32 replies to this topic

[BirdToes]

So I was "forced" to grind XP in different Cataphract variants for Expert skills. To my surprise, while playing the 1X, I fell in love with it.

Contrary to my assumption that the 4X and IM were best (and I own both), I found the 1X with its energy hardpoints best suit my play style.

Anyone else find the three variant system for Expert XP equally revealing?

[Obeast]

Yep its one of my favorites, besides Ilya Muromets. Load it up with a 280xl, Gauss w/4tons ammo, 5xMLs and as many dubs as you can fit. Surprisingly effective.

[One Medic Army]

I hated the Hunch-P until I played it, found a non-standard build for it that suited my playstyle well.

On the downside, I still haven't found a build that makes the 1N dragon not crap.

[R3AGANSMASH]

the ctf-1x is def my favorite chassis right now..ua/c5, 4 mLs, and a ppc? yes please. also, i too cant find something useful to do with the dragon 1n :/

[kingade]

One Medic Army, on 05 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

On the downside, I still haven't found a build that makes the 1N dragon not crap.

so totally this =)

[MadPanda]

One Medic Army, on 05 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

On the downside, I still haven't found a build that makes the 1N dragon not crap.

Was that a joke? 1N is the second best dragon (flame is best). Load him with xl 350 and 2xml, lbx10, 2xssr2.

[NocturnalBeast]

No one is "forced" to do anything in this game. You can play completely for free and grind your way from a trial mech to a stable full of mastered mechs with full modules. You have inadvertently discovered one of the purposes for having to unlock elite on three variants (during the process you will find a favorite). Later, you can sell your other two variants to buy a new mech. You also have the benefit of learning the strengths and weaknesses of three different variants of your chosen mech. I love my CTF-3D, by the way.

[lordkrike]

One Medic Army, on 05 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

I hated the Hunch-P until I played it, found a non-standard build for it that suited my playstyle well.

On the downside, I still haven't found a build that makes the 1N dragon not crap.

I've had pretty good success running the following:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e1b6f679a9e4d98

I prefer the 1C variant, though, with four MLs as opposed to the two LLs in the 1N. And honestly, while getting experience with the 1N for a long time, I ran SHS and two MPLs, seriously gimping myself. It still worked pretty damn well.

MadPanda, on 05 January 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

Was that a joke? 1N is the second best dragon (flame is best). Load him with xl 350 and 2xml, lbx10, 2xssr2.

I disagree, good sir. The UAC/5 is superior to the LB/10-X for close range brawls, particularly if you can hold it on a specific body part.

[Wizard Steve]

CN9-AL

[MadPanda]

lordkrike, on 05 January 2013 - 01:48 PM, said:

I disagree, good sir. The UAC/5 is superior to the LB/10-X for close range brawls, particularly if you can hold it on a specific body part.

I disagree with your play style. That's not how you play a dragon.

[Shepherd]

Absolutely. I've got three Hunchbacks and love them all, even though I was really only interested in the HBK-4G initially. I'm constantly tinkering with all three of my Hunchbacks and enjoying what they all offer. Currently my favorite is my HBK-4SP, but I keep changing my mind about which one I like best!

I've enjoyed "grinding" through the mechs. Though I will say that I don't like to approach it as a grind, and I don't really play a mech just to get XP on it often. In my mind the main thing is enjoying a match of Mechwarrior Online, and the XP is a little side thing. Too many players view the XP as the main thing and get caught up in conforming their play in-game, including mech choice, to some supposed "best way to get XP. That's fine, but if it diminishes your fun, why bother with it? You don't *need* those little perks, even though a few are quite good. So enjoy the game, and experiment with different mechs and variants. Every few days go and spend the XP you've accumulated.

[lordkrike]

MadPanda, on 05 January 2013 - 01:58 PM, said:

I disagree with your play style. That's not how you play a dragon.

Everyone is so rude on these forums.

How should one play a Dragon, then?

I use the UAC/5 to shoot slowly at range if the enemy 'mechs are exposing themselves, and then use my speed to flank them and destroy components once the assaults close the distance and the brawl starts. I also like to chase down and core missile boats.

[Obeast]

R3AGANSMASH, on 05 January 2013 - 01:23 PM, said:

the ctf-1x is def my favorite chassis right now..ua/c5, 4 mLs, and a ppc? yes please. also, i too cant find something useful to do with the dragon 1n :/

kingade, on 05 January 2013 - 01:37 PM, said:

so totally this =)

MadPanda, on 05 January 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

Was that a joke? 1N is the second best dragon (flame is best). Load him with xl 350 and 2xml, lbx10, 2xssr2.

I prefer 325xl ,Gauss w/ 3 tons ammo, 2xML, 2x SSRM w/ 1 ton ammo, DHS, Endo and FF

[Codejack]

Well, I had the 2A and 3C Cicadas xp'd through basic, then ECM came out....

[MadPanda]

lordkrike, on 05 January 2013 - 02:11 PM, said:

Everyone is so rude on these forums.

How should one play a Dragon, then?

I use the UAC/5 to shoot slowly at range if the enemy 'mechs are exposing themselves, and then use my speed to flank them and destroy components once the assaults close the distance and the brawl starts. I also like to chase down and core missile boats.

Disagreering is rude? Alright buddy I'm sorry.

As to how to play a dragon, lets put it this way; if you ever have to stop with a dragon then you are playing it wrong.

[lordkrike]

MadPanda, on 05 January 2013 - 02:36 PM, said:

Disagreering is rude? Alright buddy I'm sorry.

As to how to play a dragon, lets put it this way; if you ever have to stop with a dragon then you are playing it wrong.

No, the way you disagreed was rude, but it's immaterial.

That's not really an argument as to why the LB-10X is better for the Dragon. You don't have to stop to shoot with a UAC/5. I don't, actually.

The LB-10X has a similar DPS to the UAC/5, only its damage is less concentrated and it has no option to burst fire in exchange for a chance for jamming. The only thing I think it's distinctly better at is legging light 'mechs.

Oh, and it's heavier.

Edited by lordkrike, 05 January 2013 - 02:41 PM.

[Suicidal Idiot]

lordkrike, on 05 January 2013 - 02:40 PM, said:

No, the way you disagreed was rude, but it's immaterial.

That's not really an argument as to why the LB-10X is better for the Dragon. You don't have to stop to shoot with a UAC/5. I don't, actually.

The LB-10X has a similar DPS to the UAC/5, only its damage is less concentrated and it has no option to burst fire in exchange for a chance for jamming. The only thing I think it's distinctly better at is legging light 'mechs.

Oh, and it's heavier.

I just can't see any reason to go with an LB-10X shotgun over lasers. If you want to spread out damage, lasers are just the ticket, especially with high lag times. Shotguns are so effective in real life because in the anti-human loads, each pellet is equivelant to a medium pistol bullet. Further, a single pellet of 00 buckshot can easily be a killing shot to a human, and there are 9 of them.

A fully automatic pistol still doesn't have the knock power of a shotgun, because the pellets are hitting simultaneously. Getting hit by a full load of pellets from a 00 buckshot load is pretty much a guaranteed funeral.

The LB-10X, on the other hand, even if shoved into the gut of an opposing mech, is never fatal, unless there are less than 10 points of armor left. To be the equivelant of a 12 gauge, the pellets would need to do 3-4 points each.

It seems to me, from watching fast sweeps of the laser hitting snow, that it's acutally an extremely fast pulsing weapon, delivering a LOT of tiny shots as it goes. Either that, or it's an artifact of the environment, but I don't think so.

The only advantage I can see to ballistic weaponry is concentrated damage on one point, and the LB-10X intentionally defeats that.

If I'm wrong, or somebody disagrees, please let me know why.

[BerryChunks]

One Medic Army, on 05 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

I hated the Hunch-P until I played it, found a non-standard build for it that suited my playstyle well.

On the downside, I still haven't found a build that makes the 1N dragon not crap.

1C is where its at.

Although I saw a 3 large laser AC 1N that did pretty well. that speed helps keep range.

Suicidal *****, on 05 January 2013 - 03:01 PM, said:

I just can't see any reason to go with an LB-10X shotgun over lasers. If you want to spread out damage, lasers are just the ticket, especially with high lag times. Shotguns are so effective in real life because in the anti-human loads, each pellet is equivelant to a medium pistol bullet. Further, a single pellet of 00 buckshot can easily be a killing shot to a human, and there are 9 of them.

A fully automatic pistol still doesn't have the knock power of a shotgun, because the pellets are hitting simultaneously. Getting hit by a full load of pellets from a 00 buckshot load is pretty much a guaranteed funeral.

The LB-10X, on the other hand, even if shoved into the gut of an opposing mech, is never fatal, unless there are less than 10 points of armor left. To be the equivelant of a 12 gauge, the pellets would need to do 3-4 points each.

It seems to me, from watching fast sweeps of the laser hitting snow, that it's acutally an extremely fast pulsing weapon, delivering a LOT of tiny shots as it goes. Either that, or it's an artifact of the environment, but I don't think so.

The only advantage I can see to ballistic weaponry is concentrated damage on one point, and the LB-10X intentionally defeats that.

If I'm wrong, or somebody disagrees, please let me know why.

LBx-10 can be useful for hitting speed pigeons and their lag shields. IT's also designed to allow a person to not have to aim to hit criticals if someone's armor is gone.

[MadPanda]

lordkrike, on 05 January 2013 - 02:40 PM, said:

No, the way you disagreed was rude, but it's immaterial.

That's not really an argument as to why the LB-10X is better for the Dragon. You don't have to stop to shoot with a UAC/5. I don't, actually.

The LB-10X has a similar DPS to the UAC/5, only its damage is less concentrated and it has no option to burst fire in exchange for a chance for jamming. The only thing I think it's distinctly better at is legging light 'mechs.

Oh, and it's heavier.

Dragon is hit and run mech, "the big light mech". You are gonna miss too much with the uac5 and you can't afford to load enough ammo to compensate for the misses. LBX10 is better because you only shoot once per cycle and you are pretty much guaranteed a hit even when you are darting around at 103kph. It suits the play style of the dragon much better. But if you are such a pro you can hit all your uac5 shots when circling targets at 103kph then by all means stick with it.

[One Medic Army]

MadPanda, on 05 January 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

Was that a joke? 1N is the second best dragon (flame is best). Load him with xl 350 and 2xml, lbx10, 2xssr2.

And what do you do when an ECM light mech comes over and sits on your *** for most of the match? All your streaks are now useless, and you get to fight him with the LBX and mediums.
Not to mention how often my right arm gets blown off, even if there's nothing in it.