17 replies to this topic

[Praehotec8]

I enjoy the clan mechs, their style and the look and feel of the weapons. The timber wolf (the only other clan mech I have used thus far) is phenomenally fun to use.

Unfortunately, I find the dire wolf frustrating. It has huge weapon loadouts, and can dispense a lot of firepower. However, it is very sluggish with aiming, turning and is easily left behind by teammates. It also has a ridiculous CT that soaks 95% of all damage taken by the mech.

In a 4-man group with coordination (and not being the first one fired upon), it can be brutal. However, in a PUG, playing as a brawler often feels futile. If using more DOT weapons it often gets cored before making a kill (particularly against more than one mech), and with more FLD such as LBX and pulse lasers, it often reaches heat limits before making a kill, since it cannot retreat once engaged.

In contrast, I ran my Misery last night and was shocked at the difference. The Misery (and my other stalkers) move like ballerinas compared to it, can aim more accurately, and can soak damage better while still dishing out plenty of punishment in a short period of time.

The final match I ran in the Misery I got 4 kills, 3assists, and 600 dmg. I killed a nova and timberwolf, and two IS mechs, and brawled the entire engagement. My LBX oriented dire wolf failed to kill a Banshee 1 on 1, in contrast.

Basically I am looking for advice in making a good brawler dire wolf. I am not an elite player, but am not a noob either. I hate making the biggest, fiercest mech in the clans into a timid fire-support mech, but don't know how to make the dire wolf into a durable, dangerous brawler.

[ScarecrowES]

Praehotec8, on 21 June 2014 - 11:02 AM, said:

I enjoy the clan mechs, their style and the look and feel of the weapons. The timber wolf (the only other clan mech I have used thus far) is phenomenally fun to use.

Unfortunately, I find the dire wolf frustrating. It has huge weapon loadouts, and can dispense a lot of firepower. However, it is very sluggish with aiming, turning and is easily left behind by teammates. It also has a ridiculous CT that soaks 95% of all damage taken by the mech.

In a 4-man group with coordination (and not being the first one fired upon), it can be brutal. However, in a PUG, playing as a brawler often feels futile. If using more DOT weapons it often gets cored before making a kill (particularly against more than one mech), and with more FLD such as LBX and pulse lasers, it often reaches heat limits before making a kill, since it cannot retreat once engaged.

In contrast, I ran my Misery last night and was shocked at the difference. The Misery (and my other stalkers) move like ballerinas compared to it, can aim more accurately, and can soak damage better while still dishing out plenty of punishment in a short period of time.

The final match I ran in the Misery I got 4 kills, 3assists, and 600 dmg. I killed a nova and timberwolf, and two IS mechs, and brawled the entire engagement. My LBX oriented dire wolf failed to kill a Banshee 1 on 1, in contrast.

Basically I am looking for advice in making a good brawler dire wolf. I am not an elite player, but am not a noob either. I hate making the biggest, fiercest mech in the clans into a timid fire-support mech, but don't know how to make the dire wolf into a durable, dangerous brawler.

Fewer, cooler weapons. I don't know how many times I've seen Direwolves (and most clan mechs) loaded up with more weapons than they can handle. Use those ballistic slots for primaries, with (if at all possible) direct damage weapons. LB-X's are great for finishing off mechs that are already stripped, but not great at doing direct damage to a healthy mech. 2 Gauss rifles might be a better fit, with an array of lasers (standard larges and mediums) or missiles (SRMs or maybe streaks for lights) to fill in the firing time between gauss shots. Heat sinks wherever possible.

[Silentium]

I have not driven one yet, but in the matches I have played, it really needs friends. They aren't so much brawlers as they are base of fire and area denial type mechs.

[ScarecrowES]

Silentium, on 21 June 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:

I have not driven one yet, but in the matches I have played, it really needs friends. They aren't so much brawlers as they are base of fire and area denial type mechs.

It makes a good (albeit short) distraction too... as every mech 35 tons and above sees a DW and says "Hang on, I'm going to go solo that."

[Sarlic]

Praehotec8, on 21 June 2014 - 11:02 AM, said:

I enjoy the clan mechs, their style and the look and feel of the weapons. The timber wolf (the only other clan mech I have used thus far) is phenomenally fun to use.

Unfortunately, I find the dire wolf frustrating. It has huge weapon loadouts, and can dispense a lot of firepower. However, it is very sluggish with aiming, turning and is easily left behind by teammates. It also has a ridiculous CT that soaks 95% of all damage taken by the mech.

In a 4-man group with coordination (and not being the first one fired upon), it can be brutal. However, in a PUG, playing as a brawler often feels futile. If using more DOT weapons it often gets cored before making a kill (particularly against more than one mech), and with more FLD such as LBX and pulse lasers, it often reaches heat limits before making a kill, since it cannot retreat once engaged.

In contrast, I ran my Misery last night and was shocked at the difference. The Misery (and my other stalkers) move like ballerinas compared to it, can aim more accurately, and can soak damage better while still dishing out plenty of punishment in a short period of time.

The final match I ran in the Misery I got 4 kills, 3assists, and 600 dmg. I killed a nova and timberwolf, and two IS mechs, and brawled the entire engagement. My LBX oriented dire wolf failed to kill a Banshee 1 on 1, in contrast.

Basically I am looking for advice in making a good brawler dire wolf. I am not an elite player, but am not a noob either. I hate making the biggest, fiercest mech in the clans into a timid fire-support mech, but don't know how to make the dire wolf into a durable, dangerous brawler.

Ha. You sound like the Atlas.

[Elizander]

Find the nearest tunnel and stay inside.

[Screech]

Praehotec8, on 21 June 2014 - 11:02 AM, said:

Basically I am looking for advice in making a good brawler dire wolf. I am not an elite player, but am not a noob either. I hate making the biggest, fiercest mech in the clans into a timid fire-support mech, but don't know how to make the dire wolf into a durable, dangerous brawler.

I think this is your problem, you are trying to make it a brawler. It carries too much weapon space and is too slow to be a dedicated brawler. Make sure you have weapons to use while you try close the distance you have the tonnage.

[Shalune]

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time with the Dire Wolf. But I am glad to see these threads highlighting the weaknesses of clan mechs with all the nonsense flying around.

Brawling is definitely not the way to go with this mech since it lacks twist, a STD engine, and the ability to sacrifice arms the way IS assaults can. I think if anything the mech's role is as Silentium suggested: area denial. Your job is to predict the flow of combat, and make your way to spots watching alleys from behind that your team already has a presence in, but that do or may have enemies as well. Your teammates ensure the enemy can't safely focus you down while your firepower makes it suicidal for the enemy to stay engaged.

[LordKnightFandragon]

ScarecrowES, on 21 June 2014 - 11:18 AM, said:

It makes a good (albeit short) distraction too... as every mech 35 tons and above sees a DW and says "Hang on, I'm going to go solo that."

Except when 3 guys say, "hang on, im going to solo that" and the DW ends up getting gang banged from 5 different angles....

DW are insanely obvious targets. As big as they are, they draw alot of attention.

[Vassago Rain]

You boat range for first strike, or you bring a different mech.

300 engine size makes it impossible to brawl or respond up close.

[Elizander]

I also like to facehug damage-race them with my 57 pinpoint alpha battlemaster. Even if I win I shutdown and die to someone else but it's fun.

[LordKnightFandragon]

2 Gauss Rifle, 2 C ER PPC....end of story.

[Reza Malin]

Silentium, on 21 June 2014 - 11:15 AM, said:

I have not driven one yet, but in the matches I have played, it really needs friends. They aren't so much brawlers as they are base of fire and area denial type mechs.

This is very accurate. Although i have had a lot of success in PUG matches with mine. It was hit and miss for a bit until i found a good build. As someone else said, people go a bit over the top with ballistics, which actually makes them less effective.

Try one with 2 x UAC10 and 2 x UAC5 in the side torsos, 4 x ERML and 2 x MG's in the arms. the fact the main weapons are in the side torsos mean you can aim better without cover obstructing your outgoing, and then use your lasers/mgs in the arms for adding a extra damage (heat permitting) or hitting faster movers. I tried lots of builds and this was by far the most successful for me.

Don't go front of the group just sit back slightly, read the battle picture and then be patient. The thing about a direwolf is when they do enter a fight, unless it is observed or neutralised immediately, it can make a HUGE difference in a very short space of time with a good pilot.

The worst downpoint is getting left behind in a PUG match. Sadly this happens....

[H Seldon]

I've been having good luck with using the prime. 2x ERPPC, 4x er med lasers, and 2x UAC10s. Had a few matches over 1000 damage. Somehow during those matches I was able to spread the damage around. But right now I'm averaging 436 damage per match with a k/d of 1.90. I PUG almost every match. But I do get cored quickly in most matches and LRMs just hit CT no matter how much twisting I do.

[ScarecrowES]

LordKnightFandragon, on 21 June 2014 - 11:23 AM, said:

Except when 3 guys say, "hang on, im going to solo that" and the DW ends up getting gang banged from 5 different angles....

DW are insanely obvious targets. As big as they are, they draw alot of attention.

Exactly... bad enough when you get one guy on you. If that guy has any speed or any sense, you're in trouble. 3? Forget it. Just do as much as you can before your inevitable death.

I used to think Atlas-D-DC's were the biggest targets in the game, with non D-DC's being as easy prey as you could hope to find in a match. Direwolves make non-D-DC Atlases look quite surviveable. If I see a DW and an Atlas together, I'm avoiding the Atlas and picking off that Direwolf.

[Redshift2k5]

Not having all your double basics & speed tweak makes a huge difference.

A lot of Dire Wolf builds also don't bring enough heatsinks. My Stalkers have 21 or 22 DHS so I tried to keep that as a minimum for my Dire Wolf.

Dire Wolf really woks best as part of a lance with more mobile mediums/heavies, because that Dire Wolf cannot disengage. You need the lighter mechs to watch your six, check around corners, etc and make up for the DIre Wolf's lack of agility. Make up for the DW's weaknesses, and adding more Dire Wolves is not really the solution.

A Dakkatastic DWF and an ECM Kit Fox are a match made in heaven.

[Pjwned]

Well, I'm not sure how many groups were involved on either side but I've seen a number of matches where a dire wolf did several hundred damage, and not too long ago saw somebody on my team do a whopping 1327 damage with 6 kills on canyon network.

[Hawk819]

My Dire Wolf B has LB-x AC/5's (x2) and a LB-x AC/10. with ER Large, 2 ER Medium and Small Lasers. I've done pretty well with it as a brawler. I get up 200+ damage. I'm still figuring out the other two, A variant is something of a fire support and the Primary, is still a bit sluggish with the heat. I've 2 Streak SRM 6 and an Ultra 10 AC. I did pretty good with it last game. Hopefully, they'll fix the hit boxes to where the Daishi will follow after the Stalker. Cause basically, that what it is: a 100t version of the Stalker. Give it time, and a lot of patience.