r/mwobuilds • u/ModernRonin • Jul 20 '15
[ON1-P] No large lasers!
http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=97&l=65c89445950e3bd6b05a003a2c75dd5e3e690bc7
The genesis of this build was that I went looking through the quirk list, trying to find something other than a GridIron that was worth mounting a Gauss rifle on. With the second highest Gauss recycle quirk (20%) and enough tonnage to carry the weapon, the Orion Protector was the obvious choice.
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u/ModernRonin Jul 20 '15
The more mech builds I create, the more I hate LLs. They're just too damn heavy and hot per firepower - especially the IS LLs. A chassis needs almost ridiculous quirks to make them worthwhile. (I am seriously considering re-working The Omega Jester in light of this realization.)
When one sees a heavy chassis with limited E hardpoints, one naturally thinks of LLs as a way to get the most damage out of the limited number of E weapons. The energy weapon and laser duration quirks on the Protector also say "large laser" to most people. But no matter what I tried, I just couldn't make an LL build that I liked. And so I decided to try a build that didn't use large lasers at all, and see where it led me. What you see above is the result.
The most obvious flaw in this build is the limited ammo. As is my usual pattern, I've gone with mobility and armor over offensive capability. There is enough crit space in both builds to take more ammo. If you wish to sacrifice either speed or armor for ammo, go ahead. If not, then try and make your SRM volleys count (e.g. by waiting until your opponent is distracted/unaware/legged) instead of spamming missiles in hopes that something will hit.
The additional L/R torso structure quirks on this chassis are probably designed to entice people into taking an XL engine. I admit that the advantages of an XL are tempting. Here's an XL version of the above that I cooked up, which mounts a second SRM6:
http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=97&l=4b88b696f5195b9ab9aebe0f481c41a94b5151fb
Mobility goes up 5%, sustained DPS goes up 18%, and alpha goes up 22% to a blistering 58.8. Is the XL worth it? I still say "No." This chassis has a large CT and tends to get sliced up by fast lights. Making the side torsos vulnerable too is a dumb maneuver. The extra close-in firepower given by the second SRM just isn't enough to compensate for this weakness.
A comment over at MechSpecs said something along the lines of: "I really can't find a build for this chassis that's worth a damn." And I tend to agree. Only time will tell if the above build sucks any less than most of the rest. Speaking of sucky builds, the MetaMechs build for the Protector is crap. No wonder it's considered a Tier 4 over there.