersdark]

De La Fresniere, on 27 December 2012 - 09:51 AM, said:

Really, I can't find anything comparable to 4xLL.

High damage (36) that you can place wherever you want, good range, decent damage per heat considering it's an all-Energy build, very good heat dissipation (19 DHS on my usual build)...

Aside from being fairly heavy and having all weapons in the arms where they're more vulnerable, it's pretty fantastic.

It's almost a shame. The Flame could support a bunch of different (and more interesting) builds, but the poor weapon selection/balance just doesn't allow it.

I've done a few runs with 4xLL, and honestly it just doesn't work for me at all. I'm just not good enough at holding my lasers on a specific body location for the full duration - unless I stop, but there are obvious flaws with doing that. Also, heat really becomes an issue in protracted fights.

The LL is a pretty ideal weapon for the chassis, though.

I'm getting my best results to date with a Gauss Rifle (keep going to back to it, as it pairs so well with hot energy weapons), ERPPC, and a single Large Laser. The Gauss Rifle and ERPPC provide pinpoint heavy damage, and together can really, really wreck a specific body location on most mechs with a single shot. The Large Laser can supplement that nicely (pushing single-fire damage to 34, but more importantly provides a wonderful means of ravaging zippy little mechs that are tougher to hammer with the PPC/Gauss.

The Large Laser works as a very apt replacement for the second ERPPC I was running - the lower heat and tonnage provide extra sink space, and increases loadout flexibility.

All together, the three function extremely from up close and personal to extreme range, allowing me to play Sniper at the start of a match, without feeling disadvantaged once things get close up and personal (which, in any close match, they *will*)

[De La Fresniere]

Wintersdark, on 27 December 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

I've done a few runs with 4xLL, and honestly it just doesn't work for me at all. I'm just not good enough at holding my lasers on a specific body location for the full duration - unless I stop, but there are obvious flaws with doing that. Also, heat really becomes an issue in protracted fights.

Of course, everyone's got to go with their strengths. I'm pretty bad at using multiple different types of weapons on the same mech so I wouldn't be able to use your more versatile setup.

And yeah, the whole point of 4xLL is to put all of that 36 damage on one spot, so if you find yourself unable to keep the lasers pointed at a specific location for the whole duration, the build becomes pretty useless.

I'd like to point out that heat, while heat does appear to be a serious issue (you'll usually be waiting on it to go down before you can fire again), it's actually nowhere as bad as it seems. Large Lasers have a good damage-per-heat ratio (I think it's actually a tiny bit better than a Medium Laser's), and I can fit 19 DHS on the mech (resulting in great dissipation), so as far as Energy boating goes, this build is pretty damn solid heat-wise. Not as much as a build that includes a Gauss though, I'll grant you that.

I've tried Gauss and 4xML quite often, and while it works pretty well, I never get results as good as the 4xLL build.

Funny, I'd never fully realized how a player's strengths and weaknesses could have such an impact on which builds are viable or aren't (beyond what the mech can support), but thinking about it now... it's a big factor.

[Mahws]

Raso, on 27 December 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

I am considering getting a Flame. I put together a build here and wanted input on it before I committed.

Drop the LBX10. It's currently completely useless in MWO, so unless you really, really want to use it I wouldn't recommend it. It's current use is only in hitting lights, but that doesn't even begin to make up for the disadvantages. People will probably tell you it's for crit seeking, but in MWO it's actually one of the worst weapons in the game for doing that.

AC10: 25% Chance to cause ten damage, 13% chance to cause twenty, 3% chance to cause thirty. Every weapon in the game (except for the gauss) has ten health, so on any hit with an AC10 you've got a 42% chance of destroying at least one item and a 16% chance of destroying at least two. The combination of fire rate and doing enough damage to ensure item destruction when hit makes the AC10 the best crit seeker in the game.
LBX10: Crits are calculated based on one damage for each of the ten pellets. So you've got a 0.00017% chance of every one of those causing a crit (i.e. doing the same amount of damage to items as an AC10). And instead of hitting a single component those one damage crits are spread out across every item in that body part. It could be argued to have an advantage against Gauss rifles (the low health means you only need to get three hits in), but for any other purpose it's flat out inferior. On a side note, all lasers and the machine gun are also completely useless as crit seekers for the same reason.

Edited by Mahws, 27 December 2012 - 07:41 PM.

[Raso]

Mahws, on 27 December 2012 - 07:39 PM, said:

Drop the LBX10. It's currently completely useless in MWO, so unless you really, really want to use it I wouldn't recommend it. It's current use is only in hitting lights, but that doesn't even begin to make up for the disadvantages. People will probably tell you it's for crit seeking, but in MWO it's actually one of the worst weapons in the game for doing that.

AC10: 25% Chance to cause ten damage, 13% chance to cause twenty, 3% chance to cause thirty. Every weapon in the game (except for the gauss) has ten health, so on any hit with an AC10 you've got a 42% chance of destroying at least one item and a 16% chance of destroying at least two. The combination of fire rate and doing enough damage to ensure item destruction when hit makes the AC10 the best crit seeker in the game.
LBX10: Crits are calculated based on one damage for each of the ten pellets. So you've got a 0.00017% chance of every one of those causing a crit (i.e. doing the same amount of damage to items as an AC10). And instead of hitting a single component those one damage crits are spread out across every item in that body part. It could be argued to have an advantage against Gauss rifles (the low health means you only need to get three hits in), but for any other purpose it's flat out inferior. On a side note, all lasers and the machine gun are also completely useless as crit seekers for the same reason.

The LBX is a giant shot gun. That alone is enough for me to want to use it. I've actually had good results with the LBX10. I use it like I do a the SRMs on my Hunchback, at point blank range while on the go to break up armr across the center and side torso armor. When close enough and from the right angle you can expect roughly 5 of those to hit the sector you were aiming for and the rest to score hits adjacent to where you were aiming. It might not focus the damage perfectly but in a brawl no one has perfect aim and as your lasers rake across an enemy mech those 5 pellets might be what breaks that key component It also increases my effectiveness vs smaller, faster mechs, which I consider a plus.

Look, I know the LBX is far from perfect but it's cool and it is effective. At least I'm not boating up on machine guns, right? I know better than that!

[NRP]

Alright guys, I bought a Flame. I have enough C-Bills for an XL350 or an XL360. Which should I get? I'm leaning towards the XL360 because I could use it in other mechs.

BTW, the Flame is fun but you guys are right, it needs more speed.

[Mahws]

Raso, on 27 December 2012 - 07:52 PM, said:

Look, I know the LBX is far from perfect but it's cool and it is effective. At least I'm not boating up on machine guns, right? I know better than that!

I didn't say that it's completely useless, it's certainly more than capable of getting kills and dealing damage. As it is though it is inferior in terms of practical function to the other ballistic weapons. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying no one should use it, I'm not a fan of minmaxing super builds either, but it's not a weapon I'd recommend to a new player. It's in the same category as a Small Pulse, a good player can get kills and deal damage with it, but at the moment it's simply not as good as the alternatives.

[Wintersdark]

NRP, on 27 December 2012 - 07:52 PM, said:

Alright guys, I bought a Flame. I have enough C-Bills for an XL350 or an XL360. Which should I get? I'm leaning towards the XL360 because I could use it in other mechs.

BTW, the Flame is fun but you guys are right, it needs more speed.

XL350. You're pretty constrained for tonnage with big engines, and while the 350 presents an extra heat sink mount, the 360 is just more weight for (iirc) 5km/h. That 1.5t is very, very needed elsewhere.

[Selfish]

I've used a couple builds in my Flame. I couldn't resist the urge to try something non-traditional on the variant.

STD 280, AC/20 (3 ton), 4x Mlas was pretty fun. You can play around with the armor/ammo at your leisure. I originally ran with an AMS, but stripped it for more armor. I played it like a faster, stronger, better armored version of my HBK-4G(f). However, it doesn't utilize all the slots, and it doesn't have the impressive torso twist of the Hunchback. Plus, I have a 4G(f) for AC/20 grinding already, so redundancy in this area isn't really keen. The mech does it well, though, and it's the first STD engine build I've used on a Dragon that really pulls its own weight.

XL 325, 2x PPC, 2x Mlas, 1x SRM 6 (2 ton), AMS (1 ton). This mech build was pretty fun. You skirmish with the PPC's and crit seek opportunistically. When you have to be close you have lasers, speed, some armor, and a more accurate SRM6 due to the 4 tube. This is more of a traditional playstyle of the dragon, but it features full arm redundancy with energy--totally new!

I've moved onto something more traditional. XL325, 4x Mlas, 1 AC/10 (2 ton), SRM 6 (2 ton), AMS (1 ton). Even though I've weathered the dragon through the time before DHS/ES/FF/A, this kind of build is conceptually the same to the traditional skirmish/secondary brawler. It's just upgraded from SRM4 and AC/5 to 6 and 10. A sexy trade, and very handy in PUG games where roles aren't as well defined.