8 replies to this topic

[Kaeseblock]

I've been runnig this CPLT-C4 build for quite some time now and am quite successful with it. It's pretty easy to deal 500+ damage and get 1-3 kills a match (peak: 1150+ damage and 5 kills; this build was not tested in 8vs8 yet).

Please note that this build is optimized for a CPLT-C4 with all Elite-Efficencies unlocked and thus all Basic-Efficiencies doubled. If you want to run a similar build without all the Elite-Efficencies unlocked, you might need to tweak the build a bit to fit in additional heatsinks.


The Build:

mwo.smurfy-net
Improoved build with JJ and AMS
mwo.smurfy-net

This is a mid-long range support build. You always want to stay in the second line behind your brawler comrades. Preferably about 300m away from the enemy, so they can't duck behind cover before your LRMs hit them.

The Weapons:

2x LRM20 + ArtemisIV (ammo: 5 tons = 900 missles = 22.5 full volleys):
Your main weapon. Don't waste your ammo!

2x SSRM2 (ammo: 1 ton = 100 missles = 25 volleys):
Perfect to hunt down light mechs and to deal some extra damage in line of sight (LOS) battles below 270m

2x Medium Laser:
An all-star weapon and your last line of defence while disrupted by enemy ECM. Nice to deal some extra damage in LOS battles


The Engine:

XL 295 (73.5 kph, 80.9 kph with speed tweak)

You want to stay near your teammates brawlers, so you need some speed to keep up with their pace and get into a good shooting position. The XL engine is necessary to meet the weight requirements. However, you will see that your center torso gets destroyed far more often than you die due to a destroyed side torso.


How To Play:

As stated above this is a mid-long range support build. So stay with the group and focus enemies you are sure to hit with your LRMs. Don't use your LRMs on targets that are farther away than 400m, except if one of your comrades is in a brawl with the target. You only got 900 missles and if your ammo is depleted your damage-dealing capability degrades a LOT!

In the beginning of the match, it might be necessary to use your LRMs to drive enemy snipers back into cover or to chase enemy scouts off. Make sure to use only half LRM volleys (20 missles) to do that (e.g. group your LRMs with link fire mode into one and with chain fire mode into another weapon group and use the chain fire mode for this purpose). The enemy will usually duck back into cover when they see (and thanks to Betty also hear) the LRMs heading towards them.

The safest way to play this build is to stay behind cover near the raging battle and just raise your misslepods ("ears") above the cover to fire your LRMs.
Since you mount a lot of armor (384/422, full armor everywhere except on your legs) you can take quite a bit of damage, so don't be afraid to get out of your cover and deal some extra damage to nearby enemies with your SSRMs and ML. Just make sure not to get caught in the brawl. Below 180m you'll deal a lot less damage than any brawler.

The most important thing is not to get separated from your teammates. If you get seperated from them and an/several enemy mech/s come to get you (and believe me, somebody will come to get you since you give away your position when firing your LRMs) you have to run back to your team as fast as possible. If somebody is chasing you, make sure to use your misslepods as shields to divide the damage equally among all sections of your mech.


Heat Management:

If you engage in a midrange fight just below 270m all guns blazing, you will run hot pretty quick (usually after 3 LRM volleys). If you're in danger of overheating reduce the use of your ML. They generate almost the same heat as your LRM 20 (actually 2/3 of it). If necessary press 'o' to avoid shutting down while shooting an important/killing LRM volley and just fire your SSRMs while cooling down. If nothing else helps, get back into cover and wait until your mech cools down.


What Kills You:

1.) Pretty obvious: Enemy light mechs / Cicadas with ECM.
ECM disables your SSRM and they are usually closer to you than 180m, so you only have your ML against them.

What to do against them:
Just run back into the midst of your teammates and hope that the little pest runs away / dies quick.

2.) Enemies that stick togeter under their ECM shield and no ECM on your side:
This is pretty nasty, no matter which mech you pilot.

What to do against them:
Use your ML and LRMs to deal some damage. Wait, LRMs against ECM shielded enemies? Yes, you can still fire them, no lock-on required. Just shoot them at slow enemy mechs at LOS. An Atlas-D-DC actually is a pretty good target. Since you didn't lock on, Betty won't warn them about the incoming missles and sometimes you can hit 1-2 full LRM40 volleys until they know what the heck is going on. There is also no need to follow the target with your crosshair all the time. Just fire your missles and then duck back into cover and run to a new shooting position. Don't stay in the open just to see if your missles do damage. If your missles hit, they hit, if they don't, they don't.

3.) Sniper Mechs
Dual Gauss and multi PPC Mechs deal a lot of burst damage at a high distance and move back into cover while your (coparably slow missle projectiles) are closing in on them.

What to do against them:
Since these guys use direct fire, make sure to stay out of their LOS and look for a better target. You can't deal with these guys without allied support. If you've got a teammate providing you the target information, shoot LRMs at them from behind your cover. Take advantage of your indirect fire capabilities.


Some Questions Answered:

Q: No TAG? Why?
A: Tried it and didn't like it. Dealing additional damage with the second ML while relying on my teammates to TAG enemies under ECM / counter enemy ECM provided much better results.

Q: Useful Modules?
A: Right now, I use the Adv. Target Decay Module and the Adv. Sensor Range Module. The Adv. Target Decay Module is a bit tricky, since it can lead you to fire an additional LRM volley on a target that is already behind cover leading to a waste of ammo. But once you get used to it, you get a feeling when you can send an additional volley and when it's better not to.



That's the guide up till now. I'll edit it from time to time and fit in new information, to keep it up-to-date.

For feedback, new ideas, questions, etc, feel free to post ^^

Edited by Kaeseblock, 24 February 2013 - 03:00 PM.

[Sholes]

BAP: What benefits do you see? Is it more useful than AMS?

[BlacKcuD]

I am not 100% sure, but:
Wouldn´t the build be more effective if you switch to an XL Engine 300? It should add an additional engine heat sink (and some speed) for half a ton. This would equal half a ton and 3 crits to play aroud with. Maybe then some nice additions would be possible. Have you played around with a xl 300? I don´t have time to try it out right now, but it feels like it might be advantageous.

[Kaeseblock]

Quote

BAP: What benefits do you see? Is it more useful than AMS?

I added the BAP after thinking "damn, I definitely need additional sensor range" in several matches. This is now covered with the Adv. Sensor Range module (a pretty recent addition to my build), so the BAP is under review again. However it did a good job an earned me some kills (shooting stupid lights / brawlers overheating next to you with MLs and SSRM is quite entertaining)

Enemy LRMs were never really an issue, since you can simply duck behind cover whenever you hear Betty shouting "Incoming Missles" and the C4 has enough armor to endure a few missle hits.

So the BAP is not strictly better than AMS. Both are good tools for completely different purposes and the best thing is: They are freely interchangeable. ^^

Quote

Wouldn´t the build be more effective if you switch to an XL Engine 300?

Both the XL 295 and XL 300 (and also the XL 315 I played around with) have 10 integrated heatsinks. Since this C4 build doesn't use additional heatsinks (neither in the engine slot nor elsewhere) upgrading from XL 295 to XL 300 is simply adding 0.5 ton for 1.3 kph of extra speed.
However, I often find myself adjusting my walking speed to that of an Atlas while advancing (as described in my guide, it's not recommended to rush to the front with this C4 build ) and 80.9kph has proven to be fast enough to get away from dangerous situations. I actually didn't feel too much difference compared to the 86.4kph generated by the XL 315.

The weigh of additional heatsinks is always 1 ton, even if you put them in the engine slot. So an additional unused heatsink slot in the engine is not really an advantage for this build.
(If the weight of the heatsinks in the engine slots would be reduced to 0 this would actually be a good reason to upgrade from XL 295 to XL 300 )

[Kaeseblock]

*update*

I am currently testing a variant of the build above which appears as consistent but more versatile.

Basically I exchanged the BAP and 1 ton of leg armor ( Catapults scarcely get shot into the legs and can still wreck havoc with just one leg) for an AMS (seems necessary for Alpine Peaks) and 1 JJ (enables you to take some shortcuts and to get into better LRM-shooting positions)

Updated Build

EDIT:
Modules:
Adv. Target Decay
Adv Sensor Range

Edited by Kaeseblock, 21 February 2013 - 12:40 AM.

[Nazlfrag]

I use a similar build, but a smaller standard engine, case and more ammo. The build. I don't mind being terribly slow, you just have to think ahead about your positioning. I might try a faster version though, but I think an LRM boat like this is the one place you can sacrifice speed without too much detriment.

[Kaeseblock]

Nazlfrag, on 21 February 2013 - 04:59 AM, said:

I use a similar build, but a smaller standard engine, case and more ammo. The build. I don't mind being terribly slow, you just have to think ahead about your positioning. I might try a faster version though, but I think an LRM boat like this is the one place you can sacrifice speed without too much detriment.

How beneficial is the STD-engine and case combination for you? ( it's a configuration I would rather expect in a brawler build )

Mounting XL-engines in LRM-Catapults is not that dangerous. When you die to side-torso destruction, you usually would have died a few seconds later anyways with a STD-engine ( at least that's my experience ).

I once tried the C4 with an XL 210 and more LRM-ammo. But I died pretty often, because I was not fast enough get away from enemies who came to catch me. So I went for the bigger engine and it prooved to be really beneficial for outmaneuvering enemy brawlers and ducking into cover to get away from enemy LRMs and snipers.
That improoved my survivability (and thus my damage-dealing capability) a lot.

Edited by Kaeseblock, 24 February 2013 - 07:47 AM.

[Vincent Lynch]

same weapons, 245 XL engine, 4 jump jets instead of one, more armor, more ammo, no artemis.
nuff said.

[Kaeseblock]

I'm currently testing different builds to add further builds for different playstyles to this guide.
Unfortunately the success is pretty limited up till now.

So if you have a C4 build that works for you, please post it / PM me. I'll test it and add it to the guide if it performs well.