Flame Striker (1x LBX10, 2x LLas, 2x MLas, XL325)

This build was highly inspired by TruePointdexter's Fast Striker.

I was going back and forth on the argument that the mech's main weapons are it's arm lasers. While I really love UACs, they somehow don't work for me in the Flame. The idea of switching to the LB-X while retaining the lasers took me some time, but when I finally did it I kind of rejuvinated my love for the Flame.



Update 2013-12-12



Considering the added range provided by the LLas in comparison to a 4x MLas build as well as the massive heat the main weapons are producing, I switched to a smaller engine and used the free weight for additional DHS and ammunition. Finally, allthough FF was removed from the build, it nevertheless got half a ton of additional armor, providing a slighlty better protection for all the important regions.

I think this is the superior version of this build, having a better cooling efficiency and more ammo while still being pretty fast. This latest build seems to hit a nice sweet spot of balancing speed, cooling, ammo and firepower.

 

I'd buy that for a dollar.

 

I guess that you'll won't be disappointed. I've been playing my Flame in more games this week than during the last two months because of this loadout.

 

I am glad you are enjoying the build. Wreck face with it, but watch your heat.


Here are some variants of this build for all speed junkies out there:

1) Cut all of the DHS, mount XL350




2) Replace 1 LL with another ML, add another ton of LBX ammo, mount XL350
Sidenote: This one is just one step away from Phaedrus' Speed Build, which also plays very nicely.

 

I keep coming back to the Flame from time to time, and obviously tend to play my own builds. Here's some food for thought: How much speed does this particular loadout need? Would an XL300 be sufficient, which on the other hand would allow to install quite a lot of additional DHS? See yourself:



I think this is an interesting question. You too?

 

With speed tweak Alyek, with speed tweak

 

Fallen a bit out of favor for the SRMs on the Archflame Seven, I'm certainly going to give this build a spin, the large lasers seem pretty useful.

 

I can't see myself cutting another DHS from the faster version (XL325) - heat already can become a tricky beast there. Considering the latest proposal, though - this might indeed work. As those LLas provide some nice range, I am more or less convinced now that this is the right engine for this build.




[quote author=SubjectSeven link=topic=3146.msg31630#msg31630 date=1386812947]
Fallen a bit out of favor for the SRMs on the Archflame Seven, I'm certainly going to give this build a spin, the large lasers seem pretty useful.
[/quote]
I am looking forward to your feedback. Would you mind testing both the XL300 and 325 variants?

 

I wouldn't mind, though I expect the XL325 to be my favourite.

89 kmh is just a bit too slow in a dragon, and I never really have heat problems. I wouldn't want to trade 7 kph to get the efficiency above 40%.

XL325 experiences so far:
- 95 kph is a nice speed for a dragon, I'd rather not go any lower.
- Leg armor is too low, they get taken out very easily.
- Heat isn't nearly as bad as you described, in a brawl I can often keep up both lasers for a bit, and after that i switch to use the LBX as a cool weapon together with 2 lasers and that totally stops me from overheating.
- Having so much weapons in the arms is a double-edged sword. This is true with every flame build, 4 energy hardpoints in the arms means that you can concentrate them wherever you want, yet your arms also take some damage. I found myself actually exposing my torso to lure them into attacking me there so i would keep my firepower.
- Ammo is a bit low but sufficient in most matches. In order to make your heat curve better by using LBX as a main weapon (suggested before), you do need more ammo indeed.

My modifications after testing:
Actually remove 1 DHS to increase armor on legs and arms. Alternatively use the extra ton for LBX10 ammo.


XL300 experiences:
- Cool, I'm able to alpha a lot with this thing (I guess I'm used to the curve of the HBK-4P which requires disciplinary weapon range separation). It did show difference in extended brawls (until of course my arms were destroyed again). Especially great to leg lights!
- 89.1 kph really isn't as bad as I had feared, still pretty zippy it's just harder to keep up with mediums which are running the same amount of damage.
- Overall I like this variant better because the speed loss isn't that heavy while it fixes most of the XL325's problems.

My modifications after testing:



I got AMS which protects my arms a lot better (hopefully) and one less heat sink. Also kept the LBX-10 ammo low since I hope to use it mostly to crit after armor is stripped by the lasers. 13 DHS is more than enough for me and if I want to I can drop to 12 and put in an extra ton of ammo.

 

I am currently playing a cousin of this:



This is an even more flexible build than the original Striker build. AC5 + SRM4 are comparable or even better than the LBX-10 when close up, but on top of this the AC5 adds another possibility for long range engagements.

 

Especially when trying to add long range power, the UAC5's burst pro outweighs the jamming con when single. When it jams you still have your main weapons up, or you can use those 5 jammed seconds for repositioning (though in quite some cases that will not be necessary at the moment it jams).

Added enough ammo to spam at any circumstance, but you can choose to get 1 more DHS instead as well.

 

Regular AC10 verison, I also updated my UAC5 suggestion. I think regular AC10s are more useful than the LBX because pinpoint damage is always good on a target, and the LBX requires you to get crit, really close and open armor first before it starts outperforming the AC10.