Normally I would never, ever strip this much armor from legs, but I couldn't resist on the HBR... the prospect of a "cloaky sniper" was too tempting. I have only had time to test it for a few rounds but so far it has worked excellently. The high placed torso hard points + ECM + good speed really lets you ridge-snipe effectively with an alpha of 35 (+10 splash). One could strip the arms completely and buff the legs a bit, but I like to have a little bit of twist capability + that dismembered mechs tend to attract kill farmers so I try to keep them on as long as possible and keep the legs hidden behind a ridge whenever possible. Positioning is extremely important with this guy. Modules: Radar derp, ppc cooldown, gauss cooldown (+ seismic when mastered) Edit: moved around some armor as an example what you could do if you'd like to buff your legs.
I like the principle, but those legs are a VERY big no-go. Every competent light pilot will check them, and you won't be able to avoid light mechs. Better go with just Gauss + ERPPC + 2 MPLas and add 2 tons = 64 points of armor.
Thanks. Like I wrote, it's a conscious choice and normally I would never do it but, with ECM, speed, awareness and those nicely placed hard points it is actually viable. The higher your elo, the more armor you would have to move from the arms to the legs.
I had a few more games in this and recorded the last 7. Average damage: 616 (never below 500), 6 wins, 1 loss, 1 death to lost CT. I have balanced it to a bit more leg armor than in the OP but have never lost a leg so far in this build. Just remember what you are driving, actively seek cover for your lower body, avoid brawling and alpha lights at point blank range when needed. Did that 3 times in the last 7 games, it's agile enough and no light survives a direct hit. At least try it before shooting it down mate. Ecm helps!
Now here's one for the omnipod bonuses. 1 Gauss, 2 ERPPCs. Reminds you of the old pinpoint meta, reminds the enemies of how screwed they are when trying to trade against you. This is the one that I'm using on my Clan alt (codename Your Brain on Evil) - pugs, beware! Long explanation incoming. Spoiler The good... ECM, ECM, ECM. This thing is your personal cloaking field generator, and makes you awesome at both escort and sniper. ECM heavies are good, believe me. High torso mounts. Out with the knuckle-dragging PPCs, in with the hill-poking PPCs. Add a similarly high-mounted Gauss, and win trades by a ludicrous margin - yes, even against laservomits. Yes, even Dire Wolves. Anyone can be out-traded if you play it well. That 35 pinpoint. Underwhelming compared to current laservomit alphas, but that's not the point - the point is that you can dodge pretty much anything if you're good at picking trades. And with the ECM, dodging everything just got so much easier. After all, it's not how much you can deal, it's how much you can deal without being hurt in return. Pinpoint. So good, I mentioned it twice. Less shots, more precision, always hit that CT / ST / leg without bothering with burn times. Arm shields! They're useless anyway, so get torso twisting and use them to block whatever it is that wants to nail your precious torsos and legs. The bad... Hot, hot, hot! You can barely pull off two alphas non-basiced, and from the looks of it elite ain't changing that much, either. Aim well, or melt / die from being cored while your mech is knocked out. Lackluster leg armor. Better learn to dodge and/or nail those Firestarters and Locusts, or you're in for a very bad day. 44+30 = 74, compared to 60+30 = 90. 90-74 = 16, 16 points equals 2/3 of Locust-1E burn, or 1/2 of Firestarter-S burn. cERPPCs are not for everyone, consult your doctor before use. Lack of TC1 may be detrimental to hitting targets, use massive leading to partially correct. But usually, you'll be counter-poking anyway... Only 20 shots for Gauss Rifle. Make them all count. Definitely not for CW. Can't protect itself in a full-on brawl. At all. Thunderbolt-5SS overwhelms it easily. Honestly, the TBR can do better with this one, if you don't mind 15% CD lengthening, or you can drop that TBR-A for a full right-side build with less CD reduction. Your call. But then again... ECM. And the lowdown! You are the closest thing MWO has to a true sniper. Forget the King Crab, forget the Dire Wolf, you are the true star of the show! ECM plus Clan heavy mobility plus 35 damage exactly where you want it, no questions asked (without any laser tracer to give you away), equals a very lethal chassis. Escort your friendly mechs to your designated position, then break off and go find someone to blast. Always use your advantages. The Hellbringer is fragile, and you are even more so than a typical one of its kind, plus you're lacking Jump Jets and good hitboxes. Those high-mounted guns and that ECM will be your best friends. Master alpha twisting (credits to Gman129 of Metamechs). Charge that Gauss, release and fire with ERPPCs, twist away immediately. Bam, bam, bam, you're making it look easy - now let's see if you can go the distance. What to sacrifice when your arms are gone? Pick the Gauss side, contrary to usual Gauss builds. Your lightning guns have more (read: unlimited) ammo, your ECM is on the same side as the ERPPCs, and if that Gauss goes boom last, you're splat earlier than you should be. Shield with arms, then shield hard with right side, spread damage once CT is cored. If all of this sounds familiar, you've probably seen the Metamechs entry for the Misery "The 40". Basically, treat your Hellbringer as a stealthier, less durable, symmetrical Misery 40, and you'll be fine (sort of).
