13 replies to this topic

[InspectorG]

Which Assault chassis should i choose?

I mainly run lights, Kitfox is my best, spider and jenner after that. Mastered commandos but havent touched one in a while.

Mediums, i mastered Hunchbacks and have Griffins waiting for later.

The only heavy i run is the catapult, which escapes me but is fun. The K2, C1 and trollish A1.

I was thinking being a meta-***** and doing the Victor but i dunno. Is the Highlander good?
The Dwhale may be worth it for the lols. Awesome seems fun but since i will likely only do 1 assault chassis i dont want to hamstring myself.


Anyway, i dont particularly like (using)LRMs, ive never really used a Gauss...
Im not afraid to brawl or push but sometimes get reckless in a pug just to 'speed things up'.
JJ would be nice too.

Any ideas?

[Tiamat of the Sea]

I'd say pick up Victors as a starter if you're set on Assault 'mechs, they're the Assault that both runs most like a Light or Medium and has jump jets.

That said, there simply isn't any Assault 'mech that plays like lights or mediums do. I'd strongly advise picking up a midway 'mech or two out of the heavy class first- a Quickdraw or Dragon if you really want to keep your speed while you get practice, a Cataphract or Orion if you prefer to have versatility of weapons while you practice, or a Catapult (other than the A1) or Thunderbolt if you want something more forgiving that still steers and moves more like an Assault than a Light.

The thing you have to remember playing Assaults as compared to Lights or Mediums is that when you put yourself into a position, you're committing yourself to that position. You aren't going to have the speed or agility to escape very much, and the rest of the team is likely to anchor their movements off of your presence, because you're bigger, stompier, and harder than them. It's very different from driving even a decent-speed Medium like the Hunchback, nevermind something zippy like a Light- Kit Foxes are in this category too, relatively speaking, with their 90+ kph top speed. It's a rare Assault that both is competetive and goes more than 70 KPH.

Edited by Quickdraw Crobat, 01 August 2014 - 01:09 PM.

[InspectorG]

Quickdraw Crobat, on 01 August 2014 - 01:09 PM, said:

I'd say pick up Victors as a starter if you're set on Assault 'mechs, they're the Assault that both runs most like a Light or Medium and has jump jets.

That said, there simply isn't any Assault 'mech that plays like lights or mediums do. I'd strongly advise picking up a midway 'mech or two out of the heavy class first- a Quickdraw or Dragon if you really want to keep your speed while you get practice, a Cataphract or Orion if you prefer to have versatility of weapons while you practice, or a Catapult (other than the A1) or Thunderbolt if you want something more forgiving that still steers and moves more like an Assault than a Light.

The thing you have to remember playing Assaults as compared to Lights or Mediums is that when you put yourself into a position, you're committing yourself to that position. You aren't going to have the speed or agility to escape very much, and the rest of the team is likely to anchor their movements off of your presence, because you're bigger, stompier, and harder than them. It's very different from driving even a decent-speed Medium like the Hunchback, nevermind something zippy like a Light- Kit Foxes are in this category too, relatively speaking, with their 90+ kph top speed. It's a rare Assault that both is competetive and goes more than 70 KPH.

What do you think of Highlanders?

[Tiamat of the Sea]

InspectorG, on 02 August 2014 - 01:25 PM, said:

What do you think of Highlanders?

Highlanders are about as far from Light 'mechs as you get- the only 'mechs that function less like Lights are Atlases and Dire Wolves. They're fun and have a lot of weapon options, but they aren't at all like Lights.

[Obscillesk]

Never messed with a Highlander, but I love my Atlas and Stalkers. I have at least one of each mech class, my Raven 4x being my favorite light (I kept the 3L around for ecm runs) and a Jager which I also adore. But the Stalkers are what make me a happy assault pilot. My 5s is running as a brawler currently with:

Std 275, since its mastered I stomp along at 57.6 kmh
4xSRM6, with 3 1/2 tons ammo
2xLL
4xML
2xAMS, with 3 tons ammo
and 7xDHS, which gives me a heat mgmt of 1.04, which sounds bad, but stalkers are chock full of coolant apparently. (also, mastery.)

With chainfiring it is quite playable, which I was forced to find out because the first 4 maps I tested it on were in order: Terra therma, terra therma, tourmaline, tourmaline.

[SVK Puskin]

That will be a pretty big jump, keep in mind that you will trade speed and maneuverability for armor and firepower!

[VirtualSmitty]

I would suggest either the Battlemaster or the Banshee. The beemer can run big XLs pretty safely and when elited moves like a heavy. The Banshee is slower but brings a whole lotta oomph onto the field, especially the 3E and 3S variants.

[UnsafePilot]

I recently picked up a pair of Banshee's on sale as my first assault. I'm having a blast with the 3E while working up the monies for the third. Running it with dhs, endo, std320, 2xLPulse, IS LBX 20 (2xlbx 10 ;) and a decent lot of torso armor. Fire quick and torso twist and it's a good damage soaker. It is really slow though, that took getting used to.

Edited by UnsafePilot, 12 August 2014 - 04:40 AM.

[xMintaka]

Sounds like you want a Victor/Awesome.

Both are fast (XL350 capable = 78kph) for their weight and can pack an impressive amount of firepower. As a fellow light pilot, I thoroughly enjoyed my Victors as the first assault I bought, but they definitely play more like a heavy. The Awesome is the same, very fun but not really "assault" like.

If you're not sold on Victor's, look towards the Battlemaster. Huge engine cap and lots of Energy hardpoints should keep you happy, if not look to the Banshee for mega-dakka. I have and love both, with the Banshee edging out the B'master purely because it has more tonnage for heatsinks (Wubshee)

Edited by Lunatech, 12 August 2014 - 05:59 AM.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Banshee 3E is really good,the 3S is bit meh,and the 3M is highly situational.
And they handle better than Battlemasters.Even the ultra-slow 3S with 285 STD seems to be more nimble than Battlemaster 3M.

But if you want missiles,Battlemaster is one of the best assault missile boats.

[InspectorG]

Alright, got a Victor K.

What do i do with it?
I like AC20, never used a Gauss before.

[Selene Lunaris]

InspectorG, on 30 August 2014 - 05:27 PM, said:

Alright, got a Victor K.

What do i do with it?
I like AC20, never used a Gauss before.

It's gonna depend on what you want to do with your Victor. Wanna wreck stuff at range? Take the gamble and get an XL in there, gauss, lurms, all that jazz. Want to brawl and smack people in the face? AC/20 all day. Or, something unheard of in the lighter mechs, mix it up - I didn't spend much time in the Victor, but I liked running the AC/20 to smack people around, cramming some lurms into the left torso to soften people up and having lasers for backup. I'm not the best Victor pilot, but here are my two cents anyway.

On the subject of the gauss, it's worth noting the ammo doesn't explode. The rifle itself does, however, for 20 points of damage. Not a big deal for the rest of your mech because it's in the arm, but if it pops, it's fairly likely gonna destroy the arm. Gausses go off like wildfire once their component is exposed. Ammo is safe to store in your torso, the thing itself is not. Luckily, it's in the arm, as mentioned before.

Edited by Chrona, 01 September 2014 - 04:35 PM.

[InspectorG]

Chrona, on 01 September 2014 - 04:32 PM, said:

It's gonna depend on what you want to do with your Victor. Wanna wreck stuff at range? Take the gamble and get an XL in there, gauss, lurms, all that jazz. Want to brawl and smack people in the face? AC/20 all day. Or, something unheard of in the lighter mechs, mix it up - I didn't spend much time in the Victor, but I liked running the AC/20 to smack people around, cramming some lurms into the left torso to soften people up and having lasers for backup. I'm not the best Victor pilot, but here are my two cents anyway.

On the subject of the gauss, it's worth noting the ammo doesn't explode. The rifle itself does, however, for 20 points of damage. Not a big deal for the rest of your mech because it's in the arm, but if it pops, it's fairly likely gonna destroy the arm. Gausses go off like wildfire once their component is exposed. Ammo is safe to store in your torso, the thing itself is not. Luckily, it's in the arm, as mentioned before.

Whats a good XLengine for the Victor?

[InspectorG]

And how should i loadout the K?

Im not really digging the gauss.

Laser heavy let arm and lots of srm?