448 replies to this topic

[Commander Kobold]

RockWolf, on 13 March 2013 - 01:33 AM, said:

Atlas pilots... I hate you. You stay in cover and wait. I shoot, I move and I keep the enemy busy.

Next time you run LRM's, I will team kill you. Your job is not stay at base and Lrm people. Its to smack the enemy and push their lines.

Please be useful for the team.

Sincerely yours,

A cataphract pilot.

you are of course aware that that's a reportable offense

[Jam the Bam]

To be honest while I agree with the OP in one sense he's not completely right, I think its more about your possibilities than 'SHOULD BRAWL'.

But what most Atlas pilots seem to forget is that the game is balanced by mechs mostly, so while you have an atlas sitting back in the buildings playing sniper in a big slow lump, a job which could be done much better by another mech, the other team ALSO has an atlas, and if that one is brawling away and wiping your team off the map, then the sniper brick which wont be able to move effectively to cover the correct angles like a proper sniper could is about as much use as a BRICK.

The point I'm making is you are the anchor for the team, so if we have an atlas and it sits at the back sniping, we lose a lot of HP up with the fight, which unbalances it in favour of the other team which will probably have an atlas that is willing to get close.


And for those of you who complained about dying, the point is that everyone dies, you just do it a lot slower so its a net gain for the TEAM who have that time to take out the enemy.

I'm not saying you have to actually get to point blank range but don't go hiding in the buildings pretending to be a catapult. Its a waste of a good mech.

[bqq]

Onmyoudo, on 13 March 2013 - 12:46 AM, said:

Did you get 600 damage? Great. Did you get 2 kills? Well done.

IMHO - if ANYONE did 600+ damage AND 2 kills - they did their job! Thats it! End of story!

I dont care how they did it. I pilot an Atlas a lot. And, believe me, they are not nearly as durable as you think. When I am with an eight man team - well, by all means - watch me lead the charge as I TRUST the people I am playing with. With Pugs... no way! I am playing a much smarter game! Now, that dont mean I wont lead a charge but it has to be when I am ready too - not you!

As for DDC Missle boats.. well, like I said earlier - the more damage and the more kills the better - I know when I play a DDC missle boat I regulalry get 600 damage and 2+ kills per game and you will NEVER convince me in doing so I caused the team to loose. (And my win/loss record will support that)

Last note - who do you think you are telling me how to play my game?!

[Jimmy Page]

You fell free to charge into the battle in your Atlas and be the first to die. I drive them and I use cover and win. Thanks.

[SgtMagor]

I pilot an Atlas D-DC, I try to support my Team the best I can. but its the worst mech to take into a brawl cause all it takes is 1 light mech to come behind you and kill you in seconds, every light mech pilot knows this. the way the Atlas was designed in MWO is hardly a bullet sponge when it comes to the rear of the mech, in fact I think most Atlas pilots die within seconds of a light mech barrage, because of it. and if you piloted an Atlas you would know that!...Atlas needs some serious buffing in the armor, or hit boxes in the rear of the mech to make this mech a brawling machine...

[Luciain]

I normally play a DDC Brawler, and I like to get into the enemy and mic it up but the one thing I've learned is it never lead the charge while in a PUG cause no-one will back you up. If you really wanna see an Atlas tank then roll and Atlas and try 20 drops as a tank. It is perhaps one of the most fustrating experiences in the game.

Lets sort one thing out, in most games a tank is someone who acts as a meatshield because they either have damage negating abilities, or health and armour far in excess of anyone else. That simply isn't the case in MWO. The Atlas may be the most armured mech available, but it can still be chewed to pieces very easily. It's armour is not by any definition in excess of anyone elses and it has no damage reduction abilities. What the Atlas does have is enough defense to be able to survive in a brawl while moving and shooting. This means he has to use cover and to duck and dodge. He can't hope to take fire from the whole enemy team, but one or two enemies or glancing blows me might be able to shrug off.

If this means your Hunchie or Cat gets damaged while your Atlas is playing smart that's the price of the game. It is unreasonable to expect Atlas pilots to act as tanks in this game without the ability to survive massive amounts of damage which they do not have.

In he end I have to agree with everyone one else who's said if an Atlas does 600+ damage and 2 kills then he's done exactly what his job is.

[El Bandito]

Dear non-Atlas pilots. If you are foolish enough to try to cross that open valley full of LRM boating enemies, then be my guest. Just because I have the most armor, it does not mean I should die in 5 seconds and the rest of you can die immediately after me.

Edited by El Bandito, 13 March 2013 - 03:10 AM.

[Training Instructor]

If the other team pushes as one, with their atlases leading the charge, they're going to win most of the time if your Atlases aren't up front to hammer them.

[Jam the Bam]

Why do people keep trying to persuade others than atlai die? We know that. Everything dies. Atlai just do it a lot slower. We know it has to duck and dodge. Again EVERYTHING has to. The atlas just doesn't die as fats if caught out. Its all relative to the next mech and in that sense the atlas is at the top of the chain.

Also those who said they keep dying by being attacked from behind. That's not an excuse, you have the ability to put your armour anywhere you want AND you have the most in the game.

What a lot of people would like to see I suppose is the atlas actually make use of those hit points.

[meteorol]

Onmyoudo, on 13 March 2013 - 12:46 AM, said:

An Atlas is a damage soak. It has the most armour, it has the most durability and in a lot of cases it has ECM. If you are not soaking damage, you are not doing your job.

I'm playing atlas only since closed beta( well, i stopped playing 3 weeks ago), mastered all variants.
Let me tell you this: Trying to soak up alot of damage( "tanking") will get you killed within few seconds.

Even with double armor, every mech which can't dodge damage is cored within a few seconds once the fire is focused on him.
The damage is just way to high to play the atlas as some kind of "tank". When it comes to survivability, dodging damage will keep you alive 10 times longer than soaking it up.

An Atlas can take ~160 center torso damage before being cored. A brawler DDC will dish out something like ~50 dmg alphas (real alpha is higher, but i assume the pilot will spread ~1/3 of the damage over left and right torso). 3 decently aimed alphas and you are basically cored.

If 2 or 3 mechs focus fire on an atlas, it will go down <10sec, even if the pilot is torsotwisting like a maniac.

You are right, an atlas standing 600 meters away from the rest of the team doing basically nothing is hurting his team.
But a dragon doing this hurts the team just as much.
A 100 kph dragon(or any similar mech), can make the enemy team miss alot of dmg by smart maneuvering, probably even more than the atlas could take to the face before going down.
A 60 dmg alpha hitting a house because it missed a fast mech is alot better for your team than a 60 dmg alpha hitting your atlas.

If the match is decided in a huge brawl, every mech standing around 600 meters away will hurt your team, because the damage the enemy team deals is split over less mechs. It doesn't really matter how heavy the missing mech is.

[Jam the Bam]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sense.

[Cole Allard]

Onmyoudo, on 13 March 2013 - 12:46 AM, said:

An Atlas is a damage soak. It has the most armour, it has the most durability and in a lot of cases it has ECM. If you are not soaking damage, you are not doing your job. Did you get 600 damage? Great. Did you get 2 kills? Well done. Did the rest of your team die because they got alpha struck to death while you were playing coy buggers in the buildings? Then you're next, bucko, and the game has been lost. If you're winning, then it's likely because someone else has been soaking up the damage that you should have been sharing.

Due to the nature of how MWO works, an Atlas is always needed on the front lines. Massive burst damage and concentrated fire can and will annihilate members of your team that, if able to actually fire their weapons (perhaps due to the enemy team instead firing at the large 100 ton behemoth striding towards them) will allow your team to do more damage overall than you alone can manage. 400 + 400 is better than the 600 you will do by yourself.

Your Atlas is not an LRM boat. Get a Catapult. Your Atlas is not a sniper. Get a Stalker. If you want to use those weapons, by all means do so - on your way towards the battle lines. Your mech is one of the most important in any game you play and you must use its strengths to help your team succeed. Because it is your team that is important - if you yourself get blown up with only 200 damage done, but succeed in drawing enough fire to let your team win the match, then your role has been fulfilled and you can congratulate yourself on a job well done. That is your purpose. Start doing it.



Disclaimer: a Stalker could also arguably fill this role, but for several obvious reasons is not as effective.

You Sir...are telling my job when I'm at the helm of my George W. ?

Well...just once, and only for you: Atlas builds are different. The Atlas is NOT a sole "Tank".

Lets take my D-DC for example? He is a brawler. Ac20, 3xSRM6, 2xmed laser. 250m is his loved range. Sometimes a little more, most of the time a little less.

How Do I play it? I play it patient! I do not run to the enemy, taking damage and arriving in range almost dead. No. I wait, covered by ECM for one of them to come close. If they dont get close, I advance in cover, still patient...until my moment has come.

And now, here you come, having the almighty solution for all us Pilots owning an Atlas?

Every match with PUGs has to be restarted at the beginning. There is no Solution to every match, each has to be played different. Flexibility is the key to success in every match. Flexibility and good timing.

[KinLuu]

Alistair Winter, on 13 March 2013 - 02:18 AM, said:

I think your strategy is too shallow. Let's say you're playing Caustic on Conquest, one team has Sigma, Epsilon and Theta, and they were first to get inside the caldera. The other team has Gamma, Kappa and they're on the other side of the ridge.

If neither team crosses the ridge to engage, the defending team (with three bases) win. If the attacking team (with two bases) moves around the caldera, they will have the lower position and so they'll have less cover to hide behind. The defending team can hide their legs behind the ridge, while the attacking team trying to flank them will be completely exposed, unless they take the long way around (e.g. 3-line) and lose a lot of points doing so.

This is why the caldera is so hot, to provide some balance between attacking and defending team. So if you're in the caldera, you have the advantage of cover, but you're more prone to overheating.

If the team has good communication and a skilled scout, they should have their scout telling the rest of their team where to cross the ridge, giving one team the benefit of attacking the other team's weakest spot. In that case, crossing the ridge isn't a bad thing, because you do more damage while the opposing team tries to adjust their positions.

I was not aware that caldera is referred to as ridge. I was mostly talking about Frozen City.

[Elizander]

If you want an Atlas to 'tank' for you then always stay behind it. If you run in front of it, they assume that you're good enough to handle yourself.

[Airwind]

i find atlas who hold back from the front lines and fire LRMs,annoying..

wonder if House Steiner approves.

[El Bandito]

It is a self evident truth that the RVN-3L is the best tank of them all in MWO.

Kinda like BETA Jax who stacked Phantom Dancers in LoL.

Edited by El Bandito, 13 March 2013 - 03:26 AM.

[Cest7]

OP wants more AtlasWarrior online?

[Acenan]

Cole Allard, on 13 March 2013 - 03:19 AM, said:

You Sir...are telling my job when I'm at the helm of my George W. ?

Well...just once, and only for you: Atlas builds are different. The Atlas is NOT a sole "Tank".

Lets take my D-DC for example? He is a brawler. Ac20, 3xSRM6, 2xmed laser. 250m is his loved range. Sometimes a little more, most of the time a little less.

How Do I play it? I play it patient! I do not run to the enemy, taking damage and arriving in range almost dead. No. I wait, covered by ECM for one of them to come close. If they dont get close, I advance in cover, still patient...until my moment has come.

And now, here you come, having the almighty solution for all us Pilots owning an Atlas?

Every match with PUGs has to be restarted at the beginning. There is no Solution to every match, each has to be played different. Flexibility is the key to success in every match. Flexibility and good timing.

Its a reason whay mye atlas D-DC is calld "Sneaky Gustav".
Always sneaking around, and yelling "SUPRISE" everytime a mech turns and sees me behind them... XD

[DeaconW]

It's been said by others, but...if you think there is a "tank" role in this game...you simply don't understand the game.

[Joseph Mallan]

Dear OP,
My Atlas has a top speed of under 70 Kph! If you move faster than that i cannot be your bullet sponge and you will die while I am closing with Gauss and &ER PPC blazing. A large wall of armor only works when you stay behind it! This means You have to slow down. To many times I die to massed fire, because my team of PUGs ran off and leave me alone & unguarded. So if you don't like us big boys not playing our role, Try filling it when the bulk of the team is 50% faster and 700+ M away!

I can't fix stupid.

Edited by Joseph Mallan, 13 March 2013 - 03:33 AM.