Multiplayer Meta Lance Builds

Steiner Scout Lance
Lance Build: one AS7-D

Recommended Pilot: Apex

Lance Description: More of a joke lance than any serious Lance, the Atlas-D costs less than 15m while still being an Atlas. Just do what comes naturally, and try not to be too serious about it. An experienced player will probably win against you, but inexperienced or plain unlucky opponents will be destroyed by what is, again, a freaking atlas!

Three Commandos, One Cat
Lance Build: CPLT-C1, COM 2D (x3)

Recommended Pilots: CPLT-C1/Arclight (or Apex), COM 2D/Witness/Paradise/Showboat

Lance Description: The plan is to initially keep the C1 ahead of the 2Ds until contact is made. The next step changes depending upon what your opponent is running. If they have a Firestarter, keep the 2Ds behind the C1 to guard its back and try to lure the Firestarter in for a back shot on the C1 while double sensor locking it and spraying it with LRMs. Watch your heat and don't use the lasers too much until the Firestarter commits, at which point you should have enough firepower to take it out. At 15m, that's more than a quarter of the OpFor's firepower gone.

Against a brawler lance based around bulwark more than evasion, this lance shines. Use any terrain to get the C1 to flank to one side while running the 2Ds as quickly to flank the other way. Your ideal assault involves surrounding your opponent and using the mobility and combined firepower of your lance to concentrate on one mech of the at a time. Against a Hunchback, look for back shots or side shots from the 2Ds, against a Centurion, try to take out the AC/10 with concentrated fire. The 2Ds are fragile, but two of them will mess up a medium mech's day if they can get behind it; 20 SRMs and 2 medium lasers hurts as badly as an alpha from a Kintaro.

Also look out for opportunities to work towards a knockdown, as everything in the lance has a useful combination of weapons to target the stability of an enemy mech. If you can concentrate this fire it is extremely effective.

This lance struggles against lances built for evasion, especially those with lots of jumpers, even more so when they have long ranged weapons. It would be possible to replace one or more 2Ds with COM-1Bs to help to mitigate this issue, but I have not tested them as extensively as the above lineup so your mileage may vary. Initial impressions, however, seem positive.

The Awesome Apex
Lance Build: AWS-8Q, FS9-H, FS9-H, LCT-1S

Recommended Pilots: AWS-8Q/Apex, FS9-H/Arclight, FS9-H/Witness, LCT-1S/Showboat.

Lance Description: The plan is to keep the Firestarters back behind the Awesome until engagement occurs. You can let them range a little to the sides in order to take advantage of the Sensor Lock in both. Use the Locaust as a scout and Sensor Lock every turn possible. With 3 different SL pilots, you should be keeping the opponents Evasion down easily and also should know the opponents composition pretty quickly. Once the opposing Mechs are in range of the Aweomse and the PPC's, just continue to pound on them. Use Multi-shot when possible to take advantage of Breaching as well. Ideally, you are hitting 3 different targets each with a PPC and being Breached. The key is patience with the Firestarters. Don't get over-aggressive with them. BUT, keep them in range to jump in and pounce when needed. The perfect scenario is one of your Breached PPC's head shots a Mech (which will almost take the head out), then jump in with the Firestarters and head hunt with those MG's (and heat them up as well). At distance, you should be getting 80%+ with every PPC hit from Apex in his Awesome. However, there is the heat factor, so you will have to have rounds where you only shoot 2 PPC's or do a round of 1, then a round of 3.(edited)

If you can get the match down to your Awesome (most likely unscathed at this point, as the opposing Commander will be trying to target the Firestarters and Locust due to fear of the Firestarters) and 2 of his Mechs (which will most likely have some damage on them), then you are pretty much golden. Unless your opponent can get some very lucky hits in. Also at this point, the opposing Commander's Mech should be fairly light on Ammo as well, so that could work to your benefit. At this point, your opposing Commander he has 2 choices: stay at distance and just let the Awesome pound him to dirt or rush in and try to out melee an Awesome (who does 120 on melee damage). As you can imagine, neither option is good for them. If you opposing Commander chooses to not close in to engage with close range, just PPC him into oblivion. If he chooses to get within melee range, then melee for 120 and give your heat a chance to cool off for potential PPC hits later if needed. It's a very slow run with the Awesome, but I think if you keep the Firestarters back on purpose and keep them hidden behind the Awesome and make the opponent commit, it can work really well. Like I said the plan is to get them down to 2 mechs against the Awesome at worst. I will always like my chances then. Positioning is key with this build, as you want the Awesome at distance for awhile (at least until 1 or 2 opposing Mechs are down) and preferably on higher ground. And I can't stress enough, keep the Firestarters disengaged and strike at the best times. You really have to let your opponent come to you.

Lance Creator: The Spyder

Old Banzai
Lance Build: HBK-4P, KTO-18, TBT-5N, LCT-1V.

Recommended Pilots: HBK-4P/ Mockingbird, KTO-18/ Buckshot, TBT-5N/ Arclight, LCT-1V/ Sumo

Lance Description: Keep the Treb out of sight but ready to move up and deliver an alpha on knocked down targets. With initiative phase 4 and called shot bonus, she's your "finisher." Kintaro and 4P should fight from solid braced positions, ideally standing in woods on top try to keep them close to each other, one of them a little ahead so the 2nd mech can cover the back together with the Treb. Sumo Locust should not advance too far ahead of the lance, rather use 4Ps, Sensor Lock for scouting SL, an LRM5 from the Kint and the LRM30 of the Treb will force most enemies to engage you on your terms General idea to take down any enemy mech: Melee with Locust to remove braced, evasion and initiative. generally this generates an opening you should be able to capitalize on with the rest of the lance Next rain stab damage with Treb and Kintaro to secure a knockdown take fallen mechs out with 4P and/or initiative phase 4 Treb the turn after.

Lance Creator: Dr. Banzai.

Known Users: Dr. Banzai, The Callidus, Sultan Yakub.

The Boys
Lance Build: LCT-1V, HBK-4G, HBK-4P, HBK,4P

Recommended Pilots: LCT-1V/Sumo, HBK-4G/Apex, HBK-4P/Ozone, HBK,4P/Mockingbird

Lance Description: This lance functions as a 3 Mech lance with a one use grappling hook called Sumo in a LCT-1V. Rush your enemy as fast as you can. Mitigate enemy fire with bulwark. Use the left torso of the HBK-4P as a shield. 4Ps don't care too much if they loose theire left side they will still be 75% combat effective. Hold Sumo back until you have an enemy medium in optimal fireing range of your Huchbacks than use a melee attack to remove 2 evasion guarded and to push him down in initative and destroy that mech with your 3 Huchbacks. Sumo will likely die after that attack. In the following 3v3 you will have the most firepower and armor possible in your 3 mechs vs OPFOR just duke it out. APEX might loose her AC20 pretty early just rush her forward into melee then. She will still do 100 damage and remove guarded. Just be carefull to not close the distance to much. Hunchbacks want to shoot and have very thin back armor.

Lance Creator: The Callidus.

Known Users: The Callidus, Anaro Sunfire.

Grilled Cheese
Lance Build: HBK-4G, HBK-4P, FS9-H, FS9-H

Recommended Pilots: HBK-4G/Apex, HBK-4P/Mockingbird, FS9-H/Arclight, FS9-H/Sumo

Lance Description: Use bulwark to close the distance with your enemy and hold the Firestarters a little back. When OPFOR reaches optimal fiering range for your Hunchbacks jump the Firestarters forward and overheat one of the opposing Mechs. Act with the Firestarters last and then first so that you can get 4 Firestarter Activations in a row. Then use your Hunchbacks to kill the overheated target. From there It should be a classical brawl where you use Sumo to control Ini and melee from the Firestarters to remove guarded. If your opponent fires a lot you might be able to overheat a second mech. Hunchbacks have so much firepower that they can kill overheated targets in one round.

If you are faceing a jump and backshot focused lance keep your firestarter back to counter initiate and protect your backs.

Lance Creator: The Callidus.

Known Users: The Callidus,

Red Dawn
Lance Build: WVR-6R, WVR-6R, JR7-D, FS9-H

Recommended Pilots: WVR-6R/Sumo, WVR-6R/Buckshot, JR7-D/Mockingbird, FS9-H/Arclight

Lance Description: Named for the Movie Red Dawn in which high school students who have a Wolverine for a mascot take on the Russian Army. WVR-6Rs are used for mobility and provide escort for the Light Mechs. Red Dawn tactics are Attrition Blitzkrieg. Close quickly and use mobility to get the back of a target. Wolverines soften the target. The light mechs finish. You will likely lose a light mech but you should have taken a medium in return. From this material advantage Red Dawn can leverage a win. Red Dawn is very strong against low mobility OPFOR. This Lance is not recommended for new players. Precise tactical engagement is required. A small mistake can be catastrophic. The largest weakness of Red Dawn is OPFOR Firestarters. Enemy Firstarters have a great deal of mobility and can protect the lance from Red Dawn back stabs. Jenners are too hot and can not evade a Firestarter. Pilot options are flexible. Arclight in a Wolverine is very good as she removes the short range penalty for the AC/5 and allows her to move in phase with the light mechs. Arclight is also good in the Firestarter giving your most powerful light mech the option to move first or last. The Jenner should be piloted by mockingbird. Mockingbird has high guts which allows better heat management and she comes with sensor lock and bulwark. Sumo should be used in whichever mech you didn't put Arclight in. His high gunnery makes the Wolverine a good sniper and melee from a Wolverine is expected once the brawl starts. Juggernaut makes it better. Sumo in the Firstarter is another good option, just don't ever put him in the Jenner. Melee with a Jenner is for when your arms have been shot off. Apex has no good mech in this lance and should be benched for pilots with bulwark. Paradise may be tempting in the Jenner but his low gunnery negates the Jenners best asset: Firepower.

Lance Creator: Kerensky.

Known Users: Zakhodit.

Crimson Sunset
Lance Build: CN9-AL, KTO-18, JR7-D, FS9-H

Recommended Pilots: CN9-AL/Mockingbird, KTO-18/Sumo, JR7-D/Paradise, FS9-H/Arclight

Lance Description: This lance is a variation of Red Dawn that changes the strategy slitely. Instead of jumping all your mechs into the OPFORS rear you only use the Jenner and Firestarter for that. Your Centurion and Kintaro stay in the front to be ready to fire in the enemies back when he turns around to deal with your lights. The Kintaro also has pretty good walking distance and with that decent melee range to cool down, make use of Sumo or to get into a better position. The Upgrade to Red Dawn Is more fire power the downgrade is less mobility which makes maneuvering harder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JwNTd_9Wps&t=1042s Here you can see Red Dawn vs Crimson Sunset with explanations.

Lance Creator: The Callidus

Known Users: The Callidus

Prussian Havoc's Double CN9-A
Lance Build: CN9-A, CN9-A, TBT-5N, FS9-H

Recommended Pilots: CN9-AL/(any bulwark pilot), CN9-AL/(any bulwark pilot), TBT-5N/Apex, FS9-H/Archlight

Lance Description: (Needs EDIT)

Lance Creator: Prussian Havoc.

Known Users: Prussian Havoc.

The Tank, the Gank and the Enforcer
Lance Build: WVR-6K, ENF-4R, HBK-4P, LCT-1V

Recommended Pilots: ENF-4R/Apex, LCT-1V/Sumo, WVR-6K/Ozone, HBK-4p/Wildfire

Lance Description: The Lance is based around the 6k being the lead Mech and always torso twisting to absorb damage in the left Arm/Torso. Because you have no sensor locking mechs you will need to move and brace the 6k into vision, while the 4P then moves in to support(some maps have spots where the 4P can fire from outside of the OpFor vision). The Enforcer can normally be sat slightly further back and depending on the situation multi shot for max damage on 2 targets or concentrate on the primary if there is no brace to reduce the damage.

Even though there is a fair amount of armor on the field you still need to be aware of positioning, this includes not allowing anything to get behind the Enforcer or 4P as back armor is a real issue. Try to keep the Sumo Locust within punching distance of you mech so that if you do get engaged by a fast moving mech you have the possiblity to destroy its evasion and hopefully remove it before it becomes a backshot issue.

Lance Creator: Anaro Sunfire.

Known Users: Anaro Sunfire.

2K's and an Enforcer
Lance Build: WVR-6K, ENF-4R, WVR-6K, LCT-1V

Recommended Pilots: ENF-4R/Apex, LCT-1V/Sumo, WVR-6K/Ozone, WVR-6K/Wildfire

Lance Description: Similar to The Tank, the Gank and the Enforcer but using a second WVR-6K, with the LL changes you should be able to maintain sustained fire for sometime and if you can armor share between the 2 WVR-6K's then you have alot of tank to go around. To do this you may need to rotate the WVR-6K's in and out of enemy vision to ensure one doesnt get destroyed before the other starts to take damage.

Lance Creator: Anaro Sunfire.

Known Users: Anaro Sunfire.

SLO MO
Lance build: Locust-1S, UrbanMech-R60, UrbanMech-R60, King Crab-0000

Recommended Pilots: Locust-1S/Arclight, UrbanMech-R60/Sumo, UrbanMech-R60/Mocking Bird, King Crab-0000/Apex

Description: The corner stone of the lance is the King Crab. Don’t leave it on it’s own. It’ll die fast. Use the UrbanMechs as its guardsmen. Speed shouldn’t be a problem. It’s all slow - hence the name. Shield the King Crab with the UrbanMechs, let them run ahead or hang back in it’s rear. It depends on what lance your’re facing. The Locust should enable you to scout way ahead of the main formation. So you can prepare for what’s coming. For instance, if you face a lance with 2xFirestarter, or any other mobile lance, let the Urbies hang back. You won't be able to avoid backstabs but at least you can retaliate. You need to work out the correct sequence of initiative and probably sensor lock for that. Or if you face a bulwarking opponent then probably let the UrbanMechs go ahead. They’ll hopefully distract and absorb fire. Both, Sumo and Mocking Bird, have bulwark - use it as much as possible to ensure the UrbanMechs stick around. Apex should make short work with opposing, bulwarking Mechs, using Precision Strike and Multi-Target. I took Arclight over any other pilot with Sensor Lock because of Master Tactician. It gives an edge to the lance. You need to figure out when to use it to your advantage. The Locust is expandable and you can use it either for distraction, Sensor Locking or whatever is needed - it’s you’re „Knight“ so to speak. Don’t waste it though. Any extra round it sticks around and can take an action is a bonus.(edited)

A possible pitfall is the early destruction of the AC20s. I had this happen to me so don’t be over confident because you’ve got the King Crab. In my case two opposing Mechs were able to take out the right torso of the King Crab basically with each of them alpha striking for the first time in the match. That’s almost game over. Another pitfall is to leave the King Crab alone. Don’t do it! Also, keep your UrbanMechs alive a long as possible. They’ll ensure that the King Crab/Apex-team can do it’s magic. I had it once that I got stripped off of my accompanying Mechs and thus lost the match. It does hardly matter that the King Crab has lots of armor and deadly weapons. If there’s too many opposing mechs it’ll go down. Think of a pack wolfs bringing down a single bear. A major pitfall is that the King Crab might be knocked down very quickly, yes, even in 1.1! Be prepared to brace instead of firing. I had this happen in every game I played with the lance. Usually the first round of close/mid range combat is the one bound for this to happen. Also, Don’t try to be fast - you’re not. In the worst case brace your way towards the enemy. In summary, team work is key!

Lance Creator: LegendKiller

K.O.
Lance Build: UrbanMech-R60, Blackjack, Trebuchet, CPLT-C1

Recommended Pilots: UrbanMech-R60/Showboat, Blackjack/Arclight, Trebuchet/Sumo, CPLT-C1/Apex

Description: The idea behind it was to either knockdown a mech to do called shots on it to kill it or to simply kill the meat (pilot) with multiple knock downs. The high mobility also meant using it for target of opportunity(backshots) or to even counter red dawn. Worked great against Archlight for example thanks to her low health. The Urban was used mostly to "sensor" the enemy, move around a lot(get shot and survive) and when needed, us the AC10 to usually give that final push to knockdown a mech. The BJ was used mostly for scouting, sensor lock and as bait. I rarely used it for it's damage potential. The trebuchet was used to do major stability hit from far away and if needed or when needed because out of ammo, punching the enemy at close range. The Cat was used mostly at first to still fully damage the mechs with bulwark, for a lot of stability damage and later on, for physical attacks. Before the 1.1 patch, there was enough stability damage to be able to destabilize more than one target at once, making it unclear to my opponent who I was focusing on and it was the strengh of that build. Now, with the increase stability to everything but light mech, my initial testing does seem to indicate that I need to focus all my attacks on a single target which is a huge blow to the versatility of that lance. The added heat on the medium laser doesn't help either for later in the match.

Lance Creator: Morfanos