27 replies to this topic

[Josef Nader]

Widowmaker1981, on 16 October 2014 - 01:20 AM, said:

This obviously does not apply to Clans, since you cannot choose engine size (and is why the Man’O’War will probably be DOA, a 400 engine in an 80 ton mech is daft)

While I agree with everything above this, I'd like to point out that the Gargoyle will allow Clan-only teams to field 3/3/3/3 teams that have a minimum speed of 89.1 kph. The heavies and assaults will be keeping pace with each other, and moving at the speed of IS medium mechs.

The Gargoyle might not have stellar hard points or a lot of weight to play with, but it has plenty of energy points and the cERMLas is only 1 ton, and the cERLLas is only 4 tons. Running a bit light on guns might be worth it if it means that competitive teams don't have 3 assaults acting like dragging anchors to the team's maneuvering capabilities.

[ImperialKnight]

Kodyn, on 13 October 2014 - 03:18 PM, said:

So I'm looking for some experienced opinions on various IS assaults. I've piloted several, have several yet to try, and am overall underwhelmed thus far by any of their performances.

For perspective, I mainly pilot heavies and mediums(SHD, CTF, K2), so in an assault, I'm really looking for several key features which would cause me to pilot one over a heavy or med. 1-Endurance: This means staying power, damage absorption, usefulness late match, etc. 2-Firepower: How much raw alpha, or DoT is the chassis capable of, and 3-Mobility: How well it can get around the battlefield and effectively apply it's firepower.

So far with assaults, I haven not found any one line that seems to really excite me, nor do anything I can't do better in a heavy. I've been on the fence about what sort of assault to focus on, as in, the tanks, such as STK, BNC, Atlas, etc, or the ones that try to be more like a heavy, such as Victor, Awesome, and HGN. The tanks don't seem to absorb quite as much damage as I'd like, and tend to be focused very heavily the moment they're seen, thus making them a bit pointless to me. As for the others, I've yet to go down the Victor path, since the nerfs, plus I'm a bit leery of having so much firepower in large, easily destroyed arms. I have a HGN-733C that I enjoy immensely some matches, but others I just get focused and stomped before I even have a chance to apply dps. Same thing happened to me in BLRs, they're so tall, once you're committed, you're committed, and if your team backs off and leaves you, you're paper.

At first I really didn't like slower assaults, didn't like being at the mercy of my team when it came to positioning, fending off lights, etc, but I'm also wary of trying to play an assault like a lighter mech.

I'm very willing to admit that a large portion of my issues likely stem from simply too little time in assaults vs. other weight classes, but would really like some opinions on various IS assaults that others have had great success with.

Basically I just want your opinions and stories about the IS assaults that you've done the best in, consistently, and get the most out of daily. In an assault, I'm personally looking for real staying power, and more firepower than I could cram into a smaller mech, so I'm hoping that by reading some opinions and experiences I can get some inspiration of where to go with this weight class from here.

I can already guess two people that will come in lauding the Wubshee, and tbh Banshees do intrigue me, but I want to hear how you guys handle them being built like a mountain, how you do on heat, etc, for them and other assaults.

So in the long run, please let your opinions run rampant, be honest about what you love/hate about whichever assault, and in advance, thank you for your opinions.

The things you're asking for are kind of contradictory. And if you really want mobility, nothing beats the Victor. There's a reason why it was THE competitive Assault mech post Highlander nerf.

Firepower and tankiness means tonnage and that usually means slow. Stalkers and Atlas are great tanks. The Banshee is less tanky but packs more firepower

[Summon3r]

id wait for the Nov 7 patch when they implement the quirk sweep, could make some mechs that arent so hot suddenly very hot apart from that im JJ bias so victors and highlanders which also may benefit a little from the JJ changes coming on the 21st.... or of course u could save your c-bills for the king crab

[BigFatGator]

My experience is mainly with Highlanders, I've also tried to run Stalkers but am far less effective with them. I'd say try a few, see what works for you. 'm a pretty average pilot, but aside from the occasional roll or brainfart I can get a couple kills and 350-500DMG pretty regularly running a HGN, with 600-900DMG matches about 25% of the time. I consistently get more damage and kills with the HGN than I do my favorite Heavy, a JM6-S (2AC10,4ML).

JJ's on the Highlander help some, although they are far less effective than they used to be. The 2T weight makes it worth having one for getting over small obstacles and jumping up that last 5m onto a ledge on Canyon or River City. More than that isn't really worth it IMHO unless you are running both XL325 and Endo, have your weapon hardpoints filled and need to weight it out. The XL engine isn't horrible with a HGN but the benefit is lower than you'd think because with the STD you can run Endo pretty easily, but with the XL you'll run out of crit slots before you weight out the mech unless you load up on the JJs- there are a couple builds that are exceptions to this but in general the XL is doable but not as useful as you might think.

I really like a 3-weapon mixed loadout with ballistics handing the longer range and SRMs and MLs to eat up targets at short range, with the ballistics giving heat breaks to the SRM's and ML's when needed. So I run things like Gauss,2ML,4SRM6 or 2UAC5,2ML,3SRM6- all with STD300 engine. FWIW I also run Shadowhawk 2D2 with similar loadouts like UAC5,2ML,4SRM4 so I'm comfortable managing three weapon groups. If this isn't your cup of tea, then you'll hate Highlanders (Victors too).

Banshees and Stalkers can make some great 2-button builds if that is more comfortable for you and you can manage the heat.

[Macksheen]

So, tried leveling my Highlanders again. While I expect the Victors to be fun again, my Highlanders are way too sluggish. I'm going to basic a few, but then mothball them I think. From an IS perspective, I tend to still run my Atlas (because Atlas), Stalkers (because they are actually good) and Awesomes (because everything is awesome!).

I'm not inclined to try the Banshee, but I will roll out a BLR at some point.

[InspectorG]

Well, i suck at Assaults. I main lights and mediums.

That being said, i do ok in Banshees.

A. you can build them cheap, like Fantastic Tuesday:



B. The E is the Dakka Boat of Dakka dreams.

C. Need speed(hahaha), XL400. Handles almost like a slow medium...

D. WUBSHEE, if you never Wubbed, you never truly lived!

[Lucky Noob]

Durability, Firepower, Speed.

you need to be Awesome, but this is what you look for.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f9dc6981f3cf06f

Dont laugh, this 90 km/h Mech has an insane Torsotwist Speed, Sprinkling Hits all over his different Hitboxes shoud be no Problem.
He has quite an Punch, Lurking out of Cover and quick back in is no problem for this Agile Athlet.
His Arm Mounted Weapons alow you to easy cicle any Assault and unload your Power even behind you ( 200 Degree Torsotwist)
Heat Management is no problem for that Gazelle on the Field. 17 Doubels serve you well.
with his xl 400 he is fast, has an insane trosotwistspeed and 6 internal Heatsinks.

I hear the crys.. ahh an XL.... but for an Awesome Pilot Torsotwist in blink of an Eye is like Breathing. He just does it.

So maybe you give him an Try.

[Sam Slade]

Atlas DDC is just death on legs... in fact any Atlas is fearsome if the pilot is even moderately skilled, particularly when it comes to battlefield awareness/timing(STD325 minimum still gets epic damage potential)

Stalkers have always felt too slow... get even a HB4G in their rear quarter and they are history: Stalker rule seems to be get the drop on your opponent or get hammered.

Banshee doesn't seem to have the staying power(mainly hit boxes, heat and mobility depending on enemy) to out do an Atlas or a Victor(assumes nerf rollback)... probably even the Highlander if the JJ buff works out... also that great big head just seems so easy to hit from a range of positions. The arms are a good shield but they also limit your field of fire... a very serious impediment in a cover rich environment.

Highlander pre-JJ nerf was an AC20/ASRM6/MedLas terror(well worth the STD325 up engine and max JJ)... very sustainable Alpha Strikes and the mobility to put it where you wanted it to be... all up in the air until quirks and JJ changes are done: suggest avoiding HGH until post-change.

Battlemasters I just hated... can't give anything constructive... just hated their heat curve.

Victor: stock configuration is more dangerous then a pimped out 'most mechs'... Godzilla and the Energizer Bunny had a love child then rammed a super atomic potato cannon on its arm... love it.(post nerf fix I'm renaming mine Ahab).

Edited by Sam Slade, 18 October 2014 - 09:39 AM.