How to successfully use autocannon 2s as primary weapons in vanilla (un-modded, DLCs included) Mechwarrior 5.
In summary:
-End game missions (90+ difficulty)
-Profit achieved even working for a faction for which I have a negative 5 rating.
-AC2-outfitted mech controlled by AI out-performed a hero mech with quad ER LLasers and an SRM 10.
-Approximate cost to buy, upgrade, and outfit a mech for primary use of AC2s is 10-20 million C-bills.
-Approximate in-game time to upgrade and outfit a mech with an AC2 build: 120-150 in-game days.
-Game includes all DLCs and no mods.
The autocannon 2 is a largely overlooked weapon in Mechwarrior 5. It's heavy, doesn't do much damage, and high-level variants are expensive. By the time you reach end game, larger ballistics and fewer hard points define most mech builds.
However, I believe the AC2 performs well as a general use, high rate-of-fire, and long range weapon but only when used in groups. I have outfitted 3 different mechs with AC2s and led them on successful, end-game, high difficulty missions. Not only were they successful damage dealers, but the AI out-damaged an AI-controlled hero mech that was used as a control.
Problems with the AC2:
-At 6 tons, they are heavy for their damage output.
-Low damage.
-At least 4 AC2s are required late-game to do significant damage.
-Low tier ones are not very useful, and high tier ones can be expensive.
- Many mechs play poorly with it because they try to balance their builds with other weapons and thus suffer from overheating/low ammunition,
-Your AC2s need to be treated as the main weapon on the mech, with upgrades specifically for them, and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Benefits of the AC2 are:
-Incredible accuracy, even at extreme range.
-Extreme long range enables crippling/destroying many enemies before they reach a distance where their weapons are effective.
-Highly effective against structures.
-Lightest of the Autocannon.
-Extremely low heat build up.
-High rate of fire.
-Plentiful ammunition (one ton holds 200 rounds).
-Easy to come by, so not impossible to replace if the component is destroyed.
-Multiple AC2s stacked have an extreme-range shotgun-like effect. Much like an LBX autocannon, but with a significantly higher rate of fire.
If you have been struggling to find a place for AC2s in your inventory, I hope this video helps.
My next video will be a modded version of the game where I try out AC2 builds.
Subsequent videos will be testing the viability of various other builds and often overlooked weapons. I check forums and online communities regularly for new weapons, mechs, and builds to try out.
Leave a comment here, on the Steam discussion page for the game, or on reddit.com/r/mechwarrior5, if you are curious/want help with the following:
-Specific weapon/equipment usage.
-Viability of a mech chasis.
-Campaign/mission help.
-Modding.
-Non-traditional mech builds.
-AI direction and control (getting them not to be useless).
Be kind, this is my first video of this kind.
I'm just doing this for fun while I have some time off from work and school.
30 сен 2024
