Owens
Prime *
LRMs in early game against other fast moving light mechs fails. Possibly a good for late game LRM and tag support role.
A **
Also a good choice if you’ve entered the game late, but equally useless against fast movers
B*
Primary weaponry, the SRMs, aren’t optimal vs small fast mechs, and a poor choice for a late game mech
C**
good but made kinda useless since the Uller C, available at the same rank, is slightly better.
Raven
Prime***
Your mech of choice for NARCing. However, its other weapons serve little purpose, both in hitting power and in comparative range to its primary role with the NARC.
A*
Since unlike NARC, TAG has to be held in place, I like the Prime better, but TAGs greater range and no need for ammo make it a solid alternative, though primarily versus enemy missile boats. Again, the supplemental weapons are worthless. For this reason, the B variant makes this option pretty pointless.
B ***
Similar to A but more focused. ELRMs pack a punch that usually can’t be returned and TAG is there for team support
Osiris
Prime*
Not a fan of SRMs on light mechs (see Owens B)
A*****
My favorite starting mech. Good speed, unlimited torso twist, jump jets, and long range hard hitting weapons make this a versatile fighter, either as a poptarter or brawler.
B****
Excellent if slightly over-rated during the early game. It’s not optimal against fast moving targets. Bringing this mech out after joining the game late is 35 tons of outstanding however. Running circles around heavies and plugging them with AC20 rounds while they struggle to get a bead on you couldn’t be more fun, and with enough elbow room, I’d take this variant against Beatstick all day long.
C**
A decent close range brawler, but not for the pricetag, and I don’t like being blinded by my own flamers.
Puma
Prime***
If your favorite means to get your chuckles is to overheat enemy mechs, this guy is for you. Since I prefer lasers in the early game, and it’s easier to overhead heavier mechs that can pack more energy weapons and find it more challenging to get out of the way, this is a better late game performer.
A***
A lot of missiles for a mech you can buy out of the gate with TAG and a machine gun to boot. Once again, it’s better to take this guy if you entered the game late.
B**
It packs one weapon that’s only effective when riding your opponent’s leg, and another with a 900 meter range. It’s a good amount of firepower, but it’s also unwieldy and sub optimal at any point during the match.
C****
This was one of my favorite mechs before its price increase in the latest patch. It still remains a good performer, and excels at sitting on the edge of a furball in passive mode and using its low profile to do surprising damage to enemy units.
Cougar
Prime***
Not a bad variant, but since it’s clearly a poptart mech, the LPLs should be replaced with LBL’s with their greater range and slower rate of fire with more condensed damage.
A****
Jump jets plus more missiles than can be packed on chassis almost twice its tonnage make the Cougar A an excellent boating choice. Once again, not optimal in an early match, but if joining late and into a missile lobbing game, you can’t go wrong.
B**
A good poptarter with weapons of similar range, but not enough punch for the money and the insta-hit lasers coupled with the slow moving PPC makes it a bit unwieldy.
C****
As fantastic a mech as the A variant, the C has a little less firepower and is more expensive, but you can’t beat being able to NARC your own targets!
Uller
Prime*
WTF…fail
A**
I like the weapons, but not on this mech. There are simply better game start mechs with a more consistent loadout which cater either to early or late game play. It’s nice…not thrilling…but nice.
B*
A slow moving ballistic weapon on 1 arm and an SRM on the other with the most obtrusive profile of the light mechs. Not optimal for the early game nor late game.
C****
This was once my default starting mech. The pulse lasers chew up other light mechs handily and the ECM allows the mech to close in on targets unseen. Despite the price increase, it still remains a decent early game brawler.
Hollander
Prime*
The pulse lasers and machine guns say brawler, the gauss and JJ say poptarter, I say useless.
A****
Quite a lot of close and mid-range punch, but all in 1 basket. You can feel like a champ with this mech, crippling or destroying targets with 1 hit, but ammo is limited, and smart opponents will assure you don’t even get anywhere near that many shots off, making the oversized rifle their first target. A good mech, if specialized; you certainly get a lot of bang for the buck.
B**
Acceptable firepower at close and medium range, but nothing to blow the skirt up. The flamers are as much a nuisance to you as they are to the enemy, and like all Hollanders, somewhat fragile and with the lionshare of the damage tied up in everyone’s favorite target, the shoulder gun. There are better choices.
C*
Underpowered with a wide range disparity and jump jets with a loadout that in no way works for poptarting; garbage.
Bushwacker
Prime*
The LRM 5 is pointless, and in any event, LRMs should never be combined with weapons that lack effectiveness out to 800+ meters, a capability somwhat lacking in the AC10; It might be ok with jump jets so it can poptart in the 600 meter range or so, but as is, it just fails.
A**
Decently geared for long range, but again, 1 lrm5? It’s almost wasted space. It’s other weapons suggest that it likes to poor the heat on, but RAC2’s do suffer from reduced damage from harded targets. Perhaps a better choice than the prime variant, but there are surely better ways to spend your C-bills.
B***
Another LBX mech. The devs clearly have a better opinion of this weapon than I do. All its weapons are focused for CQB which is good, though I still can’t help but feel that there are better choices. It lacks the range and jump jets of other good mechs in its price range, but it is saved by what seems to be relatively heavy armor.
C****
A mech focused for long range fighting. It’s a good option for the money, though I’m not a fan of LRMs without jump jets, being ELRMs, or without a NARCing teammate.
Shadowcat
Prime***
Ah the immortal Scat; a good combination of speed, armor, profile, load out, and capabilities always make this mech a solid contender. The prime is good, though somewhat overlooked, because it’s a slightly better option than the Scat C, but you need to wait a rank to get it, at which point you prefer to move from long range to close/ mid-range in the fantastic Scat A. Since the Scat C does outperform the prime variant in some ways, I think this option would benefit from a cost reduction.
A*****
Everyone’s favorite Scat variant, it adds MASC , an CERPPC and CUAC20; a solid shoot ‘n scoot hitter. Jump jets allow the mech to even serve as a decent mid-range poptarter. Heat can be a problem due to MASC, the lack of heat sinks, and the PPC, but is manageable if the pilot is mindful.
B***
The black sheep of the Scat family; an over-priced LBX option. Still, with its speed and GECM, and the fact that it runs cooler, means that this variant probably excels more than any other at charging up to distracted larger mechs and humping off its leg in record time.
C****
A well priced early sniper mech. In terms of worth, its best compared to the Hollander A with its heavy gauss which is available at the same rank. Compared to that vehicle, it doesn’t pack all its eggs in 1 basket, and is a more survivable platform overall. It also can deal an overall greater damage per second. On the negative side, the Scat lacks the same ability to cripple or kill a mech in 1 shot, since its damage is spread between 2 weapons, and it runs hot between its CERPPC and jump jets.
Catapult
Prime*
Less missiles than a Cougar A and backed up with weapons of a very dissimilar range; garbage.
A***
Along with the Vulture A, the only other decent non-missile option for the rank. This mech runs hotter than the vulture with more disparate weapons. It still makes for a decent mid range poptarter with better anti-BA capabilities than the Vulture.
B**
Despite the two pointless MBLs, this mech deals the most damage of any ELRM carrier. Like the Prime, that damage is still unimpressive, but its ability to strike at extreme range with impunity is nice. Having said that, that it lacks eoptics is simply absurd. This simple addition might make it worth 3 stars.
C***
If you have NARCers on your team, there’s nothing like sipping coffee back in your hangar while pushing a shiny red button and getting points. I would avoid this mech otherwise.
Warhammer
Prime**
A forgettable high heat platform with varying weapons, there are simply better choices out there, namely the Thanatos which clearly packs on more armor.
A***
While not a tremendous choice, it is my favorite Warhammer. It runs hot but the ERPPCs supported by the light gauss provide nice punch as long range. Unforunately you have to get much closer to bring all the weapons to bear since the 2 MBLs can’t be brought to bear until the pilot further closes the distance. Overall, for similar money, the Thanatos B would probably be a better choice.
B**
An early game CQB mech. I’m just not a fan of bringing AC’s and MRMs to a 100 KPH+ circle fight. You have more armor that your opponents, but they’re running circles around you, and you’re the AC20 Osiris’s wet dream.
C***
A close to mid range brawler; not a bad mech, though like most Warhammers, hot. I still prefer a Thanatos in most cases.
Thanatos
Prime***
All Thannies seem to be pretty solid in the armor department. When it comes to the Prime, neither the MRMs nor LBX thrill me, but if I could be confident in a very close enemy contact, I would consider this mech; excellent punch at under 100 meters.
A****
The only thing better than a heavy gauss rifle and jump jets is having that backed up by even more firepower, strong armor, and GECM. This mech is a Hollander on steroids. One drawback however, is that if you want to use it at the rank at which it becomes accessible, you’ll need to be limited on ammo (4 heavy gauss rounds) or beg for money so you can get another 4 rounds. The primary punch is still the heavy gauss and once that runs dry (or the gun is destroyed) your damage capabilities are crippled. You can of course wait until next rank, but there’s something “meh” about bringing out last ranks mech when you’re up for something newer and shinier.
B****
A slightly less specialized version of variant A. It appears to deal slightly overall less damage, but with more ammo and at a longer range. This will usually be my ride once I’m at the 90k rank.
C*
A close range mech packing the lionshare of weapons that suck.
Madcat
Prime***
A lot of firepower, but I don’t care for mechs that can be gimped at certain ranges. Optimal at medium to long range, but too far and the lasers can’t be used and lighter mechs with more missiles are better…too close and your LRMs can’t be brought to bear unless you can get into point blank. It’s also pretty expensive and there are probably better options in this price range, particularly the Novacat A.
A**
Arguably even less wieldy than the Prime Variant with yet another weapon type throw in, the PPC’s.
B****
Now here is my Madcat ride. All direct damage weapons; lasers and machine guns supported by a cgauss for the extra punch. Theis mech knows its purpose and it does it well with good armor and speed to boot…though with a similarly high pricetag.
C**
LBXs and flamers oh my… were it not that you could get the clearly superior Mauler C for less money, this could still be a contender. It needs a sharp drop in price or a buff to those LBXs.
Vulture
Prime***
Disparate weapon systems, medium and large pulse lasers (scrapper gear) and LRMs make this option non-plussing. Perhaps if the LRMs were replaced with SSRMs. Possibly best when used at medium range with its GECM on the outskirts of a furball. If approached by a slower mech, it could use its unlimited torso twist to keep the opponent at arms length and within optimal range.
A****
The two cgauss provide good hitting power at a good price. Perhaps the only weakness of this variant is its sub-optimal performance versus BA. It has a titanic amount of extra tonnage for ammo. Taking 4 of those tons for jump jets and maybe a small or medium laser or two for BA protection would make this mech fantastic, but are sadly lacking. Still, the Vulture A is a solid choice at the rank which you can acquire it.
B*****
My favorite close range scrapper; this engine of destruction is what lets the mech earn the title “Mad Dog.” It is a close range attrition mech pure and simple. The pilot isn’t coming back alive, but once he gets in range, he’s got a good shot at taking several enemies with him using his 4 dual ssrm6’s. With its unlimited torso twist, the B also goes a long way toward confusing enemy pilots regarding its capabilities.
C****
The alpha and omega of missile mechs; while it runs very hot, and sadly lacks jump jets (which would create too much heat anyway), any enemy NARCed while this mech is on the field isn’t going to last very long under and endless torrent of damage.
Novacat
Prime***
I’m not a fan of combining weapons of different travel to target speeds, but the CERPPCs and CERLBLs deal out substantial damage, and those CERPPCs keep the enemy off balance. As with all Nova’s you need to watch your arms because you can lose all that potency quickly, but you pack a big wallop for weighing in at only 70 tons. As with all Novacats, you pay a pretty penny for the power however, and will be running hot while going up against heavier enemies with more armor.
A*****
One of the best mechs in the game, but also probably the one that runs the hottest, it’s best to chain fire all those CERLBLs, divide the weapons into 2-3 groups, or at the very least burn coolant if you must alpha strike. As with all Novas, protecting the arms is paramount .
B***
Inexpensive by comparison to the other Novas, and overall decent, but the CLPLs don’t provide a particularly strong punch. At the same rank, you can afford an Awesome with 6 LBL’s and heavier armor with a more balanced weapons distribution across the platform; arguably a better ride.
C****
4 CERPPCs are a lot of firepower, and available a rank lower than the Nova A. Best when chained fired for maximum effect as well as to mitigate heat, the only drawback is perhaps the way the game sometimes does not register damage with the weapons.
Atlas
Prime**
Good armor but slow with an obvious profile and particularly vulnerable cockpit, the prime fails to make up for this with a particularly impressive array of weapons. Most weapons are of the same range, though it mixes in 2 dangling MBLs. Also, with weapons that mix together 4 different travel to target speeds, this variant is quite awkward.
A*
A vastly underpowered POS even worse than the Prime; a lot of weak long range weapons and 2 dangling MPLs.
B***
2 ERPPCs and 2 LRM10s make up the long range punch of this variant, but this is mixed with a heavy gauss, which really shines only in much closer courters. Replacing the the PPCs and lrms with UACs would make this variant a truly fearsome CQB brawler. As is, its potential is unrealized.
C****
A good buy for mixing it up at close to medium range. While it’s short about 2 SSRM6’s compared to the more expensive Mk2 B, it makes up for this with the same UAC damage at better range and a higher rate of fire since it loses 1 UAC20 and instead packs 2 UAC10’s. It’s also available 2 ranks sooner. The only real weakness of this mech is the aforementioned obvious profile and vulnerable cockpit.
Awesome
Prime***
With its combo of PPCs and LBLs, this mech can be directly compared to the Novacat, and swaps out advantages. The Awesome seems to have more armor, is less expensive, tends to run cooler, and doesn’t keep all its weapons in the vulnerable arms. On the other hand, the Awesome is slower and packs less firepower. Oddly, all the Awesome variants are available at the same rank, but are clearly not equal. The Prime variant, like the comparable Nova, mounts an awkward combination of weapons, and the same money would be better spent on the A variant, but it can allow a player to have both the disorienting effect of PPCs and the precision of lasers.
A****
The best Awesome option and directly comparable to the Novacat A. While its 6 LBLs deal less damage, it’s still quite effective, retains the aforementioned benefits of the Awesome vs Novacat, and is available 3 ranks sooner
B**
This is the least desirable Awesome variant. With its 4 LPL’s, it deals even less damage than the already underpowered Novacat B, and since you can buy the A variant for the same price, for more damage, and with greater range, it’s something of a no brainer. This variant serves little purpose ATM.
C***
This variant’s 4 regular PPCs are vastly less damaging than the CERPPCs of the Novacat. Were this the prior patch, I could still suggest this mech during the darkness of night since nightvision is killed in addition to the typical disorienting effects, and chain firing the PPCs can keep an enemy almost perpetually off balance. Since nights are no longer that dark and it’s available at the same rank as the 6 LBL Awesome, there’s little to recommend about this variant.
Mauler
Prime**
Maulers are slow and suffer from nasty cockpits The 4 AC2s in this variant make it underpowered, particularly versus heavy armor, but it does excel at taking down stationary missile campers at great distance…too specialized for my taste however.
A***
Another long range variant, though this one makes more sense with weapons of similar ranges and reload speed.
B**
I’m really no more enamored with this fellow than I am with the Prime variant.
C****
While I don’t care too much for the flamers, this mech has almost as much firepower as the Atlas C and at a rank sooner; a good buy for the money.
Madcat Mk2
Prime****
One of the few mechs that isn’t a mixed bag, all the Mk2’s variants are pretty good or downright excellent. The Prime is a poptart with LRMs and 2 cgauss for its long range strikes. You do need to get a little closer to bring its CERMBL’s to bear, but few mechs can survive a single poptarting alpha strike, at least not without a demolished center torso.
A***
Beatstick…well, as much as I dislike LBX’s, 4 LBX 20 is a whole lotta pain. Still, amazingly, against even a light mech, if that opponent can stay 200-300 meters away, my money is on that light mech. If you get within 100 meters of Beatstick, your life insurance policy better be in effect however. This mech can sometimes be brought to bear in Marshes, but where it will truly find a home is in a city map if one is ever released. Until then, it’s usually best to leave him in the hangar.
B*****
Once I make Khan in a brawling situation, this is my mech of choice. The Mk2 B is an attrition mech that will take a whole lot of opponents with him before ending up a smoking pile of scrap itself.
C****
The only thing worse than taking two Arrow 4’s in the face is taking 2 CERPPCs right afterward. This mech dishes out absurd amounts of damage and is geared to be even more long range than the Prime variant, with the drawback that unlike the Prime, this variant is ill-suited to close in fighting, while the Prime only loses its 2 LRM10 capabilities within the 200-300 meter envelope.
