40 replies to this topic

[MartianMonkey]

I'm in the market to get a hero mech but not sure which to get. I like all of them. I've been leaning towards either Flame or Fang, but have seen some good ILYA builds.

[Pariah Devalis]

Flame is a fun one to drive, but Ilya is my baby. Flame is like an expensive sports car. Flashy, has some moves, comes with options.... Ilya is the Sports Utility Vehicle. It gets the job done. Not necessarily in the prettiest way, but in a direct and effective way. That is not saying that I cannot be effective with Flame. It just is a completely different play style compared to running an Ilya - at least the way I run each of them.

Wang is typically considered a bad buy, and I personally agree, and Fang is still up in the air for many - though I bought Flame so do not have any desire to get Fang.

[Demoned]

i love Fang but if you going fo the hero dragons try a DRG 1C its basically
Fang and pretty close to Flame so you'd get a good idea with it, so you would'nt regreat,
buying either Flame or Fang

but i tip with them
Flame is better at long range
Fang at mid to close range.

me with 2 other lance mates I'm piloting a Fang here
not the best game in the world but shows a little,
how Fang works and what its good at lol



if only we had more time

edit
spelling

Edited by Demoned, 22 December 2012 - 04:58 PM.

[AllOuttaBubbleGum]

I wouldn't get the flame unless you are already experienced driving other mechs or already have and love and have a dragon. Dragons can be tricky to use especially if you are trying to use it as a brawler. That said, I have the flame and two other dragons and I love the speed/armor combo.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Get the flame and rock an AC20 at 81 kph. Assuming of course you like Dragons, if you don't it's a terrible choice.

[MartianMonkey]

I'm used to running a HBK-4SP and 4H. I also have a CPLT-C1 that I play some. I'm about to get the K2. I've played around with the Dragon trial mech but never drove a PHRACT before.

[Stingz]

The best results I've gotten from my Dragon-1C is fire support builds, really fast fire support with an XL 360 engine. Dragons in general fight like a medium mech.


DRG-Flame pilots might opt to run a Grand Dragon, though swapping out the LRM-10 for SRM-6 might be a good plan.

DRG-Fang is pretty much a regular Dragon, with slight changes.

CTF-IM has a specialty x3 Ultra AC/5 build, tears mechs down like a Stalker with unlimited heat (Assuming you don't jam). I have been on the receiving end, it isn't fun.

Edited by Stingz, 22 December 2012 - 05:44 PM.

[ApolloKaras]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 22 December 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

Get the flame and rock an AC20 at 81 kph. Assuming of course you like Dragons, if you don't it's a terrible choice.

I love this so much more than the Yen-lo, that ac20 is in the torso instead of that damn arm.

[Ursh]

Avoid the Yen Lo Wang, because it has the least flexible build options of any of the hero mechs due to the limited hardpoints.

I have a flame, and I love it. It's the first Dragon I've purchased or used, and I think it's fantastic. Just remember that it's a striker or a sniper, not a brawler.

I've seen Ilya's used extremely effectively, and I was up in the air between the Flame and the Ilya before I decided to go with the Flame.

[Lugh]

I'd say why choose buy them ALL except the wang.

[Elizander]

Ilya or Flame if you're looking for something unique from the regular variants.

[Silvertree]

I'd say, don't bother with any of them. The C-Bill bonus doesn't add up to that much, and you're gonna have to play variants for XP to unlock pilot trees, so you're not gonna be getting the c-bill bonus most of the time anyway.

They're massively overpriced (seriously, $50 of MC buys fewer than 3 Hero mechs, and leaves you short MC needed to buy more mech bays for variants to unlock trees).

I bought a YLW (only one available at the time) and without a missile hard point it's really pretty limited. I'd say go for a Flame if you want to buy one. No major limitations like the YLW has. The YLW looks cool, but I can't say as how I'd repeat the purchase. That being said, Centurions are the least expensive variants to purchase, so there's a little bit less c-bill grinding to unlock xp trees if you buy a YLW. Overall, though, I think you'd find a Dragon more fun to play than a Centurion... Centurions are slower, have less armour, have less of a weapon loadout... generally speaking, you'll die slower in a Dragon.

[GaiDaigouji]

The ILYA is the best of the lot at the moment with the FLAME being a close second. The flame is underwhelming to me and the YLW just doesn't have what it needs to be special at this point in the game.

The Orion might be a better choice over a dragon anyway if what I'm seeing of it is true. No massive nose that people love to shoot off.

[Hex Pallett]

It all depends on your playstyle.

YLW is the only(?) 'Mech who can handcannon an AC20. Good for swagging around zombie-style punching every enemy you encounter. However the handcannon arm is also rather fragile, so stay with teammates until late game when enemy armors are low.

Ilya - you can put dual Gauss in the arms, so why not?

Flame/Fang - The two Dragons that have rather good hardpoints. Dragons are generally good for high-speed strafing runs, which is not exactly an easy playstyle. Besides, the two stock dragons other than 1C have ridiculous hardpoints, so you might wanna get both Flame and Fang if you're planning to upgrade the 'Mech tree.

[Elizander]

You can toss the 280XL from the Ilya to get a 90.7 kph Yen Lo with the usual AC/20 (4+ tons ammo) + 2 Medium Lasers. Probably close to 100 kph with Speed Tweak. The 280XL from the Ilya also works okay on Flame and Fang if you want more weapons for less speed (75 kph). I do prefer that they don't include XL engines on Hero mechs in the future to prevent the costs from bloating up too high.

This is generally how I complete my mech elite trees since I got Founders. I try to buy the appropriate Hero mech variant then fill the rest with c-bill mechs. Illya + 1X + 4X, Flame + Fang + 1C, gonna move on to get two of the Centurions to max out my Yen Lo. The rest are my Founders mechs with Founder + 2 others.

It's generally how I prefer to max out anything I am interested in, though I probably won't touch light mechs so much. My Founders Jenner doesn't even have 8/8 yet.

I understand that some people just want one hero mech and are not out to collect them. If that is the case the best ones right now would be Flame and Ilya, and Fang is a little better than the 5N if you are not out to have 3 Machine Guns or 3 AC/2s. If you want an AC/20 + 90-100 kph, then you might be interested in Yen Lo.

They are not limited edition items so you can take your time deciding. I'm still waiting for an Awesome Hero mech before I buy beyond my 9M.

[Ursh]

It wouldn't surprise me if they have Hero version of the Highlander when it comes out, or soon afterwards.

[TopHatCat]

Haha..... Poor Fang.

[Elizander]

TopHatCat, on 23 December 2012 - 03:31 AM, said:

Haha..... Poor Fang.

Fang is a half-baked 5N, sad to say. It trades 1 of the 3 ballistic hardpoints in the right arm for a laser hard point in the left torso which is good, but now he has 2 ballistic hard points in the right arm and he can't even use two UAC/5s due to having a lower arm or shoulder actuator. He can't use an AC/20 either.

If they were unwilling to remove the shoulder actuator, they would've probably made more money out of Fang if they swapped the extra balistic slot in the right arm for a missile slot in the right torso or something. He's supposed to be the brawler, but he can't use an AC/20 while Fang, the long-range guy, can. At least give him an extra SRM6 to play with.

[John MatriX82]

Ilya or Flame. YLW is way too limited with its hardpoints and non-existant arm yaw; Fang is too similar to a 1C with cbills boost.

I'm a nice Dragon pilot, but at the moment I'm holding up myself from buying the Flame, although the ability to run an 80km/h capable mech with an AC20 tempts me a lot. So far I've bought the Ilya and I like it, it allows several configurations.

Dragons are somewhat tougher mechs to run, speed is life for them and my advice is to first learn to master 1C and 1N, if you find them to suit you, getting the Flame may be an easier choice.

Personally I'll be waiting for more hero mechs to chose from, to decide if it's worth getting a Flame. So far I'm fine with Ilya and Founder Atlas D.

Edited by John MatriX82, 23 December 2012 - 05:22 AM.

[Krondor]

Flame is the first hero mech I bought, but I've also been piloting Dragons almost exclusively since the summer. If yoou're used to Dragons the unique hardpoint layout in Flame is pretty awesome (though you won't be able to run an ac/20 with an xl engine -not enough room), but having all the energy hardpoints in the arms opens up some fun combat options.