38 replies to this topic

[tib3r]

I wanted to start an assault mech, trouble is I can't really decide on one.

I have been playing Jagers for a while, I enjoyed playing an Orion, so I kinda figured I might be a good fit playing the Awesome.

Does that sound logical?

[Hex Pallett]

NOPE.

[Cold Cash]

dont very bad chasis at the moment.

Viktors, speed and moderately good firepower/armor.......not frontline.
Highlanders, slow, massive armor, massive firepower, maneueverable......can be front line.
Atlas slow, supreme armor and firepower(not as good as stalker) frontline but needs support to be at its best.
Stalker massive armor, super slow, terrible weapon arcs, best firepower..........frontline but needs support easy to flank.

[xtase]

So in terms of firepower, Highlanders beat Stalkers ? Seems Highlanders are overall better than Stalkers from what you're saying.

I'm actually in the same position as OP. Either buy an Assault or buy a Jagger.

[Dugra Dugrasson]

If you're ready for a long and difficult road, molded by the tears of your own desperation, pilot an Awesome.

[RandomLurker]

Stalkers have a lot of firepower, but terrible, terrible turning and torso twist. They make decent fire support, they are dead as brawlers.

Victor can play like an Assault or Heavy depending on how you build it. Good chassis to have in your arsenal because of this.

Awesomes are bad. Search forums for why, it's been discussed to death.

Highlander is the best all-around, with heavy armor, firepower and jump jets. Hardpoint layout is a little weird though, cause it's asymmetrical and mixes arm and torso hardpoints of the same type.

Atlas is not a mech. It's a tactical position with legs.

[tib3r]

RandomLurker, on 07 October 2013 - 07:05 PM, said:

Stalkers have a lot of firepower, but terrible, terrible turning and torso twist. They make decent fire support, they are dead as brawlers.

Victor can play like an Assault or Heavy depending on how you build it. Good chassis to have in your arsenal because of this.

Awesomes are bad. Search forums for why, it's been discussed to death.

Highlander is the best all-around, with heavy armor, firepower and jump jets. Hardpoint layout is a little weird though, cause it's asymmetrical and mixes arm and torso hardpoints of the same type.

Atlas is not a mech. It's a tactical position with legs.

I have maxed out the Jagers and it's starting to bore me.
I had no idea that the awesome was that bad

[Hex Pallett]

Awesome is not "bad". You just need to get ready to twist around a LOT, let your empty left shoulder soak up the damage. Too big for the armor.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Yeah awesomes are a unforgiving mech, though if you enjoyed the orions you might be alright as I have two orions and know full well they have a massive CT issue as well. That being said Victors are a pretty solid machine, quite popular and can go pretty damn fast. I dont much like stalkers, they have issues with smaller mechs and right now the battlefield is absolutely saturated with spiders so you can expect a frustraiting time working on those right now.

[tib3r]

Here's the issues I have with the other assault mechs...

Atlases: Seem to attract enemy fire like a sponge. Case in point? Me. Nothing easier to hit from half way across the map then an atlas. Too slow.

Highlanders: Too slow.

Victors: Too expensive/awkward. I had a hard time when I was playing the trial mech getting used to them.

Stalker: Hell no. I hate LRM boats and would never play anything that resembles it.

I've never tried an awesome, they seemed to move at an OK speed and pack some heavy weapons that's why I asked. I'm sure I could revisit the highlander or the victor with success though.

[tib3r]

Xeno Phalcon, on 07 October 2013 - 07:35 PM, said:

Yeah awesomes are a unforgiving mech, though if you enjoyed the orions you might be alright as I have two orions and know full well they have a massive CT issue as well. That being said Victors are a pretty solid machine, quite popular and can go pretty damn fast. I dont much like stalkers, they have issues with smaller mechs and right now the battlefield is absolutely saturated with spiders so you can expect a frustraiting time working on those right now.

CT issue?

[Mahws]

The Center Torsos on Orions and Awesomes are both pretty huge and jut out so are harder to shield by torso twisting.

The Awesome isn't terrible, but it's definitely the weakest of the Assaults. The victor has way better hitboxes, better engine size caps and can use most of the same builds. The Awesome used to be good okay for medium laser boating or LRM boating, but with both of those nerfed heavily with Ghost Heat there's not much they shine at.

This is coming from someone who's almost finished mastering them, just save yourself the trouble and go elsewhere. The huge hitboxes make brawling a bad idea (and only the 9M has the engine cap to go at a half decent brawling speed), they can LRM boat decently well (45 in a single cluster can be very effective), but so can Stalkers. The 9M can be effective and pretty damn fun with a large energy weapon boating build, but that's an expensive investment for a one trick pony.

Edited by Mahws, 07 October 2013 - 08:02 PM.

[tib3r]

I have to eat my words, I'm sorta liking the trial atlas.

However, what I am realizing is that its not like my JM6s, I can't turn the tide of the battle on my own like I can with them

Edited by tib3r, 07 October 2013 - 08:36 PM.

[Void Angel]

xtase, on 07 October 2013 - 06:45 PM, said:

So in terms of firepower, Highlanders beat Stalkers ? Seems Highlanders are overall better than Stalkers from what you're saying.

I'm actually in the same position as OP. Either buy an Assault or buy a Jagger.

Not really. The Highlanders all have seven weapon hardpoints - most of the Stalkers have ten. The 'mechs just fulfill different roles. The Hidelander excels at using heavy punch weapons and jump jet capability to either snipe from a distance or brawl from unexpected directions. The Stalker, on the other hand, can mount so many fracking weapons it's not even funny. I have seen Stalkers using over half their total tonnage on weapons, with maxxed armor. So like the man said, Stalkers are excellent support brawlers, and can fill a hybrid role (ERPPCs, MLasers and SRMS) very well. It also has very high-mounted arms, so you can fire over things exceptionally well. When the Stalker first came out, it was the only other chassis that my Atlas would hesitate to tackle head-on.

[Void Angel]

tib3r, on 07 October 2013 - 07:50 PM, said:

CT issue?

Large CT hitboxes, a la Awesomes and Cataphracts. I hadn't heard that about the Orion, but I think that's what he's saying.

Also, the fracking Atlas is a ton of fun. Currently, I recommend this one.

[tib3r]

So far what I have found about atlases is that they are hard to get use to being so slow, compared to my jagers.

[Jay Z]

I've piloted and mastered all of the assaults bar the Awesome and Victor. I'll be starting the Victor next week when I save up the C-bills (Atlases were expensive). I seem to like my first assaults slightly more than my more recent ones, but I think the Victor will change that trend. I have no plans to start the Awesomes. Since I ma first and foremost a Jenner pilot, the fact that the Stalker looks (and somewhat handles) like a giant Jenner might bias my opinion.

My personal ranking and opinion:

1. <3 Stalker <3
Stalkers are amazing, mastered all 5 variants for that reason. Stalkers have unparalleled firepower and can fill almost every assault role effectively. Whether it be Frontline Brawler, Tactical Brawler, Direct Fire Support, Indirect Fire Support, Sniper or any combination, the Stalker can do it very well. Symmetrical loadouts ensure you can keep going strong even if you lose a side torso. You do lose side torso easily which means your CT is harder to kill. The torso twist is not great but easy to get used to as the profile is compact (for an assault) and it has decent acceleration/deceleration (for an assault). Favourite variants in order (5M, 3F, 5S, 3H, 4N)

2. Highlander
I feel like a terrible person each time I pilot my 733C. Jump and boom, AC20, 2PPC, 3SRM4 to the face, then I drop back down. Rinse and repeat. Lots of fun and devastatingly effective. Jumpjets also greatly help mobility which assaults lack, especially when jump brawling to spread damage on legs and to throw off aim (more useful in my old brawling configuration).
I usually run XL engines (except brawler 733C config) so it does not have the tanking power of a Stalker or Atlas which you need to peel like an onion if the pilot can twist well. Favourite Variants in order (733C, 733, 732) (have not tried 733P)

3. Atlas
Pros, it's an Atlas. Cons, other team knows it's an Atlas. This mech is ridiculous, just a massive slab of metal. It takes some getting used to even after mastering 2 assaults. It is very slow, and my builds use the stock engine. However, the shear presence (and ECM on the DDC) make up for it. I finally had a good time with them last night, getting my first Atlas match that was over 1100 damage. Unlike any other mech, you are a mobile field position, there is no one to follow. You are the Atlas. I would never start with an Atlas until you have experience as a pilot and as a company commander because like it or not, you are the core of the team. I like this mech but it doesn't have the charm of the Stalker for my taste hence the third place. Favourite Variants in order (DDC, D, RS) (have not tried K)

Unranked. Victor
I really want to pilot these and have 3 builds already worked out for the 9S, 9B and 9K. (I will get them in that order). With excellent speed and relative safety in running an XL engine, I have seen these things tear teams apart. Big guns, JJ and speed. Not what I would consider a brawling chassis, rather a heavy striker, direct fire support role. Probably the closest thing to a Jager or Cataphract in the Assaults. I think this will move up to 2 or 3 on my list as I have seen lots of great matches with them.

Last place. Awesome
When you have to name it the "Awesome" you know someone is compensating for something. Massive target. Wider than an Atlas. However, the 8R is a great LRM boat and the 9M can be a heavy fast striker. There are great Awesome pilots out there who swear by their Awesomes. It may be the mech for you if you like alternative styles. Not my style though.

Dark Horse. Battlemaster
Not released yet so hard to speculate. At least one variant has 9 hardpoints (which is stalker territory) and a big engine cap. Could be interesting to see how it fits in.

Well, that's my take on the assault class. I hope this helps.

[tib3r]

I am kinda torn between the atlas and the highlander looking it over. I am getting used to the atlas fairly quickly, its a pain in the neck though because of how slow moving it is and the trial mech includes my least favorite weapon in the game (gauss) so right now its interesting for me to say the least learning to play it.

[aniviron]

tib3r, on 07 October 2013 - 04:50 PM, said:

I wanted to start an assault mech, trouble is I can't really decide on one.

I have been playing Jagers for a while, I enjoyed playing an Orion, so I kinda figured I might be a good fit playing the Awesome.

Does that sound logical?

Hi, I'm one of the top five awesome pilots in the game (source: the tournament standings). Do not buy an awesome. There is no reason for it to exist in this game. There is literally not a single thing it does that any other assault doesn't do better. It's big, slow, easy to hit, almost all the damage goes to the CT no matter what gets shot, and doesn't have a very many weapon hardpoints for its size. Of the hardpoints it does have, every single variant can only use missiles, energy, or a mix therein, and thus every single variant runs hot. All of the weapon hardpoints except the head laser (lol) are located way down low on the mech, which makes the awesome utterly unacceptable for sniping or even shooting from cover, as you are required to expose almost the whole mech just so your weapons aren't blocked.

I could go on, but I won't. If you want a slow, heavy hitter, get an atlas or stalker. If you want a mix of maneuverability and toughness, go for a highlander. If you want agility, get a victor.

[Mao of DC]

I have all the assault mechs except the Awesome. They all have their food and bad points. To the guy who said that stalkers suck because they are missile boat I say try putting Llas on them. I run my 6 Llas Stalker by having the arm weapons on single fire. Not only do I avoid ghost heat I can put out a near constant amount of fire.