6 replies to this topic

[Mack1]

This is a very good build, it's not really mine but I do a demonstration of it in the video.

It has
5 x Large Lasers
1 x Gauss (20 Rounds)
16 DHS
Endo Steel

[Wintersdark]

Gotta say, I'm strongly of the opinion that a UAC5 instead of the Gauss is a very strong choice. Very low heat, higher DPS, less tonnage allowing more DHS... and most importantly, it's not a huge bomb waiting to explode in your very vulnerable side torso.

MISERY 4LL UAC5 19DHS

With a standard engine, this can continue to fight even when fully zombied. 20 seconds of continuous fire before overheating at 13DPS, with 6.25dps sustained - essentially, you fire everything until hot, then just fire the UAC to cool.

You can move to an XL engine instead of endosteel and mount the fifth large laser while keeping the heat sinks, but you're far, far easier to destroy that way. XL engines in Stalkers are a huge liability.

To each their own, though.

Edited by Wintersdark, 11 May 2013 - 12:49 PM.

[Terror Teddy]

Wintersdark, on 11 May 2013 - 12:41 PM, said:

it's not a huge bomb waiting to explode in your very vulnerable side torso.

Well, 4-5 tonnes of exploding UAC/5 ammo might still hurt - if not more.

But I DO prefer the UAC/5 on the Misery - because with gray camo it looks like a huge-*** walking A-10 Warthog with those multiple barrels.

Now imagine the Misery with a Rotary Autocannon 5....

Edited by Terror Teddy, 11 May 2013 - 12:45 PM.

[Wintersdark]

Terror Teddy, on 11 May 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

Well, 4-5 tonnes of exploding UAC/5 ammo might still hurt - if not more.

But I DO prefer the UAC/5 on the Misery - because with gray camo it looks like a huge-*** walking A-10 Warthog with those multiple barrels.

Now imagine the Misery with a Rotary Autocannon 5....

You're not going to have all the ammo explode at once, and ammo is FAR less likely to detonate than a Gauss Rifle.

Ammo explodes 10% of the time on destruction. Gauss Rifles explode 90% of the time on destructions. Ammo can be stashed in your head where it's FAR less likely to be destroyed before your head is destroyed, and the likelyhood of it's destruction and subsequent 10% chance of explosion is extremely remote. And legs, of course, where people rarely fire and even if they do, again the chances of actually destroying the ammo before the legs internals *and* triggering an explosion is remote. Even if you do, the Stalker will take the ammo explosion damage to it's side torso, which won't be fatal.

With the gauss rifle, you've got the 90% change of explosion if it's destroyed (and it's massive, so it'll take lots of crits), but you ALSO have that 90% chance of explosion if the side torso itself is destroyed - which is enormously more likely. And when it does? That explosion is damaging your center torso which can kill you (or lead to your subsequent death) instead of your side torso. You can (and should) CASE the rifle, which will protect your center torso but still, at 3 health, you're throwing away your arm and side torso the moment you lose the armor there.

Ammo explosions are a minimal, remote threat on a mech with a standard engine. Torso mounted gauss explosions are extremely hazardous.

Edited by Wintersdark, 11 May 2013 - 12:56 PM.

[Wintersdark]

Terror Teddy, on 11 May 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

But I DO prefer the UAC/5 on the Misery - because with gray camo it looks like a huge-*** walking A-10 Warthog with those multiple barrels.

The look IS awesome, too:

[NRP]

I've been afraid to run a Gauss on my Misery exactly for that reason. I've lost my AC/20 enough times already to feel like the Gauss would really cripple or outright kill me. I don't know though. I'm doing close range brawling now, but if I decide to make a longer range build, the LL + Gauss or other AC makes sense.

[Wintersdark]

That's the magic of the UAC. Same effective range as the Gauss, smaller, lighter, higher DPS.

I face off against Misery's in mine all the time, and every time I see that Gauss rifle, the match is effectively over. Pick off that side torso, let the detonation do the rest. Alpha strike damage matters less in such matches, while being able to simply put out more damage wins.

That's not due to a huge skill lead, just that the gauss rifle (and god help you if you took an XL engine too) gives away a huge advantage to your opponent for very little gain.