Greetings all! I am soliciting my awesome community friends here for a little assistance in choosing my next chassis to fall in love with and master. The two that it comes down to for me is the Victor and the Blackjack. Why? Not sure really... but what I do know is that I love the AC/20 and I love jump jets. Both mechs appeal aesthetically to me, as do the tactics one usually applies while using one. I view both mechs as sort of a hit and run chassis that allows for maximum mobility and a whole lot of movement, which is how I like to play. Currently, I have mastered Cataphracts, Catapults, Hunchbacks and Atlas'. I almost have the Centurion mastered. They all have their own places in my heart, but I really enjoy the mechs that can hit hard, then move. So... what are your thoughts? Which mech do you think? A big plus is varying playstyle amongst the chassis, as well, like the Cataphract. I have a 3xAC/5, a 2xPPC, and an AC/20 phract. They all play totally differently and feel good. I would like that same feature in the new chassis. So far, this chassis is my favorite in the fact that it can do multiple roles very well. Looking for opinions! Thanks all!
The BJ is not an AC20 carrier imo. If you want a medium with a 20, get a Hunchie or a YLW. While a lot of people run BJs with a 20 I think that is simply due to the fact of how broken ballistics are compared to energy weapons. The BJs are long range support mechs with some close range harassing, meaning AC2s, max AC5s and Medium/Small Lasers as secondaries. Just my opinion. As for the Viktors, those which can carry the AC20 make decent use out of it because an XL Engine works well enough for them, freeing up the tonnage for heavy ballistics.
FWIW, I have been re-watching the Victor breakdown in the Benefactor's Bar Exclusive Video Content and am leaning ~very~ heavily towards the big man... Thanks Michael, and thanks everyone for the suggestions so far!
BJ-1 is a great AC/20 carrier. It's the only medium with both jump jets and good vertical weapon mobility: SDH has JJ, but the cannon is in the torso thus not really mobile, YLW's arm is mobile but the mech has no jets. Hunchback... well hunchback has nothing. The problem is the other variants he'll have to grind in order to unlock the elite perks: to grind blackjacks you have to play energy boats. scromboid wants to vary the playstyles, so it actually not be a problem: AC/20 on the BJ-1, fast laser boat on the BJ-1X, PPCs on the BJ-3, for example. About Blackjacks vs Victors, I'd personally choose the Blackjacks, but it's personal preference (I'm more of a light/medium pilot). The main difference I see, if your main interest is to carry an AC/20, is that on the BJ it will be you main weapon system (only 2 or 3 ML as backups), but on the VTR you'll be able to mount more weapons for a more complex loadout.
Victors! They are a great mech and they excel at mobile firepower. They have great hardpoints and the arms have a decent amount of clearance and they great for peaking out. Everyone loves jumpjets on assault mechs, so make use of those. I routinely pull down 600-1k damage games without breaking a sweat. I also use the Dragon Slayer as my main space money grinding mech. My favorite AC/20 mech http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=89&l=349261463fd198526ecd830dcbfc508cc40d6129
I'd say Blackjack because they're less expensive, so you'll know if they're for you much sooner. Also, if I never see another Victor with an AC/20 and two PPCs, it'll be too soon.
I'm somewhat baffled that noone is mentioning an AC40 Jager. Double AC20 goodness at 80ish kph, decend armor and backup weapons.
Well. Victors are hands down my favorite mech. However, the speed and agility of a BJ20 is pretty admirable. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=77&l=2422d21f093da901ef25dffc5a8970b3e0192e20 Thing will kick out some SERIOUS hurt. Shoot anything within 500m and watch 'em fall. However, at the same time, if you don't mind going a little slower, putting the AC/20 onto a Vic gives you fully actuated arm movement to throw that slug around where ever you want it. Moreover, gives a lot more options for load-outs. (Hence my favorite platform)
At first i hated my first Jack (BJ-1) when i tested it. The stockloadout is soo crap - slow speed, too hot weaponloadout and very fragile. Now after mastering all my blackjacks and settled down with powerful weaponloadouts (AC20.Jack/Laserboat.Jack/Jumpsniper.Jack) i really like them. They are meant to be piloted as fast Skirmisher/Firesupporter. They cant take much damage and if you get unluckily shot you are most times almost dead. But the main advantage you have with BlackJacks: Supercheap! You can use the common STD200/XL280 from other Mechs before you can buy the XL235(/XL295), which you can use on almost all Jacks and also for the COMs (Ravens/Jenners). Victors are supercool & deadly due to high Agility for the Assault Class. But the price you have to pay: high costs to master them and most good builds need a large XL Engine to offer a speed of 80kph. On the other hand you have very similar variants, which mainly differ in the no.of ballistic slots in the right arm. The other differences are small imo. You can build one with double UACs, one as Gauss.Sniper and one with AC20. My recommendation: If you want it cheap and prefer to play fast Skirmisher then go for the Jacks. If costs are no matter for you and you like to brawl much then definitely the Victor.
After re-reading your initial post, it hits me... A 3D and a Victor pilot very similar. There are obvious differences... The 3D has higher hard-points for peeking over cover, the Victor has all Ballistics and Energy in fully articulated arms and Missile hard-points. Otherwise, very comparable mechs. Might be nice to have something familiar, but, it may also give you more options to get a fast, light, JJ worthy medium.
Update: I am going to end up with both. For right now, I did go with the poll and bought myself a Victor 9B. Right now, I have the AC/20, 2ML with the STND320 in it. It will take quite a while to get it up to snuff, but so far, I am really loving it. It is a little slow, but I know effeciencies and a bigger engine with fix it. From what I can tell, my goal build is going to cost 16.5m CBills... which is an awful lot. Half of that is done. Next big purchase is that 5.7m CbIll engine... ouch. Why are XLs so much? They should be the same as STD... they are situationally different, really. Thank you all for your help and opinions!!
Your welcome, but don't forget,XL engines weigh half as much as a STD engine, and are 6 slots larger. You pay for size and weight loss.
