20 replies to this topic

[GhostofBG]

So, I'm no expert here, but kinda bumble my way through the game and figure out what works for me. I've been an Atlas pilot since Day 1, love my AS7-D(F), and been eagerly awaiting a Hero Atlas for some time. The BH was...a little bit of a letdown, to be honest, but I'm nothing if not stubborn.

So, my initial setup for this mech was a Standard 360 Engine, AC/20, 2 ER Large Lasers, and 4 Medium Lasers. I found, however, that I rarely used the MLs due to the insane levels of heat they generate in conjunction with the ERLLs and the AC20, which are my primary armaments. I found myself really only using the quad MLs as supporting weapons when things got up close and personal. So to that end, I had a crazy thought...

I swapped out the 4 MLs for 4 Small Pulse Lasers. Less damage, sure, but easier to track, much faster cycle time, and far less heat. The range is significantly shorter, true, but I really only used the MLs in knife-fighting range anyway because of the heat and even then I was reluctant to do so. I've found that since swapping to the SPLs, I don't overheat as much as I used to, and I have an easier time kneecapping Lights.

Just wanted to share this little experiment with others and discuss.

[Deathz Jester]

2 standard larges will still give you some range and moderate damage output, without the heat from the ER, since they have different heat values. Then again you can still deal almost full damage with the AC20 about 550-600 meters away.

I usually run on my founders Atlas 1x AC20, 2x SRM6s +Artemis, 2x Medium Lasers, and 2x Large Lasers [chainfired].

Im normally firing the Large Lasers almost %100 of the time, the mediums I fire if I'm close enough and trying to alpha someone to death, same with the 2x SRM6s, and the AC20 well I only fire if I'm pretty certain I'll hit, which is why I have like an %89 accuracy with it out of about 5,000 shots.

[NRP]

It seems unconventional to put SPLs on an Atlas at first glance, but if it works out for you it's all good.

[AlmightyAeng]

Take your original build and swap out a 325 instead of the 360. Drop Endo and throw in a bunch of heatsinks. Heat build now viable. Fire at will.

[Wrenchfarm]

If I had money to burn I'd try something with 6 MLAS, an AC20 and a big honking engine like this.


A 50 point alpha seems pretty damn nice. Should be able to get off 3 of them before overheating. Bring some coolant and you'll be able to punch right through other assault mechs up close. Besides, you might as well use the energy slots and the higher engine cap eh?

[AlmightyAeng]

I had thought that, too...but in my experience even a fast atlas has issues getting away. With atlai, once you're fighting...you're not running away. They'll follow you for the fat juicy kill. I prefer bigger guns and more cooling over engine size.

[Gnume]

I've found the Small Pulse Lasers generate as much if not more heat than the Med Lasers when you account for the faster fire rate. So, given that, I stay with the ML because the range is so much better. I run something similar on my BH ... 2ERLL, 4ML, AC10 with a STD350 and 18 DBl Heatsinks. When things are out of range of the ML, I use the ERLL and AC10. When things get close, I use the ML and AC10. I try to stay at range as much as possible to use the ERLL in Chain Fire and hit with the AC10.

Edited by CaptRosha, 24 October 2013 - 11:58 AM.

[Wrenchfarm]

Ghost Badger, on 24 October 2013 - 11:38 AM, said:

I had thought that, too...but in my experience even a fast atlas has issues getting away. With atlai, once you're fighting...you're not running away. They'll follow you for the fat juicy kill. I prefer bigger guns and more cooling over engine size.

Heh, the idea isn't to run away, but to bowl right through!

That said, I understand your point. I just think SLAS are too stubby to be of much use to a big slow brute like the Atlas.

[Gnume]

Ghost Badger, on 24 October 2013 - 10:43 AM, said:

Take your original build and swap out a 325 instead of the 360. Drop Endo and throw in a bunch of heatsinks. Heat build now viable. Fire at will.

Just tried that in the MechLab...I had a STD350 though. When I did as you suggested, I ended up with the exact same Heat Efficiency as I already had before...granted, I was able to add some more heatsinks but if it only brought it back to the same level, then the expense of removing the Endo Steel and the loss of the extra engine heatsink wasn't worth while in my opinion.

[MisterPlanetarian]

If it ever goes on sale i'll get one.


AS7-BH 6xML

AS7-BH 2xLL 4xML

Last one needs endo ofc but gives you some additional medium range punch with the large lasers, fall back on mediums up close. First one is a pure brawler, AMS and BAP for some extra utility and 18 DHS keep it reasonably cool.

[NRP]

Wrenchfarm, on 24 October 2013 - 11:09 AM, said:

If I had money to burn I'd try something with 6 MLAS, an AC20 and a big honking engine like this. A 50 point alpha seems pretty damn nice. Should be able to get off 3 of them before overheating. Bring some coolant and you'll be able to punch right through other assault mechs up close. Besides, you might as well use the energy slots and the higher engine cap eh?

Has anyone tried this build? How effective is it? Should be good enough up close, but I'm a little worried about larger maps.

[Bilbo]

NRP, on 25 October 2013 - 10:54 AM, said:

Has anyone tried this build? How effective is it? Should be good enough up close, but I'm a little worried about larger maps.

It works well. Range is an issue of course, but most of my builds lack range anyway so It doesn't bother me. Just have to work yourself into brawling range.

[AlmightyAeng]

CaptRosha, on 24 October 2013 - 11:56 AM, said:

Just tried that in the MechLab...I had a STD350 though. When I did as you suggested, I ended up with the exact same Heat Efficiency as I already had before...granted, I was able to add some more heatsinks but if it only brought it back to the same level, then the expense of removing the Endo Steel and the loss of the extra engine heatsink wasn't worth while in my opinion.

I set up an Atlas with the OP's build here. 30% Smurfy's heat.

These were my proposed changes, here. 34% Smurfy's heat.

For me, the loss of 6.3 kph is worth the extra heatsink and AMS.

Personally, I drop the ER's to regulars, as seen here. 37% Smurfy's heat.

Edited by Ghost Badger, 25 October 2013 - 12:22 PM.

[Shaftronics]

I believe its mostly a playstyle issue. You just can't rush out guns blazing with this unless you know you aren't gonna shut down or are confident you can tame the beastly heat that comes with its amazing ability to land pinpoint alphas in a specific part of a mech.

BOAR'S HEAD is my personal variant. Punish people for peeking out and when its time for you to advance; Make every shot count and ride it out.

[GXMan]

Hello, first post here!

I'd like to say that placing large lasers on atlases limit your damage potential. When you're in an atlas, your optimal range is 0 - 400m. If you put those large lasers on those arms, you'd have a tendency to stay back and blaze away with your large lasers, but your autocannons and SRMs would not be doing anything. You'd also be losing armor to people with better long range firepower!

Use terrain and cover to get in close then wreak havoc! Trust me, it's a lot more fun and tactical this way! and your potential for damage is so much higher!

[NRP]

Now that I'm basically finished with the Phoenix mechs, I'm tempted to pull the trigger on a BH. Might hold out for a sale though.

[Briggers]

NRP, on 25 October 2013 - 10:54 AM, said:

Has anyone tried this build? How effective is it? Should be good enough up close, but I'm a little worried about larger maps.

Thats the build I use, awesome fun for brawling. Terrain is absolutely your friend in this thing.

You are a huge 'hit me' target, more so than my battlemasters but hey ho, you can get off a few alphas before you go shut down but then that's what coolant dumping and quick ignition is for

Edited by Briggers, 27 October 2013 - 11:00 AM.

[Gnume]

Ghost Badger, on 25 October 2013 - 12:19 PM, said:

I set up an Atlas with the OP's build here. 30% Smurfy's heat.

These were my proposed changes, here. 34% Smurfy's heat.

For me, the loss of 6.3 kph is worth the extra heatsink and AMS.

Personally, I drop the ER's to regulars, as seen here. 37% Smurfy's heat.

Thanks ... just re-created the build in-game and I must have missed something the first time. I was using the build I had that I said was similar, where I was using an AC10 instead of the AC20 and using a STD350.

My Original build of 2 ERLL, 4ML, AC10, and STD350 shows a heat efficiency of 1.12 in MechLab. That is with Endo-Steel and an AMS system. Also, Max Armor.

Swapping to a STD325 build and dropping Endo-Steel, the MechLab showed a Heat Efficiency of 1.15 (Again, Max Armor). Shaving .2 tons of Armor to take it to 608 Armor allowed me to add 1 more DHS and put the Heat Efficiency at 1.17.

So, my question ... what does the extra .03 Heat Efficiency let me do? What would an extra .05 HE do for me? Is it worth spending the 500K Cbills to remove Endo? Is it worth losing an Engine DHS working at a better Heat Efficiency to put in 2 extra DHS that could be destroyed in combat? Is it worth dropping my speed (and torso twist speed) from 62.4 down to 57.9?

[ShadowedR]

CaptRosha, on 24 October 2013 - 11:40 AM, said:

I've found the Small Pulse Lasers generate as much if not more heat than the Med Lasers when you account for the faster fire rate. So, given that, I stay with the ML because the range is so much better. I run something similar on my BH ... 2ERLL, 4ML, AC10 with a STD350 and 18 DBl Heatsinks. When things are out of range of the ML, I use the ERLL and AC10. When things get close, I use the ML and AC10. I try to stay at range as much as possible to use the ERLL in Chain Fire and hit with the AC10.

Just keep in mind that you won't fire a SPL at the same range than a ML.
I agree that because of the faster cycle time, an SPL has the potential to generate approximately than the same as MLs.
But, because ML has more range [90 - 180] vs [270 - 540] you have more available targets at a given time. Thus you end up firing your MLs a lot more than SPLs.

What a way to outfit your mech? Pavlov yourself into managing your heat effectively.

[Elric von Rabenfels]

I use this:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...086128b3342c968

I have all other Atlai variants, so I'm going to take advantage of the unique feature the Boars Head gives me.
It's my Steiner scout mech. Going at 71.3 kph, people don't expect an Atlas to rush for cap.

And when they send a puny light or medium to counter the light or medium they BELIEVE is capping their base, I still have enough firepower to tear them apart, mostly since I can take so many more hits than they can.
The comments on when they find out that an Atlas rushed for cap are priceless. Many players actually panic when they realise what kind of mech is waiting for them.

Even if they send their whole team back to base, I have enough armour to distract them long enough for my team to rush in and charge their backs.

And most heavy pilots are going to get scared when they realise they can't run away from THIS Atlas.
It's a very enjoyable build. Unusual, maybe not the most effective, but very enjoyable, and able to deal alot of damage and win a game if used well.

Edited by Elric von Rabenfels, 28 October 2013 - 04:13 AM.