MechWarrior: Online - Jenner JR7-D(S) Build (In Honour of Sarah)

Image courtesy of mwomercs.com/sarah

I have never piloted Light Mechs ever. They've never had the right mix of firepower, armour or speed I prefer. I'm a Suppressor/Sniper and Skirmisher Pilot; not a Harasser and Scout Pilot.

But I chose to donate to a good cause, and many of the MW:O community agreed that there should be a day where everyone pilots nothing but this Jenner, in honour of Sarah and all those who have passed away or suffered from cancer. Instead of just limiting it to a day, I chose to pilot this Mech for as long as I wanted.

Who knew I'd actually wind up being a pretty decent Light Mech pilot? I couldn't pilot Assault Mechs well, but I can pilot Light Mechs well! I'm now curious; would I be able to pilot Medium Mechs just as well?

I reject the current Meta and substitute... errr... something else!! Now check out this build!!

Nostalgia and Year of the Mech

Recently I've been hit with a massive dose of this nostalgic feeling. I was scrounging through my pile of old games and found an old favourite game of mine, Phantom Crash. I almost forgot about this game, but once I saw it, couldn't stop tearing up. This was probably the first Mech game I ever played.

I may have been introduced to BattleTech at a relatively young age, but I never actually played a proper Mech game till I played Phantom Crash.

What is Phantom Crash anyway? Well it's a high-speed Mech combat simulator released by Genki in 2002 for the Xbox. It featured massive amounts of customisation; you could choose what right or left arm you wanted, what right or left shoulder weapons you wanted, what kind of torso you wanted and what kind of legs you wanted. You could also choose between 3 different kinds or brands of Mech (SV as the game calls them). You had the super fast but fragile Photon, the super tough but slow Aeron and the "Jack of all trades master of none" Holy.

It was Mech game that focused on stealth and ambush, and hiding and escape. It was relatively easy, but super fun. You even had a little pet, known as a "Chip". Sort of like a co-pilot. They had their own personalities and whatnot.

What was really awesome, was that the game had it's own soundtrack with many songs. Some of these songs were taken from real life, but others were composed specially for this game.

The iconic song from Phantom Crash, "Awake to Love"

MechWarrior: Online - Locust LCT-1V Build Idea 1

Image courtesy of mwomercs.com

I really, really can't wait for the Phoenix BattleMechs to arrive. I've got so many ideas I want to try. Hopefully not all will turn out terrible!! Locust will be the first up, just because of that image up there (I'm still waiting for the other 3)!

Anyway, I can see some major issues with the Locust, especially when compared to the other Light Mechs we have. The armaments of the Locust just can't compare with the other Light Mechs, and with it's lack of armour compared to the rest of them, a simple breeze would cause the Locust to keel over!!

The only strengths I can see with the Locust is that it should be the tiniest BattleMech we have!! If the devs are smart they'll make the Locust about half the size of the Commando. That'll make the Locust extremely hard to hit, which will compensate for the lack of armour. 

The next strength of the Locust would be it's speed. It only needs a 170 Engine to move at max speed. However the speed cap is 152kph which nearly all Light Mechs can reach. I'm really hoping they somehow allow the Locust to move way past that!! It'll be so awesome to see a 200kph Locust zipping around the battlefield, no one will be able to hit you!!

Project Phoenix is a go! The Unseen are back! After all these years, they are back! Back with a vengeance! Welcome to the battlefield; Locust, Shadow Hawk, Thunderbolt and Battlemaster!

MechWarrior: Online - Sarah's Jenner

Image courtesy of mwomercs.com/sarah

Sarah's Jenner... The Jenner of a young MechWarrior who lost her life to cancer. This special Jenner, is a Mech that PGI has dedicated to this young warrior. My deepest condolences to her loved ones.

Simply put, I hate cancer. I understand the need for diseases and such, to keep the population in check, however they always take the lives of innocents and those who are good. I can understand the pain cancer can cause. I've seen it for myself. My old high school teacher recently died of cancer. She only recently became a mother.

I also know the feeling of having lost someone. But to different circumstances; but the pain is the same.

"In May 2013, we were overwhelmed with support for Sarah Parries, one of our youngest MechWarriors who tragically lost her life to cancer in Vancouver, Canada. We would like to reiterate our deepest condolences for Sarah's loved ones, who have expressed their sincerest appreciation for the incredible outpour of sympathy from the MechWarrior Online Community.

We are delighted to have been petitioned by our fans to take this as an opportunity to honor our fallen comrade and to raise donations for the Canadian Cancer Society through the sale of a unique version of Sarah's favourite Mech.

Purchase this special Mech for $10 USD and we will donate the proceeds raised to cancer research in memory of Sarah and MechWarriors affected by cancer worldwide. Full details can be found here."

- PGI's message from mwomercs.com/sarah

MechWarrior: Online - Highlander Heavy Metal Build (Chromehound)

Image courtesy of the MechWarrior: Online Wiki

I almost never pilot Assault BattleMechs. Hell I still hate them; can't put up with slow speed!! You'd think the Victor would be a good Assault Mech for me... but damn I suck. Still gotta find my niche in it. So instead of a Victor Build today, we'll get my favourite Heavy Metal build instead!!

I'll forever complain about the speed. As a MechWarrior Pilot, I've found that I'm best in a Heavy BattleMech; taking the role of Suppressor (occasionally Sniper) or Skirmisher. I've never had to lead the charge. But hell, if you charge with a bunch of Atlases... Atlai... whatever... most things go BOOM!

Rather than join the current Meta, I shall continue to deviate from it; and I assure you, this has proven to be super effective!

I reject the current Meta and substitute... errr... something else!! Now check out this build!!

Warmachine: Tactics

 
Rather than another post on some MechWarrior: Online Builds (Victor Builds incoming BTW), I figured it might be better to advertise a game I'm quite very interested in, Warmachine: Tactics.

Warmachine: Tactics is a video game by Privateer Press and WhiteMoon Dreams, based on the awesome tabletop game, Warmachine. Now I don't know if you've ever heard of Warmachine or of Privateer Press; but you do or should know about Games Workshop.

As far as I'm concerned, the biggest and number 1 competitor of Games Workshop is Privateer Press. They are the only well known company who can stand toe to toe with Games Workshop, and they're only a 10 year old company!

Anyway, Privateer Press, hence Warmachine has always had very interesting models and story. The world contains a mixture of Magic and Technology/Science!! Two things that can rarely be part of the same world!!

Image courtesy of Privateer Press

Right onto the main important bits.

MechWarrior: Online - Jagermech JM6-S Build (Poor Man's Ilya)

Image courtesy of the MechWarrior: Online Wiki

What I've noticed, is that a lot of people really want to give triple UAC5 a shot. The only problem is, that the best Mech that can utilise 3 UAC5s is the Cataphract HeroMech, Ilya Muromets. It literally does this better than any other Mech so far.

However not everyone is willing to buy MC, for various reasons. Which means the next best option is to use either the Jagermech JM6-S or the Jagermech JM6-DD. I'll be using the JM6-S as that is my favourite Jagermech variant (HeroMech notwithstanding).

I reject the current Meta and substitute... errr... something else!! Now check out this build!!

MechWarrior: Online - My proposed solution to fix PPC Boating

Image courtesy of http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/119221-forum-background-is-op/

The current Meta favours PPCs and Gauss Rifles, which has been prevalent for a very long time. Generally I try to avoid any of these so called "Cheese-Builds". If you haven't noticed many of my builds are completely outside the current Meta, with most of my builds favouring a very "balanced" loadout. Some even with random ideas in mind, such as an Anti-Air Gun, like my personal favourite the "Balloon Blaster".

Hell, what is it that I love to say right before the build? "I reject the current Meta and substitute... errr... something else!!".

So what is the post all about? Well a lot of the community has been screaming for a nerf to PPCs and boating weapons. There have been many "fixes" or solutions that have been proposed by many players. These solutions aren't for everyone and each has their own pros and cons. Everyone would clearly argue over which solution is better. Just as some people argue that boating PPCs are fine.

PGI's response to all of this is to implement a "Heat Penalty". Now I understand that Update is a month old. But you know how PGI work, updates are released Monthly and as of the current patch you take damage when you overheat (July 2nd, 2013). This, in my opinion, is a step in the right direction.

When you overheat by firing 6 PPCs your heat is about at 200%. In BattleTech lore, or real life, you'd literally be melting in the cockpit!! Circuits would be melting and a lot of internal damage would happen.

The idea that your Heat would increase with each additional weapon fired is pretty sound. However there's a lot more that PGI could do or implement to fix this issue.

Now first and foremost, no solution will be accepted, or will it cater for everyone. Some might think these solutions are horribly terrible, others think they're godly. What I am here to say is what my idea is and which I support.

MechWarrior: Online - Victor Dragon Slayer Build

Image courtesy of the MechWarrior: Online Wiki

This month, is the month of the Victorious Victor!! Yes that's right I went there. Now I haven't actually bought the Dragon Slayer. But a mate of mine did. So I just "borrowed" his account and built up a pretty decent Dragon Slayer for him (and by "borrowed" I mean kicked him off his computer whilst he was in the MechLab).

Anyway, the Dragon Slayer (and all Victors) are a somewhat odd-child BattleMech. They are an 80 Ton BattleMech, hence they're classified as an Assault BattleMech. However they're only 5 Tons heavier than the Heaviest Heavy BattleMech (75 Tons). In addition, as an Assault BattleMech, they're currently the fastest, moving at 64kph Stock.

So what does this mean? Exactly as I've said in previous posts. Think of the Victor as a Heavy, Heavy BattleMech. Or rather play it like you do a Heavy BattleMech. Don't charge head on like a normal Assault. Instead play like a Heavy Striker. Brawl when you can, but be aware of the need to retreat.

I reject the current Meta and substitute... errr... something else!! Now check out this build!!