Generally confused how to play any weapons on Clan Heavies

Thread in 'MechWarrior Online' started by guynodens, Oct 16, 2017.

  1. guynodens

    guynodens Junior Member

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    In a broader sense I'm not really mad at the mechs, I'm mad at the weapons systems that make the use of a heavy difficult for me.
     
  2. guynodens

    guynodens Junior Member

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    For reference, here's my attempt at a build that can do mid-range and close-range:

     
  3. Sleek34

    Sleek34 New Member

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    The trick for me is a properly set up skill tree. (operations tree's coolrun and heat containment > weapon heat from the firepower tree)
    Then the next step is weapon grouping but its pretty simple with left click lasers right click uac5s, and I prefer to set it up where the left click weapons are on the left side of the mech and the right click ones are on the right and so on. I don't usually fire both uac 5s off at the same time as spamming the lasers. It is also helpful if you have a gaming mouse with extra programmable buttons to set some to smaller groups of the weapons such as half and half lasers so you can fire them off using less heat much more effectively than chain fire. This part is critical for a lot of my clan mech builds as they use a LOT of lasers most of the time and you often don't wan't to just alpha strike all the time. This also applies to IS mechs like the Hunchback 4P where I use 3 different groups for the 9MPLs I have on it. The way I set it up for the Hunchback is group 1 is the higher mounted lasers in the hunch and the head laser as they can hill poke, group 2 is the rest of the hunch lasers while group 3 is the arm lasers. This method works on many mechs including clan mechs where they have only some high mounts such as the TBR-A left torso.

    My advice is that if you are using SRMs, don't bother trying to take long range weapons like PPCs. Stick to ER Mediums if you want some range. Also I would suggest using Artemis if you use 6s and sometimes even 4s, that way the spread is less so you can do more effective damage than just spraying missiles at them

    My TBR SRM brawler actually runs MPL instead of ER Mediums and another using the D-chassis running 5 small pulses but this is a much friendlier and versatile build.

    If you want something more long range this is a rather hot running energyboating TBR with the A torso. Note that you put the ERML in first before the ERPPCs to get the ppcs on the high mount.
    I would also advise not to alpha the build and simply use the erppcs at long range and then rely on the ermls after you have closed distance. The build seems hot on paper but if you look at the weapon lab and drag the erppc slider down you realize the heat is much more managable when you are not brawling with them. Same goes for the other way when you avoid firing the ERML outside of their optimal where the ERPPCs can do their thing. Of course the thing about this build is everyone skilled will instnatly go for the high mount as it does make the hitbox much easier to shoot and cripples your firepower if you lose it.


    I still find it viable to this day and moreso with the new right torso. Really fun to use and when skilled with heat and range in mind it reminds me of the old TDR-5SS when it had the op quirks.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2017
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  4. guynodens

    guynodens Junior Member

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    What I have heard is that energy weapons in general are really hard to use, and then very powerful when you put all your skill points into them. Would you say that's more or less true?

    This is something I really struggle with a lot; I can handle 3 weapon groups when one of them is, say, LRMs which are fire-and-forget, but when it's anything else, more than 2 really makes me struggle. I'm trying to get better at chain-firing, just because then I can split up my weapon heat but still only have 2 weapon groups per se.

    Earlier I tried a build with, rather than mediums, I was using 4x SRM6's and 2x HLLs. Seemed okay if I weren't so crap at brawling in general.

    Is it worth just running 3x PPCs? I know there are a lot of 2x PPC, 1x Gauss builds out there but I find that hard. Then again, I havaen't used the gauss charge nodes yet, so I don't know how much that will affect my abilities.
     
  5. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

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    Unluckily "2xGauss + 1xPPC" or "1xGauss + 2xPPC" now generate ghost heat

    Lasers are kinda easy to use: you are not focusing all the damage on a single shot or point, so they are both forgiving and can apply some damage as long as you are not missing entirely or your target is completely out of range. That's why they are still kinda good to ruin light's legs: no matter what they do, if you can aim at their legs, you will deal some damage.

    The only big downside is the heat: you can't be trigger-happy in very hot builds or maps, but if you manage to focus components properly, they are very good at crippling your enemies or kill them depending at what you are aiming.
     
  6. Regina Redshift

    Regina Redshift Sass Elemental

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    Mech geometry is very important to me. The hitbox locations can be just as important as the armor, structure, quirks, etc. An arm that hangs around at the mech's knees is not going to work as a shield arm. If adding a weapon to a mech makes its silhouette dramatically bigger, then you should ask yourself whether that weapon on that mech is a good idea. For these reasons, I generally recommend the Ebon Jaguar above the Timberwolf.

    Speaking of quirks, mechs with Jump Jets tend to have negative quirks or fewer hardpoints. Balancing the jump capacity against other features is tricky business. For instance, I've stopped using the Kitfoxes' S-legs because the structure penalty was completely negating the jump bonus. The single JJ in the TBR-S's center torso doesn't seem to come at too high a price.

    Full disclosure: I do not like the Timber Wolf for weird, personal reasons. I tried to put that aside for this thread so that I can talk about its merits relative to other mechs of the same class.
     
  7. Gneckes31

    Gneckes31 Well-Known Member

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    Clan Heavies are some of my absolute favorite Mechs in the game. Especially the Timber Wolf, Hellbringer and Mad Dog tend to perform quite well for me.
    I also like the Mediums (Nova, Huntsman, Stormcrow) and they do usually draw less attention on the battlefield, but I find Heavies are much better at leading or stopping a push.
    I guess it comes down to personal preference.
     
  8. Sleek34

    Sleek34 New Member

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    Well personally, lasers are quite easy as they basically hitscan, the hard part is doing effective damage by not sweeping it all over the enemy mech. This does make clan more difficult to use than IS if you think about the longer burn durations. Skill tree definitely makes a difference in heat if you compare stock vs a full cool run/heat containment skill tree and some more weapon heat from the firepower tree.


    I run this on my TBR-S (CT JJ) you can run the same on the other variants maybe add a 5th CT laser for the other variants, D and C instead of a JJ.
    My weapon groups also usually consist of 3 main ones with the 3rd for fire and forget like lock on weapons and SRM. This TBR uses 1 for the left lasers and 2 for the right lasers with 3 for the SRMS. But if you are restricted to 3 I suppose try 1 for lasers 2 for all 4 SRMs and then 3 is chain fire for the SRMs. It would be better to have a separate group of left SRMs and right SRMs instead but make do with what you have.

    I don't usually brawl with HLL, its a poking weapon or something to use at near it's optimal range and not closer. It is a very hot weapon after all. I would say 4MPL (like build above) instead of 2HLL is better to manage and use for brawling or say 6 ERML with some more heatsinks. This makes a mech much more flexible than just using 2HLL.

    3ERPPC will trigger ghost heat unless you stagger it, I generally dont like running just 3 weapons on a heavy mech personally. TBR is suited to run more than just 3. a 2 ERPPC Summoner will be better than a 3 ERPPC TBR.
    PPC and Gauss have ghost heat like Carlo said. They used to sync up well as both are long range projectile weapons with similar velocities. That is not the same anymore with the ghost heat combo. I only used the gauss charge nodes once and I personally dislike them. I usually just keep recharging gauss at my own pace and the charge nodes throw off that pattern. It is something you need to get used to. I usually bind my gauss to right click and try to keep it charged as much as I can without letting it decharge itself. The build I have there I would say is best run with the erppcs set to one group of your choice then split the ERMLS into two groups with a 3 x 3 format. Also try to set a 4th group with erppc on chain fire if you can. Snipe with ERPPCs at long range and use the lasers at closer ranges. Avoid using erppc within 300m unless its to get a killshot when lasers are on cooldown.
     
  9. GeraldGR

    GeraldGR New Member

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    Hi. SNV A. Crossbow Mod. 42 Atms, 4 Hsl. Calculate alpha at 140m for the lols. 1 shots most mechs under 240 armor in the game. Just something to get you cool.

    To your point now. Clan heavies... Simple answer: I like hybrids. So ... 1 ac10/20 (variant), 1-2 atm 12/9, laser supplements. Learn 3 keybinds firing style. I play mdd with 24 atm 4 ls , indirect fire under 300m and laser poking when time allows. Take a HBR PRIME .
     
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