30 replies to this topic

[Spheroid]

The best beginner assault is the Battlemaster. The Stalker has zero structure quirks and will never have shield arms or a high engine cap. Also some variants have up to six chest energy hardpoints which beats the four high arm mounts in the Stalker under most situations. In addition the Battlemaster is fairly engine agnostic while the Stalker should never mount an XL.

Edited by Spheroid, 26 January 2016 - 05:45 PM.

[Macksheen]

To each his own, however I find the STK is a much better beginner assault for exactly the reasons you seem to think the BLR is.

The STK spreads damage easily and naturally, which a beginner isn't going to be as adept at doing.
The STK has a very concentrated set of ALL weapons - given that it's basically a football ... they all point in the same direction and generally converge well.
The STK requires less $ being a STD engine beast, unlike the XLs in many BLRs.

But again, to each his own. I'd consider the BLR needing more finesse, planning, etc. - and not a good entry assault for a beginner.

[TercieI]

Macksheen, on 27 January 2016 - 06:13 AM, said:

To each his own, however I find the STK is a much better beginner assault for exactly the reasons you seem to think the BLR is.

The STK spreads damage easily and naturally, which a beginner isn't going to be as adept at doing.
The STK has a very concentrated set of ALL weapons - given that it's basically a football ... they all point in the same direction and generally converge well.
The STK requires less $ being a STD engine beast, unlike the XLs in many BLRs.

But again, to each his own. I'd consider the BLR needing more finesse, planning, etc. - and not a good entry assault for a beginner.

^This. (Though no reason to XL a BLR)

[NRP]

I have to agree with others to avoid the Awesome. Try a Mauler or Banshee instead.

[Zephonarch II]

Only experienced players can handle the Awesome.

• It has a huge CT
  
• It's builds are limited to LRM-metas, and PPC-metas
  
• And it is a wide mech to begin with(That's why it's shorter than the Zues and Victor)(It's been proportioned badly by PGI)

I love it though. If you can make use of the PPC alpha-strikes, you can core people who do not pay attention to you.

And another thing, the AWS-8Q IS THE BEST AWESOME. It uses PPCs, so you will be able to fire a 4x-PPC alpha and not overheat too badly like the 9M with ERPPCs. It is fun. Just remember the 80meter minimum range for PPCs otherwise you're an idiot.

That's why YOU WANT AN AWESOME. It's PPC-meta builds make it ideal for tanking with it. Either alpha-striking 4-3 of them, or chain-firing to conserve heat. It's great! And I'm an Elited Awesome pilot, just be patient and this will pay off.

BUT! One time I was firing down into a valley on Canyon Network and a PPC-AWS-8Q was firing at me. I immediately turned my Stalker-3F around and got in his face. His build WAS VOID. No damage. He did nothing to me that close. And Global Chat started popping lols out. It was hilarious, and it works the same with IS-LRM boats. Try it out sometime.

That is why you DON'T WANT AN AWESOME. It's a zombie mech. So be aware about mechs moving towards you. Those smart players will test you about the min-ranges of PPCs! (Except you're in the 9M with ERPeeps)

Edited by Zephonarch II, 27 January 2016 - 07:41 AM.

[Zephonarch II]

Macksheen, on 27 January 2016 - 06:13 AM, said:

To each his own, however I find the STK is a much better beginner assault for exactly the reasons you seem to think the BLR is.
...

If you want a Good Beginner Assault mech, yes try the Stalker or Battlemaster. But watch out for the 60degree YAW. If you want to see a mech behind you, you'll be readjusting most of the time.

[Richter Kerensky]

TercieI, on 27 January 2016 - 07:16 AM, said:

^This. (Though no reason to XL a BLR)

Wrong, the Battlemaster is much better when it can go 70-80 kph

[TercieI]

Richter Kerensky, on 28 January 2016 - 02:13 PM, said:

Wrong, the Battlemaster is much better when it can go 70-80 kph

Nah. Easy to spot and easy to ST. I <3 XL BLRs. DEElicious.

[Richter Kerensky]

It's a way bigger liability to be slow. You can roll to protect your STs. A BLR-1S that can go 80 and has 4 LPLs that hit out to ~500m is very strong.

[Macksheen]

Zephonarch II, on 27 January 2016 - 07:39 AM, said:

Only experienced players can handle the Awesome.

• It has a huge CT
  
• It's builds are limited to LRM-metas, and PPC-metas
  
• And it is a wide mech to begin with(That's why it's shorter than the Zues and Victor)(It's been proportioned badly by PGI)

I love it though. If you can make use of the PPC alpha-strikes, you can core people who do not pay attention to you.


And another thing, the AWS-8Q IS THE BEST AWESOME. It uses PPCs, so you will be able to fire a 4x-PPC alpha and not overheat too badly like the 9M with ERPPCs. It is fun. Just remember the 80meter minimum range for PPCs otherwise you're an idiot.

That's why YOU WANT AN AWESOME. It's PPC-meta builds make it ideal for tanking with it. Either alpha-striking 4-3 of them, or chain-firing to conserve heat. It's great! And I'm an Elited Awesome pilot, just be patient and this will pay off.

BUT! One time I was firing down into a valley on Canyon Network and a PPC-AWS-8Q was firing at me. I immediately turned my Stalker-3F around and got in his face. His build WAS VOID. No damage. He did nothing to me that close. And Global Chat started popping lols out. It was hilarious, and it works the same with IS-LRM boats. Try it out sometime.

That is why you DON'T WANT AN AWESOME. It's a zombie mech. So be aware about mechs moving towards you. Those smart players will test you about the min-ranges of PPCs! (Except you're in the 9M with ERPeeps)

I run LPL on most of my awesomes - only the 8Q gets PPCs, and only the one gets LRMs. Rest are 4xLPL .... 9M, 8T ...

[oldradagast]

The Awesome is not really a good mech, nor a good place to start, sadly.

It is wide for its size and easily torn apart with focused damage. It also suffers from low hardpoints and a total lack of ballistics options. Although the Stalker also has no ballistics (Misery aside), it has high weapon mounts and a narrow frontal profile, making it a superior mech in the energy + missile role. Battlemasters are also good - not as tough as the Stalker, but they also have high weapon mounts and can bring ballistics if desired. Finally, there's the Zeus, which can mount similar loadouts to the Battlemaster, although it lacks high weapon mounts. Still, it has nice hitboxes and basically obsolete the Awesome in nearly all roles.

The only real advantage the Awesome has is great twisting ability and some nice quirks. Quirks, however, can change... Still, if they every did get around to rescaling the Awesome so it was appropriately sized for its tonnage - namely, not as wide - it would at least be decent, if not great.

Edited by oldradagast, 31 January 2016 - 09:17 AM.