Thanks Psy. Alright, this gives me a lot more to work with. Hold on, this is gonna be a long one.
Let me get my music playing....
...there we go.
Okay, first things first-
This is a Stalker. Stalkers are 85-ton assault 'mechs.
Assault 'mechs are the big bad boys of the battlefield. If you want something with loads of durability and the capacity for massive sizes or huge numbers of weapon, you go to assault 'mechs. Assault 'mechs are not agile, they are not fast, they are not small. Assault 'mechs are terrible at hiding and terrible at running- but they make excellent team anchors, drawing incoming fire away from smaller 'mechs that may not be able to handle it, providing pivotal points in the battle, and turning the tide where they decide to deposit their own incredible volumes of fire.
Stalkers are a specialized form of assault 'mech. Compared to other assault 'mechs, they have certain strengths and weaknesses that help to define their role.
We'll go over the weaknesses first, because it's easier to go from those to strengths; end on a high note, as it were.
The weaknesses of Stalkers are as follows:
- Stalkers have massive side torsos. The center torso is a strip barely wider than the cockpit running from top to bottom. This makes it incredibly easy to kill a Stalker with an XL engine.
- Stalker arms don't cover much of the side torso. The arms are little boxes on the sides, they're not going to protect you from fire coming at you from the left and right. Most people shooting at a Stalker are going to ignore the arms- while there are often a lot of weapons there, the side torso is usually barely any harder to take out, and it takes the arm with it.
- Stalkers have big fat stumpy legs. This makes the legs excellent targets for anyone looking to kill a Stalker, particularly if they suspect it of storing ammunition there.
- Stalkers have even worse horizontal motion than virtually any other assault 'mech. Their arms have no lower actuators, so they get no horizontal, and their twist range (outside of the 3F) is abysmal.
- Outside of the Misery, Stalkers have no ballistic hardpoints. Contrary to popular belief, this is really only a weakness in flexibility- ballistic weapons tend to be better for 'twitch' play, where it's about snapping off the right shot at the right time, but they're generally worse for players who are better at planning and smooth, steady motion, who can take advantage of the properties of lasers and missiles.
The strengths of Stalkers are as follows:
- Stalkers have squillions of weapon hardpoints spread all over the place. If you want to have lots of different weapons for lots of different purposes, this is one of the go-to 'mechs. It's hard to overfill a single location with weapons, because there are always other hardpoints you can put it in.
- Stalkers have very high arm energy weapon mounts. This lets them peek over hills with arm lasers and PPCs, making obstacles less of an issue than with some 'mechs.
- Stalkers have almost no center torso. This makes them incredibly difficult to actually kill with a standard engine- remember that once a location is destroyed incoming weapons fire that hits it is cut in half before transferring to the next location. Twisting your dead side into incoming fire can extend your life span- and hitting you dead center on the nose is hard to begin with.
- Stalkers have small bodies from the front or behind. Anyone trying to shoot at you who is looking you in the face is going to have a rougher time of it than with most assault 'mechs, because most of your height is leg, and you can lose one of those without losing any actual weapons. This makes them amazing in stand-up fights against other assault 'mechs, assuming the weapons loadout is right.
- The arms are small. People tend to ignore Stalker arms- this makes them relatively safe places to store ammunition, as they are unlikely to be shot. Enemies will go for your nose, trying to reduce your firepower as fast as possible.
- Missile bay doors. If you mount LRMs in the arms, you can close the doors when entering close combat, reducing incoming damage to the arms just to boost the resilience of your arm weapons. Also useful if you opt not to mount missiles in the arms, though there are very few reasons not to.
That said, you've chosen an assault 'mech with which to make a pure sniper. This is bad for a number of reasons. Basically it boils down to this- It's relatively safe to make a light 'mech into a pure sniper. They're fast enough to reposition and small enough to hide when they need to.
An assault 'mech that is a
pure sniper is like an assault 'mech that is a pure missile boat- it works only if you've got a team that works specifically with you.
By using your Stalker exclusively for the ERLL setup with a side of LRMs, you're making two large assumptions.
First of all, you're assuming all enemies will be far enough away that you can stay partly concealed and snipe at them. This is an especially dangerous assumption with a slow 'mech. The Stalker, being an Assault 'mech, is always slow. You can't escape.
Secondly, you're taking a head-on can't-ignore-it combat 'mech and assuming it will be a great choice for sniping and nothing else. This is a dangerous assumption because your opposite on the enemy team is very likely to be a faceful of gun sort of 'mech, and you're taking both your armor and your direct firepower potential away in exchange for doing a job that a smaller, faster 'mech could do more or less equally well.
That said, your assumptions can be validated to a point. Your build is not inherently
wrong. But it could be a lot better.
I can see that you're using the dual AMSes that are the only reason to take a 5S rather than a 3F Stalker. This is a very good thing- it means you're aware of the differences between Stalkers and are trying to take advantage of them when you can. Keep those AMSes.
I can also see that you've mounted maximum armor. If you're really dedicated to being a sniper above all else, this is not really necessary. If you want the Stalker to function like a Stalker, though, this is an excellent choice.
Let's look at your weapons too.
You have four ER Large Lasers and an LRM-15. I can understand what you're going for here. With four ERLL, you can keep up an absolutely constant stream of laser fire until you overheat, and the LRM keeps you active while behind cover. However, there are a number of issues with this.
The ghost heat cap for ERLL is 2. Firing more large lasers (of any kind) than that simultaneously spikes your heat- especially considering the ER model large laser is very noticeably hotter than the standard one. Additionally, with a burn time of 1.25 seconds and reload of 3.25, that fourth ERLL is only making up for .75 seconds of laser burn every cycle- not enough to be worth the weight, the extra heat on a unison strike, or the overall investment.
LRMs are an inferior support weapon in this instance, as well. You're in an assault 'mech and you're peeking as little of your 'mech as you can out of cover at any given moment. You shouldn't have to cower behind cover, and if you do need to take cover, you should use that time to reposition entirely so that you aren't where you just were a moment ago. On top of that, your supplement to your weapons that you're taking a massive heat increase on in order to shoot at long range is another weapon that is long range, but
can't shoot at short range.
What you need here is a short-range weapon to supplement your ERLLs so that you can actually do something when someone gets into your face without overheating and shutting down to become a pure target. Another long range weapon isn't going to help you noticeably.
Additionally, you're using Ferro-Fibrous armor. In exchange for that one ton it bought you (I checked) you're eating up 14 internal slots of space that could go to bulky useful things, like more heat sinks. As a general rule of thumb, Ferro-Fibrous should not be mounted in anything Heavy or Assault. There are exceptions, but get more practice at building 'mechs before you try to find them.
This use of Ferro is especially bad since you're saving one ton with it- and you have two tons plus of free weight not being used. Regardless of what you're doing with your 'mech,
spend all your weight if you get a chance. Not having Ferro on your original build alone would lead to having an additional heat sink for longer firing times and more burst capability.
With all of that in mind, there are two ways you can go from here- and here are the things I would do to go in those directions.
Build One: Laser Guidance
This build is a bit lighter armored, and caters to sniping and spotting for LRMs. After removing one ER Large Laser and the Ferro-Fibrous armor, there was quite a bit of tonnage and space to play around with. The first point of interest is the TAG replacing one of the ER Large Lasers. If you're spotting for LRMs, that's very useful, and since it's in the same high mount as one of the ER Larges, you can always use it alongside them. Anyone you're shooting for damage knows you're there anyways, so the blinky red light is hardly a hazard.
The increased ammo for the AMSes helps you stay alive if spotted for missiles while sniping, which leads to less time spent ducking and more time dakka (or rather, zap) ing at the enemy. I find that two tons is not quite enough for two AMSes, and while two and a half is as much as you'll usually need, that extra half a ton doesn't cost you anything.
For supplemental weapons, two medium lasers and a pair of SRM-4s are mounted in the side torsos. Medium lasers are a fundamental close-combat weapon. They're relatively heat efficient, they have good range, and they're small and light. No further explanation is needed there. For the missiles, I went with SRM-4s. Many people swear by the 6 with Artemis, or Streak 2s. I chose 4s for the best reason of all- efficiency. At two tons and one slot, they're vastly more heat and weight efficient than SRM-6s. The spread on a 4 is small enough not to need Artemis as well, and they fire faster to boot. Streak 2s are wasted on Stalkers- you really need lower arms for lock-on arm motion if you're going to get the most out of Streak racks. They can be used with Stalkers and other elbowless 'mechs, but it takes a lot of practice, and a lot of error (and a little trial). SRM-4s are also more ammo-efficient than 6s.
The remaining space is filled up with heat sinks and CASE. CASE is there on the off chance the ammo in the side torsos gets hit (or legs). Side torso ammo hits are rare with side torsos this full, but they do happen, and a ton that couldn't have been turned into a heat sink due to space issues is a tiny price to pay.
The increased number of heat sinks is enough to fire
all three ER Larges at full rate for half a minute before overheat, in the event you need the long-range firepower
right now. This is much better than spending five tons and generating extra heat to cover that tiny .75 second hole in your chain of fire every 3.25 seconds.
At the same time, they allow use of the close-combat weapons without the ER Larges for almost two minutes- for all intents and purposes, forever. If you throw in one of the ER Large Lasers for added firepower, you still get almost half a minute of maxed fire- long enough that either you're dead, or whatever you were shooting at is.
Also, have a look at the armor distribution here. Stalker side torso fronts are HUEG. Because of this, I predicated the armor forwards
really hard. Usually, I go for 1/4 to 1/3 of the armor for a location on the rear, just to ensure not losing to surprise rear-arc shots. However, in a Stalker, you can't turn and twist well enough to get anyone out of your rear arc. Either they're quick enough to stay there, as for a Light, Medium, or fast Heavy, or they've got so much firepower you're dead before you finish turning around, as with a heavily-armed Heavy or an Assault. Then again, if they do shoot you in the butt, they'll probably go for center torso to core you. Since Stalker CTs are narrow in front, that armor can afford to be distributed much more heavily towards the rear. Still, most of the armor by far is in front- because the Stalker is a 'mech for facing the enemy and smashing them.
Last of all, I put a Beagle Active Probe in. There was enough weight for it, and I almost subbed a DHS- but that would have left a ton floating around and CASE in only one side torso. But there's a reason for that, too.
As a sniper, you're probably going to be hiding way back in the back of allied ranks. This means two important things.
First, targets are really far away. The Beagle increases your sensor range from 800 to 1000 meters, so even if your allies can't see it, if you can, you have a better chance of locking it for missile bombardment. To boost this further, you could pick up the Sensor Range module and kick that 1000m up to 1200m, just so you can sensor almost as far as the ER lasers shoot. This will also help you with picking where on an enemy to shoot at.
Second, if something jumps you, it has a good chance of being an ECM light (or a pack of lights with one ECM light in it). Even if you can't get a good bead on it to shoot it, you can at least face it and lock onto it- and then your allies will be able to see that lock and piggyback off of it to LRM the target. Or at the very least they'll get the radar blip that tells them something was there and ambushed you (since there is no notification of an ally dying). Remember, team game.
There is, of course, another alternative.
Build Two: Underslung Smash Launcher
If you decide you're less in love with being a primarily sniping Stalker, but still want to be capable of it, this is the build to go with for the 5S.
Two ER Large Lasers is plenty of hurt at long range, and a heck of a lot cooler. They're still in the advantageous high arm mounts. You lose the 'constant stream of laser' capacity, but in exchange, you operate more like an actual sniper- shoot, duck, shoot, duck. The added benefit is you can fire full rate with the two lasers for absolutely ever with no issue. No heat issue at all. Duck only under fire.
This is actually deceptive of this Stalker- because the mainline fire power is the four medium lasers and two SRM-6es. I liken this to an underslung grenade launcher on a rifle because of how it works as well as the weapon positioning.
The Stalker is not now and not ever an agile 'mech. When driving a Stalker, you can take potshots at light 'mechs, but don't devote your whole firepower to it unless no other target is presenting itself. This is why these SRM-6 launchers have no Artemis. This is not a 'mech for precision strikes when in close range- it is a machine built to face other assaults in close range and bash them in the face. Precision is for those who can evade fire or at least rely on keeping all their weapons long enough to aim for that one perfect shot.
Endo steel has been removed for space considerations- between the sheer volume of 18 double heat sinks and the size of the twin SRM-6 launchers, there's simply no space to be had. Particularly not with ammo scattered everywhere.
Twin CASE makes its appearance again because sudden death is bad.
The engine is a tad smaller, but it's unlikely to be a noticeable difference at that point.
The legs are better armored, and so are the arms- this model is more likely to make it into close combat and stay there, in which case fire from all angles can be expected. The added armor is worth the trouble (especially with the leg ammo bins).
For both 'mechs:
The Stalker should not be driven like a 'true' sniper. It does not want to be off on its own hiding in a corner, peeking out and taking individual death shots at people. It is an assault 'mech that absorbs damage and can't dodge worth fish spit.
When you are sniping with a Stalker, whether it's the main purpose of the build or just one of its capabilities, you should be doing it from amongst your allies. Stalkers cannot cannot cannot handle being alone. The moment something leaves a solitary Stalker's field of view- in any direction- the game is over. Your protection against light 'mechs is other things that are capable of handling them.
These are things you can do with a Raven or even a snipe-equipped Medium or, in some cases, Heavy 'mech. None of these 'mechs are Stalkers, and Stalkers are none of these 'mechs.
The Stalker is a 'mech for seeking out your enemy and doing them harm. It is not a 'mech for protecting itself. Stay with your group, draw fire, and return it.
Well, that's an hour and a quarter gone. I hope this helped.
-QKD-CR0
Edited by Quickdraw Crobat, 22 September 2014 - 11:26 AM.
1
Psyrex, on 22 September 2014 - 04:36 AM, said:
