I won’t lie you have peaked my interest so I may try it a few times and see how I like it
I just got Master of Montana, and I approve this post. I will add that even though I do a strict survivability build with all the frosty goodness I can cram, even using Swole Shield instead of Icicles, I still tend to top the DPS charts. It’s all about managing heat so you never have to stop shooting. 100% of the time I see a flaming Montana coming around the corner I smile, because the other team’s tank has neutered himself, and I tend to spend the entire round reminding them of the fact.
1 Like
I take it you fire in bursts? I try to manage my heat, but it isn’t always easy when the other team is pressing hard. Then again, the attack speed item I use probably isn’t helping much…I do use the cooler, barrel cooling, and Monty’s legendary. I may have to see if I can work in a low-cost cooldown item instead of the attack speed one so I can keep Hailstorm up more often.
During sustained team fights I’ll fire in bursts (Montana’s legendary helps with this as the bursts can be a bit longer due to lessened heat generation at over 85% heat), trying to go for weakened units or minions, then as soon as I can activate freezy bullets, I do. Early game in particular it’s tough to mitigate the heat without running away (it takes about as long for the gun to cool as it does for the shield to recharge anyway), but by level 7 I’m able to fire pretty much nonstop during sustained fights with little pause to the action (save for the need to heal or whatever).
Hopefully this helps! Unless you see me on the battlefield, in which case, gosh darnit I just gave away all my secrets!
1 Like
Bursting works great in minion clear but save the heat for your real targets; enemy PC’s. Try to manage a burst every five or ten seconds on the minions. Your goal isn’t so much trying to kill them(though that’ll probably happen) but it’s to make sure you get credit for them when they DO drop as an assist. Nothing fancy or elegant; just splash em all with a coat of damage, and wait a few seconds before doing it again or turning to an enemy. If it’s something you NEED to stop advancing(Bot or Thrall) give it a bit more priority, but save your Hailstorm for the last minute. Odds are, someone’s waiting for that to pop so they can go HAAM on you now that you gave up your slow.
1 Like
Thanks guys. I do pretty good with Monty in PVP, but any tips are appreciated. 
Sooooo I tried an ice build and yea in almost every way its better for PvP seeing as minions are tougher. This has really started making me think of trying ghalt movement speed or no interruption instead of the fire. Maaaaan, I’ll prolly stick to the fire augment
For ghalt, he’s more damage focused. Id say to go attack speed, and a movement speed item, but save the helix for the flames. You’ll do better damage and get almost ad much speed.
Attack speed and damage is what I run. It seems the attack damage increases his base damage for his ultimate. I know attack speed effects it
Though I don’t play Montana I really appreciate the quality and depth of your post. Thanks!
Glad to help.
I think it does because his ult, is really just a modification of his base attack. and I don’t think GBX wants to try and parse how to make cooldown affect attack speed with an ultskill to be fair.
i play smart with montana so i could go either firestorm or ice but the first time ive used firestorm in a while ive went 22 kills with 5 deaths and 22 assists
Even though I prefer the ice (because I like getting in close) I can still do just as well with a fire build. It really depends on whether or not I’m the only “controller” on the team. For example with an Alani I can go fire while she locks people down for me.
So yea I ran ice some more and I must say for PVP…ALWAYS RUN ICE. Omg it’s sooooo much better in every aspect besides getting just a little more damage. It helps you sustain so well, and if you slow them you will almost be garunteed an assist or possibly kill if you get a stun or a teammate comes to chime in. Here are some pictures from the last match I ran running Ice, which I know I would not of gotten these numbers if I ran pyro seeing they had such good team comp and knew how to use it properly. Just that with the combination of stun, slow, mitigation, recovery, and miko I was able to pull these numbers off and still not die (check out my damage recieved/death ratio!). We almost got our coopitietion but it’s find that we didn’t. Anyways here’s the pics
1 Like
And that’s why a chilly Monty beats a burning one. In theory, only one mechanic really stops a burning Monty from out-DPSing a Chill one. Feeling the Burn. If you could just rain shells constantly, no one would be able to stop your DPS. Shields would crumble, walls would topple.
Unfortunately, I don’t see GBX fixing the one downside, being that it sucks up so much health per shot fired. Even worse, the things that would REALLY help your DPS(more attack speed) will make FTB hurt even MORE. You take damage per round FIRED, not just while your gun itself is overheated. So anything that speeds up your fire rate, increases the amount of self-damage you take, and the required +regen gear you need to offset it.
As the only controller on the team, of course the ice is better. PvP is about filling a role your team needs. PvE is all about damage. Montana is first and foremost a controller, so ice is by default the better option. But if there are other controllers on the team, like Kelvin, Ghalt, Alani, etc, you could go fire if you wanted to be more of a damage dealer. No one is saying fire is better, that doesn’t mean there is no reason to not use fire in PvP.
Also fire and ice builds should be played differently anyways. An ice Montana is more about getting in close with lumberjack dash and “controlling” the enemy with hailstorm. Fire Montana stays back at mid range near cover to minimize the damage he takes from the enemy, using lumberjack dash to keep people away from him. Also, it’s never a good idea to shoot endlessly with feeling the burn, that’s why it has the damage on it. You’re suppose to manage how long you should shoot based on your health and whether or not you have a healer with you. A full fire build Montana is best against an all ranged enemy team, with helix choices like Weather Man, Ice Age, and Instant Payback.
Even then I wouldn’t use a Firelord Monty. As I said in the OP, the sum total of all the Firelord’s extra damage, is +24 damage per second, while Firestorm is active, and for a maximum of four seconds afterwards. And that’s if you hit and KEEP the DoT up the entire time. I think Hailstorm has a standard 8 second active time. So 24 x 14(assuming you pick the perk that adds +2 seconds to Hail/Firestorm and the perk that adds +2 seconds to Firestorm’s DoT effect) = 336 extra damage at BEST. A stun, shield, ISIC’s RW bouncing rounds back at you, or even a dodge, can shut that extra damage off fast. Losing a slow, an indirect damage buff, the ability to fire longer, faster and with less personal risk…for an extra 340 damage over a 10 second fight? No way is it worth it.
1 Like
Hot Monty (Firestorm, Feel the Burn, Hot Blooded, Health Regen gear) is for PvE. Never stop FIRING!
Cold Monty is for PvP.
I don’t really give a ■■■■. I’m not trying to convince anyone to use fire in PvP. I’m just saying there’s no reason why you can’t use fire in PvP. I used it, other people have used it and from my experience with it, it’s not useless if you play right. I still prefer the ice, not because it’s better, but because I enjoy the play style with using ice more. Besides I play on PC so even if I wanted to use fire more, not having a slow wouldn’t make it difficult to shoot people, unless they get close, which is when lumberjack dash should be used. Not hard to stun or keep people at a distance with the extra knockback distance.