Plays out similar to a Phract 3D "Kaos style" poptart. Has extra armor and was able to fit an AMS. More of a support role which is what this mech seems to be good for.
A minor change from ER PPC's to PPC's- And then pepper in the Gauss AutoHotkey script from Titan's Fist, and you have yourself a 5-star build again. EDIT: I've been using this build since 2 days ago when I bought the 'Mech from the 50% off sale. I haven't played in a pre-made group for a couple of months now, but my Elo still reflects my ridiculous W:L ratio from PUG stomping... I guess I'm trying to say that I PUG, but I get dropped in with the top players, so these are tough matches. This is by far the most impressive PUG-only assault 'Mech stat that I have. Oh, and I just put down my first headshot since the stat-reset with this bad-boy! WOOT WOOT!
1 & 1 peep increases average damage at mid range and maintains a reasonable heat profile. Left a ton to play with. Either another DHS or JJ depending on the user. You don't need ams in a poptart as you're using cover to break sightlines. If you are being spotted, kill the spotter. I also moved some stuff around. Crit pad the ppc's with a dhs. Moved ammo to head so its there until the end instead of getting destroyed when you get cored elsewhere.
1 JJ will barely get you off the ground in a Victor these days. I am going to try the ER PPC/PPC mix though. I've seen a few people have good success with it. I agree with the removal of AMS. I'm hardly even going through ammo in it. Maybe something like this:
I'm with SB. When I run Dual PPCs, I take one of each. Guards you at all ranges and also safes on heat for MOST of your shots. (rarely do you need the +1000m or -90m from the ER) Moreover, with a DS Poptart, you have a massive shield that most poptarts won't. I usually drop my leg armor quite a bit (if jump-sniping, they should usually be covered) and drop the left arm down until I'm at 416 armor. (Plenty for a one-sided Jump-Sniper and more than I run on my CTF-3D) This gives you room for another ton of ammo. There are plenty of matches on Alpine or Tourmaline where you'll want it. Heat is less of an issue on a Jump-Sniper, since you RARELY are firing weapons on every cooldown, however, I still try to keep it over 40% efficient.
I'm close to Protoform on this one, here's my submission: *Pilot's preference on 4th JJ or 16th DHS (slot wise it is impossible to have both). *3-4 JJs for better jump sniping, which is what this build seeks to do. Increased lift will let you expose for shorter periods of time, improving trading. It will also leave more in the tank to jump more often. It also increases your maximum height, letting you abuse a larger variety of terrain. Lastly, the more JJs you bring, the less vulnerable you are to losing them to crits. I'm pretty sure I go with the 4th JJ for pugs, as formations get sloppy/nonexistant and you have to make the best of weird situations. *Heavily frontloaded armor, as this mech's playstyle will exclude a majority of rear damage. *Decent shield arm, could go higher if you don't fear arties after the nerf and take some armor out of the legs. Again, this mech's playstyle makes a good shield arm less important than in an AC5 wielding DS who has incentive to engage and dakka away rather than sit back and snipe from cover. I like thick leg armor though, anyone smart will write a love note to enemy jump snipers on their arty/air shells, and it's all too easy for a light to follow up on that and then eat you from behind. *XL340 is a peak of engine rating per ton (it was popular on the PPC+AC20 VTRs), and fits a lot of equipment neatly. XL350's extra DHS slots are not necessary, and the step up to XL345 is a ripoff. I guess if you specifically want speed, the 350 isn't too bad I guess. *30 Gauss rounds is enough. Final ton goes in head, first two go in RA to crit buff the Goose. *This mech can have some insane sustained DPS if you go with dual PPC and trust your lance/positioning to make the weak CQC not matter. Go with the 4th JJ on this one, you'll never be waiting on your heat.
With the clan introductions imminent (and JJ heat re-introduced) this build might gain traction again. I wonder if dropping down to 2 JJs would save heat, even though it means humping cover more to allow for JJ fuel regeneration, it means a little more time for heat to dissipate.