33 replies to this topic

[aniviron]

Blue Hymn, on 30 November 2014 - 05:55 PM, said:

So the opinion of the Awesome is still at low tier? That's unfortunate.

The 8T and 8V are still garbage, the 9M is okay. The 8Q is amazing, and the 8R is passable.

For some reason the 8R is considered to be a tier 3 mech, so its quirks are not that great, but the 8R was decent before the quirkening. The 8Q, however, made out like a bandit. In addition to the standard structure buffs, it got just insane PPC quirks; I run mine with 4 PPCs, and an alpha on a normal map brings you to ~62% heat, and still under 70 on Mordor. And I'm not talking an alpha as in 2 + 2, I mean full blown 4 PPCs at once. It's back to one shot headshots on shutdown mechs, one click legging and ST kills on lights, one shot in the back kills on mediums, bringing assaults to orange armor in CT without being exposed for more than one second. And if you choose not to alpha, you can generally get at least 10 pairs of hits before having to cool off, which can be absolutely devastating.

The downside is that the Awesome still has very low hardpoints which make it unsuitable for sniping, it has terrible movement characteristics which the great torso twisting doesn't make up for (enjoy never getting up a hill in Canyon!) and most of the variants are still bad. I can't comment on the PB because I don't own one, but the AWS-9M could have been absolutely beastly with the right quirks, but instead it got ER PPC quirks, and ER PPCs are still just terrible, and why would you pick the 9M with quirks for a bad weapon when you can have the 8Q or 8R which get quirks for weapons that are already decent.

EDIT: I guess I would say that the 8Q is nearly at the level of an STK-3F now, the 8R is a bit worse, the 9M is about equal to the rest of the stalkers, and the 8T and 8V are still worse than every Stalker.

Edited by aniviron, 30 November 2014 - 11:06 PM.

[Karl Marlow]

I messed around with the 8Q after the quirkening. It does PPc's well but the mech is very sluggish and I was having a hard time maneuvering to get a good shot. I think clan mechs maneuverability has spoiled me.

[Ens]

The barndoor that bites back

[crustydog]

It was pretty awesome how quickly I got fragged by the one I ran into this afternoon.

[PitchBlackYeti]

I like my 9M Wubsome (ERPPCs are still to hot to use, even with quirks) the most, 8Q PPC platform is also fun at times I preferred the awesomes with the preliminary (pre 4th Nov) quirks more (general energy bonuses, heat dissipation, ct armor etc.), they received some nice quirks now, but so did most other mechs and the advantage shrunk.

[Shadow Magnet]

Did you guys tried the Pretty Baby post-quirk? I bought it during the Black Friday sales because my unit leader was all crazy about it. Well, first match: XL340, 2xSRM6A, 2xLL, 1xML, 4 kills, 950ish damage.

Man, those LL recharge *FAST*, great fun!

Will switch to 3xSRM4, 2xLL, 1xML and XL400 this evening.

[TexAce]

Long year awesome pilot here.
Had them mastered before but now they are great! 8Q and 9M are ppc spitting machines! Stay back and snipe with the ppcs.

The 8R is equipped with 4SRM6A and 2LL since I bought him and is now even deadlier.

The CT buffs are pretty good. Hits which usually would kill you are now more manageable. It's no front line brawler but it can be very nasty if you are a decent pilot.

[Butane9000]

1013m range ERPPC on the AWS-8Q you can fire plenty of times before overheating.

They've greatly improved Awesomes but you still have to be aware of your design flaws (barn door) and play accordingly.

[Blue Hymn]

Well, at the very least the quirks make some variants very viable with energy weapons, which I don't mind at all. Gonna be doing some righteous dakkas with my PPC and whatnot on my 8Q; unleash some righteous fury at some poor sod's face.

[nitra]

I wouldnt say the quirked awesome is low teir .... it is a force to be reckoned with especially in the hands of those who can aim .

and for those like me who cant we still have the wub options and boom smashy smashy srm 6 goodness .

However it is still only 80 tons and i think this is its key weakness . reason being is because pilots like to try and use it like a 100 ton behemoth and find out real quick that ummm no its not quite up for that task .. but is that really the mechs fault?


with the new quirks the awesome is pretty much something to be feared on the battlefield ...

so go ahead fire up the game load it out with 4 er ppcs and have a blast fit some srm 6's have a blast .. fit some lrg pulse lasers and wub it up becase as it stands now the awesome is actually well erm quite awesome .

[Stonefalcon]

Blue Hymn, on 30 November 2014 - 09:44 AM, said:

Left MWO about 2-3 months back, and just came back recently to check the current state of the game. For those out there, how does the game feel like now? More importantly - how's the current state of the Awesome right now, for any pilots out there?

It's still a walking tower, but it's now a walking tower that punches stuff in the face and gets away with it.

[xXBagheeraXx]

aniviron, on 30 November 2014 - 11:05 PM, said:

The 8T and 8V are still garbage, the 9M is okay. The 8Q is amazing, and the 8R is passable.

For some reason the 8R is considered to be a tier 3 mech, so its quirks are not that great, but the 8R was decent before the quirkening. The 8Q, however, made out like a bandit. In addition to the standard structure buffs, it got just insane PPC quirks; I run mine with 4 PPCs, and an alpha on a normal map brings you to ~62% heat, and still under 70 on Mordor. And I'm not talking an alpha as in 2 + 2, I mean full blown 4 PPCs at once. It's back to one shot headshots on shutdown mechs, one click legging and ST kills on lights, one shot in the back kills on mediums, bringing assaults to orange armor in CT without being exposed for more than one second. And if you choose not to alpha, you can generally get at least 10 pairs of hits before having to cool off, which can be absolutely devastating.

The downside is that the Awesome still has very low hardpoints which make it unsuitable for sniping, it has terrible movement characteristics which the great torso twisting doesn't make up for (enjoy never getting up a hill in Canyon!) and most of the variants are still bad. I can't comment on the PB because I don't own one, but the AWS-9M could have been absolutely beastly with the right quirks, but instead it got ER PPC quirks, and ER PPCs are still just terrible, and why would you pick the 9M with quirks for a bad weapon when you can have the 8Q or 8R which get quirks for weapons that are already decent.

EDIT: I guess I would say that the 8Q is nearly at the level of an STK-3F now, the 8R is a bit worse, the 9M is about equal to the rest of the stalkers, and the 8T and 8V are still worse than every Stalker.

Pretty much this. BUT ERPPC's arent that bad for one reason..

You cant get min ranged with erppcs. With the speed most mechs are running around with and considering your max engine in an 8Q is only 300 if i remember right, you can and WILL get minranged often in that thing. I actually run 3erppcs and 1 er large laser on my 8Q instead of the usual quadppcs and its still pretty formidible. I cant wait to get a game on Alpine in it and rain death on people. It still get a range buff even tho it uses off-quirk weapons, ERPPCS reach out and touch people at 1k meters in the thing...about 1.1k if you get range modules and i can alpha on HOT maps like caldera and only hit about 70% heat....I'm probably going to use the same build on the ERPPC quirked variant and absolutely wreck people.

[2500kgm3]

Disclaimer: I'm a pretty bad player.

With that out of the way I have to say I now love my Awesomes. Specially the quad PPC 8Q. Two ppcs on each side torso, one trigger per side torso. It's like a mech with dual AC20s which require no ammo and have three times the range. In fact, if I'm not already hot I can even shoot all my four PPCs as an alpha for 40 pinpoint damage and not overheat, therefore being able to jump back to cover and avoid retaliation or make the most of a short lived opportunity when an enemy is dashing from cover to cover. Against light pilots standing still or running in a straight line from or to you, alphaing is a gamble that usually pays off with an one-shot kill. Against heavies and assaults with damaged torsos but still capable of bringing all their guns to bear, ending the fight short with a well placed alpha may pay off.

But alphaing is very situational. The quad PPC Awesome is also great because it is capable of sustaining fire for pretty long, even if you always fire your PPCs in pairs, as I do. Knowing each hit I land from 700m away hits like a truck-sized AC20 projectile riding on lightning is the very definition of Awesome indeed.

And while it's an assault and it's wide as a barn door, the awesome is not that slow for its size, allowing you to use cover and avoid LRMs with good use of terrain AND has the range advantage over brawlers, so size disadvantage can be mitigated by working within your role, long range direct fire support. You're not piloting an assault, but not a front line mech. You can apply all your firepower at no less than 700m with no damage drop, so keep your distance, therefore negating the damage of short range weapons and turning enemy AC20s and medium lasers into dead weight. They may get close to me at the end, but they will have lost some components to my PPCs by then.

And remember, your energy hardpoints have front loaded damage weapons in them... and your arms will be mostly empty. Therefore the 4 PPC AWS8Q can shoot and turning its torso to spread incoming damage to the useless arms while PPCs are in cooldown in a way laserboats can only dream about.

Before the quirks, I was really excited about the King Crab, but now? I have an assault mech that is less armored, yes, but can sacrifice its arms without penalty, is faster, has hardpoints placed in slightly higher locations, and whose AC20s trade limited ammo for heat but have a higher recycle rate, almost three times the range, and disable ECM. And can be turned into an AC10 machinegun and sustain fire for long periods of time with no ammo to worry about.

Why would I want a King Crab for? With the speed and range of the Awesome, I can apply my firepower into the fight easily, multiplting my contribution to the team, I don't need to rely on an added LRM launcher while my AC20s are out of range and I can't shoot because it's not an optimal use of my ammo. With my AWS8Q, I'm always in range.

Edited by 2500kgm3, 02 December 2014 - 03:29 PM.

[_Ares_]

I've played awesomes from CB days. While still not top tier, the 8Q and specialy the 9M are beasts in the right hands.

Here's my favourite:

AWS-9M

Edited by Jaka Ursic, 02 December 2014 - 03:51 PM.