Most worthwhile Hero Mech?

Hey guys so Im finally parting with some hard-earned cash and am gonna be buying a hero mech. Question is, which mechs do you think are, put simply, the best? Unfortunately the Heavy Metal is out of the question as Ive bought the 6500 package.

So, opinions? For reference, I'm a mastered centurion pilot. I just checked out the Victor (always stayed away from Assaults) on trial and found it to be surprisingly enjoyable, the speed its famed for was more than I expected! Anyways, I guess that leaves the Yen Lo Wang out, though I'd suspect it always was given what I've read about it.

Thanks guys!

 

Hi and welcome to MechSpecs!

Ilya Muromets. Hands down.

Some would argue for Firebrand or Dragon Slayer but IMHO the Ilya is the best.

Edit: What am I saying? The Sarah Jenner is the best, though you can't get it with MC of course.

 

Well man. If you have to put money down on just one id say either: Dragon slayer (first and foremost) and the ilya muromets. Both of them are extremely versatile and capable and you will have no regrets getting either of them, full price or not.

another good hero is the firebrand and the Pretty Baby. not quite as versatile but i still enjoy the shit out of mine. Best of the Jagers and only good awesome imo.

In the current meta id avoid lights right now. (this is where i get shot for saying that on this site). Simply because everything they are good at and can do, they dont get rewarded for at all. So why spend real money on something that gets you nothing out of it atm?

Dont let the yen-lo-wang fool you. He looks pretty damn good but i was pretty damn upset at his lack of capability compared to the others. He cant even swivel his gun arm. yes, you heard that right. you cant move his gun arm at all. Its like shooting with a giant broken-arm cast.

Most of the other ones vary in performance but none of them are as much worth the money as the first 2 i mentioned.

Sadly, i own them all and in reality most of them are out done by their more mundane counterparts.

 

Hmmmm, I hadnt considered the Dragon Slayer simply because I hadnt done as much reading on it. What sets it apart for you? Honestly given the huge number of hardpoints on Assaults I found it hard to see what made the Heroes that much better. Is it the engine? Ran Std or XL?

The Illya looks like it could be easy for me to get used to from a Cent, but god that AC/20 or even rifleman build on the Firebrand looks so tempting its unreal. Any personal experience here? The temptation of a support role Firebrand is almost too much.

 

Ilya, Slayer.
Firebrand... well, if your build needs 6x Energy on a jager then yes.
Pretty Baby is ok, but you can do most with a 9M. That and awesome is not that awesome.

 

The dragon slayer is by far my favorite mech in the game. He has a better pitch and twist and pitch/twist speed than other victors. Is an Assault mech so he has a huge firepower capability and still be damn fast to get to where you need to be. Can hold a bigger engine than other victors. XL friendly due to the large CT. 90% of the time you get hit in the CT and not the RT or LT. Has JJ so you can get anywhere and can also help twist around splitting the damage. The only downside is that the other victors can use an A/c 20, the DS cant. I just use a gauss instead, and is suggested. You need the range.

http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/index.php?topic=2310.0

This is how i run my DS. Will always be relevant, has short, mid and long range, plenty of ammo for the 12v12 and dishes out LOTS of damage.

Only the 9S really compares to the DS imo. It comes down to whether you want that extra missile slot or the extra energy slot, and a slight difference in hardpoint location. Personally, I prefer to have the extra energy slot to better help control ammo. And rarely is just the one extra SRM or LRM gonna change the outcome of a fight. But running out of ammo sure as hell will. Also, in the event that you lose your energy arm with the DS, you still have 1 more back up laser in the chest. With the 9S, once the arm is gone, your energy output is gone. Completely ammo reliant now.

Theres no better way to play an assault mech and not have it feel like an assault mech. I love speed AND firepower. I dont want to compromise one for the other. This guy has them both.

Also given the current heat system, be careful with the dual a/c 20 on the Jagers. It builds up pretty damn quick. Gotta chainfire. BUT, the firebrand was for sure my favorite mech before the dragon slayer. You dont need more than 2 ballistic slots anyways. You start running into ammo issues and critical hit, ammo explosions and what not. And theres WAY better mechs for running srms or lrms than a jager.

 

i brought many of these.

The best for me is the heavy metal , firebrand and Ilya.
Sarah is fun

 

My Set-ups in the three favoured Hero Mechs:

Dragon Slayer: XL330, Gauss, ERPPC, 2 MLas, 2 SSRMs + BAP

A great Mech, nimble and fast for an Assault, can lay down some nasty damage from afar and due to the projectile speed, both shots can actually hit with a second apart. It is more meant to be a bit in the back/side, flank and intercept than outright brawl or draw fire, too lightly armoured for that, let Atlai and Highlanders go into the thick of the battle.

Firebrand: Rifleman Build with 2x LLas, 2 AC5s, 4 SMLas

One of the most damaging 'Mechs I own behind Atlai. Has given me some of the best matches and a lot of fun, also pretty agile for a Heavy.

Ilya: Chainsaw build, 3 UACs and 2 MLas

A nasty Mech, lays down very good supression fire, UACs can be chainfired without jamming and in a brawl, just spam the shit... one of them is normally always active and then you spit out hurt every .5 seconds. Like most Phract builds, pretty fast and agile too.

And I am quite sure that all of this sounds great and does not help you make up your mind

 

Of my premiums, I have the best record with Ilya using a Dual Gauss build. The triple UAC/5 and triple LBX-10 builds are also really cool. And there's the added benefit that it gets you into the Cataphracts, which are among the best 'mechs in the game.

I have a soft spot for the Twins. While Fang is similar to the other Dragons, there is nothing on the field like the Flame. I've seen so many good Flame builds which carry zero overlapping weapons that it's astounding. The only downsides to Flame and Fang is that there are two premiums for their chassis and the oversized Dragon CT. It's a difficult thing to get used to, but not the screaming liability that so many make it out to be.

Avoid the Death's Knell like the plague. I seem to earn less on a win with him than I do on a loss with my other 'mechs. I got him when he first came out, and I finally got him BASIC'd, and that was through the 1st win XP boost in the most recent patch. My money would have been better spent on paint!

 

Ya sold me it, just seems right what I want. Thanks man! Maybe Ill invest in a jaeger another time and build some c-bills with this baby!

Thanks everybody, got alot of honest and critical feedback within a few hours, great community!

 

This is also really helpful to me as I'm going to be buying a hero mech this week (just waiting to see if anything goes on sale this weekend).

I was planning to go with an Ilya since I'm already invested in the Cataphracts, but I didn't realize it doesn't come with Endo or DHS, so I'll have to shell out another 2.2 MCbills just to get it competitive.

 

I think the Firebrand is the next mech to go on sale in the cycle. Im hoping so anyways as it is one I don't have. I never pay full price for a hero mech, either on my personal account or the mechspecs testing account. I'm... frugal

The Ilya was 4-6 weeks ago (maybe more now?) so it will be a little bit before it comes back on sale.

 

Im really happy the Dragon Slayer has been mentioned so much! Really glad I picked that guy up when it first came out. It plays both the heavy and assault role in one package.


Edited because I have a terrible memory.

 

The Dragon Slayer hasn't yet been on sale for 30% off.

 

If it's the Firebrand or Dragon Slayer on sale, I'll definitely pick one of those up. If not, I'll probably just bite the bullet and grab an Ilya.

 

lol, the ilya is a really great mech as well. No biting bullets there, you will be satisfied.

 

Okay, so the Hero Mech sale this month is for the Wang and the X5. (I think they're just screwing with Grimm now regarding the Firebrand).

I've never been interested in the Wang since it turned out it didn't come with a melee weapon, but what is the general consensus on the X5?

 

Best of the cicadas. I prefer my X-5 over my jenners any day. I just prefer more armor

 

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=87&l=6cb56a9cf89751bc7ab3818b5862176dc4ccafef

For those who like fast....

 

I finally have come to terms with the theft of my beloved closed beta Centurian. So I got my Wang.

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=45&l=25af50a110139381139b956a66f501d71cb87d70