Lefty Lucy, on 04 December 2014 - 11:02 AM, said:
Even post-quirk, piloting an Atlas simply puts your team at a huge disadvantage because you're taking up a Direwolf slot.
But, you say, "Atlases can outbrawl direwolves!"
Let's assume that this statement is true (it's not), brawling range is 270 meters for an atlas with AC20 and SRMs. I will admit that this is by far the best way to run an atlas. However, the combination of slow speed and short range means you don't really get to engage in your effective range unless you have an entire team that's willing to back you up. This is compounded by the fact that UAC direwolves out-DPS atlases at all ranges regardless of build.
So let's say you want to build an atlas that can fight back. That means equipping ranged weapons in low-slung torso and arm hardpoints, or filling your missile hardpoints with LRMs. LRM assaults put the team at a disadvantage because you're wasting your high armor capacity, and the low-slung hardpoints mean you pretty much always get the second shot, or no shot at all, against targets engaging from range, and you can't use cover effectively.
Atlases simply have no effective role in this game when compared to a Direwolf taking the same spot.
Someone needs to go to Atlas School.
The Atlas is a MULTI-role mech, capable of engaging at nearly any range.
The mech is able to brawl with the best of them, and will be able to play the poke game to an extent.
Speed is not this mechs forte (nor is it for the DW), running an eng over a 325 is wasting tonnage on speed that you are not made for. This mech requires good map knowlage and positioning to bring its weapons to bear at any time.
DWF UAC5 builds...are bad and deal almost no damage. Now if they had 4 UAC10's, well that is a different story, and those mechs will tear up anything.
Here are some builds that have the same or better eng as a DWF
AS7-D-DC
AS7-D
AS7-S (with 325)
AS7-S (with 300 and chainfire SRM4)
Do note that every build has ERLL on it, giving the Atlas the ability to engage at longer ranges then its short ranged torso. These ERLL also complement the brawling guns when short range engagements happen (think of them as an extra 18 points of damage you can deal). Either way, this gives the Atlas the ability to fight on any map, and will be even more effective on short range maps, like Factory and River City.
Edit: Whatever you do, NEVER EVER EVER EVER put Medium Lasers in the arms of an Atlas, it is a waste of a good energy slot and a heavy loss in damage that the arms could be doing.
Edited by SirLANsalot, 04 December 2014 - 12:34 PM.