40 replies to this topic

[Atayu]

The 3M is my favorit medium in the game right now. I mainly pilot heavy's and lights. but if I am in a medium there is a 90 percent chance it is the 3M. All other mmediums make up about 10 percent of my medium play time.

[Wrenchfarm]

I'm a big fan of the 3M. In fact I bought a second Cicada over the double XP weekend so I can finally access the elite skills.

[Indoorsman]

[Demonbreaker]

Personally i have kept the uac5 and have 3mls on my 3M along with a XL 320, endosteel and Dbl heatsinks. My matches are pretty hit or miss, depending on weather i use it as a sniper and position myself well, or if i flank enemy mechs when my allies are attacking their fronts.

My results are varied because of unstable internet tho. It is a fun mech to mess around with, and it requires more thought to be successful with than just your standard brawler or AS7-D-DC

[ElLocoMarko]

I bought it so I would have a large XL engine and something with ECM.

I load it up with the engine when I have ECM frustrations because my puggers are all assuming everyone else will run ECM and I go 5 games without any (and get ruined). I know that I'm probably inviting a centurian or hunchback onto the other team but I can take most of them given enough time.

It's not a great mech. But the XL320 was great in dragons.

[Nubsternator]

I run a Cicada, and I've been liking it.

I forget the model of my Cicada, but it's the one with 6 energy hardpoints. I run a xl340 engine, dbl heatsinks, been messing around with the weapons, between an ER PPC or a ERLargeLaser to 4MedLasers. I also keep a TAG on my mech. I have ferro-fibrous and endo steel armor. My normal top speed is 137.7 kph.

The role I put myself as is the light mech harrasser. I use 250 of my 274 or so available armor points. With that armor, I have actually made a commando run out of SSRM ammo on me. I can last in a fight against lights, and I can easily keep up with them, sometimes passing them up.

My speed makes me the constant threat on the field. I take potshots or get behind heavier mechs, because I have the manuverability and the speed to do so. I can circle-strafe mechs, but I can bail out of a fight if I need to. I also never overheat, because I don't load up all the points.

This is the mech to use if you want to be the counter-light mech. The TAG constantly helps LRM boats on my team, and I can constantly harass the light mechs. The other medium mechs do always pose a big threat to me, because they do have speed enough to keep me in range.

In all, I am happy with the Cicada.

Edited by Nubsternator, 24 January 2013 - 05:15 PM.

[Phoenix Gray]

There's a video on YouTube of a 4 PPC Cicada. I'm just sayin...

[Darwins Dog]

I made a guide to the Cicada for those who are interested. I think it's pretty good, but I welcome any critiques or whatever. I will also update with any builds that people would like to share with the community.

[knight-of-ni]

While initially I intended to master just three Cicadas, I ended up hating the 3C so much (with its measly 1 energy hardpoint) I bought all four variants. Now, I'm sure there are a lot of pilots out there that love the 4 ballistic hardpoints of the 3C. I tried multiple ac/2's and another build with an lbx10. I admit they were very fun in a few specific circumstances. However, using these weapons required putting in an engine that was much smaller than I liked. In my opinion, a slow Cicada is a dead Cicada.

Per a suggestion in another Cicada thread, I created Cicada builds based around the Large Laser. Wow, did that hit the jack pot. All my Cicada's have two Large Lasers and two Medium Lasers, and they are all fast.

I'm surprised the 2B has not been mentioned in this thread. This is the only variant with hardpoints in the arms. This gives the mech a much greater up/down firing arc. Ever run after an enemy mech up/down a hill yet find you can't raise or lower your crosshairs enough to target him? Well, just like a Jenner, the 2B can do that. Since the arms are so small compared to the rest of the mech, rarely do the arms get blown off.

Here are my two favorite builds:

CDA-2B
320XL (142kph w/ speed tweak)
ES
268 pts of FF
two LL
two ML
10 DHS

CDA-3M
305XL (136kph w/ speed tweak)
ECM
ES
268 pts of FF
two LL
two ML
10 DHS

EDIT: fix typos.

Edited by knnniggett, 25 January 2013 - 07:06 AM.

[StalaggtIKE]

I love my CDA-3M w/ 4mlasers, UAC5 and 3 tons of ammo. It's very versatile; I can scout and spot, snipe or even, assault. I tend to get a lot more assist than kills, however I feel it makes a difference for the team.

Edited by StalaggtIKE, 25 January 2013 - 07:03 AM.

[Wrenchfarm]

StalaggtIKE, on 25 January 2013 - 07:03 AM, said:

I love my CDA-3M w/ 4mlasers, UAC5 and 3 tons of ammo. It's very versatile; I can scout and spot, snipe or even, assault. I tend to get a lot more assist than kills, however I feel it makes a difference for the team.

Where are you finding the weight for that? Super slow engine? Paper armour?

Lots of firepower for an ECM medium, but I have to wonder if the trade-offs are worth it.

[StalaggtIKE]

Wrenchfarm, on 25 January 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

Where are you finding the weight for that? Super slow engine? Paper armour?

Lots of firepower for an ECM medium, but I have to wonder if the trade-offs are worth it.

I am still able to achieve 100+kph and full armor, except for arms and legs. I'll try to post direct build once I get home. The trade offs are no lagshield and overheating if over zealous.

Edit: Something like this: CDA-3M
When I get home, I can post exact values.
Got home, here are my exact values: CDA-3M.
.

Edited by StalaggtIKE, 25 January 2013 - 05:42 PM.

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

Indoorsman, on 24 January 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

You can do this in a Jenner along with JJ's.

As for the Cicada: giant waste of a mechbay outside of competitive league games (such as RHOD).
It's just a big, slow, ugly Jenner without the ability to mount JJ's and bigger hitboxes.

The only reason to get one would be to buy the 3M and run it with ECM. paired with your scouts in certain league dropdecs to make sure your scouts don't get "outECM'd" and die an early, unnecessary death.
And even THIS will only be useful as long as there aren't other ECM capable mediums implemented into the game.
As soon as they are the Cicada will get no more love, unless the new medium has even crappier slots!

Edited by WaddeHaddeDudeda, 25 January 2013 - 07:38 AM.

[Indoorsman]

WaddeHaddeDudeda, on 25 January 2013 - 07:37 AM, said:

You can do this in a Jenner along with JJ's.

As for the Cicada: giant waste of a mechbay outside of competitive league games (such as RHOD).
It's just a big, slow, ugly Jenner without the ability to mount JJ's and bigger hitboxes.

The only reason to get one would be to buy the 3M and run it with ECM. paired with your scouts in certain league dropdecs to make sure your scouts don't get "outECM'd" and die an early, unnecessary death.
And even THIS will only be useful as long as there aren't other ECM capable mediums implemented into the game.
As soon as they are the Cicada will get no more love, unless the new medium has even crappier slots!

Well despite the Jenner being able to do it... you pointed out the reason to do it on a Cicada. It's a medium that's a light but doesn't get matched against lights. If you do some ridiculous build like double PPC on a Jenner you'll eventually have the enemy light taking you down.

I don't see how you can load the Jenner w/double PPC, JJ, 13 DHS and near max armor like my Cicada, or even double PPC w/13DHS high armor no JJ. This seems to be the closest you can get a Jenner to my Cicada build and it's only got 12 DHS:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9cd6ddb371a34c8

[TowerDiver]

I've beeen saving up for the 3M, but right now I've been playing the 3C and the 2B. Imo the 3C is the funnest, but know that until the MGs buff comes in, your four machine guns will deal pretty much zero dmg. But the MGs aren't totally useless. Use them to distract atlas and other mechs in teamfights. Because you're not a spider or a commando, most people will be confident that they can hit you(and they probably will). But if you can distract mechs so that they arn't shooting at your allies, then you are contributing enough for your team.

I like to use the 300 XL engine. You get a healthy 121.5 speed and you can get almost anything you want on your mech. If you're inching to put a LB-X10, then I would get a ~280-300 XL engine.

About XL engines, I played plenty of games with the standard engine and I can tell you there isn't a big difference in your survival. With the extra tons you get from a XL engine, it far outweighs the disavantage of having the XL engine.

Edited by Lighthorn, 25 January 2013 - 01:25 PM.

[Ryvucz]

Garth pilots a Cicada frequently.

Personally, I own all of the variants.

They are pretty fun and maneuverable.

[StalaggtIKE]

Wrenchfarm, on 25 January 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

Where are you finding the weight for that? Super slow engine? Paper armour?

Lots of firepower for an ECM medium, but I have to wonder if the trade-offs are worth it.

Got home, here are my exact values: CDA-3M.

[Shade4x]

DegeneratePervert, on 23 January 2013 - 11:28 PM, said:

Cicadas are pretty fun, but there's not really anything they can do that another mech wouldn't be better at.

Wrong. There the only viable ECM sniper in the game, also there the fastest as well.

[RedrumnCoke]

Shade4x, on 25 January 2013 - 07:06 PM, said:

Wrong. There the only viable ECM sniper in the game, also there the fastest as well.

Agreed. I run my 3m with an xl300 and 2 ppcs. With their speed, they can relocate with ease to maintain safe firing distance.

[Zonder26]

Just buy raven-3L and forget about it.