47 replies to this topic

[Rascula]

Seriously I love the 'phract but the torso is so damn vulnerable, no matter what loadout your up against it WILL hit it, and boom your gone.
Anyone got any advice/horror stories/good news from the devs or are we gonna have to put up with the zero life expectancy?

[WhupAzz]

love my 2guass, 4mls CTF-3D get 2 kills easy with 50 guass rounds

[Throat Punch]

I run 3 different 'phracts and don't have any problem staying alive. Don't walk straight towards an enemy giving them your CT is the best advice i can give.

[ElLocoMarko]

Yeah... as much as the 4X chain fire autocannons is cool... opponents will have your CT in seconds.
Gauss, AC20. I recommend something with a SLOW refire rate. Shoot. Twist... take some hits on your side. Repeat, try to hit the same torso on each salvo. Against gauss pults I actually wait for the hit before re-facing them. There have been some fairly hilarious stand-offs where the opponent is savvy and waits for me to reface them, but I won't turn until I hear/feel the shot so we just slowly circle each other. "Shoot my ARM!" "Show me your face" SHOOT MY ARM. SHOW ME YOUR FACE.

When cockpit shake was reduced the chain fire AC became a lot less useful. I still run my CTF-IM with UAC5's but I have to flank and hit and hide with it. I'm more than eager to jam those guns up because that is my sign to dive for cover.

[Ranek Blackstone]

I run my 3D as a hit and run pin point killer. Let my assaults open you up a bit, then I'll rip you apart.

4 Mlas, AC5, LBX10.

[Captain Midnight]

The 3D is my highest performing mech.

[JokerVictor]

Phract is my mech of choice. It's a brutal machine if you build it right. Like has been said already, focus on high damage/slow refire weapons. The 3D and 2X in particular mount AC20's very very well. The 2X can be made into a mini-atlas with a 60+ damage alpha. An AC20 + JJ's makes a very powerful combo on the 3D.

Again, you need to drive it with some finese. It can take a massive beating if you run a standard engine, but you have to duck and weave. Never present yourself as a prime target and you'll dominate. Remember, if you're not actively firing on somebody, you should NEVER be moving in any predictable fashion. Wildly swing that torso around if you have to, it'll keep you alive.

[Bloody Moon]

The 3D is one of the best sniper mechs, the 4X is a very dangerous AC platform, the 1X and the 2X somewhat lag behind but they are decent mechs nonetheless.

[BlackSquirrel]

Dunno just tried out a 3D with guass, ER PPC, AC/5 or UAC/5 2 ML...XL280 Haven't died in it yet... I don't play it like a brawler though.

[Tarman]

Might just not be your chassis, personally I think they're great stuff. All the dakka in the world. Take the good advice from the posters above and just get some stick time in on it to see if you can't get the feel for the ride and how it handles. If you can pick it up and especially if you like ballistics it's a fun chassis.

[Major Derps]

If you think a phract is bad, I suggest you stay away from an Atlas, and especially an Awesome. But as stated earlier, it's about spreading the damage. Twisting also has the advantage of frustrating and confusing less experienced pilots. Also, try to minimise turning face again, before receiving a blow.

[DrBlue62]

WhupAzz, on 05 February 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

love my 2guass, 4mls CTF-3D get 2 kills easy with 50 guass rounds

One of the two builds I use for it. Great fun until you run out of ammo. Being able to rip off 50 points of armor of an Atlas really spooks them. Another great one is the one gauss two PPC's.

[Rebel816]

1x with 4 large lasers and a bunch of heatsinks is really fun. good as a mid range sniper but still good enough on heat to move in and mop up with. i like to keep the left arm open and use it as a shield.

2x is a great brawler. 4 med lasers, ac20, and 3x srm6's will have people wondering what the hell just hit them. alphas like an atlas and moves 65kph? yes please.

still working on my loadout for the 3d...definately dont reccomend the XL engine unless your going the sniper route and arent taking much fire. XL's make them very vulnerable.

[Bloody Moon]

Rebel816, on 05 February 2013 - 04:55 PM, said:

still working on my loadout for the 3d...definately dont reccomend the XL engine unless your going the sniper route and arent taking much fire. XL's make them very vulnerable.

Quite the opposite, the 3D is the only variant that can spread incoming direct fire damage to it's legs or avoid it entirely with well timed JJ use. If we consider using XL in Phracts then the 3D is that can benefit the most from it.

[Kotsuno]

Don't forget, speed is also a big factor in keeping yourself alive! As per many posts before me, my phracts are also my go-to mechs =)

[themoob]

I own every single Cataphract and have almost fully Elited all of them (except the 3D, which I recently bought). So long as you're not using XLs, Cataphracts are plenty durable. The main problem I find is that people tend to focus fire Cataphracts because of the nasty loadouts they can carry, and you don't generally have the speed to escape from such a thing.

Just always go in BEHIND someone else, an Atlas or something, so they take most of the heat. A Cataphract has enough armour to be protected from most mechs 1 on 1, but if you're focus fired you'll go down easy cos you're a big target.

[Voidsinger]

If the Cataphract is unplayable, then what does that make the Awesome?

While the Centre Torso on the Cataphract is large, it is by no means the biggest in the game?

Every mech has a weak spot. Stalkers the torsos, Catapults the ears, Centurions and Dragons the gun arms....

[Merky Merc]

Flank and spank, though arguably you should be doing that with every mech.

[Pax Noctis]

I don't know if you count the Ilya, but that's one of my most performant mechs. You have to be a bit careful, but if you know how to set things up it can just melt things. I run 1x Gauss, 2x UAC/5 and 2x ML. Rarely use the lasers unless I'm out of ammo or can't get a clean shot. Regularly do around 500-600 damage. I once hit over 1,000 with the *******.

[Ghogiel]

I've owned all the non heromech CTFs. I only like the 3D at the end of the day.