Author Topic: HBS Expansion Thread- its time for II (spoilers) (Read 166189 times)

00Dawg · « **Reply #30 on:** 14 December 2018, 00:29:43 »

I first faced an opposing Hatchetman in the mission where Steiner field tests the Hatchetman.
“Uh, guys? I think we might have a mole in our design group...”

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #31 on:** 14 December 2018, 19:47:32 »

I found a planet selling Banshee 3M parts. First sign of an assault mech I've seen so far (I took a couple months hiatus from the game to focus on other stuff and am now back). Is it worth it or not?

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #32 on:** 14 December 2018, 19:58:14 »

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 14 December 2018, 19:47:32

I found a planet selling Banshee 3M parts. First sign of an assault mech I've seen so far (I took a couple months hiatus from the game to focus on other stuff and am now back). Is it worth it or not?

Uh, god yes.

Banshee BNC-3Ms will serve you extremely well-they punch hard, can carry a bunch of support weapons, and even the stock config isn't the absolute worse I've seen so long as you go easy on the PPCs and go in for punching a LOT. It's like a giant Grasshopper, but cooler to look at when it basically shoves the entire fist into the body cavity of a Commando.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #33 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:01:41 »

Okay. I'll sell some of the old mechs I've got (I still have my freaking BJ-1 sitting around!)

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #34 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:02:21 »

What mechs do you overall have, first? Unless it's too late.

I was going to suggest actually keeping the Blackjack around-But I suppose you can put two PPCs on a Vindicator or Shadow Hawk D instead.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #35 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:07:03 »

My current lance is a Wolverine 6M (commander's ride), a Jenner (removed the SRM for extra armor and heatsinks), a heavily modified Jagermech (replaced the autocannons with an improved AC/10, an improved PPC- extra stability damage on both, armor, and heatsinks), and a 5SS Thunderbolt. I've also got a Firestarter and modified Shadowhawk (more LRMS) in the mech bay. Plus I've got a couple Spiders, a Centurion, a Blackjack, a Vindicator, and a couple other mechs in storage.

Daryk · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:11:08 »

Quote from: Caedis Animus on 14 December 2018, 20:02:21

What mechs do you overall have, first? Unless it's too late.

I was going to suggest actually keeping the Blackjack around-But I suppose you can put two PPCs on a Vindicator or Shadow Hawk D instead.

Two PPCs? Did they change the weapon balance that radically? Last I knew, the thing to do was as many LRM tubes as humanly possible, and mash the triggers down until heat eventually becomes a problem...

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:15:01 »

1st; You should be good, Ogre. I didn't know how many units you had, but you should be just fine without my suggestion to shove those on a 45-tonner.

2nd; Daryk, it's still a great idea to have LRM boats. Depending on how early game you are, however, PPCs are gravy for one-shotting vehicles. LRM boats are still really good, but they aren't as good when you have UNLIMITED MISSILE RAIN.

DarkSpade · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:17:09 »

Finally got my last couple parts for my second medium. A centurian. Had to buy all 5 parts. Got it just in time to find a a full Orion and zeus in a black market shop. Didn't have the money for either anymore. xp

Daryk · « **Reply #39 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:20:13 »

PPCs weren't bad early on, but for knocking over assault mechs so they could be called shotted to death, LRMs always struck me as the way to go.

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #40 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:22:08 »

Quote from: Daryk on 14 December 2018, 20:20:13

PPCs weren't bad early on, but for knocking over assault mechs so they could be called shotted to death, LRMs always struck me as the way to go.

Well, adoy. Although I prefer meleeing them now, seems to be faster, and called shotting them with Resolve seems to always net me at least one good headshot kill.

Daryk · « **Reply #41 on:** 14 December 2018, 20:24:58 »

I found called shots to the center torso to be more likely to kill them quickly (since the chance of success was so high). Once I had my three Highlanders (plus the Atlas), salvage didn't really enter into the equation anymore.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #42 on:** 15 December 2018, 02:13:19 »

Great.

Turns out that only 2/3rd of a Banshee was for sale.

Dang it. Well, guess if I ever fight one I'll get it quickly. Honestly, the "mech chunks" is probably my least favorite aspect of salvage in this game.

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #43 on:** 15 December 2018, 02:14:10 »

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 15 December 2018, 02:13:19

Great.

Turns out that only 2/3rd of a Banshee was for sale.

Dang it. Well, guess if I ever fight one I'll get it quickly. Honestly, the "mech chunks" is probably my least favorite aspect of salvage in this game.

I was mixed on it. Still wish we had more visual customization than we got.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #44 on:** 15 December 2018, 02:22:50 »

I'm just happy to have any at all. I grew up playing Mechwarrior 2, which had no visual customization at all.

It was pretty funny watching a mech launch LRMs out of a PPC barrel.

Luciora · « **Reply #45 on:** 15 December 2018, 09:22:26 »

Back in my day of Mechwarrior by Activision we had no customization, and we liked it! None of this fancy biome crap either, the map was mostly flat with angular mountains and we could snipe 3 battlemasters and a marauder to death with a Phoenix hawk!

;D

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 15 December 2018, 02:22:50

I'm just happy to have any at all. I grew up playing Mechwarrior 2, which had no visual customization at all.

It was pretty funny watching a mech launch LRMs out of a PPC barrel.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #46 on:** 15 December 2018, 11:01:23 »

And we had to march uphill both ways without any digital snow because our computers couldn't handle weather effects!

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #47 on:** 15 December 2018, 14:31:58 »

I was thinking more because 'weird cosmetics' were kind of a thing in the SW era. Why can't I have a jester hat for my Banshee, dang it!?

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #48 on:** 15 December 2018, 18:00:02 »

Because this is Battletech, not Team Fortress 2.

Caedis Animus · « **Reply #49 on:** 15 December 2018, 18:31:30 »

I'm referencing a canon unit, Ogre.

Regardless, I still wish we could actually paint individual units, because that's more what I meant. Or at least had more than one plate option for each mech. The Umbra and Backer(?) Shadow Hawk and Atlas skins, respectively, make me a bit sad; I feel like they won't add more of those. Which is a real shame, because they both look really cool.

Firesprocket · « **Reply #50 on:** 16 December 2018, 14:34:26 »

Quote from: Daryk on 14 December 2018, 20:20:13

PPCs weren't bad early on, but for knocking over assault mechs so they could be called shotted to death, LRMs always struck me as the way to go.

PPCs hits and sensor locks now place a debuff on their targets giving them a bit more value than simply being a longer and warmer large laser. It also seems as if they have increased probability of finding higher grade weaponry. I'd been surfing around in my most recent game prior to 1.3 for a couple +30 stability damage PPCs and couldn't find any. Now I run into them on almost every other market place.

Daryk · « **Reply #51 on:** 16 December 2018, 14:40:58 »

Nice... but of course PPCs still require line of sight, which LRMs don't (the other reason they always struck me as the way to go).

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #52 on:** 16 December 2018, 14:44:32 »

Found my first Hatchetman last night.

Still not a durable machine, I took it out in a couple of hits. Ended up not salvaging it since I had an intact Hunchback and a Vindicator that I went for instead.

Icerose20 · « **Reply #53 on:** 16 December 2018, 16:24:01 »

They buffed the PPC? Sensor debuff? I'll let you know when it worth it.

I have stopped my Career campaign becuase its not fun, its a grind. And a GRIND WITH NO REWARD FOR IT.

Euphonium · « **Reply #54 on:** 16 December 2018, 19:50:51 »

Just played my first Flashpoint mission and I think I went in too soon. I had 6 mediums & 2 lights available. I took the first mission with 4 mediums and completed it fairly well, only one 'mech ended up in the shop. The second mission was a quick failure though. It was a base defence mission and the bad guys ignored me completely until they'd killed two buildings. Then a second lance dropped in and I had no chance of dropping 8 medium 'mechs before they could take out the rest of the buildings.
If that's typical of flashpoints I'm not going to attempt another until I've got a lance of heavies available.

My lance for the 2nd mission was:
Wolverine (refitted with 2xLRM10 instead of AC5 & JJ)
Shadow Hawk (LRM10 & SRM6 in place of AC5 & JJ)
Enforcer (PPC & AC5)
Hatchetman (provided by my employer)

Using the Hatchetman was fun though. I got the "We'll call it a draw" achievement for lopping all four limbs off a Crab!

Daryk · « **Reply #55 on:** 16 December 2018, 20:08:51 »

That's generally how all the base defense missions went for me in the base game. I stopped taking them.

Euphonium · « **Reply #56 on:** 16 December 2018, 20:38:39 »

In the base game I was happy to take them if I thought my lance was a weight class higher than my opponents would be. Otherwise, taking on 2-1 (or worse) odds while anchored to a fixed location is pretty futile.

Daryk · « **Reply #57 on:** 16 December 2018, 20:54:38 »

Even if I had a tonnage advantage, I couldn't stop the OPFOR from ignoring me and trashing the buildings. It was worse at the lighter end of course, because one of those Large Laser variant Commandos could trash a building much faster than I could take it down (which is to say, with one shot).

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #58 on:** 16 December 2018, 20:58:35 »

I never had that issue with base defense missions, but I haven't played any since last summer, several updates ago. Don't know if the AI behavior was changed.

I'm not a fan of defensive missions in the first place and try to avoid them.

DarkSpade · « **Reply #59 on:** 16 December 2018, 22:09:17 »

I've finally got the medium mechs rolling in. Funny what getting a trebuchet can do for your confidence. Not to mention your win/loss ratio. >:D