114 replies to this topic

[Fire and Salt]

If you want to match a dire wolf in an IS mech, dont use an atlas.
The banshee can hold more weapons than an atlas.
It also spreads damage better.


The banshee has 2 giant shield arms with no hard points in them.
It is probably the most durable out of the 3 (atlas/DW/banshee)


I run 4 uac5 and a bunch of lasers on one of my dire wolves.
I run 3 ac5 and bunch of lasers on the banshee.

Out of these 2, the dire wolf is better offensively, and the banshee is better defensively.

The important thing with the banshee is to feed them the less important side.
Fighting on Terra thermal? Protect your ACs and let the enemy shoot the laser side shield arm, then the laser side torso, etc.

The banshee can also peek over hills better than the DW... And the atlas... Well that is like the worst mech for peeking..

[oldradagast]

Agreed with the above poster.

The Atlas has a higher alpha than a Banshee, but the Banshee can roll damage better and can put more pinpoint damage downrange. I love my Banshee 3E and it's become my "flagship" command mech, beating out my Atlas's, even the DDC.

Why?

- Ability to roll damage: While the Banshee does have a more vulnerable center torso than the Atlas, its side torsos are small for a mech of its size (so it is hard to strip it of weapons) and the arms are huge and entirely ablative. I've had games where most of my mech is at yellow armor, but the arms are cored, and all the damage on the arms was basically wasted by the enemy.

- More pinpoint damage: While I still enjoy the clouds of SRM's put out by the Atlas, the Banshee's ability to slam home with triple AC 5's or piles of PPC's, lasers, etc. in high convergence locations is rather respectable.

- Higher weapon mounts: The Atlas has nothing but low mounted weapons with the exception of the top missile launcher. Banshees have several high mounted weapon points, including some ballistic slots on the 3E, a few energy slots, and the head energy slot on all of them. While you're not able to put most of your firepower over a hill, there's a strong chance at least some of your salvo will clear most obstacles.

While the Dire Wolf is the best assault mech in the game overall - though not the best in all ways - you can take them down in an Atlas or Banshee by holding a sacrificial arm towards them as you approach, and then swinging around and blasting them while circling. The Dire Wolf's only weakness is that it turns poorly and is rather clumsy in close quarters - you must use that to have any hope against it.

Edited by oldradagast, 26 September 2014 - 06:32 AM.

[RiceCop]

It can be done with a good brawler Atlas build. I have dueled several in my DDC and I have not lost yet. But I don't run the standard brawler Atlas either.

[Fisslag]

in my experience i am far worse with the daishi than with the atlas, despite the overwhelming fire power!
but as most already have noticed, skill is a huge factor in a brawl; you have to use your movement advantage with the atlas, especially your arms which you can twist around! and most important, try to protect your ac20 on the right torso!
another thing, maybe my subjective perception^^: atlas can "eat" more dmg than a daishi - so i agree with other posts, aim for ct on a daishi and on the right torso of an atlas first

[Brizna]

The real answer is take down the Direwolf with a Locust while the Atlas kills something else.

[Soul Tribunal]

Now that I am playing 3 variations of Atlas builds along with 3 Direwolves I have a few different perspectives.
The one glaring issue I see Is hard points. Limited as they are in the atlas, and fixed as they are make it much more difficult to pull off.
I think It still will be some time before I am good enough to make a better opinion, but I do feel that the 'lighter' Assault IS Mechs actually have a better chance overall, and not just VS a Dire Wolf.

-ST

[TVMA Doc]

Eldane, on 12 September 2014 - 03:35 PM, said:

If I had to pick between my single Atlas(DDC) and my 3 Direwhales, I'd take my DDC any day of the week, an Atlas is like a ballerina compared to a DW as a hockey player! Sure the hockey player might win a fistfight, but some finesse can go a long way.

1 on 1 will come down to pilot skills, but a DDC attracts allies, and the poor DW, is almost always left to fend for himself.

I'd have to say there are quite a few Atlas builds, for several variants, that can hold their own against a DW. If it's a longer range engagement I'd have to give the edge to most DW builds though.

There is some truth to this. I haven't played a Dire yet as I'm still trying to save enough CBills to level the other available clan mechs, but I've been in enough matches with them to notice that mechs try to stay with the Dires early, but they are so slow it is painful. The first enemy mech that appears on radar means everyone charges away, leaving the Dire to catch up.

It's also imperative that the Atlas keep situational awareness. If you can get in the flank of a Dire, you can kill it. You are far more likely to flank and stay in the flank of a Dire than the other way around-at least as long as you bring a decent engine. On top of that, as a D-DC you are very likely to have some friends because there are a few people in game who actually appreciate ECM's benefits...

[TVMA Doc]

Brizna, on 29 September 2014 - 04:35 PM, said:

The real answer is take down the Direwolf with a Locust while the Atlas kills something else.

True, but with the overwhelming alpha capability of a Dire, all that Locust needs is one mistake.

It's amazing just how deadly the Direwolf can be. I've had untouched Jenners, Kit Foxes, etc. that I was literally dancing around the rear of a Dire SLOWLY taking it down. The problem is that it is slow, and invariably terrain slows your mech JUST a tad, another mech collides with you, you react a split second too late, etc. and you're dead before you even realize that he has fired.

[Creovex]

AS7-D
AS7-D-DC
AS7-K
AS7-RS(C)
BOAR'S HEAD

I use these build and have no issue dropping Direwolves. Especially on the new map

Just so you know.. if you take an Atlas and slow it down, you can hold toe to toe with these big boys... Now if you choose speed over damage, you can keep the Atlas hauling (faster) and moving with less weapons and easily causing a headache for the slow turning Direwolf. Overall, the Direwolves are FAR from OP.

Advice: Move out of Toe-to-toe fighting if you are running a fast assault, and work the body. If you go slow, you can Toe-to-Toe it just fine and utilize weapon ranges to dominate....

Edited by Creovex, 01 October 2014 - 08:00 AM.

[Alienized]

a question to the 3 ac5 users on the banshee.... where do you load your ammo?

[Kassatsu]

AS7-D-DC

Have fun killing those evil P2W clan me-Oh, they're available for c-bills? I mean those evil OP no-skill clan mechs.

Then again, you DO need to watch your heat in that build. I'd say figure out a build with more heat sinks if you don't already have your elite skills done.

Edited by Kassatsu, 01 October 2014 - 09:00 AM.

[Voivode]

I've been having a great time in my Yen-lo-Wang against all the Dire Wolves out there. Slap em from the side with an AC20, move while they initiate their five minute turning procedure, slap in the side again, rinse and repeat. Good times!

[Ace Selin]

Ive not met an Atlas in my Direwolf yet I haven't been able to kill, when ive been healthy and the Atlas doesn't have 2-3 more mechs supporting it. 1v1 Atlas is dead versus a competent Direwolf player id say. DDCs only advantage is ECM.

[Estonniel]

3 Atlas D-DC vs 3 Direwolfs + (1 or 2 random scared mechs that have no idea whats comming for them) as they shoot at other people. ones the 3 come in the 270 Meters, kiss the wolfs goodbye because a brawling high speed Atlas that sneeks up unseen murders em hard as we brake the top of HPG little shooting "safespot smirk"

[Roachbugg]

If you run a bigger engine than the direwolf and know how to dance the atlas can kill a dire wolf one one pretty easy the boars head is fantastic at this but in a straight face tank match the dire wolf will probably win.