33 replies to this topic

[Wicked Gaming]

so yea i saved up c-bills to try something different other than lights and i went with the awesome 8Q, and i dont know i find piloting this mech extremely frustrating .i spent a ton of c-bills on it and built it up with a build from mechspecs and i cant even get over 200 dmg in a match. hell i cant even keep up with the group to get into the fight to atleast beable to get assist and when im finnaly in the fight my team is dead and i have 10 enamy mechs knockin at my door. so i am here to find out if its me because i am a light pilot ,or did i just pick the wrong chassy to dump cbills in because i can do about 580-680 dmg in my lights all day. but yea some help or guidence would be greatly appreciated

[Vassago Rain]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bbc79fa0312a3f7

Best I can do. You've bought one of the worst robots in the game. Sorry, man.

Use the PPCs at long to medium range, and switch to laser alphas if anything gets within PPC range.

[NRP]

You should have asked before spending C-Bills. Awesomes are far and away the worst Assault mechs in the game.

Anyway, check the build guide threads. I believe there are at least a few specifically for the Awesome. Ultimately though, you'll need a STD300 engine, DHS, and either an LL or PPC based loadout. Ghost heat is going to hurt you badly though.

On the bright side, PGI is twerking the AWS hitboxes on Tuesday, so it might be a bit more durable.

[FireSlade]

Try this build out http://mwo.smurfy-ne...181c3a86c03124e you can swap the PPCs for LPLs if you wish. Just remember to keep twisting using your left side as a shield and to stay back from the fighting 120-400meters. Hopefully this helps you out good hunting.

Edited by FireSlade, 15 November 2013 - 09:26 PM.

[Wicked Gaming]

yea i kinda figured that when i did a few matches in it ,i ended up more angry and confused than happy and smiling like i usually do in my spiders so im just gonna sell it thanks for the great responces guys

btw i did use the predator build from mechlabs

[Escef]

Piloting an AWS is like driving a barn. I HAVE seen people get good mileage out of them, but it requires a lot of patience, forethought, and situational awareness. For the amount of effort required to do well with one, you're better off in pretty much ANY other assault mech, or even most heavies.

[Mahws]

Before selling it try a less terrible build. The one you used (I'm assuming it's this) isn't too great. Suffers from "use all the hardpoints"-itis. As a general rule, if you have to choose between firing weapon groups to not overheat then you should have a very good reason to have those extra weapons. Two medium lasers are just a Large Laser with shorter range, more heat and only a single point of extra damage, there's no reason to fire them instead of the large lasers.

Try this instead: AWS-8Q

Weapon group 1: 3xLL (blah, blah, ghost heat, it's only as much as a single small laser, it's fine)
Weapon group 2: PPC
Weapon group 3: 3xLL chainfire

Use the PPC to poke at long range and the 3xLL as your main weapons. Remember to twist to the side between salvos to absorb damage on your arms and side torsos instead of your CT.

And if that doesn't work out for you try a Victor. It's the most forgiving assualt mech for inexperienced players and generally an all round a good mech.

Edited by Mahws, 15 November 2013 - 10:14 PM.

[Carrioncrows]

Here is the greatest Awesome 8Q you will ever pilot. You can almost stay heat neutral by only using two of the 3 weapon groups, either the ER larges and PPC's or the Er Larges and Mediums.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0c325c7bebb89ec

It's almost the best Awesome loadout period but only beat out slightly by the Aws-9M just because it can use the SRM's and mediums to cool with.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bc0f9f76e5da095

Edited by Carrioncrows, 15 November 2013 - 10:14 PM.

[Hans Von Lohman]

The Awesomes are getting a hit box re-design this Tuesday. Wait until then and try it again and see if you still think it is bad or not.

[Red squirrel]

Good news first: PGI is twearking the AWS hitboxes on Tuesday, so it might be a bit more durable.

More good news: No way to hide so it is the ideal mech for a nice colorful camo

The Awesome has been one of the worst/most difficult mechs from the beginning of MWO.
Still it was the first I mastered and although it is very difficult to pilot you can do well in it.
I think one big issue for you is that you are very much used to lights. Whenever I change from my Jenner or Spider
to the Awesome it takes several matches until I can adapt to the sluggish monster CT hitbox.


Bad news: I think the 8Q is the worst Awesome, so you got the worst variant of the worst chassis.
I would give a long range sniper/support build with a 300XL a try. If you have a med/light that prevents you from being eaten by Spiders that works too.


TIP Allocate armor from the back to the CT

[Heavenly Angel]

I've been having issues with it too. I absolutely ***** face in my 8t and 8r but with this thing... it's like it's impossible to find the right balance of damage and heat. You just can't fit enough heat sinks onto a mech to keep everything cool unless you downgrade to smaller weapons and wind up with the dps of a medium.

[TheMadTypist]

AWS-8Q is a rough introduction to the Assault lineup.

some notes from my experiences-

Three PPC works, if you rig your fire groups so even panic button-mashing means you only ever fire two at once. I settled on arm PPC m1, torso PPC's chainfire m2. arm-locking before dual shots helps with convergence issues. Many people in pub games seem either unknowing or uncaring about the hard 90 meter limit, sometimes even attempting to duke it out at ~110 meters without bothering to close. Light pilots tend to be much more aware of your limitations, however.

Med/Large lasers can be effective, but the two major limiters are your speed (getting into combat range) and your vulnerability (CT at med/short range is an easy target, if people smell an XL taking a side torso isn't difficult either). Offers far better potential damage than PPC builds do, for the most part, but suffers on delivery.

3xER PPC's run hot enough that even with 21 dub heat-sinks, the extra range over PPC, and no minimum range, you're losing DPS. Unless you're sniping from 700+ meters all the time, generally not worth the sacrifice. 1xER and two standard are alright for adding a little reach, but if you accidentally trigger the heat penalty it's as bad as 3xERPPC. I've seen some who go with one LPL and two PPC instead to deal with the minimum range without fear of heat penalty.

Right torso loss can be devastating to your firepower. If running lots of weapons, try stacking the bigger ones in the left torso so you still have something left when the right goes. You can also try leaving it empty and using it as a shield, but I personally found that to be a tactic with severe potential to backfire. Disregard the lot of this if running XL.

Upgrading your engine is helpful. The stock one doesn't even get 10 in-engine heatsinks. Perhaps use some the weight you get back from upgrading to DHS to correct this. More torso twist speed is good, and maneuverability, while no longer such comparative strength of the awesome against certain other assaults, is a very valuable commodity when attempting to compensate for piloting a battle-barn.

Torso twisting to spread damage is important- you have big damn arms, better you lose one of them then the CT. It doesn't matter if you twist far enough that they shave some armor from your back, better to lose armor than structure. That said, don't let them get behind you for any good, direct shots either, even a hunchback can pop your right torso easy from the rear and leave you SOL.

You aren't as powerful as other assaults. Celebrate your personal high damage games, don't bother comparing yourself to the 900+ damage stalkers and atlases. I'm generally over the moon when I break ~600 damage. Focus on small, incremental improvements and try to remember where you made mistakes for the next match. Any victory is a win, and a loss means your 'mech is unlocked to try again.

Vassago Rain, on 15 November 2013 - 09:15 PM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bbc79fa0312a3f7

Best I can do. You've bought one of the worst robots in the game. Sorry, man.

Use the PPCs at long to medium range, and switch to laser alphas if anything gets within PPC range.

I feel like an *****. I have all those parts sitting in my mechbay, and never thought to combine them like that.

Edited by TheMadTypist, 16 November 2013 - 11:43 AM.

[Alistair Winter]

There are two kinds of people you shouldn't pay attention to:
1) The people who say that the AWS-8Q is great, and that in the right hands, it's as good as any other mech. It's not.
2) The people who say that the AWS-8Q is {Scrap} and one of the worst mechs in the game. Far from it.

Here's what you need.
STD300 engine, 22 DBL heat sinks, 2 ER PPCs in the torso, 1 PPC in the arm, 1 small laser in the head.... and nothing else.
If you cannot do well with this build, I recommend buying a purse and some make-up, maybe a nice summer dress. Go shave your legs and watch Sex and the City.

The AWS-8Q is what real men pilot. If you pilot an 8Q, people know that you're a real samurai, a real warrior, a stoic, a warrior poet, a lady's man, a guy with nicely trimmed facial hair and rich, expensive cologne with a faint smell of mahogny and lavender oil. You're a man of the world, you probably speak Portugese and you make a great clam chowder. You have a great story about the time you met Uma Thurman in Abu Dhabi. Piloting an AWS-8Q is like smoking. You're sending a message to the world, to the universe. You don't play by the rules. You don't want to live forever. You just want to pilot the coolest ******** mech in the game.

[Cyberiad]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...981ea83ba723310

Try this build. It's a somewhat easier build to use on the AWS. Lasers are easier to aim than ppcs and on the awesome they are pretty much spam-able as you can fire around 8 shots in quick succession before overheating, as long as you chain fire.

[Glucose]

Alistair Winter, on 16 November 2013 - 07:39 PM, said:

There are two kinds of people you shouldn't pay attention to:
1) The people who say that the AWS-8Q is great, and that in the right hands, it's as good as any other mech. It's not.
2) The people who say that the AWS-8Q is {Scrap} and one of the worst mechs in the game. Far from it.

Here's what you need.
STD300 engine, 22 DBL heat sinks, 2 ER PPCs in the torso, 1 PPC in the arm, 1 small laser in the head.... and nothing else.
If you cannot do well with this build, I recommend buying a purse and some make-up, maybe a nice summer dress. Go shave your legs and watch Sex and the City.

The AWS-8Q is what real men pilot. If you pilot an 8Q, people know that you're a real samurai, a real warrior, a stoic, a warrior poet, a lady's man, a guy with nicely trimmed facial hair and rich, expensive cologne with a faint smell of mahogny and lavender oil. You're a man of the world, you probably speak Portugese and you make a great clam chowder. You have a great story about the time you met Uma Thurman in Abu Dhabi. Piloting an AWS-8Q is like smoking. You're sending a message to the world, to the universe. You don't play by the rules. You don't want to live forever. You just want to pilot the coolest ******** mech in the game.

This post has inspired me to take up smoking.

[Carrioncrows]

Glucose, on 16 November 2013 - 07:57 PM, said:

This post has inspired me to take up smoking.

Me too!

I quit two days later.

Too expensive, that's mah walking around Red Light district money that I was wasting and at least they are willing to do punch cards.

[Blue Hymn]

A pilot of the Awesome has a reputation to uphold.

A true Awesome pilot does not answer to anyone, even to Ghost heat, nor the damn hot maps. An Awesome pilot performs the impossible, against all odds and makes an example out of those that dare stand in his way. He schools the training wheel mechs like the Jagermechs, Cataphracts, Stalkers and Highlanders with the fury of his arsenal, and delivers PEW PEW deliverance to the wicked.

You know why they implemented Ghost heat? Because of the Awesome.
Barn sized width? Because they needed a way to defeat the Awesome.
Other mechs that can wield multiple PPCs? To attempt to use the Awesome's own weapons against it.
Hot maps everywhere? BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID!

And for those that use such pansy builds on the Awesome, does not realize its best potential.
For REAL men use...

Overheater

[Deathlike]

TheMadTypist, on 16 November 2013 - 11:27 AM, said:

I feel like an *****. I have all those parts sitting in my mechbay, and never thought to combine them like that.

I already did a similar build to that (no AMS though), with the PPCs on the LT, and the meds on the RT. It works better that way... kinda (although, arm articulation is nice, but the arm firing points are lower than the torso...

It's probably the only solid build on the 8Q for the most part.

[NRP]

The Awesome is the only mech I'll go after in my Locust. That should tell you something.

[Wicked Gaming]

wow lots of great responces ,but i have moved on to a jenner JR7-F and got what i could out of the AWS-8Q. so my question now is if i wanted to try another stab at assualts what would you guys recommend ?