8 replies to this topic

[HotDoggin]

Let me first start off by saying I'm a huge MECH fan, I absolutely love anything mech and this game reminds me of the good ol original xbox live days with Mech Warrior. It brings back so many memories and Don't get me started on the community , it is very supportive and friendly.

I played shortly without investing any money and I'm ready to now invest some real cash into premium and some MC points.

I'm having a hard time finding a mech that fits my play style.

I want to find a good Sniper and/or Hit and Run mech.

Any suggestions?

I don't like anything too clunky and heavy, I don't want to ground and pound or scout.

I should add that I have watched many youtube videos and I understand it will take me awhile to get the hang of everything. I just want to know a mech I should be looking at and perhaps some weapons I can consider using.

[Buckminster]

Look for a flexible chassis that fits your style. With the current "have to level three variants" method, you are a lot better off focusing on one mech.

For me, it was the Catapult. A heavy mech that can move once you put a bigger engine in it, and the K2 is arguably one of the better sniper variants out there. You do have to like missiles though, as that will be your bread and butter on the other variants.

For me:
Cat K2 - direct fire. 2 ERPPCs and 2 MLs
Cat C1 - indirect fire. 2 LRM15s with Artemis and 4 MLs
Cat A1 - up front brawler. 3 SSRMs and 3 SRM6s

[wolfmanjake]

Try the 1 Guass/2 ERPPC, 4 PPC or 3 ERPPC Cataphract 3D jump sniper or the Trebuchet 7M with either 3PPC or 2 ERPPC jump sniper. They are the most mobile sniper builds atm.

[Edustaja]

Cataphract 3D with 2-3 ERPPC and or Gauss and JJ.
For balance a Catapult C1 with ERPPCs and SRM's and JJ.
Trebuchet with 3 SRM6 and ERPPC.
Dragon with ERPPC and Gauss.
Catapult K2, 2Gauss or 2-4 PPC.

Obviously the jump jet versions are the best for sniping at the moment so the Dragon and the old K2 catapult are good but a bit outdated.

[Ragor]

Like Buckminster suggested, the Catapult is maybe the most versertile mech where you can try out many playstyles.

It can be really fast, has a huge torso twist range and can be configured for every situation.

The K2 for example is good with the stock layout.

But you can turn it into a sniper (2x Gauss or 4x Large Laser or even 4 PPCs) or a fast Hunter Killer (2x AC10 + 4x medium laser) or even into a great brawler (2x LBX10 + 4x medium pulse laser or 2x AC20).

The only downside of the Catapult is that it is quite easy cockpit shotted, happens to me in 1 out of 20 matches. Bad luck then.

But in the end you got a heavy mech (armor) with the mobility of a medium mech. For a reasonable price.

And for me it is one of the very few mechs where I pack XL engines since the sidetorsos aren't as easy to target as on other mechs.

But that is just me. Ask 10 gamers and you'll get 11 opinions.^^

Edited by Ragor, 20 February 2013 - 01:39 PM.

[Redshift2k5]

Catapults (the K2 in particular) are great for both sniping and shoot n' scoot. with a 300xl Catapults can hit 82 km/h. Cataphracts can reach a similar speed and Dragons can exceed this speed. Heavies give a good mix of speed, armor, and weapons.

Here is a tool you can use to test-build mechs as well as see what their max speed will be with various engines http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

Of course, XL engines aren't cheap, but if you buy one then your mechs can share.

[Splinters]

My first response is answering a question that was not asked: How do I use my MC?

I would recommend mapping out how you want to use your MC as some things are only available via MC and some things just need to be grinded out. My typical MC usage is for mech bays and a few thousand MC on colors to paint all my mechs with. But there is a case to be made for certain Hero mechs that are MC-only (Ilya) as well. I would also recommend saving premium time for when Community Warfare (CW) begins, most of us founders are saving it for when things really count.

Back to your original question: Once you determine that MC is usable for mechs that are available via cbills here are my recommendations.

#1) Catapult K2, great sniping platform for dual Gauss or dual UAC5 if you want to ping a mech from far away and outdps every other ballistic except the AC/20,but from a much longer range (600m vs 270m).
#2) Cataphract 3D aka "Pop Tart", the jump sniper that many have alluded to above.
#3) Ilya Mourmets which can mount 3 UAC5's that can be a true dakka-dakka and a very effective sniper and supression fire mech all-in-one.

Hope that helps!

-S

Edited by Splinters, 20 February 2013 - 01:51 PM.

[Aym]

Welcome aboard! Always good to meet new Marik players.
As for MC and Premium, I'd have to suggest using the MC for mech bays and fluff like paint and cockpit items, buying mechs with MC is expensive if you don't have a lot of money to burn, and you make c-bills at a pretty decent pace with premium so that unless you're buying multiple assault chassis to level up you won't really notice money problems very often.
That said there are a few good sniper chasis. The K2 has been a long time favorite with 2 Gauss Rifles in the side torsos, and all of the Catapult variants bring something worth while, and with a C1 you could put ER PPC's in the side torsos, lots of Double Heat sinks and some jump jets to get a nice pop-tarting sniper. Oh, and pop-tarting is a term for using Jump Jets to get a clear shot over terrain (or other mechs) to take a direct fire shot at an opponent and then dropping back down so that they have a hard time returning fire.

Similarly the Cataphract 3D makes a good pop-tarting sniper as well as a regular sniper, but if you can manage the skill pop tarting is much safer. Again the Cataphract has many good variants and the Ilya (the Cataphract Hero Mech) is almost certainly the best Hero mech to date.

For Assaults the Atlas RS and the Stalker 3F are your best sniper options. The Atlas RS can take 4PPC's and a Gauss Rifle to put out the most direct damage of any mech in the game (not counting a 6-ppc stalker because that's really a joke build). The Stalker 3F is limited to 4 PPC's but is more heat efficient than the RS with it's Gauss rifle taking up a bunch of crit slots, and for whatever reason the PPC convergence from the stalker arms is more reliable in my experience than the arms of the RS, but the arms on the RS have horizontal travel which can ease targeting while moving.

For Hit and Run your options are much more diverse, with Lights, 2 Mediums, and 1 heavy chassis all offering options.


If you have any more questions or want to drop with a large community of Marik pilots swing by www.house-marik.net
We have almost 1000 members, all MWO players, and you can get into a group on our TS3 server literally 24/7.

Edited by Aym, 21 February 2013 - 06:04 AM.

[Koniving]

HotDoggin, on 20 February 2013 - 01:24 PM, said:

Any suggestions?

As I saw listed, Catapult and Cataphracts are good chassis for the sniper configurations. Jagermech may prove useful in the near future as well.

You really can't go wrong with a catapult.

ER PPC, PPC, or Gauss Rifles are the favorites for power snipers. If you're willing to be more of a long range artillery sort, a Cataphract 4X with twin UAC-5s and an AC-2 can work wonders for long range support (the shots aren't terribly powerful but it is a good way to learn how to aim, lead, etc. Very forgiving ammunition-wise. Well, Catapult K2 and most Cataphracts can do that rig.

For hit and run 'Mechs of the heavy class, the Cataphract 2x and 1x work exceptionally well for this when combined with XL 340 engines, a good number of heat sinks and some decent firepower. I've been playing them like dragons lately. (As a chassis, the Cataphract gives it all; 3D, 4X, Muromets are great ranged builds. 2X and 1X can easily be turned into virtually any type of Mech).

Leading me to the next good heavy hit and run chassis, the Dragon. Keep in mind the Dragon's large 'Mech ramming belly is more obtrusive than useful at the moment. This is because knock-downs have been disabled and put on the back burner while they work a number of kinks out. The dragon excels as a hit and run Mech and almost always has a maximum sized XL engine with various weapons. I recommend forgetting the ballistics or going with MGs. Focus on high heat efficiency (so you don't shut down) and powerful lasers. Large or Large Pulse with missiles for some extra umph. Med Pulse at the minimum. In reality the Dragon is a very confused Mech because it is a heavy that plays like a light. Avoid old combat tricks like circle strafing. Charge in, blast things, bug out and wait for the enemies to be shooting something else before you do it again. Don't stop. Don't brawl. Chase lights. Don't let them chase you. And anything you fight, go for the back, go for the shoulders, go for the legs. If you're crafty go for the head. Never go for the center front torso unless there's no armor and its dark red.

A not so common but very effective sniper's build for the Dragon provided you remember the hit and run tactics and the NEVER BRAWL rule is ER PPC + Gauss. Sometimes combined with an LRM. Since both gauss and PPCs travel at the same speed, this is an excellent combo. At range you can stop to line up your shots. Up close use mainly the ER PPC as the gauss's damage can be impaired by a minimum range of 60 meters (due to kinetic energy not being fully transferred or some sort of lore-related stuff). Although in this rig you should never be that close to begin with. Remember speed is still your top priority.

You may laugh at this, but a light mech suggestion includes the Jenner (PPCs/ER PPCs for sniping, realistic configs for hit and runs) and the Ravens (3-L for hit and runs, 4x and 2x for PPC/ER PPC sniping, 4x for Gauss Rifle sniping). I've done a Gauss Rifle Spider but trust me... not new player friendly. Hilarious though!

For mediums, any of them could fulfill both roles depending on equipment. 4P, 4SP are the favorites among the hunchback line up and great for PPC rigs. The Hunchback 4G and 4H are good ballistic sniper rigs but be warned if you lose the cannon you lose 85% of your weaponry. This is an excellent chassis for hit and run and brawler mechs. The 4G and 4H can be adequate for brawling provided you have plenty of urban environments to fight on. Otherwise keep them as ranged builds.

Still on mediums, the Centurions are limited to ballistic snipers with the exception of the 9-AL who could do energy. These also make great hit and run and good ballistic mechs. Be warned the hard points are a bit limited and his front profile is huge. Get used to torso twisting that left arm ahead of you to block incoming fire.

Mediums still... Trebuchet, the newest contender, is like a superior Centurion with no sacrificial limbs and smaller profile. People complain of it being a bit weak armor wise, but its armor is identical to the Centurion and Hunchback. What makes this challenging though are the additions of missiles and people are still experimenting to see what works and what doesn't. The 7K is a good initial bet for sniping. Larger engine and it could do hit and runs. Do not brawl with it.

And finally the Cicada. These are hard mechs to build for. Sadly they must be played like dragons. Hit and run only, never brawl. However there are a couple of configurations that are great for sniping. Especially on the 3M with ECM to help conceal your location.

Good luck.