02-14-2010, 01:22 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-14-2010, 01:33 PM by Lord_Leperman.)
The DRONE in itself is already a good head part because of its balanced defense, low drain, very good radar range and refresh, which IMO is among the best for personal reasons (I find mid-range, frequent refreshing radar systems superior over long range ones because it doesn't clutter your radar too much. Important in PvP IMO). Keep it if you wish. However, if you want something lighter, the EYE series of heads (Except maybe the EYE2) are good choices for fulfilling defense and radar needs without being too drainy on your energy supply. The EYE3 in particular, has top stats for defense/weight ratios and drain, though its radar may be sub-standard but otherwise usable.
I dunno if you were indeed referring to the C89E as Medusa0 pointed out. Anyway the U4 in itself is a pretty good core, with high AP and better EN defense compared to other cores in its weight class, though it suffers from high drain. Check out the U3 and U2 cores if you want alternatives for better shell defense and lower drain if you're interested. Everything else seems to be in order though.
You might want to start practicing dual-gunning in the game at this point
The higher level AIs are built especially to dodge missile barrages, so sticking to a missile based offense usually means missing your opponent for much of the time in open areas. Dual-gunning is usually the key in beating the higher arena opponents and other pilots in PvP, since it is less likely for an AI opponent or human player to dodge projectile weapons compared to missiles (their launch trajectories can easily be predicted even by human opponents). Otherwise you might want to check out some Weapon Arm parts, some of which are comparable to dual-gunning w/o the difficulty in operating them (the CETUS arms come to mind). That said, you might want to check out the F73H FCS for this purpose and maybe the ND FCS' for the CETUS.
The differences for AI and PvP fights goes as follows: The AI has an advantage in aiming, and will always be superior to human players in terms of reflexes. Not even the best AC players in the world can match the tracking ability of AI ACs. However, human opponents tend to take cover, retreat, snipe, rush, and play mind games with you, sometimes all within the span of 1 match making them more dangerous than any AI opponent with all the buffs from Human +. Contrast this to AI opponents merely trying to bull-rush you most of the time. Anyway, the closest human-level AI opponent IMO is NOVA R.G. who is rank#2 in the VR arena, at least he feints, advances and retreats when you fight him, though he's still pretty dumb when it comes to cover. If you want to get a glimpse of what a human opponent is like, he's the closest I've ever encountered in any AC game. There are a lot more differences that I just can't put here due to number and length, but overall human opponents are tougher and are very different from AIs.
As for weapons that work against humans, some missiles do a good job at it. The SATYROS + RM3 combo does pretty well as a direct firing missile system if you can lead its flight path to directly at an opponent. There are other useful missiles such as verts, though try the various missile systems available and see what works for you. High velocity arm weapons also do a good job in hitting human opponents, weapons such as rifles, sniper rifles and AST rifles, EN weapons, and some models of bazookas are accurate enough to hit fairly fast opponents. Fast firing short range weapons like handguns, MGs, and shotguns are good at close ranges and are usable for CQ designs. Performance varies per weapon model though, so see for your self what works for you, or you can ask us :p.
If you're going for quad or tank, then back cannons are a must. The GL, GERYON, 98G, and maybe the LGL are good back mounts to equip on tanks and quads (Except maybe the GERYON on a quad due to EN issues). With your design, I really don't know what optimal range you work with, maybe you can tell us how a flow of battle goes for you (what range do you often stay at, and what you do when an opponent advances and retreats) and maybe I can help with some weapon suggestions. :p
I dunno if you were indeed referring to the C89E as Medusa0 pointed out. Anyway the U4 in itself is a pretty good core, with high AP and better EN defense compared to other cores in its weight class, though it suffers from high drain. Check out the U3 and U2 cores if you want alternatives for better shell defense and lower drain if you're interested. Everything else seems to be in order though.
You might want to start practicing dual-gunning in the game at this point
The higher level AIs are built especially to dodge missile barrages, so sticking to a missile based offense usually means missing your opponent for much of the time in open areas. Dual-gunning is usually the key in beating the higher arena opponents and other pilots in PvP, since it is less likely for an AI opponent or human player to dodge projectile weapons compared to missiles (their launch trajectories can easily be predicted even by human opponents). Otherwise you might want to check out some Weapon Arm parts, some of which are comparable to dual-gunning w/o the difficulty in operating them (the CETUS arms come to mind). That said, you might want to check out the F73H FCS for this purpose and maybe the ND FCS' for the CETUS. The differences for AI and PvP fights goes as follows: The AI has an advantage in aiming, and will always be superior to human players in terms of reflexes. Not even the best AC players in the world can match the tracking ability of AI ACs. However, human opponents tend to take cover, retreat, snipe, rush, and play mind games with you, sometimes all within the span of 1 match making them more dangerous than any AI opponent with all the buffs from Human +. Contrast this to AI opponents merely trying to bull-rush you most of the time. Anyway, the closest human-level AI opponent IMO is NOVA R.G. who is rank#2 in the VR arena, at least he feints, advances and retreats when you fight him, though he's still pretty dumb when it comes to cover. If you want to get a glimpse of what a human opponent is like, he's the closest I've ever encountered in any AC game. There are a lot more differences that I just can't put here due to number and length, but overall human opponents are tougher and are very different from AIs.
As for weapons that work against humans, some missiles do a good job at it. The SATYROS + RM3 combo does pretty well as a direct firing missile system if you can lead its flight path to directly at an opponent. There are other useful missiles such as verts, though try the various missile systems available and see what works for you. High velocity arm weapons also do a good job in hitting human opponents, weapons such as rifles, sniper rifles and AST rifles, EN weapons, and some models of bazookas are accurate enough to hit fairly fast opponents. Fast firing short range weapons like handguns, MGs, and shotguns are good at close ranges and are usable for CQ designs. Performance varies per weapon model though, so see for your self what works for you, or you can ask us :p.
If you're going for quad or tank, then back cannons are a must. The GL, GERYON, 98G, and maybe the LGL are good back mounts to equip on tanks and quads (Except maybe the GERYON on a quad due to EN issues). With your design, I really don't know what optimal range you work with, maybe you can tell us how a flow of battle goes for you (what range do you often stay at, and what you do when an opponent advances and retreats) and maybe I can help with some weapon suggestions. :p
