33 replies to this topic

[TimePeriod]

I cannot figure out what this Assault is supposed to be, it seems to be all over the place. Please explain what I am doing wrong here.

[Bud Crue]

It is more of a fast heavy that you can (fairly) safely run an XL325 (or whatever) in. Once you get over the XL hang up you can do some pretty nice builds (with or without the SRM fist of doom (or LRM)). Lots of variety. EG. Gauss and 2 ERLL with doom fist. 3LPLs and an AC10, Lrms with lasers and an AC, etc.

edit:
The Zeus has the smallest profile and probably the best hit boxes of any assault. That is why most people feel the XL is acceptable if not necessary here.

Edited by Bud Crue, 28 January 2016 - 11:46 AM.

[TimePeriod]

Bud Crue, on 28 January 2016 - 11:45 AM, said:

It is more of a fast heavy that you can (fairly) safely run an XL325 (or whatever) in. Once you get over the XL hang up you can do some pretty nice builds (with or without the SRM fist of doom (or LRM)). Lots of variety. EG. Gauss and 2 ERLL with doom fist. 3LPLs and an AC10, Lrms with lasers and an AC, etc.

edit:
The Zeus has the smallest profile and probably the best hit boxes of any assault. That is why most people feel the XL is acceptable if not necessary here.

XL on this? Seems like a really bad idea. The ST's feel way too large for that.

[Bud Crue]

TimePeriod, on 28 January 2016 - 11:55 AM, said:

XL on this? Seems like a really bad idea. The ST's feel way too large for that.

Yep. Xls on that. Give stds a try if you like, but you won't find any builds that will feel "Assault-y" This is in my view one of thee mechs where the alpha-torso twist tango is essential. But if done right you will tank damage like a pro and be able to really dish out the hurt. In a std you are either so engine heavy as to make your weapons load out anemic, or so slow that you will be just an easier target and get picked apart.

Do a bit of searching on the forums or even with "mwo zeus builds" on google.

[TimePeriod]

Bud Crue, on 28 January 2016 - 12:13 PM, said:

Yep. Xls on that. Give stds a try if you like, but you won't find any builds that will feel "Assault-y" This is in my view one of thee mechs where the alpha-torso twist tango is essential. But if done right you will tank damage like a pro and be able to really dish out the hurt. In a std you are either so engine heavy as to make your weapons load out anemic, or so slow that you will be just an easier target and get picked apart.

Do a bit of searching on the forums or even with "mwo zeus builds" on google.

XL engine is indeed able to work, providing the massive firepower this mech really needs. Tripple LPL and AC10 really shreds some armour when combined.

Excellent advice

[Bud Crue]

TimePeriod, on 28 January 2016 - 12:21 PM, said:

XL engine is indeed able to work, providing the massive firepower this mech really needs. Tripple LPL and AC10 really shreds some armour when combined.

I believe that is considered the "meta" for a Zeus at the moment. I prefer builds employing the SRM fist of doom, if only because it looks cool as heck and the SRM blast can really be potent when ya need to leg a light but your aiming is less than great. Like I said, though once you get over the XL phobia (I suffer from it bad) this mech can do just about anything.

[Donnybrook]

Not only is it arguably the fastest assault, it has structure for days. It's a tanky little beast.

[Guitar Czar]

Glad I found this thread. I've got a special place in my heart for 80 ton mechs but though I liked the Awesome in older games it's just...so squashable (unless you're incredibly good and can compensate for it, which I can not.) And but so then that leaves the Zeus, which is a mech I always really liked, but I never saw anyone playing the damn thing.

Dubiously picked up the 5S yesterday because of this thread, loaded it with XL 325, 3 LPLs and an AC10 and found out it's fun as hell. I've just been trying different loadout variations for the weapons lately, found that 3 LPLs and LRM 20 seems to work well for me too. Going to pick up two more to elite them =D

[Steinkrieg]

The Zeus feels like it is really supposed to be a combined arms mech that fits in a lance, and suffers badly from solo play if you use a STD engine. A lance of Zeus's with a traditional loadout of something like a LRM20, 2 ERLLAS, and 3 MLAS each would be quite the multi-ranged, constant pressure lance in my little theorycrafting universe. I've yet to seriously use XL engines on it, so thanks for posting that it's viable.

What else is normally run with the fit of doom? My current build on it is 4 mlas and 3 srm6.

[Dawnstealer]

I run all of mine with a STD 320 - seems to be the best mix of semi-speed (ie. it goes "fast enough") and survivability. Once the engine is in, I build out from there.

If you build for missiles, go big: ASRM 12 to ASRM 18. If you don't, drop them entirely and use that side as a shield. Think of it as a slow-skirmisher, maybe? Light brawler? And so on.

[mogs01gt]

Few different ways I run them, both builds I use have a 350xl in them. Either LRMs or SRM work well. I tried the ac10 + LPL but for some reason, I could never get it to work.

Edited by mogs01gt, 12 February 2016 - 05:44 AM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

very very under-appreciated mech. Close range striker, long range laser puke. LRM spammer. Etc etc.

The model with all the energy quirks was considered one of the original "clan killers" in CW.

[mogs01gt]

Boogie138, on 11 February 2016 - 02:09 PM, said:

very very under-appreciated mech.

This.
I was in a match last night and a few people had no idea what it was. I describe it as a fast assault. Luckily I did 600+dmg and had 2 kills.

[Bud Crue]

Dawnstealer, on 11 February 2016 - 11:43 AM, said:

I run all of mine with a STD 320 - seems to be the best mix of semi-speed (ie. it goes "fast enough") and survivability. Once the engine is in, I build out from there.

If you build for missiles, go big: ASRM 12 to ASRM 18. If you don't, drop them entirely and use that side as a shield. Think of it as a slow-skirmisher, maybe? Light brawler? And so on.

Dawn,

Would you be so kind as to link or summarize your builds? Only thing I ever managed to pull off with a std was a very blah 3LPL build (which felt utterly wasted on an 80 ton chassis). That was the only viable build I managed (viable being played in pug matches and won more than lost). All the more "zeus-like" mixed load out builds I came up with on std engines felt like slow, overweight Wolverines.

[Hastur Azargo]

This mech was a surprise for me, granted anything heavier than 70 tons has too much inertia for me to handle. I had no idea what to do with it, so I slapped an XL350 in it, and went to brawl. And surprisingly, it's speed and structure quirks gave it enough staying power to survive and punch holes in red team with SRMs and AC10s.

[Dawnstealer]

Bud Crue, on 12 February 2016 - 06:02 AM, said:

Dawn,

Would you be so kind as to link or summarize your builds? Only thing I ever managed to pull off with a std was a very blah 3LPL build (which felt utterly wasted on an 80 ton chassis). That was the only viable build I managed (viable being played in pug matches and won more than lost). All the more "zeus-like" mixed load out builds I came up with on std engines felt like slow, overweight Wolverines.

Sure. So this is one that was my king in CW for a long time:

ZEU-9S
3 ERLLs, 3 MLs, AMS, 325 STD

I run AMS on every mech I can, which is against the meta, I know. I also have a fully-armored shield arm, which is also unusual, but I figure if you have a shield, you might as well have a beefy one as possible.

I set the ERLLs in one group, the MLs in another, and then the MLs again on chainfire (usually when you're having to fast fire and you're running hot, it's when the enemy is close to you).

I've found that the Zeus is tanky with a STD and with the BEEG LAZOR in the CT, it means it can zombie up.

ZEU-6T
3 ASRM4s, 3 MLs, 1 ERLL, AMS, 325 STD

It took me a long time to settle on this one. Unlike the previous one, there's no shield arm, but again: you can zombie up, if needed and you can still contribute to your team even if you lose an entire side of your mech. The two sides are relatively balanced, damage-wise, so losing one or the other is kind of relative.

The right hand is a nasty, heavy punch at close range, and the ASRMs have a relatively tight cluster. The ERLL in the arm lets you poke at a distance and contribute early in a match until the enemy gets in range of the heavier firepower.

[oldradagast]

The Zeus is an intentionally hard to classify mech. You might have a few of them as foes, one with Guass and large lasers, another with the SRM "rocket punch" - and a third rocking LRM's.

They are a good, fast "light assault" package with nice hitboxes, reasonable durability, and a good mix of hardpoints that allow for a bunch of flexible loadouts. They are not the best at boating a pile of identical weapons for 1-button kills, and they lack high weapon mounts. But other than those 2 drawbacks, they are good, flexible mechs. You may never easily dominate the enemy in one, but you'll also never regret piloting one.

[K0M3D14N]

The Zeus 9S has been my most dominant mech both before and after I took an extended break from MWO. It may not have the biggest alpha straight up, but this one is absurdly tanky and has some pretty incredible survivability. It's a fairly small sample size for now (only 14 matches according to the stats page but I'm sure I've played way more than that) I've got a 3.75 KDR and averaging almost 500 damage a match in this beast.

The best part about it is that the left arm has enough mobility that you can twist to shield yourself with the entire right side of the mech and still be able to return fire with your LPLs. It's awesome.

[VitriolicViolet]

i love the Zeus. you can take 3 and a locust in CW for 1. They are fast tank and have variety in weapons.
I like the 6S most but they are all good for different things.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...879e01fe4169925
In the 6S my favourite build currently is 1 gauss, 4 MLs and an AC2. A bit of a weird build but the gauss and ac2 combo quite well i find because they have the same velocity. Use the MLs on chainfire and with the standard 320 your fast and tank as.

[jarien13]

If PGI rescaled the Awesome from it's barn-door fire-collector dish styling size and the Victor from it's larger than a Stalker (85t) and about the size of a Highlander (90t) to the size profile of the Zeus (and maybe the structure boosts, maybe not), all IS 80 tonners would likely become more XL friendly, freeing up space for assault weapon tonnage, and could also be brought up to the speed of play in MWO and become the vanguard skirmisher type of assaults they were meant to be. No more 80 tonners left behind!

In other words and if nothing else, the Zeus is what all IS 80 tonners should be scaled to, if not all 80 tonners in the game period.

Edited by jarien13, 11 March 2016 - 09:34 PM.