155 replies to this topic

[scJazz]

Bishop113, on 10 June 2013 - 05:01 PM, said:

I'm doing extremely well in my Hunchback, 3.0 K/D in it so far, my base K/D is up to 1.30.

My damage output is about the same as using the Cataphract so far, though I occasionally hit below 200 dmg.

You know statements like this make Catapult drivers just want to smack you. Occasionally below 200 dmg...

[Scandinavian Jawbreaker]

Saw you in a match just now. Well done Bishop!

[Bishop113]

Hey yeah! Good game hehe.

[Shalune]

bishop, on 10 June 2013 - 12:25 AM, said:

Cool, I look forward to the guide, I will definitely move from Cata to Atlas when I get the Cbills to do so.

The dude I was playing with earlier has pointed something out to me and that is, almost every match I end up doing a lot more damage than a lot of my team, the match I just played I did 550 damage and there were four people on my team with double digits while the other team all had 150+.

I guess I do just need to get out of the ELO hump or whatever, oh well.

Don't get discouraged by this! I have the exact same results playing alone, and I agree it's incredibly demoralizing. If you're really enjoying the game you may want to find a regular group, even if just a casual one, you can play with.

Queueing alone I can often perform well, but lose matches more often than not. The matchmaking just seems so hit or miss. Though it may have to do with the time of day I'm often online (pre-dawn morning hours US.) It's also not helped by how much of a team game this is. It's very difficult for any one player to have a significant outcome on a match. Even a winner with big numbers was likely supported well.

However when I go in with a communicating team, I enjoy myself much more and the success rate skyrockets. If you're really getting into playing and mastering the game, but are finding yourself frustrated I'd definitely recommend finding a group.

[Bishop113]

All is well now, I'm doing very well with my hunchback, my win loss and kill death ratios are both positive now, I'm getting good damage output, utilizing cover better and sticking much closer to my team now. I've run out of my cadet bonus so it's going to be a long grind to Atlas DDC.

My problems with finding a group to play with are as follows, for one my audio drivers/jacks/headset are highly inconsistent as such my voice chat is laggy, stuttery and impossible to understand probably 90% of the time. Secondly is I don't like adding extra steps, one of the best things about online games these days is the increasing speed at which you can hop into the game, select your dude and click go and be in a match in 20 seconds tops, having to setup ventrilo and communicate with multiple people and figure all that out just seems to add a lot of extra hassle that drives me away from playing; for the record I have joined a few groups since I started playing this and each time it results in my amount of game time dwindling to zero. I would prefer to just have some friends that may or may not be online when I hop on and may or may not be available to play, I've been playing with Mazzy the last two days and the casual hop on and go has held up.

If any of my friends had the patience for the game I would roll with a group every time, but alas, everyone I know is more the Hawken type, buncha sillies.

[Bishop113]

I would like to add one last time how great this community is, much appreciation for all your duders advice.

[Buckminster]

I keep waiting for in-game VOIP, similar to something like TF2. It's coming down the pipe, it's just a question of when.

[Lagster]

Glad to see you're doing well in the Hunchback!

I'm nowhere near the best Atlas pilot around (~600 damage on an average round), but if you're still interested in piloting the biggest, baddest mech in MWO...

The Atlas is tough for new pilots because it is the mech where positioning and build matters the most. You need to know exactly where (not) to go, cannot disengage from any fights you get into, and get focus fired before anyone else. The first thing you need to do is to min/max your Atlas' build.You can't dodge, can't run around corners, and can't count on enemies missing your giant frame - so the only thing you can count on is taking him down before he takes you down.

E.g.: VS an AC40 Jager, if he doesn't miss your CT, you have 10 seconds (40 dmg initial contact, 5 seconds later another 40, 5 seconds later another 40 and you're pretty much cored) to take him down. Does your weapon loadout allow you to deal enough damage within 10 seconds to core him? In a light or fast medium, you can always run from a bad matchup. In an Atlas, you can't.

Another thing about MWO is, every mech plays differently. Playing a light means a whole different playstyle, set of tactics, weapon preferences, etc. Even within the same weight class, a Hunchback plays very differently from a Trebuchet. Even within Trebuchets, a 7M running triple streaks and max XL engine plays differently from a 7K running AC20 and an STD engine. Only way to learn is to keep playing (and dying) until you figure it out. For that mech and build. Then repeat for your next. It gets easier for each successive one.

Regarding builds, I run STD 350 on all my Atlai so I won't be holding my team back while they have to wait for me to lead the charge. The higher engine rating also means I twist faster, letting me track lights with my arm lasers so I won't be a sitting duck. STD 325 is a popular engine size for Atlai too.

[Bishop113]

So, just thinking about the Atlas's role in the game, if he can be so easily conquered by even a single mech(remember I got taken out by one Misery with LRM's I think) what is his strength? Looking at him my first thought since the beginning of my interest in mechwarrior has been "I bet he can take a punch!" but if that's not the case, what is? Playing these matches I've been playing with my Hunchback, I'm running an AC/20 and two medium lasers, I can delve out 400-600 dmg a match depending on my positioning, how my allies do and how long I live, so if the most you can do in an Atlas is 600, he can't run away and he doesn't have the armor to last even in various 1v1 fights, what's the point?

Edited by Bishop113, 11 June 2013 - 02:53 AM.

[Dude42]

Bishop113, on 11 June 2013 - 02:52 AM, said:

So, just thinking about the Atlas's role in the game, if he can be so easily conquered by even a single mech(remember I got taken out by one Misery with LRM's I think) what is his strength? Looking at him my first thought since the beginning of my interest in mechwarrior has been "I bet he can take a punch!" but if that's not the case, what is? Playing these matches I've been playing with my Hunchback, I'm running an AC/20 and two medium lasers, I can delve out 400-600 dmg a match depending on my positioning, how my allies do and how long I live, so if the most you can do in an Atlas is 600, he can't run away and he doesn't have the armor to last even in various 1v1 fights, what's the point?

That does apply to a stock/trial atlas. Unless you drop a nice wad of cbills into upgrading an AS7, they're really just bigass targets.

However, once fully decked out(or even just moderately decked out, and elited) they become killing machines. Many, many 4-6 kill 700+ damage rounds, with quite a few 900+, although everyone tends to be dead before you get up that high, unless you have poor aim and hit a lot of arms and legs. That's just been my experience with them. Between all of my AS7s(I have the D-DC, D, and R) I have about 400 rounds played, and a K/D of 2.5. My hunchbacks(I have the 4P, 4J, and 4G), not so much.

[Hauser]

Bishop113, on 11 June 2013 - 02:52 AM, said:

So, just thinking about the Atlas's role in the game, if he can be so easily conquered by even a single mech(remember I got taken out by one Misery with LRM's I think) what is his strength? Looking at him my first thought since the beginning of my interest in mechwarrior has been "I bet he can take a punch!" but if that's not the case, what is? Playing these matches I've been playing with my Hunchback, I'm running an AC/20 and two medium lasers, I can delve out 400-600 dmg a match depending on my positioning, how my allies do and how long I live, so if the most you can do in an Atlas is 600, he can't run away and he doesn't have the armor to last even in various 1v1 fights, what's the point?

You can still absorb allot of damage by torso twisting. Atlas arms are huge and well armoured.

It's role is to draw fire and act as a meat shield. It can walk up to a mech and kill it without taking critical damage. Your have to read the situation too see if your team will take advantage of it though.

Going up against AC20 jagers is a bit of a special case. They are fragile and slow. You can take out their side torso in two alphas but you have to hit it.

[Bishop113]

Okay that's nice to hear then, I'm reading mechspecs' guide on the Atlas right now, I still want to use it regardless. I wish I had kept my founder purchase then I would have a founders Atlas but after buying the founders pack and playing for some time my frustration got too high, my friends all backed out so I requested a refund and PGI very kindly gave it to me, bad choice now

I might consider dropping a little cash for MC, the grind to get 3 Atlas' is going to be a long one.

I would love to see your builds Dude42 if you're willing to post them.

[Bishop113]

I love how you have to spend 30$ to buy a single Atlas, I wish they would rework their MC pricing.

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Re: Atlas, what's the point?

If you hang in the back with LRMs and PPCs, and can make it work for you, great ... I brawl in my Atlas. Yes, I know, with the current meta, this is more difficult than it was a few months ago. I try to hold back behind cover until one of my team mates gets flanked or gets into a brawl, and then I wade in and try to finish the fight. More often than not, my team mate survives, and the enemies don't ... my survival is a toss up, but I almost always take two or three of them down before I go.

Don't go alone ... a "fair fight" (i.e.: 3v3, etc.) can turn lopsided very quickly ... flop it in your favor by shooting at either the biggest threat or by shooting at the same mechs your team mates are targeting.

You have as more armor in your torso than a Cicada has everywhere, and well-equipped, you can deal at least 50 points of damage every four seconds ... when two or three mechs (or, as mentioned one good Jager) focuses on you, you will go down, but if they're shooting at you, they're not shooting at your buddies ... tank damage, but torso twist often to spread it around.

I'm not a great Atlas pilot, but I very much enjoy it.

[Dude42]

Bishop113, on 11 June 2013 - 03:12 AM, said:

I would love to see your builds Dude42 if you're willing to post them.

I really wish you could export your builds from the game directly. And it takes a good while to do it on smurfy, mostly because the armor is a PITA.

I'll give you the basics tho, if you really want the full build for one I'll do it. The RS has the highest KDR, the D-DC has the highest W/L ratio(> 2.0!). They all have KDR > 2

AS7-D-DC("Fearless"):

2x Large Laser
2x AC/5 (I prefer it to UACs, no jams)
2x LRM 10
Guardian ECM
STD 300 Engine
AMS
13 DHS
Endo-Steel

AS7-RS("Hero"):

4x Large Laser
1x AC/10
STD 340 Engine
18 DHS
Endo-Steel

AS7-D("Fatlas"):

2x ER PPC
1x AC/20
2x Streak SRM2
AMS
STD 300 Engine
16 DHS
Endo-Steel


These aren't the most optimized builds. I haven't dumped huge sums of cbills into any of them and have no doubt the D-DC and D builds could be improved a good bit. The most expensive is the RS because of the upgraded engine.

Edited by Dude42, 11 June 2013 - 03:48 AM.

[Bishop113]

I quite like the RS and DDC builds, I assume those are the medium/long range Atlas'? No need to do a smurfy build if it's a pain, I can work from there.

The RS is the cheapest Atlas so maybe I'll go with that one first, reading that mechspecs guide he said most of the Atlas's can share builds because they're all very similar so I take that to mean the prices mostly reflect what's included on them.

[Lan]

Bishop113, on 11 June 2013 - 03:42 AM, said:

...

The RS is the cheapest Atlas so maybe I'll go with that one first, reading that mechspecs guide he said most of the Atlas's can share builds because they're all very similar so I take that to mean the prices mostly reflect what's included on them.

Huh? You mean to tell me you are sneakreading my guide even before I finished it?

I was waiting to link it until I was done...haha! Nothing is hidden on the internet!

As for the cost, stock standard Atlas costs between 9-13 million cb's. The ones I have in the guide are fully tricked out. What I meant by similar is that they have roughly the same kind of hardpoint placement and number. All have energy in arms, ballistic and missile in torso.

Edited by Lan, 11 June 2013 - 04:59 AM.

[Buckminster]

The Atlas may not be an invincible button, but it's still a nasty mech. The reason they can get overwhelmed and killed easily is because people make them a priority.

During CB I had grabbed one for the lolz, and loaded it up as a dedicated short range monster - AC/20, 2 SRM6, and 4 medium lasers. Especially in the tighter city maps, it'd come around a corner and just kill whatever was in front of it. Overall it wasn't really my play style - I like a bit more speed on my mechs - but for the occasional "okay, everyone grab an Atlas and lets go stomp" game, it's tons of fun.

[Bishop113]

Lan, on 11 June 2013 - 04:54 AM, said:

Huh? You mean to tell me you are sneakreading my guide even before I finished it?

I was waiting to link it until I was done...haha! Nothing is hidden on the internet!

As for the cost, stock standard Atlas costs between 9-13 million cb's. The ones I have in the guide are fully tricked out. What I meant by similar is that they have roughly the same kind of hardpoint placement and number. All have energy in arms, ballistic and missile in torso.

I had to read it, it just looked so juicy!

I understand it'll be a spendy endeavor but that's alright, I have time

So what are the differences between each chassis and which would be best suited for mid range combat?

[scJazz]

EDIT: Because there are too many interweb mastahz I am deleting this entire post!

Edited by scJazz, 12 June 2013 - 05:12 AM.