This is my favorite Dragon. UntamedZer0, Pepperdoggy, various other of our friends and I all run a close variation of this. Pepper started the trend and awed us with his crazy Gauss abilities. Extremely survivable, even with XL engine...there is nothing like a Dragon if you gotta go Heavy. Tell me what you think. Myth.
I've played around with a lot of builds, including my FlameC20, a few laser boats, and my assault shredder template, (a bit of time with the LBX that I couldn't get the hang of), and I've come to one conclusion - Dragons are designed to use a Guass rifle. Other stuff works, but the Gauss gives you options at any range. My tweaks on this would be to remove the SRM6 for an SRM4 and either more ammo or an extra DHS, or to forego SRMs entirely to increase the power of your energy weapons. MPLs on the torso and MLs on the arms would make it easier to track targets and get the full damage out of all your energy weapons, or you could go with a bigger engine. That's not to say the original is worse than any of these ideas, it's all playing around with what fits your style best.
If only I had an ounce of Pepper's skill in aiming an arm-mounted gauss, I'd rip the AC/10 out of my -1C faster than you could blink! A classic, well rounded build with lots of options to tweak to your taste.
I used to run with Med.PLasers but UntamedZer0 convinced me to try it with the SRM6. Since I made the change my kills per match have gone up by at least one on average. I wouldn't have believed it myself but time and again the SRM is the deciding factor in an engagement. The SRM4 is a good idea if you are firing closer to two hundred meters +, but I am usually using them well within one hundred meters so I like the added damage. Thanks for the input, you should try the SRM6. In regard to accuracy with the Gauss, it just takes practice; I actually find it easier to hit targets with the Gauss over the AC/10 now. Mythweaver
Going to try this out real soon. One suggestion - move 2t gauss ammo from RT to RA. It's not a lot, but there's always the chance that the extra 2 crits to soak could save your gauss rifle on occasion.
The SRM6s do well actually. They make the difference for me the same way but just on my Flame. I did try a variation recently on my 1C by swapping out my AMS for an SRM4 (as skribs mentioned above) with a ton of ammo. It does equally well although with slightly less punch compared to the SRM6 pack. The most critical factor for me is that I can continuously shoot and chain each group (Gauss, 4 Lasers, SRM) in successive order which can really overwhelm slower mechs in close battles. That means almost no wait time for another group to fire. The speed these builds have can help you disengage temporarily and then get right back in the battle to finish off your opponent. Lastly, running these dragons in threes ala "wolfpack" style is quite terrifying to the enemy. Weaving in and out of building cover at full speed and striking with loadouts like this will panic assaults and lights alike.
I'm running a similar setup on my 1C now (it's back to my basic template, as my 1N is using a LB-X), except I have a 325 XL and a UAC.
The SRM6 in my 1Cs nose is often the weapon that gets the kill. Its quick straight shooting mount makes it great for surprise snap shots on close targets. I ran this exact build on my 1C for months and just recently began experimenting with an AC10 build that I believe will not last much longer. There is one topic I am starting to notice between our play groups (as in Mythweaver, KalliD, Tsume, Pepper, Void, there is a few of us) weapon mounting and a lot of the general perception on our builds. One thing I would like to make clear, we are weapon grouping nazis. I know I have said it before, the weapons you have mounted are only half of it, the other half is how you group and use them. That is more of a deciding factor than what you have mounted. We tend to group our weapons in small situational groups with Primary, secondary, and tertiary purposes. Running around noob alphing everywhere is not what we do. Our weapons are generally grouped by arm location and use so we can micro manage our heat build up and grant us high heat options to deal damage without over heating. Personally I am heavy on arm aiming and will not group arm and torso weapons together, period. I bring this up because I have seen some worrying about the heat on this mech and have noticed it before on other builds and Pepper explaining out his firing progression. I can tell you by first hand experience this is one of the coolest running builds in my bays. Sure you can heat it up, you can heat anything up, but if you are using it right it's not something you will be worrying about. I believe that I may have to contribute a thesis on proper weapon grouping soon lol.
Untamed, is there a topic specific to your weapon grouping philosophy in general chat? If not, that would be a very interesting dicussion.
Great build, I just bought the 1C after mastering 3 other variants before it dawned on me that this is probably the best variant for how I play my hit-and-run dragons. The 4th energy hardpoint was the winning motive. My build is same except I have BAP and SSRM2 in place of the SRM6 to let me hit at 270 reliably with both missiles while moving as well as being able to group it with my torso lasers together so I only have 3 weapon groups total. (Hate anymore than 3).
I just stumbled over this thread and realized the similarities to my current build. As you can see it trades a bit of ammunition and the SRM6 for a 4-sized launcher for a bigger engine. I use this build to create a pack of 90-105 kph flanker / harasser mechs, usually a HBK (4P or 4 SP) and a Cent (SRM6-Brawler or YLW), so the bigger engine comes in handy. I can see from the comments that the SRM6 seems to have some benefits as well, so I'll give that one a try as well. What do you think of downsizing the torso mounted MLs to small lasers for doing so all the while keeping the 325XL?
Don't use Smalls. As a harasser and hit-and-run dude, you don't want to get into Small Laser range. It's way better to run past at 250 metres than at 50.
That's exactly why I went with 4 ML + SRM4 in my build. However, when considering Myth's experience with the SRM6, SL suddenly don't sound that bad anymore, as they would be usable whenever the SRM6 is fired from a close distance. I am a bit torn at the moment. I really want both the punch provided by 4 ML as well as by the SRM6, but also don't want to give up on the XL325.
Sorry for double post. I played a couple of games with the mech today without sacrificing firepower or speed, but with a slightly worse heat efficiency. This was archieved by cutting the lone DHS out of the engine and upgrading the SRM while retaining the Gauss + 4 ML as well as the bigger engine. Heat can be a problem with this build, but usually only on the hot maps (Caustic + Tourmaline) and when getting to a prolonged fight. It's very managable whith 4 weapon groups and using the SRM6 only on very clear shots, so I am quite happy with the build.
Hi there, another great build. Its just the same as how i would build this mech. Simply Great! Full Stars Blagg Zear
My -1C is very similar- swap in an SRM-4 and an XL340 for 101KPH. 1 ton less Gauss and 1 more HS + a bit more sponge due to FF. It can go as posted with standard armor. The Gauss on this build will occasionally go winchester in longer fights, it's a trade-off to be aware of. But 4 ML and SRM-4 isn't too shabby by that point in a match. Very good all-rounder for typical Dragon work- screening, QRF, anti-boat duty, base cap reaction, etc. DRG-1C