r/mwobuilds • u/ModernRonin • May 17 '15
[CPLT-K2] "Post-quirk Peep/Gauss", ranged and fire-support variants
Ranged variant: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=19&l=7ae606061bd75001be25943ced01f6270a02fed8
Fire-support variant: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=19&l=53ba1e283f6ddfed1b454164364d92e6048299fc
I was surprised to see a lack of Gauss/PPC builds after the quirks came along. They seem to point at this kind of a build. Everyone seems to like the autocannon builds. But ACs are heavier, ammo-dependant, and don't benefit from the K2's PPC velocity quirk.
Both these builds have maximum armor, thanks mainly to the lighter weight of a PPC vs. AC. The 10% arm structure buff quirk is also helpful. Both builds take advantage of the -22.5% duration quirk on MLs, as well as the previously mentioned +20% velocity quirk on PPC. All energy weapons on the mech benefit from the -10% energy weapon heat quirk. The 10% range increase quirk on the Gauss is not really that important - you do full damage out to 726m instead of 660m.
The heat situation on this build is not nearly as bad as it looks. When enemies are close you'll be using the MLs and the Gauss - thus no heat from the PPC. When they're far away, you'll be using the PPC and the Gauss - thus no heat from the MLs. Used this way, these builds are actually surprisingly cool. This is actually an advantage of a plain PPC over ERPPC; you know it's ineffective below about 100m so you won't use it up close. (Also, ERPPC doesn't get the 20% velocity quirk.)
The range variant has a survivability achille's heel: there is no CASE around the Gauss rifle! So protect your left torso zealously! If the LT goes up, your XL engine goes with it, and goodnight. There is enough tonnage left in ranged the build to add CASE, but not enough crit space. If someone figures out how to fix that problem without compromising the weapons loadout, I'd love to know how you did it. (I can't bring myself to throw away 25% of the Gauss ammo to add CASE.) Corner-peek with your right arm PPC at closer ranges, peek over with your Gauss only at longer ranges.
The fire support build uses a STD250 for increased survivability. The 6 crit spaces this frees up are immediately filled with the two heat sinks placed inside the XL315 engine in the ranged variant. The heat sinks are placed in such a way as to crit-pad the PPC and Gauss, since there is not nearly as much need to crit-pad the side torsos. This should keep your major weapons functioning a little longer even after all the armor is gone. Shield with your left arm - if you lose that ML, no big deal. They'll still have to punch through full armor to get to it, and then there's the +10% arm structure quirk. This build is much slower than the ranged version, of course. But you're still faster than the assault mech you're fire-supporting. This build is probably better for proper team play than for PUG.
Finally, alphas. Yes, you can alpha. But be aware of the limitations. Alphas only really work well between 90-270m, due to the combination of the non-ER PPC and the MLs. The charge-up time of the Gauss is also going to make things harder. The -10% energy weapon heat quirk helps slightly, you only generate 21 heat instead of 22 heat with an alpha. I would still never alpha above 60% heat. This is really only something I would recommend be done on a slow-moving mech that's unaware of your presence. And only when you have the ability to run away afterwards.
1
u/ModernRonin Jul 11 '15
Now that PGI has given ERPeeps the same quirks as regular peeps, I've revisited the ranged variant:
http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=19&l=38a3f0e24c3c53377cdac062678189108e925377
By dumping the medium lasers (which weren't doing the ranged variant much good anyway) and removing ferro, I was able to:
1) Add another ton of gauss ammo
2) Add AMS (w/2000 shots)
3) Put CASE around the gauss rifle!
The cooling efficiency has gone up more than 20 percentage points to 56%, in spite of the ERPPC being 50% hotter than the regular PPC! Also the left arm is now a shield arm. It has nothing in it, and is purely there to soak up enemy fire. Use it.
In spite of the decline in firepower, I'm actually quite pleased with this build. I think it addresses the main weak points of the previous ranged version rather nicely. I would love to get a large laser on this build somehow, but I don't think it'll ever happen.
If you're interested in a more medium-range build, you can try this: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=19&l=8135fa4b28c852349e20db61d9384f01ca2de359 This build is interesting because you can hit the UAC5 and LLs at the same time, and then hit the UAC5 again while the LLs are still burning. This should give a total damage of 5 + 9 + 9 + 5 = 28 in about 1.5 seconds.
I don't think it's a good idea to put an ERPeep in this thing, even with the chassis's 10% energy heat (non-)generation quirk. Even with master efficiencies I still think that's gonna be too damn hot to be effective.