26 replies to this topic

[Reconius]

Hey guys
I'm almost at the point where I have enough C-bills to pick up an Atlas K. Now I know it's kind of looked down upon for it's lack of Ballistic and Missile hard points that it replaces with another AMS, but I personally never used the extra hard points. I'm fairly sure I'm not the only one who's been seeing Missile boats on their rise back to popularity, and I would like all the available protection from them as possible, because my speed surely won't do much.
Now, Onto the build
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d0f2719a28b5142
I wanted to create something decently well rounded. I wanted to keep the top speed of the atlas, while still bolstering some firepower that can be kept up with decent heat efficiency. Dual AMS systems do give me a sense of security when taking on a missile boat, and I'm sure my teammates don't mind me shooting down a couple heading their way.
All criticism is welcome, and I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks guys,
Reconius

[Vilrein]

If you are gonna have a build like that, you may as well buy a D-DC instead. Dual AMS is nice and all when the missile amount isn't that large, but ECM completely disables a missile boat's ability to target you in the first place. And if you get worried about PPCs disabling the ECM, you can always bring along a single AMS for backup. The main reason for buying a K in my opinion is for building a sniper. It comes with everything you already need to be one.

[John MatriX82]

Tip: never buy an AS7-K, unless you want the xl 300 and you dismount it to keep it for other mechs.

D-DC>D>RS>K imho. Get rid of the RS, keep D and D-DC once you master them.

Other info, dual AMS will get rid of that ton of ammo in no time. 2 tons is a bare minimum for 2 AMSs, 3 is ideal, 4 under the LRM rain of months ago was mandatory (but there, a Stalker 5S didi the job better ).

And quite frankly, with such a big engine you can get into cover in a decent way, so AMS might be completely pointless, and this brings me back to the AS7-D instead of the K.

I'd go around bothering others with this http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dcd022bf87d30e0 (maybe swap the ERLL with the tag in the LA so you expose only the LT when shooting missiles)

Or this: AS7-K and to hell to the ghost heat; but this is something also an AS7-D can do with a fraction of the cost, while being the most balanced Atlai among those available.

[Bront]

It's not a bad build, but the SRM6 and AC20 suffer from range issues, and honestly an Atlas K is best when it's ad mid range (so the AMS can help his teammates).

Try this instead. It's a medium range build that can provide fire support as well as protection for friends, and it has some zombie potential (which is something the atlas is suddently better at)

[Hex Pallett]

Words of wisdom: Avoid Atlas 7K.

[Ezazel]

I'm tempted to buy Atlas K myself even though I have 3 atlases mastered already. Everybody says it's no good so it would be interesting challenge to come up with a successful build.

I like that AC20 and ERLLs but 1 SRM6 isn't that much so maybe it could replaced with a LRM pack. That will at least make some people go seeking for cover. And i don't see reason to not have torso mounted lasers. Most irritating moment in a 100k mech is when all your weapons are neutered.

[NRP]

Dual AMS isn't nearly as useful as you think it should be. It works ok for smaller volleys (single LRM10, LRM15), but it's pretty much useless against multiple LRM volleys.

A lot of people hate on the K. I've never piloted an AS7-K myself (I've mastered all the other Atlases though), but it's still an Atlas so I would guess you could make a viable build with it. Just don't buy one solely for LRM defense. Get a D-DC if LRMs are your primary concern.

[Reconius]

Hey guys!
Made Atlas 2.0
Removed 1 ton AC/20 ammo for another AMS, (I usually only need 3 tons)
removed a couple heat sinks to free up room for LRMs
Removed SRM6 and replaced it with an LRM10, two tons of Ammo
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...62bcd1769834aaf

[Wrenchfarm]

Hey! I'm the one guy around here who pilots an Atlas-K and likes it. That said, it is the inferior Atlas. If you can only buy one Atlas, get a D-DC.

If you are trying to master the series or just want some variation, then the Atlas-K might be fun!



This is the build I've run for many, MANY, hours in the cockpit of the Atlas-K. It isn't the beast of that a D-DC is, but it can do alright.

You need to know that you will never match another Atlas, Highlander or Stalker in a brawl. You can't mount as many ballistics, missiles, or heavy energy as them, so I recommend you stay at range. That's why I pack a Gauss cannon even if it is a ticking time bomb in the chest.

The LRM10 is weak, but if used intelligently you can soften up targets without exposing yourself.If you see the enemy is using AMS, just save the ammo.

Dual AMS is great. The buffs AMS received a few patches ago has done wonders for making making the Atlas-K actually feel slightly useful. You will completely destroy LRM10s and under, and take a significant chunk out of large volleys. With the current sneaky meta of flooding with multiple small LRM packs (or large packs fired out of small tube counts) to cause massive screen shake, the dual AMS will be your friend, defeating all of that {Scrap}.

What is even better than destroying LRMs though is that dual AMS will actually defeat Streak builds and take the edge off SRM packs so long as they are fired 175m+ out.

The most fun I get out of my build is the silly thrill I get from playing a "lore" build. It's basically a downgraded version of the Star League version of the Atlas-K.

So if you want to RP as a honoured descendant of a House Kurita samurai who's inherented a beloved mech kept patched together for centuries, the Atlas-K is great. If you want an Atlas that can actually WIN fights, you should get a D-DC.

[Shade4x]

If your going to make that build, drop the LRM/SRM and go AC/20 2x PPC and double heat sinks. Other builds that work well are 4 LLAS and Ultra AC/5 (fire LLAS in groups of 2 to avoid ghost heat) I would build it with 2x LLas, 2x Mlas and an AC/20, thats a 50 point alpha at 270m if everything hits in one location. It's also close enough to realisticly do it.

ER LLAS are really bad. They have PPC style heat, with no accuracy. What will end up happening is you pop out from cover to shoot their team, and a real sniper with a 30 or 40 point alpha will shoot you in the face. You will then shoot at him and do about 3 damage where you want and 7 spread all over. Lasers really are designed for mid range and brawling. At those distances you can actually get the majority of damage where you want it. If you want to go lasers, just go LLAS.

Remember, this game is not about damage, it's about killing the enemy mech's. two 40 point alpha's to the chest will kill just about any mech, where as even a locust can survive 80 damage spread all around its body.

The other thing is that atlas's are not designed to sit in back. What you are actually doing is forcing your team to tank for you. This means the medium mech, with half the armor you have, that is tanking for you dies in seconds and you lose his DPS (which is fairly comparable to yours). Think RPG's. Would you ever let a mage tank?

[Wrenchfarm]

Shade4x, on 30 November 2013 - 02:22 AM, said:

If your going to make that build, drop the LRM/SRM and go AC/20 2x PPC and double heat sinks. Other builds that work well are 4 LLAS and Ultra AC/5 (fire LLAS in groups of 2 to avoid ghost heat) I would build it with 2x LLas, 2x Mlas and an AC/20, thats a 50 point alpha at 270m if everything hits in one location. It's also close enough to realisticly do it.

Sadly, the Atlas-K can't equip 4 LLAS. 2 of the energy slots are in the CT so you can only place a single LLAS in there, or two MLAS (usually the best bet).

ERLLAS are not great when firing out to 900m for all the reasons you mention. They do shine however when used around 600m where normal LLAS only do a portion of their potential damage, the ERLLAS deals the full blow. This makes them ideal for Lights and Mediums that can re-position to keep their enemy in that sweet spot. Sadly the Atlas K isn't really nimble enough to do that.

I'm not a huge fan of trying to snipe with PPCs in an Atlas. Those big gorilla arms make it impossible to ridge hump (shots go into the ground), and often difficult to get full damage in an urban environment (one of the arms goes straight into a building, or worse, a friendly mech's backplate.)

And while I generally agree that Atlai should be at the front of any charge, the Atlas-K is the one special snowflake where I'm willing to make an exception. It should be played mid-range due to a failure to distinguish itself anywhere else. It can't win sniper wars for the aforementioned reasons, but it can't brawl like a D-DC, or a D, or a Highlander/Stalker/Jager-bomb. Your best bet is to stick with a flock of similarly ranged mechs and hope that your damage contribution and AMS umbrella will help give your death ball the upper hand.

Atlas-K might be one of my favourite rides, but it is a poor Atlas.

[MisterPlanetarian]

The D-DC is the best atlas period, but it does the worst damage by a slight margin because of the Hitreg problems with SRM's. Only reason it is the best is because of the ECM+ 3xStreak Combo and the ability to equip double ballistic loadouts. The Boars/RS and D all do more pinpoint damage without relying on SRM's.

The AS7-K is generally inferior to the others but that doesn't mean you can't make it work. Dont even bother with it unless you want the double AMS though. The two builds below is what i'd use, with the Large Laser version preferred because of it's firepower at point blank range. PPC is better for 300+ meter shots of opportunity and provides a matching alpha to the Boomjager/Victor with the AC20 factored in. Don't use the single missile hardpoint. Can't really squeeze anything worthwhile in there right now.


AS7-K: PPC (1.5 tons to do whatever you feel with)

AS7-K: LL (BAP for Anti-ECM)

Edited by MisterPlanetarian, 01 December 2013 - 10:26 AM.

[Reconius]

Hey Guys,
I'm back, and let me start off by saying. STOP TRYING TO CHANGE MY MIND. I know the DDC is the king of Missile defense, but I want the K, and only the K, okay?
So now that that's taken care of, I present my Newest Varaint, the 3.0!
Heat efficiency isn't the best, but i had to drop something.
ER larges provide more long Range firepower along with the LRM 20, optimized with Artemis, and the AC/20 is all the short range punch I'll need, (with the Large Lasers, of course!)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1b687ffbef82c22
Please, more feedback!
thanks guys and sorry for the break i took while responding,
Reconius

[NRP]

Since I posted in this thread, I picked up an AS7-K and have since mastered it. Tried a few builds but pretty quickly settled on this one:

STD350
2 PPCs
AC/20
2 MLs
17 DHS, Endo

Quite simply, this thing wrecks house. This build has all ranges covered. PPCs for mid/long range and AC/20+MLs for close range. If the enemy is between 90-270m, you can put a 40 pt alpha to a single location. I run 3 weapon groups: PPCs, AC/20, MLs.

Sure you could do this same loadout on some of the other Atlases, but the AS7-K isn't nearly the terd it's made out to be on the forums. I really enjoyed mastering this thing.

[Reconius]

Sounds like a great build, but I Simply just can't stand PPCs if they're not ER, the fact that something is useless if they reach within such a close distance just bugs the {Scrap} out of me.
2 ERs and an AC/20, perhaps?

[meteorol]

Reconius, on 10 January 2014 - 06:56 PM, said:

Hey Guys,
I'm back, and let me start off by saying. STOP TRYING TO CHANGE MY MIND. I know the DDC is the king of Missile defense, but I want the K, and only the K, okay?
So now that that's taken care of, I present my Newest Varaint, the 3.0!
Heat efficiency isn't the best, but i had to drop something.
ER larges provide more long Range firepower along with the LRM 20, optimized with Artemis, and the AC/20 is all the short range punch I'll need, (with the Large Lasers, of course!)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1b687ffbef82c22
Please, more feedback!
thanks guys and sorry for the break i took while responding,
Reconius

Well this build will be pretty d*mn hot.
If you really want so use it you should consider switching the lrm ammo in the torso with the ams ammo in the legs.
If i remember correctly, lrm ammo does ALOT more damage when exploding than ams. Ammo in the side torsos will probably crit more often than the ammo in the legs (because they don't get hit so often).

[Modo44]

My standard Atlas K, better stats than the D-DC: AC20+3xLL, Endo Steel, STD350, 2xAMS. You can take some missiles, e.g. LRM20, by dropping to 2xML in the torso, and lowering the engine rating a bit, but it is not very elegant (4 weapon groups), and not as useful as utilizing the 2 missile hardpoints of an Atlas D. You only need a ton of AMS ammo -- it is there to let you hug the LRM boat, not to survive an entire match under missile rain.

Edited by Modo44, 12 January 2014 - 09:48 AM.

[NRP]

Reconius, on 11 January 2014 - 06:43 PM, said:

Sounds like a great build, but I Simply just can't stand PPCs if they're not ER, the fact that something is useless if they reach within such a close distance just bugs the {Scrap} out of me.
2 ERs and an AC/20, perhaps?

Well, you can't use the PPCs up close anyway because of heat issues, and ERPPCs are totally out of the question because their base heat is so high as to render them useless. For close range, you've got the AC/20 and MLs, which are plenty and make it quite easy to manage your heat. I really feel like this is close to an optimum build for the K in the current meta. The majority of your firepower is pinpoint, so you can fire and immediately torso twist away from incoming fire to spread damage. And your pinpoint alpha is freakin massive.

[Sagamore]

I'm considering getting myself an AS7-K just to complete the set and have all 5 Atlases. There's nothing else I really want to spend C-Bills on right now...

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

AS7-K

In general, the AS7-K is not a good variant. That said, if you want to use the double-AMS potential, then you need a second ton of ammo or else you'll just wind up running dry twice as fast and then having a full ton of useless kit.

I shifted one ton of AC20 ammo to the side torso, which gets you a bit more survivability with ammo explosion risks (the ton in the torso gets eaten up first, and the AMS ammo in the legs will be a bit safer that way. I also swapped the lasers to standard Larges and put a pair of MLs in the center torso, which significantly boosts the heat efficiency and close-in damage potential of the mech (losing the single SRM6 freed up room for more DHS and the lasers, and made the mech a bit safer for holding the ammo for the AC20 and dual-AMS). If you can spread damage well you can actually zombie this build with the pair of MLs in the CT.

This also has more armor.

It requires an engine swap, but if you're willing to drop all that money on an AS7-K anyway you should be able to eat the cost of a very useful engine like a STD 350.