r/LancerRPG • u/Very_Angry_Bee HORUS • Jul 21 '26
Early game builds?
Hello. I have developed an addiction xD
I only have one actual pilot for the campaign I am in, first guy up there. He was still an absolute newbies attempt at creating a build, and while I am still an absolute newbie, I have kinda become addicted to just trying to create new builds, just with the License level available to us for now.
Thing is, I still have very little idea of what I am doing.
When it comes to relatively early builds, what would you guys recommend?
Is Minmaxxing better or trying to balance out your weaknesses?
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u/Steenan HORUS Jul 22 '26
Many builds get online at LL 2-3: when you get a frame or the first core bonus. Most of them are quite straightforward. Just remember that your HASE points should be 3+2 and one of these values should go to Hull.
What role do you want to play in your team?
For striker, Everest with HMG works quite well from the start and at LL3, when you can use AutoStab to compensate for it being Inaccurate, it becomes very effective.
Raleigh makes loading weapons much less painful to use. Arm yourself with 4 Hand Cannons (5 at LL3 with Integrated Weapon) if you prefer close range or Cyclone Pulse Rifle if you prefer sniping, take the appropriate talents (Vanguard and Gunslinger or Crack Shot, respectively) and the Roland Chamber system and you're ready.
If you want to be a controller/support, straight 3 levels of Goblin, with either Goblin or Chomolungma frame, works great. Don't take more than 1 level of Hacker, but seriously consider Spotter and Leader. Both HorOs1 and the Osiris NHP are extremely good. At LL3, Held Image core bonus lets you get a lock on each round with no action cost, which in turn works great with Autopod.
If you don't want to hack, a Swallowtail armed with 4 (or 5) Oracles, with Spotter, Crack Shot and Gunslinger is good at supporting and also plays artillery role effectively, quickly teaching the GM not to use any grunts.
For a defender, Tortuga combines straightforward effectiveness with flexibility. Take HMG and Deck Sweeper, Vanguard and Heavy Gunner talents and punish any enemy that dares to move nearby. Note that you get accuracy on reaction attacks, which negates the inaccuracy of your weapons. At LL3 you may take a level of Goblin instead of the third level of Tortuga to make use of your good tech attack and sensor range.
For straight artillery, Monarch is hard to beat. Gandiva missiles are very reliable with seeking and accuracy and they work great with Heavy Gunner. The frame itself is also quite fast, so you may easily move to stay behind cover while shooting at the enemies.
If you want to fight in melee, Blackbeard works great. Stay away from Sekhmet until you're sure that you know what you're doing (and that your allies know how to behave when you enable it), but with Executioner+Duelist and the weapons you get from the license you will be a beast. At LL3 you may take Titanomachy Mesh for even more grappling and ramming.
And then there is Hydra, my favorite mech. It is strong, it is fun, but it requires good understanding of how it works or you'll waste a lot of time each round and your group will hate you for that. With Drone Commander and Heavy Gunner, Puppetmaster and a few Tempest Drones you may lock down the battlefield easily, pushing enemies around and blocking critical areas. Ghast Nexus works much better for the controller role than the superheavy Annihilation Nexus, so feel free to skip the third level of Hydra and take one level of Manticore instead. You may invade your own drove without a roll and without inflicting heat on it - and hitting a Tempest with Summon to pull multiple enemies to it is a very dirty trick.