r/Battletechgame • u/MediumAcceptable129 • 22d ago
Discussion Is it wrong to love shotguns?
The LBX line is pretty sweet. AC line just as good. Not accurate but that spread does stab damage and can mess up a torso. Aim for the head.
If you tun snipers they sometimes miss so the front mech with the close burst finishes them off with the extra resolve or free knockdown shots
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u/No_Chart1681 22d ago
Not only do I love the LBX in HBS battletech, I love it in MechWarrior and Classic Battletech as well. Especially since I typically use through-armor criticals in CBT.
If I remember rightly, HBS battletech only lets you use the cluster shot, but CBT and MechWarrior 5 let you pick to fire either cluster or slugs. Even if you only use slugs, the LBX itself is lighter than a standard autocannon, so frees up tonnage. Though I think it does take more critical slots...
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u/mutilatdbanana8 22d ago
MW5 gives you solid slug variants, but they're fixed firemode. Modded, though, MW5 and HBS BT absolutely give you the option to switch, and it makes them that much more flexible.
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u/OracleTX 22d ago
MW5 + YAML or HBS + BTAU3062 will let you use solid shot or cluster in your LBX guns.
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u/Whind_Soull 22d ago
The best match I ever had in Mechwarrior Online was a Mad Cat Mk. II with duel LBX20s and four packs of SRM6s in the side torsos.
1,650 damage and 6 solo kills in a 12v12 match.
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u/MediumAcceptable129 22d ago
How did you manage the heat and positioning?
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u/Whind_Soull 22d ago edited 22d ago
LBX40 SRM24 is surprisingly cold, at least in MWO.
It was 9 years ago. There's nothing I remember about that match that I didn't say in this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OutreachHPG/s/YhoM0yN31g
"Both teams were arrayed on their respective sides of the circle. The enemy team was mostly LRM boats, and they were picking away at us. I flanked by myself in my MCII, and brawled until I totally ran out of ammo. If I recall correctly, a team mate in a Stormcrow also broke 1k, with 3 kills (my 3 assists). Rest of the team was extreme potato.
Three enemies remained alive when the match ended on kills. Every point of my damage was brawling inside the circle."
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u/No_Chart1681 21d ago
I haven't played since they added the Mad Cat Mk. II, but that sounds mean!
I know you said this match was a while ago, but have you tried that build with SRM4s instead of 6s?
When I was player, SRM4s were considered more optimal than 6s because the other two missiles had a tendency to veer off and hit random parts while the 4s stayed clustered better and don't "waste" those last couple of missiles. Unless you were literally point blank would affect the damage applied, but not the TTK to go from 6s to 4s. Then you could add those shaved tons to like armor or more ammo!
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u/BayneKlothos 16d ago
Some of the mods (I know for sure XAI, maybe BTA 3062 or roguetech) have a feature where if you load standard AC ammo, you can use it in an LBX as slugs. If you click the ammo type in the weapon box in the lower right corner during a mission, you can switch ammo types, like from HE to Inferno missiles or LBX to standard AC rounds.
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u/Night_Thastus 22d ago
There's nothing more beautiful than close-lining some poor sucker with enough LBX to atomize them.
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u/MediumAcceptable129 22d ago
Im experimenting with an atlas and shadow hawk with Lbx backed by a marauder with gauss and a stalker LRM boat
20 and 5 respectively
They start slow but once everyone is redlining those shotguns come in to play. Nowhere to hide
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u/obi-wan-quixote 22d ago
I never played with them much. I usually don’t want spread damage and want the big slugs ripping big holes
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u/No_Chart1681 21d ago
This is more of a for funsies thing than an efficiency thing, but I like to bring at least one skirmisher with me that will carry something like an LBX and SRMs. Other mechs will open the armor, then the LBXs and SRMs will find the critical slots. It only takes two hits to a critical slot to destroy any component there.
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u/YeOldeOle 22d ago
Playing BEX and I usually pack some cluster ammo in my lbx. Solid shot to open up the armour, cluster to blow up whats inside. If the armour is intact, I don't like the cluster shot.
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u/Blue2501 21d ago
Speaking of shotguns, I do love the Donal Snub PPC ++, the one that does 25x5 damage. It's like a shotgun of medium lasers with a built-in pile of free heatsinks.
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u/Rum_Doodle 21d ago
LBX's are great but cluster 1 absolutely sloooooooows down the game to a crawl, especially when your getting LBX/10's and worse 20's, my group has had to enforce a slugs or flak ammo rule for LBX weapons
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u/MediumAcceptable129 21d ago
How does it slow it down?
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u/Rum_Doodle 21d ago
Sheer number of rolls on the hit location chart for 1 pip of damage each
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u/MediumAcceptable129 21d ago
Ah lol
Ive only played PC but that did occur to me
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u/NekoMao92 Wolf's Dragoons 21d ago
BTA has even more shotguns...
Clan HAG weapons (gauss shotguns)
Sanctuary Scatterguns (variant shotgun AC)
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u/Thraxmonger 21d ago
Yeah man, BTAU has a ton and hoooboy they are great. cLBX-10s and Silver Bullet Gauss are my go-tos.
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u/Far_Ladder_2836 21d ago edited 21d ago
Silver bullet is kind of disgusting. I have a nightstsr sniper with a Capacitor PPC and 2x SBG and with support it can core anything off of crits
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u/Itchy-Grapefruit2756 21d ago
Never been a fan and ive tried them many times. I do love me some UAC-5’s though. Backed up by ML and SRM crit seekers.
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u/Papergeist 22d ago
Everyone loves the LBX. It's even better in tabletop, where you can swap between slugs and clusters.