9 replies to this topic

[Hospy]

Hello!

After getting a bunch of games under my belt in the lighter classes, I've tried to make a foray into the world of Assault Mech, first starting with the Banshee. While it was great fun dakka-ing away with triple chain fire AC/5s, the mech itself felt very, very, clunky and awkward, and I more or less lost every exchange with the Dire Wolfs that are omnipresent and will only be more so with the release for c-bills. Admittedly, I haven't gotten my elite efficiencies unlocked, but it definitely felt like a chore carrying him about at ~50km speed. (300 standard engine)

So for my next mech, I dropped down the weight scale and picked up the Victor, the 9S model which I skilled up through the basics and then sold in preparation for the next variant, since as far as I can tell, the only difference between the 9S and the 9B is that the S has another 2 tube missile slot, and the 9B has a third ballistic slot, and since I figured I'd more likely use three ballistic slots over a 2 tube missile slot, the 9S was ruled out first.

In my games with the 9S, I have to admit, I felt pretty fat and awkward. Not nearly as much as the Banshee, but not something I'd like to take out for fun. The trial Victor with the 350xl felt much more responsive, and I can only imagine that with actual efficiencies, it'd be a lot more nimble and fun.

I was not a huge fan of the AC/20, it's extremely satisfying landing a hit with a thing, but with the mobility that the mech has and the short range, it was not a very pleasant experience over all.

I just have some questions though:

1) XL engine on a Victor? I found lots of stuff saying yes versus no, but pretty much everything I found is before the Victors got nerfed at some point in the past.

2) Does the 20 degree yaw for the arms on the 9K actually confer much of a benefit over the 10 degree yaw the others have?

3) Lower arm actuator on the 9K precludes mounting an AC/20, so is there any benefit to having one? I know if you don't have them on either arm you can't aim left or right outside of your torso twist, does that mean if your left arm gets shot off (the one that does have lower arm actuator), you can't shift the arms left/or right unless you have the lower arm actuator in the remaining arm? Will it absorb crits like it does in the TT version? If neither of these is the case, what is the 9K even good for?

I plan on running with x2 large lasers, x2 lrm5s, and either a gauss or dual AC/5 set up with a 350XL engine. I've never tried gauss before so... yeah.

My apologies for the wordy post, and thank you for the help!

[dragnier1]

I don't own victors, though my experiences with the atlas and stalkers say all assaults feel clunky. In fact, the orion is not that far off either. This might take some getting used to.

Victors + XL - I think it depends on how you play and how your games unfold. If you're constantly losing your CT armour fast XL should be a safe bet. Weapons selection might affect that too, if you take gauss or multiple acs' you'll need XL to fit them in anyway.

[Time Bandit]

As a pure assault pilot, yes, they are fat and clunky, but with enough practice in one, it'll become second nature. I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum, lights are too nimble for my tastes and I'm not very good at them.

[Modo44]

XL friendly. Not XL safe, but you generally can get away with it because of added mobility. You want to go XL325 or higher depending on the specific loadout.

The 9K has better arm reach and twist characteristics. It is a solid upgrade for any build not based on an AC20 or dual UAC5. For example, AC10+2xPPC, AC10+3xLL, Gauss+3xML+ASRM10 work nicely. Always unlocked arms.

For the other variants, the old AC20+2xPPC build now has re-synced weapons, so I would start with that.

Do not try to LRM boat on a Victor. It will make you a sad panda. Those slots are for SRMs or streaks. Or NARC if you like to troll.

dragnier1, on 24 September 2014 - 04:07 AM, said:

I don't own victors,

So stop talking. The Victor is quite not the usual assault.

Edited by Modo44, 24 September 2014 - 04:51 AM.

[Hospy]

Thank you for the help!

Regarding the 9K's turn twist, smurfy says they have the same turn rate, just that the 9K has 10 degree better arm yaw, which I guess is something, but seems pretty piddly.

I wasn't going to boat the LRMs with the Victor, but I was thinking if I'm running a long range build with gauss and large lasers, it wouldn't hurt to have some extra long range oomph. I dunno, I guess I still have to play around with smurfy some more.

Also to answer one of my own questions regarding lower arm actuators, if you get your left arm with the lower arm actuator shot off, you can still aim your right arm anywhere on your x-axis even if it doesn't have a lower arm actuator; it doesn't turn you into a Blackjack or Jagermech where you can only aim up and down.

I guess I will purchase a gauss rifle and try it out before deciding which variant to keep.

Thanks again!

[The Trumpet of Gabriel]

If you are going to use the victor at medium to long range you can use an xl. You still have to be careful, but it is doable. If you build a brawler, it would be best to go standard.

Here are my load outs:

Dragon Slayer: 2 ac5, 2ppc, xl 350 (and yes I know the ppc's aren't ideal anymore, but they can still work if you lead your targets carefully)

9S: ac 20, 2 mL, 3 SRM6's, std 300

9B: 2 UAC5's, 2 mL, 2 SRM6's, xl 350

I haven't tried the K...

[n r g]

OK, let me build you something

[Jody Von Jedi]

Hopsy,

I recently went through a similar experience with Assault mechs. I ran Victors back before the nerf and they played more like a heavy than an assault. I decided to try out the Atlas since the Victor had taken such a hit. I have elited 3 of them now and it does take some getting used after coming from fast Mediums almost exclusively.

Best advice I can offer, is to hang back at first and try to play second line fire support. Use medium range weapons and focus fire with the "death blob". To take an Assault into the front line with little experience is daunting to say the least. It's all about position, position, position. Coming form medium mechs, I had a hard time remembering I didn't have the speed to get out of a bad situation. If you get out of cover and don't have the support, you'll get focused and go down fast.

Just my .02,

Jody

[n r g]

Here you go:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c8e5696a2060eb4

That will easily be the most versatile victor build for both brawling and longer range engagements at the moment. Also, you can pretty much mount it on any victor.

PPCs are really jack at the moment (I personally still run them on my dragonslayer), so the 2ppc2ac5 or 2ppc1gauss victor is always an option but you tend to miss alot of ppc shots at 500m+, and that goes for even really good shots/competition players just because of how low the velocity.

The large lasers then become an option, however, the large lasers burn time, doesn't really sync that good when jumping in the victor because it's only about enough time to release the gauss. Furthermore, there is ghost heat at 3 largelasers, so running 3 (which is sufficient via the amount of tons free on the victor) requires an akward shooting pattern.

Thus, we come full circle and merely take out the ppcs or largelasers and throw in pulse. The burn time is obviously significantly lower, which is great for peaking and popping off 2largepulse + 1guass shots, and actually is quite doable even jumping in the victor.

I would suggest, without a doubt:

1) radar deprivation module
2) coolshot 9
3) Large Pulse IS range module
4 ) IS gauss cooldown module

*artillery strike/airstrike if you have it

Obviously the build can be modded at bit (you can drop the engine to a xl355 or 350 and add another Gauss ammo slot, or more heatsinks or even AMS)

Have fun, I'm confident this is the most well-rounded and "meta" build atm for the victor, generally speaking. Although dual ac5/uac5 + large pulse on the 9S would be good as-well.

And as I said, the 2ppc1gauss or 2ppc2ac5 is still doable but it just becomes difficult to land shots at 500+ for even great shots/experienced players where as if you had 2largepulse , your shots will land everytime....

*Keep in mind, although this is a very "good" victor build, they have been overly nerfed mechs, and with Timberwolves and Direwolf's running around, you will need to be very careful. They can pretty much dismantle you if you try to 1v1 them, so definitely be weary of the current state of IS assaults*

Edited by E N E R G Y, 24 September 2014 - 01:21 PM.

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

My current favorite Victor: VTR-9B

Modules:
-Radar Dep
-Seismic
-AC20 range
-AC20 cooldown

And I'll reiterate what ENERGY said:

E N E R G Y, on 24 September 2014 - 01:20 PM, said:

*artillery strike/airstrike if you have it

*Keep in mind, although this is a very "good" victor build, they have been overly nerfed mechs, and with Timberwolves and Direwolf's running around, you will need to be very careful. They can pretty much dismantle you if you try to 1v1 them, so definitely be weary of the current state of IS assaults*