Firestarter Loadout Question (Arm Mod?)

[MeiSooHaityu]

In my current play through (Pirate) I am running a Firestarter with 2 MLasers, 2 Flamers, 4 SLasers, and 4 Jump Jets. I really like it as a backstabber, and I am happy with it. But...

I saw a 40+ Damage Arm Mod in the Black Market and picked it up with the intention of slapping it into a 'yet to be salvaged' medium mech.

The thing is, I have this Firestarter filled with support weapons and I keep thinking...would this Arm Mod be a good way to go? It would give me a 75 Damage melee strike, which is nice. The only thing is, I have to free up 3 tons to use it.

I thought about ditching the Flamers and the MLasers, however that is sacrificing it's ability to reach beyond short range. So, do I ditch the JJs and Flamers instead? Do I maybe peel back a half ton of armor and a JJ to get one of the three tons? Or, is an Arm Mod on a Firestarter just crazy and I keep it as it is?

What do you all think? I'm on the fence on this one.

 

[sparkyp]

Hmmm

I had a melee Firestarter a while ago inc arm mod. It was good but I lost it quite early on. Probably my fault but the loss of any/enough evasion when melee(ing) meant whatever I was attacking tended to turn around and punch me clean on the face.

Serious trouble if the attacker is a medium.

Off topic but have you tried making a Wolfhound build from a Firestarter, its decent!

 

[Nick_S]

I really enjoyed having a melee mod on a firestarter -- https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/firestarter-on-steroids.1176880/

One things which is particularly nice in early-to-mid game is that it is a _fantastic_ vehicle hunter. It will kill any vehicle with a successful melee attack, and the firestarter has the speed to close to melee range without being exposed to fire.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

Hmmm

I had a melee Firestarter a while ago inc arm mod. It was good but I lost it quite early on. Probably my fault but the loss of any/enough evasion when melee(ing) meant whatever I was attacking tended to turn around and punch me clean on the face.

Serious trouble if the attacker is a medium.

Off topic but have you tried making a Wolfhound build from a Firestarter, its decent!

Yeah, I would definitely want to make sure my melee strike would either be fatal, or damaging enough so that follow up attacks would kill the target before it could move.

When you say Wolfhound build, is that a LLaser or a LLaser and a MLaser? (What seems like the WLF-1 is)?

 

[sparkyp]

I did 1 LL and 3 Meds. Adding the fourth made it too hot. So standard-ish WLF-1

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I did 1 LL and 3 Meds. Adding the fourth made it too hot. So standard-ish WLF-1

Ok, cool.

I have run something similar in a Panther, but not a Firestarter. I could see myself running that loadout if I didn't have a Panther. I just like the idea of trying to use those support Hardpoints on the Firestarter, even if I have to be 'sneaky'.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I really enjoyed having a melee mod on a firestarter -- https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/firestarter-on-steroids.1176880/

One things which is particularly nice in early-to-mid game is that it is a _fantastic_ vehicle hunter. It will kill any vehicle with a successful melee attack, and the firestarter has the speed to close to melee range without being exposed to fire.

Cool. I'll check out that thread.

 

[sparkyp]

Yeah, I would definitely want to make sure my melee strike would either be fatal, or damaging enough so that follow up attacks would kill the target before it could move.

When you say Wolfhound build, is that a LLaser or a LLaser and a MLaser? (What seems like the WLF-1 is)?

Ok, cool.

I have run something similar in a Panther, but not a Firestarter. I could see myself running that loadout if I didn't have a Panther. I just like the idea of trying to use those support Hardpoints on the Firestarter, even if I have to be 'sneaky'.

I didn't mean to put you off. The 'starter is probably the best light for support weapons.

Not a machine gun fan but I had a FS with med laser/small laser boat and I remember coring CT rear on that Liao Awesome on Joint Venture FP

 

[Edmon]

One of my more famous builds. The Fightstarter from "There are four lights".

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

One of my more famous builds. The Fightstarter from "There are four lights".

Looks good, and i should be able to make that (minus the Gyro mod). Did you miss having the MLasers at al

 

[Prussian Havoc]

In my current play through (Pirate) I am running a Firestarter with 2 MLasers, 2 Flamers, 4 SLasers, and 4 Jump Jets. I really like it as a backstabber, and I am happy with it. But...

I saw a 40+ Damage Arm Mod in the Black Market and picked it up with the intention of slapping it into a 'yet to be salvaged' medium mech.

The thing is, I have this Firestarter filled with support weapons and I keep thinking...would this Arm Mod be a good way to go? It would give me a 75 Damage melee strike, which is nice. The only thing is, I have to free up 3 tons to use it.

I thought about ditching the Flamers and the MLasers, however that is sacrificing it's ability to reach beyond short range. So, do I ditch the JJs and Flamers instead? Do I maybe peel back a half ton of armor and a JJ to get one of the three tons? Or, is an Arm Mod on a Firestarter just crazy and I keep it as it is?

What do you all think? I'm on the fence on this one.

I think HBS taking the Chevron-governor off of Light Mechs will really benefit a 6/9 Light Mech like the Firestarter. For me, this will reign in my use of Jump Jets to a fair degree.

I’d say retain the Medium Lasers for distance work, after you’ve taken Damage at least his way you can back off and keep these Medium Lasers in play.

The key to me is that you’ll be punching some serious holes with your Arm Mod. To take best advantage of those I’d recommend a split down the middle, 3 Small Lasers and 3 Machine Guns.

Eliminate the Jump Jets, ride those increased Movement Chevrons, add Armor and start punching holes and finding Crits.

Any which way you decide, good luck and good BATTLETECH gaming! : )

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I think HBS taking the Chevron-governor off of Light Mechs will really benefit a 6/9 Light Mech like the Firestarter. For me, this will reign in my use of Jump Jets to a fair degree.

I’d say retain the Medium Lasers for distance work, after you’ve taken Damage at least his way you can back off and keep these Medium Lasers in play.

The key to me is that you’ll be punching some serious holes with your Arm Mod. To take best advantage of those I’d recommend a split down the middle, 3 Small Lasers and 3 Machine Guns.

Eliminate the Jump Jets, ride those increased Movement Chevrons, add Armor and start punching holes and finding Crits.

Any which way you decide, good luck and good BATTLETECH gaming! : )

That sounds like a good plan. I'll have to see if I have the MGs and ammo. Scaveging all my items takes scarcity to another level lol.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

That sounds like a good plan. I'll have to see if I have the MGs and ammo. Scaveging all my items takes scarcity to another level lol.

I saw some of that myself yesterday.

While I have not gone Full Pirate (they say never go Full Pirate!) once I allied with the Pirate Faction many regular Stores became inaccessible to me. An unintended but VERY important caveat for anyone else looking to ally with the Pirate Faction! : )

 

[Edmon]

Looks good, and i should be able to make that (minus the Gyro mod). Did you miss having the MLasers at al

Nope, if you can't get a good hit, just sprint until you can.

 

[Icewraith]

Nope, if you can't get a good hit, just sprint until you can.

That thing is lethal but using it is tricky. Only 4 JJs makes sprinting vs jump bracing through clear terrain much more of a gamble.

 

[Blade_mercurial]

That thing is lethal but using it is tricky. Only 4 JJs makes sprinting vs jump bracing through clear terrain much more of a gamble.

Only if you sprint to a location where you can expect to take heavy fire (you obviously want to avoid that at all costs)

 

[Icewraith]

Only if you sprint to a location where you can expect to take heavy fire (you obviously want to avoid that at all costs)

You mean like within one move’s distance of an enemy mech?

You need to live there for a round, in order to reserve, wombo-combo your target, and then gtfo on your double turn. If you use the double turn to sprint in and then punch, you’re exposed for a round and highly likely to get punched back.

 

[ntw]

In my current play through (Pirate) I am running a Firestarter with 2 MLasers, 2 Flamers, 4 SLasers, and 4 Jump Jets. I really like it as a backstabber, and I am happy with it. But...

I saw a 40+ Damage Arm Mod in the Black Market and picked it up with the intention of slapping it into a 'yet to be salvaged' medium mech.

The thing is, I have this Firestarter filled with support weapons and I keep thinking...would this Arm Mod be a good way to go? It would give me a 75 Damage melee strike, which is nice. The only thing is, I have to free up 3 tons to use it.

I thought about ditching the Flamers and the MLasers, however that is sacrificing it's ability to reach beyond short range. So, do I ditch the JJs and Flamers instead? Do I maybe peel back a half ton of armor and a JJ to get one of the three tons? Or, is an Arm Mod on a Firestarter just crazy and I keep it as it is?

What do you all think? I'm on the fence on this one.

I think I'd strip all the support weapons and replace them with MGs which is a weight neutral change, then strip the ML's to gain 2 tons and JJ's to get the 3rd ton to mount the arm mod.
I'd run that for a few battles then decide whether to strip some MGs to restore the JJ's or remove the remaining JJ's to either up-armour or add an ML

It will depend on your playstyle though obvs

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I ended up trying 6 SLasers and the Arm Mod while keeping the JJs.

I ran it for a few missions and ended up kind of digging it (although I didn't end up meleeing as much as I thought I would). Overall though, I may keep it a while. There was one 'Oh Crap!' moment when a Shadow Hawk attempted to pummel my Firestarter, but the MechWarrior was able to dodge giving me a much welcome sigh of relief.

I do want to try some of the great MG suggestions, but I am low on MG supplies right now. It hasn't been something I prioritized in salvage, and with the challenge I am doing, I can't buy them for the most part either.

 

[KDubya]

If I have a mech with a bunch of support weapon slots I want to make the most of them. On a bigger mech you can fit longer range weapons and a full set of support weapons but the Firestarter runs out of tonnage if you try that while keeping max armor.

I'd say go for Edmon's Fightstarter (makes me think of the Dropkick Murphys "Fightstarter Karaoke"). That looks like a nice efficient and effective mech that has a mission and does it very well.

What good would a single med laser do? On the way in better to either sprint or jump+brace and on the way out better to jump+brace and cool a bit.