need a good Dragon build please

[Bob]

Hello all :)

I finished a misstion that had a result of "we just found a lot od dragon parts' with the result of having unlimited Dragons for sale on that plaents store. Having 4 million saved and no heavy mech I foolishly bought 4 Dragon Mechs. I have to save I am not impressed , yes they are tought by lack hitting power , my old Medium lance is harder hitting ! Any one have a good hard hiting build for a dragon please ?

[Bishop-Six]

There is none.

You're welcome.

[Gracey Face]

The best dragon build is to go to the store tab and sell the dragon and then find something better, such as an Orion or a BlackKnight.

Dragons arent very good unfortunately.

[Bishop-Six]

Ok we can try to make the best out of it:

If you have 4 Dragons I'd run 4xAC20 full brawl! :D

[Larus]

There already has been a long running thread about that, might get some inspiration there: https://steamcommunity.com/app/637090/discussions/0/1696046342854984215/

But the best option is still using something better. Dragons really aren't the best.

[Carog the Fat]

Ac 5, 2 srm 4, 2 med lasers no JJ max armour ans 2 sml Lasers Will do well enough

4 dragon is way too much though, they are better than a 55 ton mech as a main bulwark tank but are no good with JJ on

[Invasion_Dec]

Best Dragon build is the mothball build. A Shadowhawk can carry more, move just as fast, hit as hard with melee, use lighter jump jets, and has extra initiative to take its turn earlier. I have almost every variant of heavies in storage, but not the Dragon or Quickdraws. Those two mechs are utter waste of resources.

[Strayed]

Sadly, the dragon here is not quite up to scratch. It would be ok if you could swap out engines with an XL but we can't do that. If we could modify mechs like MWO you'd be able to stick a 325XL with 2x AC5s + ammo, endo + ferro, SRM6 + ammo.. even saying that its still not a very good mech, which is a shame as I like its design

Below is a Dragon build I used for Battletech (caveat, it is a pretty bad mech, use an orion, which is many times better / the best heavy brawler) which was ok and suited my run and gun style of gameplay.

Dragon (HBS style):
default armour - yep, its a glass cannon. RA 70, LA 70, RT 80, RRT 40, CT 135, CRT 60, LT 80, LRT 40, RL 90, LL 90
1x AC5 + 2t ammo
2x SRM4 + 1t ammo
2x SLAS
3x JJ

Use: as a striker against medium and lights - do not engage a heavy by itself. It can't take the hits. It can melee ok, but it needs to be paired up. This mech should never be operating solo, it needs a partner. It does backup a Hawk 2H / 2D nicely though with is KD weaponry and follow through with a roflstomp when the target is KD, but its really not very good at anything. If you were to specialise it with an AC20 (and thats basically all you'll be able to fit once you max armour) then it becomes an average sniper, but thats also a stretch

Again, don't do it to yourself; trust me. Use a 'Hawk - it hits just as hard and is more manoeuvrable

[XIII]

People exaggerate how bad dragons are for memes; almost all mechs are highly versatile in Battletech, and the Dragon has a pretty good layout. Use 2xSRM6 (preferably with +damage), 2ML, 2SL (+damage is great), solid cooling and some jump jets. Max out at least frontal ST armor and give some good CT armor.

The advantage of that build is that you get the firepower of a 55ton brawler, but with more armor/structure and similar speed. If you use jump jets and got good cooling, then you'll even have some good dodge despite the mechs size.

Otherwise AC20+SRM6 or ML. Or 2xAC5 plus whatever else. Or large LRM spam.

It's a highly versatile mech, and despite what others say, it has more carrying capacity than a Shadowhawk (assuming you don't max out JJs). Those 2 additional tons makes it much more capable at carrying an AC20 than the 55 ton mechs, which otherwise makes the most sense with centurions/hunchbacks, which are slower than either. With SRM/ML you got much more free tonnage, and can utilize all the armor.

[pedal_pusher]

Dragons are great melee mechs, they deal 90 damage per hit, 60 stabililty damage and have 150 walk speed, more than almost every other heavy. Max the armor, strap on 5 jets, 2ML, 2SL and 2 SRM6. You'll nearly overheat after one volley but thats fine, you can just melee everything else afterwards.

[J.B.King]

The Dragon, like several other chassis, has a bit too high speed for his weight to be efficient with 3025 technology - he could have worked nicely back in the Star League days with an XL engine.

With just normal engines available in 3025 you're better off selecting one of the 55t Mechs for the same role if you don't have anything heavier yet or even use one of the slower 50t Mechs which will give you more available tonnage to equip at the cost of speed.

If you already own heavier Mechs than a Dragon, use those instead.

[Carog the Fat]

All these build also depend on your play style. Personally a melle mech has no value to me as he enemy so rarely gets close enough to run up an hit if you find that you are in melle range a lot then he JJ melle thing can work.

[MattStriker]

Dragons are kinda underwhelming, but I'll say this for them: At least they aren't bloody Banshees.

[your.sheepy]

Technically, Dragon have 29t to spare, higher than most medium mechs. If you keep the same armour, you should get equal or higher firepower, and almost certainly higher walk speed, plus more durable structure and far superior melee and DFA.

My brawler builds is 2x M.L, 2x SRM6, and two MG or S.L. Sniper build is PPC, 2x M.L, and a light LRM. Tried AC/20 but runs too hot, need too much melee to keep it cool which is risky. (I don't fear ranged headshots. I fear melee and DFA headshots.)

Note that as a heavy mech, its jumpjets are heavier, so it can't afford to fly as far as mediums.

But I really hope you'll learn from the lesson and buy more carefully next time. XD

[Senlin]

Contrary to what others are saying, I actually really like Dragon, as a quasi-medium mech acting as scout/flanker in the assault lance. Befor I got assaults I had 2 dragons as heavy mechs with 2 mediums and it worked nicely as well. For some reason I first managed to get 2 assault mechs before getting any heavy mech besides Dragon, so maybe that's skewed my view.

[XIII]

Originally posted by froz:

Contrary to what others are saying, I actually really like Dragon, as a quasi-medium mech acting as scout/flanker in the assault lance. Befor I got assaults I had 2 dragons as heavy mechs with 2 mediums and it worked nicely as well. For some reason I first managed to get 2 assault mechs before getting any heavy mech besides Dragon, so maybe that's skewed my view.

I had a Dragon too, together with 2 heavies and 1 assault. Did a good job drawing fire, and was in my experience a lot more survivable than meds like my Griffin-1N.