EDIT: So, I actually have tried out the build It's able to deal quite a bit of damage, if (unlike me) you've practiced your AC/5s a lot. If you haven't practiced, the arm-munted ballistics will be extremely difficult to hit with. The low placement of the arms is a bit the dragon's fault, but it makes it hard to poke over cliffs. Since I still had an XL325 hanging around I personally went for the speedy build, without the SRM6. There was such a lack of builds in this section! Since the Fang and the Flame are on sale now, I've tried to theorycraft a build for myself. As long as you don't use ballistics too much though, the extra energy slot on the flame and easier targetting of the ballistics (I found that mounting any mllistics on my arm is hard to control) might be your preference. Anyhow, I'm a sucker for filling up every possible slot (my Hunchie 4G has 2 machineguns for crying out loud), and figured that this could be a build I'd like. The dual AC/5 (not ultra because a jam mid-fight will screw your DPS over) will be the main aspect. 10 damage every salvo on a low cooldown is nothing to scoff at. I'd prefer it over a gauss rifle for a close-mid range build, since the gauss is much more fragile, and this deals higher DPS for one ton extra. Dual AC/2 would deal even larger DPS, but is even more dependant on keeping fire on your target the whole time. During the cooldown of a gauss you could reposition yourself easier so while the AC2 dps drops, the gauss DPS wouldn't. The SRM6 just gives a little extra punch. I'm personally not a fan of pulse lasers, otherwise it could be removed for some extra tonnage for the MPLs and an extra ton of AC5 ammo/armor. The SRM6 would still deal 6 more damage than swapping stuff out for MPLs though, regardless of the 50% range advantage normal MLs have over MPLs. It can also be removed and get replaced by a larger engine. If you feel the above build is not for you, here are some alternatives:
Tried it out. I find that I do better with skribs' Flame, but that's because I don't hit all that often with the AC/5s on this build.
I find that the UAC/5 makes up for jamming by allowing you some breathing room. AC/2s and UAC/5s require constant time on target while firing in order to maintain their damage. I don't look at the jam as a failure to DPS, but an opportunity to torso twist or go behind cover. The extra damage they deal while not jammed makes up for the 0 they deal while jamming. Even so, with the exception of AC/2s (although I don't personally want to boat AC/2s), I think you're better off going bigger than multiplying smaller auto-cannons. 2xAC/5 weighs 16 tons, 1x AC/10 weighs 12 tons. Yeah the DPS is slightly higher with 2xAC/5 (5.88 vs. 4) but per-ton you're getting more out of the AC/10. This is just my opinion. When I get home I'll post my Fang build, which is an XL 325, Gauss, 2x ML and 1x LL. Trying to figure out how someone in my unit fit a 350 or 360 XL onto this build in the 1C...
That sounds like some reasonable arguments, I'll give the UAC5 some more love. I'm personally not a big fan of the AC10, I don't know why but to me it always feels like it underperforms.
Just standing there using it, the AC/10 will underperform. In terms of DPS / Tons (tons for the weapon, DHS for neutral heat, and ammo for 2 minutes of fire), the AC/10 is only more efficient than machine guns in the ballistic line, IIRC. However, it's a nice, balanced weapon that will not be as costly to your tonnage as a gauss or AC/20, but give you an increase in firepower during maneuvers over the others. What ballistic weapon is best depends a lot on your playstyle, your other weapons, and whether you want a focused or balanced build. Running a single AC/10 or UAC/5 will give you some extra weight for DHS, which makes those MLs or MPLs that much better. When I was running my basic template on my Fang, it was a 300 XL, UAC/5 w/ 3 tons ammo, SRM6 w/ 2 tons ammo, and 3 MPLs, with around 14-16 DHS (can't remember exactly). I just remembered that I forgot to post my Fang build, need to write that down for when I get home from work. I'll also post my 1N build in the appropriate section, which uses my basic brawler dragon template.
I always thought the only difference between Fang and the 1C was the lonew energy hardpoint in the left shoulder, but I just realised that Fang has 2 ballistic hardpoints. This allows for some nice skirmisher builds including dual AC5 as you posted. I am not quite sure wether the AC5's CD was already lowered to 1,5s when you made your build. Long story short, this is what I just came up with. I deem the SRM6 necessary from what I learned when mastering my 1C - this is a hell of a finisher in a Dragon. Dual AC5 is a combination I do like very much at the moment.
I saw a Fang running rampant in my opponent's team recently. His loadout was comparable to this one, but he didn't used the missile launcher. This is what I came up with by reverse engineering his build.
Keep trying different version but for me a variant of this is pretty much what I come back to every time. I swap the SRM6 out and pop in LRM5. It with 1 ton of ammo I can be harassing people I cant see throughout pretty much entire game. Chainfire the AC5 if anything keeps the ammo going a touch longer and the 1-2 punch works pretty good for when needing to lead a target.
Looking back at this build a year later, I'd stick with XL300, swap 1 AC5 for a UAC5 (3t ammo) and put an ERLL in the torso (need to remove AMS and missiles). Otherwise stick with 3 ML and up the engine a lot/equip missiles. I'm not a large lrm fan, but I can see its use here.
I don't know about you guys, but this seems the best to me, I mean it practically goes 100 KPH and manages to still pack a wallop.
How about this, longer range. You can use ERLLas for a even longer reach. I think these builds are not utilizing the nice high mount LT energy hardpoint though. The current build can be used on a 5N, and my build probably fits into more than one variant. Then again I like FLAME better. Really don't feel like getting Fang, too similar to other variants.
OP build (sans AMS) still works today. Need to to put modules in this thing, though, allthewhile adding another ton of AC5 ammo by reducing the SRM to a 4-sized launcher. In the end, a single AC10 is probably better nowadays, though, simply because of the quirks... something like this. To be tested.
