119 replies to this topic

[Joshua McEvedy]

All great advice! For assault pilots in turn, I would like to offer my own advice, based on long and hard experience. When pushing forward, particularly on maps with lots of chokepoints and bottlenecks like Mordor and the Bog, do NOT stop and back up when you take fire. I see this happen time and again, and it always causes big traffic jams, as the following mechs have no where to go themselves except backwards into their own ranks, creating a pile up and sparking frustration and confusion. Once you decide to push, then keep moving FORWARD no matter what happens! And for the heavies, mediums, and lights in the rear, it is contingent upon them to keep moving forward too and to bring their weapons to bear on the enemy to support the attacking assaults. Don't lose your nerve and just stop in the middle of a push, and begin playing peek-a-boo!

Also, medium and light pilots, do NOT jump in front of assault mechs in tight quarters, since you will just get yourselves killed, and most likely the assault mech whose line of sight you just blocked, leaving you both exposed and subject to heavy return enemy fire.

Edited by Joshua McEvedy, 01 July 2015 - 03:09 AM.

[purplewasabi]

Thanks for the writing up the guide, Sarlic. Good stuff, read you guide a few months back, as well as a few others and it got me hooked on the atlas ever since.

[Sarlic]

Thread updated. Thanks Joshua, your tips have been added. Thanks, purplewasabi!

[Sarlic]

I had to put the Twerking Atlas in! Totally forgot about it.

Shortened the guide. It's getting fairly long. Would love to make video's about it. But i am no man for editting and or making videos unfortunatly. I hope its readable.

More is comming later this month.

[Ano]

Thanks Sarlic. Looking forward to more of the how2atlas stuff, as I now own 3 of 'em and I am struggling.

[Sarlic]

Ano, on 09 August 2015 - 09:40 AM, said:

Thanks Sarlic. Looking forward to more of the how2atlas stuff, as I now own 3 of 'em and I am struggling.

What are your builds?

[Speedy Plysitkos]

Sarlic, on 01 July 2015 - 12:16 AM, said:

Thank you Catalina!

I just have hit my 13th Atlai today! I am now saving up for other Atlai to be added ingame. Not sure when, but i need to have some c-bills for just in case.

Invested about 130,000,000+ cbills just alone by buying it!

sarlic, how many mech do you have total ?

[Sarlic]

Titannium, on 10 August 2015 - 02:22 AM, said:

sarlic, how many mech do you have total ?

14 Atlas.

The only one i am missing is BH and the Champion version of the RS. Both too expensive to begin with to pay MC for.

Edited by Sarlic, 10 August 2015 - 02:38 AM.

[Speedy Plysitkos]

Sarlic, on 10 August 2015 - 02:38 AM, said:

14 Atlas.

The only one i am missing is BH and the Champion version of the RS. Both too expensive to begin with to pay MC for.

well, i wasnt asking for particular atlasses only. ALL the mechs you got ?

lights, medium, heavies ?

[Sarlic]

Titannium, on 10 August 2015 - 02:55 AM, said:

well, i wasnt asking for particular atlasses only. ALL the mechs you got ?

lights, medium, heavies ?

Nothing. I don't play anything else aside Atlas.

Edited by Sarlic, 10 August 2015 - 02:57 AM.

[Speedy Plysitkos]

Sarlic, on 10 August 2015 - 02:56 AM, said:

Nothing. I don't play anything else aside Atlas.

crazy.....

while im most of the time in assaults/heavies, i have also 1 medium mech, and 3x urbies. Just to see the expirience of other classes. it will give you more expirience of the field... trust me. Buy one mech of each class..... ofc, you will end with atlasses (im playing them very often now love my D) , but ....

[Sarlic]

I always thought to get some Commies and see them as little babies.

Edited by Sarlic, 10 August 2015 - 04:31 AM.

[Speedy Plysitkos]

Sarlic, on 10 August 2015 - 04:25 AM, said:

I always thought to get some Commies and see them as little babies.

do it. try it.

[Ano]

Sarlic, on 10 August 2015 - 01:58 AM, said:

What are your builds?

Will post detailed builds later when I'm at home and can mirror the builds in Smurfy to link to (and check engine sizes), but weapon-wise, I've gone with what I think are reasonably straightforward brawler-esque builds:

DDC: AC20, 3xSRM4, 2LL, ECM.
AS7S: AC20, 4xSRM4, 2LL
Boar's Head: AC20, 6xMPL (with the XL400 replaced with a smaller STD)

For the first two, I originally started out with MLs rather than LLs but found the lack of range AND lack of mobility frustrating (I've plenty of mechs built with MLs, MPLs, SPLs or CSPLs as primary armament, but they all move at 90kph+)

[Dawnstealer]

Yeah - seconding "no XLs" and "move at least 60kph for survival." The Atlas is too tall and too easy a target to be moving at 56kph.

[Boulangerie]

Ano, on 10 August 2015 - 06:31 AM, said:

Will post detailed builds later when I'm at home and can mirror the builds in Smurfy to link to (and check engine sizes), but weapon-wise, I've gone with what I think are reasonably straightforward brawler-esque builds:

DDC: AC20, 3xSRM4, 2LL, ECM.
AS7S: AC20, 4xSRM4, 2LL
Boar's Head: AC20, 6xMPL (with the XL400 replaced with a smaller STD)

For the first two, I originally started out with MLs rather than LLs but found the lack of range AND lack of mobility frustrating (I've plenty of mechs built with MLs, MPLs, SPLs or CSPLs as primary armament, but they all move at 90kph+)

I understand what you are saying with being frustrated by a lack of range, but I found it best to play into the strength of the close range build and only use your ML as a backup weapon. It can be hard to avoid trying to trade with people and poke out, but if you can advance or ambush and take full advantage of a close build (AC20 and 3-4SRM6's) you can really put the hurt on people. The LL also has a longer burn time, which can make it harder to twist if you are trying to use it closer.

That said, I did have some success throwing 2 LL in the -RS variant and taking advantage of the quirks for it, but I also supplemented that with swapping in an AC10 for the 20. This was used mostly for side peeks in urban type environments, but it still can't quite compare to a real sniper build on another mech. That build had 2 ML on left arm and 2 SRM6 I believe.

I noticed that my numbers improved quite a bit on the D-DC and -S variants when I practiced patience and let them come to my position of strength, or coordinated and lead a charge into a weakened flank at close range.

[Sarlic]

Ano, on 10 August 2015 - 06:31 AM, said:

Will post detailed builds later when I'm at home and can mirror the builds in Smurfy to link to (and check engine sizes), but weapon-wise, I've gone with what I think are reasonably straightforward brawler-esque builds:

DDC: AC20, 3xSRM4, 2LL, ECM.
AS7S: AC20, 4xSRM4, 2LL
Boar's Head: AC20, 6xMPL (with the XL400 replaced with a smaller STD)

For the first two, I originally started out with MLs rather than LLs but found the lack of range AND lack of mobility frustrating (I've plenty of mechs built with MLs, MPLs, SPLs or CSPLs as primary armament, but they all move at 90kph+)

D-DC --> Not a bad build. Would recommend removing the AC/20 and put a double AC/5 on it. Less chances to get your AC/5 critted or disabled with a full laser hit on your AC/20 due the huge size of that thing. For the rest it's pretty good build!

I have simalr D-DC build but with AC/5 instead of a AC/20.

D-DC without Artemis
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5fecd1f78535e77

D-DC with Artemis:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b89918b7f04cab0

Boars Head: I got this build in my list for a long time. I still have to buy the BH but this is what i got out of it : http://mwo.smurfy-ne...87917cb40d2e4d1

Would use the S arms as shields. Would recommend to put two mediums in the CT and put 4x SRM6 in the ST. Shield up and brawl with it and use the arms as your cover.

The S on Metamechs.com is fairly well done:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bb32bddfc481eb2

Remember: Speed means in certain circumstances life. I would not recommend using the STD300 unless you can't because of insuffience funds or anything else. Use 325 and up.

I will be putting builds on different Atlai online later this month. You can find them on page 1 when it's there.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Sarlic, 10 August 2015 - 10:57 AM.

[Ano]

Boulangerie, on 10 August 2015 - 06:41 AM, said:

I understand what you are saying with being frustrated by a lack of range, but I found it best to play into the strength of the close range build and only use your ML as a backup weapon. It can be hard to avoid trying to trade with people and poke out, but if you can advance or ambush and take full advantage of a close build (AC20 and 3-4SRM6's) you can really put the hurt on people.
...
I noticed that my numbers improved quite a bit on the D-DC and -S variants when I practiced patience and let them come to my position of strength, or coordinated and lead a charge into a weakened flank at close range.

I'll give that a go -- I think the patience thing is the biggest difficulty, plus feeling a bit silly hiding behind a rock for 5min in a 100 tonner until there's an opportunity to get up close.

Sarlic, on 10 August 2015 - 07:32 AM, said:

...lotsa good advice...

Thanks! I do like the idea of making the D-DC a little more medrange -- plus it'll give me a 'break' from the close-range focus of the other two variants. The 4ASRM6 -S variant looks like it could be terrifying <200m. Will give that a try too.

[BigBadVlad]

Just bouncing in this thread.... finished levelling my DDC, S and K not long ago and having with fun with my Atlai (most of the time)

Just thought I'd share some K love cause I don't see any...

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7d15cac7f19e93c

Yeah it's a long range Atlas but it's not an LRM Atlas. It is on the hot side firing 3 ERLL (+ the gauss), use a second group with just the two arm mounted ERLL and Gauss when riding the redline. SRM6 barely gets used I find but it's there to make lights and fast mediums think twice.

Use ERLL Range Mod, Advanced Zoom, Advanced Sensor Range, and AMS Range.

With The ERLL Rand Mod, standard range is 743M. Means I can reach out and touch people almost 1500m away. Around 1000M works well cause the damage is still there and the Gauss can add into the mix.

AMS Range is nice as it can bail out other teammates sometimes.

The downside is that I do best in my K when I use long range to my advantage. This sometimes means I'm not there in the brawl, too far for dual AMS to help others (can still be helpful if I am the LRM target for the other team and take the LRMs so others on my team don't have to). You kind of want to be far away but not too far cause we know what can happen to lone Atlas.

Often what works is to get an angle on the enemy at long range, start trading fire, then the lighter, faster, brawlers move in and now the enemy has to choose between firing on me or ignore me and fire on the faster moving, lighter guys.

I've had some dud matches (Too slow for NASCAR or lone Atlas engages only to find everyone else has gone somewhere else much faster). And I've had some pretty stellar ones (5-6 kills and around 1000 damage).

If you want to try a different Atlas from close in and brawl with AC/20 and SRMS, the K is better at different. AC/20 and brawl SRMS, use the others.

Edited by BigBadVlad, 10 August 2015 - 11:00 AM.

[John Stryker]

Here's one. If you're a light mech using the atlas for cover, don't repeatedly shoot him in the back with your off arm. He may just spin and put a meatcannon shell right into you.