I appreciate the tip Mr. Cromwell! I guess since we're talking about beer... my favorite favorite alcohol tends to be either whiskey or sake. I like sake when girls come over as I know some that almost taste like fruit juice... which is dangerous because it still punches at about 12% alcohol. I am also a fan of Irish whiskeys. I have a bottle of Bushmills 12 year old single malt, Redbreast 16 year old sherry finished, and the rather unique Connemara 12 year old peated whiskey. It tastes like drinking a forest fire... hits the tongue like whiskey then fades like a burning memory of a blazing forest. Very unique whiskey, not meant for cocktail mixing though as that'd ruin its complex flavors.
Welcome to MechWarrior 5 Quick Build guides! Today, we look at the new Crusader CDR-3R added in the new DLC "Rise of Rasalhague." My objective is to gauge the Mech's capabilities and then redesign it while still remaining close to the original design's intent. Let me know if this is the kind of content you'd like to see! [Table of Contents] 0:00 Intro / Video Objectives 1:01 Stock Crusader Stats 2:15 Stock Crusader 1st Battle 4:17 Running out of Ammo 4:56 Stock Crusader 2nd Battle Close Combat 6:47 Stock Crusader Mech Bay Stats 7:30 Crusader Redesign Mech Bay 9:57 Crusader Rebuild New Battle Start 11:14 Crusader Rebuild vs Heavy Lance 12:51 Crusader Rebuild vs. 2nd Heavy Lance 14:22 Crusader Rebuild Bonus Battle Close Combat vs Assault 15:12 What about LosTech? 🦊Join the Fox Republic🦊 💻RU-vid VODs: www.youtube.com/@gitgudfoxvods 🎮Twitch: www.twitch.tv/gitgudfox ⌨Discord: discord.gg/GitGudFox 🎥Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@gitgudfox 📷Instagram: instagram.com/gitgudfox/ 🐤Twitter: twitter.com/GitGudFox 📘Facebook: facebook.com/GitGudFox
Yeah, it is kind of a reverse Firestarter. While the Firestarter wants to rush the enemy and disable them, this Crusader wants to stand guard with its fellow missile Mech lance mates. It can participate in the LRM bombardment, and it dares enemies to get close where it can then bully them with disabling flamers and knockout punch SRMs. It's very much a Mech designed to as 1 of 4 Mechs in a lance rather than as a stand alone Mech. Most of my Mechs are intended to either... A) Blitz the enemy, sow confusion, and distract the enemy to give the rest of the lance clean fire B) Stand guard and provide fire support with the lance then intercept enemies that get close
Also, flipping the LRMs into the side torso means that if the Crusader gets banged up and loses its arm, it can switch to a full support role as an LRM20 carrier and fire from the back ranks. You can use this to your advantage by spending several fights being the center of attention while your armor holds, then later in the fight allowing your allies (who should be in great condition since you were baiting the enemy) to take the front line while you support from the back rank. I play a lot of Mechs like this and leave them in a multi-functional role able to change between fire support and close combat as the battle demands it. That's a disadvantage to pure support or pure assault builds: inflexibility if they're suddenly thrusted into a bad situation.
I don’t have a build suggestion but I would love to see a video on principles/tips for how to optimize AI lancemates. I am still a MW5 newbie, picked up the game after watching you play it.
I honestly think you just have to work around your AI allies because they should never be relied upon. They can help, but you have to do the heavy lifting. I build my strategies around their weaknesses such as being very aggressive and pushing into the enemies to draw their fire and keep my allies safe.
@@GitGudFox You need to work around the Mech you give them. If there in a small mech send them ahead to recon and call them back when things get hot. If there in a medium mech have them on your six. Heavy mechs have them on the front. Granted this is just a generalization, there technical four weight classes. In addition some mechs are meant for indirect fire, and others for brawling in all the weight classes.
I just don't really trust the AI to perform their roles. A lot of the time, they sort of waffle around scooting and shuffling and just sort of shooting at the enemies.
@@GitGudFox Be nice if they added a call for help features like SoD2 making it easier to make a lance with actually players and not just AI, or only people you know. The game is extremely niche making it hard to find other people to lance up with.
Name of the game is DPS (damage per second). Long range weapons, jump jets, anything pulse/streak/stream, melee weapons are niche. Medium lasers & SRM 4/6 are your bread & butter. Armor up & plenty of heat sinks to keep you cool. Too much different weapons system is also a hindrance.
this has become my favorite after a week of mw5, is there an even more high tech build? Is there a better variant to support this same play style or bigger payloads?
The 3R is a surprisingly good model out of most of the other variants. There is the original 2R which is a bit more upgraded, but most of them are not as good as the 3R because they are the same thing but with fewer hardpoints available.
I'd recommend giving flamers a try more often. You don't need too many of them either. Each flamer cancels about 5 heatsinks on the enemy Mech, so 2 flamers cancel 10 heatsinks which is what most Mechs carry to begin with.
Try the hero variant, 1 ton of ammo and zero heat sinks, but it’s designed to punch stuff, very useful in this game, punching. Tried giving the 3R to an AI pilot to see what happened, 3 missions, 4 arms lost, and two legs. The mech consistently took more damage than any other mech. It’s suppose to be a work horse, feels more like a glass cannon. That was a Crusader, with double heat sinks, and smaller weapons, extra ammo and armor, and then armor and structure upgrades, and the arms and legs on this thing just fall off.
I wanted to start with the 3R since everyone gets one from the mini campaign. I will get my hands on the Hero Crusader as well though. It seems interesting.
I would always drop the Mgs. Yes they do provide decent damage but an LRM 20 is not good for the mech tonnage and neither is the SRM 8. I drop them and either up the SRM or LRM with the tonnage.
This is the reason why I wouldn't do that. If you lean into LRMs, what you're making is basically a worse Archer. If you lean into SRMs, you're making a worse Kintaro. The thing that makes the Crusader unique is that it can do part of the Archer's job... but it also can punch up close which the Archer can't do. It also can do some of the Kintaro's job... while also having a long range punch. That's the essence of a 65-ton Mech like this. What makes it unique is it hybridized role straddling the middle of the medium class and assault class. This Mech can exploit the weaknesses of a variety of enemies specifically because it isn't specialized. It can bombard and soften up close range specialized Mechs who can then be finished with surprisingly strong close range weapons; likewise, it can take the point role and charge enemies in close combat especially if they're support Mechs such as an Archer. That's the strength of the Crusader.
This is why I include the battle footage though because it proves that an LRM20 is enough and that an SRM8 is enough. But why? It's because you're only thinking of the weapons in a vacuum. It's not just an LRM20 it's an LRM20 + an SRM8 + 3 other Mechs in a lance. My Crusader design performed so well in the battle footage because of its ability to ebb and flow with the battle. It can contribute to the long range barrage while standing in the front to take gunfire and protect the lance. It simultaneously has enough armor and close range fire power to take charge of close range brawls without losing its ability to contribute to long range bombardment. This yin and yang, this hybrid role is what allows the Crusader to lead the lance to a clean victory as illustrated in the battle footage.
@@GitGudFox Yes this point is valid I just found it more efficient to go all missiles for example. (mine is a LRM 30 and a SRM 10) The reason I chose that path is that you can then upgrade the chassis and boost all weapons and it gives you lead synergy and close range. (MGs and Flamers are hitscan weapons and SRM are not)
I should have added that a more LRM focused Crusader or a more SRM focused Crusader will still get the job done especially if the lance is setup to accommodate it. A lot of my designs can see a bit strange because I mainly build from a 1-player perspective where the player has to be really flexible since your AI lance can really only do very basic things and don't have the tactical flexibility that a human does which is why I use these hybrid designs frequently.
Thank you! These kinds of hybrid builds may seem odd, but I find they're specifically good in MechWarrior 5 because of how random and chaotic the game is. Having a Mech that can change roles in a constantly evolving battlefield REALLY helps because your AI... is kind of dumb and can't be relied on. This Mech is at its best when it is part of a full LRM missile lance where it acts as the guardian of the lance. It contributes to their missile barrage but is ready to intercept enemies that are getting too close.
@@GitGudFox In the campaign I supported the independents. In carrier I supported the region I started in. I got one save for solo play with House Marik, and my multiplayer carrier I support House Davion.
It takes a bit of practice if you've never played a MechWarrior game before. Not a game that's easy to just pick up, but it rewards those who stay with it!
My suggestion would be 4 SRM4's and upgrade the medium lasers to ER large lasers or PPC's. I don't know if the Mechwarrior 5 system will let you do that as it uses the small/medium/large slot nonsense, but Battletech both table-top and computer rules allow it. That gives you sniping ability at long range and a devastating, and sustainable, rate of fire in close.
You wouldn't be able to do it as the hardpoint is medium. That said, the hardpoint system is lore compliant. Modifications should be near impossible to do in the this year of Battletech. A classic example is the Centurion CN-9A. It's stated right in its background that even swapping its existing Luxor Ballistics AC/10 for another brand AC/10 is known to cause problems and rapid breakdown for the weapon because the Mechs are specifically built for their weapons. Technically, you shouldn't really be able to modify your Mechs at all. It's the entire reason why subtle variants exist like the Panther-9R (PPC) and Panther-8Z (LLaser) exist because you literally just can't swap out a PPC for a Large Laser within the lore.
Another example is the PPC. Suppose you want to upgrade into a higher quality PPC. Technically, that might not even be possible because the higher quality PPC with a stronger output would also demand a higher output from the Mech's power plant meaning the upgrade may be totally unusable because the Mech's power plant isn't rated for the higher grade PPCs. It'd be just like needing a stronger PSU to go with a stronger GPU. That isn't depicted in the game though.
