22 replies to this topic

[DrSmurfy]

I'm on my last of the three for exp and don't know which to go for!
D-DC or the D

What do you prefer and why?

Dr.Smurfy*

Edited by DrSmurfy, 15 April 2013 - 03:26 AM.

[AnnoyingCat]

Ddc its got a ecm, its the atlas that I kept after mastering 3 of it

Ddc its got a ecm, its the atlas that I kept after mastering 3 of it

[Ewigan]

I LOVE the D, it is my favorite Atlas.
The D-DC is the "best" Atlas though, because of ECM.

But i do not understand your general question....

Did you Basic 2 Atlas, and those 2 are the K and the RS? :S
Cause the K is by far the worst of the Atlas.

[Ramrod]

Not the K.

[KinLuu]

D-DC = RS > D >>>> K

[Harmin]

I have each Atlas. I used to play a lot of DDC, but recently got into the D again more because the way the game evolved.

ECM is no longer a must-have when you can have it. People have adapted to it and PGI have sufficiently nerfed it.
Missiles are no longer on par with the other weapon systems.
More players target specific sections.

Hence the A7-D being my current favourite. When you have both your torsos shot off, then you're still in the game and having one missile had point less than the DDC does't make any big odds.

My second favourite is the RS. It is an excellent platform due to the 4 energy hard points in the arms and energy weapons are currently trumping anything else. And it still has a ballistics slot for a less heat generating ballistics weapon. Wouldn't even bother with the missile hard points. Two streaks perhaps.

-Armin

[SgtMagor]

voted for D-DC, because of the way drops are handled by the game, when we can choose maps or see which map to drop on, D-DC is best for large maps (ECM) good for Lrms. 7-D for when you want to get close an personal in city maps.

[Huntsman]

The D-DC and RS are the only Atlas's worth gettng, though you'll probably want to eventually get a 3rd in order to complete your skills.

The D-DC is a decent multi-role brawler with ECM, while the RS is a good direct fire support chassis.

All that said I'm not really in love with the D-DC's loadout capabilities, especially since the value of its 3 missile hardpoints went ay down since the missile nerf, and its loadouts are typically rather eclectic, which makes focused damage against strafing opponents more of a challenge. It's primary value is the fact that it's simply the most heavily armored ECM shield available.

As the RS goes, you can roll a gauss rifle and then 4 direct fire energy weapons (LL,PPC etc). It is effective, but I prefer the 3D Cataphract for the direct fire support role as I feel the jump jets add even more than the Atlas's greater armor and greater damage output does.

The D and the K are just a complete waste however.

[Josef Nader]

Atlas D is best. D-DC relies too much on missiles, and ECM is minimally useful for assaults. it just turns you into a PPC magnet.

K is trash. RS is acceptable, as it's basically an Atlas D minus the zombie potential.

Edited by Josef Nader, 15 April 2013 - 05:20 AM.

[Lee Ving]

I'd take the D since ECM is getting nerfed/corrected to what it should have been for the past 6 months.

[Lefty Lucy]

SRMs are still good weapons.

DDC and RS are my two favorite.

[John MatriX82]

The best atlas for the current meta is the RS, followed by either D-DC or D. I have them all with the D being my Founder.. the latter is the mid-way between the two, it's the most flexible in configurations, while the RS is better with multiple lasers and the D-DC is actually limited to a degree of usefulness thanks to the ECM.. and tomorrow short range D-DCs will have a lot of hassle dealing with highlanders.

Atlas K it's a D that trades 1 missile hardpoint to have another AMS, and at the moment it's rather useless imho, the D can fare better in any task.

[xZaOx]

For brawling, regardless if ECM exists, the DDC is the best. For longer range use the RS. Dont ever use XL's.

[Kaspirikay]

Ewigan, on 15 April 2013 - 03:39 AM, said:

I LOVE the D

Lee Ving, on 15 April 2013 - 06:17 AM, said:

I'd take the D

Edited by Kaspirikay, 15 April 2013 - 07:56 AM.

[rdmgraziel]

Each Atlas has a slightly different overall role as a result of hardpoints, hardpoint locations, and actual missle tubes available. A good example of this is the RS; it excels at longer-range engagements where it can bring its large lasers/PPCs/gauss to bear without as much fear of reprisal, since losing a torso literally halves its effectiveness. The D and DDC are superior at brawling, since they have higher alpha potential. The K is awkward and forced into a supportive role, but works as a limited buffer against LRMs, but 2xAMS is outshone by ECM most of the time.

Missles in Atlas' are a bit of a bad joke due to the tubes not equalling the missles equipped. The best example of this is the RS which limits SRM volleys to waves of 4 missles each, and LRMs go in like 6-7 per waves (I know it's less than the 10 the other variants get). Regardless of the rating of the missles. This isn't as much of an issue if you're using SRMs in the D or DDC (which fire all 6 at once) but LRMs still go in packs of 10.

D vs DDC is partly personal preference, but my argument for the D is the ability to cycle through more weapons for better DPS when needed, (limited) zombie potential with 2 lasers in the CT, and 2 lasers being more reliable damage/dps than 1 more SRM launcher. The DDC gets ECM, but effectively only cycles through energy/ballistic/missles where the D can (potentially) go arms/ballistic/CT/missles (or whatever variation you prefer). Counter argument to the D is that weapon cycling is moot if you're just going for alpha, usually if you lose both side torsos on an Atlas you're frakked anyway so Zombie doesn't help, and lasers may hit more readily than SRM volleys, but they do their damage over time, so they end up splashing anyway.

TL;DR, I prefer the D.

Edited by rdmgraziel, 15 April 2013 - 08:18 AM.

[Jack Lazarus]

From a PUG-only perspective, of all my mech chassis types, the Atlases have the highest kill/death ratios and win/loss ratios (with the exception of a single mech the CN9-AL, at 7.00 and 2.25, although the D-DC has a higher win at 2.44).

And of those Atlases, the D-DC has the highest kill to death and win to loss ratio. Just looking at the numbers, you would surely say that it must clearly be my best mech.

But a lot of those kills in my D-DC come from fighting mechs in lower weight classes that turned a corner and were surprised that it isn't just the squirrel they were chasing, but also an Atlas. An AC/20 and some SRMs makes quick work of a lot of things, especially when you plant two shots into the cockpit of something you are looking down at. While I can't speak for 8-man play as I've never done that, or even 3-4 man play, when playing alone and when playing my D-DC as if it were just a regular D, I get the drop on other mechs a surprising amount. I do not walk around in the open with no cover at all and advertise my prescence just because I have ECM. It's just a nice bonus. And so it leads to a lot of 'surprise!' kills as I'm plodding forward and through them, more wins.

Now with that said, I actually prefer the D. I'm a much better fighter in the D and last a lot longer (edit: relative to the amount I am shot at, that is), even though the numbers don't show it. When I'm playing in the D I tend to get singled out by other assault mechs or (more frequently) groups of mechs because I'm not a blank on anyone's radar. Even though I'm fighting with cover to one side of me pretty much all the time (so that I can brawl with something close and not be shot at by snipers), I still show up on targetting systems and anyone can see that, hey, there's a great big Atlas right there. I'm gonna go walk over and fight it with my buddies. I get picked on a lot more in a D, and that makes the numbers worse. But when it comes to personal performance, for me the D is a lot stronger. You can survive for a very, very long time with torso twisting and even when you've lost both arms and your sides you'll still be striking with your CT weapons.

Edited by Jack Lazarus, 15 April 2013 - 08:22 AM.

[BLeeD]

Rs and the ddc, nothing better and i mean nothing then rolling up on a sniper or a mech going past your location because your ecm. And then you getting to blast them with 2 alpha strikes before they know whats happening. I can only imagine what they think," holly **** how did this atlas get here". Then death

[Zerberus]

D-DC is IMO the premiere brawler of the atlai with an AC20 and 3 ASRM6 racks. A big engine and ECM help you get in close fast. Works well in a support role as well, but I personally feel the ECM is wasted in a range application the way the game currently is. The D-DC is the mech the enemy knows is lurking somewhere between those buildings but is too afraid to actively search for... and then suddenly their rear armor lights up like the 4th of July... ecm + Speed + cover = Nasty, nasty surprises for everybody.

The D is the most ideally suited to a 2xALRM20 build becasue of the amount of Missile tubes allowing for 2x20 volley or 4x10 chain fire, minimizing the loss due to AMS. Add a Gauss to the RT and 2xERLL /2xML make for a relatively versatile all around support mech that is effective at most ranges and is still somewhat dangerous even as a stick.

The RS is the best suited to an energy build like 4xLL or 4xPPC with the moved energy hardpoints.

The K is, well, the K... the 2 AMS hardpoints are nice, but it`s IMO kind of the "jack of all trades" Atlas, decent at most things but not really great at any of them. But as such possibly the easiest to level and learn in due to it`s versatility... but still, nit a chiassis I`m particularly interested in.

My personal preference generally swings between the D and D-DC, usually I would prefer whichever one I`m not on because I regularly get dropped on small maps with the D and on tourmaline with the D-D.

Otherwise I can only echo Jack Lazarus` sentiments. I prefer the D, and feel more effetive in it, but it also gets picked on a lot more than the D-DC. Everyone sees a black D and starts dropping their ROFLRMs into the hillside at 800 yards, but the D-DC is just suddenly there next to them, unscratched, and in a bad mood.

Edited by Zerberus, 15 April 2013 - 08:57 AM.

[Joseph Mallan]

The D-DC has all the advantages with the exception of only one AMS.

The RS is a very good fall back as is the Atlas-D. In that order.

Edited by Joseph Mallan, 15 April 2013 - 08:57 AM.

[Hungry Hungry Hobo]

DrSmurfy, on 15 April 2013 - 03:24 AM, said:

I'm on my last of the three for exp and don't know which to go for!
D-DC or the D

What do you prefer and why?

Dr.Smurfy*

I prefer the D.

Crude sexaul puns aside, I think the DDC would be the better of the two.