81 replies to this topic

[Bront]

Brenden, on 19 September 2013 - 05:29 PM, said:

Everyone's.
You use the AC/2 at long range to open up with then move in with the LPLs.

Much better off with an AC5 and 2 LLs Better long range punch, and better mid to short range punch.

[Kmieciu]

In reality, the Stalker is one of the toughest mechs out there. It's true that most pilots skimp on leg armor, but they don't have to show their legs at all while ridge-humping. And I haven't seen a Stalker killed by a head shot for at least a month.

And since there is a damage reduction thing gong on, if you shoot at the destroyed side torso, the center torso receives only 50% of the damage. And if you hit the area where "arms" used to be, only 25% damage will transfer to the center torso. Think about it: you hit it with an ERPPC, suffer 15 points of heat, and the Stalker only gets 2.5 points of damage to the center torso.

I tend to destroy both torsos and leave it defenseless, unless it's the only enemy left.

[Xanilos]

going for the groin is the best option to take down any mech (esp jagers) if the stalker is a good pilot (most of them arent) even with the bargeish handling he can still maneuver his sides to block the front and only a complete ***** takes all the armor off the legs and even a stalker with no sides often has weapons left and a one sided stalker can still fight like a cornered rat i have gone on to get several kills after losing a side in my 3F

[Xanilos]

Kmieciu, on 20 September 2013 - 05:41 AM, said:

I tend to destroy both torsos and leave it defenseless, unless it's the only enemy left.

as a stalker pilot i find that appalling

[Colby Boucher]

Not to brag, because I'm a fairly crappy player overall, but I take out stalkers easily. The way to kill them? They simply can't keep up with the much maligned "circle of death". stay to the side of them, which is not difficult with their big blimp bodies. Unless you are standing RIGHT in front of them, they just can't hit you.

[SethAbercromby]

Colby Boucher, on 04 October 2013 - 12:41 PM, said:

Not to brag, because I'm a fairly crappy player overall, but I take out stalkers easily. The way to kill them? They simply can't keep up with the much maligned "circle of death". stay to the side of them, which is not difficult with their big blimp bodies. Unless you are standing RIGHT in front of them, they just can't hit you.

That largely depends on what engine they have mounted. An STD 250 with 45 kph is still pretty good for a circle of death against heavy opponents (and if you dare mounting a 300 you've got very comfortable 60 kph). I've taken enough lives on a circle of death encounter to know what I'm talking about and I'm a pretty crappy pilot myself. The Stalker is more agile than it looks like (which is not as impressive as it might sound though)

[hargneux]

Mahws, on 06 September 2013 - 10:32 PM, said:

Like I said, do you have a source? Because everyone else seems to disagree with you.

If you want CASE to protect your XL, move the ammo into the arms. CASE wont stop an ammo explosion in a SIDE torso from destroying the location, it will stop the left over damage from spilling over into the adjacent locations, CT and arms in the case of a side torso. This works fine with a STD engine, not so great with an XL.

Never put ammo in a side torso if you are packing an XL. A lucky shot is all it takes to take you out of the game.

[Mahws]

I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you trying to say that ammo explosions in the arms won't damage the side torsos if they have case? Because I've never heard anyone else claim that. CASE prevents damage from flowing on after the section it's in is destroyed, not before.

As for ammo, feet and head are the best place, but honestly it doesn't really matter. Ammo explosion rates are set ridiculously low.

[wintersborn]

As a Stalker driver myself we die because we can not turn or move to save our life. Almost all mechs can circle jerk us to death quickly.

[Bront]

Colby Boucher, on 04 October 2013 - 12:41 PM, said:

Not to brag, because I'm a fairly crappy player overall, but I take out stalkers easily. The way to kill them? They simply can't keep up with the much maligned "circle of death". stay to the side of them, which is not difficult with their big blimp bodies. Unless you are standing RIGHT in front of them, they just can't hit you.

Depends. I've gotten plenty of lights who got lazy with the circle. A skilled assault pilot can deal with a single mech in a circle of death.

Now a light swarm? Those are OP and need to be nerfed

[wintersborn]

The only way I can survive a light circle jerk is if I run (4) Streak2's on my 3H when I use it as a dual ERPPC sniper.

[Autobot9000]

Valdae, on 06 September 2013 - 02:34 AM, said:

Allo guys. I'm primarily running a Victor 9K with the following set-up: The Red Witch

Not sure I've set up the armour right, but the weapons are spot on. Anywho, the thing's a killing machine. Must have jumped up to a 2.0 K/D ratio with that loudout, getting 7-9 assists and pumping out 600+ damage per round.

I can take down pretty much any mech 1 on 1, the only thing I ever struggle against is a Stalker. Obviously with it being the standard trial mech at the moment, I'm seeing more of these beasties on the battlefield.

What are your guys tips for taking them down? Shoot off the missile bays? Try and get behind them? If you're a Stalker pilot, what kind of scenario makes you think "Oh Sh*t!"..?

Well first of all your loadout is the main reason why you may have trouble duelling other mechs. Your heat efficiency is poor and the ammo in your side torsos is ofc bad as hell (especialls since your running a XL, where your CASE wont help you, if the ammo is hit).

I am not gonna go in depth with your guns, but simply removing the CASEs and adding another heatsink for that as well as rearranging the armor distribution for you you will have a lot stronger mech now for free.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c2134d16f9c86be

To your original question about Stalkers: Generally it should be easy to beat a Stalker in a duel, if you have high heat efficiency. Generally the ballistic hardpoint puts you in a very good position to hvae a better heat effficiecny than any Stalker (except for the misery). Unfortunately your build is not suitable for direct duels. You're essentially playing a long range snipe and scoot mech, hence don't expect this particular loadout to compete in direct shootouts. If you want to just win straight up fights with Stalkers use a setup like the one below and target fire the Stalker's side torsos sequentially. Trying to get in the rear of a Stalker is noob advice, it doesn't work vs even slightly experienced pilots.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3b1637f535effb6

PS
You never want Ferro-Fibrous Armor before Endosteel, you always want Endosteel over Ferro Armor, because it saves more tonnage and either upgrade is just about saving tonnage - nothing else. I guess you own the 350XL, hence I am not tampering with it and just adding some more JJs, usually I would put a 375XL in a Victor instead.

[SethAbercromby]

Autobot9000, on 25 October 2013 - 09:53 AM, said:

If you want to just win straight up fights with Stalkers use a setup like the one below and target fire the Stalker's side torsos sequentially. Trying to get in the rear of a Stalker is noob advice, it doesn't work vs even slightly experienced pilots.

The problem in fighting Stalkers is that unless you are fighting pure sniper or brawler builds, you will generally experience fairly well balanced all-range builds that are capable of delivering damage before you are able to retaliate but can still deliver focused fire at short distance. My 5S uses quad MLas and 2 SRM6s for short range and 2 ERLLas and LRM10s for long range harassment, running pretty hot fairly quickly but with alternating fire and intelligent weapon grouping it is capable of delivering fire over a prolonged period of time. It lacks the speed your build delivers which will put you at a mobility advantage but in a circle of death, but it'll still be difficult to keep it's weapons off your torso because the fun of it is that unless you can greatly out-turn the slower 'Mech it'll still be able to keep up if you want your guns aimed on them as well but at the cost of being easier to shoot at.

Edited by SethAbercromby, 27 October 2013 - 04:49 PM.

[Autobot9000]

@Abrecrombie
I know the build you're using, I sometimes use it myself on my 3F, if youre runnign Artemis you will have a total of 15 DHS, whcih means you have no chance fighting a close range victor with AC20, MLs and SRMs. In general you wouldn't even have a chance to fight any heavy with autocannons if neither player makes stupid decisions. Obviously if a AC40 Jager goes for your Stalker and exposes himself for 2 minutes to let your LRMs pound him you're gonna come out on top. Generally though Stalkers simply have no chance dishing out high average DPS and hence in face-to-face Stalkres go down incredibly fast. There may be one exception, which is the SRM-boat Stalker, but once that is spotted from target info, that Stalker is very vulnerable as well, because its easy to deny a Stalker closing into the 270m range.

[Sephlock]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d75ea6d931f398c

[JigglyMoobs]

Approach Stalker from slightly below, shoot the groin. Done.

[Bront]

juxstapo, on 07 September 2013 - 05:56 PM, said:

CASE might help a chassis mounting an XL on tabletop, where crits are much more limited and determined via die rolls, but not in this game, where torso section removal is basically arbitrary.

Nope, at least not for an IS mech. For a clan mech it will.

[Praehotec8]

I pilot stalkers, and honestly the best way to kill a stalker is to get it to overextend itself. Isolate it from the group and then focus-fire it into the ground.

The other option is to attack from the back and try to stay behind it. Even if it eventually turns, you can inflict serious damage before it can face you, given their slow turning radius. However, a good pilot will put his back to a wall and limit your ability to continue striking from behind.

If you can take its side-torsos, it will be nearly weaponless (at most one CT weapon left), and often this is a good tactic for groups firing on a stalker.

Honestly though, avoid 1v1 with stalkers whenever possible. I find that (aside from my missile boat 3H) my stalkers can take out nearly any mech in a duel, simply because the stalker can carry more weapons than almost any other mech...they are designed to be walking weapon platforms.

[arghmace]

If you wanna core a Stalker, always shoot at its groin, never in the upper torso. This is the first rule of fighting Stalkers, imo.

[Koniving]

Shoot it.

But seriously for the fastest kill you've got two options. Destroy the legs (almost always under armored) or shoot the head.