57 replies to this topic

[Stringburka]

Ravennus, on 16 February 2013 - 11:41 PM, said:

I want to take a crack at a 2 ERPPC Cicada 3M someday.

Speed + ECM + 800m 20 damage Alpha...... it might be fun.

Streakmandos and 3Ls would still eat you alive though, if they found you.... unless you are lucky/skilled enough to land a couple PPC shots.

Try to go for an engine that can outspeed untweaked models and it might work decently. Craven without tweak go at around 132 IIRC, don't know for the commando. Like this (note the excellent armor and all the protection no ECM gives you, lol).

Edited by Stringburka, 17 February 2013 - 02:11 AM.

[Ravennus]

Stringburka, on 17 February 2013 - 02:11 AM, said:

Try to go for an engine that can outspeed untweaked models and it might work decently. Craven without tweak go at around 132 IIRC, don't know for the commando. Like this (note the excellent armor and all the protection no ECM gives you, lol).

Meh. I wouldn't count on trying to outpace lights, or someone not having speedtweak. Plus, ECM is integral to this build.

I was thinking something like this..... CDA-3M "Sniper"


- 255 XL Engine.... pretty common, and you can get it off the Stalker 5S (not sure if any other stock mech has one)
- 113.6 kph w/ Speed Tweak... faster than every other mech in the game except for lights and perhaps a Cent-D
- ECM, of course
- 12 DHS
- 2 SLAS as short range backup... might not mean much, but could make a difference in a pinch
- Near max armor... just a ton or so off the arm plates


The theory is to use your speed to get prime sniping spots, and reposition when needed.
If attacked by a light(s), try to get in some good shots and don't let them circle you. If they are too much, you should be fast enough to lead them back to your team with good piloting.
This could also make a decent potential scout and spotter in a team environment.... just replace the SLAS with a TAG.


Jeez... I want to try this now. Ah well, just another one to add to the list.

[Stringburka]

Sounds good. Since lights will be your largest danger, may I suggest allocating more armor to the rear? I'd probably go 50/50.

[1453 R]

Vulk: the Centurion build you posted is largely what I was going to recommend as a starter fire-support 'Mech. It has the advantage of being able to fight in close quarters as well using all those lasers, and it gets you started on a chassis that can be adapted to do nearly anything you want if you decide you like them. It's also not a Dragon, which're great fun once you get used to them and get a handle on the game but which will make you hate your life if you're a new pilot looking to make an impact.

Alternatively, as has been pointed out (and made me feel stupid for forgetting >_>), the Trebuchet coming out in a couple of days now is designed as a fast, missile-firin' support medium that may well be just exactly what the doctor ordered. Most Trenchbucket variants are faster than stock Dragons, to the point where you may not even need to upgrade the engine at all to hit the speeds you want, thus saving you a tidy little pile of C-bills. They also all feature multiple missile hardpoints, most of them being LRM hardpoints, on top of varying numbers of medium lasers. If you're willing to use that speed to finagle your own locks, and more importantly wait a couple of days for the new machine, I'd give a serious look at the Trebuchet.

Edited by 1453 R, 17 February 2013 - 07:12 AM.

[El Death Smurf]

my advice woudl be a catapult C1. you could fit 2 lrm 15 with roughly 4-6 tons of ammo, TAG, ERPPC and 2Med Lasers and an XL300 engine with 16DHS. why i advise this load out is that you can keep your distance and tear at mechs especially with your great speed and teh fantastic torso twist.

[Ursh]

Well, the Cicada 3M build I've been using with 2xERPPC is this one. undefined

I've also ran the Cicada 2A and 2B extensively with a 255xl and 2xERPPC plus 14-15 dhs.

They all work. If you want to run close fire support for your brawlers, drop the 2 ERPPC for 2xL-Pulse. The reason why I choose slower + 2xLpulse over faster + 4 mpulse is that I can actually hang back a bit with the Lpulse lasers because they shoot almost twice as far as the mediums.

Also, 124kph with 2 large pulse lasers is enough to beat a Raven 3L in a duel. It's not easy, but it's definitely not an automatic loss. In a worst case scenario, he'll suffer badly for killing you. Besides, you run the 2xLpulse to support your brawlers with ECM and a pinpoint alpha. If a 3L is on you, your teammates who aren't directly engaged with heavies or assaults can spare a salvo or two to help you take him down.

[Vulkanthrax]

Antony Weiner, on 17 February 2013 - 01:12 AM, said:

I think, I wasn't clear in my post. Pick your weapons first, then pick chassis that are capable of carrying your chosen weapons.

Experiment in mwo.smurfy-net.de

Ok thx for the tip

[kesuga7]

Check out my other builds if you dont like that or change them up
http://mwomercs.com/...ecause-you-can/

Lrm 80 running at 80 kph http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bc1e863823e29cd

[M0rpHeu5]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a97d0e35ec01676

[Ravennus]

Stringburka, on 17 February 2013 - 04:21 AM, said:

Sounds good. Since lights will be your largest danger, may I suggest allocating more armor to the rear? I'd probably go 50/50.

Or.... don't get into a circle dance with them.

Seriously, this works. Walk in reverse. Keep turning in the opposite direction they are coming from.
I do it on my 53kph Atlas all the time, and it really messes with their ability to get behind you and often causes them to either run away or risk staying in your firing arc.

A lot of people don't expect it either. I once had a funny match in my Hunchback 4P where I did this to a Commando the minute I knew he was behind me. He tried to circle, but couldn't, and eventually just stood there.... perfectly still... shooting at me in frustration. It was hilarious, and he died very messily, lol.

I imagine the same would work in a Cicada, and perhaps even allow some nice lined up PPC shots.

[Ursh]

Yeah, ever since embracing the more firepower and slightly slower Cicada role, I back up rather than circling and find myself often finding confused and frustrated light pilots who keep getting shot in the CT.

[roastpuff]

This is my Centurion sniper build - it is more of an all-purpose build, to be honest, but I like having the PPC for long-range shots. It's fast enough to move around the battlefield, yet tough enough to survive getting in close to heavier 'Mechs. The speed lets you zoom in and out of cover, firing PPC shots when you are exposed - the PPC is also good in that you don't have to hold the reticle on target, you can shoot and scoot. When the EMP effect comes in this will be even more fun.

STD260 (92.7kph with Speed Tweak) - this was used from my YLW, the 250 may let you use standard armor and run more heatsinks. Also, STD engine is critical in a Centurion - allows for zombie mode.
1 PPC (RA)
3 ML (RA, 2xCT)
2 Streak SRM2 (LT)
AMS (RT)
Ammo in feet (1T each)
All the upgrades except Artemis (Endo, FF, DHS)


Full armor and stuff all the heatsinks you can in - 1.24 heat efficiency, which is pretty decent.
35 damage, with a decent close in punch and something to help deal with the lights in the Streaks. Or, you could lose the Streaks and upgrade the CT lasers to MPL for better zombie-mode.

Edited by roastpuff, 17 February 2013 - 02:38 PM.

[Anudiz]

Ravennus, on 16 February 2013 - 11:41 PM, said:

I want to take a crack at a 2 ERPPC Cicada 3M someday.

Speed + ECM + 800m 20 damage Alpha...... it might be fun.

Streakmandos and 3Ls would still eat you alive though, if they found you.... unless you are lucky/skilled enough to land a couple PPC shots.

I have done that exact build:
undefined

Its certainly not the best, but its actually pretty decent, as long as your aim is good enough.
Best match so far was 786 Dmg

[Stringburka]

Ravennus, on 17 February 2013 - 12:38 PM, said:

Seriously, this works. Walk in reverse. Keep turning in the opposite direction they are coming from.
I do it on my 53kph Atlas all the time, and it really messes with their ability to get behind you and often causes them to either run away or risk staying in your firing arc.

That works when you can outgun/endure your opponent. I do it on my 6ML-cicada all the time. But if you have twin PPC's, getting into a reverse-circle won't help you because they kill you from the front - you want to get to your friends ASAP.

If you have other lights on your team and use a mic it might work well to do that to endure a bit while you wait for support, but in a pug your best bet is probably still fleeing if you can't cripple them before they reach you. They're faster, they can get close, and when they're 30 meters away your PPC's won't do much and their ML's, SSRM or Streaks will do MUCH.

[Vulkanthrax]

roastpuff, on 17 February 2013 - 02:36 PM, said:

This is my Centurion sniper build - it is more of an all-purpose build, to be honest, but I like having the PPC for long-range shots. It's fast enough to move around the battlefield, yet tough enough to survive getting in close to heavier 'Mechs. The speed lets you zoom in and out of cover, firing PPC shots when you are exposed - the PPC is also good in that you don't have to hold the reticle on target, you can shoot and scoot. When the EMP effect comes in this will be even more fun.

STD260 (92.7kph with Speed Tweak) - this was used from my YLW, the 250 may let you use standard armor and run more heatsinks. Also, STD engine is critical in a Centurion - allows for zombie mode.
1 PPC (RA)
3 ML (RA, 2xCT)
2 Streak SRM2 (LT)
AMS (RT)
Ammo in feet (1T each)
All the upgrades except Artemis (Endo, FF, DHS)


Full armor and stuff all the heatsinks you can in - 1.24 heat efficiency, which is pretty decent.
35 damage, with a decent close in punch and something to help deal with the lights in the Streaks. Or, you could lose the Streaks and upgrade the CT lasers to MPL for better zombie-mode.

Thx for the info, but what is zombie mode?

[Hex Pallett]

Vulkanthrax, on 17 February 2013 - 07:29 PM, said:

Thx for the info, but what is zombie mode?

Zombie means when your main weapons/torsos are mostly shot off with almost only CT left, and you swag around shooting with whatever you have left in your CT/head.

Which is ideal for Centurions who have two energy hardpoints in CT.

[joedawg39s]

We dont really know yet but the direct fire treb could be a good fit if it makes it in. http://mwowiki.org/i...rebuchet_TBT-7K

[Firesteel]

My Catapult K3 (K2 with upgrades)
-STD 305
This lets you go 76 kph (which is quite decent for your equipment and heat efficiency). If you invest heavily in Catapults you can get it to go about 84 kph (faster than a stock Dragon).

2x ER PPCs for the range
2x Medium lasers
default armor
endo-steel
18 double heatsinks

Sure it runs hot, but the decent damage and lack of ammo really help this build

Dragon 1C/Flame (works on both, but I use this on my 1C)
This is a quite similar loadout to the Catapult, only slightly less heat efficient (or more if you swap the ER PPCs for PPCs and quite a bit faster.

-XL 360 (basically the price of a stock heavy mech, but well worth it for any dragon chassis) lets you go 97 kph or 106kph if you get multiple dragons.

2x ER PPCs or PPCs or a mix
2x Medium lasers
default armor
endo-steel
15 double heatsinks

If you are using the high heat ER PPCs you can play this dragon as an extremely mobile sniper and somewhat competent brawler depending on if you mount the PPCs on the arms or side torso. I prefer the side torso simply because there are less accuracy issues with the PPCs on torsos than with the arms.

[Dauphni]

If you're looking for long range direct fire support rather than a pure sniper, the combination of ERPPCs with AC/2s works very well. You'll need a heavy mech to put them in to get enough firepower to be effective in that role, so you won't be going super fast, but you can still pull off decent speeds, around 70 to 80 km/h. Personally, I think the K2 does it best, but you can make it work in a Dragon or Cataphract as well.

[Lmxar]

It costs real $, but if you really enjoy MWO and feel like I did, wait a few weeks to make sure you will stick with the game and then spend $30 on some MC. You can get a Muromets, which lets you run 3X UAC5, which (IIRC, may be wrong) is the highest sustained DPS direct fire support in the game. I typically run the three in chain fire when I use that configuration so I don't have to deal with jamming, but have all three UACs bound to group 2 when I need some serious burst if I get bum rushed.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e392252d5fcf8b6

The autocannons do build up some heat, but not too much; just be careful if you are chainfiring and start using your 3 Med lasers, as this is what leads to shutdowns.

The great thing is, the IM is such a versatile chassis, if you get tired of a direct fire support build, you can change the loadout to so many different things (you also get a free XL280). 2X gauss, change the engine for a std and make an AC20 brawler, mix in some PPC/LL for other sniper variants, etc.

Really the only drawbacks are the large side torsos, the lack of JJ, and the lack of missile hardpoints.