(I'm saying best, not most fun...Behemoth punching things was more fun, but this lance design is better for completing anything the game throws at you)
It's simple. For mechs: 2xLRM boats and 2x splat brawlers (ie. as many SRM's as possible). You want +stability damage weapons.
For your pilots: 2 Lancers and 2 Strikers.
This design never changes because ultimately, the maps are all the same. Lots and lots of terrain cover that reduce fighting to broom closet range at all times.
Here's a screenie of my current lance which is the same as my starting lance except the mechs have gotten heavier and the pilots more accurate (not that accuracy matters as much when everything is missiles).
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd....226/7AFA66AAE8EC3AA0F9BB5248DF80A906F1A55A87/
And here's why it works the best AT ALL TIMES.
1. As mentioned above, the maps are all the same in overall design. There is always terrain blocking long range and long line of sight. So why bother trying to build sniper mechs?
2. Accuracy is totally offset by having lots of missiles. Your early mechs who can only hit 50%? Well, 50% of 3xSRM6 is still a lot of damage, and a 55 ton Griffin can totally fit that loadout. With the Orion V 75ton, it's those same 3xSRM6's but with more armor and some ML's because why not. Later on, when you get your Lancers trained up, they're able to put all those missiles on a single component and even the CT armor of a heavy can't take that.
3. Stability damage is silly OP. Drop 40 LRM's with +stab damage and pretty much any mech is unstable. That means any other missile hit is going to knock it on its butt. And a prone mech is just fodder for Lancers in splat mechs. Since I have 2 lurmboats. I can knock ANYTHING down just by having both Strikers forcus hit it in one round. Then the Lancers move in for an easy kill.
4. 2xLRM boats also gives you the ability to redirect opfor attention on you if you are running Strikers. They can split their missiles between 3 targets, and with that +1 initiative, they can get those shots off before anything really scary moves. This comes up any mission that you have to protect stuff, of which there are a lot.
5 Lancers are the best killers, period. Since again the maps don't lend themselves to long range, they also greatly reduce the usefulness of maneuver. Lancers don't have to move. In fact, they don't want to because of Bulwark. They can also choose between split target, called shots, and breaching shots depending on situation. And Bulwark is the best skill for any pilot who might get focused because it lets you shed that previously mentioned stability damage pretty quickly.
It's simple. For mechs: 2xLRM boats and 2x splat brawlers (ie. as many SRM's as possible). You want +stability damage weapons.
For your pilots: 2 Lancers and 2 Strikers.
This design never changes because ultimately, the maps are all the same. Lots and lots of terrain cover that reduce fighting to broom closet range at all times.
Here's a screenie of my current lance which is the same as my starting lance except the mechs have gotten heavier and the pilots more accurate (not that accuracy matters as much when everything is missiles).
https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd....226/7AFA66AAE8EC3AA0F9BB5248DF80A906F1A55A87/
And here's why it works the best AT ALL TIMES.
1. As mentioned above, the maps are all the same in overall design. There is always terrain blocking long range and long line of sight. So why bother trying to build sniper mechs?
2. Accuracy is totally offset by having lots of missiles. Your early mechs who can only hit 50%? Well, 50% of 3xSRM6 is still a lot of damage, and a 55 ton Griffin can totally fit that loadout. With the Orion V 75ton, it's those same 3xSRM6's but with more armor and some ML's because why not. Later on, when you get your Lancers trained up, they're able to put all those missiles on a single component and even the CT armor of a heavy can't take that.
3. Stability damage is silly OP. Drop 40 LRM's with +stab damage and pretty much any mech is unstable. That means any other missile hit is going to knock it on its butt. And a prone mech is just fodder for Lancers in splat mechs. Since I have 2 lurmboats. I can knock ANYTHING down just by having both Strikers forcus hit it in one round. Then the Lancers move in for an easy kill.
4. 2xLRM boats also gives you the ability to redirect opfor attention on you if you are running Strikers. They can split their missiles between 3 targets, and with that +1 initiative, they can get those shots off before anything really scary moves. This comes up any mission that you have to protect stuff, of which there are a lot.
5 Lancers are the best killers, period. Since again the maps don't lend themselves to long range, they also greatly reduce the usefulness of maneuver. Lancers don't have to move. In fact, they don't want to because of Bulwark. They can also choose between split target, called shots, and breaching shots depending on situation. And Bulwark is the best skill for any pilot who might get focused because it lets you shed that previously mentioned stability damage pretty quickly.
