Today I came so close to shelling 11 million C-Bills for a BLR-3S. It's the only BLR variant with 6 torso energy hardpoints without the horribly limited torso twist range. I planned on putting 6xML on this thing with a monstrous engine (360), but later I changed my mind and did a 6xMPL build instead, because it's quirked for MPL's. Satisfied with my build, I fired up the game to buy it . . . but then I realized how silly it is to shell 11 millions for a BLR and one that is essentially a one-trick pony.
I really wanted a new 'Mech though, so I started looking for alternatives. I own pretty much every chassis in MWO, bar for a few odd IS ones and of course the latest Wave 2 and Resistance 'Mechs. So it's really hard to find a refreshing 'Mech that I can spend some time learning and tinkering with. Blackjacks? Meh, they're very potent 'Mechs but their looks never attracted me. Same for the Jenners. Then I started combing through variants to see if I'm missing an interesting variant.
The Hunchie 4SP randomly caught my eye. I've known the 4SP as the worst Hunchie variant. It couldn't boat any weapon systems and it could be disarmed easily because Hunchies tend to shed their side torsos under fire. 4E+2M layout could also be played on a Jenner-F and on top of that, SRM's have been borked for more than a year. I remember buying one last fall, being incredibly disappointed in it and then promptly selling it. 4xML's could only do so much when SRM6'es didn't register any hits at all.
So much has been changed since then though, these are not the times for keeping old prejudices. Gone are the days when poptarts that quickly dismantled anything out of cover. The current "meta" favors brawlers more than ever and it's easier to spread damage against your common laser vomit user while you close range. SRM's also work wonderfully.
I also like the Hunchie as a medium. It's one of the rare mediums (only, even) that is built with STD engines and synergize extremely well with them due to their hardpoint layout. They're really tough and hit quite hard despite having a STD engine. 4SP has always been the exception to this with its symmetrical layout and low hardpoint count. Still, as a chassis the Hunchback surprisingly held up well against other mediums through all of these nerfs and buffs over two years.
It got pretty sick quirks too, especially to its ML's. With 20% duration reduction they can be hardly called regular ML's. These are essentially one-ton MPL's. The best thing is all of these ML's are arm mounted, so it's really easy to aim them where you want. Just like the Ember; open up with the ML's and blow it up with the SRMs. The same ML bonuses can also be found on the BLR-1G, but assaults and ML boating rarely go well. It also has 21 extra hitpoints in each torso, making them very hard to take down. That's heavy levels of protection folks.
 |
| Not bad, not bad at all. |
So I thought "Oh well, it's only 3.5 million C-Bills, what could I lose?" and bought it. I quickly cobbled up a standard build and went pew-pewing in the solo queue. First match? 3 kills 617 damage on Crimson. Not bad. Second match, 4 kills 921 damage on HPG. Huh? Third match, 6 kills 965 damage on HPG . . . holy surat! I don't usually post score screens, but for a Hunchie, and especially for a 4SP, these are exceptional scores in 5 minute matches.
This 'Mech just feels good. Great mobility, great tank, tends to get ignored a lot and it has the speed to lead a steamroll or GTFO. It can pump 44 damage alphas continously which allows you to quickly rack up kills and damage.
In the end, I'm glad I went for the 4SP. Looks like it's going to be my main 'Mech for a few days.
0 comments:
Post a Comment