Friend of mine is having a hard time with the "Cloud of Shrapnel" Siren. In fairness, it seems to get cored pretty quick (maybe we're playing assault wrong?). I wanted to try a build that encourages some twist n' poke play with a dead side. It's my understanding that losing one torso won't wreck the LE300, so I'm thinking the right side becomes a shield. LGRs at range seem like decent poke without having to keep the torso facing the target for very long. Same with the Large Pulse Lasers. What do the experts think? I've never used LGRs before, so I don't know about the ammo needs. I think you could easily trade some heatsinks or right side armor for more ammo.
Well... I really like your attempt, but... IMHO LGR are too niche to be worth it: despite the heatless DPS, the alpha strike is pretty low and I really don't see a reason to choose them over 2xAC2, but that's another story. Ammo wise, it looks a little to short: you consume 2 ammo every ~ 3 seconds, so you definitely need at least 1 more ton of ammo, 2 would be even better. About losing a side torso you are not entirely right: if you lose the left side torso, you will lose 3 external DHS (the one you fitted in smurpy) and you will also lose 4 (not completely sure about the exact number) engine DHS, which actually dissipate 0.2 hps compare to 0.15 hps of those external DHSs. With a cooling efficiency of 42%, losing that right tordo would mean be able to alpha strike only once in a while those LPLs, because you will dissipate heat really slowly. This build could work if you could mount those LPLs on the left side torso, even better if you could switch LPL with ERLL for increased range and sinergy with LGR.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm looking at your suggestions and trying some different stuff. I think there are two underlying issues I'm trying to address: 1. My companions are new to assaults and not real sure when to push and where to be in the battle line. 2. My companions are trying to face-tank damage and the Siren is getting cored VERY quickly thanks to all the twin HGR or Quad LGR or whatever builds. When I actually got into the in-game mechlab and applied this fit, I was able to shave some armor off thanks to Survival Tree skills and I upped the Gauss ammo to 80 which addresses the concern you raised about ammo. With 4 tons of ammo and everything else, you are out of empty slots. I agree with you on LGR being niche. I leaned away from the 2xAC2/UAC2 because to get good damage out of them you have to keep them on target which keeps the torso facing the target longer which is what I was trying to get away from. Technically the LGR does more DPS for less HPS than the AC2/UAC2 and it's all done in a single (well two) hits which means I'm less likely to spread damage; another thing I was trying to get away from in the 2xLB10X build. Now, that said, the cooldown on the LGR is only ~2 seconds meaning it's not entirely synergistic with the torso twist idea. A harder hitting ballistic weapon would fit better. With the LE engine you can't fit the HGR. Two LGR are better than a single GR (can only fit one). You can't do twin AC10s because of space and 2 LGRs are better than a single AC10. Twin AC/5s or AC/2s are do-able but then we're not really serving underlying principle of not having your torso facing your enemy for extended periods again. I agree that the LGR are niche, but I think, given my design goals, this might be their niche. That said, I'm much less experienced at all this, so I could be very wrong. The ERLLs are an interesting idea. I like the range on them and the synergy with the LGRs. I'm concerned about over-emphasizing that long range, though. There are much better long range direct-fire platforms and I wanted to encourage mid-range play at least to get my friends used to the idea of moving up with an assault and using their weight to press forward. The damage is also something of an issue. 3 damage less on their alpha isn't a big deal (especially if you get a few extra volleys off with their long range), but the duration of the beam is almost twice as long meaning the pilot will have to hold their aim point steady for almost twice as long to get that damage. It's entirely possible the ERLLs are the superior choice in the hands of a skilled user, especially if you can get an extra volley or two that you wouldn't get with the LPLs. Going to three ERLLs also frees up 6 tons meaning you can drop the LE300 for a Standard 300 and you get back 4 slots. That lets you free up space for an HGR in the Left torso (replace 2xLGR) which improves alpha and frees yet more tonnage. You can throw 2 more tons of HG ammo (for 30 rounds total) and CASE in the torso to prevent losing the torso early to a lucky crit. Heat efficiency goes up, too. That leaves 5 free tons, but no slots. Putting that into the engine gives you 3 Km/h which is a waste. Dropping a DHS gives you 3 slots and 6 tons free total. You could throw on a SNPPC now. Technically it tanks the heat performance and mounts a weapon on what is supposed to be a dead side, but it does use up that extra tonnage, all but one of your slots, and gives you another 10 damage on your alpha when your heat is low or you absolutely need it. I honestly kind of like how this variation looks, but it kind of reminds me of the Bradley AFV at this point. It makes no sense when you look at the finished product, but if you follow the development process you can see how they got there. I only hope I didn't end up invalidating the entire point of the project in the process. Take a look: [/I]
In fact I would rather say that it's better to know your role and try to fill the role you have thought about than trying to be a jack of all trades but excel at nothing. It is true that there are better weapon platforms, but if your friend is really starting to grasp the game, I would not let him use an assault, unless it's meant to be a fast one. The main issue of the assaults is that if you get caught in the open or in bad position / alone, no matter what your tank is, you will die. That's why I would let him drop with a solid heavy mech, like Hellbringer (any vomit laser or he can try something more "exotic", like my personal LBX20+4xMPL+ECM), Ebon Jaguar (any of the old meta builds) or Warhammer (vomit laser, dual autocannon, dual gauss... It can do anything). Also, Banshee is not actually very great to learn shielding because it is quite slow and it does not have a "truly dead" side torso. If you want to let him learn arm shielding, Centurion is not meta but it is still very good (or even warhammer, just don't strip to 0 those arms). Marauder 3R with dual LBX10 is still my favourite as a teaching mech. About the build, I would not fit that SNPPC: SNPPC has really terrible heat efficiency and those tons are better spend to upgrade the engine. Also, the Heavy Gauss rifle, despite the huge damage, will deal less damage than a standard Gauss rifle over ~450-500 meters, so it will be a waste over that range, the opposite is true for the ERLL... That's why I would never mix weapon range and I always try to create some synergy. If this is a build just for fun and in very low division, you could try something just for fun like the following: An MRM to soften up enemies at range but that can work pretty well at close range (big alpha strike), short range focus, pretty fast for a 95 tonner, you can shield with whatever side you like and has 2xJJs. This build will work assuming you don't have to face top tier mechs: if it's not the case because for example you will group up, you definitely have to look for another build... This is actually a monster (a bad build), but anything else I have thought was already posted. As a med range, the only other thing I could think of is some combination of PPC / LL / MRM / Gauss, but I don't like whatever I come up with.
