Ilya Muromets (Cataphract Hero Mech) 3x UAC5 Guide

With the recent buff to UltraAC5s, this build has become even more fearsome than it was before. An Ilya Muromets armed with 3x UAC5s, and 2x Medium Laser is a beast. This Cataphract destroys Assault Mechs in seconds. You will have no trouble at all melting through the center torsos of your enemies, hence the nickname “Chainsaw”. The build is reasonably heat efficient and has enough ammo to pump out more than 1,000 damage per match. The only downside is your exposed front, carrying an XL-engine.

The first version of the build is the most offensive one. This is the maximum possible amount of ammo you can carry. Kaffeangst, myself, and other friends of mine are running this version to great success. 7 kills and 800 damage are no rare sight. However, this version of the Ilya Muromets Chainsaw build is not suited for absolute beginners. If you are new to the game or ballistic heavy builds, I do not recommend this version. You have to know what you are doing at all times and a reasonable level of teamwork, reflexes, and aiming is required.

If you would like to play this build in more of a support role or a newer player, use the following version. It trades some ammo for a larger engine and the addition of AMS. The increased movement speed and the Anti-Missile-System allow you to make more mistakes and support your team, even if you are not destroying Mechs fulltime. Use this build if you see yourself more like a 2nd line of fire guy which sticks behind the large team and assists as necessary.

• Cataphract plus XL-engine is problematic. If you are eating carefully aimed sniper shoots, LRMs, or high frontal damage, you are done for. Whenever you are being hit by anything mentioned here, get to cover. Do not return fire. Also do not make the mistake to peak around the same corner a few seconds later. You will die a quick but horrible death and be no good to your team, because all that sweet ammo is smoldering in your corpse.
• Since your weapons are firing from a very low point, you must expose yourself almost completely in order to fire properly. That being sad, you should always try to flank the enemy or fire at enemies who do not or can not return fire. The two Medium Lasers are mounted a bit higher, so when in doubt, use your lasers first.
• Weapon grouping advice: 1) All three UltraAC5s 2) Both Medium Lasers. In addition, you can create weapon groups for chain firing the UAC5s, only the arm-mounted ones, or a group for left and right UACs to fire around corners without wasting ammo.
• Ammo is precious and UltraAC5 ammo weighs a lot. Make every shoot count. If you are unsure whether or not you will hit the target, do not fire or use your lasers.
• UltraAC5s are excellent weapons to scare off enemies. However, you want to kill enemies. If you can flank or sneak up on an enemy, wait until you have a clear shoot and hold that trigger down. Early hits will waste ammo and your opponent has more time to react.
• Preferred control options are disabled arm-lock and holding down the weapon group which contains all three of your UltraAC5s. Only use the lasers on colder maps or if you are unsure you can hit properly.

If you are looking for a macro which prevents your UltraAC/5s from jamming, check out our guide on how to setup Fire Control.

Here is a screenshot of what an average round can look like for you soon.

 

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What is the best, most optimized, polished, and efficient PPC/Gauss sniper build in Mechwarrior Online?

Short Answer: this one!

Long Answer

PPCs and Gauss Rifles form a unique and powerful combination. High pin-point damage combined with an excellent range. Every chassis which has 2 energy hardpoints and which can equip a Gauss Rifle is theoretically able to use such a sniper build. However, if your Mech is not agile it can’t utilize the weapons. If you have low armor and/or an xl-engine, you will have no chance to withstand counter-sniper fire and LRM salvos. Using an assault Mech seems reasonable and all assault chassis (except the Awesome) have at least one variant which can realize such a sniper build. You don’t want to go too heavy though since you would be wasting tonnage which could be additional speed and manoeuvrability.

The Highlander 733C really is the best variant to build this thing. 40 Gauss Ammo to last you exactly as long as a 12vs12 match. Insanely high heat dissipation allowing you to fire constantly for 10 or more times. Other Mechs will overheat after their 3rd salvo, and you will be the grinning a*shole still blasting their shoulders, legs, and weapons apart. A single jump jet allows you to cross a chasm on Canyon Network and pop-tart effectively. Survivability is extremely high, as well, since you are rocking over 450 armor and using a standard engine. Most other sniper builds will use an xl-engine making them easy prey for you. All weapons are parked on one side of your Mech, allowing you to sneak around corners and using your naked arm as a simple shield. Together with the jump jets you should be able to spread the damage across your whole chassis very easily, allowing you to live more than twice as long as your opponents.

The 733C Highlander Sniper build is used by multiple top tier players, amongst which is the infamous Kaffeangst of Hell’s Black Aces. He scored a first place in all but one tournament so far. Check out his twitch.tv stream and see this build live in action.

If you do not own a Highlander 733C, you can still work with the following builds. They are not that much worse. They are just not as perfect as the 733C. There are also several other variants which can be used to build sniper builds, for example the Cataphract 3D. Here are three more builds for comparison and reference: Dragon Slayer, Misery, and Highlander 732.

The Dragon Slayer sacrifices heat efficiency for mobility. The Victor Hero Mech is much more fragile and uses an xl-engine, making your Mech susceptible to carefully placed shots at your shoulders. If you are looking for a decent Dragon Slayer build, this one is not recommended, since it does not use both ballistic hard points. There are other more powerful builds out there which utilise AC/5s and other auto cannon calibre sizes to be more effective in competitive gaming. This build is just here for demonstrative reasons. After all, it is an effective PPC/Gauss Sniper Build.

Misery, Stalker Hero Mech, suffered a lot from the introduction of ghost heat. The Stalker has no jump jets and is not as agile as, for example, the Highlander. Although, the load-out is almost identical, the play-style is very different. You will have to move slower and more cautiously, acting from behind the front lines. Choose your positions and battles wisely, since you can not easily back out, once you have been spotted or overwhelmed. A good Misery sniper is always shooting, but never eating return fire.

The same load-out with a stronger engine and on a 732. This version of the sniper build plays very similar to the 733C, however, it is not as heat efficient. This build is just here to illustrate a similar load-out, which trades heat efficiency for slightly increased agility. Of course, one can also turn the Heavy Metal, Highlander Hero Mech, into such a sniper. If you own multiple Highlanders or are thinking about getting a new variant, I definitely recommend the 733C.

Conclusion

After all is said and done, the 733C comes out at the top as the sole winner in the contest for the best PPC/Gauss sniper build in Mechwarrior Online. Especially, if you are a skilled pilot and know how to pop-tart, the proposed version here does not hinder you and let’s you do all the nasty stuff you always dreamt about.

Be sure to check out Kaffeangst’s Stream. He plays almost daily in small groups and a lot of 12vs12.

If you would like to read more about the mechanics behind these builds check out the Alpha Strike, Firepower, and DPS Guide or the excellent guide on the new ghost heat system (explained without any math!).

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Ilya Muromets (Cataphract Hero Mech) Dual Gauss Sniper Build

With the recent patch discouraging PPC and AC/20 boats, Cataphracts have been struggling to find new builds. If you are running you a 2X, you can build a brawler following this Cataphract 2X brawler guide. A more popular variant is the Ilya Muromets, the Hero Mech. A friend of mine at the Hell’s Black Aces Merc Corp showed me a build which has quickly become popular amongst competitive gamers. An Ilya Muromets build which is equipped with dual Gauss Rifles, Medium Lasers, and a Machine Gun. High alpha strikes, way above average dps and no heat issues what so ever make this Mech a fearsome opponent.

AMS + Machine Gun for critical hits and survivability

Higher movement speed version with AMS

Higher movement speed version without AMS but 3rd Medium Laser

•  Cataphract plus XL-engine makes you very susceptible to frontal damage. If you come under heavy LRM, AC or PPC fire from the front, take cover immediately or you will die in seconds.
• Always use your Gauss Rifles together. The pinpoint damage will make short work of what ever component you are targeting.
• When at close range, keep those Medium Lasers and the Machine Gun fire buttons held down! It is almost impossible to overheat with this build.
• Your damage output is easily focused on one point, and the damage per second at close surpasses most other builds currently in the game. If you are entangled in a brawl, keep firing all the time. Your enemies will most likely underestimate your firepower and only turn around, when it is already to late.

This build was brought to my attention by Smeg of the Hell’s Black Aces Merc Corp. Check out their web page!

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Get Connected!

If you know of an excellent build, resource, or guide, submit it and maybe it will be featured on mwo-builds.net and seen by thousands of players. You can submit builds by sending us an e-mail, post it in the official looking-for-builds thread, or send us a private message via the official forums. You can also submit guides and builds via Facebook or Twitter (see below). Join hundreds of other Mechwarrior enthusiasts and like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Receive the latest guides and the best MWO builds directly to your favourite social platform!

Follow @mwobuildsnet

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