26 replies to this topic

[dario03]

So I decided to start leveling a new assault mech but for the first time in this game I just can't decide which one to get. I currently only have enough bays for 3 variants and since I want to master the mechs it will have to be one chassis. I already own 3 Atlases so my choices are the Stalker, the Awesome, the Victor, or the Highlander. Pretty sure I don't want the awesome since every one says its unawesome and my little experience with it in trial mechs makes me tend to agree. However I've never been in any of my other choices so I'm interested in opinions, especially from those who have been in all of them. I play all kinds of roles in my mechs so really any would probably be ok and obviously there is no right answer but which non-Atlas assault do you find the most fun to pilot and why? Loadout suggestions would be nice too.

[Madwill]

i suggest the victor. it has the right combination of armor, speed, weapon loadout. i have highlanders and my performance with my victors has surpassed them. look for my Hail to the Victors! thread as it contains several loadout configurations.

[Sean von Steinike]

I don't like assaults, too slow, too unwieldy. Then I tried a Victor. It plays more like a heavy and the jumpjets are quite useful for quicker turns and navigating hills. Although I still suck with assaults, I don't regret getting the Victor.

[Sephlock]

Madwill, on 01 August 2013 - 01:20 AM, said:

i suggest the victor. it has the right combination of armor, speed, weapon loadout. i have highlanders and my performance with my victors has surpassed them. look for my Hail to the Victors! thread as it contains several loadout configurations.

Don't listen to this guy. The Victor is like a slow Dragon, or a lightly armored Highlander

You can poptart with them, but Highlanders do that better, and you can hit and run with them, but Dragons do that better...

I won't argue that it's a bad mech, because it isn't, but it feels... mediocre. Like Ryu after all of those damn nerfs...

(He dropped like a rock in the tier lists after AE 2012 came out... I stopped following them a while back, but I doubt that's changed all that much, if at all).

[Sephlock]

The Stalker is not the ruthless monster it once was, even prior to the PPC mania... but if you cram some Mlas and SRMs into it, it shouldn't be TOO bad (although the heat cap hurts in the latter case).

... hmm, taking that into consideration, better go with plan B: The Highlander.

You can pop tart if you feel like it, play a ghetto Atlas if the mood strikes you, and exploit the current 1 gauss + 2 ppc fotm setup.

The only downside is that if you aren't in a Heavy Metal, smart pilots will shoot off the side torso that has your energy weapon mounts. This isn't as crippling as it once was because SRMs are not totally useless now (although I feel sorry for the Highlander with 4 missile hardpoints), but losing all of your energy + ballistic weapons kinda sucks, especially in a slow assault...

[El Bandito]

Can't go wrong with a Highlander. It has JJs for added mobility and is one of the few biggest Assaults safe enough to take XL engine on. It also has better hard points than Victors--but that's my opinion.

Edited by El Bandito, 01 August 2013 - 01:37 AM.

[dario03]

How well the Highlander and more so the Victor can handle a XL was something I was wondering. With the Victor I thought about basically making a larger version of my Catapult C4 which is srm20 and 2ml or 1LL with a 300xl or 315xl and JJ. That build works very well for me but of course the tiny side torsos is what lets me run a xl. I could also make even bigger versions of that build with the Highlander and Stalker (minus JJ for the stalker) as well but they won't have the speed that I usually use but then again I could just use the extra weight for LLs and PPCs. Decisions, decisions...

[GizmoGecko]

The trial Awesomes are atrocious and put me off buying them for a few months. But I gave them a second chance, and now it's my favourite mech !

With the 8V I feel I can create a variety of builds, from 3 ppcs to large lasers, or an srm and lrm boat. If you're a fan of ballistics a ppc on the arm makes a good ac/10 that disables ecm and with no projectile drop due to gravity.

I like a mix:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8ea922665ddbde9

Or a more simple build I like to call, AC/36:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0d26547a725e4e2

If you feel new and inexperienced, stick with standard engines. Survivability is your best friend when you're new.

If you enjoy being a slow and lumbering wall of death in your Atlas, a Stalker can give very similar builds (minus the ballistics, but a ppc can replace those) and can be a pretty good energy or missile boat due to all those hardpoints.

If you prefer maneuverability (like me) I'd go with a Highlander or a Victor. Jump jets really do make a difference on maps now, as well as in fights, spreading the damage to the legs, where assaults rarely receive damage. A gauss to the leg is a lot better than to your side torso.

Being able to use an xl engine in Victors is quite the trait too, as it's your centre torso and arms that'll take the punishment.

This is a simple yet destructive build I used with my Highlander, and due to the xl, I can fit two large lasers on the Victor in place of two mediums, and on the arms too! (Always try to put your lasers on the arms of your 'mech so you can track a moving target.)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cad0372468bb270

If I were you, play around on the smurfy mechlab site in the links I've posted, click on the 'Mech and Weaponstats' tab at the top of the page, and then scroll down to the assaults to view the hardpoint layouts of the 'mech together and go from there.

Hope this helps!

Edited by GizmoGecko, 01 August 2013 - 03:17 AM.

[SgtMagor]

Victor, it can handle almost the same loadout as a Highlander, but it can go faster, jump higher, and moves like a race car compared to other assaults nuff said!

[Bishop Steiner]

dario03, on 01 August 2013 - 01:11 AM, said:

So I decided to start leveling a new assault mech but for the first time in this game I just can't decide which one to get. I currently only have enough bays for 3 variants and since I want to master the mechs it will have to be one chassis. I already own 3 Atlases so my choices are the Stalker, the Awesome, the Victor, or the Highlander. Pretty sure I don't want the awesome since every one says its unawesome and my little experience with it in trial mechs makes me tend to agree. However I've never been in any of my other choices so I'm interested in opinions, especially from those who have been in all of them. I play all kinds of roles in my mechs so really any would probably be ok and obviously there is no right answer but which non-Atlas assault do you find the most fun to pilot and why? Loadout suggestions would be nice too.

Depends on your style.

If you are a PILOT, then the ONLY choice is the VTR-9 series. The Victor packs the Speed and Maneuverability of a much lighter chassis, the Armor and Firepower of an Assault (If built right). It's the hardest of the Assaults to master, because it really needs XLs to shine, so you can't face hug and tank. But if you USE that mobility, there is not another Chassis in the game you can't outduel.

If having to work for i ain't your thing, then the Atlas, Stalker and Highlander are all good choices. The Stalker though, has about ZERO mobility, so get caught alone and you are dead. Still the best dedicated Sniper or Missile boat though. The Highlander is the games premier Poptart (of course, for the sake of good manners I won't post my opinion of Poptarters) and the Atlas being the biggest makes either a great Tank/Brawler, or can be a vicious support unit.

My 2 cts? Pick one you will actually lead an assault with. That is mostly what they are meant to do, is go and absorb a lot of damage, be the focal point of the fight and allow your teammates to run in support.

Sadly, few assault pilots do this, and just as few teammates actually support the ones that do. Instead it's everybody hide and snipe and protect their precious KDr. Yay Mechwarrior of Duty!

[Angel of Annihilation]

I am with Bishop Steiner on this. Go for the Victor.

If you are a pilot as he puts it, i.e. someone who actually knows or or want to learn how to actually use skill to really shine and be successful, then the Victor is the way to go. It is quick and agile, jump capable, able to mount impressive firepower and has good levels of armor and this makes it probably the best of all worlds. However what it is not is a tank that allows you to just walk fat and dumb at your target. You go in with it trying to go into a toe-to-toe slugging match with an Altas or Stalker and your going to lose. Get good a piloting it, use your mobility, jump jets and speed and your going to win with a Victor simple as that.

Highlander is also a good all around choice although in general I didn't enjoy any of them aside from my Heavy Metal. It is alot less agile and mobile than the Victor but is usually more durable.

Both really need an XL.

[Ngamok]

Can it fit 2 PPC + 1 Gauss? Then get it.


Otherwise go with what Biship and Victor said.

Edited by Ngamok, 01 August 2013 - 06:30 AM.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Ngamok, on 01 August 2013 - 06:30 AM, said:

Can it fit 2 PPC + 1 Gauss? Then get it.


Otherwise go with what Biship and Victor said.

2 PPC + 1 Gauss is highly overated but that is another debate/disscussion/arguement.

[Ngamok]

Viktor Drake, on 01 August 2013 - 06:45 AM, said:

2 PPC + 1 Gauss is highly overated but that is another debate/disscussion/arguement.

I was being sarcastic, heh.

[FearTheAmish]

Highlander... Start with the 732 lotta fun

[Sephlock]

Ngamok, on 01 August 2013 - 06:30 AM, said:

Can it fit 2 PPC + 1 Gauss? Then get it.


Otherwise go with what Biship and Victor said.

Or get both!

[dario03]

Well it sounds like the Victor is the favorite here. And it was the one I was leaning towards since I like speed and variety. And since the Victor is the fastest assault and most different from the Atlas it makes sense to get it. But its nice to know that they all have their strong suits and I'll probably pick up another set whenever pgi/igp gets around to having a good sale so I can get some more MC. Thanks guys.

[Sephlock]

R.I.P.

[dario03]

Sephlock, on 01 August 2013 - 12:54 PM, said:

R.I.P.

I didn't pull the trigger yet and I did read your post about the Victor being like a slow dragon and your post suggesting a Highlander to poptart or play a "ghetto Atlas". Thing is I don't own a Dragon and don't really plan too, I'm not a fan of poptarting but what little I do can be done with the Victor, and I like variety and already own a Atlas so why would I want a ghetto Atlas? So I don't know, seems like the Victor is the best choice. There is still the stalker which had a few builds I like but I figured that was still closer to a Atlas than the Victor. If I'm not poptarting do you still think the Highlander is a better choice? I guess I just really need to decide if I want the speed or the higher armor and firepower since I have builds that I like for both.

Edited by dario03, 01 August 2013 - 02:10 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

dario03, on 01 August 2013 - 01:47 PM, said:

I didn't pull the trigger yet and I did read your post about the Victor being like a slow dragon and your post suggesting a Highlander to poptart or play a "ghetto Atlas". Thing is I don't own a Dragon and don't really plan too, I'm not a fan of poptarting but what little I do can be done with the Victor, and I like variety and already own a Atlas so why would I want a ghetto Atlas? So I don't know, seems like the Victor is the best choice. There is still the stalker which had a few builds I like but I figured that was still closer to a Atlas than the Victor. If I'm not poptarting do you still think the Highlander is a better choice? I guess I just really need to decide if I want the speed or the higher armor and firepower since I have builds that I like for both.

The HIhglander is only the better choice if you DO plan on poptarting.

It has better armor than a Victor, but real world, the firepower is about identical, and the HGN needs 2 tons per JumpJet vs the VTR's 1 ton per.

The Victor is far more maneuverable, grabs air faster and can dance circles around a Highlander. But the Highlander has better hardpoint placement for Poptarting. And since it's mobility is mediocre, that is it's best role still.

The Victor is a Flanker/Escort. You have the armor to take some punishment, but primarily you should be using that mobility to push weak spots on the battle line, fill in breaches and generally speaking fending the flanks of your Bruisers. That Atlas or Stalker gets a Spider or two on them, they are toast.

With the Victor, I find on many maps I can get in and out with barely a scratch, while dumping a HUGE alpha on someone.

BUT, again, BUT..... to succeed, you need to pilot it thinking like a Centurion pilot. And not one of those ZOmbie nimrods, but an actual GOOD pilot. Attack the edges, keep moving, run, and hit again. You are a 'Roid Ragin' Centurion on a Pogostick. Remember that, and you will prosper.