How to build energy-based mech

[Sabi The Worst Player Ever]

Pretty much every heavy mech I encounter and salvage ends up being energy weapons orientated. Orion-K (2 missiles slots, 1 AC slot, 4 energy), Quickdraw (4 energy, 2 missiles), Thunderbolt (7 energy, 1 missile) and my last finding, Black Knight (8 energy).

When I first saw Black Knight in action, I said "wow it looks super cool, I want it!". Now Im kinda meh. I tried placing 4 jumpjets on it, 2 PPC, 4 Medium Lasers, default armor ratings and heatsinks to max weight limit but it still fries itself pretty fast when start using PPCs.

So how do you make viable full energy mech? And are there any missiles or AC based heavy mechs that are good in use? I didnt find Jagermech to be much better than his medium counterparts...

[Wayfare]

I like the Black Knight with a full suite of medium lasers and some small lasers. No large lasers or PPCs. Load up on heatsinks, jump jets and armor. Play it aggressive as all get out. This mech can fire two or three alphas before it overheats. Fire those alphas as you charge towards the enemy. By the third turn you want to be in melee range so you can punch robots while you cool down.

The trick is thus to plan your charge about three turns ahead. You need to make sure that you don't run too far away from the rest of your lance or you risk getting mobbed up on.

[Jaasrg]

Replace the PPCs with medium lasers, add armor and heatsinks.
4P version of Hunchback gives an okay idea for what you should aim for, ended up liking it more than I thought.
Sure you spread the damage all over the damn place without called shot, but details details...

[Battleseed]

Dont use a PPC on the BK. Fill it with MLs, JJs, HSs and armor. I droped a ML on the arm for a LL for ranged pokes.

[The Giant Mimir]

PPC generates 50 heat. 4 Jump Jets full jump generates a further 30 or so. Your Mech comes with 30 heat sink capacity built in, overheats at 60 heat and shuts down at 100. With two PPCs and jump jets, you can see why you might run a little hot. I would suggest only having a single PPC, or mixing it with lower heat weapons - and being careful about jump jets with PPCs - it's easy to underestimate how much heat jumping can generate.

[Sam Look]

Even though everyone says the aren't great I am actually finding my Large Laser build Dark Knight extremely effective, I think it has 4 of them and a mountain of heat sinks, it also has a +100 m Rangefinder,
Using precision shot it is can opening CT's before the enemy can see it. It's also extremely effective at finishing off knocked over mechs especially later on when people start running out ammo... Also a very effective ammo free turret killer!

[Sam Look]

Err Blackknight.

[Gracey Face]

The best way to make energy boats is to armour them up as much as you want, then fit every hardpoint with medium lasers (the best weapon in the game), then put in enough heat sinks to make it as heat stable as you want (ie able to alpha 4 turns in a row before overheat). Then if you have any fitting room left, you can consider either more armour, more heatsinks, or trading one of the medium lasers for a large so to have more damage per alpha for less damage overall (as you will not fire the large laser every single turn).

For instance one I like is a BlackKnight, 7 Medium lasers, 1 Large laser, 3 small lasers, it has ~1100 hit points and when not firing the LLAS or SLAS is completely heat stable, and gets about 4 volleys when firing the LLAS also.

[Markus Reese]

Agree on others. PPCs are a sniping energy weapon, so if regularily in medium range, their value is quite reduced.

[Mudpony]

In my experience, you can do it in a few ways:
1) Modify the weapon files to bring the heat for PPCs and LLs back down to TT levels. That means 30 for the PPCs and Large Pulse Laser, 45 for the ER PPC, 24 for the Large Lasers, and 36 for the ER Large Laser. Those are the heat levels the stock designs are designed to run with. Well, technically, the medium lasers should be 9 instead of 10, but that's only a 1 point difference so no biggie. With the game's level of heat, that 40 for a PPC, designs like the Awesome (3 PPCs) and Black Knight can't funciton how they're supposed to.

2) Only use a single PPC or Large Laser. That you can generally cover. A second one, however, will typically require so many heat sinks that you're better off dropping in an AC/5 or 10 or, better sill, an LRM launcher instead. My non-lostech Highlander, for example, packs a PPC and an LRM-15. And then use mediums for up close, though having an SRM-6 in the mix is nice too, for when you want to go crit hunting or do some stability damage.

3) On a mech with dual PPCs (or other 40+ heat weapons), like the Black Knght, you can get away with downgrading those weapons to LLs. That gives it ranged weapons with the heat levels the mech is built for, though at a cost of some range, and potentially frees up some tonnage to add still more heat sinks or other weapons. If you get the +++ larges, they'll even do the damage of a stock PPC (no stability damage, of course, but at least 50 damage). With my Atlas II, for example, I ripped out the ER Larges (also 40 heat) and replaced them with a pair of Large Lasers+++. Between that and downgrading the LRM 20 to a 15 to free up some weight for more armor and heat sinks, it works well.

Generally speaking, though the reason energy hard points are so common is because medium lasers are the most commonly used weapon. With light weight, medium range, no ammo constraints, and a heat that is low enough to allow the engine's built in heat sinks to cover three of them without any heat build up, you're just going to find them all over the place. LRMs and SRMs, on the other hand, are typically more limited in terms of how many you find on a mech.

[wendigo211]

No real strategy with it.

1. Get a mech with a lot of energy and support hardpoints.
2. Load it with medium lasers, small lasers and some heat sinks. Having one SRM launcher for when you need to knockover an unsteady enemy with a maxed stability bar helps too.
3. Give it some jump jets and max out its front armor.
4. Put a pilot with a 9 tactics skill in it.
5. Close with the enemy and use precision shots to amputate various parts of them.
6. If you need to cooldown either melee, or jump near a group of enemies to max evasion and brace.

[Rabidnid]

Don't

[DarkFenix]

Originally posted by Rabidnid:

Don't

This. Forget it, energy mechs aren't good. PPCs and LLs don't do anything another weapon can't do for less heat. MLs are support weapons, taken in small numbers as part of normal, sensible builds. SLs are support weapons for when you absolutely have to punch a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ in the face.

A good weapon setup has something to penetrate enemy armour, then supporting weapons to lay on the raw damage. The PPC is the only energy weapon remotely capable of the former role, but it generates so much heat it's prohibitive to equipping other weapons with it, unless you load up on tons and tons of heat sinks, which is also prohibitive to equipping other weapons. Smart players grab an autocannon or two instead, which generates little heat and allows you to stack on loads of missiles and MLs.

[Mudpony]

Originally posted by DarkFenix:

A good weapon setup has something to penetrate enemy armour, then supporting weapons to lay on the raw damage. The PPC is the only energy weapon remotely capable of the former role, but it generates so much heat it's prohibitive to equipping other weapons with it, unless you load up on tons and tons of heat sinks, which is also prohibitive to equipping other weapons. Smart players grab an autocannon or two instead, which generates little heat and allows you to stack on loads of missiles and MLs.

Except that load of MLs also generates heat. So then you need heat sinks. Which in turn makes a single PPC a viable choice over one of the longer range ACs, as those weigh more.

Mind you, a second PPC... definitely not worth it. One isn't bad though, between its concentrated damage and stability damage.

[Sentient_Toaster]

Originally posted by Sabi The Worst Player Ever:

So how do you make viable full energy mech? And are there any missiles or AC based heavy mechs that are good in use? I didnt find Jagermech to be much better than his medium counterparts...

I use a Grasshopper over the BK for that purpose. 7 MLs, 6 SLs; all the SLs have +5 damage bonuses and one of the MLs is also +10 damage, so it's either 185 damage for 70 heat or 335 damage for 100 heat depending on range. Still leaves enough room for JJs, enough heat sinks to sink 66 heat/turn base (counting engine HS as well), doesn't skimp on armor.

BK has more slightly more total tonnage and one more energy hardpoint, but you do lose 3 support hardpoints for those efficient point-blank kills or laser-assisted punching finishers.

[evilauthor]

Originally posted by wendigo211:

No real strategy with it.

1. Get a mech with a lot of energy and support hardpoints.
2. Load it with medium lasers, small lasers and some heat sinks. Having one SRM launcher for when you need to knockover an unsteady enemy with a maxed stability bar helps too.
3. Give it some jump jets and max out its front armor.
4. Put a pilot with a 9 tactics skill in it.
5. Close with the enemy and use precision shots to amputate various parts of them.
6. If you need to cooldown either melee, or jump near a group of enemies to max evasion and brace.

Pretty much this.

Although I'll add that if you're like me and you want at least some token long range firepower for those times when you can target enemies that are NOT in Medium Laser range, just carry a single long ranged weapon. Could be an LRM-5 or an AC/5 if you have the appropriate hard points. But if you only have energy hard points like with the Black Knight, don't be afraid to throw on a PPC.

My current Black Knight has a PPC, 6 Medium Lasers, 4 Jump Jets, and the 10 extra Heat Sinks it came with. All the remaining tonnage goes into armor. It can't fire the PPC and all the Medium Lasers every round, but then again, it's not supposed to. It's a very bursty fighter where it alphas something (and with Precision Shot, and a Light or even low Medium Target, one alpha is all it needs), then either uses more measured attacks to finish it off or retires behind cover to cool off.