Firebrand "Really Different" (2x LPLas, 4x MLas, XL340)

4.33333/5,

3 ratings

with the new quirks and the need of protection in brawls. Energy boat Jager ? yes, please ! Feels totally different and fun !

 

I don't know that drop in speed and heat capability seems to outweigh the gain of 2 MG's.

 

No Gauss, AC/5 or UC/5. Meh.

 

Been trying out the 4ML, 2LPL & 2MG, XL330 build. I just recently got the FB and while I love the gauss, ppcs just dont do it for me anymore - they don't seem to have that KO punch.

This build is really mobile and a major strength is its ability to poke with the high mounted LPLs early game, then charge through the brawl from crazy angles focusing down stripped components on mechs insanely quickly. I was amazed at how cool it runs - once the deathball closed I was using the LPLs and all 4MLs (+MGs but no heat there) on cooldown for the whole thing and never came close to overheat.

Gauss + 2PPC is fun if you can keep the enemy at range but this build does a great job showcasing another side of the FB - give it a whirl.

 

This is the exact build I reverted to for filming video footage (because Jager cockpit is perfect for recording video).
Although I trade 2 points of armor in the head to the legs

Just had a 1.1k game in it with NO HUD while filming stuff for my next video lol. Footage incoming.

 

LOL OH MY GOD! Impressive damn round... THEN I consider it was all without radar, targeting info, friendly/enemy tags, crosshairs, seismic, personal health readout, heat level indicator... wow...

 

It looks weird w/o the electronics....

 

Really wish they gave players a "minimal HUD" option that only gave basic information like Blue/Red triangles above mechs w/ letter designation. I can SEE what the mech is once I get visual, I can see what weapons he is shooting (energy, PPCs, missiles, ballistics, etc) A simple enemy paper-doll readout in the top right corner that only displays when you are looking directly at the mech. My paper-doll on the bottom left. Simple crosshair reticle to know where torso/arms are, but NONE of that surrounding info. It would be like MWO hardcore mode.

It would be great! Imagine getting a weapon crit, you have no idea until you try to shoot it and nothing happens. Now you must improvise. That sounds like a lot of fun imo.

 

Well done!
You should submit it for next "gameplay of the week" spotlight.

 

Not sure I'd go that far but have to admit I generally rely on knowledge for weapons and visual for identification. The callsigns I definitely need and location indications when someone else spots a target. Nowadays you often don't get more in the group queue as its death balls around Hellbringers.

 

Can the Jester do it better? Same quirks (except Firebrand gets 10% cooldown and Jester gets 7.5% range)
The same exact build can be done on both:

Versus


The Jester can add a jumpjet fairly easily:


What do you guys think?

 

In my opinion a cooldown quirk is most of the time more interesting than a range quirk, even though it depends on the heat efficiency.
But in this case, the jump jets sold me the Jester version over the Firebrand's.

 

absolutely agree with epikt. And cmon the Skin of the Jester is simply more mechporn!

 

Actually, the more I think about this, I think both the Jester and Firebrand are outclassed using this loadout by the quickdraw.


For a detailed comparison of the builds check this out:
https://www.mechspecs.com/threads/a-heavy-medium-and-light-energy-boat-comparison.9429/#post-74969

tl;dr
The quickdraw has less heat, more speed, more range, less duration, more cooldown, and less leg armor.

If also has jumpjet options if you are so inclined.

 

More than just the weapon loadouts, there are a few other factors that make the Firebrand an ideal choice for me personally:

• High mounted arms. Yes the Jester also has high(er) mounted arms, but they are also MUCH larger and easy to get ripped off. I almost never lose an arm on the Jager.
• Hitboxes. the Jager is more prone to an XL death, but it also is much better than the Jester at spreading damage and controlling where it is taken. The huge CT (and head) on the catapults should be considered.
• Maximizing potential. An XL340 is faster than any other Jager. Jester is in the same boat with the addition of Jump Jets which are very nice and make up for the negative impact of its hitboxes, however it requires a different play-style than the Firebrand directly because of the JJ ability and its hitboxes. Another comparison is against the Quickdraw @Epydemic2020 posted above, the Firebrand move nearly as fast, with high-mounted LPL, and over 50 points more armor, and slightly better heat dissipation with the added DHS (not better heat generation though so the extra DHS is moot for anything other than dissipation rate).

 

I've been running the same loadout on my Sparky. The LPL have a high mounting position, but it runs a bit hotter (and has less armor, of course), than these heavier mechs. On my Firebrand, I've been trying to make the 2xPPC, 4xML build work.

 

Excellent and deadly. More a comment on the weapon selection than the chassis. I have not run this in CW yet. I don't know if it is good enough to dethrone King Thunderbolt.

I am running with a 325XL and BAP, but also have the 340XL. Still evaluating.

 

Inspired and decide to build a clan version