Basics: This is a bruiser, small but potent within brawling range. Additionally it can pop shots at mechs from medium trading range with the UAC/10. While brawling is usually a brute force affair - whittling down the enemy through sheer massed firepower - I choose to play this as more of a brawlable assassin. Plink mechs with UAC to keep their heads down, and then ambush anything isolated, open-crit, or otherwise vulnerable, like back-shooting XL bearing side torsi or LRM boats. The ASRMs provide 24 damage to open a component, while your 20 damage pinpoint laser alpha and 20 damage UAC doubletap will gut that component. Even so, look for mechs that are already crit - this is how I racked up six kills on Grim Portico. The concept of the Huntsman 'mini-Atlas' was suggested in some YouTube videos I watched. Intrigued by this concept, I decided that instead of copying a build I would take a hard look at the hardpoints and see what looked best. After experimenting with SPL and ERML builds I chose to go with 4 ERSL. Yes, the duration is a bit longer than the SPLs but you get 20 damage instead of 12 for the same tonnage. I tried out ballistics and chose the UAC/10 so I could at least hit something with acceptable damage beyond 300 meters. And since the Prime already had Artemis, two SRM-6 fit the bill. This uses only Prime omnipods. See the variants section below for two builds using mixed omnipods for better convergence and different mounting positions. The current weapon positions on the build above are as follows: RA: UAC/10 RT: ASRM-6 LT: 2 ERSL LA: 2 ERSL, ASRM-6 Why choose the build listed above as my main build on this post, since it arguably has not been fully optimized as far as hardpoint convergence? I could easily have sprung for the more missile-centric reinforcement variants or the Pahket hero as featured in the variants section below. Instead I chose instead to utilize only the Prime omnipods. This is for three reasons: first I get the 8-piece omnipod HMN-Prime ER laser duration quirk of -10% and ballistic cooldown quirk of -10% (the XP quirk is nice but pretty inconsequential). These quirks bring the short duration of those ERSLs down even more and decrease the time between ballistic shots. Second, anybody who has the Huntsman can build this - limited mech pack budgets do not preclude using this build. And third, anybody with the HMN-Prime (S) gets a 30% C-bill bonus on top of the 8-piece omnipod quirks. For optimization enthusiasts I have the two builds in the variant section using multiple omnipod variants, one with torso laser mounts and one with torso ballistic and missile mounts. Weapons and Equipment: I used to have a TC1 in the right torso instead of one of the two DHS there, but the build was too hot. Now that I have double basics I chose to reevaluate the TC1 due to the increased heat cap and dissipation. I can't really say I noticed much difference other than that Betty complained slightly earlier about heat; my gut says the ton is better served as a DHS or even more ammunition than as a TC1 because the missiles derive no benefit from it. The boost in crit chance, range, and projectile speed is probably less valuable than the decreased time to detect open components should you decide a TC1 is your cup of caffeinated beverage. One could certainly swap the UAC for an LB-X of commensurate firepower; the slottage is available so the increased crit chance and one-shot nature of an LB may suit your playstyle better than the UAC. I tend to go with the UAC for constant cockpit-shake and especially double-tap potential. Modules? I always put Radar Derp in first unless I have ECM. Perhaps I would be better served with Target Info Gathering or Advanced Seismic for this build, but for me when there is only one mech module slot it almost always goes to Radar Derp by default. It's not that I'm super scared of missile rain - people do tend to emphasize that aspect of Radar Derp when we try to explain to new players how valuable the module is. And for new, often overwhelmed or confused lower tier players, LRMs are indeed a terror. They sure were for me in my first few weeks playing MWO. But the true value of Radar Derp for me dovetails perfectly with an important aspect of this mech's hybrid assassin and skirmish-brawler playstyle: ensuring the enemy cannot predict your movements in advance. I want to disappear entirely from the enemies' battlefield awareness the moment I go into cover. Thus I go Radar Derp for the first mech module slot. Master mech slot will be either Advanced Seismic or Target Info, depending on whether I feel like playing up the close-ranged brawling capability or the assassin mode, hunting down and scalping mechs with crit components. Weapons are sometimes going to be ERSL range and SRM-6 range for me. I could go for UAC range but encouraging myself to hang back and plink from a green-ranged UAC/10 leaves about two thirds of my firepower out of the fight. I definitely drop ERSL range for SRM-6 cooldown sometimes - I switch between the two setups. Consumables are Coolshot 9x9 and Improved UAV. I do not often find myself overheating when I have another DHS instead of a TC1 as is the case in the Smurf-link above. But even with the three external DHS, maybe once per every few matches I may find a leverage point where the ability to continue fighting at peak DPS can sway the outcome of a critical battle and thus potentially sway the outcome of the match. Perhaps there is a friendly push coalescing around a flank skirmish I am fighting - I am already at max heat yet a few seconds more of full-on suppression is needed to allow the push momentum to build to critical mass. Or maybe I choose to assassinate a target that has a pilot that is especially skilled and manages to spread my 54 + 10 damage, preventing a clean one-shot kill. In those situations the Coolshot 9x9 is critical. On the flip side of aggression is defense, and my UAV can be instrumental in allowing full situational awareness, turning away an enemy who is flanking my team by revealing their full strength. Equally useful for offensive maneuvers the UAV can allow me to commit to a brawl with the knowledge that there aren't any KDK-3s lurking on the other side of cover. And so forth. Playstyle and Tactics: Thumb 1: Target mech Thumb 2: 4 ERSL Right mouse: 2 ASRMs Middle mouse: 2 arm ERSL for anti-UAV duty Left mouse: UAC/10 Ring finger 1: 2 torso ERSL and 1 torso ASRM-6 for hillhumping or poptarting Important points are the target mech button being on the mouse, the combined ERSL, the 2 ASRM-6, the UAC/10. The other extraneous stuff is just me finding uses for the rest of my mouse buttons. I tend to hang around behind everybody else during the opening long trades. This mech has no love for enemy gauss and ERLL snipers. Hang back behind terrain and approach only with heavies or better yet assaults clearly in front of you. As you approach take a shot or three at enemy mechs if they are in range of the UAC. I prefer to keep my arms unlocked until there are enemies that are corfirmed to be within SRM striking distance - having one lower arm actuator is critical to making these early UAC only trades count. At the point where my other weapons come into play I lock the arms to the torso so that everything converges when brawling - using the all-Prime omnipod build means that one ASRM-6 and 2 ERSL will be on the arm reticule and the other ASRM-6 and paired ERSL will be on the torso reticule. Remember to set a hotkey or a mouse button as either momentary or toggle arm lock, whichever you prefer (I use toggle on left alt key). I do not go for the big damage numbers in this mech - components destroyed and mechs killed are more of my aim. The massive alpha this beast can paint into a single component is amazing, and so I tend to go for the decapitation at short range by carefully-selected component destruction; in lieu of that, neutering a mech by selective component destruction suits me fine. The map need not be a short ranged map to succeed however - battles upon Polar and Grim Plexus have actually turned out some of my best matches with this mech! Polar in particular with the rolling hills allows what I refer to as the "flank figure 8" technique: once the battle is joined at 300 to 400 meter range, position yourself in cover, on the enemy flank (I favor the right flank). Then make looping passes in an arcing fashion across the ridge or hill separating your cover from the enemy. As you crest the hill moving directly towards the enemy you hit with your UAC with unlocked arms, and then immediately begin turning the mech as you advance into SRM/ERSL range. You then lock arms to torso, put one or two shots of the SRM and ERSL combo into the enemy whilst moving perpendicular to your original line of advance, and add UAC as necessary. By the time they have registered your flank attack you have circled back over into friendly territory. Then you walk the other half of the figure 8, ending up where you started from and all cooled down. Now begin again and make another pass! This also works if a deathball has fully laid into the enemy and a chaotic battle then ensues. Enemies are likely to focus on your bigger teammates. This allows you to run a figure 8 pattern laying UAC and SRM/ERSL into the enemies as opportunities presents. In both cases your circular trajectories mean you are never moving in a straight line where your position can be easily predicted and your mech therefor easily struck. Always add some wiggles to your path so it's not an exact arc for the same reason. If you begin to attract a lot of attention simply stay back under cover and reposition. I have some score screens from a 6-kill match on Grim Plexus. I forgot to take screens from matches on Polar so right now I'm trying to increase my selection multiplier so I can grab Polar when it next shows itself in the pre-match screen. Variants: Here we have a mixed omnipod version that requires the reinforcements pack. We use the right torso and left arm of the HMN-P to create the following hard point arrangement: RA: UAC/10 RT: 2 ERSL LT: 2 ERSL LA: 2 ASRM-6 Advantages to this build are the combined ASRM-12 in one component - the left arm - and torso mounted single-reticule lasers. You don't need to worry about locking the arms to the torso at any point because all the weapon types are properly sorted by arm and torso, and have vertically symmetric hardpoints. Disadvantages are no quirks and arm loss susceptibility, where your two most powerful weapons are on the relatively fragile arms. I cannot count how many times I have lost my left arm in the page-top config and been relieved to retain half of my lasers and half my SRMs. This one requires the Pahket left torso, so I built it on the Pahket CT for the C-bill bonus. Consequently the Small Package is rechristened the "Small Pahket". No reinforcement pods are required, just the hero and the Prime. Hardpoints are as follows: RA: 2 ERSL RT: UAC/10 LT: 2 ASRM-6 LA: 2 ERSL Advantages are the high ballistic mount and the high missile mount, making SRM poptarting a lot more viable, and fully articulated arm-mounted lasers. The big damage dealers are no longer in the arms, so they survive longer. Disadvantages include no quirks and the UAC being restricted to torso pitch and yaw, plus that it's harder to lead a target with a burst-fire clan AC while twisting your mech when that cannon is on the torso reticule as opposed to an arm reticule. perhaps it would be best to skip lower actuators all together, since you don't need the horizontal arm traverse you would need if you had the cannon in an arm. Personally though out of all of the three builds I would probably try the Small Pahket first if I had the hero mech, purely for its concentration of the heavy hitters into the two side torsi. High ballistic is great and better converging ASRM-6 mounts also favor this. But in truth I think all of these builds have their merits - not only from a gameplay perspective but also from the practical perspective where people may not have the free fundage to buy the reinforcements and/or hero in addition to the standard pack. The nice things about the Small Package Prime is that it is asymmetrical as regards lasers, has an arm-mounted UAC, and for those with many mouse buttons such as myself can use the high mounted lasers and ASRM-6 or the arm mounted combos separately for hillhumping+poptarting and side-peeking respectively, in addition to having main weapon groups for the SRM and lasers. The two alternates are like inverse versions of each other... or reciprocal versions of one another. The first requires the reinforcement pack, the other the hero, so neither requires both. The Mixed Pod Small Package has high laser mounts and arm-articulated heavy hitters; Small Pahket has dual lower arm actuated lasers while retaining the big stuff in the armored side torsi. Each has an advantage, each has commensurate trade-offs. Please do let me know what you think of the various builds! I always do wish for a response - constructive criticism or affirmation equally so - when I take the time to write up a long bit like this. Score Cards: Here are the score cards from a recent six-kill Grim Plexus match, the proof positive that this mech can handle ranged maps just fine! You see that the number of components destroyed is only slightly higher than the number of killed mechs. Yet the KMDD number and the damage output are both low. This is demonstrative of the proper selection of targets with crit CTs or a crit XL side torso, using speed and vertical mobility to quickly get in and dump 54 damage into said component - 64 if your UAC successfully doubles itself, I intend to add further scores as I seek Polar to demonstrate its effectiveness there once more.