The Dragon seems to be one of MWO’s least-loved mechs, and the common refrain is that the best Dragon variant is a Catapult or a Cataphract - mechs in the same weight class that have better hardpoints, more armor, and higher tonnage. And if you want raw firepower, or if brawling is your thing, this is true: the Dragon is not the right mech.
What the Dragon has got over its heavier cousins is speed. If you like hit-and-run tactics, though - if you want to flank, turn circles around heavy mechs, pack a good punch, and still have the armor to take a few hits - then the Dragon is for you.
A word of warning, though - the Dragon is not a cheap mech to build. On top of the up-front price for the mech, expect to spend 5.5-6 million on an XL 300 or XL 350 engine, 1.5 million on double heatsinks, and another 800,000 (might be misremembering that figure) on endosteel internals.
General Guidance
Spoiler
Most of these builds are light on the ballistics. I find that the Dragon doesn’t have the tonnage to really take advantage of its ballistic hardpoints and pack an XL 350 engine, so I tend to favor energy weapons and missiles.
And let’s be clear: the XL 350 is what the Dragon exists for. With an XL 300 the Dragon goes a respectable 81 kph (89 w/speed tweak), but the important thing isn’t your absolute speed - it’s how much faster you are than heavy and assault mechs. At 81 kph, you’re somewhat faster than other heavies. At 94.5 kph (103.9 w/speed tweak), you’re a lot faster. The XL 350 will let you get out of fire much faster, and turn circles around almost anything heavier than a cicada. If you want to really take advantage of the Dragon chassis, get an XL 350.
I don’t recommend the XL 360, though. The extra 1.5 tons nets you only about 3 kph, which doesn’t seem worthwhile.
Pros - this build is for flanking and skirmishing. It has a good alpha (39) with a lot of burst damage, and at 103.9 kph it goes fast enough to flank, unload, and disengage. Or, one-on-one, it can stay behind most medium or heavier mechs. The ER PPC and LL also give it some decent ranged capability.
Cons - thanks to the ER PPC, this runs a little hot at 1.17 heat efficiency. For a more heat-efficient build, swap out the ER PPC for another LL or a LPL. While the SRM4s do good damage, they aren’t exactly pinpoint weapons.
1C
Spoiler
Anything that works on the 1C should work on Flame - except possibly better, since Flame's energy hardpoints are all arm-mounted.
Pros - this is a build for fast, pinpoint damage. It’s my second-favorite flanker, and the 4xLLs offer great staying power at range, too.
Cons - this runs a little hot, but damn if it isn’t worth it for the extra speed. It’s a little tight for crit slots, but this loadout hits maximum tonnage even with DHS. The main downside is that large lasers are not burst damage.
Pros - this build has great pinpoint damage out to medium-long range, runs fairly cool, and still has the speed to outclass other heavy and assault mechs (81/89 kph).
Cons - again, no burst damage. I personally don’t think it’s worth giving up the speed of the XL 350 for the extra DHS.
Pros - long-range pinpoint damage that puts the gausspult to shame (40 points) with great speed for a sniper (81/89 kph) and decent armor.
Cons - hot as hell (overheats on second alpha), useless inside of 90m, nearly useless against lights.
Other notes - stay near (but behind) your assault mechs. Make heavy use of cover to pop out, fire, and take a break to cool down. Remember to use individual PPCs when your heat is high (I like to assign the torso and arm PPCs to separate groups in chainfire).
5N
Spoiler
Plinker
XL 300 + DHS, ES
3xAC/2 (RA) + 5 tons ammo
2xML (LA)
368 armor
Pros - great DPS out to long range, good heat efficiency, decent speed. This is a great suppression mech - most pilots will go for cover when they start taking long-range fire from AC/2s. And if they don't, 12 DPS starts to hurt fast.
Cons - 3xAC/2 looks great on paper, but isn't very good at what I see as the Dragon's strength - getting in, doing damage, and getting back out again. The CTF-4X can do 4xAC/2 with more armor and not that much less speed. This build is interesting and can be fun, but ultimately I don't think it's that great.
1N/5N
Spoiler
Heavy Plinker
XL 300 + DHS, ES
2xAC/5 (RA) + 3-4 tons ammo
1xLL (LA)
368 armor
Pros - 2xAC/5 doesn’t have the sustained DPS of 3xAC/2, but it’s lighter, it hits harder, and it leaves room for a large laser, which gives this build some extra power at range. Heat is not generally an issue.
Cons - like the 3xAC/2 build, this mostly relies on sustained DPS and isn’t that fast.
Other notes - if you’re feeling lucky, you can swap out one of the AC/5s for a UAC/5. I find having two different types of ammo inconvenient, though, and of course the jam rate of the UAC/5 can be a serious problem.
Any Variant
Spoiler
Gauss Dragon
XL 300 + DHS, ES
1xGauss Rifle (RA) + 3 tons ammo
2xLL (LA and/or LT)
400 armor (maybe - it’s been a while)
Pros - this Dragon has good damage at all ranges, decent heat, decent speed, burst damage with the gauss rifle, and light-killing LLs.
Cons - this doesn’t excel at anything. It’s not that fast, not that durable compared to other heavies, and gets demolished by dedicated snipers and dedicated brawlers alike. The arm-mounted ballistics of the Dragon are very hard to use at close range.
Other notes - I consider the 1N the worst variant for this build, since its energy hardpoints are split between arm and torso.
All are optimized with ES/FF/DHS/XL. If Repair/Rearm still existed these would likely be too expensive to repair to be practical but now they're a lot of fun.
They do use 360XL's but in the case of the FLAME/DRG-1C there are literally no slots free for added equipment. My FANG has 2 slots free that could be devoted to something like a single SSRM2 but I consider it a hinderence to load 3 different weapon systems on a mech unless absolutely necessary. It creates added complexity and in the case of the Dragon adds only a limited amount of firepower. The difference in speed may be minuscule but it does make a difference.
Very nice builds. I've seen TruePointdexter's 1c in game, it was not as stellar of a performance as I've seen from his flame on youtube, but we had some pretty foul pugs.
I'm heavily considering going dragon next, having unlocked the effeciencies on my main CN9D.
How do 4LL actually do in game?
I really like the idea of the 350 XL with 4x LL as a light mech hunter. Sounds pretty devastating.
Very nice builds. I've seen TruePointdexter's 1c in game, it was not as stellar of a performance as I've seen from his flame on youtube, but we had some pretty foul pugs.
I'm heavily considering going dragon next, having unlocked the effeciencies on my main CN9D.
How do 4LL actually do in game?
I really like the idea of the 350 XL with 4x LL as a light mech hunter. Sounds pretty devastating.
I used to run for awhile a 4 LL 1 AC2 Cataphract 1X that worked well. I would imagine that as long as you could keep heat under control a 4 LL Dragon would work well. Something like this?
Very nice builds. I've seen TruePointdexter's 1c in game, it was not as stellar of a performance as I've seen from his flame on youtube, but we had some pretty foul pugs.
I'm heavily considering going dragon next, having unlocked the effeciencies on my main CN9D.
How do 4LL actually do in game?
I really like the idea of the 350 XL with 4x LL as a light mech hunter. Sounds pretty devastating.
With the XL350, 4 LL can get a bit hot. Not terrible, but you'll have to manage it. For hit-n-run maneuvers it is ok, but if you get into a circle fight (with a light for example) you'll need to watch it. I just re-built mine with an XL325 which added two more DHS at the expense of 6 kph. Jury is still out on which I like better.
Keep in mind that on the 1C variant, half the energy hardpoints are in the torso which limits their range compared to the arms. The Flame as all four energy points in the arms, which is good for tracking lights, but really bad when you lose both of them.
I agree with XenonCx - you have to take breaks to cool off in the 4 LL Dragon, but I find it's very effective. The damage is good, and if you concentrate on popping in and out of cover looking for distracted enemies, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the heat. I don't do as well in the XL 300 version, but it's a lot harder to overheat.
I'd love to try it out in Flame instead of on the 1C for the widest possible firing arc, but I can't convince myself to spend that kind of money on a mech.
I'd love to try it out in Flame instead of on the 1C for the widest possible firing arc, but I can't convince myself to spend that kind of money on a mech.
It's worth it. Flame is a very versatile chassis to build from. Think of it as a fast moving Hunchback that can use XL engines safely . Fang is only OK and my 1C was purchased just to get to master on Flame.
With the XL350, 4 LL can get a bit hot. Not terrible, but you'll have to manage it. For hit-n-run maneuvers it is ok, but if you get into a circle fight (with a light for example) you'll need to watch it. I just re-built mine with an XL325 which added two more DHS at the expense of 6 kph. Jury is still out on which I like better.
Keep in mind that on the 1C variant, half the energy hardpoints are in the torso which limits their range compared to the arms. The Flame as all four energy points in the arms, which is good for tracking lights, but really bad when you lose both of them.
I think that if you turn fast enough (max speed is faster than 90 km/h), you would never really have problems being unable to keep a laser trained onto even a very fast mech. I actually like the fact that 2 of the lasers are torso mounted, which gives you viability as a zombie bot after your arms have been blown off.
The alphas are very sustainable, and I find that if you stick with an atlas or stalker, you'll get a chance to lay down some very consistent pinpoint fire.
When I have a 350 damage match in this mech I'm extremely disappointed. 500+ damage with 1-3 kills and 4-5 assists is very common.
Sorry TruePointdexter, I just went to your youtube channel again and realized that it was a video of the CTF not the DRG! My apologies on the brain fart, and I hope you keep putting out more content. The way you layout your videos is perfect (but work on your torso aim with the ac20 haha!).
Sorry TruePointdexter, I just went to your youtube channel again and realized that it was a video of the CTF not the DRG! My apologies on the brain fart, and I hope you keep putting out more content. The way you layout your videos is perfect (but work on your torso aim with the ac20 haha!).
Haha not a problem and thank you! Some of those missed AC20 shots actually hit (hit detection in this game can be really weird) but most I'm going to just chalk up to "it was late and I was tired"
You can't say that triple AC/2s are bad for a Dragon just because it doesn't fit in with what you believe a Dragon is supposed to do. I've had a lot of success with fast fire support Dragons, and it that case the speed is still very useful for just getting to locations and keeping distance. The only reason why Dragon's do burst damage in the first place is because they can't stand up as well in a close range brawl, but if you stay out of those brawls entirely with long range weapons there is no reason why they can't maintain fire.
With nearly the same dps as a Cataphract, but with better defense against lights and the speed to get where they're needed most rather than being forced to hold their ground because they move at under 50 kph, I just love AC/2 Dragons.
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Viable for 1Cs and Fangs, the ER PPC/ Ultra AC/5 combination is great for long range fire support while still doing nice striking damage. The pulse lasers add a close range punch, especially against light mechs. And don't let the ER PPC and pulse lasers fool you, this mech actually runs more than cool enough.
Edited by Gigastrike, 27 December 2012 - 09:22 AM.
You can't say that triple AC/2s are bad for a Dragon just because it doesn't fit in with what you believe a Dragon is supposed to do. I've had a lot of success with fast fire support Dragons, and it that case the speed is still very useful for just getting to locations and keeping distance. The only reason why Dragon's do burst damage in the first place is because they can't stand up as well in a close range brawl, but if you stay out of those brawls entirely with long range weapons there is no reason why they can't maintain fire.
With nearly the same dps as a Cataphract, but with better defense against lights and the speed to get where they're needed most rather than being forced to hold their ground because they move at under 50 kph, I just love AC/2 Dragons.
Fair enough. I don't think the triple AC/2 build is bad, I just don't think it's very good - but that also has a lot to do with the way I play. I will say that it can be a lot of fun to play. Most people turn right around when they start taking 3xAC/2 fire from over a kilometer out. In fact, I'm going to add that to the OP.
That said, the reason I think sustained DPS isn't the way to go is that even if you're far away, you have to stay out of cover to apply it. The triple AC/2 build doesn't have to worry about brawls too much, but gausspults, LRM boats, and quad AC/2 Cataphracts can really tear it up.
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