Firebrand Boom-Brand (2x AC20, 4x MLas, XL265)

Then post it...

 

Hi guys,

I've only started playing Mechwarrior about a week ago. But was referred to this site by my brother straight away. After getting all my 'Cadet Bonus' I decided I liked this game enough to warrant a monetary investment. Settled on the Firebrand and spent about half my C-Bills on this build and haven't looked back since.

I am having slight heat problems, so I'm curious how others play this 'Mech. Do you have your AC20 on alternate fire or do people just go for the alpha and hope that they put out enough to either kill or severely cripple their opponent? I normally do between 250 - 450 damage, but have on occasion done around 700

Thanks for your time,

WhoopieMonster

 

Welcome to MechSpecs, WhoopieMonster!

I don't own the Firebrand and I have never run dual AC20 myself but I have plenty of friends that do. Recently a patch made this build a little higher on heat then when it was first designed. There is a heat penalty scale for using several weapons of the same type, ie, two AC20's.

So yes, many chainfire the AC's to avoid the heat penalty (fire them 0,5s apart and you are ok) and save the big alpha for that special "Is this a Atlas I see before me?" moment.

 

Hi Lan,

Thanks for the speed reply

I will try chainfiring my AC20s then, but that alpha is just sooooo fun.

I noticed on the Weapons Lab, it suggests I can fire my AC20s continuously for 1:20 before heat/ammo become an issue. Does the Weapons Lab accurately reflect the changes you describe? I do have both the Cool Running and Heat Containment skills.

I had one of those 'atlas moments' you described, last night. He came marching around a corner my brother grumbled about our impending doom, so I poked my delicate face out and two shots late he faceplanted the dirt much to our amusement.

 

Smurfy is accurate (he updates really quick after each patch), it is a good question though. Not sure how he choose to calculate it. Will look into it and come back.

Yeah, the AC40 builds are always high on the threat list thanks to the pinpoint damage. I run most mechs and always keep an eye out for any dual 20's on the enemy team.

Edit: It does take the heat penalty into account and that you will use the weapons as fast as possible. I took a JM6-S for testing and added a std250 engine and a single AC20. That would have me overheat in 1:20. When I added a second AC, it dropped down to 20s.

 

Thanks for your time Lan, it is appreciated.

I will do some labs tonight. I've a feeling it is me panicking (I'm a newb ) and just unloading everything I have when confronted by people close to me. Having 4 medium lasers firing with the AC20s gives me about 12 seconds before overheat.

 

Personally i love this build, however due to the ghost heat, and the current meta i have to rate it down to 3 stars. Hopefully I'll revise this upwards again soon.

 

Fire. .05. Fire again. Still MASSSSSIVE damage, without ghost heat. Personally, I can only run the mega-alpha build once in a while. I actually love to run a longer brawl, even if I die, when it comes down to effective piloting to spread damage and timed, aimed shots. However, the AC/40 Jag is still an incredible mech. Moreover, with 4x MLas, it is terrifying. It only required a pilot that can time his shots well instead of a "one-click-pony." I actually love this meta that allows a powerful build but pushes better piloting to be effective by implementing ghost heat to counter the people who only ever run with one weapon group set on "Kill."