9 replies to this topic

[Saryonarve]

Quick background first. I've mainly played Stalkers since starting, and after trying out most of the trial mechs, I've found that Assaults just work best for me. However, I've noticed that I have a tendency to build and play my mechs as long range platforms. Probably because the side torsos on Stalkers tend to feel kinda squishy at shorter ranges... In any case, I picked up an Atlas specifically because I felt that it would probably perform better in a brawling role than a long range role, which will help motivate me to actually set it up as a brawler. However, after taking my D with a stock engine and a few short range build attempts, I realized that it's nowhere near ready for action. So while I grind for c-bills I have a few questions that will hopefully help me make a more useful brawler.

First question: What kind of engine should I be running if I plan on brawling with an Atlas?

Second question: What sort of weaponry should I be looking at? Are there any shorter ranged weapons that just don't mesh well with an Atlas, or should I just pick anything I feel comfortable with and keep practicing until I get good with them?

Third question: Should I load only short range weaponry as a brawler, or am I better off with at least one option for longer range engagements?

Fourth question: Can someone in a shorter mech ram my arms into a higher position? After playing Stalkers, these low-slung arms are giving me fits...

[Pezzer]

1. Stock is OKAY, but a standard engine bumping you up to 51+ kph will probably perform better. You wanna be more mobile than a Dire Wolf because you have less firepower.

2. afaik all short range weps work fine with the Atlas, but machine guns are generally a waste. I'd suggest larger ballistics, but the Atlas-D can run 2 AC/5s or 2 UAC/5s. Those are awesome at several ranges. You should definitely use what you like, but don't be afraid to branch out either. You have 100 tons to work with, which means you can afford to risk equipping a couple of new weapons as long as you have familiar backups available to you.

3. I've tried both. What seems to work best is having a long-range energy weapon on 1 or both arms, LRMs, and/or both. The -D comes with 4 energy, 2 ballistic, 2 missile correct? Well then you can put Medium Lasers in your torso, a large laser or PPC in the right arm, and either another PPC, a Large laser, or a medium laser in the other arm. Play with a different combination of ballistics, and don't be afraid to bring only one ballistic weapon. SRMs and LRMs both work well, it's your choice.

Small lasers are useless unless you are really low on tonnage/have an extra 1/2 ton to work with.

4. You have to use those arms in the low-slung position. Pros to the low-slung arms: turning away from the enemy causes them to hit the arms instead of your torso. Cons: you can't hilltop hump.

These are ofc my opinions, but I've owned the Atlas-D since Closed Beta. So...I think I know what I'm talking about xD

Edited by Pezzer, 05 September 2014 - 03:19 PM.

[RazorbeastFXK3]

I've seen plenty of assault mechs with ER Large lasers, LRMs and AC10/LB10x. As Pezzer mentioned, it's best to use what you're used to using when it comes to weaponry. SRM6 runs hot and hits for decent amounts of damage with or without artemis but SRM4 hits pretty well too for lower heat and faster reloads with or without artemis.

EDIT: Standard Engines are the go-to for me when it comes to anything heavier than a light mech. For some reason I always snicker whenever I take out an assault mech by just destroying one of its side torsi.

AC20s are good but kind of hurts the loadout for any other weapon you want to use along with it.

Edited by RazorbeastFXK3, 05 September 2014 - 03:41 PM.

[Redshift2k5]

When I play my Stalkers (or even my Daishi) I want to have something with reach, at minimum bringing some large lasers or Ultra/5s, respectively.

Of course, many classic brawly Atlases do well with typical 4 MLAS, AC20, and a few SRMs. I'd probably want to base it around large lasers in the arms or double UAC5s. I've also seen some double LBX10+2 ASRM6 plus MLAS do fairly well. I used double UAC5 Atlas waaaay back in closed beta and it was a riot.

[Pezzer]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7b950c47b6ec9c8

This one is pretty close to stock, just w/ upgrades and a faster engine. PPC is for engagements over 90m.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9ad7e0a0b72db0f
Good heat efficiency, but the heat sinks can be traded out for UAC/5s. You could also optionally slow the Mech down, but I think a 325 is perfect.

Just a couple of ideas for ya.

[countTZT]

I can suggest you those 2 Atlas builts, very good at Brawlers.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a3af97f9d26b809

This is a massive damage-fun mix. The 2 lb-10x is a fast gun shotgun that crits every cored enemy.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...afa0773205964e9

This is spooky. The alpha is devastating, and if for some reasons you are at long range or you are outta ammo you still have a couple of LL

[Elizander]

Here are some ideas. I'm sure you'll figure out something you prefer on your own.

Brawl and not be useless 80% of the time during a match - AS7-D

Here's a sword and board Atlas if you're good at twisting and chokepoints (useless if you are surrounded out in the open) - AS7-D If you can make the enemy chew through your entire left torso first then you should be able to deal a lot of damage. You'll only be exposing your right side for half a second anyway.

Here's a pure brawl DDC - AS7-D-DC

If you can find a tight space like the cave in Forest Colony and somehow get people to charge at you then you can torso twist and alpha them repeatedly until they keel over. In this game at least 4 enemy mechs decided to go in the cave where 3-4 of my team was (they followed me). Once we cleaned that up I charged out and tanked a direwolf with my left arm and torso and I ended up 5/4 with 990 damage done and 130 match score (just because they decided to fight in the cave against a pure brawler Atlas). Of course if you're in Alpine or walk out into the open that's another matter entirely.

This will not be my every pub game result, but good things do happen if you position yourself well enough (@400ms average ping since they moved servers):

Edited by Elizander, 06 September 2014 - 12:18 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

1) for the engine I would advise a Standard engine (an Atlas usually looses a side torso before the center torso making an XL risky) 325 or larger, remember the engine is not just about walking speed, a larger engine also makes the torso twist faster

2) depends what you are after, the AC20 with MLs and SRMs works fine for a pure brawler, however if you are after something not completely useless at range consider adding large lasers, (U)AC5 or a few LRMs

3) if you play as part of an organized team with voice communication you can usualy get away with pure short range, if you are dropping in the solo queue you may find you are the only brawler on a team, so packing a few longer range weapons would not hurt, but at the end of the day it is all down to personal preference

4) the arm position is low and at this time there is nothing you can do about it, sorry

[LyskTrevise]

Hi, Saryonarve.

I've been playing the Atlas since closed beta when I fell in love with it and bought the Atlas founders package. I can tell you from experience that you are absolutely on the right track: the atlas is -the- inner sphere brawler mech. It's a bit hard to pilot these days, as you have to have the team coordinating with you, and your positioning has to be spot on. Especially now that the DWF is in the game, the atlas feels just so underpowered! However, don't let that turn you off of this great mech, as it is even seen at the very top of the competitive ladder occasionally.

Lets cover some ground rules:
The D-DC is the only atlas you'll be piloting for any serious amount of time. The other three atlases can provide fun breaks every once in a while, but they are not serious contenders against the D-DC.

Your arms are huge, guard with them in between shots! Always protect your torsos:

1.) Shoot

2.) Twist your torso until your arm is facing the enemy

3.) Wait for weapons to cooldown

4.) Repeat

Your weapons, as your experienced already, are low slung. Never try to poke over terrain with the atlas. Always poke laterally. The atlas works best on flat ground, as most of your firepower is in your torso and slung low.

Now that that's out of the way:

There are two archetypes for the brawler atlas: DPS, and burst damage. Each has their benefits and drawbacks, and neither is better than the other in general.

DPS D-DC:
Pros: Extremely fast damage outputs, and longer range than the burst damage builds. Usually cooler-running. Can shake an enemy's cockpit, reducing their ability to fight back.

Cons: If using LB 10-Xs, you spread damage at range, and with UAC/5s you are prone to jamming often. However, the two biggest drawbacks are the increased tonnage draw, and the decreased ability to shield with the arms while waiting for your cooldowns. This makes you prone to being shot in your torsos much more. Generally slower than the burst builds.

Some builds:
LB 10-X AC: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1f06831fbe40961
UAC/5: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0e5308d7b41d253

NOTE: Armor values are meant for expert players who can rely on pilot skill to keep them from being shot in the back. You may do better with increased rear armor values.

Burst D-DC:
Pros: Pinpoint damage, high damage output in a single shot allows for guarding between shots, less tonnage than comparable DPS builds. Usually faster than the DPS builds.

Cons: Long re-fire time, and shorter range than the DPS builds.Slightly hotter than the DPS builds.

Some builds:
AC/20: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c4fa549aea82791
AC/20 Alternate: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7d4b2f78886ce83

NOTE: Armor values are meant for expert players who can rely on pilot skill to keep them from being shot in the back. You may do better with increased rear armor values.


Modules:
Seismic Sensor: Allows you to check around the corner before pushing. Also protects you from being snuck up behind, which is vital when you front-load armor.

Target Info Gathering: You absolutely must be able to tell where the enemy is weak at so you can neutralize that component if not the whole mech.

SRM6 Range: The SRMs are the only weapon in your arsenal with a maximum range of 270. The will do 0 damage and explode if you shoot them at an enemy further than that. The AC/20 is still a gauss rifle at 350m, and the DPS builds have range enough to not warrant the module. So the SRM module is the obvious choice.

Artillery/Airstrike: Its free damage that you can hit the enemy with to soften them up for your big guns. Especially if they are clumped. It also shakes the hell out of their cockpits so they cant shoot back.

Cool shot: You will get hot quickly in a prolonged engagement. Most engagements dont last that long, because, well you're in an atlas. Most things die pretty quick to you. But say you have to fight like 3 dire wolves in a row, you'll want that 9x9. Trust me.

Some builds for the other variants to level up with:
AS7-D: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e1d72a95c3b320b
AS7-K: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f34ecd365cbc0da
AS7-RS: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dbfc537fdccff91
AS7-BH: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e47a53e0e3ccbe3

NOTE: Armor values are meant for expert players who can rely on pilot skill to keep them from being shot in the back. You may do better with increased rear armor values.

[Saryonarve]

Thanks for the help and ideas. Hopefully in a not too terribly long amount of time I'll be able to wade my Atlas into close combat and actually feel useful. Definitely good to know XL engines are probably a bad idea. I tend to hit the CT on most Atlases I encounter(assuming nothing else is weak), so I kind of thought that XLs might be okay.