MECH Skill tree: maximizing build efficiency

Choosing what to skill and why to maximize build efficiency and survivability

  1. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    CarloArmato submitted a new resource:

    Skill tree: maximizing build efficiency - Choosing what to skill and why to maximize build efficiency and survivability

    Read more about this resource...
     
  2. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    Quick hot fix:
    • fixed some engRish
    • added a light mech mobility skill tree template (max speed tweak, max anchor turn)
    • added Warhammer 2xUAC10 + 4xML build as a skill tree case study.
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2018
  3. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    CarloArmato updated Skill tree: maximizing build efficiency with a new update entry:

    Game mode disclaimer, various fixes, EngRish improvements

    Read the rest of this update entry...
     
  4. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
  5. PocketAces

    PocketAces New Member

    6
    2
    3
    Hi Carlo
    Firstly love your guides, very well thought out and a lot of work has gone into them and it is appreciated.
    I would like to give you my thoughts on skill trees, some is my own personal flavor (jump jet skill nodes on Nova's :woot:) and some is advice I have received from competitive players, and it is not a be all end all of advice.

    Faction Play
    Lights:
    Either, Firepower or Mobility, for FP I still think weapons are the go.
    Survival (armor side)
    Auxiliary (always take an Airstrike or Artillery)
    Operations
    Sensors

    Mediums:
    Firepower
    Survival (armor side)
    Mobility
    Auxiliary (always take an Airstrike or Artillery)
    Operations (Cool run only)

    Heavies:
    Firepower (max out your weapons capability)
    Survival
    Auxiliary (always take an Airstrike or Artillery)
    Operations (Cool run only)
    Mobility

    Assaults:
    As Heavies

    Quick Play
    Lights:
    Mobility
    Firepower
    Sensors
    Auxiliary (UAV, Airstrike or Artillery)
    Survival (armor side)
    Operations

    Mediums:
    Firepower
    Survival (armor side)
    Mobility
    Auxiliary (Coolshot, Airstrike or Artillery)
    Operations (Cool run only)
    Sensors

    Heavies:
    Firepower (max out your weapons capability)
    Survival
    Auxiliary (Coolshot, Airstrike or Artillery)
    Operations (Cool run only)
    Sensors
    Mobility

    Assaults:
    As Heavies

    If you have ECM, it will change your build somewhat but at least take the left side of the tree, minimum.
     
  6. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    Giving for granted firepower is a must have on any build (but the amount of SP to invest depends on the actual build, e.g. MG only build could invest only on MG ammo, I think Operations is not mandatory depending on how much your build is hot.

    Here 3 examples:

    Being a kinda hot brawler (so it has little chance to run away once fully committed to a brawl), this build could use some coolruns.
    Proposed skill tree: firepower, armor (left branch only), most coolruns, some radar derp, 2 improved consumables


    With 73% cooling efficiency, it's so cool you can completely forget about operations. By fitting ERML cooling efficiency will drop to 59%, but thanks to a -5% heat gen quirk it can still ignore coolruns.
    Proposed skill tree: firepower, armor (left branch +1 node), max radar derp, 2 maxed consumables


    Absolutely no need for any cooling. Due to quirks, each 4xHMGs will deal 7.5 DPS, while SPL will deal ~6.5 DPS. Improvements in cooldowns and heat gen won't affect HMGs, so there is such little point to commit in firepower you better skill into anything else. Luckily, this mech has huge structure quirks and quite bad mobility, so with full survival it will become a lot tankier and with full mobility it will be able to properly dodge shots and circle around, becoming a viable and powerfull build.
    Skill tree: only ammo in firepower, max survival, max speed tweak and anchor turn, some radar deprivation, 2 maxed consumables (there are actually more variants, you can find them here in its own build discussion thread)

    It still depends on the build. If it's an SRM brawler like an assassin or artic wolf then yes, mobility is needed. If it's a laser Wolverine, being it either scout or invasion then no, mobility isn't needed because you should be firing at range and while poking.


    Extremely cool once fully skilled, it is a nightmare in scout due to crazy range, duration and heat gen bonuses, so it can truly spam lasers at range.
    Skill tree: max range, max heat gen, max laser duration, armor (left branch), almost every coolrun, some radar deprivation (advanced zoom is optional, but is useful to pinpoint damage), full air strike.

    The only case I would fully commit into survival is on those mech that has such bad hardpoints you will never be able to free trade or positively trade by exploiting high hardpoints (e.g.: 5xERLL battle master can fully exploit high hardpoints and achieve very good trades. A supernova has to overexpose due to arm mounted lasers)... But the lack of cool runs is disturbing, especially if we are considering vomit laser builds or ERLL boats. I'd rather drop survival (you still receive more damage on structure HPs, making the structure nodes less worth it) and air strikes (yes they deal a lot of damage, but it's spreaded) and deploy with something like this.
     
  7. PocketAces

    PocketAces New Member

    6
    2
    3
    Agreed, there are some case by case basis for your skill trees, for instance I have my Javs, with no Mobility quirks and max cooldown, for that SRM2 goodness, it's like a machine gun.
     
  8. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    UPDATE:
    • Added "short range lasers only" and "cool short range lasers only" skill tree templates
    • Modified target retention description (I've tested it out and found out what it actually does)
    • Added FLE-17 "BackScratcher" (2xMPL, 5xSL, MASC, XL170) skill tree case study
     
  9. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    Dagonus likes this.
  10. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    Minor update: added the following to Radar deprivation section.
     
  11. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

    1,971
    601
    195
    Ooof, I've just found out that Kitlan links expires, so one or more links in my guide stopped working... One of these days I'll update it with actual images, so I'm sure they won't expire at all.
     
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast