40 replies to this topic

[Kiiyor]

So, the Perkocalypse is upon us, and it has brutalized the playing field. Mechs that I used to laugh at before are becoming deadly! The queue is full of mediums! Forum vitriol seems to be down! Everything lots more stuff is awesome!

What I find i'm enjoying more than new opportunities to mad-scientist, however, is encountering new and deadly foes on the battlefield.

My favourite so far is the medium pulse ThunderBolt.

I love this machine and build.

I haven't piloted it yet (though I do own it), but IMHO it's really nice to see a mech on the battlefield (that isn't a laser-vomit MadCat or cheese-fuelled Direwolf) that makes me clench up my man parts in fear like the Yagerbombs or Splatapaults of yore used to, that forces me to try and work out how to deal with it as my likely doom if it closes with me.

"Ok, that's a DireWolf, Atlas, Stalk-OH CRAP, that's a ThunderBolt! Is it Wub? Maybe it's -nope, crap, it's Wub."

I love that this lurking behemoth will stay in my mind for the match, making me fear cresting blind ridges, making me worry that it's churning up dust looking for me.

I love that it has a real range weakness, that it's hitboxes are crap, but that it punches like a rocket fisted mecha-Ali would.

I love that the fear of this thing isn't the blind panic of being flat-footed in front of a Direwolf, or being caught in the open by a LURM boat, but is a fear that I won't be able to engage it at range and exploit it's kryptonite before it closes with me.

I love that if it does close with me, the nature of it's weapons as a DOT (albeit a very, very fast one) at least afford me a chance of victory if I can keep it's pilot off-balance.

Though it may be reined in somewhat in future, for now it's my Moriarty.

Are any of you encountering new builds that make your eyes widen when you R them? Are there any new combinations that you think fill a deadly niche, that make for a respected foe and nemesis, rather than being something you regard as being completely OP?

[ibex230]

Whales always gets me a bit butt clenched. Especially if you run after a light only to take a corner and face their heavy lance a la 4x whale.

[Kiiyor]

ibex230, on 09 November 2014 - 02:20 AM, said:

Whales always gets me a bit butt clenched. Especially if you run after a light only to take a corner and face their heavy lance a la 4x whale.

Yeah, I tend to think of Whales more as cheese than a respected foe, though. It's like mounted cavalry charging tanks, most of the time. They do have the whole mobility weakness to exploit, but if there are more than one, like there is in most matches, their mobility weakness is irrelevant.

[Nauht]

AC40 jags still do it for me.

The King Crab is gonna be glorious.

[Aloe]

No one going to mention AWS-8Q's with their 4PPCs? Or are we just not that scary... .

Otherwise AC/40 JMS still keep me on edge but they aren't new.

[MadMaxMKII]

Aloe, on 09 November 2014 - 05:05 AM, said:

No one going to mention AWS-8Q's with their 4PPCs? Or are we just not that scary... .

Otherwise AC/40 JMS still keep me on edge but they aren't new.

not scary, because many pilots cant aim properly.

[El Bandito]

After a period of thought, I realized that I do not have one. Huh.

If it is only annoying, then ERLL Lights, and Dual Gauss Jager. Mostly because they pop back into cover by the time I aim at them.

Edited by El Bandito, 09 November 2014 - 06:34 AM.

[Metus regem]

Kiiyor, on 09 November 2014 - 02:39 AM, said:

Yeah, I tend to think of Whales more as cheese than a respected foe, though. It's like mounted cavalry charging tanks, most of the time. They do have the whole mobility weakness to exploit, but if there are more than one, like there is in most matches, their mobility weakness is irrelevant.

Tell that to my 1 ERLL Locust 1V that killed three Dire Wolves in one match....

That being said my Dire Wolves only leave the hanger when I want to troll with 6cUAC 5 or 8/9 CERPPC's now that I got them into elite, I just don't like them, not fast enough, can't turn/twist... I much prefer my War Hawks... Looking forward to my Gargoyles too..

As to fearing a mech/build, not at all. In a locust, I soot an Atlas, I get around him and harass him, see a Timber Would, in my Mad Dog, take a side torso to hurt him, then go for the other to kill him.

As for mechs I love, well my War Hawk prime, that dropped the cLRM's for AMS....

Edited by Metus regem, 09 November 2014 - 06:36 AM.

[Duncan Jr Fischer]

El Bandito, on 09 November 2014 - 06:34 AM, said:

After a period of thought, I realized that I do not have one. Huh.

If it is only annoying, then ERLL Lights, and Dual Gauss Jager. Mostly because they pop back into cover by the time I aim at them.

Very much this.
Can't say I fear any build, but my behaviour jumps to the 'extra-cautious' once I scan a 2xAC20 or 2xGauss on the horizon. I begin a long flanking at once. ERLL lights are another problem, you have to get to some narrow place to meet them, in the open they have too much advantage. Especially so, as I mostly ride close-mid range builds, so I try to be seen as little as possible until I get into brawling range.

[LowSubmarino]

It is a good mech and build. But, as you pointed out, it definitely has it's weaknesses.

I have melted faces of basically all weightclasses and loadouts with that monster. At the same time I got beaten by a lot of mechs out there even when I was fresh and in brawling distance. The last was a wang who got 3 ac20 hits right in my center even though i tried to twist but he timed them perfectly. He was red in center and 2 more alphas - or about 3 - 4 seconds - later I could have won.

In my experience with that mech in the last 3 days it is neither op nor anywhere near being helpless. In fact, if its dmg output is greatly reduced or its heat efficiency with that build nerfed, then it wont stand a chance against other brawlers or heavy hitters like tha ac40 fager or even a medium brawler like the wang.

That wang pilot was good. I think our skill was somewhat equal, maybe he was even better. I really felt like a great fight because it was so close. Maybe even one more straight center alpha could have finished him. So nerfing the 5ss a lot would have made it impossible to win in such a scenario. Same goes for jagers. I won some encounters and lost some. So far - even though it was maybe 10 - 20 encounters each and thus not really a representative number - my chances would have been greatly reduced if I could only alpha lets say 2 times.

Each time the number of alphas was barely sufficient to destroy a good piloted brawler like those mentioned here.

I'm not saying that some quirks wont need fine tuning, but if ppl scream for the 5ss to be greatly nerfed, then they simply don't know what they are talking about. It wont be competitive any longer if it can only shoot those 7 mpls 2 times. Being in a brawl means you cant easily disengange. And if you cant alpha anymore its lights out.

Quite frankly it felt balanced which made the matches with it so much fun. If I was able to stay away from heavy hitters I could survive long. If I did face one of those i had a 50 % chances to win. Sometimes more sometimes less. But as a brawler you need a chance to win. If its effectiveness is greatly reduced your chances will melt.

If 1000s of matches show that the 5ss has a greater chance to win than other brawlers in certain scenarios then it could be argued that the number of possible alphas is reduced by one. But so far, as I said, that didnt seem the case. At least not in my encounters with ppl that moved and shot with skill.

[Scratx]

5 CSRM6+Art Stormcrow. Worthless at range but fast enough to close in and once glued to your sides, you're screwed. Oh, wait, you mean IS mechs? Hmm.


Wubverine 6K, 4 LPL. I don't quite consider it OP because of the glaring weaknesses (must mount XL and is still f'ing slow, all guns mounted on right arm), but 16 DPS Hitscan while chainfiring for almost 10 seconds... yeah. (disclaimer : I have one. I blame Fantastic Tuesday, it's too much f***ing fun to use)

Dragon 1N, 2 AC5. Pretty much same as above except ballistics on a crap 60t chassis. Though this one might actually be OP because heat isn't a real issue and it can actually move fast. In any case, dangerous as f***, but easy to defang, just blow that right arm off.

Gauss/BoomJager. They will always be respected foes because regardless of how the meta moves, they hit hard, have high mounted ballistics and most people at this point playing them over the new toys are folks who know exactly what they're doing.


I haven't played enough since the patch hit to notice things that make me shiver. At least, things that I actually were pitted against or used myself.

I'm sure I'll come up with more things to add...

[KraftySOT]

Jagerbombs. Other Wubshees. Thats really all that worries me. A dakkawolf staring at me, or an AC/20 raven at my backside, but those are situational fears.

Everything else you can pretty quickly disable their ability to do whatever theyre doing by shooting an arm or side torso. Then king crab will scare me because you cant do that.

[oldradagast]

Dual Gauss anything is a top priority target. They have range, they run cold, and they can kill you fast. Oh, and it tends not to be obvious from where they are shooting, so yeah... kill them first.

PPC Awesomes are fun to fear since they are actually effective now. It's fun watching a once useless mech actually do some real damage for a change.

[Soul Tribunal]

Aloe, on 09 November 2014 - 05:05 AM, said:

No one going to mention AWS-8Q's with their 4PPCs? Or are we just not that scary... .

Otherwise AC/40 JMS still keep me on edge but they aren't new.

Awesomes are now a truly worthy foe with the right pilot.They used to be lower on my priority list when I am playing but that has changed since the Quirks.
Same with Dragons now. I can't remember the last time I've had such fun being ignored on the Battlefield and then at the end see 900 damage from my 1N

-ST

[TimePeriod]

I don't really fear any 'Mech.
Tri-gauss DW might give me the skitties but nothing major.

[nehebkau]

Nauht, on 09 November 2014 - 02:43 AM, said:

AC40 jags still do it for me.

The King Crab is gonna be glorious.

Yep, get in close and boom there goes my mech.

[Scratx]

nehebkau, on 09 November 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

Yep, get in close and boom there goes my mech.

No different than from a Jag, really. Only the vulnerability will be. Lots more armor.

Curious to know whether there will be crit-splitting.

[Agent 0 Fortune]

Yen Lo Wang has always been a bane of mine.
At this point i think it is more psychological than anything.

Edited by Agent 0 Fortune, 09 November 2014 - 11:24 AM.

[Greenjulius]

Agent 0 Fortune, on 09 November 2014 - 11:23 AM, said:

Yen Lo Wang has always been a bane of mine.
At this point i think it is more psychological than anything.

It was a legitimate threat before the quirks, now it's a serious one. I've seen good pilots take on multiple mechs and kill them all by using torso twisting effectively. The quirks make this easier, and make the AC20 and lasers even more deadly. I don't have one, but I wish I did.

[STEF_]

Whales no problem. never go full frontal, and that's all.
Jager 40ac? it's a joke build, imo; ac20 range 270m and slow mech.... a wang is much more dangerous.
Gauss mech? I don't move without cover, or without knowing where the enemy stands. If he manages to hit me, he can do it only one time.

Lurms? no problem. Cover/ecm/radar depr. I wonder why someone whine about lrm.

Ember/spider
I like to play medium/heavy as skirmisher, so I give and take damage.
At the final minutes of the match and I have critical..... and a smart ember/spider appears. This is very annoying.
Also the poisonous bug armed with erll is very annoying, too.
Yes, those are the couple of mech I love and fear more.