Last Updated: 26-Jun-2015

Finally, it’s time to talk about the Ebon Jaguar.

Overview

The newest craze in MechWarrior Online, the Ebon Jaguar (or Cauldron Born as some of us may prefer) is a pretty solid addition to the already strong lineup of Clan Mechs. With a unique look (looks like a goddamn jet fighter) and outstanding pod space, it represents an iconic addition to MechWarrior Online which is doubtful to fade any time soon.

Currently, none of the variants are quirked, and the only variant which was exclusive to early adopters is not necessary for the vast majority of builds anyways. Thus, there is (so far) no real ranking of which variant is better.

Chassis-Wide Information

Strengths

High shoulder mounts let you do hill poking fairly successfully.

High number of hardpoints on each side of the mech (though more so on the left) let you run asym builds as well.

High number of hardpoints in general also gives you a lot of pretty great options, even allowing many people to choose their own personal favorite versions of the same build.

Crazy available tonnage – at first glance it is significantly more than any Clan mech short of the Warhawk and Dire Wolf, but when you factor in its relative lack of locked heatsinks compared to mechs like the Timber Wolf it’s less stupendous. Still impressive though.

No negative quirks yet (woo!), which means that it has a decent advantage over its direct competitor, the Timber Wolf.

Weaknesses

The high mounts that help you hill peak are so high that the enemy sees them before your cockpit clears the terrain you’re peeking from behind, which can result in the enemy getting warning at the very least, and free trades if they’re quick enough on the draw.

A similar problem occurs with corner peeking, where the mech is just so wide that you start getting shot before your cockpit has cleared the corner.

Lack of jumpjets hold the Ebon Jaguar back from being hands-down the best mech in the game, and put it on comparable footing as the Hellbringer as a landlubber.

No available arm actuators mean you’ve got no side-to-side arm movement, which hurts you a fair bit. But on the bright side, you’ll always have plenty of room for heatsinks.

Generic Tips

Pretty much all of the good Ebon Jaguar builds focus on letting you whip out of cover for a brutal alpha, and then returning to safety ASAP to avoid return fire. If you are forced to be in the open while your weapons are cooling down, you’ve gotta shield with your less valuable side; the hitboxes are good enough but they’re not going to save you.

When hill peaking, try to time it so that your throttle hits zero right as your cockpit crests whatever hill you’re peaking over, and start decelerating before your beam duration even finishes , or immediately if you’re using pinpoint front-loaded damage (PPFLD).

When building the mechs, add the weapons in the order shown in the smurfy (so if a medium laser is at the top, you put the medium laser in first). This is important on some of the components to force the bigger weapons to the higher mounts.

Builds

For those of you who are not familiar with the general format, here’s how it goes (and it is different from the IS ones). We’re going to be identifying build archetypes (generally listed from long range to short) and customizing them to fit the variants, often coming up with a few separate versions of the same type of build which function differently in some way. Some Clan mechs (like the Summoner) share the same CT and so don’t need differentiation based on the variant, but others (like the Timber Wolf) have variants with very different center torsos and so a custom build for each of those variants must be made (if it’s getting a bit confusing, don’t worry it should all become clear momentarily). I will italicize the variant(s) that the archetypical build fits best in as well. In general, the builds will be labeled according to their armament, but occasionally I will name a build if it is particularly badass.

Also, the consumables I’ve listed are the ones that are best for normal play, but while leveling the mech you may want to swap the less important one out for a UAV, if you can afford to use consumables at all (they aren’t necessary, just nice).

Now then, on with it!

ERLL Sniper

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

This is a pretty traditional and simple build, just rockin 4 cERLLs. Great for range, decent at best at shorter ranges. Due to ghost heat you’ll want to keep it to groups of 2 and 2 (I use one weapon group for the high shoulder cERLLs, and another for the low mounts).

Keep your range with this build, and focus on hill peaking if the enemy is audacious enough to shoot back at you when you poke. On occasion, you may even want to side poke your left bit out and shoot all 3 at the same time to minimize beam duration before returning to cover, but in general you’re a sniper, so stick to maximizing DPS at long range. And, of course, shield with your right side.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERLL Range, cERLL Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Air Strike

Mixed Sniper

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

While pure ERLL spam has its place, I much prefer a build with a bit more…diversity. Not only does this one have nearly the same firepower at extreme range (with a much cooler loadout too), but when the enemy closes to cERML viable range, you can put out a serious beating that doesn’t sacrifice damage to get the extra range potential. Definitely one of my favorite builds.

When you get the opportunity, you can play this like the cERLL boat (hill peaking and keeping at maximum range), but don’t be scared to get closer and bring your full armament to bear. As far as shielding goes, I’d focus on getting damage spread out over you as much as possible, but if it comes down to it I’d say it’s better to lose your Gauss than your energy weapons.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cGauss Cooldown, cERML Range

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Artillery Strike

Dual Gauss

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

While this build is a bit lacking in the firepower department, the extreme range pinpoint damage can be as devastating as builds with twice its firepower. Sometimes. Usually not, but hey at least it’s fun and heat efficient!

You want to play this as a mix of a hillhumper and corner peaker, you want to shield with your left side, and most importantly, you want to get free trades out. Fortunately, dual gauss mechs are good at getting out, hitting the target, and retreating in a split second before the enemy mechs can react. Unfortunately, this usually means playing relatively passively, and you’ll have to make certain to hit the same component over and over.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cGauss Cooldown, cGauss Range

Consumables (In order of importance): Air Strike, UAV

Gauss/LPL Vomit

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

This is the first build I made when I got the mech. It’s just so nasty – probably the best hill humper option, with damage and heat efficiency numbers that would be plenty for a non-hill humper anyways.

Though this build plays similarly to the previous one in a number of ways, it focuses more around hill humping and mid-range engagements. You can hill-hump (or hell you can just shoot from the open) from up to almost 700 meters and do full damage, with great damage out to 1KM even.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cGauss Cooldown, cLPL Range

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Air Strike

PPFLD Version

It’s a different style, but a similar build. This seeks to minimize your exposure time by using PPCs instead of lasers, and works pretty well.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cGauss Cooldown, cGauss Range

LRM Boat

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

Note: This build can only be used by people who got the bonus variant, the EBJ-C. Pretty standard stuff for a LRM boat. There is some ghost heat when you fire all 3 cLRM15s, but it’s less than 3 extra heat (17.79 vs. 15 without ghost heat), so if you’re running hot you can stagger it into a group of 2 and 1, but otherwise I wouldn’t bother as it becomes more vulnerable to AMS.

Pretty simple stuff, just get locks and shoot. Let loose with your mediums when you get Line of Sight (and I recommend using them whenever you can, if for no other reason than to draw attention from your teammates). Try to stick with the pack, and don’t die.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Target Decay, Radar Deprivation

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cLRM15 Cooldown, cERML Range

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Air Strike

cLRM10 Version

This is a pure boat, gets some extra DPS, better missile grouping, and is way more cowardly.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cLRM10 Cooldown, cLRM10 Range

LRM Hybrid

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

This is, in my opinion, the “right” way to use LRMs. You’ve got a very solid non-LRM armament (5 cERMLs isn’t anything to write home about, but it packs a punch) backed up by 30 missiles per alpha. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty friggin good.

There are a few different tactics you’ll want to use each game. The first is just letting loose with all your weapons on a target. It’s a brutal alpha strike, but it gets hot and requires you to stay in the open without shielding for a couple seconds which isn’t great. Still it’s good if you can get back to cover to cool off and have the heat to spare. Next is just using your lasers, which is great at adding damage but you’ll lose a lot of trades with larger mechs. And then there’s playing it like a LRM boat, which should be reserved for when you’re all kinds of fucked up and can’t contribute to the fight with your direct fire weapons without instantly dying. And of course there are combinations of all these things too.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Target Decay

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERML Range, cLRM15 Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Artillery Strike

Laser Vomit

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

This is a classic sort of build, just mixing cERMLs with cLPLs. Good damage, decent heat, and it has all sorts of bonuses on the Ebon Jaguar, like the super-high mounts for the cLPLs. It’s easily one of the best builds for the mechs, and it also corner-peaks like a boss (at least, to the left…)

This build plays like a standard Laser Vomit mech. Poke out when you can, keep your lasers trained on whatever you want to go boom, and return to cover. The Ebon Jaguar has the extra benefit of just peaking your cLPLs over cover and getting some nasty poke at long range. For more information on playing Laser Vomit mechs, check out the friggin’ guide.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERML Range, cLPL Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Air Strike

Beast Mode Version

Quite possibly my favorite Ebon Jaguar build, this is insanely hot but so fun. I like to use one weapon group for each side, and then another just for the cLPLs. Super fun, seriously. Just don’t overheat.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERML Range, cLPL Range

Gauss Vomit

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

Another contender for “best build”, this badass strikes a great balance between damage and heat efficiency. Just check out the alpha strike. It’s surprisingly cool too. I like this omnipod configuration due to how it gets rid of all of the high mounts, meaning that the enemy won’t get any warning and your frame is a bit smaller.

This build plays a bit like Laser Vomit in terms of general tactics, mainly differing in the skill (and more importantly effort) required to set up and land your shots. It’s the sort of thing you’ll just have to play to get a feel for. You should be shielding with your left side though, so that you still have a sweet armament left after losing a side torso.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERML Range, cGauss Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Air Strike

Shouldery Version

This configuration has a bigger presence in the hillhump game, and can even corner peak effectively with that left side, but I’m not a fan of it personally.

Dakka Dakka

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

Big big dakka. This mech can take more UAC/5s than any other Clanner short of a friggin Dire Wolf (Timber Wolf can but…not that well). But this mech can rock it, and rock it hard. Ammo can be a bit of an issue in extended fights, but it’s pretty manageable, and your cERSLs can be surprisingly effective after you run dry.

There are two critical steps to playing this sort of mech. The first is finding a bad guy. The second is tearing him apart. Rinse, repeat. If you’re interested in anything a bit more in depth, I recommend focusing on larger targets (easier to get all your shells on the same component), and spam your UACs until you get a double jam, at which point you want to take cover if you’re getting shot. Or if you’re getting ignored, just keep going crazy.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cUAC5 Cooldown, cERSL Range

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Artillery Strike

2xUAC/5 Version

If you’re more into a higher alpha strike at the expense of DPS and heat efficiency, this may be the build for you.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cERML Range, cUAC5 Cooldown

UAC/10 Version

And if you like bigger dakka over more dakka, you might like this dakka.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cUAC10 Cooldown, cERML Range

Wubsity Wubs

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

Remember that insane laser vomit build from a while ago? Well this takes that concept and turns it to close range engagements…oh and it breaks ghost heat. Another one of my personal favorites, this bad boy stacks the shit out of one of my favorite weapons and does it pretty friggin well. You will have to manage ghost heat though – I recommend one weapon group for the left 5 cMPLs and another for the right 3. And maybe one for just the arms too…and one for the shoulder-mounted ones. I like to use a lot of weapon groups.

The Clan wubs builds are somewhere between short and medium range. A lot of how you play this is corner-peaking at somewhere around 400 meters, but you also can really throw out some damage in a brawl. Try to play a careful balance of being in optimal range without getting jumped by brawlers, and stick with your team.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cMPL Range, cMPL Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Artillery Strike

Brawler

EBJ-Prime/A/B/C

Again, this build can only really be done if you own the EBJ-C variant’s omnipods. The Ebon Jaguar may not lend itself all that well to brawling (relatively low armor, average hitboxes, awkward hardpoints), but it still manages to make a pretty good showing.

As with any other brawler, you need to close on the enemy somehow. Often, you can let the enemy take care of that for you by waiting for the natural distance between the two teams close, but sometimes you have to take matters in your own hands and (carefully) flank them. Either way, try to maintain the support of your team or you won’t last long.

Mech Modules (In order of importance): Seismic Sensor, Radar Deprivation

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cSRM6 Cooldown, cUAC20 Cooldown

Consumables (In order of importance): Cool Shot, Artillery Strike

Ballistic/Energy Version

If you’re not an SRM fan, or maybe even if you are, this might be a better build for you. The range is maybe a bit more limited, but it’s pretty friggin powerful anyways. It’s a matter of taste, in the end.

Weapon Modules (In order of importance): cSPL Range, cUAC20 Cooldown

Pilot Skills

I’ve figured that this is the best skill order for pretty much any mech, and so I’m just going to customize it for mechs that have to emphasize unusual pilot skills.

Basics: Cool Run – Heat Containment – Hard Brake – Kinetic Burst – Twist Speed – Twist X – Anchor Turn – Arm Reflex

Elites: Speed Tweak – Fast Fire – Quick Ignition – Pinpoint

Then just master it. For now, I’m holding onto all of the variants until they announce quirks on the CTs, just in case. Maybe it’ll never happen, but if you can afford to hold onto your mechs I recommend you do so.

_________

And that’s that. I hope you enjoy your mech, let me know if you have any questions, and as always glhf

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