10 replies to this topic

[Kobura]

I cannot find a Raven-4X build that I can use. Cannot. 2LPL are fun... but... hahaha. 2LL, same. Can't mount a big enough engine to dogfight, can't mount enough missiles to punch without losing to the only good Raven, the 3L, ballistics are a joke on lights like that...

What exactly do you DO with this thing?

Oh, and keep in mind the space-high system requirements are too high for me to pierce the adamantine lagshield that girds lights, so good pulse lasering for anti-light while remaining ecm-independent is out.

[FrostCollar]

The 4X will never really have a hope of being viable until machine guns are buffed. The only way to fill both ballistics slots without using MGs is to use 2 AC/2s, and that build is just terrible.

Overall, I'm very unhappy with how the Raven variants turned out. The 2X and 4X are both up-armored and up-gunned variants of the original Raven, and yet in this game they're inferior to the 3L in combat as well as having no ECM.

If any Raven should have inferior engine options, it should be the 3L.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Cram an AC20 in it and sneak behind atlas' and shoot them in the back.

[Alistair Winter]

I agree that the Raven 2X and 4x are very hard to figure out. I must have tried fourty different builds before I reached master level. Eventually, I ended up with the following builds;

4X: 2 medium pulse lasers, 1 Streak SRM2, 2 machine guns, 1 AMS. XL Engine 210, max speed 97.2. No jump jets.
Not as good as other light mechs, but at least it looks cooler. You basically have to lay low untill enemy mechs have been stripped of armour and then try to finish them off. Hey, Ravens are supposed to be vultures anyway, right? Also tried an AC2 and LRM 5 combination, when jump jets were still worth their weight, which gave a lot of kill assists, but few kills.

2X: 1 ER PPC,1 LRM 15, XL Engine 245, max speed 113.4.
I love this combination against heavy mechs, but you're basically screwed if any light mechs come over to have a chat, so you really need to pay attention to your positioning. The great thing about sniping with a Raven with this engine is that A) You're fast, so you can get into good positions very quickly and It takes you 1 second to move in and out of cover.

I would probably go for more energy weapons on the 2X, but the right arm looks fugly with energy weapons equipped. And the most important thing in any game is to look good.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 22 December 2012 - 05:24 PM.

[Kobura]

Alistair Winter, on 22 December 2012 - 05:23 PM, said:

I agree that the Raven 2X and 4x are very hard to figure out. I must have tried fourty different builds before I reached master level. Eventually, I ended up with the following builds;

4X: 2 medium pulse lasers, 1 Streak SRM2, 2 machine guns, 1 AMS. XL Engine 210, max speed 97.2. No jump jets.
Not as good as other light mechs, but at least it looks cooler. You basically have to lay low untill enemy mechs have been stripped of armour and then try to finish them off. Hey, Ravens are supposed to be vultures anyway, right? Also tried an AC2 and LRM 5 combination, when jump jets were still worth their weight, which gave a lot of kill assists, but few kills.

2X: 1 ER PPC,1 LRM 15, XL Engine 245, max speed 113.4.
I love this combination against heavy mechs, but you're basically screwed if any light mechs come over to have a chat, so you really need to pay attention to your positioning. The great thing about sniping with a Raven with this engine is that A) You're fast, so you can get into good positions very quickly and It takes you 1 second to move in and out of cover.

I would probably go for more energy weapons on the 2X, but the right arm looks fugly with energy weapons equipped. And the most important thing in any game is to look good.

I like you. Constructive criticism.

I used an LRM15 on the 4X and it was actually fairly fun, but I got snubbed by one of the ubiquitous 3Ls within a few seconds most games. I've also tried 2xMPL and an SRM6 with good armor, AMS, etc. My current thing to do is a SSRM2 and BAP, AMS etc. Serve some purpose even before my weapons come into play.

Too bad the jumps are useless. Just can't do anything with them. They got nerfed into terrible... the worst part is that PGI's math is right, but the maps are ridiculous in their scale. An actual TT battle map of these maps would be a clusterscrew of heights and depths and such. TT JJ would be useless on those maps too if following the maximum JJ elevation rules (can vertically reach half of max long-distance jump) since most mechs would be allowed to rise between three and four elevations (one and a half to two mechs' heights).

The maps don't translate well, whatever. Adjust the in-game rules to compensate, and fortunately I hear they're planning on it.

[Owlfeathers]

Never used a 2X, but the 4X build that I use has 2 ERLLs, an XL 220 engine, 15 Double Heat Sinks, 5 Jump Jets, and the Advanced Zoom and Sensor Range modules. It has greatly reduced armor however, but it makes a very good sniper and can fire nearly continuously with the number of heat sinks it has.

[ohtochooseaname]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 22 December 2012 - 05:11 PM, said:

Cram an AC20 in it and sneak behind atlas' and shoot them in the back.

No one expects an AC20 in a raven.... Couple that with some small lasers and you have a decent build if everyone ignores you so you can run up behind them.

[Solis Obscuri]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 22 December 2012 - 05:11 PM, said:

Cram an AC20 in it and sneak behind atlas' and shoot them in the back.

Yeah, seriously, Gauss and AC/20 Ravens are a (literal) pain in the *** if played well.

[QuantumButler]

All ravens should just be able to take ECM, no beating around the bush necessary.

The one with MGs will still be crap but you could have a gimmicky gaussraven with ECM or something, the other one might actually be marginally useful as a slower Raven that provides the rest of the group with ECM fire and more firepower support.

[Dirus Nigh]

I've used the 2x and 4x rather well. Both as a sniper and as an out rider for brawlers.

My two snipers

1 ER PPC, LRM10, and TAG.

1 ER large laser, LRM15, TAG

I've used BAP with both, and put a small laser in the 2x. The TAG goes in the arm so I can TAG targets and shoot them with my main weapon when above a target. I don't use AMS because I can use terrain to shield myself from LRMs.

My two close range mechs are identical to each other.

2x
2 medium pulse lasers, SRM6, TAG.

4x 2 medium pulse lasers, SRM6, BAP

I've used both the standard 175 engine and 210 XL. If you stick with your brawlers, atlases, and hunchbacks, you can do allot of damage getting in behind targets while they face the larger mechs.

[Kmieciu]

Since I need to unlock basic pilot efficiencies for a Raven I`ve come up with those builds:

2x: 4xML SRM4 STD245, 11DHS, Endo, full armor. That`s actually a stock JR7-D without heat issues and better hit boxes*. (113.4 kph without speed tweek.) It has, in theory, more firepower that a typical RVN-3L (3xML 2xSSRM2), more survivability, but less speed. So when a 1vs1 fight is unavoidable the correct strategy is to try to take the 3L head on.

*Raven is more suited for a standard engine than a Jenner, because it has bigger side torsos. I often loose my side torsos in my Raven, but keep on fighting.


Raven 4x: while Gauss and AC20 are good for a laugh, with an XL195 you can only go 90 kph. A slow light mech with XL engine for a brawler? Bad idea. I`m thinking more of 2xLL LRM10 support?