18 replies to this topic

[TELEFORCE]

I have my three Battlemasters from my Project Phoenix purchase. I've used the 1G and 1D the most. Then the Banshee came out. I've wanted to try this 'mech for awhile (especially since the 3S is a total gun bag), but I've been saving up to get an Orion ON1-M.

So I'm wondering, is the Banshee an upgrade from the Battlemaster? How do the two of them compare? Again, I have never piloted a Banshee in this game.

[TELEFORCE]

No one wants to take a bite on this one?

[Alaskan Nobody]

I haven't used the Banshee at all, so I cannot really comment

[BLOOD WOLF]

I generally use assaults as gateways for my team to make a push.

[PrototypeIV]

Top BLR-1G score for me has been below 1100 damage but the Banshee output ceiling is much higher indefinitely. My top score with a Banshee model was around 1400 and has since been mastered. Its not exactly a meta mech and my build is paired with large pulse but it deals out pain like a ******* chainsaw.

[Escef]

The Banshee is just very different from the BLR. Not matter what you do to it, a Banshee will never be as fast as a BLR, so you focus on the guns. The 3E and 3M have no arm mounted weapons, so the best tactic is to play it as much like a Cent as possible: let your arms be your shields. Most 3E builds focus on multiple light ACs. The 3S has a single ballistic and single missile slot, I'd probably go with an AC20 and skip the missile slot (though it can launch a full 20 pack at a time).

Overall, the Banshee is a lot closer to an Atlas than a BLR. BLRs tend to move like something 10 to 20 tons lighter, whereas Banshees perform at their size.

Edited by Escef, 11 June 2014 - 12:28 AM.

[IraqiWalker]

These 2 mechs have extremely different styles of play. The BLR is a faster brawler, that can operate also as a standoff mech and skirmisher. With the 1S being one of the best LRM boats in the game.

The Banshee is very STD engine friendly, and is built specifically for short range combat. You want to pilot a banshee effectively, you either bet at 200 meters from your enemy, or at 6-700. Anything in between, and the BLR will outshine you easily. The BLR is more nimble, and has better torso twist. However, the Banshee doesn't put a lot of weapons in the arms, and the torsos are compact enough that you can get real close, lose the arms and still maintain 80%+ of your firepower, (can't say the same for the BLR-1D with big ballistics)

Don't get me wrong. They can both brawl, and then can both operate on those ranges, however the banshee is really good up close, or at long range, where the torso mounted ballistic/energy mix can be brought to bear effectively. between 200 and 600 the BLR has you beat.

[Archie4Strings]

I mastered 4 Battlemaster Chassis and i owned one Banshee Chassis (but i sold it, was not my style).
For me the difference is mostly that the Banshee will always be slower than the Battlemaster. But it can take a few more weapons and got more armor. Except that, i dont see such a big difference. Both Mechs allow different styles of set-ups (AC-based Set-Up, Energy-based set-ups, also missiles....) You can brawl and you can go sniper/fire support with a XL-Engine.

I prefer the Battlemaster cause it is a bit faster, got high located eneryslots in LT and RT (shooting while being covered) and you can mix all kinds of weapons (3M with Ballistic, Energy and Missiles)

But the Banshee wasnt that bad either, it sure is a strong and long lasting Mech! i am just not used to play slow mechs like Stalker, Atlas or the Banshee.

Ah and: I like the design of the Battlemaster much more! And i like that the BM has arm-mounted Weapon in every chassis, i just dont like Mechs without Weapons in their arms (even that it means that you cant use your arms as shields.), and it helps to aim for the faster mechs without armlock!

Edited by Archie4Strings, 11 June 2014 - 01:08 AM.

[Black Ivan]

Definitly Banshee

[Jonathan Paine]

Banshee's are walking monsters, but the lack of arm mounted weapons, lack of torso flexibility and an unfortunate tendency to get stuck on terrain leaves them extremely vulnerable to light mechs. Furthermore, they mostly lack missile points, which limits flexibility.

Now, apart from that, a well piloted Banshee will tear a Battlemaster to shreds.

Edit: spelling

Edited by Jonathan Paine, 11 June 2014 - 12:29 PM.

[Void Angel]

Having mastered both chassis, I have to confirm that the Banshee is a bit of a different animal than the Battlemaster. The reason is weight. The battlemaster, like the Stalker, can support an amazing amount of firepower for its size, and can spread damage fairly well if piloted correctly - but it cannot take the punishment that a Banshee can. Conversely, it's also going to spend a lesser proportion of its weight reaching any given speed, so it operates as a superb "support assault," but tends to fail in a frontline contest against heavier 'Mechs such as... well, the Banshee.

Also important is the amazing firepower potential of the Banshee 3E. Those 4 AC hardpoints are unprecedented in an Assault, and though the 'Mech is slightly limited by having them all in the same location, the variant's ability to slug it out in heavy combat is insane. Whether you're running a frustratingly slow fire support build, or a high-risk faster version, the 3E's ability to simply chainsaw other 'Mechs apart is awesome to behold.

Other variants of the Banshee can be used as a hot-running brawler, an XL fast-attack Assault (I used pairs of PPCs and Lg Pulses for that one) or some kind of multirange build, you can basically do most of what an Atlas does, and run faster doing it. The Battlemaster 1S, on the other hand, is a superb missile platform - a role which the Banshee simply cannot fill.

In general, the Banshee has the toughness and armament to survive being a primary combatant at any range, while the Battlemaster is best used as a secondary attacker - preferably in tandem with a top-weight Assault 'Mech.

[Roughneck45]

Battlemaster is a bit faster and slightly more agile in close quarters combat because of arm mounted hard points.

The Banshee is slower and has all hardpoints torso mounted, but the arms are probably the best shields in the game and it is also a higher tonnage so it can bring more firepower.

I think the playstyles for them are very similar, the Banshee just needs to commit a bit more because it's weapons are not as high mounted.

Edited by Roughneck45, 11 June 2014 - 12:26 PM.

[NRP]

Everyone has covered it pretty well.

I like both, but if I had to choose only one, I'd pick the Banshee. It tanks damage better and kicks like a pissed off mule. The Banshee is just a wrecking ball.

[DONTOR]

I Recently got my best game ever with a banshee 3E 213 match score 6 kills 6 assists and 1757 damage,( I got down to 39% with an XL engine) my best with BLRs was around 1200 damage, they just cant pack the weaponry a Banshee can and be as effective.
Banshees are nothing like atlas, they can effectivley run XL engines and pack far more ballistics than an atlas could dream of. They are much faster and agile, although I use mine with huge XLs so that helps turning and what not.
3E, and 3S are the best in my opinion, 3E for massive ballistc firepower, and the 3S for a very sustainable high alpha monster.

[Void Angel]

You may be Underestimating the Similarities between the Atlas and the Banshee. Remember that most of the Atlas' classic brawling weapons are torso-mounted. You do have the potential for a lot more arm-mounted firepower with an Atlas, particularly with the RS, but serious brawling configurations are going to look roughly similar.

[DONTOR]

^ Highly disagree, as it is the cardinal rule of Atlas not to use XL engines, meaning the way they play are not very similar.

But more to the point Banshee's and Battlemaster's are both XL friendly assult mechs, in my expierience.

Edited by DONTOR, 11 June 2014 - 01:17 PM.

[Void Angel]

That link isn't an XL engine - in fact, it cannot fit an XL, because Autocannon. The Banshee can do more than an Atlas because - you are indeed correct - it can support an XL fairly well. However, much of the reason it supports XLs well is that its CT is a damage magnet. This can be mitigated somewhat by using its arms as a shield, but since it carries a lot of laser armament you spend a certain amount of time staring at the enemy in a frontline brawl environment. In that frontline role, XLs are disallowed - you literally cannot mount an AC/20 and an XL, and you need to be able to absorb the maximum amount of damage before destruction anyway.

But of course the Banshee isn't relegated to doing just one thing - even the Atlas can use longer-range builds, and the Banshee is arguably a more flexible chassis. So when you start playing a fire support or mid-range brawler configuration, you can make use of the XL to enhance your firepower at any level of mobility. The Atlas (with the exception of the Boar's Head) can't support an XL engine very well - its side torsos are routinely targeted, and its arms don't block damage very well compared to other Assaults. So what you end up with the Banshee is a chassis whose builds are very similar to many Atlas builds - but with enhanced mobility and other options that make it a more flexible chassis overall.

So while the differences are important, there are still extensive points of similarity between the two chassis.

[DONTOR]

Oh lol I didnt even notice that was a smurfys link there!
Thats exactly how I run my 3S also except with a PPC instead.
I just think the Hardpoints are so different they dont compare as much as mechs 5 tons apart should. They are about the same to me as a BJ is to a Cicada.

[Void Angel]

The hardpoints are somewhat different, but it doesn't mean as much as you might expect - an Atlas is normally carrying most of its firepower on its torsos, and aside from the XL option the 'mechs turn and handle very similarly to one another. They're not exact substitutes, but there's a enough similarity to warrant a comparison, even though the differences allow more possibilities for the Banshee as a chassis.

Now that you mention it, I actually did go with a PPC for that build as well; cost me cooling, but I was investing too much heat output in close-range weapons anyway, so the PPC actually helped out. The build you see above was the initial build I mastered it with; I used it because it's a dedicated short-range brawler build.