36 replies to this topic

[Voridan Atreides]

Ive been wanting to build a good sniper for some time but I'm not sure where to start. Anyone have some succesful sniper builds that you use? I'm not a Stalker or Cat guy so I won't be buying one. Ive seen a lot of Phract 3D builds that seem pretty succesful, and if you have one, what are the stats and your average dmg output?

[Flapdrol]

Voridan Atreides, on 12 February 2013 - 08:33 AM, said:

Ive seen a lot of Phract 3D builds that seem pretty succesful

You mean the poptart?

[jshill78]

It's not a difficult build. Simply a Gauss Rifle, a PPC or ERPPC depending on your taste, and 2 medium lasers. I go with the ERPPC since heat isn't that big of an issue and you can pop em up close if they get there.

CTF-3D

CTF-1X

Edited by jshill78, 12 February 2013 - 09:03 AM.

[Voridan Atreides]

Flapdrol, on 12 February 2013 - 08:41 AM, said:

You mean the poptart?

Ive heard they are fun to shoot out of the sky but I have not had the chance yet.

[Galathon Redd]

My Atlas-RS with 4 ERPPC does things that are illegal in most southern states. It's so much fun...

[Voridan Atreides]

Galathon Redd, on 12 February 2013 - 12:17 PM, said:

My Atlas-RS with 4 ERPPC does things that are illegal in most southern states. It's so much fun...

Yeah I saw a guy with one of those in a match last weekend. Seems pretty legit. Will probably eventually buy one to help master my D. I think he also had a Gauss but I'm not sure......

Edited by Voridan Atreides, 12 February 2013 - 12:40 PM.

[WardenWolf]

Galathon Redd, on 12 February 2013 - 12:17 PM, said:

My Atlas-RS with 4 ERPPC does things that are illegal in most southern states. It's so much fun...

4 ERPPCs is a lot of heat, even now that ERPPCs don't make as much heat as before. I prefer 2 ERPPC + Gauss, as they have similar range. Beware, though, as the Gauss shot now moves a lot slower than the ERPPC (they used to be almost identical).

In some Atlases you can back these up with a pair of medium lasers in the CT for emergencies, which is nice. I find that ECM is more valuable, though, so I usually run a D-DC with no backup weapons. Go with a standard engine, make sure you have CASE for the Gauss rifle, and have fun

[Wrenchfarm]

I am the longstanding champion of the 3xPPC Awesome-9M with a XL385 engine. 30 damage repeatable alpha strike, speed to re-position and move when things get bad. 3xPPCs seem to be the sweet spot, the 9M can pack enough sinks to keep them cool. Any more PPCs and even Stalkers and Atlai can't jam enough heatsinks in them to keep from shutting down constantly.

But please, remember that "sniping" doesn't mean "sit still" in this game. The 9M is so successful (for me anyway) because it has speed and torso twisting ability to go with the long range pelting. You need to be aware of your surroundings and able to retreat near teammates if a light or medium sneaks up on you in the 90m dead zone. If you just stand in one place sniping with a guass build or some goofy 6xPPC stalker, you're just begging to be focused down by LRMs and other long range builds.

WardenWolf, on 12 February 2013 - 12:47 PM, said:

4 ERPPCs is a lot of heat, even now that ERPPCs don't make as much heat as before. I prefer 2 ERPPC + Gauss, as they have similar range. Beware, though, as the Gauss shot now moves a lot slower than the ERPPC (they used to be almost identical).

I was thinking the same thing. Fire once, sit out for the next 40 seconds. Yeah, sounds like a fun and useful build.

[Training Instructor]

Cicada 2A.
2xERPPC
14dhs
255xl

Fear it! Fear it!
CDA-2A

Here's my video of me not playing particularly well and still doing better than my pug teammates. In the hands of a player who actually has skill, this mech can be very deadly, and at 113kph with speed tweak it's way faster than most sniper designs, and you don't have to show a lot of your mech to fire off shots from atop a hill since the erppcs are in your torso.

[Galathon Redd]

WardenWolf, on 12 February 2013 - 12:47 PM, said:

4 ERPPCs is a lot of heat, even now that ERPPCs don't make as much heat as before.

Yeah... did I not mention 41 heat sinks? I don't even run DHS, because there won't be enough room to store as many as I wish I could have.

I ain't sayin' it ain't a hot mech. It's a hot mech. But it's fun as all hell, if you've got the patience for it.

"Take... your... time... you have all the time you need... all the time in the world."
- Alan Quatermain, "the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"

[GorgoHammer]

Wrenchfarm, on 12 February 2013 - 12:49 PM, said:

I am the longstanding champion of the 3xPPC Awesome-9M with a XL385 engine. 30 damage repeatable alpha strike, speed to re-position and move when things get bad. 3xPPCs seem to be the sweet spot, the 9M can pack enough sinks to keep them cool. Any more PPCs and even Stalkers and Atlas can't jam enough heatsinks in them to keep from shutting down constantly.

Must I mention the Stalker Of Doom? 4 PPC, 20 DBHS, multiple alphas before a shutdown and still runs 53kph . . .

[qki]

Depends on how loosely you interpret the term "sniper"

The closest thing to a sniper that I use is an Atlas AS-7D. Endo steel, gauss (2t ammo), 3LL, 2SSRM2 (1t ammo), 23 HS, standard engine.

Gauss and 3 big hitscan weapons can really put some hurt where it matters.

[FerrolupisXIII]

Dual Gauss Catapult is still fairly effective, 3-4 PPC/ ER PPC's on various heavy/ assault mechs is also quite popular. 5 Large Laser isnt half bad at range either.

[Bagua]

Rright now I am playing an ECM RVN-3L as sniper.

[jshill78]

Anyone who pilots an Assault class mech with 40 or less firepower is doing something wrong.

[1453 R]

Not necessarily. The Firepower score in this game is very misleading. PPCs in particular are more dangerous than their contribution to Firepower would suggest. If your assault 'Mech uses its tonnage advantage to work three or four PPCs and enough heat sinks to keep them cool enough to fire consistently, then you'll be doing a great deal of damage to the enemy and Firepower be hanged.

Especially if you can actually pack some basic close-range defenses in there, as well.

[Voridan Atreides]

jshill78, on 13 February 2013 - 06:51 AM, said:

Anyone who pilots an Assault class mech with 40 or less firepower is doing something wrong.

Just because a PPC puts up less damage then an AC/20 does not make it any less dangerous. It has giant range and by the time you close in you are really hurting.

[slipshot]

It is hard the beat the ctf-3d with 4 ppc and jump jets. I have tried the gause builds and they work well but one lucky shot and your almost dead from a gause explosion. I use the regular ppcs for less heat and it is fast enough with the jump jets to keep out of the 90m min range problem. That and popping over a building and sniping a raven 3L thinking he is safe on the other side is priceless.

also if you hate jump jets you can strip them off and add an ac5 for a 45 alpha which I also like.

pair up the 2 shoulder ppc and ac5 to shoot over hills and pair up arms for targeted shots also keep the ac5 on 3rd button just to fire off low heat shots if needed.

[Kommisar]

My lancemate (DarwinsDisciple) still runs his 4xPPC 1 Guass Atlas build. It is a heat beast; but he manages it well and is generally working with me (or one of our other guys). We screen him, he's the hay-maker punch. Back in Closed Beta, him and I would run 2 of these things! Let me tell you how funny it can be to see a Dragon or Catapult melt under a coordinated 8x PPC 2x Gauss shot to, roughly, the same spot! They are slow; very vulnerable if you get in close; but can lay down some damage. It really is a land battleship build.

As for a 3D sniper build, I have had great success running a 2xERPPC 1xGuass build. No mediums or anything else. But I am fast (XL engine) and I can track and hit fast lights with PPCs. I do love belly shooting Commandos with an Alpha Strike and watching them double over.

Awesome works great. Did a lot of it with my old 8Q and now my 9M. With the increased twist speed and such, it is only better now. And the torso mounts work well with keeping convergence issues to a minimum.

The biggest problem with all of these, however, is that the weapons are "low-slung". Meaning, you have to expose most of your mech to have a clear shot. The Stalker's arms are, IMHO, the BEST part of the mech. They are high up. Above the cockpit. No good for side to side movement; but I love being able to stay hull-down more. The hunch is another mech that has good, high hardpoints. This is a big reason that I am eagerly awaiting my Jagermech! Weapon placement is one of those factors that does not show up on a spreadsheet; but can make a big difference in how a build plays.

Most mechs CAN make a good sniper. I am starting to come to the conclusion that, for team play, heavies and mediums make the best ones. Assaults can load up on big alphas; but it means they are not holding the front line. And snipers in this game, currently, work best if the enemy is tied up in a fight. Otherwise, you get focused down and they close on you in short order. In that scenerio, you may still be able to fire in closer. But you are likely doing it by yourself and in this game, numbers matter. You get isolated, you're going to get scrapped and your team is down one more mech.

Mediums and fast heavies can move and shoot faster and don't take the heavy metal off the line.

[1453 R]

That's a really good observation, actually. I know that I, at least, always tend to be just a bit put out if I'm running a Dragon or Cicada and I'm seeing some Atlas or other on my team hanging back and trying to avoid fire. I know assault 'Mechs can die too, and I actually do a lot of trying to scrape pursuers off fleeing allies in my faster builds, but they have the armor to stand up in the crunch and fix the fight in place so that snipers and strikers can leverage their abilities to the max.

Now that you mention it, Kommisar, the best sniping builds I've seen do tend to be in the midweight range, Centurions and Dragons and such. A Gaussback or a PPC CDA-3M has a much easier time sneaking around and finding good shots to take than an Atlas or an Awesome. They also have a much easier time shucking pursuers and getting back to sniping, whereas a PPC Atlas or Stalker is sorta stuck with close combat once close combat gets to it.