21 replies to this topic

[WinnieTheWhor]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f7da46ec80ea675

2 ER Large, 2 Ultra AC/5, 3 Streak SRM2.

Weapons for all ranges. High damage, high sustained damage AND high alpha strike. The catch all mech.

I want to clarify something before you purchase an atlas though.

The problem with playing a fat mech like the atlas is your speed. You cannot run away. The your success is based wholly on your ability to position yourself well in a fight. Do not charge in, do not assume you can take a fight.

Let the enemy come to you, or wait for them to be close enough that you breaking that ridge means the first person you see dies when your team follows you over.

[Ravennus]

That's similar to my build, except I went with normal Large Lasers (MUCH better on heat and the extra range just wasn't worth it most of the time) and a faster engine (330).

I also have an extra ton of ammo for the Ultra AC5s, since they use so much.

I see you use CASE, which is fine, though if you better distribute your ammo you don't really need it.


I just love this build though, and the SSRMs are surprisingly effective even against larger targets.
Though I'm referring to the level they were at before the last patch busted all the missile damage, and then the hotfix busted them the other way and made them hit like pebbles.
Hopefully in a couple weeks we'll have a proper fix and they'll be balanced again.

[BertyBargo]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...578974b5d1d4493
Boom. Fixed.

Drop case, put the srm ammo in the arms (since it doesnt make sense to shoot an atlas' arms off, just blast the torso out to destroy two hardpoints in one) and drop leg armor to 49. Thats 1 extra ton for uac ammo. You can put it in with the guns because ammo that is housed in the same place as its weapon gets used first.

[MisterPlanetarian]

Boom. Fixed.

If you can position yourself don't need alot of rear torso armor.

[StalaggtIKE]

BertyBargo, on 24 March 2013 - 10:47 AM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...578974b5d1d4493
Boom. Fixed.

Drop case, put the srm ammo in the arms (since it doesnt make sense to shoot an atlas' arms off, just blast the torso out to destroy two hardpoints in one) and drop leg armor to 49. Thats 1 extra ton for uac ammo.

Your ammo allocation makes this build a bit of a death trap. Most people go for the RT on the Atlas, thus this would set off your ammo causing you to lose your RA as well. At this point you're running around with 5 tons of dead weight and a severely damaged mech.

Quote

You can put it in with the guns because ammo that is housed in the same place as its weapon gets used first.

No. The proper order is: HD --> CT --> RT --> LT--> LA --> RA--> LL--> RL. Also since Streaks require a lock-on before being fired, they naturally burn through ammo much slower than most weapons, so you would likely have ammo in your lightest armored area, the arms. Keep in mind ammo explosion damage is calculated by whatever is left over. I suggest placing the streaks in the legs; one in each, to minimize the impact of such an explosion. Keep in mind ammo explosions travel up from the legs to LT/RT, so C.A.S.E is a safe bet. Better to be safe than sorry.

Instead I recommend the following placement: AS7 D-DC. You only lose 25 UAC5 shots, for greater survivability.


Source: [GUIDE] AMMO DEPLETING PRIORITIES OR IN WHAT ORDER IS YOUR AMMO BEING USED

Edited by StalaggtIKE, 24 March 2013 - 11:19 AM.

[Ravennus]

BertyBargo, on 24 March 2013 - 10:47 AM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...578974b5d1d4493
Boom. Fixed.

Drop case, put the srm ammo in the arms (since it doesnt make sense to shoot an atlas' arms off, just blast the torso out to destroy two hardpoints in one) and drop leg armor to 49. Thats 1 extra ton for uac ammo. You can put it in with the guns because ammo that is housed in the same place as its weapon gets used first.

Actually it doesn't work like that. All ammo gets used in the exact same pattern. There is a great post around here about it...

http://mwomercs.com/...mmo-being-used/

Basically... HD --> CT --> RT --> LT--> LA --> RA--> LL--> RL


Also, if you are piloting the Atlas correctly... you are trying to torso twist to distribute damage, especially by using your arms as giant shields. Any good Atlas pilot should tell you that if you are doing your job, then you should lose the arm long before losing the side torso.
Not to mention that you CAN die from ammo explosions in the arms when it is destroyed by a side torso getting taken out. It happened to me before I learned to better setup my ammo locations.


Personally, I prefer using a much faster engine and then using Endo Steel to make up the tonnage.
You end up with 1 less DHS, but the better speed and maneuverability more than make up for it.

[ElLocoMarko]

Ravennus, on 24 March 2013 - 11:17 AM, said:

..
Not to mention that you CAN die from ammo explosions in the arms when it is destroyed by a side torso getting taken out. It happened to me before I learned to better setup my ammo locations.
...

I put extra ammo in my arms all the time and loss of a limb does not auto-trigger an ammo explosion. If losing a side torso causes ammo explosion in the arm then you should report that as a bug... get a movie of it if you can.

[Ravennus]

I might as well share my personal build, because I'm cool like that. AS7-D-DC

At first glance, the 2 tons of UAC5 ammo in the RT looks like trouble, but it actually isn't.
That ammo will be used first when firing the 2x UAC5s, and it will go fast.
Even IF you are taking damage to that RT early on in the match, it is FAR more likely that the fat UAC5 crit slots will absorb most of the damage instead of the ammo.
And if you are getting your RT blown right in the beginning of the match, especially before you have used 2 tons of UAC5 ammo.... well, I'm sorry but you are doing it wrong.

The 3rd ton of UAC5 ammo gets used next in the LT, and similar to the RT, there are a lot of other things packed in there (3x SSRM3, 2 x DHS) to absorb crit damage.

The final 3 tons of UAC5 ammo is in the legs, where it should be. That is 75 shots of UAC5, which you should be down to when things get really up close and messy.
Speaking of the legs... 41 armor seems low, but I've yet to be legged in my DDC if I wasn't already missing both arms and likely side torsos.

The streak ammo is safe and sound in the head and right leg.
Just FYI, the right leg is that last place that ammo gets taken from, so it's always good to store the last ton or two of ammo there.
In this case, if I'm in a long match and have used most of my UAC5 and Streak ammo... the last tons of ammo aren't distributed (and vulnerable) all over the mech. Just the right leg.
The head is also great for this, but only if you have something that only takes 1 ton of ammo. When I use AMS, this is usually the perfect spot (unless the head hitbox is really big).

Finally, the 2 arms are free and clear and with maxed out armor. At 68 points, each arm has more armor than most other mech's centre torso, so make sure to use that to your advantage and you will last MUCH longer.

Hope this helps.

[Ravennus]

ElLocoMarko, on 24 March 2013 - 11:24 AM, said:

I put extra ammo in my arms all the time and loss of a limb does not auto-trigger an ammo explosion. If losing a side torso causes ammo explosion in the arm then you should report that as a bug... get a movie of it if you can.

Not a bug. Working as intended according to damage transfer rules.
You are likely getting ammo explosions and don't realize it. Also, ammo gets drawn from the arms in high priority, so you may have used that ammo up before you lost the arm or side torso.
Even if you didn't, an ammo explosion doesn't always guarantee death. You likely just took some damage to your side torso internals but kept on trucking if a lot of the ammo was used.

But I can guarantee I've had a CT blown out from ammo explosion damage transferring all the way from a blown arm on my Atlas.
I used to put a lot more ammo in the arms, but after a 6 PPC stalker took my arm off in the beginning of a match and I was cored, I stopped doing that. The ragdoll and damage history was quite clear. I still had lots of armor on my side torso and CT, but I had 2 tons of UAC5 ammo and 1 ton of SSRM2 ammo that blew and transferred all the way to my CT and cored me.

Edited by Ravennus, 24 March 2013 - 11:37 AM.

[Smk]

My atlas is similar. I run 2 LL, 2 UAC 5, and 3 SRM4s with a 325 std engine. I drop the case for an additional ton of SRM ammo. I find if you position it correctly it's an aboslute beast. I have a 10 to 1 k/d ratio with it. It's just too good at everything.

[WinnieTheWhor]

I've never taken damage from an ammo explosion (because of ammo locations and case) and the only game I've used up all of my ammo I did 1141 damage. With the changes to LRMs and SSRMs, you do occasional lose arms while torso twisting to avoid damage.


If you run out of ammo with your UAC5s, you're either missing them or firing them at too long of range. Use the ER Larges instead of your UAC Ammo.

The ER Larges do not over heat you unless you're firing them in close range over and over again.

You always need rear torso armor. The last thing you want is a raven or something to slam into your model and damage your center torso rear because you don't have a wall to back into.

[Lord Ikka]

Two ERPPCs, a gauss, and three streaks is how I run mine. I don't like the jamming of the ultras, but the build you've got is pretty good.

[Ravennus]

WinnieTheWhor, on 24 March 2013 - 08:37 PM, said:

I've never taken damage from an ammo explosion (because of ammo locations and case) and the only game I've used up all of my ammo I did 1141 damage. With the changes to LRMs and SSRMs, you do occasional lose arms while torso twisting to avoid damage.


If you run out of ammo with your UAC5s, you're either missing them or firing them at too long of range. Use the ER Larges instead of your UAC Ammo.

The ER Larges do not over heat you unless you're firing them in close range over and over again.

You always need rear torso armor. The last thing you want is a raven or something to slam into your model and damage your center torso rear because you don't have a wall to back into.

First, they "hotfixed" missile damage because they broke it in the last patch... missiles now hit like pebbles.
2nd, CASE does not prevent ammo explosions. It just prevents the damage from the explosion from transferring into your centre torso.

As far as ER Lasers... you DO want to fire your lasers up close as well as far away, and the crazy heat increase for ER Lasers makes this impossible.

Rear armor is good, but don't overdo it. This is why a higher engine rating is better, but you can also learn to kick your mech into reverse and turn into the direction faster mechs are coming in when they try to circle strafe you.
In my 53 kph DDC, I've actually been able to keep a Raven from getting behind me this way, and it's a rare enough skill that many people don't know how to deal with it.

Remember, you still want high front armor because you need to stay on target longer to really get that good UAC5 DPS.

[Sh4dow78]

and why not like this ?

AS7-D-DC why not like this ?

[NotEnoughDakkaDakka]

Well, I have been legging a lot of Fatlases using low leg armor... buff that up if you want to live, bros!

[WinnieTheWhor]

Ravennus, on 25 March 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

First, they "hotfixed" missile damage because they broke it in the last patch... missiles now hit like pebbles.
2nd, CASE does not prevent ammo explosions. It just prevents the damage from the explosion from transferring into your centre torso.

As far as ER Lasers... you DO want to fire your lasers up close as well as far away, and the crazy heat increase for ER Lasers makes this impossible.

Rear armor is good, but don't overdo it. This is why a higher engine rating is better, but you can also learn to kick your mech into reverse and turn into the direction faster mechs are coming in when they try to circle strafe you.
In my 53 kph DDC, I've actually been able to keep a Raven from getting behind me this way, and it's a rare enough skill that many people don't know how to deal with it.

Remember, you still want high front armor because you need to stay on target longer to really get that good UAC5 DPS.

Case does not just prevent ammo explosion from damaging the CT. If you take a critical to an ammo attached to case, it ejects the arm instead of damaging the compartment it's in and the compartments around it.

Also, learn to manage your heat or master your atlases already. If two ER Larges is overheating you, you're doing it wrong.

[Mokou]

Quote

AND high alpha strike

Pffffff

[WinnieTheWhor]

Mokou, on 25 March 2013 - 09:41 AM, said:

Pffffff

LRM boats need not apply.

[Ravennus]

WinnieTheWhor, on 25 March 2013 - 09:35 AM, said:

Case does not just prevent ammo explosion from damaging the CT. If you take a critical to an ammo attached to case, it ejects the arm instead of damaging the compartment it's in and the compartments around it.

Also, learn to manage your heat or master your atlases already. If two ER Larges is overheating you, you're doing it wrong.

I manage my heat just fine thanks. I just prefer having vastly superior sustained DPS at range and up close, which you lose out on with all the extra heat from ER Lasers.
Top range for LLAS is already 450, but it still does great damage past that. It is rare that you really have the opportunity to sit back and fire at things THAT far away that an ER laser would really make a difference.

Actually, let me clarify... if you are in a fully armored Atlas and spending THAT much time in the back lines firing at 600+ meters, then you shouldn't be playing an Atlas. There comes a time in every game when your big fat armored arse WILL be appreciated.... nay, needed.... on the front lines.


As for CASE... what the hell are you talking about?
"Ejects the arm"? What?

Where are you getting that from?

In this game called Mechwarrior Online, this is not how CASE works.
Perhaps you were confusing this game with Tabletop, or a previous Mechwarrior game? Or perhaps Clan CASE, which can be installed in the arms?

In MWO, CASE does not "eject an arm".
It simply prevents ammo explosion damage from transferring to the centre torso from the side torso it happens to be installed in.
This does NOTHING to prevent ammo exploding in an arm. It can and will explode, take the arm with it, then likely severely damage or destroy the side torso attached to it as the ammo explosion damage travels to it.

However, there is still a minor benefit to CASE in this case.
It still prevents any leftover damage from traveling through that side torso to your centre torso.
So if you stored a lot of ammo in that arm, and it all lit up and destroyed the arm and side torso with explosion damage left over... it wouldn't then continue on to your CT. The case would prevent that.

Those are the mechanics of the game.


Side note: Some of us have tried to help you here, and even fine tune your build. I think most of us have been constructive and even encouraging. If you can't take constructive criticism, then I'm not sure why you posted your build.
Perhaps you thought it was the absolute best build possible, and so considered it very precious to you. If so... well, now you know better next time.

Edited by Ravennus, 25 March 2013 - 05:22 PM.

[WinnieTheWhor]

Ravennus, on 25 March 2013 - 05:07 PM, said:

Side note: Some of us have tried to help you here, and even fine tune your build. I think most of us have been constructive and even encouraging. If you can't take constructive criticism, then I'm not sure why you posted your build.
Perhaps you thought it was the absolute best build possible, and so considered it very precious to you. If so... well, now you know better next time.

I didn't realize that you considered yourself so high and mighty. If you all you're going to do is point out someone elses mistakes, don't post.