6 replies to this topic

[Gevurah]

With the mauler-pocalypse upon us, I thought it'd be a good time to take out my old IS assaults for a turn. I've done exceptionally well with them lately and for me they're far and away my best mechs. In most of my cases they reach into the 2 or 3 to one KDR range (approximately double my usual, so excellent for me). These are stable, POWERFUL mechs which I use regularly to great effect.

First off - no matter WHAT mech I play as an assault I always.... ALWAYS bring a hill climb module. Secondary module is either radar dep, seismic, or advanced zoom. Hill climb will make your assault behave like a heavy mech which is a huge improvement over 'stock assault' mechanics.

#1 - The La Malinche
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bc005ccf76cca50
Ah the Malinche. This mech is nearly stock. Stock engine, some armor mods, some large pulses and a few more heat sinks. That's about it. The three Large pulses and the AC10 are heavily quirked and provide a rapid recycle time with modules for cooldowns. The medium pulse is a best in slot and makes a good backup or finisher. You'll hit hard, hit fast, and while you don't have the alpha power of a dire wolf or the crab below... you certainly can pick people apart with 49 pinpoint damage. This thing is basically a surgeon, cutting away enemy components with impunity. A well placed shot can insta-kill most light mechs and the AC10 fires fairly rapidly, allowing for good cockpit juggle. Despite the hazards of an XL engine, the banshee is a well designed mech which will allow you to easily protect side torsos while allowing you massive mobility for such a big mech at 71.3 KPH. Up close it's really important to use the very expendable arms and their coverage to protect your vulnerable sides. My best mech, with a solid 3+ KDR after many, many games.


#2 - The KGC
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0c267902ba354e4
I use a KGC-000B. Not because the quirks are particularly good (though they are good, nonetheless) but rather for the hardpoint layout. This mech was never supposed to be one of my best mechs. In fact, I only purchased it to be able to level my KGC-0000(L) with quad ultras .. which I rarely play. I slapped this build together thinking "eh, whatever - XL engine in a crab." ... This monster regularly gets 4-6 kill games, pushing 500+ damage almost every game. With Large Laser modules, you can really punish people with 3 large lasers with a fully mastered (and moduled) 27% reduction to cooldown. The gauss rifles make an excellent finisher, allowing you to deliver a crushing 57 pinpoint damage to anyone standing in front of you. This is on top of the fact you can use it at extreme (for IS) ranges of 500-900 meters means you can just poke and poke.. then they get close and have to try to fight you with 100 tons of armor... it's impressive how fast you can completely tear down dire wolves with this thing. Just poke at range with the lasers, add gauss when they get in range, then move in to brawl. Side note: Brawling in this is actually pretty easy because if you've been picking them apart they fall apart like paper when hit by 57 dmg pinpoint strikes. I tend to charge the gauss then release (firing them) and immediately fire all three lasers. The big engine means maximum maneuverability and that translates to better performance in the brawl.


#3 - The Misery
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a47a1f7bdb84bf6
When I first started playing the Misery I really struggled with it. I tried all the usual 'slab side' builds of PPC/AC20, etc. Nothing worked. Then I started playing around with lasers and this is what I got. An asymmetrical build which relies on hilltop cresting to really pound people (much like the crab). Likewise two of the guns are OPPOSITE the ac20, which tends to get shot off a lot due to the massive cannon they put on the model. This mech works best with a delayed peeking and poking style, where you want to maximize your uptime on your lasers while minimizing damage to yourself. Your mech's ac20 will act as an end of round finisher, and coupled with the lasers puts out a solid 47 point alpha. The Misery will require a lot of seat time to perfect as you must learn to shield your AC20 with your right side, whereas in most mechs I tend to use the left side to protect the mech.


#4 - The Atlas DDC
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...81ce7982acdd24b
The Atlas DDC is one of those mechs that used to dominate, but now languishes. The old build used a STD360 and medium lasers. Unfortunately once the side torso is shot off (you will RARELY go an entire round with both torsos intact), you will be down to a single medium laser, which is awful. No one wants to fight the end of a round doing 5 damage every 3-4 seconds in a 100 ton mech. It also pretty much guaranteed you'd be worthless outside of 300 meters. With large lasers you can at least shoot back if they fire at you at range, and you only lose 5 KPH for it. It's a small price to pay. This revised variant plays much like that ******* pranker who waits for you and then jumps out of an alley at you. You simply hug walls and remain invisible with your ECM until an enemy comes into range then WHAM - the AC20 + 3xSRM6+A drill hits. And make no mistake, it is a drill. You will literally two shot 90% of the mechs in the game with it. It's unbelievably powerful and if you get good at creeping up on people, makes for a hell of an equalizer. You will (with the lasers) hit for a whopping ~72 points of damage. Your biggest problem? Running out of ammo. You can easily run dry in this mech... but hey at least now you have large lasers.

#5 - The Highlander 733C.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0030d07c3c7e5e3
Another former king brought low by meta... this was once THE assault mech to own. It was king of the poptarts and ruled with impunity. Nowadays, it's best feature is actually how tanky it is. It's dual ultras are still a force and the large lasers are a little lackluster but do well enough for sustained damage. Primarily this mech is all about survival. You use your shield arm, shield side, and legs (via jumping, people tend to not adjust quickly) to absorb damage. Meanwhile you put both the lasers and the ultras on chain fire and simply mash down both the mouse buttons. It allows a lot of sustained fire, dealing a solid amount of DPS over time. It's far from its glory days but still very viable as a skirmisher and tank. This one is a bit of a faceroll build, allowing you to be pretty stupid as long as you do a small amount of torso twisting. You can also swap in an AC20 but I prefer the ultras for the cockpit juggle effect in a brawl.

All that aside, I hope this helps those struggling to find a home for their old friends in the new meta.

[Chados]

Everyone needs an assault 'mech

I chose the Victor. Yeah, I know, they suck. Hard mode for assaults, right?

Actually, that isn't true. No, they are not P2W God-mode clan 'mechs, and yes, they are much less robust than any of the other IS assault 'mechs. But their reputation stems from being misunderstood, in my opinion. Victors really aren't assault 'mechs at all, even though they are in the 80 ton weight class. Most all of them run at 79.9 because of the hardpoints and crit restrictions, the 9SC and Dragon Slayer come fresh from the store that way. They're 70-tonners with the ability to carry heavier weapons and run in the slightly less busy (usually) assault queue. Compared to its true peers, heavy 'mechs, the Victor compares well. Run them as if they were 70-tonners and they are very interesting. They are fast and maneuverable and have decent protection when compared to 70-75 ton heavy 'mechs. They are, in fact, the IS version of the Clans' 70-ton Thor/Summoner, in my opinion, and have similar qualities. As the Thor is an acquired taste, so is the Victor in the current meta. It has very limited hardpoints and the B and E points are in the arms but for one variant. That makes it risky, but gives it the widest off-angle shooting range of any 'mech I've piloted. It can trade effectively with Clan heavies to a point, thanks to the big guns and extra armor it brings, too.

I've had games where no one takes me seriously until I shoot someone in the face with an AC20 and others where I get mistaken for an Atlas and instantly focused down by the entire enemy team, and everything in between. I've had runs where I get trolled with one arm shot off (never had both shot off yet) and left for dead, but still rack up a kill with the other. No one expects a Victor to lead a push and they are consistently surprised when you stomp in behind them and start brawling alongside them. I've only been trolled once for a low score in a match (everything from sub-50 to 500 damage here depending on how things play out) and that was by an angry tryhard I PPC'd down from behind a pillar on HPG while jump-sniping. Ex-meta FTW!

And two VTRs escorting an Atlas look like a mobster and a couple of his gorillas out looking for trouble. Hilarity often ensues, as the IS assaults aren't seen as viable until they start shooting at things.

Edited by Chados, 19 September 2015 - 04:42 AM.

[juxstapo]

Dude, you lost me when you called the la Malinche a "legacy" mech. Didn't that thing come out like a month ago?

[Gaussfather]

Thanks for sharing your assault builds! I also like those mechs especially the Highlander and King Crab. I run them a little different though and this gives some ideas to play with. I like running the 733C with 2 PPCs and an AC20 because its fun to kill things with a 40 ballistic shot and I can snipe with the PPCs when they are at long range. When I run an XL I add 3x4SRMs for a nice short-range punch.

Still enjoy the Victor alot though... but it needs some love now because its big STs are too easy to target for the Clan/IS laser vomiters. Hopefully the Devs will re-scale it and add some ST buffs down the road so it can make a come back.

Edited by Jman88, 19 September 2015 - 11:40 AM.

[Kaptain]

juxstapo, on 19 September 2015 - 07:46 AM, said:

Dude, you lost me when you called the la Malinche a "legacy" mech. Didn't that thing come out like a month ago?

Exaggerating? Or does "a month" = "like 18 months" in your world?

[Psibelius]

I love the Victor. For me the Dragon Slayer is still my favorite mech to play.

Now running a 350XL with 2 JJ, Gauss with 3 tons ammo, 3 LL plus range/cooldown mods, radar dep...I feel like I support my team much better in this than my last few months of Timber Wolf spam damage madness.

[TheLuc]

I play all my IS assault and quite frequently. I only own the Mechs variants featured in the TRO books so no exotic variants, just prime version of the IS chassis or should I write the most known. I could own a Atlas AS7-DDC but the real one is the AS7-D.

In my book they still all good, just a matter of how to play them and situation.