77 replies to this topic

[Koniving]

The Atlas is a double edged sword. The main thing is you need to build it to fight at all ranges.
If it only fights up close, you will be picked off at range.
If you can only fight at range, you will be picked off up close.
If you can fight at all ranges, you can defend yourself and contribute to the battle at all ranges.

The presence of an Atlas draws attention. Add lots of attention getters, and you will most likely die first as you set yourself higher and higher on the priority bar.
Accompany yourself with other high priority targets and you lower your own need to die. If your weapons don't scream and demand attention, you'll outlive all of them.

Pretend you're fighting zombies in season 3, episode 1 and 2 of the Walking Dead. Make noise, it draws attention. Make a lot of noise and you're gonna die. Atlases by their very presence makes noise. Atlases that over specialize in noise making will die very quick deaths.

Some differences.
In this video... People I'm playing with tend to raise the stakes for me. The first match, the Atlas makes lots of noise near the end and survives. In the second match, the Atlas makes lots of noise near the beginning and dies for it.
In this one with Shar Wolf, it's a long fight while mostly on the move. The large presence around me all screamed 'danger' and yet my Atlas doesn't scream 'priority everyone unanimously shoot me'.

This Atlas drew a LOT of attention and died for it.

This classic chase cam by Lordred has me in a 2 man (myself and the camera man) in a basics only Atlas D. The equipment, a low profile 4 ML, 1 AC/2, 1 AC/5, SRM-6, LRM-10. The armor, well balanced. I diverted from the mainstay of attention getters; I wanted nothing to do with the high priority meta targets that got wiped out within the early stages. I kept mobile and I engaged while never stopping. Come out with 6 kills and many assists.

Another crucial thing is endurance. If your Atlas does not have endurance, it will perish when it shuts down. Heat management is everything.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

I agree. I have tried several builds and am using the "Supporter" build for the moment, 2 large lasers, Gauss, LRms. I tried Brawler builds but lack of maneuverability meant being picked off very easily by smaller mechs.

Thing is I know how to use Assault mechs from the ORIGINAL games.. this experience is nothing like the original. The Original Assault class crushed pretty much anything that got close to it, and in a unmatched situation (3 against 1) would dish out a lot of pain before choking... here I barely rake up 100 damage before being toasted.

[_____]

In the offline MW games you're facing small groups of mechs on open maps with little cover. In MWO, cover is everywhere. The abundance of cover means that your low slung weapons are less useful than the same exact weapon on a CTF 3D for example. For the enemy group size, if you move to the wrong place, you're potentially facing 6 or more enemy mechs at the same time. Your armor means nothing if you failed to follow a reasonably sized group and bumped into half the enemy team.

Bottom line is, you simply cannot play an assault mech in MWO as an assault mech in MW3, 4, etc.

Side note, I think there should be at least one or two maps where there's minimal cover which would more closely resemble real battlefields in history.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

Thing is... you can't... when your own damn lance runs off and as the Atlas you're slowly trying to keep up..

they all leave you alone to get ******, then you say thanks, and they're like it's your own fault for not sticking with the group!

how the **** can you stick if they just run off... and why bother playing a support build when no one is going to assist you when you ask for it...

this game got on my nerves tonight...

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

I have played this game for about 6 months now and still i am a TERRIBLE assault mech pilot,and trust me i have tried.

There is a solid reason why experienced players recommend hunchback or quickdraw 5k as a first bought mech,THEY ARE MANOEUVRABLE,not the slow lumbering mountains of murder but nimble and agile and still pack a solid punch.

[Vanguard319]

Redshift2k5, on 03 April 2014 - 12:55 PM, said:

Assaults are not the easiest mech to play. They have the most tonnage to spend on armor and guns, but they sacrifice mobility. It magnifies small mistakes when you cannot maneuver or move to new parts of the map quickly enough.

They're certainly not for "pro" players only, but they do take more practice to handle appropriately and are not just the biggest baddest mech for mowing down AI enemies.

Agreed. Assault mechs are not what I would call a mech type for beginners, while you get more armor than anything else on the battlefield, it won't do you much good if you don't know the basics of spreading your damage,that is easier to learn in a light, a medium, or one of the more mobile heavy mechs. Otherwise, you're just easy prey for a lighter, more mobile mech.

Edited by Vanguard319, 03 April 2014 - 07:48 PM.

[Mycrus]

Damn... flurry of atlai threads...

Atlai is fine... Learn to play

[Wildstreak]

Well, I am not sure which Atlas you have but a Support build with all those long range weapons looks like it will die in some situations. Having a Gauss does not help, if enemies can hit that you take damage when it blows. I would only pick Gauss for Arm mounts, I tried a Gauss in a Hunchback torso slot, never again on any Mech.

Never drove an Atlas but have at times stuck with team Atlases, figure they draw enemy fire plus I can go for Lights targeting them or work on their targets too. Only Atlas I ever designed was just to see what it looked like in MWO, it is based off the lore version of what Grieg Samsonov used back around the 3025 time, never said which but with Samsonov being Kurita, I figured the K version for Kurita seemed right. Really should have standard PPCs then cooling would be better though some firepower within 90m is lost but really, of all the BOOM Mechs, this one lasts the longest dishing out 40 point Alphas with all that armor.

Don't feel bad, my first Mech was the Awesome when it had worse hitboxes and died a lot quicker. THERE was a learning curve, don't take my word for it, ask people who know.

Cookiemonter669, on 03 April 2014 - 07:33 PM, said:

I have played this game for about 6 months now and still i am a TERRIBLE assault mech pilot,and trust me i have tried.

There is a solid reason why experienced players recommend hunchback or quickdraw 5k as a first bought mech,THEY ARE MANOEUVRABLE,not the slow lumbering mountains of murder but nimble and agile and still pack a solid punch.

Hunchbacks are also recommended because in CB cost, they are cheap to buy and modify.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Merchant, on 03 April 2014 - 08:09 PM, said:

Hunchbacks are also recommended because in CB cost, they are cheap to buy and modify.

Quickdraw 5k is actually cheaper if you look the options it comes with,FF and double heat sinks cost you a good amount on a hunchy too.

"But it all comes to the taste" said the dog and licked his balls

[Malcolm Vordermark]

Cookiemonter669, on 03 April 2014 - 07:33 PM, said:

There is a solid reason why experienced players recommend hunchback or quickdraw 5k as a first bought mech,THEY ARE MANOEUVRABLE,not the slow lumbering mountains of murder but nimble and agile and still pack a solid punch.

I actually recommend neither of those mechs to new players. One carries all its firepower in a single massive hitbox and the other has underwhelming loadouts with a reputation of being easily legged (matches the fluff though).

You're spot on about the maneuverable part though. The slow speed of assault mechs make them a poor first choice since they have just enough speed to get you into trouble but not enough to get you out again.

[Takashi Uchida]

BaronBastardKiller, on 03 April 2014 - 06:08 PM, said:

Thing is... you can't... when your own damn lance runs off and as the Atlas you're slowly trying to keep up..

they all leave you alone to get ******, then you say thanks, and they're like it's your own fault for not sticking with the group!

how the **** can you stick if they just run off... and why bother playing a support build when no one is going to assist you when you ask for it...

this game got on my nerves tonight...

I own a couple of Battlemasters, the only assaults I own. I typically will avoid dropping in them (cept for the LRM boat) unless I'm with some premade guys because I know I can call for assistance. Since we don't have the strict weight class restrictons yet, you may be put in a lance with 3 lights who will leave your a** in a snap. Funny thing is, my Battlemasters go at least 75 so for assaults they aren't even that slow!

[Cataphractos]

I'm not a big fan of assault Mechs. But it occurs to me that if everybody's going to be shooting at you anyway, why not just play as a walking shield? Put in just enough weapons to be a threat if you're left alone for any length of time (I recommend lasers so you won't have to waste space on ammo and CASE, but don't forget your double heat sinks), the biggest STD engine you can manage (so you can at least try to keep up with the team), AMS with as much ammo as you can carry, and maxed-out armor. Maybe a Guardian ECM; I hear some Atlas models can carry those. You won't make many kills, and if the battle lasts too long you'll die...but if you're a new player, that's going to be true regardless of your Mech or build. And at least this way, every shot the Bad Guys take at you is one they're not taking on your teammates.

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

Mycrus, on 03 April 2014 - 08:00 PM, said:

Damn... flurry of atlai threads...

Atlai is fine... Learn to play

Well I'm trying to, but i can't learn much when I get pummeled regardless of effort...

[Alaskan Nobody]

Cataphractos, on 03 April 2014 - 09:33 PM, said:

I'm not a big fan of assault Mechs. But it occurs to me that if everybody's going to be shooting at you anyway, why not just play as a walking shield?

That is about the idea of most Atlas and Stalker builds - or any Assault that doesn't carry an XL engine.
Some heavies as well - the Orion being a prime example.

Edit: to, two, too, just write as well and be done with it

Edited by Shar Wolf, 04 April 2014 - 09:18 PM.

[Takashi Uchida]

Mycrus, on 03 April 2014 - 08:00 PM, said:

Damn... flurry of atlai threads...

Atlai is fine... Learn to play

This kind of comment is rude and not needed. This is the new player section, dawg.

[SnagaDance]

Merchant, on 03 April 2014 - 08:09 PM, said:

Don't feel bad, my first Mech was the Awesome when it had worse hitboxes and died a lot quicker. THERE was a learning curve, don't take my word for it, ask people who know.

My first mech was an Awesome too! Had the image of the TT game in my head where it's an absolute beast of armor and PPC-goodness with no overheating. Lot's of deaths, lots of horrible quick deaths....

So then I went with a Jenner. It was cheap and here I knew it wouldn't be easy. Still died a lot but I ran into buildings/terrain less often with every game. Started to appreciate the circumspect approach to the enemy lines. Learned to target weaker areas to get maximum effect from my small arsenal. In short, I learned to play the game.

After Eliting the Jenner I went back to the Awesomes. Still an uphill battle (especially for some variants) but I persevered, learned about the importance of making a plan and sticking with it. If you're slow you can't just readjust your personal battle plan on the fly, you need to commit and make small course adjustments where needed/possible.

After Eliting the Awesome I bought a D-DC. I was surprised how much slower it still was than the Awesome and how I had to be even more careful when planning my movement. But my hit-boxes were okay, I was able to strap on a big Ballistic gun (my first ballistic weapon) and I did well. Currently I've only mastered the Basics but I find it's enough to do a decent job. Those skills only enhance my personal playing skill (that I got through much trial and error), they are not the be all and end all of being able to pilot an Atlas.

Have taken a detour and Mastered the Kintaro and are now busying myself with Locusts but I'm actually saving up for my second Atlas, and I do so anticipating that I will do well (enough). I'm also confident that had it been my first mech I would still have ended up in that Jenner pretty fast, I simply did not have the skill to play it effectively when I started out with this game.

[Mycrus]

Takashi Uchida, on 03 April 2014 - 09:49 PM, said:

This kind of comment is rude and not needed. This is the new player section, dawg.

Forum harder

I gave my constructive reply in the op's other thread.

I have a strict 1 good reply per dezgra policy.

[Magna Canus]

I agree with everybody here that an Atlas is a death trap for a new player. You need speed and agility to get yourself out of situations lack of experience will get you into.

I ended up buying and mastering Atlai pretty late in the season after focusing on lights, heavies, and mediums. Of all the versions the DDC is the only one I kept for the obvious reason that it has ECM. I tend to carry 2UACs, 2LLs, and 3SSRMs for a decent range of engagement. The LLs are mainly for provocation and pot shoting since I want my enemy to get in close so I can tear into them with UACs and SSRMs. The SSRMs (and the Target retention module) are nice vs. those lights that want to get the easy Atlas Kill. using the reverse figure 8 helps you keep those little buggers in sight, and keeping your back to the wall helps even more.

My Atlas is slow as snot with the STD300, but my teams usually never leave me in the dust either. When you do find yourself being left in the dust then try to use chat and get some people to form up. If they still don't listen you have a choice of either 1) Using cover to lumber your way to the teams position 2) if you are on Assault then hunker down and plan to be the last man standing 3) find yourself a nicely defensible position and wait for the inevitable. Options 2 and 3 really suck, but sometimes you just get teams that love to play "feed the lemmings to the grinder".

But the best strategy to use when playing an Atlas is to play in a 4 man where you know you can rely on at least 3 other people to help you out.

[P5YCO]

It's all down to the players, I've seen Atlas lances been pulled apart by a more organised opposing team.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Cookiemonter669, on 03 April 2014 - 07:33 PM, said:

There is a solid reason why experienced players recommend hunchback or quickdraw 5k as a first bought mech,THEY ARE MANOEUVRABLE,not the slow lumbering mountains of murder but nimble and agile and still pack a solid punch.

Maneuverability is, IMHO, the single most important factor for a new player. Even in something as maneuverable as a Trebuchet, I still get tangled up in terrain on occasion. I tried some of the trial Atlas, Highlanders, and Stalkers. But quickly learned they weren't for me. My very 1st purchase was a Quickdraw. There was still a steep learning curve and I eventually stepped back to mediums. It wasn't until recently I bought the other 2 Quickdraw and have now mastered all 3, but the mediums were much easier to master.

I while back, I decided I wanted to learn how to pilot an assault. I settled on the Victor. This was before the recent nerf, so it's not as maneuverable now as it was before, but I think it's the best choice currently available for someone to transition from a Heavy or even a Medium to an Assault.


Jody