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Transitional Mechs


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#1 Walsung

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 04:42 PM

I have been playing for a few months now (besides a brief period in early beta which was unplayable due to latency) and am fairly competent in and enjoy my shd and rfl I also have the whm which i use to re inflate my ego after a bad match.

now I bought the kodiak and found that it is like starting the game again ie. I suck (funnily enough I find pugland easier then group cue, it's far more forgiving of mistakes and open play style)

Anyway my question is can anyone suggest good mechs to transition more gently to the assault class on one end and lights at the other?

my most active friend prefers playing clan so I should probably have a mixed stable.


side question in scout mode if you are mercs do you have to be running all clan/all IS or can you mix it up?

#2 S 0 L E N Y A

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 05:42 PM

Assualts are just tough period.
I suppose you could try some of the lighter models like the Gargoyle or Zeus, but they play much more like heavies and wont really teach you much about playing typical assault mechs.
I would say the smart thing would be just keep at it with the Kodiak. Maybe even watch some vids on people playing theirs.

For lights, start with one of the best models out there.
JennerIIc or Oxide, or Arctic Cheetah or Firestarter.


#3 SlightlyMobileTurret

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 05:53 PM

Get Banshees. The 3E is a really, really solid mech to learn the ropes -- it's rather slow, it can take a tremendous beating, it's got great mid range firepower (AC5/LL or AC5/PPC). Mine only goes 55, but I still run it once a while up here, it's great for C-bill grinding.

The 3M can do anything, and it's pretty fast with the bigger XLs. The LPL based builds are just out of the world in terms of performance. A definite must-keep

The 3S, it's a weird mech, you'll be shoe-horned into being ~63 kph thanks to the awful 345 cap, but it can pack a lot of firepower. It's no atlas or kodiak, but it can outbrawl anything smaller with no problem.

A word of warning: they have big CT -- they will FORCE you to torso twist well by the time you finish eliting them. Posted Image Posted Image

I won't tell you they're "tough" to play unless you're in T2/T1 -- this is where the NASCAR gets really bad. You need to be moving constantly in your assaults while your mediums/heaviesmight appear to be standing, they'll suddenly chase a squirrel and leave you behind in the dust Posted Image Sometimes, this constant repositioning might still fail when 3 lights decide you're their mid-morning snack and you're at the back of your team.

#4 Walsung

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 06:02 PM

thank you

i was think of an arctic cheater eventually for lights as I usually play with 3 of my friends on Sunday nights and we were looking at scouting, also I could run it with a narc because one of my friends is pretty bad with no situational awareness so maybe LRMs might work for him.

I had read the banshee was pretty solid and flexible it might forgive my mistakes better then the kodiak.

Edited by Walsung, 23 May 2016 - 06:12 PM.


#5 SlightlyMobileTurret

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 06:04 PM

Light wise, FS9/ACH/WLF are very forgiving, good hitboxes, energy weapons.

Jenners are okay, but the non-oxide variants won't be as easy to level since there's no structure quirks.

Personally started with Firestarters, I still don't do well in them compared to my favourite assaults, but averaging around 350-500 dmg in serious drops (group/CW).

Edited by Keshav Murali, 23 May 2016 - 06:05 PM.


#6 Wintersdark

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 06:16 PM

I had that sort of experience when I first started with assaults (back in early open beta)...

I'd been a fast-heavy(striker) pilot till that point, and I bought an Atlas. I went from doing pretty damn well to being utterly useless, because slow-assault play is VERY different from striker play. Where before I'd dart in, hit hard, then reposition before my opponents could respond, in and assault you can't do that. You always need a destination, and a destination after that, because you can't just start and stop or reverse: you accelerate so slowly that it gives your opponent's a perfect opportunity to hammer you.

So, how you transition is this: first, go with smaller engines on your heavies, get used to slightly lower speed and more guns. It removes an element of forgiveness, but gradually teaches you to deal with it. Then get a lighter assault, a faster one. Say, a Battlemaster - excellent chassis, quite agile and speedy. After you get good at that, stepping into a slow assault is a lot easier.

#7 Walsung

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 10:52 PM

thanks wintersdark it was kind of what i was thinking of, so glad to hear it worked for someone in a similar situation. So slow down my whm or a MAD and then try a battlemaster or banshee.

#8 Koniving

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 11:32 PM

Orion, war hammer...
Inner sphere 75 tonners used with standard engines.

Remember: positioning and awareness are everything in an assault.
And once you are committed there is no withdraw so it's succeed or die, there is no retreat.

#9 invernomuto

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Posted 23 May 2016 - 11:43 PM

View PostKoniving, on 23 May 2016 - 11:32 PM, said:

And once you are committed there is no withdraw so it's succeed or die, there is no retreat.


Unless in a Spirit Bear with M.A.S.C. :)

#10 The Basilisk

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 12:34 AM

Kodiak plays in most builds like a bigger Battlemaster.
Let the heavys and meds poke in the first Phase of the match and incinerate everything stupid enough folowing your lighter friends.
This means beeing very sensitive how near you have to cling to them.
As dedicated Assault pilot you have to incorporate on fact:
YOU ARE NO DAMAGE SPONGE YOU CANT TAKE MORE DMG THAN MOST 55 - 70T MECHS.
While there are Mechs seeming to be more resilient than others its largely a thing of geometry and somtimes quirks.
Genrally speaking Assaults can take lots of untargeted and poorly focused damage due to their large ammount of hitpoints.
But they are VERY vulnerable to focussed fire.
Your role is to dish out cruel brutal damage in splitseconds.
Or deliver continuous, punishing fusilades over time.
To be able to do this, your timing when and where you commit to battle is crucial.
But never ever run alone into the line of fire or let yourself be pressed into some idiotic tank role.
A typic successfull yourse of game maybe.
1) stick with your assault and slow heavy brethren and engage targets stupid enough to show themself but dont get lured away.
2) when you notice your enemy getting nervous or Splitting up communicate with your fellow assaults and tak downselected Targets. Or engage a selcted sector.
A Kodiak, a Stalker and a Marauder moving in line towards a certain Position can make ppl pee their pants.
3) now it takes some battlefield Intuition and knowing your mech. Wich team has taken more damage and got the softer mechs?
PUSH or get pushed.
When you got the feeling an enemy push is building up knot up, dont get focused always Show the enemy multiple firing Targets.

#11 Leone

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 01:47 AM

Well, for assaults, I have some suggestions, but I'm not sure how to transition from heavies, because I'm still trying to make heavies work for me. So far their my worst weight class.

As to lights? Well, my first light was the venerable Firestarter. But then I dove right on inna knife work and assassinations with it, so it wasn't much of a 'transitional' mech for me.

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 24 May 2016 - 01:50 AM.


#12 Wintersdark

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Posted 24 May 2016 - 09:14 AM

View PostKoniving, on 23 May 2016 - 11:32 PM, said:

And once you are committed there is no withdraw so it's succeed or die, there is no retreat.


This, a million times this.

And this leads to an important Assault tip:

It's easy to realise you've committed somewhere that isn't going to work out. You can't fix that. Don't try.

When you try, you just do nothing and die.

So instead, fight to the bitter end, and absorb as much fire as you can. Keep firing, push into them, keep twisting - you WILL die, but what you can do for yourself and your team is push out a little more damage, and force your opponents to use ammo, time, and heat to kill you - as much as possible. That's potential damage they can't do to your teammates. If you get close, right into them, they'll have to turn to keep firing on you, potentially giving teammates better firing angles and if nothing else making it take even longer for them to get a good shot at other teammates.

When you're playing a slow Assault, you don't get to make mistakes. Not any. But if you do (and you will), get as much out of that mistake as possible.

#13 Walsung

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Posted 25 May 2016 - 02:38 PM

thanks guys, looking at things the main things I am doing wrong are over committing while playing too aggressively and a few times I have put my mech at to much risk to support team mates who have (and I sympathize) made a positioning mistake.

In a fast heavy you can get there in time to give some support but in the assault you often just arrive in time to become a victim yourself.

the kodiak I am doing best in so far is actually the 2 which i have put a lrm 15 and i think now it might be for behavioral reasons as it gives me something to do in the opening phase without getting bored and going to hard to soon. Just have to be more patient I suppose.

#14 Poundcake

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Posted 25 May 2016 - 11:47 PM

I play an Atlas mostly. I agree with the guy earlier that said don't let people convince you that you're on the map to trash your mech so that they can move their mechs into position. I mostly just ignore this. Yes, sometimes you will have to wedge bust a stale mate but you'll have to get a feel for the timing on when to charge (make sure have your team around). With an assault you always want to be right in the middle of the fight if your team is brawling. DO NOT hang back, step right out into it and start pounding. You have to add your weight to the fighting because its that added weight that swings the fight in your teams favor. I see way too many assault pilots hangng back checking things out or poking when the fighting starts and trust me that can be the difference between a win and a loss. You get to the fight too late and you'll cost your team a win. Also don't chase lights and make sure you have a strong Alpha or you'll lose to lesser Mechs with high Alphas. You need to pack a punch. This applies to brawler assaults.

#15 ImperialKnight

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Posted 26 May 2016 - 04:36 AM

All the previous post points out that Assaults have very little room for error. Which is absolutely true. Positioning is the key, and knowing when and how to fight.

I think the Kodiak is as transitional an Assault mech you can get. A 100 tonner with a max speed of almost 70kph after speed tweak and still carrying enough firepower to make any other mech piss their gyros. You won't find a more forgiving Assault anywhere else.

You may also want to type something into chat before actually going in, so you have a better chance of the team following you instead of leaving you out to dry

#16 Lucius Dominus

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Posted 26 May 2016 - 07:49 AM

My first Assault mech was a Stalker. It moves like a pig when not unlocked, but there is a build possibility for just about any play style. Do not run XL engines in them though. Engine size of 295 STD at minimum.

#17 Koniving

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Posted 26 May 2016 - 08:18 AM

Somebody's on an alt.





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