91 replies to this topic

[Darwins Dog]

1453 R, on 03 May 2013 - 06:52 PM, said:

...snip...
As well, the CDA-2B can very, very nearly match the firepower of the much more popular 6ML 2A, if not its speed. A CDA-2B running a 300XL engine and slimming a bit on armor can still move at 133.7 kph whilst carrying four arm-mounted, vertical-tracking medium lasers, a CT large laser for ranged poking, fifteen double heat sinks and a Beagle Active Probe in its last two crit slots for when the Beagle buffs go live. The result is a flexible and dangerous scout-striker which manages to not be helpless beyond four hundred meters, light off an alpha strike only one point of damage shy of the (relatively) feared 6ML Garthcada, and which can still threaten enemies that retreat up hills. And, of course, which can shortly go and nullify enemy ECM for the purposes of friendly missile batteries, if such things still exist.
...snip...

That actually looks pretty cool. I think I might just try it out. I may switch the LL for an ERLL, but I like the overall build.

Also, you signature makes me want to start thread for one-legged Cicada stories. I once took out a Cataphract, a Centurion, and a Jenner with mine. Won the game to boot!

[1453 R]

I went with the standard large because I have an unfortunate habit of mashing all the lasers in a scrum, no matter what I do with weapon grouping or trigger discipline. The lower heat on the standard large was worth the tradeoff in range to me, but it most certainly can go either way.

Heh...the best part of that game I mentioned in my sig? I killed all three of those guys inside a single ten-second period. It was absolutely glorious and will always be the best game of MechWarrior I've ever played

[ZeProme]

So, I have been watching and reading a lot about the Cicada-X5. Been comparing it lately with the Death Knell, but it seems that the Cicada-X5 seems better in terms of overall loadout. More tonnage to play around, better stock loadout, more hardpoints and better distribution of hardpoints.

It seems that the Cicada-X5 can be much more versatile and act like a pseudo-light mech.

Oh, it can also dance.



So, I'm at awe at this mech. It seems to be really fun.

I need your guys opinion, is this mech worth the investment? Cause I don't want to spend anything above heavy mechs as IMO they seem to be way more expensive. I'm much more familar with medium mechs as well.

Also, 133.7 speed. LMAO. XD

[Darwins Dog]

ZeProme, on 04 May 2013 - 07:28 AM, said:

So, I have been watching and reading a lot about the Cicada-X5. Been comparing it lately with the Death Knell, but it seems that the Cicada-X5 seems better in terms of overall loadout. More tonnage to play around, better stock loadout, more hardpoints and better distribution of hardpoints.

It seems that the Cicada-X5 can be much more versatile and act like a pseudo-light mech.

Oh, it can also dance.

...snip...

So, I'm at awe at this mech. It seems to be really fun.

I need your guys opinion, is this mech worth the investment? Cause I don't want to spend anything above heavy mechs as IMO they seem to be way more expensive. I'm much more familar with medium mechs as well.

Also, 133.7 speed. LMAO. XD

I LOVE my X-5. As I mentioned in OP it's the only hero mech out there that I felt didn't need any changes from the stock config. The thing to keep in mind is that it plays more like a light mech than a medium. There are a lot of ways to personalize it (bigger SRM launchers, Streaks, smaller engines for more punch), but most people seem to run something close to stock.

I also own the Death's Knell. It's more "squirrely" imo. It's smaller and more nimble than the X-5, and the fully actuated arms are nice for high speed shooting. You will probably want to drop in a 210XL to get the most out of it.

So I guess that's the choice you have to make. The X-5 is tougher, and hits harder, but the DK is more agile and harder to hit.

One last thing is that if you haven't gotten into Cicadas yet, then the 330XL from the X-5 will save you a big chunk of cbills by using that engine in your builds instead of buying the 340XL.

Edited by Darwins Dog, 04 May 2013 - 09:18 AM.

[knight-of-ni]

I liked the X-5 better before splash damage was temporarily removed.

Prior to that, I was running this X-5 with four ML's and two SRM 6's, which was a 50 point alpha at the time.

After the splash damage nerf, I went for speed with this X-5. It has just two LL's in the arms, but I put in an XL340 I had lying around to get max speed. Not as much fun as dual SRM 6's though.

[Fedifensor]

Darwins Dog, on 24 January 2013 - 04:31 PM, said:

Shade4xadded:
Ninja Sniper
2x PPC's
121.5 kph (133.7)
ECM
My other build was designed as a sniper. I'm sick of seeing 4-6 PPC snipers waste 85 tons of weight in a match, while shutting down every time they fire. Gauss explodes, and I figured I wanted a design that could snipe well on a light mech. The funny thing is that you can very easily run behind enemy lines, setup and snipe back cores with this. Oh yea, it's also ECM, and it doesn't overheat.

This is a great mech...when fighting the right team. If you're facing enemy lights loaded with short-range weapons without friendly lights running interference, you're in for a world of hurt. Against heavier mechs, you can evade them with speed and ECM, dishing out impressive levels of damage. It's not going to have damage numbers equal to a properly-built heavy or assault, but it's a lot more than you'd expect of a 40-ton mech.

[knight-of-ni]

Fedifensor, on 07 May 2013 - 05:47 PM, said:

This is a great mech...when fighting the right team. If you're facing enemy lights loaded with short-range weapons without friendly lights running interference, you're in for a world of hurt. Against heavier mechs, you can evade them with speed and ECM, dishing out impressive levels of damage. It's not going to have damage numbers equal to a properly-built heavy or assault, but it's a lot more than you'd expect of a 40-ton mech.

I did the same thing with my X-5:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f30812cd880e994

Boy, is that fun. Most don't expect a Cicada to lay down dual erpcc hurt.

Yes, that's right. The ppc's are in the arms. It's a huge advantage when the other mech is above or below you. And for some reason I can't explain, my accuracy when performing high speed strafing maneuvers up close is significantly higher when the PPC's are in the arms. I guess it's just what I'm used to. When I try the same tactic with torso PPC's, I seem to rather expertly fire between the legs, through the armpits, etc. of the other mech.

Hitting light mechs with PPC's can be done. Maybe it's due to necessity since I have no other weapons, but I've had reasonable success with it.

Now when the BAP buff, which will counter ECM, is released on May 21 (you read about that right?), that's going to affect a lot of things. I'd expect more light mechs on the battlefield, so who knows if the dual erpcc cicida will remain viable after that date or not.

EDIT: Grammer

Edited by knnniggett, 08 May 2013 - 06:08 AM.

[Darwins Dog]

knnniggett, on 08 May 2013 - 04:33 AM, said:

...snip...
Now, when the BAP buff, which will counter ECM, is released on May 21 (you read about that right?), that's going to affect a lot of things. I'd expect more light mechs on the battlefield, so who knows if the dual erpcc cicida will remain viable after that date or not.

When the BAP buff goes live, the streaks are going back on my X-5. It's already pretty good with the extended sensor range (as long as you can keep the ECM away from you).

[NRP]

Geezus Christ, the X-5 is legit! Stock load out is good. I just dropped a DHS and swapped the SRM2s for streaks and added the 360 Degree and Extended Sensor Range modules. I don't think I've got the Basics unlocked faster on any mech.

I'm getting the 2A and 2B to unlock the Elites. The ECM and ballistic models don't interest me.

******* sales!! They make me spend money.

[Equalizer]

I've never been much of a Chicada fan until yesterday when I got the X-5 on sale. It was a blast - the silly 40-ton Jenner actually proved quite capable and is incredible fun. Even made me buy a 3M too and I've been playing those two exclusively for hours now, doing like 300-400 damage in most matches and regularly getting 1-3 kills. As I'm considering a 3rd variant and was looking up some info on the other variants, this thread proved quite the eye-opener - the 2B I had all but discarded in favor of 2A would actually be my next mech

The builds I've been using with most success are:

X-5 - seems pretty much the standard build, although I've also added Artemis IV for faster lock for the SSRMs. This would actually be downgrade if you're using regular SRMs however, since the 2-tube launchers already have a very tight spread and the 2 extra tons are not justified.

CDA-3M - nothing special about this one - sit around with the big guys and snipe (while providing ECM cover). Runs a bit hot but I found out this is still preferable to using regular PPCs. It also seems that the X-5, 3M and 2A are the variants that can utilize ERPPCs the most because of the high torso mounts - it's similar to Jags and Stalkers - if you see it, then you can hit it. Combined with ECM, you're practically invisible when poking above a hill and I've had a few games with the 3M doing 300+ damage and not taking a scratch.

Edited by Equalizer, 11 May 2013 - 12:47 AM.

[knight-of-ni]

Equalizer, on 11 May 2013 - 12:45 AM, said:

X-5 - seems pretty much the standard build, although I've also added Artemis IV for faster lock for the SSRMs.

Artemis IV only affects SRM's & LRM's. It has no effect on SSRM's.

[Equalizer]

knnniggett, on 11 May 2013 - 04:22 AM, said:

Artemis IV only affects SRM's & LRM's. It has no effect on SSRM's.

It actually does, please check this thread for some more useful stuff:
http://mwomercs.com/...-you-know-this/

[knight-of-ni]

Equalizer, on 11 May 2013 - 05:39 AM, said:

It actually does, please check this thread for some more useful stuff:
http://mwomercs.com/...-you-know-this/

I skimmed through that thread and only saw some other's perception.
I call it Urban Legend until one can produce something other than a statement that goes like "I swear it is this way".

Here are the facts on SSRM's & Artemis

• You can look up on Sarna that Artemis does not affect SSRM. I agree that the game doesn't necessarily follow Sarna, but read on....
  
• The mechlab states that Artemis only affects srms & lrms
  
• The mechlab does not require additional tonnage for SSRM missiles on a mech with Artemis
  
• PGI states that Artemis only affects lrm's & srm's

If someone believes this isn't the case, then they need to back it up with something verifiable because the official game information states otherwise.


I read someone make a claim once that they thought a bug in the game was giving an unintended boost. It was at this point that I added Artemis to my Trebuchet, which already had three SSRM's on it. From my own experience, I could not perceive any kind of boost from Artemis whatsoever. None. Zero. Believe me, I wanted it to be true.

Is my information old? Perhaps. It is as old as the week after the Trebuchet was released. Did PGI make a change after that? Let me know what you find. I'd like to be wrong in this case.

Edited by knnniggett, 11 May 2013 - 06:12 AM.

[NRP]

I'm not doing as well in the 2B as I am in the X-5. It might be because I went on an unprecedented winning streak while leveling the X-5, but I do think the missiles make the X-5 more viable.

One thing is for sure, I'm waaay too aggressive in this mech. I have to continually relearn the fact than I can't do "toe to toe" brawling like I see better pilots doing to me when I'm in an Assault. It's fun as hell though. Through a Capture Accelerator module on these things with a big XL engine and you can win games almost single handedly.

[Kitane]

Artemis does reduce lock time of SSRMs. It's an unintended bug, because the game does not separate between LRM locks and SSRM locks.

Hopefully they will fix it and disable its lock speed bonus if the mech has no LRMs installed.

edit: I wouldn't recommend it as a necessary upgrade for SSRM users, because we can't recommend people to exploit bugs, can we?

Edited by Kitane, 13 May 2013 - 07:01 PM.

[knight-of-ni]

Kitane, on 13 May 2013 - 06:33 PM, said:

Artemis does reduce lock time of SSRMs. It's an unintended bug, because the game does not separate between LRM locks and SSRM locks.

Hopefully they will fix it and disable its lock speed bonus if the mech has no LRMs installed.

edit: I wouldn't recommend it as a necessary upgrade for SSRM users, because we can't recommend people to exploit bugs, can we?

Here is the question I sent in to MWO Support earlier this morning:

Quote

Hi,
I see a lot comments on the forum stating that Artemis decreases the lock on time for SSRM's.
What I have not found, however, is someone who has produced verifiable evidence, through either a video comparison or an official statement from PGI, supporting this claim.
Indeed, my own testing grounds experiments using a streak-weilding, Artemis equipped, Trebuchet indicate this is completely untrue and should go into the category of Urban Legend.
Can you respond to this claim? Is there any kind of bonus that one currently receives, either via designed featured or unintended bug, by using Artemis with SSRM's?
If this question has already been responded to in official capacity, please point me to where I can read about it. Thanks!

And here is the official response from Magius:

Quote

The official description for Artemis functionality is as follows (copied from 'http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/69346-november-6th-patch-notes-10142/'):
-Artemis improves the grouping size of LRM and SRM volleys.
-Artemis improves the lock on time and tracking strength of LRMs
-Artemis does NOT add guidance to SRMs.
-Upgrade panel has an Artemis category with two options – Artemis and Remove Artemis
-The Artemis category will not show up if the ‘Mech does not have Missile hardpoints.
-Changing options will automatically upgrade/downgrade any existing eligible missile weapons and swap any eligible missile ammo to the proper type
-The Artemis upgrade can be applied to all standard LRM and SRM launchers, but not Streak SRMs or Narc Beacon launchers
-Price of the upgrade includes cost of the upgrade itself plus cost of the ammo if there was not enough in the inventory
-Ability to select the Artemis upgrade will depend on availability of sufficient slots and tonnage
-When viewed in “Loadout”, all Artemis capable weapons will take up one extra slot and weigh one more ton than usual when Artemis is selected
-For any weapons that are Artemis eligible, only the Artemis version will show in the equip list
-Similarly, only Artemis ammo will appear for the ammo for those weapons
Artemis is not applied to Streak Missile launchers. If you go to the MechLab and look at a Mech with Artemis installed, you will see that all LRM and SRM weapons show as "weapon name + ARTEMIS" except for Streaks which have no mention of Artemis.
Regards,
Magius
GameMaster
MechWarrior® Online™

So there you have it. The Dev's confirm that Artemis does not affect SSRM's.

If anyone should still disagree then the burden of proof is on them. They need to produce real, verifiable evidence that suggests otherwise. ...And file a bug report as the Dev's clearly aren't aware of it.

[Kitane]

Here's the thing (excuse my crappy editing skills):

X-5 is without Artemis
A1 is with Artemis.



I will try to get some online footage as well to rule out Testing Ground irregularities

Edited by Kitane, 14 May 2013 - 11:04 AM.

[BoPop]

great post, thanks OP and good thread especially cuz i'm playing with cicadas right now. I purchased the 3M last, silly me. But my last ...10? rounds in it i have dominated. now i'm not saying i'm doing the most damage, cuz i play pure vulture style.

but it got me to thinking, as far as an ecm scout goes it blows the 3L away in my humble opinion. my last several rounds have been me running to the front, targeting everything and just zipping around, zapping this guy, zapping that guy, not picking anyone in particular, just paying more attention to the terrain and being unpredictable. i tell ya i got enough people shooting at me i'd circle around some boulder and hide for a minute, then start cycling through the targets and picking the most hurt, head straight for him doing my mini alphas tho whole time.

this round finished my basics

Spoiler

low damage hehe. anyway it's this build, probably typical:

Spoiler

left click: 1 MPL + MG right click: the other 3 MPL then zoooooom pew pew pew zooooom pew pew pew

Edited by BoPop, 15 May 2013 - 12:34 AM.

[Private Backside]

have 3 ML + AC5 on my 3M. works quite well when you get a general idea of piloting that config.
took enemy ppc 3M one-on-one last match. )

[knight-of-ni]

Kitane, on 14 May 2013 - 11:02 AM, said:

Here's the thing (excuse my crappy editing skills):

X-5 is without Artemis
A1 is with Artemis.



I will try to get some online footage as well to rule out Testing Ground irregularities

In hindsight, I should have create a separate thread for this issue. My apologies to the OP for not doing that sooner.

Kitane, your test prompted me to run my own test which lead to another query to Support. I have created a new thread with data and the Developer’s official response. I think you'll like it:
http://mwomercs.com/...-ssrms-artemis/