48 replies to this topic

[Just wanna play]

eh, was just making something more "powerful" then ops mech, didn't really put much thought into her, and i doubt he would like less alpha then possible anyway

if anything he built a stalker that has the same goal/purpose as a king crab

[Regina Mahler]

You really can't go lower than an STD275 in a Stalker. STD300 is preferred.

I've been having good luck with this build:

STK-3F

With 24 DHS you can keep firing for a long time.

Edited by Gustav Mahler, 09 March 2014 - 06:39 AM.

[Just wanna play]

Gustav Mahler, on 09 March 2014 - 06:38 AM, said:

You really can't go lower than an STD275 in a Stalker. STD300 is preferred.

I've been having good luck with this build:

STK-3F

With 24 DHS you can keep firing for a long time.

i personally have always had 255ish engines in my stalkers (one had 100, don't ask...okay it was 5 lrm20s) and personally i would run 4 er lls on something like an awesome 8t, fits up to 22 heat sinks but will also be a bit faster and wayyyy more flexible, but thats just me, i love awesome, and i ran 5 lls or 4 lls and a ppc on my laser build, not just four lls

[wintersborn]

Its sad that a Assault Mech like the 85 ton Stalker is not much more powerful than Mech half its weight like a 40 ton Cicada when you look at pure energy builds.

Like Gustav's common build here: STK-3F

And a common Cicada energy build here: CDA-2A

As you can see they have similar Firepower, DPS and cooling efficiency even though they are vastly different Mechs. It just shows that large energy builds are just too hot no matter how many heat sinks you can fit.

Try a 4 PPC Stalker vs a similar AC build, there is just no comparison.

[wintersborn]

Just to make the ballistic is better than beams point, lets look at what it takes to get a 40 pin point alpha build.

The common 40 point alpha "Dakka" build:

JM6-DD

vs

STK-3F

Its clear you can hit harder with ballistics for less than energy no matter how big a energy boat (STK) you make due to ghost/heat sink issues.

[Grey Black]

USS Nevada, on 20 January 2014 - 10:08 PM, said:

Is the STK-3F.. To be precise this Stalker STK-3F

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d2fb973153ac90f

What it can do.

It is not a graceful fighter, it isn't going to end the match with 12 kills (unless you have ******** opponents), But it is the very best at what it does. Which is close range combat. There is no other mech in the game that can possibly stand up to this one at close range.

How to play it.
It requires good positioning more than anything else. You do not have to defend around a corner, but if you are advancing you need someone in front to be effective, because you are worthless beyond 270 meters.

Alpha strike. The winner of a brawl is not decided by who can do the most sustained damage, but the most damage in the shortest amount of time. With this mech you will take their life or their weapons before they take yours.

The effective range for this guy is 270m, but you want to be closer than that, Since nothing else in the game can do as much damage as you can, stand in their face. Not even an ac/40 mech or any variant of the atlas. Because this mech has the most hardpoints in the game. It can nearly alpha for 90 dmg, you can instantly rip other assault mechs in half if you hit their side torsos at close range, you instantly kill smaller chassis mechs with a ct barrage.

The Bad

If you've been following along, it IS worthless beyond 270 meters Obviously this can be problematic, but it is the same for any real brawler.

It is slow, so not only is it bad to be out in the open, if you're moving to a good location you have to know how long it will take you to get there before the fighting starts.

It is hot, you need to test your weapons on every different type of map to know how many alpha strikes you can do, if you can't kill your enemy with the 1st or 2nd alpha, you must only rely on your SRM's for a prolonged fight because the energy weapons are just wasted heat.

You have to aim, 1/2 of your damage is concentrated and pinpoint, the other half is uncontrollably random (within a reasonably predictable spread of course.

Please post your comments in agreement or disagreement, but of course to be constructive you actually have to test this build honestly.

Why I posted this
I am tired of seeing derp ac/40s running around thinking they are good at brawling, and I wanted to read the interesting flames for calling this build the very best!

EDIT: IT ALSO HAS LARGE PULSE LASERS

No.

First of all, the lack of ballistic hardpoints make it impossible to focus your damage for a quick kill, which, as a brawler, you desperately need. Secondly, the usage of SRMs spreads your damage and makes it unfocused, giving the potential for you to deal massive amounts of damage without actually penetrating the armor on some larger mechs, Third, the torso twist on the stalker is highly limited, making it easier for someone to line up their shots to hit a vulnerable part of your mech, saying nothing of your not fully armored legs with ammo in it ("What do you think, Admiral?" "You know what I think."). In addition to this, your mobility is highly suspect, making it difficult, if not impossible, to get into an appropriate brawling position. While I may not be the biggest Stalker fan, I find it hard to get behind this build.

[oldradagast]

The ballistics heavy Banshee variant may be a contender. Toss in some mix of smaller autocannons in that left torso with 4 hardpoints, add some energy weapons to taste, and give it a decent engine and armor, and you have something reasonably scary. Sure, it has no jump jets and the weapons are torso mounted, but it's still a lot of firepower.

[Mazzyplz]

USS Nevada, on 15 February 2014 - 07:45 PM, said:

Mazzyplz your point (#1 I kill any stalker in my awesome #2 Misery danger #3 twisting melodrama)
#1. Awesome is trash because of hitbox. You would soak up those srms like sponge..a fat portly…smoking dead sponge. The reason you beat the other Stalkers brawling is because they were not built to brawl.
#2 Misery is not as good as the 3f at the close range brawl for obvious reasons
#3. Don’t need to twist. Exactly, because you are only going to be in one of those often frequented areas that affords you great cover and few entrances.

I refuse to edit that, but I responded to everyone that took the time to post. The quotes broke after a certain point, CTRL + F to find your name and my response, if you didn't get a fair response it is because I already responded to your points earlier, OR I was fighting fire with fire. Good reads and good luck up there. If you want to continue the discussion try to use valid points or arguments.

fine, as for me i have tried every assault mech now and the awesome is still by far my favorite. i will concede you are right on your points, no mistakes have been made, but for suiting my playstyle, the awesome is still my fav.
now to some points as to why i favor it, despite the worst hitbox in the game.
-it has the best torso twist of all of em, not only is this good for makign up for the hitbox which is necesary, but also it's good to aim upon light mechs even.
-the arms are the best arms too. ever tried the 8t? i am running mine with 3lpl but all sorts of laser hyjinx can be had with those arms, they add to the awesome's wide range of twisting to make almost 180 degree shots and shoot entirely sideways 90 degrees with up to 4 pulses or ppcs. -remember that when you're running sideways, the profile on the awesome is legit thin, and the arm actually helps at that angle, the fact you can take shots this way is something that goes unnoticed at first until you decide to make the best of it. they also make for accurate sniping.
-most of their chest hardpoints packs a wallop. wether it's 4xsrm6 8r or 3ppc 9m, or 4 large pulses 8q, their wide torso is not only a big target, but also a huge danger to any mechs. i remember when srm6 was broken, you didn't want to stand near the wide side of the 8r. now it's not so much like that but as long as you can return firepower usually it works itself out.
-it is the most versatile assault, even though it's kinda slow, it's ability to shield with the arm, moderate speed and precise aiming allow you to storm a position with care with a chance to come out alive, you can stand on the back and protect the mechball from harassers and still have the choice to fall back to group if needed and ever cover up retreating enemies. also you can take slower mechs to town, and battle similar "tougher" mechs with wide torsos like the phract and the catapult all day, just punching holes in them with bigger alpha- in particular the speedier 9m and pb should be even more versatile.
after all; didn't this guy win the assault competition with a pretty baby, after all? made the highlanders, stalkers and atlas bite the dust (victor hadn't come in yet)
http://mwomercs.com/...orld-aws-class/

the bad though is very significant bad; like you said
-hitboxes suck, so you need to be a master of knowing where each body part is to gage how much you live, the most important decisions are to be made when the mech is mostly fresh from the fight, since when armor is dwindling chances of living fall tremendously. so sometimes even running XL is ok because often STD with half weapons payload is still useless. which is guess isn't that bad. so yeah- master of kinesthesia
-the arm hardpoints are low - i constantly have to make up for this by shooting head medlasers to pop in and out. which is often better than exposing any further inch of my ct.
-its all energy and missile - so no cool weapons for you. master of heat management luckily the awesome doesn't easily fry, you can press P immediately and often it will still cooldown just fine, and has a lot of internals to fry on top of that, watch for ammo explosions and damage to weapons is what i'd tell u, watch where you stand (terra therma, caustic).

Edited by Mazzyplz, 12 March 2014 - 03:38 PM.

[POOTYTANGASAUR]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...76dd5a3d4ee8788
That build was king when srms were OP. You could out alphastrike an srm cat and then go stomp the rest of the enemy team. I run mine with one less medium laser and another dhs but this build has and always will be Stalker brawler king and IMO brawler king of all.