68 replies to this topic

[purplewasabi]

The solo queues are definitely a nightmare for these mechs (the DW, Kingcrabs and Atlases) group queue is where they'll shine the most with group support. However, the solo queues are a good place to practice your map awareness, survivability, and adaptability.

Some pilots acquire skills from other wight classes and adapt them to their 100 tonne mechs, making the jump easy. Some took a short cut and got stuck with them. Like me with my Atlases, it was grueling when I first started but I followed through and they became my mains.

Also mechs like the DW, Atlas and Kingcrabs are quite the attention seeker. You'll get focused down hard. Its a fact that you have to accept.

Yes you will fall behind if your team leaves you, but that's the fault of the team and not the DW. Hate to say it, but sometimes getting left behind and staying away from the herd is the more viable option in solo queues. I'd say keep at it, get it mastered and outfitted with modules. It should be worth it.

[Chuanhao]

I too had a terrible starting experience with the DWF due to its sluggishness. But I agree that such sluggishness is par for the course and is in-character for a DWF. A DWF cannot have the same agility of the Awesome, massing 20 tonnes more afterall and with the same 300 rated engine. Having Mastered my DWFs, I find the following strategies useful.

1) I stick to the rest of my lance which probably features equally slow and cumbersome assault mechs, allowing for mutual support for situations such as ambushes. A Huginn may attempt to square one-on-one with a DWF, but not two DWFs.

2) I have both Seismic and Advanced Zoom on my twin Gauss / twin PPC Direwolf. I am not moving all the time. So when stationary, the Seismic is very useful against ambushes.

3) I stick to terrain features and never wonder into open terrain that would leave me vulnerable to LRMs

4) I attempt at organising a concerted charge with my DWF at its centre. IF people follow, the results aren’t too bad.

[Josef Koba]

Comfy Wedgie, as requested. Not all of my DWFs are min-maxed, some are probably considered as sub-par builds by many other DWF pilots. Sometimes I don't even use the full tonnage, so long as it does what I want it. I used to be really **** about tonnage and crit spots, but if I enjoy running it and it's marginally effective, I'll run light. Here you go.

DWF-S

• 2 x LB20-X (RA) with four tons of ammo
  
• 1 x ERLLas (LA)
  
• 5 x Medium Pulse Lasers (two in each ST, one in head)
  
• 2 x SRM6 in LT and CT with one and a half tons of ammo
  
• 1 x TC Mk I
  
• 7 x DHS in addition to those in engine and locked into chassis
  
• Max Armor
  
• 2 x Jump Jets

I love this build. I can't remember if it's stock or not; I think I changed out the UAC20 for the LB. I use all -S omnipods. But in any case, it has a nice range profile with the ERLLas, which I use to engage first. Once this thing gets in close it really shines. There isn't a lot that will stand up to five medium pulse lasers for very long. The LB is devastating at times, too. It has a 95 firepower rating and a 1.05 heat efficiency. The latter is a little bit lower than I usually like (prefer it around 1.20 but it's a DWF...), so heat can and will be an issue. I just play it patiently, knowing that I have armor, and can unleash a tremendous amount of damage (40 from the medium pulse lasers) to a concentrated area when I need to. I rarely use the JJs, since I totally forget about them. But when I remember, it's nice to be able to move over those tricky rocks that catch us assaults. This mech has allowed me to do some pretty amazing things in it. I think I have more 1,000+ damage matches in this than any other chassis.

DWF-A 'The Stripper'

• Omnipods: Prime RA, Prime LA, -B RT
  
• 2 x LB-20-X (RA, LA) with nine and a half tons of ammo
  
• 1 x LB-10-X (RT) with four tons of ammo (I use 3 full tons and two half ton slots)
  
• 1 x SRM6 (LT)
  
• 1 x SRM4 (LT) with one ton of ammo

‘The Stripper’ lives up to its name…so long as it can get close. It strips armor and components like crazy. I love having so many LBs. With cooldown modules for them, they fire quickly. Heat efficiency is 1.52, which lets me fire a lot, too. I typically alternate the ten and the twenties, but the three together are devastating. SRMs thrown in for good measure. I know the LBs aren’t terribly popular, but I’ve found this to be a very effective machine if I use it right. Sometimes it fails, but I typically don’t worry about lights ambushing me while I lumber to the fight. Couple of blasts with those cannons and they either die or scurry away.

DWF-Prime

• Omnipods: -A LT
  
• 2 x Large Pulse Lasers (RA, LA)
  
• 2 x LRM15s (LT) with seven tons of ammo
  
• 6 x Small Pulse Lasers (3 x RA, 3 x LA)
  
• TC Mk V
  
• Clan Active Probe (for firing LRMs in the ECM environment)
  
• 7 x Additional DHS
  
• Max Armor

Another fairly warm build, but I use the LRMs in a support capacity and refrain from firing everything all the time. If I happen to expend my LRM ammo (rare) then the pulse laser menagerie on this thing is ridiculous. The cooldown on the smalls is incredible, and they do a lot of damage. I get most of my kills in this with them, surprisingly. I recently reconfigured this mech to include them, and now I wonder why I didn’t start off this way. In any case, LRMs from afar, pulse laser knifings from close. The TC helps with range and criting. Probably could go lower on the LRM ammo, but I’m using every slot now and I’d have to drop two tons for another one DHS. Since I’m already under weight, I don’t want to do that.

DWF-B “Buzzsaw”

• Omnipods: -Prime LA and RA
  
• 4 x UAC10s with eleven tons of ammo

The simplest build, one with which you are familiar. Ammo dependent, obviously. Can either be very effective or not that effective at all. Great heat efficiency. I typically alternate arm UACs and torso UACs. Incredible damage output, though jamming is an issue. Usually, with four UACs, you’ll have at least one gun up most of the time. I’ve run this chassis with everything from the meta six UAC5s, to four UAC5s and two UAC2s, four LB-5-Xs and two LB-2s (to experiment), two Gauss and two ERPPCs… It’s pretty versatile. But then again, the clan stuff is. The two Gauss/two ERPPCs is a sick build, I’m not going to lie. I just didn’t find it all that fun after a few dozen drops. It ain’t easy mode, but the amount of damage it can deal to single locations makes short work of most things, and from a long way out.

DWF-W

• 1 x Gauss with four tons of ammo
  
• 1 x UAC20 with two tons of ammo
  
• 3 x Medium Pulse Lasers
  
• 1 x LRM20 with two tons of ammo
  
• TC Mk IV
  
• 4 x Additional DHS

This is an interim build. I really have no idea what to do with this chassis unless I want to make it a mirror of some of the other DWFs I have. The stock build had too many different weapons profiles on it (five I think) and I just couldn’t make that work. I prefer to stick with four, since that’s all my MadCatz Rat7 mouse has in its current configuration (it has way more buttons, but the rest do other things for me). I’ll get around to figuring out something for this guy, but for now it mostly collects dust.

[Naoru]

DW is one of the best assaults. But assaults require teamwork and good map knowledge.

Solo dropping in assaults I just follow around another assault (and then die when I get to aggressive when making a push lol).

[McDarnit]

Same happens to me Naoru, get brave and lead the charge. Often results in my demise but gets the rest of the group moving, usually. If my destruction gets a win then I'm happy! Doesn't always pay off but then that is part of the solo droppers life.
I purely drop solo, other commitments make grouping difficult but one day I hope to.
I do like the DW, twin gauss and twin ultra 5s with a few med pulses just in case is my preferred build.

[El Maestro]

hello friends,

Although I dislike the DWF for mainly the same reasons you mention they can be very devastating in the hands of a skilled player (preferably with buddies).

Check out this threads of only 1500+ damage DWF's:
https://www.mechspec...1500-club.7115/

for me the combination of my playstyle, skill and strenghts/drawbacks does not work.

grtz

[bad arcade kitty]

honestly i'm surprised that so many people claim that dire wolf is bad in soloq

for instance my latest game 2 dire wolves carried our team hard despite we were down 4 mechs in the first couple of minutes, one of enemy pilots even claimed gg; i myself piloted a crow and didn't do that bad too, flanked, fought alone 3 enemy mechs (hbk, ach and mdd), killed 2 and survived till my team killed the third, but for what those dire wolves did i could just stand afk from the very beginning, they did summarily more than 2000 damage and simply evaporated enemy

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 30 July 2015 - 12:37 PM.

[old man odin]

The problem isn't that the Dire Wolf is a terrible mech, but that it's a terrible solo queue mech. Once you've got an organised group the Dire Wolf becomes one of the best mechs in the game. In the end, team work is OP.

For those looking for a solo friendly Clan assault, the Warhawk is your friend. It's relatively fast with a respectable payload. Even without basic skills it pulls really solid numbers. The Gargoyle and Executioner aren't bad either in that respect, but neither really feels like an assault mech. The Warhawk does.

[Josef Koba]

Odins Steed, on 30 July 2015 - 12:50 PM, said:

The problem isn't that the Dire Wolf is a terrible mech, but that it's a terrible solo queue mech. Once you've got an organised group the Dire Wolf becomes one of the best mechs in the game. In the end, team work is OP.

I simply can't agree. I run mine exclusively solo queue nowadays (since my dropmate is too busy to play) and I find it to be incredibly effective. In fairness, however, so is the Warhawk (another mech I love).