28 replies to this topic

[Markador]

I mastered the 3 non-hero Dragons as my first 3 mechs in the game, and decided that since the Dragon is my favorite mech, I would get the Flame since it shares the same hardpoints as the DRG-1C which I had the most success with. I eventually convinced myself to get the Fang just to master all of the Dragons even though I wasn't too fond of the mech's hardpoints setup and had seen people tending to dislike it. I thought it was pretty cool that MadPanda showed a loadout for the Flame, and that I had been using that same exact build for my Flame (and previously my DRG-1C) for a while up until recently, except on an XL 360, so I thought I'd share what I'm currently using for my Flame and Fang (I sold all 3 of my non-hero variants).

My Flame loadout:
4 Medium Laser
1 LB 10-X AC - 2 tons ammo (I've been thinking about switching to an AC/10 and losing 1 Double heat sink)
1 Streak SRM 2 - 1 ton ammo
1 AMS - 1 ton ammo
Endo-Steel
12 Double heat sinks
336/402 Armor
XL Engine 360

When I was considering buying the Fang, I convinced myself to get it because I told myself I would try a long-range support Dragon Loadout. Even if I failed with it, I would have the satisfaction of mastering all of the Dragons. Fortunately, I've had a lot of fun with a different playstyle.

My Fang loadout:
2 Medium Laser
2 AC/2 - 2 tons ammo
PPC
LRM 10 - 2 tons ammo
AMS - 1 ton ammo
Endo-Steel
Ferro-Fibrous
11 Double Heat Sinks
321/402 Armor
XL Engine 300

Edited by Markador, 12 January 2013 - 09:32 AM.

[Ophidian]

A fellow Dragon enthusiast! Well, the Dragon is currently my primary mech and I've....dabbled in quite a few loadouts. I present them here for your perusal and hope that they will serve you as well as they have for myself.

FLAME
This was my first mech in Open Beta and I love it so. It has the speed and firepower to worry light mechs and the rugged armor to let it run right through a pack of assault mechs without dying (assuming you do so at full speed). Utilize your allies to their fullest potential as tanks while you swing around to the enemy's rear and blow the ever-living crap out of him. Remember, this mech is not one to go toe to toe with someone. It's an opportunist. Keep moving. I generally get first place in damage with this variant.

FLAME
My theoretical next Flame build. I find it a bit questionable as a mobile sniper because charging around at 104kph through buildings makes it hard to keep lasers on track. Still, the firepower isn't something to laugh at. Lasers hits to the rear also attract less attention than explosions.

DRG-5N
This was built to be something of a mobile sniper. It hurts quite a bit, but I think the lack of lasers hurts the flexibility of the build. In addition, even though it's just one ERPPC...it's still hot with repeated use. Which is why I graduated to the next build.

DRG-5N
This 5N is my most successful 5N build, the one I used mostly to fill out my pilot skills before jumping to the (clearly superior) 1C chassis. The Gauss Rifle of course can be used at any range....but I can't resist a good scrap, so I generally find myself at 200 meters or less to the enemy.

DRG-1C
You may see some resemblance to my first 5N variant. That is not a coincidence. The 5N was a throwaway mech for me, so I felt little need to upgrade it beyond double heatsinks. The 1C is permanent, so it got Endo Steel. With the weight savings, it has more armor and 3 lasers. Don't worry about the heat much. I tend to use the PPC up until the enemy gets to 100 meters, but there's certainly nothing stopping you from dumping a full alpha into someone standing still at point blank range (except heat).

DRG-1C
This is my current 1C build. I use it in a similar way to my Flame, but slower and more carefully. You have to guard that right arm and use alphas only as an emergency. I'm not sure it's optimal yet, but the variant is really just a stepping stone to...

DRG-1C
Your standard 4 LL toting dragon with added SRM bonus! It's hot and untested, so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, have fun and don't take any bs from other people saying that it's a crappy mech. It's not. It's a thinker's mech. Have fun!

[TheMadPoet]

For some reason, I've always done well with the various Dragons. I want a Flame, but can't justify spending the $30 for the MC to get it. I started with Ravens (which I still love but don't use my 3L much nowadays) andf then tried Dragons and mastered them.

I too like simple builds and ain't great with ballistics. I finally settled on a Dragon 1C as my go to, for the energy points, and go as heat effecient as possible because I am trigger-happy.

I've found this config works well for me:

4x med. Lasers (or 3x and a Tag)
1x SRM6 (with 2 tons ammo)
Endo-Steel
Standard Armor (352 pts)
Double Heat Sinks (1.49 heat eff.)
STD Engine 320 (86.4kph with speed tweak)
AMS (1 ton ammo)

It's an agile brawler, never overheats, and is a great harrasser. I've tried various other congfigs and switch things around from time to time, but this is my standard and works suprisingly werll for being so straight-forward.

I have to say, I'm not a fan of Large Lasers. They just don't seem to pack the OOMPH for the weight and heat.

Edited by TheMadPoet, 12 January 2013 - 10:16 AM.

[NRP]

I have a Flame and a Fang, so I picked up a 1N so I could elite the two heros.

Flame:
XL360
2 LL
2 ML
SRM6

Fang:
XL340
AC/10
ERPPC
SRM4

1N:
XL280 (had one laying around)
AC/5
ERPPC
2 SRM4

I'm enjoying the 1N, but ******* is it slow! It has a pretty good alpha strike, but it's dangerous to get in close because it just doesn't have the speed of my heroes.

[Regrets]

Not sure how relevant it is in MWO, but in TT it was quite nice to mix energy and ballistics weapons. Espesh the Gauss Rifle is very low heat weapon. If you can get past trying to alpha with both at the same time, it may be pretty effective to mix them for a nice heat utilization. When you are starting to get high heat, lean on the ballistics more. At the beginning of the fight, use both. Generally using just ballistics will not use your heat sinks to full capacity. Every mech comes with lots of free heat. While Energy weapons weight less for the same punch, after you stack a few you should count the extra HS needed into the weight of the weapon.

[Stingz]

Just a reminder: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab
Online Mechlab exists, shows builds exactly, and can be changed by others for preference.


Sold my DRG-1C since it was more fire-support than I'd like. I like using my speed to get into range, not run around plinking.

Edited by Stingz, 13 January 2013 - 06:42 PM.

[Business]

I love the Dragon. It was my first chassis that I elited and the three variants offered significantly different playstyles. All 3 of mine were with full regular armor, Endo, DHS, and 300XL.

1C - Still my main mech with 4xLLas. The arm lasers are a single group each, torso lasers a combined group and a fourth group has all 4 in chain fire which has been incredibly effective when sniping slow moving mechs who have engaged other targets. I can alpha 3x and then switch to chain fire for a bit without overheating so I mix between support and flanking roles. Having that empty right arm to use as a shield is a huge, huge plus as well.

5N - Gauss with 4 tons of ammo, 1MLas, 1LLas, 1SSRM2, 1AMS. Used this very liberally as a sniper and tried to pour as much damage as possible with the Gauss before it was destroyed (quite common) or ran out of ammo (pretty much didn't happen). The rest of the loadout was used to support larger mechs against close combat and I frequently stuck with the LRM boats as such. The lasers and streak saved my tail and the match on a number of occasions.

1N - LBX10 with 4 tons of ammo, 2 MLas, 2xSSRM2 w/2tons on chain fire for heat management. Holy crap this thing was fun for flanking and brawling around the edge of a larger battle. Open up the party at 500-600m with the LBX10 (keep that thing firing) and close in to 250m to get the full effect of overlap. I seemed to leg a lot of mechs with this particular setup which was helpful for jumping back into the fray to help teammates against bigger threats. My most effective build so far against light mechs outside of my COM-2D, even more when I had an ECM equipped teammate close by on counter to allow use of my streaks. Had more issues with heat in this than my 4LLas 1C, though.

The center torso profile is the biggest problem for the Dragon for two reasons: obviously it is extremely easy to hit but because of that you can't shift the armor around to add some additional protection to the rear torso. In my opinion the only priority you have when piloting a Dragon is to protect the CT/RT by any means necessary as your CT is practically always exposed, even when turning to the side to "protect" it. Due to that it seems the Dragon can fulfill any role short of a straight up brawler.

[StalaggtIKE]

Glad you enjoy the dragons. Have fun!

[Kiiyor]

MadPanda, on 12 January 2013 - 08:09 AM, said:

Here's my dragon Flame:

BRINGER OF CHAOS! I love it. That's the first dragon i've seen that I liked! Great piloting.