General Hunchback Discussion

I'm looking at the Hunchback and I'm trying to love it, but I just can't get over the fact of how slow it is for a medium mech, especially when you give it a lot of weapons. The 4P is unique, in that it has so many energy slots you just can't fit that kind of firepower on a Heavy, but with all of the others, it seems you can do better in other Mechs. So my question is - what does a Hunchback offer that the others don't? Take these matchups, from what I've seen on the battlefield (note that "vs" is just a comparison between the two, and not a duel).

Hunchback vs. Centurion: Hunchbacks have their shoulders go "pop" because no matter how good of a player you are, that hunch is vulnerable. Good Centurions lose their left arm first, because it's useless anyway. Hunchbacks tend to pop soon after they lose their hunch (or are ignored because they're virtually useless), but most Centurions I see die are down to no armor for quite some time and still dishing out damage. When at full health, Hunchback might have more firepower (albeit at less speed and/or with an XL), but the Centurion is going to have a more mobile platform for his primary weapon and is going to have a better zombie build. Centurions also have a more balanced approach (most are missiles+energy+ballistic), whereas hunchbacks tend to boat.

Hunchback vs. Trebuchet: For this matchup, we're looking more at the 4J and 4SP vs. the majority of Trebuchets. The Treb just has a significant amount of mobility over the hunchback, and generally better missile support as well. Weapons are more spread out and there's no hunch to hit.

Hunchback vs. Dragon: Due to the ability to put an engine 100 rating higher than a Hunchback, the Dragon offers superior maneuverability to the smaller Hunchback.

Hunchback vs. Cataphract: I include this matchup because the HBK-4G and 4H tend to make use of a big ballistic weapon with a small STD engine. Unless you skimp out on the lasers, you can get an AC/20 with still more firepower and more speed in the Phract. The best hunchie AC/20 build I've seen (read: one that fits an AC/20 at a speed that wouldn't be better in a heavier mech) only has 3 medium lasers, 3 tons of ammo, and no extra DHS...and it goes 89.1 kph. Compare that with a Cataphract that has AC/20, 5 ML, 6 extra DHS, 4 tons of ammo, and goes 76.4. That's a huge increase in firepower for a loss of 13 kph.
Similarly, if you look at a Hunchie Gauss+5xML build with 4 tons of ammo (same weight as AC/20+4 tons+1DHS with the lasers), that goes 71.3.

This is my problem. I see the hardpoints on the hunchback, but when I try to utilize them in a build I get stumped. The 4P holds its own, but only because nothing else has that number of energy slots. If I want to put missiles on, I'd be better off with a Trebuchet, and if I want to put ballistics on, I'd be better off with a Cataphract, Dragon, or Centurion, depending on what my focus is. What is it that I'm missing?

 

I own all of the Hunchies with the exception of the "J". While I am not one to crunch numbers (Mathwarrior Online isn't for me), I am a lover of everything Battletech. The Hunchback is one of the most Iconic 'Mechs that we have access to. I think that you have to have an interest in the Hunchback for it's sake and not because it is the most efficient 'mech out there. Once you get a taste for the difference in style, the Hunchie is excellent at the various roles it is meant for.
An important factor to success with any 'mech is believing that it is badass. As with anything in life, if you believe in what you are doing, or using, you will have sucess. I have been unable to bring myself to sell any of my Hunchbacks, they are the bomb.

Mythweaver

 

Oh I'll eventually get them and I'm sure I'll do decent with them. I just look at everything except the 4P and think...well, what could I really do with that that I can't do better elsewhere?

 

The Hunchback is pretty middle of the road, but that's what makes it work. I've mastered the Hunchback and Cataphract, and they play almost entirely differently, even with the same type of build.

The Hunchback does a whole lot of exploding if you're caught out in the open. However, Hunchbacks always pack a ridiculous punch, which makes them a real threat. If you find an opening where your assaults are brawling their assaults and not paying attention to you, you can absolutely melt shit.

The entire chassis is basically built to be a glass cannon, and most attempts to make it something else (large lasers, PPCs, LRMs, whatever) just kind of fall flat because you don't have the armor to trade with anyone. Centurions win a straight brawl, lights run away, Trebs run away, Dragons run away - but those really don't matter, because those aren't your targets. Your targets are the 6 LL Stalker who made the mistake of turning his back to you, the Awesome with only normal PPCs, the LRM Atlas, the Gauss Jager.

I've noticed that you like a lot of speed, skribs, but the Hunchback doesn't really "run away". Once you go in, you're in until someone explodes. Personally, I love the playstyle. It's not super-effective against organized teams who just kill you instantly, but when you get to really unload on unsuspecting opponents, it's awesome.

Also, they suck balls on Tourmaline and Alpine, for the most part.

 

It's not just speed. It's getting the chassis fast enough to where another chassis will not have more spare tonnage available. Take the 4 PPC Cicada vs. 6 PPC stalker (extreme example). The Cicada has 10 DHS, 96 armor, and moves at 55.7 kph. The Stalker, with more PPCs, has 432 armor, 17 DHS, and moves at 58.7 kph. My FlameC20 vs. TruePoindexter's Cataphract-1X build is another example, where you have more firepower AND more speed on a bigger mech.

The problem with the Hunchback is that in order to make use of the hardpoints, you have to lower the speed. When you lower the speed past a certain point, you can have more firepower and more speed on a bigger mech. In the case of the ballistic versions, unless you're using a light enough ballistic or no energy weapons, you would get just as many, if not more hardpoints on a Cataphract 1X, and have the tonnage to put in a big enough STD engine AND the weapons you want. In the case of the missile versions, okay they may have more hardpoints, but most builds don't use all of them.

 

My hunchback 4p says no, this is the mech variant that breaks that law and still works yes the cooling efficiency may be low but it's very fast(elited) so it is a alpha machine.