Had an IS day today.

[~SJ~NotSoCoolJ]

Had tons of fun. It was an IS X-Mass.
 First my thoughts on the IS heavy VS Clan Heavy. Warhammer Prime > Madcat most of the time. Pilot skill is involved and if you are engaged out of range, you are likely going to lose. You must force the enemy to fight on your terms one way or another. GECM Mechs offer more options when it comes to that. Getting close shouldn't be problem. The DPS of the WH Prime is phenomenal. Those pulse lasers do some real damage and it has the heatsinks to keep hitting with them. I run Both PPCs in group 1 and all Pulsers in group 2, with the SRM being in group 3. One good alpha and some withering fire can damn near kill anything. Wazza in a Mauler C with a buddy in another Warhammer caught me coming out of my base on frost bite today. I managed to use some rolling hills to my advantage and keep most of the ac20 fire from hitting. I walked him around for a bit after my initial alpha, trying to keep the Warhammer behind him. I kept hitting him with the pulse lasers and srms, then the PPCs cycled and it popped him like a tick. I managed to get back to base thanks to a buddy that ran up to face the warhammer. I was close to dead and I'm sure a couple more ac20 and MRM and it would have gone the other way. I know Mauler isn't Clan, but the Mauler C can lay down some serious fire and has mad armor. I'm not sure how damaged Wazza was before hand. He soaked up a lot of fire and could have easily run away. I Killed several Madcats in the Warhammer prime today but no one I recognize. So, I haven't had the chance to evaluate the situation against a surefire pilot. From my observations about how much damage a Madcat can take from the WH Prime, if you manage to get in alpha range and get it off first, you will probably win a 1 on 1.

Thanatos A.
Can't take quite the beating that the Warhammer can, It doesn't need to. Close to 350 meters, alpha 3 times to CT and turn to one side so you are thinner in between shots.  Don't forget ammo or you might not make it out alive. Madcats turn like a Mac truck. Use the JJ to give them problems and be ready to fire just when you land. 360 torso is an advantage you have to use. Make him spread his hits out all around and focus on his CT you will prevail.

Try these Mechs out next time you get a chance. You will be glad you did.

[Frostiken]

Timberwolves by-and-large (one exception lol) reflect the Clan philosophy of stand-off engagement. If a Timberwolf catches you at range, you can be smoked before you know he's there. Up-close and in their face is the best way to deal with them as it forces the Timberwolf to fire his weapons as often as possible, and that mech has abysmal heat management. For the mini-Beatstick variant, well, just do the opposite. Aim for an arm at range, as losing an arm will chop off about 35% of its firepower. SSRMs aren't really anything to get excited about. They cycle rapidly and shake your screen around, but do such pathetic damage I never worry about them.

[Taemien]

MRM's to the face of a Madcat will gib the pilot very quickly. A narc'd Madcat is in serious trouble with Warhammer (MRM30 variant) or Catapult MRM40. The narc will focus all MRMs into the face of a madcat which can only avoid it by turning around and fleeing (which it will hit the BT).

The MRM Catapult is a very tricky mech to use. But it will gib a Madcat or MKII very quickly. With a narcing raven that is narcing specifically to help you and its death to anything.

Warhammers are pretty solid. Their armor can withstand quite a bit. Bushwhackers are the same. I like the LBX20 and the 2 LRM15 variants myself.

One of my favorite IS variants lately is the Catapult Prime. 2 ELRM15s let you reach out and touch someone. The quad medium lasers make it dangerous to flush you out of your position with pumas. And are absolute death to BA. ALSO! Don't discount its brawling capabilities! Aiming down allows the ELRMs to be used as SRMS. I've done massive amounts of damage to Loki's by doing this. They don't have the armor to take you on like that, especially if you're spreading out their LBX20 damage. Use the JJ to hop around as well, you're not going to overheat in this config. Over all, the Catapult Prime is just one mean ass mech that is seriously underrated.

Another underrated mech is the Uziel Prime. That thing sucks to fight, let me tell you. I ambushed a flanking duo in Thunder Rift the other day. A Madcat and a Uziel. I was in the SSRM Owens and I was just going to town on the Madcat. The Uziel tore me up, Madcat wouldn't have had a chance (if I kept on the BT with the SSRM's) if the Uziel wasn't there. The dual PPCs and the SRM6 is just a mean combination. Nice little mech if you can stand the cockpit.

Awesome Prime, if used as a linebreaker and line holder, it lives up to its namesake. If you're brawling with this, you're doing it wrong. Surprisingly its got enough HS to fire its weapons for a good while. Just use lots of cover when facing Novacats with this. Madcats aren't really a problem, just don't try to brawl them. Ideally you want to stay at 800+ meters of your targets. Gauss Vultures can tear you up, but stay passive and alpha them then take cover. The Large Laser is good to harass Air assets as well as well as anti-BA.

Thanatos is one of my favorite mechs from MW4 and in 0.2.0 But for some reason my favorite variant was taken out. The one with the MRM20 and LBX20. Not sure what happened there. I would use this mech more often if it didn't have such a weapons spread. Only the Heavy Gauss variant has a punch to it that the others seem to be missing. But with masc and JJ its a mean beast if used right.

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

MRM40 hands down is my favorite weapon in the game.  The fly by wire really helps when adjusting for longer range shots.  In a reconfig, i'd drop the MGs for 2 more HS

[sleepysheep]

MRM40 hands down is my favorite weapon in the game.  The fly by wire really helps when adjusting for longer range shots.  In a reconfig, i'd drop the MGs for 2 more HS

I love MRMs so much I want them on every mech

[(TLL)Sky_walker]

Well, such MRM40 launcher has insane amount of damage with very good reload time. It's just one of the things you have to love.

NARC... well, recall the RAC/MRM Uziel in the beginning of the match. If you'll manage to synchronize yourself with a NARCing guy you can easily score 3 kills with almost no damage to yourself (Uziel has tons of armor lucky so it can withstand quite a bit) - first you spray MRMs from 700M to kill NARCed target than use RACs to kill any other enemies nearby. Very nice tactic though difficult to use without TS3.
MRMs are amazing weapons, more than often I have an impression that they are better than UAC20, and this just scares me.

[Frostiken]

Well that's not hard, I think the UAC20 is a ruined heap of shit since 0.3.0.

[~SJ~ Wolf]

Well that's not hard, I think the UAC20 is a ruined heap of shit since 0.3.0.

That's about how long your opinion has been perceived as a heap of shit.

The UAC20 is hands down fantastic. It's neither the weapon or the devs fault if you're not successful with it.

[eRkkituo]

Well that's not hard, I think the UAC20 is a ruined heap of shit since 0.3.0.

The UAC20 is the most efficient heavy- and assault-killer in the game, hands down. Excellent rate of fire, awesome damage.

[AlfalphaCat]

@Taemien, or whoever can answer this.  Wasn't there a Warhammer with MASC in an older version?  If you wanna try to fight like a Clanner in an IS mech, use the Whammy C.  2 ERPPC, 2ERML, Lgauss.  Watch your heat and play a direct support role.

[Sir Tahn Maihem]

In the first version I think there was a Warhammer variant with 2 lbx10, a srm6, masc, and some other stuff.

[Frostiken]

Well that's not hard, I think the UAC20 is a ruined heap of shit since 0.3.0.

The UAC20 is the most efficient heavy- and assault-killer in the game, hands down. Excellent rate of fire, awesome damage.

The changes to the UAC20 make it only viable on mechs like the Mauler that are too slow to have to worry about maneuvering, but have enough armor to stand there and do the same damage spread out - maybe you weren't aware but the UAC20 does less damage than the CERPPC (660 damage vs. 1000 it used to do).

There's a reason nobody uses the Shadowcat A and that's because the changes to the weapon shoehorned it into a damage-over-time weapon that is far harder to use than any other.

But what would I know, I've only been playing Shadowcat As and Bs for a year.

[=KoS= Saber15]

The changes to the UAC20 make it only viable on mechs like the Mauler that are too slow to have to worry about maneuvering, but have enough armor to stand there and do the same damage spread out - maybe you weren't aware but the UAC20 does less damage than the CERPPC (660 damage vs. 1000 it used to do).

There's a reason nobody uses the Shadowcat A and that's because the changes to the weapon shoehorned it into a damage-over-time weapon that is far harder to use than any other.

But what would I know, I've only been playing Shadowcat As and Bs for a year.

I think the UAC20 is effective most of the time; I love the UAC20 + ERLBL Oro, it can put on some serious hurting on enemy assets. The UAC20 Hollander would be deadly if it didn't have the ridiculously huge right torso hitbox.
I sometimes miss the old UAC20 with the huge splash and insane damage, but the current UAC20 is much better most of the time IMO. Easier to aim with, and more forgiving if you miss.

[Frostiken]

I sincerely doubt the UAC20 Hollander would ever be effective even if the gun were hidden in a tiny box in the center torso. The thing has just so little armour, the few shots it would spit out would hurt, sure, but it would rarely be able to do much more than that. Funny thing is that I'd happily take the UAC20 Hollander's loadout over the Shadowcat A. At least it carries extra ammo.

The Hunchback IIc would have more success only because it can belt out twice as much damage in the same amount of time. Consider that - the Mauler has *two* UAC20s *AND* an MRM40 (well, two 20s). The Mauler is lethal but it's not because of a single UAC20, it's the fact that it has two of them along with a super-powerful missile swarm.

I love the UAC20 + ERLBL Oro

lol, I literally can not remember the last time I saw an Oro. I will say that the Demolisher is also awesome, but for the same reason as the Mauler - a slow, immensely stable platform that can take a lot of damage. Plus, again, it has two of them.

I don't know how you can say it's easier to aim with though. I used to just snap my aim to a spot in front of the mech I want to hit, fire, get those two nice meaty-sounding smacks, and disengage to let it reload. Now I have to lock myself into a position to hit the same area multiple times, lead my aim not once, but three times, it all just makes it a much harder to use weapon without as much payoff. If any of you are saying that the old UAC20 was weaker than the current one, you're on crack.

[-AAA-]

There's a reason nobody uses the Shadowcat A and that's because the changes to the weapon shoehorned it into a damage-over-time weapon that is far harder to use than any other.

But what would I know, I've only been playing Shadowcat As and Bs for a year.

Not trying to "call you out" or anything like that, but...bullshit.  The Scat A is one of the most effective heavy-killers in the game, hands down - it's a Thanatos C with half the size.  It's lack of reloads forces you to use hit and run tactics, which it excels at.  Hell, I've even become damn good at swatting aeros out of the sky with it.  Three hits to anywhere on a Shiva equals a dead aero jock.  Again, I'm not deliberately trying to be a dick here, but simply because you're not as effective with it as you are with your beloved Scat C does not mean it's a bad weapon system.  You do have to learn to compensate for lag to hit the same location on a moving target, however.  And it's sure as hell more useful in the 0.3 rendition, as the second round never hit a damn thing unless your target was standing still.

Yes, it's a "damage over time" weapon, but calling it that is misleading when the timescale is so short.  Just to prove the point, I just created a server and tested this.  It takes a Scat A 16 seconds of continuous fire (pausing briefly to avoid overheating the UAC20) to kill a Madcat B.  It takes that same Madcat B 10.5 seconds of constant firing with all weapons systems to kill that same Scat A.  It takes the Scat C an agonizing 26 seconds to kill a Madcat B.  This is with all weapons hitting the CT in a controlled environment, so obviously misses are going to effect real-world performance, and I'm aware of the range disparity (that's what the GECM and MASC on the A is for) but I'm starting to see a pattern of you posting "This weapon kills me, nerf it", coupled with "I can't kill shit with this weapon, it sucks".  YMMV.