22 replies to this topic

[CrimsonSteele]

Think on this to

[smurfy]http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e6dc3a65823cde2[/smurfy]

Nearly 100 point alpha. Just think on it.

[Good_Cat]

XL engines plus no Artemis, good luck.
XL negates one of the pros of a Stalker, no Artemis good luck at hitting anything past point blank range.
Brutally bad.

[Jebe457]

This is basically what you get if you take the Classic Stalker-3F and upgrade it to MWO sensibilities. You'll note per the lore Stalker-3F this thing can take a lot of punishment, and keep on coming while laying down respectable firepower in all range brackets. As per lore it isn't the coolest Mech ever, but entirely reasonable if you respect that your weapons are intended to be used in range brackets instead of something to be salvoed all at once.

In lore this is the mainstay Assault Mech which has been in use for centuries, and for a classic slow Assault Mech this is the baseline against which all others are to be compared. This tweaked baseline has Large Lasers and LRM15s to lay down firepower at range, limiting the penalty of it's low speed. It also has a pair of SRM4s and a quartet of Medium Lasers for when working close in. This build is viable in MWO if too mundane to be considered meta of the week, like how the Stalker is viewed in lore.

This is basically what you get if you take the Classic AS7-D Atlas and upgrade it to MWO sensibilities. While it specializes in close range fighting, it also has something to contribute at range.

What my point? Personally I don't see the point of turning a slow Assault into an SRM boat. SRM boats call for something small and fast, which is thus able to reliable get within 270 meters like an Oxide or Griffin-2N. A good slow Assault, like the Stalker, needs long range weaponry to at the very least make sure it's not just a target before it's able to close range.

Like the Classic Stalker the point of an Assault Mech is to give the Company robust firepower that helps to carry them to victory.

EDIT:
A specialized CQB Stalker in turn looks something like this combining laser vomit, ASRM4s with enough ammo to spam them, and a big engine. It however will shut down in 4.4 seconds according to LSML, which unlike the 3F Classic's 4.5 second isn't mitigated by weapons being designed for different range brackets. No, our 5S here basically wants to spam SRMs while judiciously launching the occasional laser vomit salvo, or it will overheat. So the main strength of this will be that it offers a devastating alpha strike that thanks to using ARM4s is reasonably accurate, or you could look at it as laser vomit with a devastating SRM chaser.

There's a lot to be said for that, but is also means you're betting the bank on you being able to get your 61.5 kph Stalker into position to ambush someone at 270 meters or less. Mind at that range, as opposed to LRM/ER LL range, everyone can shoot back at you and you're not that mobile meaning lights are a serious issue. Plus if you do end up in a gunline situation, your Stalker will have nothing to do, unlike the Classic which would be able to bring the pain.

Is the trade-off worth it? That's up to you, but I think a short range Stalker misses the entire point of the Stalker being a hard to stop all range pain machine.

Edited by Jebe457, 03 June 2016 - 09:47 AM.