Last Updated: 14-July-2016
Overview
The Warhammer is the second Unseen to debut in MechWarrrior Online, and so far it is the most powerful of the bunch. There’s some decent diversity between the variants, and a few of them are really quite good. Lots of people are huge fans of the chassis, but personally I’ve found it to be a bit stale, with only a couple of variants offering a somewhat fresh experience. But there’s no denying that it is a solid pick. I feel like my main issue with the mech is that it feels rather…generic.
The go-to variant has got to be the WHM-6D, just because it is one of the better laser vomit mechs in the game, which is…a strong playstyle at the moment, but having to compete with the Black Knight and Grasshopper is rough. Next up is the Hero, the Black Widow, which is one of the best dakka heavies in the game, really only competing with the JM6-DD. If you won’t be getting the Hero, then you’ll have to get the last two anyways, but my next pick if you do get the hero is easily the WHM-6R. While this variant isn’t quite as good as the first two, it does offer a more special experience, as it has some really good builds that you just wouldn’t run on any other variant. Last up is the WHM-7S, which is just the definition of bland, even if there are some decent laser builds available.
Chassis-Wide Information
Strengths
- Good quirks all around, very solid in all 3 categories. They’re actually some of the strongest that the heavy class gets, with the obvious exceptions of mechs which would otherwise be absolute turds.
- The hardpoints are pretty good. I wouldn’t say perfect, because it’s not how I would configure them if I could choose, but they’re definitely acceptable. They’re also positioned decently – definitely not high, but they’re not super-low either. Basically, they won’t give you an advantage, but at least they won’t give you a disadvantage either.
- You can shield decently well. It’s not amazing at it, but if you don’t want one of your sides to take damage, it doesn’t have to.
Weaknesses
- A bit of pancake syndrome is evident in the mech – the mech is wide and it’s flat and it’s not hard to hit it exactly where you want to hit it. It’s no Orion IIC, but it’s not a Black Knight neither. Pretty much on par with the Hellbringer on this.
- The engine cap is a bit low for my liking, and it doesn’t have jumpjets. Not sure if these should really be called weaknesses, but they do hold the chassis back a bit.
Generic Tips
- This mech isn’t the tankiest, but it can handle the front lines. Don’t be afraid to get in the thick of it, but remember to shield if you start getting wrecked.
- STD engines are not a waste in this mech when you’re making your own builds. I use a lot of XLs, but that’s because I treat the mech more as a weapon platform than anything else. And if you do use an XL, try to make it a big one.
- Avoid hill-humping. It can work, but if you’re not sure if you can get away with it, err on the side of caution.
Builds
If you’re not familiar with my Inner Sphere Master Guides, each pretty much follows the same formula. Each variant gets its own section; within that section I try to include at least two main builds, each with a few variations on the core principle (if applicable).
Each build has one paragraph about the build itself – going over anything I feel is relevant to understanding it such as quirks, tonnage issues, how it fits the meta, my general feeling about it…just whatever. And then there’s a paragraph about using the build, going over tactics, tips, and whatever I feel is relevant to that, including links to L2P guides, on occasion.
I may miss a build that you like, or my builds may differ slightly from what you find works best for you because our philosophies may differ – I strongly encourage that you experiment for yourself to see what works best for you.
The modules are listed in order of which one is most important and the consumables I’ve listed are the ones that are generally the best, but while leveling the mech you may want to swap the less important consumable out for a UAV. That is, if you can afford to use consumables at all (they aren’t necessary, just nice, and if you’re low on C-Bills they’re not necessarily worth it).
On with it!
Black Widow
The immense dakka that this mech offers has made it a fast favorite of many a pilot, and I myself cannot deny its charms. Its main asset is the 4 torso ballistic hardpoints, but the 10% to ballistic velocity and energy range, 5% to energy heat gen, and 30% to PPC velocity all help. To help it out, it also gets 35% accel/decel and torso twist speed, 15% to turn rate, and of course the weird slightly-less-than-50% boost to structure everywhere but the arms.
Build 1:
Of course the first build is dakka. I mean, come on. And lemme tell you, it’s way more fun to talk about dakka than laser vomit. The mix of AC/5 and UAC/5 does mean that you’ll need to spam the shit out of those triggers, but the DPS is really worth it. The ammo on this build might not see you through the most intense of games, but I’d say it’s enough about 98% of the time. And while the ammo in the CT and shield arm might seem risky, it all goes away in under a minute of firing, so you shouldn’t have any issues – just shield with your left side at the start of the game. And I’m not gonna even bother with an honorable mentions section, because pretty much all non-dakka builds work better on the WHM-6R.
Playing this build can take some finesse to be sure, but it isn’t that complicated. For the most part, your goal is to spam the triggers as often as possible, and the main tactical decisions are going to be about when to expose and when to pull back or shield. Your main openings are when you have allies to draw aggro or if you can isolate an enemy on a trade. Your alpha may not be impressive, but if he doesn’t have easy access to cover, you can absolutely destroy most mechs in the game over the course of about 10 seconds. Other than that, just try not to get shot if you can avoid it, and keep your eyes open for an opportunity.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: AC/5 Cooldown, UAC/5 Cooldown
Consumables: Air Strike, UAV
This has less ammo and DPS, but the backup weapons and much larger engine should help out quite a bit.
Weapon Modules: AC/5 Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
This is pretty much a ‘roided out Ilya, and it does work. It doesn’t have the DPS of the other options, but it does have a STD engine, which helps. I just wish it worked with ferro.
Weapon Modules: UAC/5 Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
It’s not as good as the others, but it’s not half bad neither! The heat does get to be an issue, but you get to fight from quite a long range, so it’s not the end of the world.
Weapon Modules: AC/2 Range, Medium Laser Range
This is my trying-to-take-advantage-of-the-quirks build. It actually does have kind of a respectable alpha, but it’s not as good as the other builds.
Weapon Modules: AC/5 Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
WHM-6D
This is the laser variant, with 9 total hardpoints at its disposal. Offensively, it gets 5% to heat gen, 10% for range, and 30% to PPC velocity. But it also has 60% accel/decel, 5% extra turn rate, and 15% torso yaw speed. And of course, it has…slightly less than 50% extra structure everywhere but the arms.
Build 1:
This is pretty much the most typical build in the game right now. Fantastic alpha strike, good DPS with the Large Pulses, decent range. There are very few games where this sort of build won’t be able to get some real work in, if played right.
Fortunately, playing it right isn’t that hard. Stick with your team, keep up on rotations, don’t be afraid to trade, and you should have a grand old time. As with other builds of this type, you’ll want to stay as close to the mid-400s as possible – any longer and you’re losing out on damage, any shorter and you’re at risk of getting jumped by brawlers. For more on this stuff, check out the Laser Vomit guide.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Medium Laser Range, Large Pulse Range
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
I’m not a fan, but if you want more survivability without compromising too much on mid-range firepower, it works. You can also achieve the same result by losing a bit of range or stacking up on Large Pulses, and the full Large Pulse boat is also one of the more effective WHM-7S builds.
This basically just adds a laser to the original. Makes too many compromises for it to be worthwhile in my opinion, but you don’t lose any heatsinks, so maybe you’ll find it more intriguing.
Honestly, this is more of a WHM-7S build, but it does work here. You’re fast, you’re cool, and you got plenty of range. It works.
Weapon Modules: Large Laser Range, Large Laser Cooldown
Honorable Mentions
The WHM-6D may be the best variant, but it’s not because of its amazing build variety. You’re best off sticking with some sort of Laser Vomit build, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try something like…
It’s got decent quirks for PPCs, but they’re not stupendous – right now, you want 40-50% and this variant only has 30%. Still, they work just fine and you have a pretty sweet array of backup lasers. When you play this, stick to poking with the PPCs for the most part, but 2 PPCs is pretty feeble, so you might want to close in for the extra damage from the lasers. If you want to read more about this kinda stuff, check out the PPFLD guide.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Medium Laser Range, PPC Range
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
Why bother half-assing it. Pick up your game and double the pinpoint.
Weapon Modules: PPC Range, PPC Cooldown
I tried making a few different variations on this theme, but this one came out looking the prettiest. Basically it works as a sort of skirmishy laser brawler kinda deal – not the best but not bad either. You will be able to take mechs down fast though, with great focus on particular components. If you played the TDR-5SS in its heyday, you should be familiar with the playstyle.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivaiton, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Med Pulse Range, Large Pulse Range
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
lol
Weapon Modules: Large Pulse Range, Large Pulse Cooldown
WHM-6R
The WHM-6R may not be the best (though the top 3 are pretty close in terms of viability), but it is way more flexible than the previous two variants, in part thanks to the quirks. It gets 5% ballistic cooldown and 20% ballistic velocity, 5% energy heat gen, 10% heat gen just for PPCs, and 50% PPC velocity. It also has 35% accel/decel, 15% torso twist speed, 5% turn rate, and a bit under 50% structure everywhere but the arms.
Build 1:
This is one of the more unique builds, as the dual AC/10 doesn’t work that well on most mechs. But it really does work well here, giving you some incredible DPS and decent alpha to boot. Usually the velocity of the AC/10 holds it back, but 20% extra velocity helps quite a bit. It gets hot quickly, but the AC/10s are heat neutral so it’s not like you’ll have too much trouble, and the burst damage will serve you well.
If you’re not familiar with this style of play, I would describe it as a mix between dakka and laser vomit. It’s more focused on alpha strikes than dakka is, but more focused on DPS than laser vomit. As such, it makes a fantastic tool for suppression, since you can unload on more mechs in a row than a laser vomit could, and each shot is much more effective than if you had dakka. Your hit and runs are brutal, as you’re able to apply more pressure over a shorter period of time than alpha-based mechs, and honestly you’re not half bad at brawling neither. The main issues you run into have to do with durability and maneuverability, and also it can take some getting used to. But practice makes perfect.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: AC/10 Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
Consumables: Cool Shot, Artillery Strike
I’ve found that losing a laser hurts quite a bit, but the extra ammo and speed do help make up for it.
This build has a longer-range focus than the others, but gives up a fair bit of power and speed in the process. It still works pretty damn well, though, and I recommend giving it a shot if you like the playstyle and are looking for something a bit different.
Weapon Modules: AC/10 Cooldown, Large Laser Range
I’m not a huge fan of the syncup, but if you’re looking for a build that’s more adept at pinpoint trading, this could work out well.
Weapon Modules: AC/10 Cooldown, PPC Cooldown
This plays very similarly, though it has a much less…visceral feel to it, and I haven’t noticed much of a difference in terms of effectiveness to be honest. If it works for you, fantastic!
Weapon Modules: Medium Laser Range, UAC/5 Cooldown
This is a bit different than the other builds, but…similar enough. It’s almost a brawler with the AC/20, but it stays viable at the 400m mark. If you’re looking for a beefier skirmishy build, this could be the one.
Weapon Modules: Medium Laser Range, AC/20 Cooldown
Honorable Mentions:
There are simply too many build options on this variant, and most all of them are quite good. But there’s a bit of sameyness in places, and I don’t want to go into too much detail and start repeating myself. And I’m sure that I missed a few (there are just so many things you can do), so give me a shout on the MM forums or twitter or reddit or whatever if you think I missed a good build.
I’m not about to suggest an XL side-torso-Gauss build as a primary option! Well…not yet. Anyways, it’s pretty sweet; you get high velocity ER PPCs that sync up nearly perfectly with the Gauss, it’s got a sweet pinpoint, a STD engine, and it’s not even that hot! I mean, it’ll get a bit toasty for sure, but it’s not too bad at all. Play at super-long range if possible, and just keep nailing dudes in the same place over and over and over. For more on playing this sort of build (it’s about as generic as PPFLD builds come), check out the PPFLD guide.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Gauss Cooldown, Gauss Range
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
Running a side torso Gauss with an XL is a risky proposition to be sure, but you get quite a bit of speed and heatsinks out of the deal. Up to you whether the risk is worth it.
I’m a bit less enthusiastic about this build – the weapons don’t sync as well, it’s hot, and you’re generally a bit more limited. But it’s still good.
Weapon Modules: AC/20 Cooldown, PPC Cooldown
This variant does the build better than any of the other ones, so you might as well try it out here.
Weapon Modules: PPC Range, PPC Cooldown
This build takes the old style of PPFLD that we had with the Dragon Slayer and Cataphract, and it works out pretty well on the Warhammer. Since you won’t just be popping and firing a single alpha, you usually end up firing your ACs a few times each time you poke. And it can also be run with ferro and a STD270. Shout out to SteelHoves for reminding me about this awesome build.
Weapon Modules: UAC/5 Cooldown, PPC Cooldown
One of the big things about the Warhammer before release was that you’d be able to double up on large ballistics. Sadly, this build needs to use an XL to get that done, but there are worse things in the world. And with that XL, it accomplishes a stunning 50 damage alpha strike. It’s still pretty much the squishiest Warhammer build that you’ll see, but it’s quite devastating. One of the strengths of this build is that it can play very well at long- and mid-range, and even does alright at short-range thanks to its high damage. So you can alternate between sniping and pushing without huge issue, but again, it’s super squishy so be careful. You can also run this build on the Black Widow almost exactly as well – you get 5% extra cooldown but lose 10% velocity and a teeny bit of structure. Pretty much balances out.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Gauss Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
Consumables: Air Strike, Cool Shot
This is a pretty sweet little sniper. As with the previous build, you’re running a real risk with that XL, but it is an absolutely devastating build if the enemy leaves you alone. Just keep shooting, and maybe check out the PPFLD guide.
Weapon Modules: Gauss Cooldown, Gauss Range
Hot damn. At least it’s not fragile! You do have to get a bit close, but you can destroy enemies very quickly.
Weapon Modules: AC/20 Cooldown, AC/20 Range
WHM-7S
This is easily the worst variant of the bunch, but there are still a couple of good builds for it. Offensively, it gets 5% energy heat gen, 15% laser duration, and 30% PPC velocity, in addition to 10% missile cooldown. On top of that, it has an extra 45% accel/decel and 25% torso twist speed and turn rate. And of course, it has less than 50% extra structure everywhere but the arms.
Build 1:
So yeah, this is basically a copy of a build we saw on the WHM-6D. There are two main differences. The first one is that this build doesn’t get the triple energy torso (this isn’t a huge deal, just a loss of an option). The other difference is that it swaps out 10% range for 15% duration. Honestly, I think that leaves them at a roughly even point in terms of this one build, so if you want to get the most out of your WHM-7S, this is the way to do it.
Unless you’ve somehow managed to not play any Large Laser boats (which is pretty impressive), the playstyle should be almost too familiar at this point. Stay at mid/long range, try to keep your beams as steady as possible, and just keep on shooting. Your low duration also means that you can get more concentrated damage than most mechs you trade against at these ranges, and sometimes you can end up turning to shield earlier to save yourself some health, but…honestly this really is just another laser vomit mech, and you can read more about those in the guide.
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Large Laser Range, Large Laser Cooldown
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
Build 2:
The Large Laser build is a little cheesy, but this really plays to the variant itself. It’s got a pretty insane alpha strike, but as you can tell by the heat, you won’t be able to use it all that often. However, the SRMs are heat neutral and, while they don’t do that much DPS on their own, you should have enough time to cool down between every few volleys for a full alpha.
You don’t see a whole lot of this style of mech…and there’s a reason for that. Generally it’s not quite good enough at the skirmishing style of play and it can’t keep up in a brawl, so it’s sort of an awkward hit-and-run mech that can’t quite run. But if you can manage to stick on an enemy with a hot build, you’ll be able to do some real work. In general you can maybe get a couple alphas off at the start, but from then on in you can just stick to SRMs until you get some free heat. Also, your missiles are high-mounted, so you can actually hill-hump with those if the enemy is close enough. Which makes it awkward that your actually mid-ranged weapons are down low…
Mech Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor
Weapon Modules: Medium Laser Range, SRM6 Cooldown
Consumables: Cool Shot, Air Strike
I swear, I have some sort of weird compulsion to always include an LRM build…
Weapon Modules: LRM10 Cooldown, Medium Laser Range
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. The WHM-6D and Black Widow (if you get it) are the most vital to master, but if you have fun with the others, you should by all means stick with them.
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And that’s that. I hope you enjoy your mech, let me know if you have any questions, and as always glhf