Grid Iron Hunter (1x SRM6+A, 1x LBX10, 3x MLas, XL275)

Standard engine variant.

 

Hey Magnificent Bastard, just looked over your build and you've got 15 free slots. Enough to add Ferro to cram in another ton of ammo or artemis for your SRMs.

I think my build will look similar.

 

One of the better builds. GJ!

 

I'm not too fond of all these XL Hunches... At least you have the firepower and speed to make up for it.

Unfortunately, the giant hunch means you're just asking to be cored early. To me, the Grid Iron's strengths lie in its ability to offload some of its firepower to its left side, surviving the loss of its hunch. With an XL engine, that just doesn't matter anymore.

3/5

 

So you are telling us there is no reason to buy the G.I. because you could do all the "leftload-builds" on a 4SP as well, right?

 

The 4SP doesn't have a ballistic slot...

To be honest, I'd probably load this build onto the Flame, or the Shadowhawk if you don't mind losing a laser.

That's besides the point, though. I don't give a build a rating based on whether or not a different chassis could do it better or worse. I rate on the build's effectiveness. With the hunch that pretty much everyone aims for first thing, the survivability of an XL Hunchback is limited. I'm not assuming this either, I've tried XL hunches before, it never goes well.

That said, this build does use the largest XL engine it can, which prevented me from giving it 2 stars.

 

In response to what you said here, If any of the XL hunchback builds had high DPS, I'd give it at least 4 stars. None of these builds do, they're mediums. Also, most of them have close range weapons.

Even if I saw a Grid Iron with 2 AC/2's I wouldn't think too differently. AC/2's require a lot of weight to use effectively, so they aren't too great on mediums to begin with. Too many sacrifices for too little benefit. They aren't too bad on the 55 tonne mechs, though. I might consider dual AC/5's, but I haven't tried or seen a hunchback using them, so I wouldn't be able to comment on that anyways.

 

I used to use dual AC5s on my HBK-4G back in closed beta and early open beta. Looked like this: That build was slow and I hadn't found the swing of the AC/5s back then. It can be done with an XL 275 also. The hunchback just works better as a flanker, bringing big boom on an unsuspecting enemy. On my hunches where I hang back and snipe (or lob missiles with a HBK-4J) I put in XL engines. If you're a sniper or missile boat and you get flanked you're pretty much SOL, having the XL doesn't matter. I'd put the 2xAC/5 Hunch in that category also. When I use the AC/5 I tend to hang out at medium range and let the brawlers brawl.

The HBK-4P, 4SP excel at brawling, as does the 4G when its got an AC/20 and 3xML and a std 250 engine. But once any hunch becomes the focus fire target its dead. 338 pts of max armor just won't save you in this game when the Jagers and 'phracts notice you.

In the Grid Iron, I've had equal success and failure with a XL or standard engine. At least that's the truth in the Elo bracket I'm in. I'm still undecided on my build however. It can pack good firepower and durability (for 50 tons) but slow speed, or have the firepower plus speed while sacrificing durability. I can build it with an AC/20 and ignore the missile slot, but what's the point of having the Grid Iron if you ignore the one thing that makes it different from the other hunches?

 

All that being said, I like GI builds that use the missle slot. I like the vibe of the builds presented here and have been working along the same lines. I am going to try it with the XL 275, LBX, 3xML, and SRM6+A with two tons of ammo for each item,

 

My Favorite Version of this build. I can't stand to go any slower than a STD250 on any HBK especially one that intends to hit and run or deliver a close range payload.



The version I run now forgoes artemis and puts the extra ton in armor or ammo.

 

Nice response. I like your changes. Will try it out next drop.