115 replies to this topic

[FerretGR]

Corwin Vickers, on 11 April 2013 - 07:24 AM, said:

My Stalkers all run 62kph. That's a 300 std. Seeing as how I'm frequently out in front I think it's pretty fast.

When I say fast I mean fast. I like lights, Cicadas, fast mediums (ie. the fast Cent and Treb), Catapults or Jagers with 300 engines and speed tweak (speed in the 80's), etc. It's all personal preference, but for me, 62 is a slog. Stalker shares the "walking through mud" issue that I have with Atlai

Edited by FerretGR, 11 April 2013 - 07:44 AM.

[MeiSooHaityu]

p00k, on 11 April 2013 - 06:07 AM, said:

lolwut?

2mlas 3srm6 ac20 isn't s specialized brawler?
4ppc 1gauss isn't a specialized sniper?

seriously, you people

Let me break it down for you. There isn't an Atlast that SPECIALIZES as an energy boat, or a missile boat, or a ballistic boat, etc... All Atlas mechs seem to have couple missile launchers, with 1 ballistic, and some energy. They seem to be small variations changes that have a little of all weapon type.

Understand now?

Corwin Vickers, on 11 April 2013 - 07:24 AM, said:

The stalker is quite long compared to the catapult. It's taller, wider etc... I think most of the mechs seem to be the right size for their tonnage.

Compared with the sheer amount of weapons the Stalker carries, it still seems too small to me. I suppose we just disagree *shrug*

[Steinar Bergstol]

I don't think there's really anything inherently wrong with the Atlas. It just does not suit every pilot. I, for example, am an absolutely horrid Atlas pilot. Even compared to my Stalker 3F (stock weapons loadout because I'm old and stubborn) I find it to feel sluggish and just "wrong". It puts me off my game compared to what I'm used to. My timing goes off (and my timing isn't much to brag about in the first place) and I just make mistakes I wouldn't make in my Stalker.

With that said I have seen other pilots do amazing stuff with Atlases, so just because _I_ personally don't like that particular mech doesn't make it a bad one, because obviously there are others who can utilize it to its full potential and be seriously scary in that massive mountain of armor.

Basically as a pilot you have to find what works for you personally, because we're not all suited to play the exact same way. The first and most important step to piloting well (or at least acceptably) is to be comfortable with your ride and the way it behaves.

[Khobai]

Atlases need more hardpoints.

PGI needs to add the Atlas-S, which is a canon variant available in 3050, which would have 4 energy, 4 missile, 1 ballistic.

[Kurayami]

Steinar Bergstol, on 11 April 2013 - 07:44 AM, said:

...

^ and that is why mechwarrior is great - mature community.

[Ph30nix]

i havnt tried a stalker outside of trial ones so thats not a good judge of the mech, but i just got a DDC and i consider it enjoyable.

i have the general opinion that firepower wise assaults are very lacking due to the current heat system, but ive started looking at my atlas as the Protection warrior from WoW lol.

[MeiSooHaityu]

Ph30nix, on 11 April 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

...but i just got a DDC and i consider it enjoyable.

The DDC with ECM can be really dangerous. I once turned a corner only to find the ECM Atlast with 2 other Assaults. I didn't live long LOL.

[Corvus Antaka]

your not doing it right.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Well I have to admit that I do find it early to kill an Altas than a Stalker due to the much smaller center torso area of the Stalker but we aren't talking apples and oranges difference here. I think the major issue is that they are two completely different mechs and while your playstyle is suited to one, it is not suited to the other.

From my point of view for example, I have always felt that the Atlas excells at a close range, in your face brawler while the Stalker is much better at long range stand off fights. This is partially due to the Altas being able to arm mount weapons which is a huge plus in close especially against smaller, faster mechs. Also arm mounted weapons actually allow you to engage enemies above of below you when your fighting on a hill.

Anyway, at the end of the day, they are just two different mechs. Also keep a eye out for the Highlander. I bought the Heavy Metal and absolutely do not regret it in the least. It is a excellent Assualt mech and I am strongly looking forward to the release of the standard, non-hero chassis. Arm mounted weapons for the win!!!

[hashinshin]

Third option: The stalker is much too small for 85 tons and is actually quite OP compared to the Atlas who is a nearly correctly sized behemoth.

[Rogue Jedi]

I have used both, stalker and atlas but compared to the other weight classes assaults just are not as much fun.

the stalker is faster due to it being lighter but if any assault comes up against a single fast Mech (anything lighter than 45 tons) one on one it usually looses. having enough firepower to kill a light in 2-3 shots is useless if you cannot hit the light

[Ransack]

p00k, on 11 April 2013 - 06:33 AM, said:

the lack of acceleration/deceleration/turn speed means once you push, with a 300std it's that much harder to de-commit. the lack of turn speed and torso twist makes it that much harder to shield torsos. the lack of speed gives snipers, depending on position, more free shots on you as you maneuver

don't want to sacrifice all that tonnage for a 350? at least take a 325. it's worth it for pretty much every atlas build except 4ppc+gauss where you simply don't have the tonnage

got ya. Thanks for the tip

[jeffsw6]

If you come up against 1 light in your assault-class mech and you have no teammates around, then either your team is dead, or they are not working together. That's the way this game works.

In other words: teamwork is over-powered. Use it.

[Heinreich]

Noobzorz, on 10 April 2013 - 06:52 PM, said:

Arm mounts suck. Suck hard. They fire from weird angles that seem like they should be unobstructed by cover, but wind up with you pouring laserfire into the top of the hill or the side of the slope you're standing on. Shoulder mounts are about a zillion times more useful.

I would have to respectfully disagree. On my atlasses they're quite useful for blowing the legs out from under ravens and spiders as they try to speed past. And with quad LLs on an RS you can circle strafe opponents to death from 500m away. And if you do it at maximum torso and arm twist your upper torso practically sideways to them so your CT profile is minimized, giving them a narrower profile to hit.

[Heinreich]

jeffsw6, on 11 April 2013 - 06:28 AM, said:

If you want to pop-tart, yes, a Stalker is better suited to that style of play than an Atlas. Pop-tarting in an Atlas is usually foolish.

On the other hand, slamming a pop tarter with quad LLs and a double shot of UAC/5 with my RS is quite the tasty treat

[Malora Sidewinder]

TexAss, on 11 April 2013 - 06:14 AM, said:

you know, some like to "BOOM" more than to "KSSS"

truth. i very much like to "boom" more than i like to "kiss."

[OneEyed Jack]

MisterFiveSeven, on 11 April 2013 - 03:35 AM, said:

It also may be this patch. The game is significantly more jumpy than it's ever been for me before, and I've never had the shot reg problems that I've been having recently.

Good to know it's not just me. So much warping and random fire delay.

[Byk]

I disagree with everything you've said OP. I love my founder's Atlas, and have none of the problems you've described. I do quite well in it, and I find Stalkers easy prey unless they're boating PPCs or Large Lasers.

[Sir Wulfrick]

MisterFiveSeven, on 10 April 2013 - 05:05 PM, said:

Having mastered the stalker, I expected the atlas to be bigger, slower, and have more firepower.

I was mistaken.

Its turning radius is abysmal. Its turning speed is worse. It has restrictive hard points. I can't stand its ridiculous gorilla arms turn every mole hill into complete cover for your target.

The way weapon balance has been tweaked means that you will always be able to carry more weapons than you can effectively use (think crits and double vs single hear sinks in the context of faster fire rates).

Moral of the story is that tweaks to the TT numbers have unintended consequences (I am not a zealot said please don't flame) and TT values are not perfectly balanced (no one ever customized a mech to carry 4 ac2's lol) but short of the ddc, the Atlas is worthless. The stalker is better in every way (hardpoints, mechanical response, heat efficiency).

What do you think?

You leave my beloved Atlas alone!

In all seriousness, yes the lower arms on the AS7 are a pain when it comes to firing over obstacles, however the torso range of motion is singificantly better on the Atlas, a large engine emphasizes not only this but the speed at which the arm mounted weapons converge. The AS7 is also obviously capable of mounting ECM and while the number of hard points on the Atlas are deficient for a mech of it's size they do allow for some punishing alpha and DPS builds.

Fewer but larger weapons, DHS and heavy ballistics are the key to success in an Atlas.

[p00k]

MeiSooHaityu, on 11 April 2013 - 07:44 AM, said:

Let me break it down for you. There isn't an Atlast that SPECIALIZES as an energy boat, or a missile boat, or a ballistic boat, etc... All Atlas mechs seem to have couple missile launchers, with 1 ballistic, and some energy. They seem to be small variations changes that have a little of all weapon type.

Understand now?

no, not really. since specialization is by role, not by hardpoint type.

a splatcat is a specialized brawler, not a specialized missile user

a poptart with 2erppc+gauss is a specialized sniper, not an unspecialized energy/ballistic mixed user

even a 6ppc stalker is a specialized sniper, not a specialized energy boat, even if it happens to be boating energy weapons

and a 4ppc+gauss atlas is pretty damn specialized even though it uses both energy and ballistic hardpoints

understand now?