48 replies to this topic

[Grim Pummeler]

I saved up 9 million and bought myself an Atlas-D

My first experiences was:
My long ranged missiles usually hit buildings but i occasionally make some good hits and get kills.

short range missiles usually just hits the ground and does nothing.. I haven't used them much.

AC20 is AMAZING. God this thing packs a punch.. When in close range i just shoot this bad boy and either blow the enemy up or miss..

And then comes the medium lazers.. Completely useless.. They deal absolutely no damage.. I shoot them till the heat goes up and the enemy has taken few % of damage and myself i'm almost dead..


Yeah i'm playing wrong cause i'm a noobie but i'd love some insight on this.
How do i build my atlas? I'd like to focus on medium range combat.
I have 400k cash atm so i don't think i'll get to buy much items..


What build should i go for with my atlas?
At the moment i'm running the stock stuff it has when you buy it.

[sycocys]

I ended up building mine out similar to the d-dc. Ac20, srms (grouped to give a nice firm handshake) and 2 large lasers.

You can use the ML, but it's kind of a pain because you have nothing to use while trying to close range without ecm, but they do work well for not overheating once you get close.

[Grim Pummeler]

i'd rather have either 2 large lasers than 4 mediums.. What about those blue laser things? not pulse, the other thing?

[FlipOver]

Vaikku, focus more on knowing how to use the weapons as best as possible rather than changing the loadout over and over.

Few hints:
1 - Go to training grounds, train using all the weapons at the correct distances and on the move
1.1 - Also while on the move, try to point the MLs at just one component and keep trying to hit that same component over and over again

Most of the time people change a build instead of getting familiar with all the weapon systems first. That's one of the biggest mistakes unless your aim is to spend C-Bills after C-Bills while feeling frustrated...

Use the training grounds, then play a few matches (always over 50) and THEN you can think about improving or changing the build.

This is my humble opinion, at least that's what I usually do.

[Grim Pummeler]

Well i believe the reason why i explode so fast is that my ammo is in the stock slot.. People say that atlases don't get focused on the legs so should i switch my ammo to my legs and heatsinks up?

[sycocys]

Large lasers are blue, you could use 3 with no ghost heat - buuuut the atlas with the ac20 + srms suffers from some major heat issues if you don't put your shots on perfect target and finish guys fast.

I find 2 is enough for it with its armor to keep enemies down while you close on them with your posse.

Yes ammo in the legs and upgrade to double heatsinks asap.

You will probably not enjoy that atlas until you have the heat sink upgrade.

[Grim Pummeler]

My legs currently have 82 armor.. Should i transfer that armor to my arms or chest?

EDIT:
So i should go for the UPGRADE: Double heatsink to get some better heat management?

Edited by Vaikku, 07 May 2015 - 06:52 AM.

[sycocys]

You should have full armor on all of your torsos, heavily leaning towards the front. Arms should be high but don't need to be topped off, legs should be at least 80% full or more.

[luigi256]

Yes get double heat sinks. All mechs should have double heat sinks for much better heat management.

[Elizander]

I like brawling with all my atlases but if I do go range I usually put in 2 UAC5s and 2 LLs. A lot of us put like 10 armor in the back too but some people like more.

You can always slap on an LRM10+2 tons ammo if you always feel you are out of position in a fight. You can remove it for other things later once you get the hang of it.

[Grim Pummeler]

Okay i think i'll focus on getting that heatsink upgrade for now. Thanks for the help!
I'll come back to ask whats next

[Darwins Dog]

Vaikku, on 07 May 2015 - 06:51 AM, said:

My legs currently have 82 armor.. Should i transfer that armor to my arms or chest?

EDIT:
So i should go for the UPGRADE: Double heatsink to get some better heat management?

You'll hear the phrase DHS tax a lot as you get into the game. Personally, I add 1.5 million to the cost of every mech and assume that they will get double heatsinks as the very first thing.

Don't forget about Smurfy's mechlab to play around with new builds while you are at work away from the game.

[Wronka]

Hi Vaikku... I will try to sum everything up at once for you.

First of all, the D is an okay mech, but the best Atlas variant is without a doubt the D-DC variant. Buying the D was not a waste because you will need 3 variants in order to master a mech. Which bring me to my first point:

Skills:
On the main menu hit the Skills tab and find your Atlas-D from the list of mechs. If you have been playing you should have some EXP already. Click your mech and upgrade everything one at a time as you gain EXP until you unlock every skill in the basics area. Keep checking back every few matches to see if you can unlock anything new. Try not to use GXP, but only use mech EXP.

Now on to the actual mech. Go to the mechlab and click modify on your mech. First stop will be Upgrades:

Upgrades:
Double Heat Sinks is a no brainer for ANY mech. I have yet to see a build that does not use Double Heat Sinks. Another popular upgrade, and you will want it for your mech, is Endo Steel. There is also Ferro Fibrous, but skip that, it takes up too many slots to be useful on anything that isn't a light mech. You will also see Artemis, but again that is not useful for your mech. These upgrades are not cheap so you will need to save up for this.

Next is the actual build. Really you want to play a build that makes you happy and fits your play style, however with quirks some mechs are better at using a certain weapon better than others. The D specifically has pretty good AC-20 quirks so you def want to run an ac-20. A popular build for the Atlas-D is here:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...90117eead296376

You will want to set up weapon groups where you link similar weapons together. Put the 4 medium lasers on 1 group, AC20 on another, and SRMS on yet another one.


PS: Also as far as armor, ALWAYS MAX OUT left, right, and center torso armor, with mostly front armor, I like to do 110F/14R but you can do a little more rear if you want to. The only places you can really cut back are the arms, and maybe a little bit on the legs.

Edited by Wronka, 07 May 2015 - 07:20 AM.

[Hobotorius Augustus Kerensky]

The above build is Good. Do that.

Edited by Hobotorius Augustus Kerensky, 07 May 2015 - 07:26 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

the only time DHS may not be useful is if you are playing dual Gauss with no backup weapons (on the King Crab or Jagermech), however there are quite a few builds where you can do reasonably without, unfortunately none of them go on an Atlas.

the 4 Medium Lasers do the same damage per shot as the AC20, the major diferance is that you have to lead with the AC20 to hit a moving target if you hit (within optimal range) you do 20 damage if you miss you do no damage, but to deal full damage with any laser you need to hold the beam on target for its whole burn time, if you hit for a portion of the beams burn time you deal partial damage, but it still registers as a hit dealing from about 0.5 to 5 damage depending on how long the ML beam stays on target.

the "blue Laser things" you were asking about could be:
any type of Large Laser, Large or ER Large fire a beam (ER fires further, is hotter and burns longer), you need to hold it on target for its full burn time to do max damage, much like the ML, the Large Pulse fires a string of what look like laser bullets.

you could be talking about PPC blasts (an energy weapon which fires a single relatively slow blast at the enemy), similar to an AC10 except produces more heat in exchange for less weight and not requiring ammo, the PPC has a minimum range, the ERPPC does not have a minimum range, has a slightly faster "projectile" and has a longer max range in exchange for 50% more heat

[Thorqemada]

Atlas D:
Endo Steel
Double Heat sinks
Artemis
BAP
AMS + 1t
Armor: 512 (most on your Front and all other as it fits you)
Engine: 325 STD + 3 DHS
AC20 + 3t
2x ERLL (LA+RA)
2x ML (CT)
ASRM6 + 1,5t
ALRM10 + 2t (great for tactical use)

Cooldown Modules:
AC20 + SRM6

Firegroups:
1 = 2xERLL
2 = AC20 + ASRM6
3 = 2xML
4 = ALRM10

PS: No CASE (Cellular Ammo Storage Equipment) - you have to put Ammo where it does not get shot first...never explosive Ammo into the RT!

PPS: You can go down to 480 Armor and exchange the AC20 for a Gauss + CASE + Gauss Ammo into your RT - Gauss Ammo does not explode if hit and the fillled Crit Slots may prevent the Gauss from being explode if the RT is hit critical and maybe CASE works again for it if some rumored bug was fixed recently.

The Gauss fits well with the ERLL bcs you start to charge the Gauss when you fire the ERLL - when the ERLL Beam ends the Gauss is in the Hold Charge mode and as it has such a high verlocity you can release the shot with very minor corrections to your aims target leading (Arm Lock needs to be ON for that).

Cooldown Modules:
ERLL + Gauss

Firegroups:
1 = 2xERLL
2 = Gauss
3 = 2xML + ASRM6
4 = ALRM10

Edited by Thorqemada, 07 May 2015 - 12:18 PM.

[RedEagle86]

Build #1: D - 2 UAC5, 2LPL, 2SPL, (2)SRM-6, AMS (1 ton). 8 tons total (4 per gun) of UAC ammo, 2 tons of SRM ammo (16 salvos). LPL's for longer-range, UAC's for longer-range and close-range (can be fired macro-chain, normal chain, or grouped - either for screen-shake, or more pin-point damage per personal preference) SPL's good for Zombie-ing, or for 'panic' brawling

Build #2: D - AC/20 (5 tons ammo), 2 LL (Can go ERLL), 1 LPL (CT), 2 SSRM-2 (2 tons ammo), AMS (1 ton ammo). LL's for longer-range, LPL with AC/20 for close-in firing (250 m or less is my style), SSRM's are for chasing harassing lights. LPL also good for zombie. STD 325 gives slightly better speed.

Build #3: Variant of the build Wronka posted. More for my own playstyle: 2 ML, 2 MPL, AC/20 (3 tons), 2 ASRM-6 (2 tons), AMS (1 ton). STD 350 engine lets me save a little bit of weight, and re-use engines from other chassis. Both are very effective.

Armour values are what I actually run.

Edited by RedEagle86, 07 May 2015 - 12:39 PM.

[Koniving]

Welcome to MWO.

Atlas D is disappoint in your opinion of it. (Meme paraphrase).

Vaikku, on 07 May 2015 - 06:28 AM, said:

I saved up 9 million and bought myself an Atlas-D

I'm going to address each of these issues. From the sound of it you have a pure stock build.

Quote

My first experiences was:
My long ranged missiles usually hit buildings but i occasionally make some good hits and get kills.

Missile use. It is recommended that you use long range missiles in wide open areas. If, by chance, you find yourself needing to use missiles in dense areas you should take note of the missile angle of attack at different ranges. Depending on the range, LRMs will behave differently. Shorter ranges will result in the missile being more direct to target, barely going up and hopefully hitting the target precisely. (Careful about too close, they arm at 180 meters). Longer ranges will result in high arcs into the air, with ranges beyond 750 meters being among the highest arcs (and thus the most likely to climb over buildings and obstacles). Ranges beyond 750 meters are also very likely to miss fast targets.

Quote

short range missiles usually just hits the ground and does nothing.. I haven't used them much.

You would be surprised. However they do not lock in this game. MWO's SRMs are essentially 'rockets'. Cheap, high powered bombs that jet forward. They also have a very limited range (270-ish meters). If you want homing SRMs, pack on Streak SRM-2s.

Quote

AC20 is AMAZING. God this thing packs a punch.. When in close range i just shoot this bad boy and either blow the enemy up or miss..

The Inner Sphere AC/20 in MWO delivers 20 damage in a single blow. Two of them are almost as effective as a single Battletech AC/20 (since all MWO mechs have double+ armor/structure). So that might tell ya something about their deadliness.
That said, I think it sucks and tend to go instead for other AC combinations so hit and miss matter far less and abuse to enemies is still high.

Quote

And then comes the medium lazers.. Completely useless.. They deal absolutely no damage.. I shoot them till the heat goes up and the enemy has taken few % of damage and myself i'm almost dead..

Assuming you are using just two medium lasers, you're doing about 5 damage per laser in a second. You need to focus these beams. Spreading them out will cause them to essentially be ineffective. Pick a spot on the enemy and keep it there and you will find that after a second of beam time, just 2 ML can compete with half the damage of an AC/20 slug.

You also have standard heatsinks. MWO's mechanics have made standard heatsinks completely unviable. Upgrade to double heatsinks asap.

Below is, quite literally, a joke build for the Atlas D. It is somewhere around 98 tons (so not using full tonnage), sports 4 medium lasers (very effective in this case), 1 LRM-20 with 1 ton of ammo. 1 SRM-6 with 1 ton of ammo. 1 AC/5 with 1 ton of ammo. 1 AC/2 with 1 ton of ammo. Lots of heatsinks. Something between a 300 and 320 engine.

By the end of the match it is covered in scars and damage, sports 6 kills (out of 8 total enemies), and still has armor on all sections. You can also see how effective medium lasers can be even in high heat environments when used with double heatsinks and some firing discipline. (It is also a great external view, as the footage is recorded by a light mech following me and showcasing me).

Quote

Yeah i'm playing wrong cause i'm a noobie but i'd love some insight on this.
How do i build my atlas? I'd like to focus on medium range combat.
I have 400k cash atm so i don't think i'll get to buy much items..

It will take time and a few matches to make the necessary upgrades. Bare minimum of 1.5 mil. I'm happy to escort you soon as I finish downloading the public test version. I would also recommend that you, also, download the public test. They usually flood your 'test' account with lots of cbills and MC so you can test things -- this would also mean you can experiment with the Atlas without losing your actual earnings. Test server here.

Quote

What build should i go for with my atlas?
At the moment i'm running the stock stuff it has when you buy it.

(I was right about the stock! Ha!)
For the immediate moment, switch to twin AC/5s and remove your lasers, this will make running standard heatsinks much easier. Back it up with LRMs and stay long range for now. You will get something similar to this but faster. (Skip to 2:15, wait for the enemy Atlas to hit me from behind).

Also immediately go into the Skills tree for the Atlas D. Unlock "Cool Run" for faster cooling and "Heat Containment" for a higher max heat. Do this right now. You will be much happier once you do.
Once you accrue 1.5 million, switch to double heatsinks and reinstall your lasers and AC/20, restore your desired weapons, try it out for a bit.


Some decent Atlas footage. Take note of the weaponry.
(This video contains focus on 1 Atlas AS7-D in a relentless attack, escorted by Shar Wolf's Atlas.)

(This video contains two matches, each with a different Atlas D [one Founder's, one regular; both are functionally identical].)


Weapons in use in those two videos:
Liao Atlas: 4 Medium Lasers (1 per arm, two CT). 2 Streak SRM-2s (left torso; homing). 1 LBX-10 and 1 AC/5 (Right Torso). 1 AMS (left arm).
Kon's So Serious: Atlas AS7-D: 4 Medium Lasers (1 per arm, two CT). 2 Streak SRM-2s (left torso; homing). 1 LBX-10 and 1 AC/5 (Right Torso). 1 AMS (left arm). Atlas AS7-D(F) : 2 Medium Lasers (1 per arm). 2 Medium Pulse Lasers (2 CT). 2 Streak SRM-2s (left torso; homing). 1 LBX-10 and 1 Ultra AC/5 (Right Torso). 1 AMS (left arm).

Edited by Koniving, 07 May 2015 - 12:39 PM.

[Lugh]

sycocys, on 07 May 2015 - 06:53 AM, said:

You should have full armor on all of your torsos, heavily leaning towards the front. Arms should be high but don't need to be topped off, legs should be at least 80% full or more.

Used to be you could get away with less than 50% armor on the legs, guess that's changed?

[Koniving]

Lugh, on 07 May 2015 - 12:56 PM, said:

Used to be you could get away with less than 50% armor on the legs, guess that's changed?