31 replies to this topic

[Girth Fillmore]

It's a damned fun chassis.
I agree with Spheroid in saying that the 4P Laserback is all about managing alpha strikes, and staggered firing patterns to maintain good DPS. It's strength is delivering a pinpoint, high-damage hit which allows you to be really surgical in your attacks.
If you play Highlander-style and seek out other HBK pilots (there can be only one!), an alpha strike-and-a-half will cockpit a fully armoured opponent.

I've switched mine up a bit and am now running this:
LOLback

It's a bit goofy, but I've had some fun games with it.

Edited by Girth Fillmore, 18 February 2013 - 11:14 AM.

[Ravennus]

As others have said, one of your main problems is the engine.


I cannot recommend enough..... get at LEAST a standard 250 engine for ALL your Hunchbacks (you can swap it between them).
Stay away from an XL engine, no matter what. You have one of the most vulnerable side torsos in the game, and if someone tried to tell you there is no point in playing further if you lose the hunch... then they are doing it wrong.
I've still killed plenty with 2 MLAS, not to mention helped cap or just assisted my team mates with flanking and harassing.

But yes, piloting a Hunchback before you upgrade the engine is extremely painful.



Also, to those people recommending only going with 5 or 6 MLAS.... other variants can do that, and have other weapons as well.

If you are still having problems managing your heat, I highly recommend a 2 MLAS/7 SLAS build.
You can fit in 20 DHS and it doesn't require endo.
People also underestimate small lasers, especially when thy are grouped.
7 SLAS in the Torso and Head are a 21 damage scalpel that barely costs any heat, does it's damage in the same time as a pulse laser, and recharges VERY quickly.

Of course, you have to get within 90m for full damage, but with a 260 engine and working with your team-mates it isn't an issue.

And you can alpha all day, even on Caustic (ok... not ALL day, but heat is so great that you usually don't have to worry).
This is one build I use on my mastered 4P.


The other build is a lot hotter, and I don't recommend it until you get a lot more experience and I don't recommend it until you get Elite skills unlocked.
250 Engine. 2 MPLAS in arms, 7 MLAS in torso. 18 DHS.
I mastered my 4P on the other SLAS build, then tried this. It has a high learning curve, and you definitely have to be more careful, but you can still alpha the 35 damage MLAS hunch 3 times before overheating.

You need 3 weapon groups.
1 for the arm MPLAS, which you save for finishing off mechs or hitting fast lights.
2nd group for chainfire MLAS. Add this to your MPLAS to finish off mechs heavily damaged by your giant alpha.
3rd group for your giant 7 MLAS alpha. As I said, with all the heat perks you can fire this 3 times in a row before overheating as long as you don't fire your MPLAS. You can also fit in a 4th pretty quickly with a short wait, as the DHS bleed heat quickly.

You have to play much smarter with this build, but it can be utterly devasting.
Don't fire the MPLAS and MLAS together unless you have a sweet opportunity to take out someone from behind.
With 42 damage all in the rear CT, I've easily one-shotted mechs who skimped on rear armor.

Also, get good at cockpit shots. The 35 damage alpha is enough to take out a fully armored cockpit on any mech, but you need to keep the damage on target for the full second. Add the MPLAS for good measure if you only strip all the armor and most of the internals, and goodbye enemy pilot!


Finally, don't let damage get you down!
If you are doing 300-600 damage a round.... you are doing good!!
The nature of the lasers is that they are supposed to be precise and not spread their damage all over the mech.
With those damage scores, I have got more kills than the rest of my team combined.
However, if you feel you are doing poorly then you are likely "sweeping" your lasers all over the other mechs.
DON'T DO THIS. Learn to hold your aim steady on one body part, if possible. This is hard, especially when you have a much faster engine and are firing while strafing or ducking around buildings.

If you have a decent mouse that can change it's DPI settings, I would try lowering the sensitivity.
My game improved when I started doing that in my Swayback.


Anywho, I hope this helps. Cheers!

Edited by Ravennus, 18 February 2013 - 12:17 PM.

[RootBeerBaron]

I will say this, regarding XL engines. Suppose your hunch is blown. In a STD engine, you can still fight with the Cockpit and Left Arm, but at about 20% capacity. This begs the question, with an XL engine and the extra tonnage, could you have avoided having your torso blown by adding extra firepower? Yes, you may survive longer in a STD, but what if you put away the enemy faster with the XL, and didn't need the survivability? In some Hunchback variants, I find this is the case for my playstyle.

I personally do not recommend them on the 4P variant, but I also don't recommend disregarding them completely. If you have the time and money (or a spare 255XL), I recommend trying it out. I ran an interesting 255XL with 7 mLAS and 2 LLAS in the arms. I actually found that the extra LLAS didn't suit my play style, so I scrapped them, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Still, with the new PPC changes, there may be some highly effective builds that require an XL. Be creative.

[Phoenix Gray]

You can support a mech without humping its leg all the way across the battlefield. Stay loose, keep moving and just remember to stay generally close enough to fire on anyone going after your buddy. Remember, you're an escort, not a sandbag.

[Ravennus]

RootBeerBaron, on 18 February 2013 - 12:25 PM, said:

I will say this, regarding XL engines. Suppose your hunch is blown. In a STD engine, you can still fight with the Cockpit and Left Arm, but at about 20% capacity. This begs the question, with an XL engine and the extra tonnage, could you have avoided having your torso blown by adding extra firepower? Yes, you may survive longer in a STD, but what if you put away the enemy faster with the XL, and didn't need the survivability? In some Hunchback variants, I find this is the case for my playstyle.

I personally do not recommend them on the 4P variant, but I also don't recommend disregarding them completely. If you have the time and money (or a spare 255XL), I recommend trying it out. I ran an interesting 255XL with 7 mLAS and 2 LLAS in the arms. I actually found that the extra LLAS didn't suit my play style, so I scrapped them, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Still, with the new PPC changes, there may be some highly effective builds that require an XL. Be creative.

A Standard 250 Engine weighs 18.5 tons and costs 6 crit slots
An XL 255 Engine weights 12.5 tons and costs 12 crits slots.

That's a 6 ton difference, and twice as many crit slots for the XL.

So for myself, even disregarding the survivability issues... I ask: What can I fit in for 6 extra tons that will so dramatically increase my offensive abilities?

Also, with a Standard Engine you can often fit Endo or Ferro in a build that otherwise couldn't fit it.
That's 1 ton if you squeeze in Ferro, and 2.5 tons if you get Endo.
So now that saved tonnage is even less.


The 4P is a perfect example (and probably why you didn't recommend it).
Sure, I could fit in a couple PPCs in the Hunch with an XL, or maybe even a few LLAS....
But why do that? That's what other mechs have to do, because they don't have the hardpoints to boat the far more efficient smaller lasers.

There is a reason why, in TT and even in previous Mechwarrior games, MLAS boats were popular.

So I say... take advantage of what the Hunchbacks have to offer.
Even the other variants, like the 4SP and 4H, can cram in a **** ton of weapons with a Standard Engine.
Is a few extra tons and maybe 1 "bigger" weapon worth it, especially at the cost of durability and heat?


That's just my thought process, though everyone has their own. Take it for what you will.

[Golfin Man]

Fairly recently bought a 4P to round out my hunchie collection, and immediately went for the 7 small laser 2 medium laser config. A post I read equated the 7 small laser alpha to being an ac/20 that can fire once every second (besides heat buildup, although the heat is very manageable). Its not the most ideal build in that you have to get in very close, and this means losing your hunch is a very good possibility. That being said there's nothing like sticking the hunch in someone's face as you're streaking by with your std 260 and blasting there cockpit with the equivalent of an ac/20, as long as you can keep your reticle in place for the half second it takes to fire.

[pseudocoder]

Lots of good suggestions here, but I wanted to directly address some of your comments.

Lolpingu, on 18 February 2013 - 04:48 AM, said:

I can quickly chanfire all of them without gaining a significant amount of heat

Typically you only want to chainfire if you are close to overheating and want to try for crit (internals) damage on an almost dead mech. Since lasers provide damage over a short period of time you need to keep trained on the target, and chain-firing just increases that duration. Not the best strategy to deal heavy pinpoint damage, which should be your goal.

Lolpingu, on 18 February 2013 - 04:48 AM, said:

Then what happens is, the group starts to break apart and I immediately get focus fired and find out that an enemy Atlas is behind me...

This is an interesting description of what "usually happens". If I understand you right, my guess is your problems are caused by one of two things (or both):

1) Your group sucks, happens a lot in pick up games, nobody sticks together and there's not much you can do about it. If you see it happening, try to follow someone who is running for cover rather than out in the open, then start praying. It's probably about to be a 8v2 match.

2) Your engine is too small and/or you have bad situational awareness. Either way, the net result is that you're in the wrong place. Engine upgrade is a self-explanatory fix. Experience will help you be in the right place at the right time.

Keep in mind that although the 9ML HBK-4P packs a powerful punch, it is still NOT a damage sponge and must rely on hit-and-run tactics. When you attack, always know where you are going to find cover after you **** off whomever just lost several tons of armor.

My HBK-4P:

• 9 Medium Laser
  
• 260 STD Engine
  
• 18 DHS
  
• 338 (max) Armor

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...df4231fb1dc9fa7

[pseudocoder]

Golfin Man, on 18 February 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

A post I read equated the 7 small laser alpha to being an ac/20 that can fire once every second, besides heat buildup [...] as long as you can keep your reticle in place for the half second it takes to fire.

AC/20 also has 270m range, not 90m, and the reason it's so good is it does instantaneous damage to a single location.

They are both direct fire weapons and they both do about 20 damage. Other than that they have no similarities.

Edited by pseudocoder, 18 February 2013 - 02:41 PM.

[Gremlich Johns]

I'm running a 4P with 6XMLas, 3XMPls, endo, std 245, 17 DHS

[kevin roshak]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...24722bf61c8854a

8ML and a TAG
use the TAG for the spotting bonus, and you can also use it as a constant tracer round of sorts to make sure your lasers will make contact. I have always liked AMS, provides a little extra survivablity factor to the mech, but you could always drop it and add a DHS and maybe drop the TAG for a MPL
I have it split into 4 groups:
WG1: 3 Torso ML
WG2: 3 Torso ML (other)
WG3: Both Arm ML
WG4: Tag

The TAG improves both the team game, LRM spotting and such as well as your own game if you learn to use it as a device to improve your aim

Edited by kevin roshak, 18 February 2013 - 05:05 PM.

[TygerLily]

I run you're build: 9 ML, 18 DHS, Standard 260 engine. I play it like an AC/20 Hunchy: Two arm lasers on one mouse button, the box and head laser on another. I fire the big hit when the "perfect" opportunity arises...which is more often than not.

[Mental Hippie]

Phoenix Gray, on 18 February 2013 - 12:26 PM, said:

You can support a mech without humping its leg all the way across the battlefield. Stay loose, keep moving and just remember to stay generally close enough to fire on anyone going after your buddy. Remember, you're an escort, not a sandbag.

Listen to Phoenix, what he says is important. Get that bigger engine ASAP, and then pretty much NEVER stop moving as a hunchie. I have found that the in game version of the Hunchback fits the lore description of a tough street fighter well. Constantly stay on the move, stay near cover, weave in and out of it, and use that crazy arm flexibility to the max together with well placed alphas from the hunch/head. In short, guerilla it up.