309 replies to this topic

[Anjian]

I like the Zeus where I can fit 2 AC5s in its hand best. Ballistics is king. I set this one up to fight like my Victors and Highlanders. The second one, not so bad, is that one I can roll 3 SRM6 in one fist. Now the third variant that won't make either is the problem. I think it needs the quirk pass, like an PPC speed quirk and other energy quirks as well especially when the other IS assaults are getting PPC speed boost and other energy quirks.

Edited by Anjian, 24 March 2015 - 12:06 AM.

[sneeking]

so i was thinking of giving this a shot.

ZEU-6T

its not designed to throw lrm ammo like candy its intended to run out and use the arm as shielding and hopefuly those sinks will pad the xl for a couple of crit rolls ( buy which time ill be in overide alpha twist alpha mode anyway ) before it pops lol.

should be fun.

[SethAbercromby]

Nathan Foxbane, on 23 March 2015 - 08:34 PM, said:

I like the Zeus and I see two main complaints in this thread that are completely preventable by the players themselves.

The first offender is a big one: that it cannot tank. This assertion is patently false, the Zeus tanks like a boss. Any lack of survivability falls on the player in this case. It is not really a sword and board 'Mech and should not be used to wade into the thick of battle like one. The Zeus is so durable the whole 'Mech should be used as a shield. Its broad flat chest means it is really easy to spread out damage coming in at oblique angles. Do not just twist to protect one side exclusively. Use both sides to spread out the damage. The arms are its greatest weak points because of the defensive quirks, do not be afraid to twist some of that damage onto the torso even when running an XL. However, as explained below wading into the middle of the death ball is not the Zeus' forte. You just do not have the firepower to slug it out with many heavier assaults, but you do have the armor to do so if they are weakened. Make the mobility (and LRMs if you carry them) work for you.

The second is: It is too general a 'Mech. This is a play style thing. Not every 'Mech is for every player and the Zeus is a 'Mech which shines best when played in a very flexible role. It does not shine in the frontal assault role where the Assault class all too often gets pigeonholed into. Such a role is the domain of 'Mechs like the King Crab and Atlas. The Zeus is a mid-range fire support 'Mech with the ability to mix it up. It performs best (in my experience) when between the front line and support 'Mechs able to shore up the line or fall back to soften up other 'Mechs at range as needed. This requires a player willing to adapt to the 'Mech, not one who adapts the 'Mech to their preferred play style. By no means is the Zeus fit for the current meta which is a good thing.

I find exactly that so appealing about the Zeus. To me, it's almost a faster Stalker that plays more like a Centurion. I've had some very intense fights with it, though I have to be a little more conservative about my Twisting again. Those AC5s are just too tempting to hold down sometimes.

Quote

Yes. I run 70/30 Front/Rear CT on my 6S and it just drinks up the damage. Being able to take dual Gauss to the rear is nice.

I've noticed that the way I tend to play it and thanks to it's amazing mobility, I didn't find myself faced with people shooting at my back too often. But since people seem to really like shooting me for some reason (those 2 AC5s might have something to do with it tho), I gave the 'Mech rear armor levels of Mediums and frontloaded the rest.

I'm already expecting to die a lot when I go back to my Centurions and start playing them like the Zeus...

[Joseph Mallan]

Mine
I kept it simple. Its fast (I've had that 360XL in a few different Mechs) It's quick and a bit of a Cavalry Mech, But I really like it. I am not impressed with it like I am my Atlas-S, but It gets the job done as a good trooper Mech.

[sneeking]

I settled on this for now

It doesn't do massive instant damage

But its interesting, people don't expect a nark to come with that volley of lasers from a zeus lol

[Jackofallpots]

I guess I could give LRMs a try if you guys are using them and succeeding <_>

[Bishop Steiner]

sneeking, on 24 March 2015 - 12:57 AM, said:

so i was thinking of giving this a shot.

ZEU-6T

its not designed to throw lrm ammo like candy its intended to run out and use the arm as shielding and hopefuly those sinks will pad the xl for a couple of crit rolls ( buy which time ill be in overide alpha twist alpha mode anyway ) before it pops lol.

should be fun.

that's a LOT of tonnage devoted to "disposable" firepower man. I can get the idea on a mech that packs a single SRM6 maybe, but even with an LRM10, that is 6 tons with ammo. That's 1/4 of your mass you are throwing away after only 200 dmg or so (540 missiles by the overall player avg of 30% accuracy), I think it sounds like a very bad idea, especially since the ER Larges don't lend themselves to maximizing a shield size, due to burn duration. Especially in the torso. Why would I shoot the shield side, when to use the lasers, you have to stare at me for a good long time?

[Bishop Steiner]

Jackofallpots, on 24 March 2015 - 06:09 AM, said:

I guess I could give LRMs a try if you guys are using them and succeeding <_>

I find that a single LRM15 makes a good utility weapon, supporting at range, shooting at mechs behind cover, hitting stuff out of LoS. Big thing is to remember, on the 6S/9S, that it is not your primary firepower but a compliment.

People whose playstyles are set toward boating, it will probably not work well for. People who like Swiss Army Knife builds? Ought to work fine.

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 24 March 2015 - 06:40 AM, said:

I find that a single LRM15 makes a good utility weapon, supporting at range, shooting at mechs behind cover, hitting stuff out of LoS. Big thing is to remember, on the 6S/9S, that it is not your primary firepower but a compliment.

People whose playstyles are set toward boating, it will probably not work well for. People who like Swiss Army Knife builds? Ought to work fine.

I get a lot of mileage out of secondary LRM launchers, using them to supplement damage as I maneuver around terrain, and to help control people (people respond to that incoming missiles warning!)

You just need to understand you're not an lrm boat, that its just one weapon amongst many. You don't hide in the back and herf anemic missile volleys, you just keep em going when you can, while moving into position.

[Bishop Steiner]

Wintersdark, on 24 March 2015 - 07:17 AM, said:

I get a lot of mileage out of secondary LRM launchers, using them to supplement damage as I maneuver around terrain, and to help control people (people respond to that incoming missiles warning!)

You just need to understand you're not an lrm boat, that its just one weapon amongst many. You don't hide in the back and herf anemic missile volleys, you just keep em going when you can, while moving into position.

Yup. I have long found them useful. Yes, if one is dropping against LORD or SJR or EMP comp teams, then they become superfluous, but against anyone else? They can be useful.

[Greenjulius]

I messed with 3xLRM15 for a while and decided that 2xLRM15+A has about the same useful damage delivered. Artemis seems like a shoe-in with the 6T. You'll use it either way with 3xSRM4/6, and you can't fit 2xLRM20 on the arm, so you might as well upgrade to artemis if you have the tonnage.

My chosen build with the 6T:

Build

With Adv Target Decay, LRM15 cooldown and ML range, this thing can chuck LRMs fast, and move fast. The medium lasers and LRMs are quirked for range, so it can reach out quite well. The armor quirks do wonders for making it tank traded LRM fire easily. It's shaping up to be one of my most effective LRM boats. The 81kph in a 80 tonner is addicting.

The 9S has been interesting to figure out. I decided it works very well as a long range sniper, using 2x2 ERLL for continual harassing fire. It usually out-zaps clan mechs at 1200m, and does nearly full damage at 900m with ERLL range module. It can hold its own if it gets into a brawl, but it's best to keep lots of distance until the enemy is messed up bad.

9S:

Build

I still am not happy with any builds on the 6S. I've tried a lot of builds but I think going with AC5s is probably the right thing to do. I just have trying to synchronize lasers with ACs. I may try PPCs with an AC10.

Edit: Something like this cheese build.

Edited by Greenjulius, 24 March 2015 - 08:20 AM.

[Jackofallpots]

Why two LRM15s instead of three LRM10s?

[Greenjulius]

Jackofallpots, on 24 March 2015 - 08:19 AM, said:

Why two LRM15s instead of three LRM10s?

Because that's 18 tons instead of 16. I've never cared for LRM10s outside of mechs specifically quirked for them. They are less tonnage efficient than 15s.

I suppose I could drop a ton or two of ammo, or shave the engine down a bit. The important part is throwing that 30 barrage out as fast as possible so someone doesn't have a chance to get back into cover. I can usually get a few into the enemy with Adv Target Decay. The faster cooldown of the LRM10 may allow for an extra however, which is worth investigating.

A final note; I'd avoid 20s in general. Even with Artemis, there are too many missiles wasted, because around 5 will straight up miss anyway.

Edited by Greenjulius, 24 March 2015 - 08:26 AM.

[Creovex]

Side Point: Remember that because the Cockknocker arm can tube all those missiles.... you can fire a FULL CLUSTER (less AMS mitigation) from this mech....

I don't use it, but can recognize the tube benefits of the mech's missile pod arm.

[Bishop Steiner]

Greenjulius, on 24 March 2015 - 08:22 AM, said:

Because that's 18 tons instead of 16. I've never cared for LRM10s outside of mechs specifically quirked for them. They are less tonnage efficient than 15s.

I suppose I could drop a ton or two of ammo, or shave the engine down a bit. The important part is throwing that 30 barrage out as fast as possible so someone doesn't have a chance to get back into cover. I can usually get a few into the enemy with Adv Target Decay. The faster cooldown of the LRM10 may allow for an extra however, which is worth investigating.

A final note; I'd avoid 20s in general. Even with Artemis, there are too many missiles wasted, because around 5 will straight up miss anyway.

Don't overlook a base 12 heat for 3x10 every volley vs 10 for 2x15, also. Had in the extra half second cooldown on the 15s, and the HPS difference becomes noticeable, especially for the extra ton lost. I tend to stick to 5s in bulk, or 15s in smaller amounts, unless it is a mech like the HBK-4J that is quirked for 10s, specifically.

[Joseph Mallan]

sneeking, on 24 March 2015 - 05:50 AM, said:

That Sir... Is beautiful. And the stats aren't bad either!

[Roadkill]

This...



Just did this...



UnkrautJeti almost survived the match with me and was a HUGE help finishing off the last 3 (Hellbringer and 2 x Spider). I'm not even sure he had ammo at that point (or possibly just MG left), but he was running interference with the 2 Spiders like a boss.

I made great use of the ALRM-5s for most of the game. By the end I was nearly out of ammo anyway when the last 3 got inside my minimum range for good, so it really didn't matter much. I then used it as a shield arm (and lost it in the process).

I still don't think I'd call it "XL friendly" because to me that implies there's no risk in taking an XL. Most of my deaths still come from side torso destruction, so it just isn't XL friendly.

It is definitely tanky, though. Can't wait to finally get Elites finished so I can see what it can really do.

[Spr1ggan]

Playing it at the moment and not impressed would be an understatement. For 80 tons you might as well take a Victor or even an Awesome, both are better mechs than the Zeus in my opinion. Or better yet just go 5 tons heavier and take a Stalker which is better than all 3.

The left sided waist high weapons on the 6S are utterly useless when 9 times outta 10 your team camps or just runs to the right away from the enemy until they are all dead.

Edited by Spr1ggan, 25 March 2015 - 12:55 PM.

[LordKnightFandragon]

Lol, I like it, quite alot. BEst game ive ever had in any mech, and my best isnt even an OP Clan haha.



Im CptGier at the top, that is my IS Alt acct.

Build? A copy of what I saw Sean Lang using the Zeus preview video, minus 1 MPL and + some extra AC5 ammo.

2x AC5, 3x MPL...lol. Its kinda fun dakka and seems to be goodforpinning guys down, confusing them and kicking their butts up close where I cant miss =D Even a mighty Mad Dog was no match for the power of Dual, slightly quirked, AC5s.

Also helps, my PC died, im on a better one where I am getting 40 FPS haha.

Edited by LordKnightFandragon, 26 March 2015 - 01:18 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Roadkill, on 24 March 2015 - 09:43 AM, said:

This...



Just did this...



UnkrautJeti almost survived the match with me and was a HUGE help finishing off the last 3 (Hellbringer and 2 x Spider). I'm not even sure he had ammo at that point (or possibly just MG left), but he was running interference with the 2 Spiders like a boss.

I made great use of the ALRM-5s for most of the game. By the end I was nearly out of ammo anyway when the last 3 got inside my minimum range for good, so it really didn't matter much. I then used it as a shield arm (and lost it in the process).

I still don't think I'd call it "XL friendly" because to me that implies there's no risk in taking an XL. Most of my deaths still come from side torso destruction, so it just isn't XL friendly.

It is definitely tanky, though. Can't wait to finally get Elites finished so I can see what it can really do.

Well, technically, that would mean ANY IS mech with an XL is not XL Friendly, as it always adds risk. For me, XL friendly is any mech that the risk is massively outweighed by the reward, the majority of the time, and can spread damage and protect the STs pretty effectively.

Nice Match, though!

Spr1ggan, on 25 March 2015 - 12:15 PM, said:

Playing it at the moment and not impressed would be an understatement. For 80 tons you might as well take a Victor or even an Awesome, both are better mechs than the Zeus in my opinion. Or better yet just go 5 tons heavier and take a Stalker which is better than all 3.

The left sided waist high weapons on the 6S are utterly useless when 9 times outta 10 your team camps or just runs to the right away from the enemy until they are all dead.

Not really surprised. You usually are playing an almost totally different game than the rest of us. Pretty sure I addressed it as a non Meta/Comp chassis earlier on..though that coulda been on a different post too.....

Anyhow, yeah, I don't think it's gonna catch on over at RHoD or the like anytime soon, lol!