All MG Firestarter?

[NekoMode]

What are your thoughts on an all MG Firestarter, either armored up or with quad M Laser to chase down and bully other light mechs, convoy vehicles, and objectives?

[Fendelphi]

Look at it this way:
You can either fire 6 MGs as a called shot on the cockpit and hope for a pilot injury/kill(30 shots at up to 18% with max tactics) or fire 6 SLaser, and deal up to 120 damage(150 if they have the +5 damage bonus) to the back and blow out a torso. With 2 MLasers extra, that is potentially 200 damage to a single point.

Just use initiative correctly to avoid retaliation.

[Dirty Filthy Scrublord]

I have full flamer build, rather amusing watching a heavy mech shut down and cook its own internals! Though with the pathetic amount of "shots" flamers get....its questionable as to whether or not its a fun build or a practile one.

[DarkFenix]

Originally posted by NekoMode:

What are your thoughts on an all MG Firestarter, either armored up or with quad M Laser to chase down and bully other light mechs, convoy vehicles, and objectives?

I'm thinking about a light mech only campaign, and an MG Firestarter is what I'm considering to use as my finisher. MGs have a native +75% crit bonus, if you go for something with exposed structure, you will blow up any ammo present and crit/destroy the weapons.

So I'm thinking of a S Laser Firestarter as my big hitter, JJ behind a mech and blitz its rear armour, Machine Gun Firestarter follows its approach and utterly destroys what's left.

Originally posted by Fendelphi:

Look at it this way:
You can either fire 6 MGs as a called shot on the cockpit and hope for a pilot injury/kill(30 shots at up to 18% with max tactics) or fire 6 SLaser, and deal up to 120 damage(150 if they have the +5 damage bonus) to the back and blow out a torso. With 2 MLasers extra, that is potentially 200 damage to a single point.

Just use initiative correctly to avoid retaliation.

Multi shot weapons only get a single roll to headshot, and can only hit the head once per volley. Something they put in specifically to stop LRMs blowing everything's head off.

[Desperado]

My standard mechs have a big gun, and missiles to run down/finish the wounded...ie: 90 ton Highlander 1x AC 20 + 2x LRM 15 + support weapons (S Lasers)

65 ton Jagermech 1x AC 20 + 1 x LRM 15 + support weapons (S Lasers)

20 ton Locust 1x M Las + 2x LRM 5

Has worked so far...my main lance is 100 ton King Crab, 2x 90 ton Highlanders and a 85 ton Battlemaster...all have a big gun with missiles

[=]

Light lasers as better, they give the firestarter a 120 DPS alpha stirkes which they can maintain indefinately. MGs do low damage and only really come into their own once through armour while small lasers will easily one shot anything up to a heavy with a called shot. Medium lasers do increase it's DPS but it will build up quite a lot of heat, 6 small lasers are effectively heat neutral.

I had my Firestarter until I started to encounter assault mechs as it isn't surrvivable enough by that stage. My Firestarter has soloed a Battlemaster though before I retired it.

[NekoMode]

I decided that both have their place in my lance. For unskilled pilots the S Laser alpha strikes and jumpjets to weak rear armor is very strong. That being said I love hunting for savage and the machine guns with their crit bonuses and massive amount of rounds shot when combined with Tactics called shot bonuses can lead to serious headwounds and pilot incapacitation. Takes a well skilled pilot but the idea of just headshotting people my other mechs knockdown is just too appealing.

[Village Idiot]

I'm using a 4x M Laser and 6x MG build.

Its killing things incredibly fast.

Get behind mechs and called shot their rear armor CT.

95% aim with all weapons, about 66% chance of hitting the CT per shot.

190 dmg per round. I have Ace Pilot on Dekker and he can do 380 potential damage in two rounds and still get away in time, or 190 dmg to two mechs before they can even react.

Here's an example of this build

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1870&v=XS-QWTgkCmk#t=1h

[Oddball_E8]

Bit late to the party, but I just started playing and I now have a fire starter with 4x s lasers but with 2 arm mods that add a total of 120 melee damage... it works as my distraction and finisher.

[Ichthyic]

watch this guy do an entire playthrough on hard with nothing but firestarters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTcX0tgK8e4&list=PLrGILJcqTblUzDT9UTxWhPUYvmrZzg0pD

[Named]

I had two Firestarters in my bays, Crackle and Sparkle.
One was all MGs and the other all S-laser.

But the S-laser got more use as it does definitely have a higher and more reliable dmg output. It's really fun using both of them, though. Sparkle cracks the armour and Crackle wrecks the insides.
Very much style over function, though.

[SertanDoom]

I tend to use the all MG build with the Firestarter. As it's possible to control damage to target better when trying to capture a target and a missed shot with higher damage weapons could core the target. Low heat and Melee + MG when not using "precise shots". The firestarter has on more than one occasion been what saves the rest of the team on those attack and defend missions.

[Ichthyic]

it's really easy folks. MGs are for critting exposed structure. Mlasers are for exposing the structure to begin with.