Here is my entry for this beast. Leaving the XL in an Atlas felt a bit silly, so I replaced it with the largest STD I could fit in and now I have a XL400 to play around with in a heavy mech.
Don't tell my build that I'm using this build... I like the 350 in the Atlas. I like the additional speed you're afforded. I'm not a fan of the ERs, so I downgraded to regular, and I'm not a fan of your lack of ammo (traded a heatsink and half a ton of armor for two more tons), so I rated it 4/5 stars. Really very enjoyable, though.
Ha! I just built up a Boars Head in Smurfy's and then checked out this forum to be sure it hadn't already been done, but here it was. Mine is just a touch different, most notably in the AC20 ammo department.
After a couple days of using this I've found that I rarely go through all 21 rounds of AC20 ammo in a match (probably because I charge into engagements instead of trying to flank and harass). But yes, I agree, replacing one of the heatsinks + some leg armor for a lot more ac20 ammo allows you to be a lot more liberal with your ballistic shots instead of waiting for the perfect shots in order to get maximum results.
This is the build I finally settled on. It's cool-running, fast-firing and includes AMS. I keep shooting when other brawlers overheat. Shines at close range. Good at medium. Fast enough to cover at long. Consistently a great performer for me, nearly always leading or just under on the charts as long as I'm not unlucky and get focused early.
I did a variant like this, just increasing ammo to 35, imo what I feel is the Safe AC20 ammo, because less then that in a Long match you Can and will run out, specially as the Ac20 is your primary Low heat gun. AMS + 2x ER PPC's, they run toasty but alpha at medium range is amazing and it can tag nearly at 1km, even with AC20. I know what your saying theres better sniper boats out there but this is one damn tough one that can brawl with its weapons.
I personally prefer the Large Lasers since they're lighter with less heat and are hitscan. The big highlight of this build is its ability to deal a pinpoint 58 alpha with very high accuracy, especially with the lasers themselves doing 38 damage and being articulated in the arms. As a highlight, a skilled pilot can pick off lights that are harassing teammates with this build very easily and can fend off lights significantly better than others do. In general, you only rack up a heat build-up of 40% with all the lasers, but it dissipates at a good rate for you to do it almost 3 times straight, decimating many mechs in a short amount of time.
Nice. I use a very similar build. It is useful at all ranges and isn't afraid to go in for a small brawl as long as you mind the heat.
