36 replies to this topic

[Cat Kalasa]

Howdy,

Looking at buying my first assault here after Mechtoberfest is over. I play primarily lights and mediums, as I prefer speed and agility over tanking damage.

Any recommendations on mechs? Or tips for non assault pilots?

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Well, the Battlemaster can equip upto a XL400 while also being light in the assault class allowing for it to be pretty agile for the weight class.

The BLR-2C has some pretty good structure quirks so it can take some punishment, but remember, if you run an XL engine, you really need to make sure you twist off damage!

Please remember the 400 rating engines are quite heavy, so you sacrifice a lot of firepower to equip such a large engine. You dont loose too much speed if you lower the rating a little, so play with the mechlab until before you purchase the engine and find that sweet spot. Every 5 rating really jumps up your available tonnage- so a lot of people shrink down to a 385 (which is still pretty agile).

Remember you have high mounted energy hard points in the side torsos! But since you run an XL engine, you have to aggressively play defensive... I recommend racing to strategic positions, and then hill humping- bearly poking out your laser mounts and keeping overwatch. Blast incoming enemies, then hiding back into safety! The beginning portion of the drop is very key so make sure to take advantage!

Because of this, I recommend sporting at least 3 large class lasers (either LPL, LL or erLL).

On an ending note: remember, you are on the light spectrum of the assault class so dont take heavier mechs on head on without a game plan! A perfect example is the dakka kdk-3, do not solo face tank this mech out in the open, it will shred you alive! Do not let atlases or dire wolves close in on you.

Edited by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, 16 October 2016 - 08:19 AM.

[Metus regem]

CatGalaxy, on 16 October 2016 - 07:44 AM, said:

Howdy,

Looking at buying my first assault here after Mechtoberfest is over. I play primarily lights and mediums, as I prefer speed and agility over tanking damage.

Any recommendations on mechs? Or tips for non assault pilots?

I'd suggest something quick and agile then... The Battlemaster is a good choice, it can be very fast with a lot of fire power (IS-XL engine), very fast and a very tanky (Standard Engine) or tanky with a lot of fire power (Standard Engine). Clan side I'd look at the Warhawk, surprisingly agile, with decent fire power, though often critical locations starved, also the Kodiak, with a large c-XL engine it's everything you could want.

[WobblyShooter]

As a fellow light jock, my assault of choice is the battlemaster 2c. i put an 400 xl engine and 4 er large lasers and the rest heatsinks. goes 82kph once elited and shields like a champion. the 2c has huge structure quirks that help with the xl engine quite a bit.

[Hunka Junk]

KDK 3

[Spangle]

+1 for the battlemaster

But I have yet to drop in my Kodiak's...

[Warspawn]

Go with the Battlemaster. As others have mentioned, it can mount a variety of weapons (one makes an excellent self-tagging LRM platform), is agile, and can soak up hits and keep in the fight.

I was in your shoes as well, playing mostly mediums and heavies; the transition to an assault with the Battlemaster was easy. Next...I'm waiting for the Marauder IIC

[Alreadythere]

Kodiak with 400cXL is pretty mobile, and KDK-3 is close to unbeatable.
Battlemaster with 400XL is more mobile, but also more fragile and with less firepower. Coming from lights and mediums it might be easier to acclimate.

Just one side-note: Kodiak all have 400cXLs and Endo-Steel on delivery. On the Battlemasters you'll have to buy the reactor and in most cases upgrade the structure.

PS: The Spirit Bear is even more mobile than any Battlemaster can be thanks to MASC, but it costs a hefty amount of dollars.

Edited by Alreadythere, 16 October 2016 - 10:46 AM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Battlemaster 2C with a big XL gets my vote. It plays almost like a Warhammer.

Alreadythere, on 16 October 2016 - 10:46 AM, said:

PS: The Spirit Bear is even more mobile than any Battlemaster can be thanks to MASC, but it costs a hefty amount of dollars.

not on a sustainable level.
Straight line speed is not the only metric when it comes to mobility.

[POOTYTANGASAUR]

Battlemaster, banshee, gargoyle.

Run huge xl, spam lasers.

[Exard3k]

Warhawk

[Cat Kalasa]

I was also leaning towards the Kodiak 3. I've seen a few with 4x UAC10s that can destroy anything. The 2 UAC10s in my hunchback IIC are close to unstoppable, so 4 has got to be like playing on easy mode.

[Tarl Cabot]

CatGalaxy, on 16 October 2016 - 03:13 PM, said:

I was also leaning towards the Kodiak 3. I've seen a few with 4x UAC10s that can destroy anything. The 2 UAC10s in my hunchback IIC are close to unstoppable, so 4 has got to be like playing on easy mode.

The other thing to consider is in a kodiak, you become a primary target more times than not. Something to consider.

Edited by Tarl Cabot, 16 October 2016 - 03:26 PM.

[VonBruinwald]

I'm going to go against the grain here. ATLAS!

Go big or go home. You're a light pilot and you favour speed and agility. You'll get none of that in an Assault. Yeah, some assaults are more agile than others but if you try to pilot them like a light you'll fail. What's worse is you'll encourage bad habits by trying to rely on agility. Assaults lead the charge and are expected to take the brunt of the damage during a push. If you start hill-humping when everyone else charge in it'll be the light(er) 'mechs on your team that suffer first and you'll find yourself alone and out-gunned shortly afterwards.

As for my tips:

1st - Get in posistion
2nd - Tank and Agro

Assaults don't have the luxury of speed that allows them to reposition at will, as an assault pilot you need to commit. If you need to move positions know where you're going. You can't go wandering the battlefield looking for an ideal place, and when you're in position, open fire. You have the biggest guns, use them as much as possible. I'm not saying to stand out in the open but be prepared to take some hits. If there's a ridge, step up and shoot first, don't wait for the Hunchie by your side to go first, you can take the hits better than him. If you're going into a brawl, lead the charge, your armour will last twice as long as the Hunches.

As for why I picked the Atlas, it's the biggest tankiest 'mech in the game...

[Cat Kalasa]

^Well said!

[Leone]

For fast assualts, I'd suggest Zeus or Battlemaster for Inner Sphere, or mayhaps a good Gargoyle for Clan brawling.

As for tips and suggestions, I direct your attention Here.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 17 October 2016 - 12:02 AM.

[Flu-Epidemic]

Dude, for me, i still prefer the Stalker. Nothing strikes fear than seeing a walking ***** hammer you with PPCs **Aaah... the days of yore piloting Thor's Hammer** -- Not trolling, really love it!

To me this chassis besides the Battlemaster, you can load it to be multi-role, but assaults being assaults, you gotta be the tank, variants i enjoy playing are the 5M and the Misery! They run at 65+kph and teh AC20 and twin PPCs on my Misery just love to get in to the thick of it!

Battlemasters are also fun, but their profiles are a tad bit wide like the Awesome, and Atlas would be deadly.

[Sylonce]

As a non-assault mech pilot myself, I only just transitioned into a Stalker yesterday, and it has been a blast.

As the above poster said, it's multi-role. I thought about getting a Kodiak-3, but it felt a bit like cheating too much. The Stalker genuinely feels like an authentic battlemech that is mentally stimulating when you drive it. It's not all that OP, but it can take punishment when it needs to, and you can deck it out in a number of cool ways.

Edited by Sylonce, 16 October 2016 - 07:28 PM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Nothing against the Stalker, but it very much plays like a typical assault mech.

[Hunter Tseng]

Kodiak-3 bcoz it have its own propaganda video xD
https://youtu.be/2gBbxXVX6TA