Greetings. First time build-poster here. I bought the Jester because I have a minor love affair with the Catapult. In any case, I've been experimenting with builds. I wanted maximum speed because, well, who wouldn't want a 65 tonner pushing nearly 100kph? The trouble was finding the right combination of heat management, range, and punch. I usually like having my main weapons in pairs, but the heat was atrocious using PPCs and ERPPCs. So I mixed it up with the Large Pulse Laser and one ERPPC and I've been very surprised at the effectiveness. I can fire at range about as quickly as the ERPPC will recharge. Once I get close the Large Pulse melts mechs. I'm a huge proponent of the Large Pulse, and it recharges faster and generates less heat than the ERPPC, so I have a decent sustained fire with that. The four small lasers might seem like junk, but in my opinion when they're grouped they can be effective, dealing 12 points of damage at once in this case. I've scored several kills recently with the small lasers. This build, like other Jester builds, relies heavily on speed and maneuverability. Armor is not maxed; don't stand still. Flanking is important and moving to the rear of the enemy works wonders. Jump Jets add to the versatility, allowing you to reach some heights normally inaccessible, and I've scored one kill on a Victor on Forest Colony who was hiding behind one of those buildings near the tunnel using a quick hop and shooting him with the PPC. Since I've never done the jump sniping thing I was quite pleased with myself. In terms of weapons groupings, I use the left mouse button for the ERPPC and the right for the Large Pulse Laser. Button Four (thumb) fires all Small Lasers. I'm sure some of the expert builders here will have some insight and/or advice and I encourage people to use or discard this mech as they see fit. I just figured I'd share for once since I borrow y'all's builds quite a bit. Koba
Not generally although it is sometimes. The speed allows me to find cover pretty quickly, but in instances in which I do not have ready cover, it can get a bit dicey. Also, I usually drop with a friend of mine and stick close if he has AMS. That was one of the draws for me with the Jester, because I like having dual AMS, but oddly enough I ended up taking them both out. Personally I view AMS as a luxury that I will sacrifice for other things. I know that a lot of people have a different view, so maybe they could think of a way to tweak this build.
Hey Koba, I get the reason for the ER PPC in allowing you into the long game. Here's a twist on your build which will add all the benefits of the Jester, and give you more focus. Play the Jester fast, constantly moving, and using the JJ's as often as possible. Don't depend on your AMS to keep you spot free from missile barrages, so use it in conjunction with moving from cover to cover. Your JJ's in conjunction with turning will allow you to do the "circle of death" to Assault and some Heavy mechs just as the Light mechs do to everyone else. The biggest problem I see with a Jester, or Catapult for that matter, in using lasers on hardpoints of a mech is that it requires you to present your CT completely while firing for the lasers duration. Your PPC will alleviate that and allow you to twist to mitigate damage; although that can still be negligable due to its very large CT hit box. 4 small lasers are like crack, they hit hard and can be too much fun. They require you to be within 90m of your opponent to do max damage, and the heat/recycle time of the ERPPC and LPLAS can possibly run your heat high while you try to close distance to get into effective SLAS range. With the Jester, heat management is crucial. More armor is a definite plus. Anyhow, here's the loadout, give it a shot.
Vhladd, many thanks for posting your version and I will give it a shot. Sorry it took so long for me to respond; I guess I have notifications turned off! Koba.
