MechWarrior: Online - Centurion; 'To XL Engine, or to not XL Engine, that is the question'

Image courtesy of mwomercs.com

Many people reckon XL Engines are usually best on the lighter Mechs more so then heavier ones. This is mainly due to the extra weight saved so that it can grant these Mechs the much needed firepower they normally lack. In addition, depending on the XL Engine chosen, they can usually achieve much higher speeds giving them extra survivability!!

However Centurions are the most survivable Mech, especially more so without an XL Engine! They're known for being Zombies for a reason!

So the question is, are XL Engines on Centurions worth it?

Lets examine what makes the Centurion a questionable Mech for XL Engines.

The XL Engine takes up an extra 3 Critical Slots per Torso (Left and Right Torso) in addition to the Critical Slots taken in the Center Torso. They are always much, much more lighter than a Standard Engine of the same size.

The Centurion however has one of the best Hitboxes in the game! Both Arms are quite large, making fantastic Shields. Once you lose those, your Side Torsos are usually next to go down. Keep twisting left and right, and your CT is less likely to get hit. It was already difficult to hit, and now even more so.

Many Centurions usually lose both Arms and both Torsos and can still survive to the end. The only way to kill them is to normally Leg them or Headshot. Which is why many Centurions have taken to having max Leg Armour.

It is because of this, XL Engines are questionable on Centurions. If you lose a Side Torso, you die. You lose that super survivability of the Centurion. Does the gain outweigh that natural durability?

The answer: depends...

The only way a XL Engine can benefit a Centurion is the speed gain; not the Firepower gain. Which means that a Centurion must either "Go big, or go home." I learnt that from one of my mates on TeamSpeak. If you're gonna take an XL Engine on a Centurion, you take the largest one you can find and use that.

From what I've learnt by playing the Centurion, you have to really go big to benefit. This means the best XL Engine for a Centurion is an XL300. You get awesome speed when you mount that Engine and can still get decent Firepower out of it. Any XL Engine below that is a waste of time and completely useless. The speed is just not enough to outweigh the major drop in survivability.

What does this mean? The only Centurions who can remotely benefit from an XL Engine are the Yen-Lo-Wang and CN9-D. The CN9-D can even go for a much larger XL Engine. I highly recommend the XL Engines on only these 2 Centurion Variants. The CN9-A and CN9-AL just cannot benefit from their largest XL Engine, the XL275.

Here's my personal favourite Yen-Lo-Wang Build:

CN9-YLW (XL300_AC20_MPL)

Mechromancer MechLab: [Link]

Smurfy MechLab: [Link]

Role: Striker

Speed: 97.2 kph

Firepower: 32

Armour: 320

Cost: 7.2 mil CBills (Approximately) and 3750 MC

Weapon Groups

Primary Weapon Group: AC/20

Secondary Weapon Group: Both Medium Pulse Lasers