Modules: Radar Deprivation, MPL Cooldown and Heat, LPL cooldown

21 dual heatsinks cooling 4MPLs and 2LPLs, which deliver a 46 damage alpha. The armor is frontloaded for the most part, being in-line with the intention of "not being in the thick of it". The most striking feature of this build is the XL395 engine. It was an engine I thought I'd never need, but here we are. After some time in the Mechlab it was clear to me that only XL395 allowed me to keep full armor while maxing out the heatsinks and using all the available tonnage. A drop to XL390 frees up 1.5 tons, but you can't use it as you only have 1 critical slot left. A jump to an XL400 is possible, but you need to free up 2 tons either by removing heatsinks or armor. Neither seemed "optimal" to me. If this odd engine is a deal-breaker for you, jump to the 1G section.



Why is it so special?

Now, let me tell you what makes thing so good:





1) Heat efficiency: The MPL's generate -20% less heat, while the LPLs generate -10% less heat. Considering it has 21DHS cooling them, the situations where you'll be heat-blocked will be extremely rare. It even keeps up with ballistic builds for a good while on hot maps. Which brings us to the next very best thing about this 'Mech:

2) Damage capacity: The damage capacity(sorry, I made it up myself!) is how much damage you can do before you shutdown. It's directly influenced by the heat efficiency of a build and it tells us how devastating the 'Mech is.





On a heat-neutral map, this 'Mech ovearheats in 14 seconds. Which is pretty normal for a laser IS assault. BUT (a big one), it alphas 5 times during this time, delivering a total of 230 damage. Now this is unusual for a laser 'Mech.

TBR-PRIME Let me elaborate how insane this is. For example, your average laser-vomit Timberwolf with 2xC-LPL and 4xC-ERML overheats in about 6 seconds and it can only alpha two times during this, delivering about 108 damage. A BNC-3M "refrigerator" build with a 2xLPL and 6xML overheats in 15 seconds while delivering a puny 156 damage. The 3S does 1.5 times more damage than the Banshee and more than 2 times more damage than the Timber Wolf. If you don't believe me, try it out yourself in the MWO heat simulator! ( BLR-3S BNC-3M please note that actual in-game heat is a bit different and hotter)





3) Damage application: The whole 46 damage alpha is delivered in just 0.67 seconds. First, this makes aiming a breeze. You don't need to worry about holding the beam. Even slight scratches hurt a lot since so much damage is delivered in such a short time. Second, that's a ridiculously low face-time for an assault. You can arrange your pop-ups such that you only expose yourself for ~1s. This allows you to outtrade anything. Factoring in the ping, this won't allow your enemy to return fire in most situations. You'll be mostly safe against gauss builds, since they need to be charged and aimed properly first.

4) Speed: At 83 KPH you can keep with your mediums and heavies, quickly reposition and GTFO when needed. You won't be one of those vulnerable and slow assaults that has to be protected. You'll also have a godly torso twist speed which helps with tanking immensely. This 'Mech is ridiculously responsive with a huge engine.





All of these makes this 'Mech an exceptional second-line damage pumper. I rocked the group queue with this thing many times and breaking 1000 damage is not uncommon if the match lasts longer than 3 minutes. It's also an exceptional killer thanks to its damage application. You can precision cut components at will. In good hands it can single handedly carry against good teams.



The not-so-good

Disadvantages? Of course, everything has some. Here are some of its biggest flaws:





1) Range: No doubt the biggest disadvantage. With the quirks and a range module, the MPL has a range of 286m while the LPL has a range of 402m (without the range module). This roughly puts this 'Mech into the "close-medium range" bracket. You can use your LPLs to scare of long range shooters, but you'll still be helpless again those builds utilizing C-LPLs and Gausses. Therefore you must find a way to engage inside your effective range (I'd say <600m). You certainly have the speed to pull it off.





2) The XL engine: An inevitable and huge disadvantage. Some people will notice you have an XL (because of your speed) and will actively try to get one of those sides. Also if you twist "too much" and one of your sides get cored, people will also instinctively focust it down.



The XL will also suck when your team doesn't have tankier assaults/heavies and you are suddenly forced to take the first line. Most team in the group queue will make short work of you in a matter of seconds. An inevitable and huge disadvantage. Some people will notice you have an XL (because of your speed) and will actively try to get one of those sides. Also if you twist "too much" and one of your sides get cored, people will also instinctively focust it down. If you're too concerned, you can drop down to a STD340 and trim some armor from the arms. That'll allow you to take about 19DHS and run at 71.4 KPH.The XL will also suck when your team doesn't have tankier assaults/heavies and you are suddenly forced to take the first line. Most team in the group queue will make short work of you in a matter of seconds.





3) Rear hitboxes: The Battlemaster The Battlemaster has a protruding rear-CT . At a 90° angle, your back can be easily hit. You should be careful by not overtwisting the torso.





The gameplay

This is your average hill-humper with some added survivability on even ground. Find an elevation, slightly pop your head up, dump the damage and go back down. If you're engaging on even ground, dump your alpha, twist and WAIT until your opponent alphas on your arm and then twist back and dump your alpha again. 99% of the people will be happy to shoot your arm, but 1% will actually wait until you show your torso again. This is the advantage of the BLR of STK as twisting and shielding is something the Stalker is absolutely horrible at since it has a gigantic side torso and little T-Rex arms.









If the enemy team is relentlessly pushing, try to fight a retreat. Standing your ground with this thing won't work. Just reposition while shielding (and occasionally shooting back) and let your teammates get some aggro.



Some more general tips:

High mounted hardpoints+high ground equals to absolute devastation for enemies with low(ish) hardpoints (Dires, Timbers, Wubverines, King Crabs, Orions . . .). Try to capitalize on this as much as possible. The top of the platform in HPG, the middle in Canyon, the spot under the ring in Tourmaline are good example spots.

You can also fight from low ground (the ramps on HPG for example), but you'll be more vulnerable to the type of 'Mechs I counted above.

The 3S with wubs is a precision cutting machine. Try to aim at specific components and you'll realize it's incredibly easy to tear them apart. It makes Wubverines cry.

Avoid side peeking as the lasers are distributed for vertical peeking.

If you have problems getting the LPLs to the top hardpoints, follow this guide. You absolutely need them in the top hardpoints. Your natural habitats will be ramps on HPG/Canyon/Crimson and hills on forest/frozen colony/Alpine/Terra. Try to hide your 'Mech as much as possible while firing. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be amazed at how much damage this thing can deliver.If the enemy team is relentlessly pushing, try to fight a retreat. Standing your ground with this thing won't work. Just reposition while shielding (and occasionally shooting back) and let your teammates get some aggro.Some more general tips:





An alternative: The BLR-1G

If the range of the 3S build is bothering you, the 1G can do pretty much the same thing with a tiny bit less damage. 1G has massive bonuses to MLs, one of them being -20% laser duration which makes the ML behave like an MPL with more range. So if you do this:











Modules: Radar Deprivation, ML range and cooldown, LPL cooldown





You will get:

-20% Heat Generation for MLs

-20% Duration for MLs (down from 0.9s to 0.72s, MPL is at 0.6s for reference)

+20% ML Range (351m with the module)

-10% Heat Generation for LPL

-10% Duration for LPL (down to 0.6s)

+10% Range for LPL

While the same build on the 3S has:

-20% Heat Generation for MPLs

+20% MPL Range (286m with the module)

-10% Heat Generation for LPL

+10% Range for LPL

It's pretty much the same, same heat cost for both but you can mount an extra DHS and make your LPLs harder hitting with the reduced duration. ML and LPL ranges will also be similar at 402m for the LPL and 351m for the ML (with the module). The durations are also similar at 0.67 (LPL) and 0.72 seconds which synergizes them even more. In addition, the extra heatsink makes a huge difference. With about one second pause after the fifth one, you will be able to alpha for a 6th time with this build, bringing your damage capacity to 252 damage. Overall, this is an alternative to the 3S that lends itself more to ranged engagements.





The biggest disadvantage is the 60° torso twist range. Don't even think of getting into brawls with this thing. You also won't be able to torso twist properly and it is much less survivable overall. Tracking targets at close range is also a pain with a lot of legwork needed. Being caught alone with a light is mostly a death sentence.



Unfortunately there's 0.5 ton of unused tonnage and one critical slot left in this build. You can sacrifice a heatsink or even mount a smaller engine to be able to do something with it, but it's never going to be as useful as another DHS. Just take comfort in knowing there's nothing that can be done about it.

A demonstration





I have tens of screenshots with great damages and kills against good teams, but I'm not a fan of scoreboard screenshots. It doesn't tell you much about the circumstances of the match, or how you played the build. Therefore, I'm just going to give you an example video. A video where my team is getting absolutely demolished while I ride the heat limit and use the 3S to its limits. It has an unfortunate ending (I could have done a lot more), but I think it'll show you how capable this 'Mech is when you stick to the rules above and abuse its advantages.

Conclusion