16 replies to this topic

[MydKnyght]

Good day,

I want a good heavy assault mech that is mainly energy and ballistic. I would like good versiality and decent speed if available. I see the Atlas and how hard they are to drop, but im not sure this is what I want. Any suggestions about loadout and mech chasis would be great. I am in a Spider now, and I can get in first to spy, and usually die. Now I want lasers and auto cannons.

Thank you

[Claive]

Take a look at http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ and play around with it before you purchase anything! :-) good luck!

If you want an assault with lasers and AC... you might want to look at the Victor or the Highlander. (or wait for the Battlemaster :-) )

Edited by Claive, 10 September 2013 - 10:51 AM.

[Earl White]

Highlander 733C - 2 Ballistic slots on the arm and room for energy weapons as well as missiles, let's not forget jumpjets for extra fun times. Battlemaster won't be out for a long long time, unless you paid for the Overlord Phoenix package, in which case you'll get it October.

[Claive]

Maybe if you are willing to downgrade to a heavy? The Orion-1K is looking like it has the weapon slots you are looking for (if they fix the hit box issues)

Edit: Or it will when it comes out in a week or three.

Perhaps the Cataphract - 3D? Room for 2 Auto Cannons and 4 Energy Weapons. Can use Jump Jets.

Edited by Claive, 10 September 2013 - 11:05 AM.

[Voivode]

Well, there are three things to consider when purchasing any mech. Mobility, armor, and firepower.

The Atlas places the emphasis on armor with firepower being a close second and mobility being the sacrifice.

The Highlander places firepower first, with armor second and mobility that is slightly better than the Atlas due to jump jets.

The Stalker is strong on armor and firepower but may even be worse than the Atlas on mobility.

The Victor is a highly mobile platform with strong firepower that lacks a bit in the armor.

The awesome has a wide variety of variants with two (Pretty Baby and 9M) emphasizing mobility above all else and the rest empasizing firepower and mobility equally with armor being a weak spot.

If you are looking for a mobile platform with ballistic slots check out the Victor. If mobility matters to you and you can live without ballistic slots check out the Awesome variants as the Awesome has the best agility of all the assaults.

[Aym]

Highlander is way more mobile than the Atlas with the current movement restrictions in the maps. Victor is a good balance except for the necessary sacrifices it makes being a lighter mech. I'd say Highlander chassis if you want mostly energy + ballistic, as much as I love my Atlai they suffer in the current meta. Although Victors are very tempting.
Stalkers are usually highly recommended but they tend to have 0 ballistic hard points, Awesomes are generally to be avoided AND have 0 ballistic hardpoints.

[Pastor Priest]

My recommendation is the Victor. I picked one up recently, and love it. More mobi than my Atlas, with superior mobility and similar firepower.

The assessments about the different assaults is spot on, but I would not recommend the Awesome. No ballistics, which you seem to want, and that massive torso is not friendly to newer pilots. I don't own one, but I've taken down quite a few, and it seems like they go down faster than a drunk prom date when taking direct fire.

Edited by Pastor Priest, 10 September 2013 - 11:29 AM.

[Autobot9000]

In the current meta you should go for a Highlander 733C with 2 U/AC5s (arm mounted) and 2 Large Lasers. You can put missiles in it as well later, if you find out that's what you want.

[Dan Nashe]

I love me some highlanders!
I would point out that all armor is strictly tied to weight for max armor.
So misleading to suggest that stalker (85 tons) values armor more than highlander.
The stalker brings more, better located firepower, but you need to pay $30 for ballistics (highlander is right torso heavy).
Unfotunately, atlas rs and misery are I think the only options with a ballistic and at least 4 energy.

And RS is tough to do well in imo.
So I would say highlander or cataphract (heavy).
Due to weight class matching, not a huge victor fan on principle.

But I love love love jump jets. And hate missiles, so I am biased.

[Xoxim SC]

Victor or Battlemaster would be the best bet. Best advice ever: don't ever follow any stupid "meta"; trends, stick to what you enjoy, even if it isn't conventional. The wonderful thing about a portion of the community is that they follow "meta", and once you learn how to shut them down, you can shut them ALL down. It's glorious.

As a side note, the Victor does have a smaller profile, and isn't the size of the broad side of a barn compared to a Highlander.

Edited by Todd Lightbringer, 10 September 2013 - 12:22 PM.

[StarGeezer]

While they're all pretty attractive in their own right, I'd have to throw my hat in with the Highlander. Pound for pound (or ton for ton), they are one of the harder mechs to put down. I've seen well-played Highlanders withstand barrages that would make an Atlas wither, and still come out swinging. In fact, I think the two most imposing chasses to go toe-to-toe with are the Highlander and the Centurion (and the latter is a Medium.)

[k0sh]

MydKnyght, on 10 September 2013 - 10:42 AM, said:

Good day,

I want a good heavy assault mech that is mainly energy and ballistic. I would like good versiality and decent speed if available. I see the Atlas and how hard they are to drop, but im not sure this is what I want. Any suggestions about loadout and mech chasis would be great. I am in a Spider now, and I can get in first to spy, and usually die. Now I want lasers and auto cannons.

Thank you

I would recommend you Atlas DDC
My current build is:
2xUAC5
2xLarge Laser
1xLRM 5 with 180 ammo, just for assist money
1x ECM !!!
9x UAC/5 ammo
8x Heatsinks
1x Case
1x Seismic Sensor as a must.

No AMS because of ECM umbrella.
You can drop one DHS and put it on but you rarely get LRM rain on you unless tagged.
This machine will let you get 150k c-bills most of the games on average.
On some matches you can get nearly 200k.
Usually I get 3 kills and 500-700 dmg and onwards and plenty of assists thanks to LRM

I know you asked for something with more speed and flexibility but truth to be told I see all other assaults dropping really fast but Atlas staying up most of the match time. I'm usually last man standing unless your team will abandon you which happens quite often when things get hot so be aware where your group is moving.

As other people mentioned Highlander, well it's on my to-do list due to 1-2x ballistic slots and jetpacks on a 90 Ton mech!

Things to be careful about:
TAG
Jaggermechs with 3x UAC/5 or 4x AC/2 due to explosions covering 90% of your screen and you can't see a thing. If you are lucky enough to be on low temperature map then you can use thermal vision which will help to actually see something

Edited by k0sh, 10 September 2013 - 01:23 PM.

[Mirenheart]

http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/

This site is a great place to look at if you want some ideas for mech builds that you may like.

[Jugger Grimrod]

Pastor Priest, on 10 September 2013 - 11:19 AM, said:

My recommendation is the Victor. I picked one up recently, and love it. More mobi than my Atlas, with superior mobility and similar firepower.

The assessments about the different assaults is spot on, but I would not recommend the Awesome. No ballistics, which you seem to want, and that massive torso is not friendly to newer pilots. I don't own one, but I've taken down quite a few, and it seems like they go down faster than a drunk prom date when taking direct fire.

I have to agree with Priest in regards to the Victor - by far my favorite assault mech! I purchased a Dragon Slayer and have no complaints. The combination of PPC and Gauss is devastating when paired with an advanced zoom module and a steady hand. I jump into nice positions on the flanks and unleash at long range into arms and legs, which disappear with every click of the mouse! Since most mechs keep their main guns in the arms, this renders most of the enemy heavies and assaults toothless and left with only secondary weapons. The speed helps me to skirmish along defensive lines to aid team members when I may be need on the other side of the fight. May I suggest you try my VTR-9K: LB-10X (R arm) + 4 tons ammo (arm and legs), 3 L-lasers (L arm), AMS +1 ton ammo (head), 15 Double HS, XL 330, 4 Jump Jets, max std armor.

Edited by Jugger Grimrod, 28 September 2013 - 04:26 AM.

[Royalewithcheese]

HGN 733C is probably your best bet as an energy/ballistic platform: it's got an arm/torso shield, jumpjets, good hardpoints, the works. Victor (any of them that can mount an AC/20 or 2xUAC5) can do the same thing faster, but has worse hardpoints and significantly worse durability.

Edited by Royalewithcheese, 10 September 2013 - 03:49 PM.

[Aym]

StarGeezer, on 10 September 2013 - 12:31 PM, said:

While they're all pretty attractive in their own right, I'd have to throw my hat in with the Highlander. Pound for pound (or ton for ton), they are one of the harder mechs to put down. I've seen well-played Highlanders withstand barrages that would make an Atlas wither, and still come out swinging. In fact, I think the two most imposing chasses to go toe-to-toe with are the Highlander and the Centurion (and the latter is a Medium.)

[StarGeezer]

Aym, on 11 September 2013 - 12:32 AM, said: