28 replies to this topic

[Anassi]

Bubblewhip, on 15 February 2015 - 10:21 PM, said:

The stalker trial mech I had great luck with since it's just a great missle boat, but I've learned it's other builds involve lasers boating. It seems to have well sorted weapon layouts, but I can't help but to feel it plays kinda like a more heavily armed Catapault. It will never stand against a proper assault mech like a Atlas or god forbid a Direwolf in head to head combat, and will probebly struggle against proper heavy brawlers like the Cataphract or Catapault K2. My peceription is that an assault should stand up and tank damage, as well as be the first to move forward and advance on dangerous positions. The thing is that the Stalker is not good at any of those things.

The Stalker is among the best damage sponges in the game, on the same line as an Atlas if properly built and piloted. It's all about the hitboxes, baby.

The Stalkers are built like a zeppelin and they have *gigantic* side torsos but a tiny center torso. If you even so much as wiggle your nose around while taking fire it's almost guaranteed that the STs will absorb the majority of the hits. Getting killed by losing the CT before at least one ST is pretty much unheard of. Especially the Misery can field several highly asymmetric full-left-handed loadouts that will enable you to use the entire right side as a shield.
However using an XL engine will negate that advantage, which is what the trial Stalker has equipped, unfortunately. Maybe that's why it seems to you as if it's not on par with the other Assaults. It is my personal opinion that an XL in *any* Stalker is a big, big, BIG no-no.

Still, taking a DW head on is a recipe for disaster for pretty much every other mech, so no surprises there.

Edited by Anassi, 16 February 2015 - 09:37 AM.

[DelphiAuriga]

Crab and Highlander. 2xAC20 or 4xUAC5 for the Crab and JumpJets and the posibility to build the mech 3 times in the Highlander . I own both chassises, and i can say with no doub that i would give u the prize of them in MC gifts if u dislike them, so sure of it i am. Enough said, i think

[HARDKOR]

Stalker 4N or GTFO

[bruceisnice]

I also did Heavy Medium and Light before buying my first Assault a couple days ago.

After much hesitation, I went with the Battlemaster 1G (over Banshee or Crab).

No regrets so far, I like the Torso Energy Hardpoints location, It's pretty tanky and can fulfill different roles with different builds.

I figured it would be easier to fit in a CW drop deck too at 85 tons than the Crab or Banshee.

All in all, I like it.

[Bubblewhip]

Thanks for all the advice.

I do have to ask, whats so great about the Misery? Seems like a bad deal for an 6375 MC mech with no double heat sinks or endo. 5 energy hard points and 1 ballistic doesn't seem that unique.

[Bloodweaver]

Bubblewhip, on 15 February 2015 - 10:21 PM, said:

The stalker trial mech I had great luck with since it's just a great missle boat, but I've learned it's other builds involve lasers boating. It seems to have well sorted weapon layouts, but I can't help but to feel it plays kinda like a more heavily armed Catapault. It will never stand against a proper assault mech like a Atlas or god forbid a Direwolf in head to head combat, and will probebly struggle against proper heavy brawlers like the Cataphract or Catapault K2. My peceription is that an assault should stand up and tank damage, as well as be the first to move forward and advance on dangerous positions. The thing is that the Stalker is not good at any of those things.

Whoa whoa whoa... WHAT??? Says who!? The Stalker has NO equal out of the entire cadre of Inner Sphere 'mechs for tanking damage. Its hitboxes are sublime. It's one of the only 'mechs in the game, if not THE only 'mech in the game, that actually tanks damage better from the front than from the side. It can ABSOLUTELY stand against a "proper" assault 'mech. An Atlas is in no way a match for a Stalker. And although Crabs can carry a lot of firepower, they are pretty fragile 'mechs. That's the price they pay for being both powerful and agile. Where Stalkers suffer is in agility, not in hardpoints (they have buckets of those) or in durability(see above). There are two Inner Sphere assaults that stand a fair chance in a toe-to-toe face-off with a Dire, and the Stalker is one of them. The other's the Banshee. Crab has the guns, but again, once you start tapping on that shell you get to a soft meaty interior and Clams love nothing more than some juicy Crab meat.

[Bleary]

The advantage of the Misery is that you can combine the ballistic hardpoint with the arm/CT energy hardpoints to run loadouts that can all be fired in a single volley at the same target location (AC/20 + Large Pulses or Gauss + ER-Larges) and are all mounted on the center-left of your 'Mech. Which means you can use your whole right side to 'shield' and absorb enemy fire until you lose your RT. And even if you lose your LT as well, you'll still have that CT laser to fire.

A decent Misery pilot can absorb more damage without losing any of their firepower than any other 'Mech in the game. And a Misery will keep shooting until it is killed completely.

[InspectorG]

Stalker.

I just got my first, the N. It seems like a 100 ton.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Bubblewhip, on 16 February 2015 - 06:55 PM, said:

I do have to ask, whats so great about the Misery? Seems like a bad deal for an 6375 MC mech with no double heat sinks or endo. 5 energy hard points and 1 ballistic doesn't seem that unique.

It is the only Stalker with any ballistic hardpoints
Also one of 2(!) Stalker with a CT hardpoint (letting you actually Zombie with it)