First, can we get some love for the SR-5? Everyone seems to be so infatuated with the SR-6 they completely blind themselves to the alternatives.
Anyhow, Lasers and MGs. A combination that's common enough that one MG/Laser specialist is currently covering 3 of my favorite mechs.
I'm not gonna cover the Adder-S. It's disgusting, well known, and this setup just makes it even more ridiculously overpowered. No need for a deep dive on a mech we're all familiar with.
Instead, I want to cover the new boys. The Arctic Cheetah is a masterful design, combining mobility and firepower in a compact chassis. The E in particular is amazing, partially because it can mount 2x ER-LLs on an extremely high ST mount, while boating 7x LMGs and still carrying enough ammo a JJs to be practical.
LMGs are... not great DPS. The 15% damage buff isn't doing much, but I'll take what I can get. 13.23 (14.53 for clanners) heat-free DPS at 500+ meters of range is nothing to sneeze at for a 30 ton mech though. Backing it up with a pair of ER-LLs really accentuates the Arctic Cheetah's strength. It's fast enough to maintain distance, and powerful enough at long range to securely whittle down 100 tonners or just play the meanest game of cat and mouse with mediums and lights.
Those ERs are dealing 43.68 pinpoint damage (48 damage against Clanners) at 1300+ meters after the 40% Damage and 20% range buff, which is more than respectable for such a nimble little mech. Heat is no issue whatsoever. Top Speed is 160 KPH, and that lone JJ is just for positioning. This thing plays like a hit and run sniper, and it is perfect for scouting for AIV strikes. The high ER-LL Hardpoints and tiny mech frame combine to make a phenomenal hill-humper. You can just peek over a ridge/hill in 3rd person and shoot off both ER-LLs at a target that can't shoot back because the terrain still shields your CT from LoS. I've soloed Stone Rhinos in this thing, and the poor AI could only sit there and take the punishment, two whittle ER-LLs at a time.
Speaking of Stone Rhinos, let's talk about the SR-5.
No joke, my favorite 100 tonner.
Boring stats first: Speed is 81 KPH with pilot. Which for a boring stat, is still hilarious in a 100 ton mech.
Now for the fun stuff: The Firepower. Each H-LL deals 32.76 Damage, or 36 Damage against Clanners at a range of 675 meters. This means each individual arm carries 98.28 Pinpoint damage/108 Pinpoint for Clanners.
Which is enough to instantly core 70% of the mechs in the game. When you combine the firepower of both arms, you get a rather stunning 196.5 Pinpoint/216 pinpoint against Clans and the 1-alpha insta core mech catalog ratio jumps up to 100%.
It's a 100 Ton, 81 KPH Delete Button. And the HMGs are no less crucial to the design, because pressing that delete button is HOT.
The HMGs are the perfect compliment, allowing me to continue fighting even after spiking my Heat Gauge. The DPS is phenomenal for a heat-free weapon, and given that this beast reaches 81 KPH, it can effortlessly close the gap for the HMGs, or maintain range by quickly dipping into cover to shed hear.
Those HMGs hit for 4.6 DPS apiece/5 DPS for Clanners; or 18.4 DPS/20 DPS vs Clanners. A pretty substantial follow-up to the all you can eat Laser buffet, and the fact I can lean into that gnarly DPS while shedding heat means the threat of instant death is only a few seconds of Dakka away.
It is a hell of a mech, and I highly recommend giving the SR-5 a chance. You just gotta restrain yourself from alpha striking non-stop, and realize that less than 50% of your total firepower is still enough to instantly kill just about everything you encounter.
This is why I like my weapon specialist pilots. Unlike Speed Pilots, I can assign this dude to any mech wielding both MGs and Lasers and make use of 100% of his traits.
Till part 5, have yourselves a gamely clanner hunt!
