30 replies to this topic

[John1352]

I generally prefer running smaller mechs, Jenners, Firestarters, Commandos and Cicadas. However in CW, with the 240 ton drop limit, I feel I'll be putting my side at a disadvantage if I don't bring close to the tonnage limit of mechs, so I am considering eliting another assault (or heavy) chassis, I already have 3 stalkers.

I have 3x (or sold some but have elited) of these mechs: Commandos, Jenners, Firestarters, Cicadas, Hunchbacks, Shadowhawks, Catapults, Jagermechs, Stalkers.

I also have the following: Atlas DDC, Victor 9S (C), 2x Cataphract (2X & 3D), Cent-AH. I am planning to buy one or two more variants of these mechs to elite them.

Which of these would you recommend?
2 Atlases. (they seem to be mainly good as damage soakers to me)
2 Victors. (might make good poptarts?)
1 Cataphract. (I would probably just use it to elite my 3D)
Just bring two stalkers?
3 Of a different chassis?

Any advice/discussion is appreciated.

Edit: Looks like cataphracts are being recommended more than the other options, and I only need one more for three. I'll probably get the 4X, other than quirks, the 1X is pretty much a 3D with -1B, +1E and no JJ.

Update #2: I bought the CTF-4X, so far I have generally done pretty badly, but often got a single kill. I have been running it with the STD210 it comes with, ES, 4x AC5. I have found I rarely lose a side torso, and when I do my CT goes within a few seconds anyway, so I will put my XL240 in, and probably a couple of ML. Anyone have tips for running this?

Edited by John1352, 26 November 2014 - 04:31 AM.

[Brody319]

There is a 140 ton minimum btw.

Anyway, Atlas will be rather slow, but can soak damage and bring firepower.
Victors apparently were tier 1 (I was shocked) it moves fast but most builds run XL and require quite a bit of skill to pilot properly because of shitboxes.
Cataphracts are solid mechs, they can move decently fast and can kill easily.
Stalkers are good mechs, but they need heat management skills
I know that Jaeger mechs are good.
Banshees can be good but I have no experience playing them.
Catapults are okay.

Really You should stay away from other Assaults and Heavies, they tend to have bad hard points or just can't compare to them. Though I suppose if you want to be picky with your tonnage they can fit some gaps if you wish.

Edited by Brody319, 24 November 2014 - 10:04 PM.

[Troutmonkey]

A mastered Cataphract 3D is a great mech, and I'd recommend doing so. Those doubled basic skills + speed tweak are really worth it. The quirks on the other variants might even make them playable in their own right.

As for other suggestions? I've heard of and seen Orion's doing pretty well lately. Not tried them personally, but it looks like the quirks did them a lot of good.

[Davegt27]

man good questions

I wish I had more experience

[Elizander]

Easiest would be 3 65 tonners and a 45 tonner or 3 55 tonners and a 75 tonner. Until you have a huge stable of mechs you should try to work with multiple variants of what you have to make elite/master easier.

You can actually bring 3 Cataphracts and a Spider/Commando/Locust and that would make it easier until you get the rest of them to elite.

[John1352]

Brody319, are you sure you didn't mean to say that stalkers should never run XL engines? They have huge side torsos and a tiny CT.

[Sigilum Sanctum]

Brody319, on 24 November 2014 - 09:33 PM, said:

A: Stalkers are good mechs,
B: they are one of few mechs that should always be running an XL
C: but need heat management

A: yes they are
B: What are you insane? My Stalkers dont ever run XLs and they do just fine.
C: Easily mastered on Stalkers

[Brody319]

Sigilum Sanctum, on 24 November 2014 - 09:51 PM, said:

A: yes they are
B: What are you insane? My Stalkers dont ever run XLs and they do just fine.
C: Easily mastered on Stalkers

John1352, on 24 November 2014 - 09:50 PM, said:

Brody319, are you sure you didn't mean to say that stalkers should never run XL engines? They have huge side torsos and a tiny CT.

When I ran an XL stalker I didn't have many problems with my STs, But I was a new player when I played the stalker, and thus I wasn't twisting, so my CT was taking all the damage.

[Sigilum Sanctum]

I typically run my Misery as a bulldozer. While most games this has a devastating effect on the enemy, it also has the occasional habit of losing arms and torsos. I avoid XLs like the plague on my other Stalkers as well.

[Vassago Rain]

Realistically, CW will be all clans, all the time, because despite the quirks, IS mechs aren't competitive when you compare numbers.

[Mothykins]

Brody319, on 24 November 2014 - 09:54 PM, said:

When I ran an XL stalker I didn't have many problems with my STs, But I was a new player when I played the stalker, and thus I wasn't twisting, so my CT was taking all the damage.

Protip, the STs extend over the CT from the sides. there's a very, very very small CT to hit from the front.

Use the STs to block, it tanks like mad.

[Brody319]

Cavale, on 24 November 2014 - 10:09 PM, said:

Protip, the STs extend over the CT from the sides. there's a very, very very small CT to hit from the front.

Use the STs to block, it tanks like mad.

I changed my comment. I played a stalker quite a long time ago, so the hit boxes and hit reg might have been vastly different. I really don't have a lot of experience with assaults besides the Atlas.

[Kiiyor]

John1352, on 24 November 2014 - 09:23 PM, said:

I generally prefer running smaller mechs, Jenners, Firestarters, Commandos and Cicadas. However in CW, with the 240 ton drop limit, I feel I'll be putting my side at a disadvantage if I don't bring close to the tonnage limit of mechs,

I'd like to stop you right there, because the vehemence of my disagreement registers on the Richter scale!

I'd suggest dropping in the mechs you enjoy most, and are most skilled at.

I always appreciate a decent light pilot, in any match. If you were to drop 4 lights in your deck and still contribute, i'd vastly prefer that over someone who throws in extra tonnage because they feel they need to be close to the limit.

[Elizander]

Brody319, on 24 November 2014 - 10:12 PM, said:

I changed my comment. I played a stalker quite a long time ago, so the hit boxes and hit reg might have been vastly different. I really don't have a lot of experience with assaults besides the Atlas.

Yes, Stalkers are tanky because they have two triangle shape ST hitboxes running along the sides. If you are looking at a Stalker from the front, think of something like this - >O< Where the O is the CT and the sides represented by < and > are ST. Stalkers lose STs more than CT and even for me it's rare that I core a stalker without blowing a ST first. unless it's not moving.

Misery is good because it has a nose laser meaning you can't totally incapacitate it even if you turn it into a stick unlike the other stalkers.

I don't have a stalker on this account but in one of my free accounts (which I used to test newbie experience in matches, who they fight and average income, etc) I got a pimped out Stalker 4N as my first mech because it has an exact amount of hardpoints to make a no-ghost heat brawler. I don't think I ever died CT first before ST on any of the matches I played on it.

Edited by Elizander, 24 November 2014 - 11:17 PM.

[Rufus Ingram]

Given the mechs you prefer, you can bring three of any of those and a DDC Atlas. 3 3M Cicadas and a DDC make you a consisten ECM nightmare. Need something to counter the Hellbringer (Loki) spam we're going to see very soon.

Most important thing is to play what you enjoy and are reasonably good at. If that shorts the tonnage but doesn't reduce your overall performance I wouldn't stress about the weight. That said, I'd rather see a DDC Atlas in the mix until ECM gets nerfed even more if performance is not an issue.

As an example, I do at least 50% more damage in a medium than an assault. It's not going to help my team to bring extra weight that is just going to die. But that's me. Many do not struggle with diverse weight classes.

[Brody319]

Rufus Ingram, on 24 November 2014 - 11:28 PM, said:

Given the mechs you prefer, you can bring three of any of those and a DDC Atlas. 3 3M Cicadas and a DDC make you a consisten ECM nightmare. Need something to counter the Hellbringer (Loki) spam we're going to see very soon.

Most important thing is to play what you enjoy and are reasonably good at. If that shorts the tonnage but doesn't reduce your overall performance I wouldn't stress about the weight. That said, I'd rather see a DDC Atlas in the mix until ECM gets nerfed even more if performance is not an issue.

As an example, I do at least 50% more damage in a medium than an assault. It's not going to help my team to bring extra weight that is just going to die. But that's me. Many do not struggle with diverse weight classes.

I can tell you, I have quite a few ECM mechs, When they said 65% carry B/CAP, they meant it. I swear I could save ton and just equip another heat sink or medium laser on my lights because ECM is soo bad when you reach engagement range. I mean the enemy could be on the other side of a hill and that B/Cap will cancel your ECM. I doubt the Loki will be any sort of a threat because if its ECM. More likely the problem will be its weapons, speed, or hit boxes that make it good or bad. Unfortunately for the Loki, it will be expected to be near the front because its a heavy.

[MischiefSC]

Banshees. WubShee or a classic 3xAC5 2xPPC build is a solid 'finisher' for a squad. Heavy, solid damage taker, shield arms and the ability to blow the holy living crap out of stuff suddenly and explosively.

[John1352]

Kiiyor, Rufus Ingram, Those are some fairly good points, I don't think we're going to get to use all our mechs though, so there isn't much point bringing 3 CDA-3M. I suspect the CW maps will be kinda open though, more like alpine or caustic, where long ranged firepower and heavy armor is worth a lot. I guess it depends on the maps. My preferred mechs at the moment would probably be 2 of JR7, FS9, CDA, a shadowhawk and a stalker, which is 210-215 tons.

[Kiiyor]

John1352, on 24 November 2014 - 11:40 PM, said:

Kiiyor, Rufus Ingram, Those are some fairly good points, I don't think we're going to get to use all our mechs though, so there isn't much point bringing 3 CDA-3M. I suspect the CW maps will be kinda open though, more like alpine or caustic, where long ranged firepower and heavy armor is worth a lot. I guess it depends on the maps. My preferred mechs at the moment would probably be 2 of JR7, FS9, CDA, a shadowhawk and a stalker, which is 210-215 tons.

Well, one of my theory decks is a quartet of mediums. My favourite at the moment is the WubJack, and it's longest range weapons are LPL's - which I have absolutely no trouble with on Alpine as far as contributing goes.

Having said that, your deck appears quite nice. The Shawk is one of the better (if not the best) IS mediums, and a Stalker can be terrifying in just about any loadout, though I feel that a decent LRM boat on these maps will be quite deadly and a useful counter to the range advantage of the Clans.

[John1352]

My favorite stalker is the 5M with 5ML and 5 SRM6, walking up to an atlas, exploding it, then walking up to a daishi, exploding it, is one of the most fun things I've done in MWO. It isn't suitable for the open maps though (unless the enemies are pushing, then it is awesome)