10 replies to this topic

[Torothin]

Hi guys,

I am brand new and decided to show this game my support and forked out some cash for the above mentioned mech. I do ok in games and mostly find myself spamming LRMS more times than not then move in once my LRMs are depleted. I am very scared to changed the load outs due to botching my last mech and have no clue how to get it working.

The Gauss rifle is meh but I hear it is actually pretty good from some players. Does anyone have any advice for me at all with what to do with this mech? As of right now, I am using stock.

Edited by Torothin, 02 December 2013 - 08:42 PM.

[Wraith 1]

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de is your friend. When you select a mech, there's a pulldown tab in the upper right labled 'tools'. From there, you can load a mech's stock loadout. Copying that should get your botched mech back to where you started. Then you can botch it over and over again until you become a master mech builder.

I love the gauss, but the charge mechanic is kinda weird to get used to. Atlases typically mount AC/20s due to most people aiming for the right torso when fighting an Atlas, and the fact that gauss explodes when you destroy it. That said, my own Atlas has a gauss.

You should try different loadouts to see what you like, but most Atlas pilots use short range loadouts like this.

[Arctourus]

There are two dynamics at play with an atlas: hit from afar or get close. The two defining characteristics of an atlas are that they are slow and tough. The question is, for your playstyle, how do you exploit this? Do you like to hang back and snipe or get in close and do some damage.

The atlas was my first mech to master. Actually, it's the only mech I've mastered. I normally just elite them. My own RS has a gauss, four med lasers and two srm4s. The reason for the gauss though was just variety in playstyle. My DDC has two erllas, an ac20 and two srm6. My D has two lplas, two mlas and two ac5s. I'll explain the differences.

The DDC by far is the best loadout of the three. Whenever you build a slow, lumbering assault or heavy, you want something that will hit from all ranges. No point in getting killed by the guy who just sits at 1000 meters and burns away at you while you slowly walk towards him with your close range weaponry. Thus, the DDC can cause lots of pain from a distance with the erllas, but absolutely destroy anything close with the ac20 and srms. The D was a swap with close range lasers for punishing anything that got near me and laying down a constant barrage of ranged ac fire with the pair of ac5s. The RS earned a guass because I kind of liked the different feel of the weapon, but to be honest, it's hard to play with something as slow and targetable as an atlas. This is a very situational build and takes experience to use well.

If you like LRMS, they do have a place on an atlas. If you want to cause a lot of pain, put an ac20 in your torso, a few lasers in the arms and then something like an LRM 10 or a pair of LRM5s in. THis will let you hurt enemies as you close and even sometimes damage them from behind a hill while you close in if your team has them targeted. Again, you are not fast...your team will probably get to the fight before you do. This lets you support them while you catch up. Once you get there, something like four mlas in the arms and an ac20 in the torso will let you really destroy what enemy you come across. That's a decent, all-around build. The more you play, the better you will be at tuning your builds to your playstyle.

Beware, if you choose to brawl, avoid high-heat weapons. The medium lasers will give you good damage, good range and decent heat for very little weight. Upgrading to medium pulses drops your range and increases heat dramatically. GOing with large lasers gives you range, but you can't shoot as often due to the heat. Same with ppcs. Constantly shutting down due to heat will only frustrate you.

[Orbit Rain]

I've been thinking about rebuilding my RS lately. Using the 325 engine that came with your RS, take a look at these builds:


http://mwo.smurfy-ne...71ebf62468c1436

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...73d52f6bb2c0f71

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3af085a764b0dcf

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8ec2fbc3f2d0469

The Atlas is also my first mastered mech. Way back when, when I leveled it, i think I ran it with 4LL, dropped the ballistic, maxed the heatsinks and changed it to a couple a' srm6's:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3f9b876b9531ca0

Later, I went with the most monster build of the day:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bc897cb70703c7d

Currently I have a standard 335 engine. and LRM10 and LRM 15 (non-artemis), AC20 and 4 ML's in it. No matter how you cut it, with the LRMs, you really do want to stand back a while and rain, then move in for the finish...Since the Gauss is less optimal for brawling, I'd stick the AC20 in there, you save a ton, so you can add a ton of ammo... in fact, if you're using your ride stock, you can feel safe (enough) bringing the leg armor down to 58 points to free up tonnage for ammo...Most things I run without AMS, but since you're new, I don't know that I'd recommend taking it off, but you should try it (a real LRM boat is gonna eat though it anyway)

[obsidiankatana]

What's the general opinion on the STD350 vs STD325. Is the 3-6 extra kph and extra DHS slot worth the tonnage difference in weapons?

[NRP]

It depends. A bigger engine isn't just about higher top speed. It also allows your mech to twist faster, which can be really useful in a brawler. Also, Atlases typically run out of slots before they run out of tonnage, so the extra engine heat sink can be crucial depending on your build. Brawlers need as many heat sinks as you can cram in there.

[Spheroid]

Gauss is {Scrap}. Replace it with an AC-20 if keeping medium lasers. Replace it with an AC-10 if going large lasers. I suggest replacing the LRM15s with a LRM20 and LRM10 to reduce the salvo pattern to two.

[Shade4x]

Torothin, on 02 December 2013 - 08:39 PM, said:

Hi guys,

I am brand new and decided to show this game my support and forked out some cash for the above mentioned mech. I do ok in games and mostly find myself spamming LRMS more times than not then move in once my LRMs are depleted. I am very scared to changed the load outs due to botching my last mech and have no clue how to get it working.

The Gauss rifle is meh but I hear it is actually pretty good from some players. Does anyone have any advice for me at all with what to do with this mech? As of right now, I am using stock.

Sounds like the default build, which is perhaps one of the worst default build's in the game.

First, don't go long range on an atlas, it's like getting a plumber to be your proctologist. It never ends well. a long range weapon is fine, but it should be a weapon that can do well in all ranges. I would play either of these two...

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...96fb7f08096e020

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...344a6ea88018a19

The first is a close ranged brawler (SRM 6 with artimis is extreamly painful at close range) where the 2nd has some range to it, and a 50 point alpha, which if you can aim, and keep the lasers on the right spot allows for 1 shot XLing on all mech's, and 2 shot CT kills. (1 shot in the back). I run the 2nd build on my Orion with a standard engine going the same speed. It rewards players with good aim and patients.

IMHO, Gauss should only be used in the arms or with an XL. Since it explodes, it basicly treats your standard engine like an XL. The damage will translate to the CT, and your only slightly more survivable then an XL. That being said, You should never XL an atlas.

Atlas's in this game are tanks, and if they are not tanking, your mediums and heavy's are. The majority of games i've played with long ranged atlas's are simply lost, with them being the last left alive and doing 300 damage before they are swarmed and killed. I have yet to play a single game where a long ranged atlas has won it for the team, or done any significant contribution to the team that a lighter mech could not have done. On the flip, when i run with my friend who plays a brawler DDC atlas, and is quite good at it, we rarely lose a game. Simply said, Atlas's determine most games. The reason why their is so much hatred for long ranged Atlas's is that they force lower armored mech's (litterly everyone else) to tank, which means they die off fast. In this game 2 shadow hawks often have more fire power then one atlas. So being down a guy early in a match is a huge disadvantage, far more then your armor getting orange. It's not a good first mech.

Make sure you twist your torso so your arms are facing the enemy when your taking hits, and time your charges and you'll do well.

[Modo44]

I have seen the champion RS with an AC20 instead of the Gauss. That alone should improve survivability by a big margin. As a bonus, you get enough ammo for some spamming instead of just enough for one fight. You can experiment with stronger energy weapons on the RS (e.g. 4xLL), but that will likely be too hot (not enough slots for heatsinks).

obsidiankatana, on 05 December 2013 - 11:57 AM, said:

What's the general opinion on the STD350 vs STD325. Is the 3-6 extra kph and extra DHS slot worth the tonnage difference in weapons?

The running speed is a minor upgrade. The faster torso twist is why you would want a bigger engine. It helps a lot with damage spreading.

[SaltBeef]

Kept mine close to the stock Build it is a feel good mech! I will pound the hell out of you with those 2 lrm 15's mercilessly, and when the 1000missiles is used up i will move in with fresh armor a LBX10 with plenty of ammo , and 4 med laser long enough to stay in the fight.

[Autobot9000]

I run my Atlas RS with
AC20, 2xASRM6, 4xML, 18-19 DHS, 325std engine and standard structure. It's a very competitive build, although SRMs really kinda suck at the moment. You could consider dropping the SRMs for LRMs, but that would require a full redesign of the build.

This one could be nice, if you wanna play a more long range oriented build
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...90fc52304f16546

Gauss (30+CASE)
4x Medium Pulses (for self-defense purely)
ALRM20+ALRM10 (720)
AMS
300std
Endosteel
13 DHS
Full armor where it matters

I think this could play very nicely, but obviously you want a team with you and you want to master this mech as soon as you can to get a speed above 50kph.