41 replies to this topic

[wikkedj]

So far I have three hunchbacks (4p, 4sp and 4j) and the Ilya Muromets. I enjoy mid-range brawling...long range sniping not so much...missile boating I suck at. I plan, this week, to grab the overlord package for PP and maybe the saber pack as well, so keep that in mind.

I'm a somewhat impatient person, and October 15th is a whole month away! *gasp* So I was playing with the idea of grabbing an assault mech to mess with until then. I just can't decide which way to go. Originally I planned to get an awesome...probably the 8R (found a build that looked promising in Helmstif's ultimate awesome guid, and I liked his hunchback builds so thought it would work out well.) Then I read some more on the forums and am second guessing that choice...lots of negative stuff being said about awesomes. I love the way stalkers look, but do they make an acceptable frontline brawler? I always see them hanging back in most of my matches. Or I could just sit tight and grind C-bills until I can play with my battlemaster!

Please, somebody make up my mind for me! lol

[Pastor Priest]

Hmmm, that's a tough call. The Stalker can be a decent brawler, especially the 3F, so long as it has support to guard it's flanks. Mobility is it's biggest weakness, and if you are caught out of position, you're in for trouble. The Battlemaster is untested, so I can't say anything about that. Howe ER, I would suggest waiting for it and playing around a bit. If you don't like it, you can always pick up the Stalker later.

[Abe07]

The Victor is a great Brawler. The Stalker can't turn for ****...but will destroy anything that you can get into your sights. Like Pastor said, it's fine if you stick with your team and they can keep the fast movers off of you.

[The Platypus]

Though I don't pilot them, Stalkers seem really tanky but they handle like an 18-wheeler. If your teammates can cover you from flankers, the ridiculous amounts of pew pew and missiles it packs will rubble anything in short order. I highly recommend Highlanders and Victors for brawling, and the JJs help a lot getting over annoying pebbles and jump-turning. Vics were a bit of a pain for me to grind but they really started to shine after I got the expert efficiencies. Then there's the Atlas too if you can torso twist like a boss.

[Autobot9000]

The Victor is a very good mech. Grab the one, that can mount an AC20 (9S?). If you think that's too little for you, then grab a Highlander 733C. Both of them are very nice brawlers, I just happen to think the Victor is a bit more enjoyable for the mobility (375XL+4 JJs). The big XL is an investment as large as the mech itself, but once you have it it's the best thing ever

[The Boz]

Atlas. D-DC. Brawl-compatible, snipe-capable, LRM-boatable. Also, an assault with an ECM, what's not to like?

[John MatriX82]

Stay away from the Awesomes. Period. I only own the 9M, you can be good with them, but any other assault is better, even some heavies are imho.

So there's plenty of choice. Stalkers, Highlanders, Atlases, Victors.

If you run low on money the cheapest are the Stalkers, go for 3F, 5M and one of the others like 3H or 5S to exp and keep the first two. They can do good with simply DHS upgrade you'll only need to change the engine to a STD 280/295 or 300. Never go XL with them, endo is often useless because you need crit space for DHSs.

5S gets you a 255XL that might come handy for certain dakka builds on muromets, jagers and other chassis, but being expensive you can get the 3H and then sell it out once you've done the masters.


Atlases: they are expensive, but you don't need XLs in them as some Highlander builds require (I advice never running them with engines below 325s, usually 330/335 or 340-350 are good), so on average Landers with some xl may end up being more expensive then Atlases.. Good landers are 732, 733, 733C, good Atlases are basically D and D-DC only, use the RS to exp them and stay away from the K unless you want a 300xl, but strip from the atlas and use it elsewhere.

Victors are a mixed bag, best variants are the S and B (at least in this new ballistic meta), while the 9K can be used to exp them and then you sell it off. They can either go XLs or STD, the latter often with the default 320 if you go endo and ff.


If you run low on Cbills imho the Stalkers are the best, just upgrade to DHS, slap a larger STD engine (the best is 300) and go cheap and nasty.

If you want something less sluggish then go for the Victors, they also have JJs like Highlanders do.

[B0oN]

... soooo many choices !
Victors and Highlanders are pretty much configurable as one likes it and able to do very good jobs, be it sniping, lrm´ing or brawling, plus the Victors can be outfitted to go lightning fast for such weights.

Stalker is something for the cover-loving people with its very high mounted weaponry.

Atlas is the damage-sponge per se, tanking gleefully into the swirling melee and, with proper backup, able to **** nigh on anything.

[Appogee]

I'd choose anything BUT the Awesome.

In order of personal preference, they are Victor 9S, Atlas D-DC, Stalker 3-F, Highlander 732.

[Autobot9000]

Don't bash the Awesomes this hard. I find, that the 8T is a very capable mech. Just stay away from the 8V and 8Q models and personally I think the 9M isn't worth the money. So it's either 8T, 8R or pretty baby. PM me, if you need loadouts, the Awesomes are nice mechs and they are humanoid designs (sometimes sucks being a stalker).

[NRP]

I also recommend avoiding Awesomes.

Anyway, if you don't mind spending real money, I recommend getting a Misery. It's an absolute wrecking machine when equipped with an AC/20. Victors are good, as are Highlanders, but I never really enjoyed driving Atlases. But imo nothing beats crashing an enemy's party in a solo Stalker and taking three of them out before they bring you down. No other mech can inflict that kind of damage by itself.

[Autobot9000]

Well the D-DC certainly bests any mech in terms of dishing&receiving.

[Dan Nashe]

Anything but the awesome.
Only get an awesome f you know what you're getting into.
Because of weight class matching, I tend to avoid victors in favor of highlanders. But I can't say thanks victors are bad.

I favor my ddc or highlander with ac 20 and 2 lpls.
I don't own any stalkers, but hey seek good. Best raw firepower.
I just love to jump. And ddc with ecm is amazing game changer sometimes.

[NRP]

DanNashe, on 17 September 2013 - 08:45 AM, said:

I favor my ddc or highlander with ac 20 and 2 lpls.

Funny you should mention this, as last night I picked up a Victor 9B out of boredom. I'm running an AC/20, 2 LPLs, and 4 JJs. So far, this thing is crazy, especially on a map like River City! So much fun.

[Pirate2Ninja]

I love my Awesomes, but I understand not everyone has the skill to pilot one . I haven't tried one yet but maybe the Victor, Atlai and Stalkers tend to be a little clunky for brawling if that's what you're going for.

[Autobot9000]

Try this Awesome build, you won't be disappointed:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a4dc1ba29855de8

AWS-8T
Endosteel
18 DHS
4 Large Lasers (2 per arm)
2 SRM6 (2 tons of ammo)
STD 300 engine
Weapon groups for intuition: Left mouse button 2x LL on left arm, Right mouse button 2x LL on right arm, 3rd group 2xSRM6

Alternatively this old school one:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5e2f28a0133f1db

[ExplodedZombie]

If you enjoy mid-range brawling, you will love the Victor. The addition of JJs makes this thing incredible for the role.

[Autobot9000]

ExplodedZombie, on 18 September 2013 - 09:32 AM, said:

If you enjoy mid-range brawling, you will love the Victor. The addition of JJs makes this thing incredible for the role.

What is mid-range brawling? In my book people call a brawl whatever is within 270m range and loadouts, that have high consistent damage as opposed to high alphas or LRMs. I have a Victor and that thing is great for the above mentioned brawl.

[El Death Smurf]

when brawling you need to be able to control the engagement. it doesn't do you any good to have 300m weapons if everything can just run away before you can kill them, assuming you managed to get the drop on them un-noticed. For that reason Assaults can be fragile brawlers when facing faster(everything) long range enemies. So your options are Atlas D-DC/ ECM for the sneak attack. Stalker, for the pure damage absorbtion it is capable of (but its still slow moving and turning, so not suited for PURE brawling, but I can fair well with 2 ERPPC and then lasers and SRMS for when they get with in range.) or the victors and highlanders for JJ to aid in closing the gap via shortcuts (very useful on Canyon network and Forest colony) as well as better brawling abilities. LAST NOTE: if you go XL, make it BIG, because a slow XL engine is just a quick and easy death, and NEVER PUT AN XL ON A STALKER>>>EVER!!!! (for now)

[WVAnonymous]

Look at my signature. I can assure you it took me less time (and was more fun) to level to master in 3 Victors than in any other build.

I can not shoot accurately over about 300 meters, so I do a lot of AC20/ML/LPL/SRM/Streak heavy builds, and I feel safe describing my style as "brawling". I love, love, love my Heavy Metal, but I think in most team compositions the Victors are more versatile.

Caveat: I've pugged in all but maybe 30 drops out of ~4,000 so if you are a team player, your mileage may vary.

El Death Smurf, on 18 September 2013 - 09:46 AM, said:

LAST NOTE: if you go XL, make it BIG, because a slow XL engine is just a quick and easy death, and NEVER PUT AN XL ON A STALKER>>>EVER!!!! (for now)

Why? I get CT'ed 95% of the time in a Stalker, so XL doesn't add too much risk.