77 replies to this topic

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

Hey folks,

I am an oldie, played the original series of Mechwarrior back in the day.

The assault class of mech were always what you worked hard to get into and loved the ability to shred mechs to hell.

obviously due to game balance this had to be fixed to make the game not lop sided...

BUT!

is it me or the Atlas Mech is pretty much the worse mech to decide to get (unless you've been around here a long time and are pretty much an elite player).

I get picked off at distances like its going out of fashion, I don't see my "Extra" armor for my class giving me any survivability, and with the slowness of turning and movement, the atlas is pretty much a statue of liberty in a warzone...

As a Noob I said I might aswell get the mech I used to love and get used to it and work on improving it and my skills at the same time, but from what I can see, I made a big mistake (which is my own fault).

btw I'm not bitching in this thread, this is more of a "new guys, buyer beware!" thread.

Most team matches people will leave you alone, and unless you were smart enough to get the DC with ECM (I wasn't.. forgot completely about ECM and thought it would be taken out for online to avoid advantages given to being invisible lol).

Damage wise also, I've noticed unless you use a very specific build, you will get shredded before the guy infront of you... even if you are a decent shot...

[Amsro]

The Atlas even now still attracts attention, it is best to be "late" to a battle. Not a front line, first to be seen, type mech. If more then a couple mechs spot you they will take you down regardless of your armor.

Solo Atlas is dead Atlas.

[CygnusX7]

Ninja Atlas is a winning Atlas.

[Jody Von Jedi]

I'd agree that Assaults in general are the worst choice for new players. A little more speed of a Heavy or Medium makes a much better choice for 1st mech.

[AntharPrime]

Work at that Atlas. I find that you usually have to spend another 6-10 million cbills to make them viable.

[Bilbo]

AntharPrime, on 03 April 2014 - 12:27 PM, said:

Work at that Atlas. I find that you usually have to spend another 6-10 million cbills to make them viable.

He's gonna need upwards of 30 million more. You really need to elite it before it comes into it's own.

[Redshift2k5]

Assaults are not the easiest mech to play. They have the most tonnage to spend on armor and guns, but they sacrifice mobility. It magnifies small mistakes when you cannot maneuver or move to new parts of the map quickly enough.

They're certainly not for "pro" players only, but they do take more practice to handle appropriately and are not just the biggest baddest mech for mowing down AI enemies.

[Rebas Kradd]

Atlas has a distinct silhouette and walk that can be recognized from across the map and WILL get AC potshots thrown its way. It's also as hard to miss as a thunderstorm.

If the Atlas truly wants to tank, time-to-kill needs to be toned down and/or Atlai buffed somehow. The most common way to buff Atlai is to give it a bigger engine. Sacrifice some firepower, but on the DDC it doesn't matter as much, and it gives you the maneuverability to avoid some fire.

Edited by Rebas Kradd, 03 April 2014 - 03:50 PM.

[ThatBum42]

Atlas should be the vanguard of a formation. You need faster friendly mechs around you to suppress the enemy faster mechs that will tear you apart otherwise.

[focuspark]

it's the mentality of mech warriors: "ahh Atlas, kill it!"

and they're slow, big, easy targets.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

all the comments are pretty much spot on. rock on guys.

problem is if team tactics are employed you can do some heavy hitting, but you end up in a random match with random people, whom are looking to pill on C-bills.. not actually play using team tactics or support...

It kinda takes the fun out of the game abit, but we will see i guess if I am able to get better at this or not.

[Skyre Ventes]

I'm not really much for working with others to be honest, but I'm not sure if my expertise on MW Arcade Combat Edition on PS1 will help me here, will it?...

I'm literally a lone wolf...

a lone Timberwolf...



P.S. Thanks for the heads up about the Atlus.

Edited by Baal Zebul, 03 April 2014 - 03:36 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Baal Zebul, on 03 April 2014 - 03:34 PM, said:

I'm not really much for working with others to be honest, but I'm not sure if my expertise on MW Arcade Combat Edition on PS1 will help me here, will it?...

I don't know whether your experience with that game will help (as I never played it)
But as a fellow lone wolf (which is what the name refers to roughly - not Clan Wolf) I can tell you this:

Teamwork is everything in this game.
You either learn to work with your team and assist your lancemates - or the other team wins.

[Macksheen]

ECM is part of the reason DDCs survive so well - they can ninja a bit on their own.

My Atlai don't last nearly as long as my Stalkers. Part is mechanics (STK have a hit distribution that seems to favor my play style) and part is the "ATLAS KILL IT" metamentality.

[Domoneky]

Assault Mechs do require some skill and grasp of knowledge to play. But the biggest thing about a mech like the Atlas is what role do you wish to fulfil. I'm not tooting my own horn or anything but someone who knows how to use Assault Mechs are a terror (Toot Toot!) Example is that my Atlas is spec'd for Long range fire support with ECM. I do a good job at it reasonable but to say I'm invulnerable is fool hardy. when I see a bunch of lights coming for me I pretty much scream like a school girl and run away.

[Koniving]

The Atlas is a double edged sword. The main thing is you need to build it to fight at all ranges.
If it only fights up close, you will be picked off at range.
If you can only fight at range, you will be picked off up close.
If you can fight at all ranges, you can defend yourself and contribute to the battle at all ranges.

The presence of an Atlas draws attention. Add lots of attention getters, and you will most likely die first as you set yourself higher and higher on the priority bar.
Accompany yourself with other high priority targets and you lower your own need to die. If your weapons don't scream and demand attention, you'll outlive all of them.

Pretend you're fighting zombies in season 3, episode 1 and 2 of the Walking Dead. Make noise, it draws attention. Make a lot of noise and you're gonna die. Atlases by their very presence makes noise. Atlases that over specialize in noise making will die very quick deaths.

Some differences.
In this video... People I'm playing with tend to raise the stakes for me. The first match, the Atlas makes lots of noise near the end and survives. In the second match, the Atlas makes lots of noise near the beginning and dies for it.
In this one with Shar Wolf, it's a long fight while mostly on the move. The large presence around me all screamed 'danger' and yet my Atlas doesn't scream 'priority everyone unanimously shoot me'.

This Atlas drew a LOT of attention and died for it.

This classic chase cam by Lordred has me in a 2 man (myself and the camera man) in a basics only Atlas D. The equipment, a low profile 4 ML, 1 AC/2, 1 AC/5, SRM-6, LRM-10. The armor, well balanced. I diverted from the mainstay of attention getters; I wanted nothing to do with the high priority meta targets that got wiped out within the early stages. I kept mobile and I engaged while never stopping. Come out with 6 kills and many assists.

Another crucial thing is endurance. If your Atlas does not have endurance, it will perish when it shuts down. Heat management is everything.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

I agree. I have tried several builds and am using the "Supporter" build for the moment, 2 large lasers, Gauss, LRms. I tried Brawler builds but lack of maneuverability meant being picked off very easily by smaller mechs.

Thing is I know how to use Assault mechs from the ORIGINAL games.. this experience is nothing like the original. The Original Assault class crushed pretty much anything that got close to it, and in a unmatched situation (3 against 1) would dish out a lot of pain before choking... here I barely rake up 100 damage before being toasted.

[_____]

In the offline MW games you're facing small groups of mechs on open maps with little cover. In MWO, cover is everywhere. The abundance of cover means that your low slung weapons are less useful than the same exact weapon on a CTF 3D for example. For the enemy group size, if you move to the wrong place, you're potentially facing 6 or more enemy mechs at the same time. Your armor means nothing if you failed to follow a reasonably sized group and bumped into half the enemy team.

Bottom line is, you simply cannot play an assault mech in MWO as an assault mech in MW3, 4, etc.

Side note, I think there should be at least one or two maps where there's minimal cover which would more closely resemble real battlefields in history.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

Thing is... you can't... when your own damn lance runs off and as the Atlas you're slowly trying to keep up..

they all leave you alone to get ******, then you say thanks, and they're like it's your own fault for not sticking with the group!

how the **** can you stick if they just run off... and why bother playing a support build when no one is going to assist you when you ask for it...

this game got on my nerves tonight...

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

I have played this game for about 6 months now and still i am a TERRIBLE assault mech pilot,and trust me i have tried.

There is a solid reason why experienced players recommend hunchback or quickdraw 5k as a first bought mech,THEY ARE MANOEUVRABLE,not the slow lumbering mountains of murder but nimble and agile and still pack a solid punch.