24 replies to this topic

[Timicon]

I am an IS pilot, specialising in the Medium and Heavy- class 'Mechs (mainly the Hunchback- 4J and Quickdraw-4G, but that have been wanting to branch out into the Assault-class very soon, because I have played primarily with long range supoort 'Mechs (the Heavy-class and Medium-Class), so I was wondering what some people's preferences were as to a good Assault-class IS 'Mech to buy?
Primarily, I would like one that has a combination of lasers (either pulse or regular lasers, it does not bother me as well as LRMs, but I was also thinking that something with an autocannon (possibly an autocannon 10 or above, since I do not have much experience with ballistic weapons and want to start out using them to both gain experience and, they are also great for up-close brawling, not to mention they also work well as long distance weapons).
I was possibly thinking of the Stalker, but they do not carry any autocannons, as far as I can remember (if someone can correct me on that, please do) but the Stalker is a slow and cumbersome 'Mech, whereas I prefer more speed over what the Stalker can provide and I am not a fan of the Atlas in the least, so that 'Mech is out of the question for me (it is just a personal taste for me that I do not like the Atlas, sorry, all of you Atlas fans out there!).

So is there any good IS Assault-classs 'Mechs people swear on that are good to get up right up into the enemy's face (figuratively and literally) that I could start saving to buy?

Thanks for reading and any help you all could give me.
Rasalhague Guardian Defenders commanding officer and founder,
Timicon.

AN: i know also that most IS Assault-class 'Mechs do not come with jump jets, but that would be an advantage for me, but they are not high on my list to buy an Assault 'Mech equipped with them... As well as I am not too keen on SRMs or SSRMs either.

Edited by Timicon, 08 April 2016 - 07:04 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Well, you knocked two of the best IS assault mechs out of the picture there. Atlas is THE Assault-class brawler, PERIOD. The AS7-S with AC/20 and 4x Artemis IV SRM-6s?! COMPLETE BRUTE. And the Stalker chassis has some of the best long-range Assault-class loadouts there are in this game.

There IS one Stalker that can carry ballistic weaponry, and that's the Misery hero mech. Yeah, it's cash or MC only. Bummer, that. Nonetheless, it CAN be one brutal mofo.

Okay. MOBILE, primarily laser-based IS assault mechs? First thought is the Battlemaster. GOOD energy weapon quirks on them. The BLR-2C has extra structure quirks, too, that make it a little tankier than a tall 85-tonner should be. 4-6 torso-mounted E hard points on each. Can take up to a 400 engine, too (I run one XL400 Battlemaster, and it's FUN to be faster than the Clan heavies in your old skool IS junk!). No jump jets, though, and the ballistic mounts aren't the greatest (all arm-mounted, and low). Still, it's a solid mech.

Banshee? One variant at least is considered a good pulse laser platform. I don't know much about them, as I've never owned one.

ALL of the Highlanders and Victors can do jump jets. They're also right there with the Zeus, as pretty much the worst of the IS assaults. Highlander USED TO BE GOOD, but then jump jets became HoverJets ™ and PPC/Gauss jump sniping got nerfed into the ground, and now they pretty much just sit in the corner at the VFW talking about the glory days gone by.

Awesome is usually anything BUT.

Zeus is not great, but it's a quick assault with some decent (nothing to blow up your skirt) firepower options.

King Crab is a brutal dakka platform, but not very mobile and definitely lacking JJs.

And that's pretty much it.

If you WANT JJs on an IS assault, it's gonna be an otherwise-weak assault mech. If you can live without, get yourself some Battlemasters. I recommend the -1G and -2C at least, and probably the -1S for a third. And be sure to at least TRY OUT the XL400 on one of them, because it's just SO fun to be that fast in an assault mech. It's 82.0 km/h after speed tweak! LET THAT SINK IN! An IS assault mech running at IS medium mech speeds, and with STILL-RESPECTABLE FIREPOWER, and WITH THE TWIST SPEED TO SPREAD DAMAGE VERY WELL ACROSS THAT TORSO!

Standard 325 or 340 also work well in the Fattlemasters.

King Crab for ultimate dakka, with sides of laser and missile.

Good luck, sir, both with your choice of mechs and with command of your unit in the field!

TL;DR- Get a Battlemaster, wreck face, thank me later.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Get the Banshees,they are good.3E is a good dakka mech and 3M vaporizes everything with the 5 LPL build

Alternative being Stalkers or Battlemasters,thats if you want to play around with missiles.

Zeus is good too,but is basically a well armored medium,good mobility and armor,mediocre firepower,has some good skirmisher/dps-build tho.

[Podex]

Assaults are much, much different than responsive mechs like the Hunchback and Quickdraw. For your first assault, I'd suggest something that is a bigger version of those. Unfortunately, I don't run name assault mechs, but here's my take on what I do know:

King Crab - A death trap without an intimate knowledge of patience and positioning. Brawling is difficult because of convergence. Dakka dakka dakka dakka
Atlas - world class brawler, if you can get close enough. Usually just a target for focused fire.
Stalker - Misery is the alpha male. All else is missiles and energy. Very fun to play.
Battlemaster - Well rounded. You'd like these.
Awesome - Not awesome. It's named that just to boost his self esteem.
All the rest - Sorry, I have limited knowledge on these, but most seem like bigger heavies.

[Barkem Squirrel]

Stalkers are just brutal, and you can dead side. You can go LRMs, LL's, PPC's, SRMs with ML's. Very effective, but slower platform. Do not XL it.

Battlemaster have a nice range of quirks to work with on all the variants, but the 400 XL with pulse lasers is just fun as hell chasing down slow mediums. This is one chassis that I just can not stop playing. The 1S may be the best LRM boat in the game for assaults.

Atlas, there is a reason why people say follow the frack'in atlas. structure quirks make them tanky as hell, on top of just being tanky as hell before. Remember, friends don't let friends XL an atlas. You can LRM with an atlas, but except for the S variant, I still like to brawl with it. Hell even with LRMs I like to brawl with it.

victors, need the xl's and play them as heavies with JJ's. you can also fire an LRM 20 out of a 2 tube missile launcher, just for giggles.

King crabs, with the UAC 5's, AC 2's , AC 20 is a great DAKKA plat form. OR you can chain fire 4 LRM 10's in the one and just bring on the LRM rage! Also the high mounted laser and missile makes for good brawling or peaking over a ridge.

Zues, well the SRM 18 to the face is nice, but you can also dead side with Dakka or lasers. The 6T is also a great LRM boat. I just wish they left the missile range quirk on it. I loved hitting mechs out to 1225 m. Believe me the WTF factor was working over drive when I hit them.

Mauler, well it is a dakka platform except for the one, that works well with LRMs.

Awesome, some people say the awesome aint awesome. Now they are variant specific quirks to work with, LL's, LRMs and PPC's. You have to use these for the variants and LRMs are hard to beat with this mech. then the rate of fire with PPC's on the one is almost impossible to match.

Banshee, well DAKKA comes to mind, but the one is great with LPL's. It can mount LRMs but mainly just for show.

Finally the highlander. Limited engine size so mobility is harder in a brawl, so this is a more ranged mech. Just waiting for death from above for the highlander burial. Here gauss and LL's PPC's find a nice home. Note some have very nice quirks for LRMs. One evil thing to do is load up some LRM 5's and have LPL's and AC's waiting for people that like to rush the LRM boats. Most of the highlanders can be used for LRMs effectively.

If you get one look at the profile of the mech variant. IF you can match the profile of mechs that you like or are good at playing it is easier picking up a new chassis or weight class. If you like quickdraws, try the victors. The downside is they do need XL engines to preform well and SRM's are more of an after though.on them anyways. Battlemasters may be another chassis that you want to look at, but here some builds are great with the standard engine. Although I still keep one with a 400 XL in it for terrorizing the medium mechs as I chase them down. I would say the Zeus, but this one you would have look at as a trial mech at some point. Remember all mechs can be good, and some just fit you like a glove. I have a few mechs like that, but a few it felt like they found me. Those are the mechs where you can do things that make people step back and just say, how did he do that. One example is me in the griffin 3M. I have people saying that I can do back flips over mechs while firing LRMs at them just to stay 180 m away from them.

Note: all reference to LRMs are by observation either in game or by doing the math. Many opponents have been harmed in the verification of these comments.

[Kurbeks]

Basically Tier 1 IS assults are - Banshee, BattleMaster, Stalker.

Stalker is slow and energy boat.

BLR - mainly lasers + missles

Banshee - lasers + ballastics

So i would suggest getting banshees.

3M for LPL builds, 3E for 3xAC5 + some lazors, 3S - AC20 + some lasors. 3E and 3S will be slow as you can't mount XL on them, 3M on other hand is quite fast and responsive with large XL engines.

[TheLuc]

one thing that is mainly left out is how easy stalkers are to disarm

[Podex]

TheLuc, on 09 April 2016 - 09:08 AM, said:

one thing that is mainly left out is how easy stalkers are to disarm

We don't talk about such things.

[Tordin]

I can speak for :

-Zeus which are small for an assault, have nice loadout varitie and are fast and though too. Nice and tanky.

-The Banshees are my favs. They got real thoughness as well, great hardpoint placements which give great convergence. Even the two variants with weapons in arms they can shield well with em and have enough firepower withouth them to still kick ***.

-Then theres the Mauler. Have HUGE dmg potential and the best ballistic options IMO. Its though as weel but slower then the previous two I listed, have very nice hitboxes and weapon placements as well and as with the Banshee it got good shield arms and enough torso hardpoints to survive without them arms.

- I have Atlases and King Crabs as well but have barely played enough with them to give informative opinions about them.

[Dee Eight]

I've got five battlemasters (including two of the ballistic hardpointed ones) and three highlanders... I've looked at the banshees but I don't know if I can properly enjoy a 95 ton mech that has nothing but a few weapon quirks each and desperately needs the biggest / most expensive engines in the game to carry any real amount of weapons and armor. If you're only spending C-bills, you can mastery the either Battlemasters or Highlanders as they each have a LOT of variants beyond the champion and hero versions. If you're buying one of the mastery pack bundles, the battlemaster pack includes the 1S missile boater and the highlander pack's heavy metal has its own built-in warhorn as well as includes its own -733 Missile boater. One caveat with the BM pack is the champion uses a less than optimal sized 315 engine, so its slower than all the other battlemasters that come with at least a 340 rated engine. I replaced it in mine with a 375XL and now the puppy hauls.

I run my 1S with quad artemised LRM10s on two paired fire groups, 10 tons of ammo, TAG and BAP, with three MLs for secondary. With a LRM10 range and advanced sensor range modules I can spot targets at 1200 meters and reign fire down 1100 meters and if you have line of sight, get stacked TAG and Artemis bonuses starting at 825 meters thanks to the mech's +10% energy range quirk. I routinely rack up match damages in the 800-1200 range. That kind of damage, even if the rest of the team results in a loss, you're going to go up in PSR. I nicknamed it rippleback btw (yes its a play on words of the Zippleback dragon). It's only downfall really is that I used a 300XL to save tonnage for ammo, and that slows its top speed to 61 with the speed tweak unlocked.

I run my Highlander 733 with artemised missiles too, but they're SRMs instead. Its also named Ultra Magnus because with the red/white/blue paint, it looks very much like that particular transformer. Again I also used a 300XL which is faster than the 270 class standard engine it comes with stock (it would take up to a 325) so I do move quicker than your typical atlas or KCG. Its also got a host of structure/armor quirks, and moving/maneuvering quirks. The weapon quirks favour ballistics and missiles only, so any energy weapons you fit are strictly ammo free backups. So mine being master skilled tops out at 58.1kph and can jump 19 meters which is enough to vault over another assault mech in your way (or land on it). I have paired SRM4s and paired SRM6s and the missile hardposts are two left arm, two left torso, so you get a pretty concentrated barrage on that one side. The right arm can fit up to a gauss rifle but the cooldown quirks favour an AC10. I run mine with an LBX because I have the cooldown module for it so I net 2% quicker shooting than with an AC10, plus it shoots much further. If I had an AC10 cooldown module I'd probably switch it but the expense hasn't been justified yet as its the only mech I own with an AC10 specific quirk so I don't use any, and I already owed the LBX module and use LBX's in a good number of mechs. The modules I typically run in it are the advanced zoom since it lets me pseudo-scout targets out to maximum LBX range, the LBX cooldown, an SRM6 cooldown, and a ML range module for the pair of MLs I have in it. The close range alpha strike is 63 points, and the thing can get off about four or five SRM20/LBX combos in quick order before the heat reaches auto-shutdown. Three is usually enough to core out another assault mech. A good tactic if you're able to shoot the volley from close behind, when they start to turn, JUMP over them and spin 180 in flight so you land behind them again.

Edited by Dee Eight, 09 April 2016 - 10:47 AM.

[Spheroid]

So you want an assault mech that is a superior brawler, fast, jump capable and has a lurm option? Bad news because such a thing does not exist.

Given your criteria I would say Banshees, possibly Battlemasters though they lack the AC-20 option.

Why don't you just wait for Marauders to be out for c-bills shortly? The 3R is so heavily quirked its basically an assault in every way but name.

[Timicon]

Sister RAbbi, on 08 April 2016 - 07:26 PM, said:

Well, you knocked two of the best IS assault mechs out of the picture there. Atlas is THE Assault-class brawler, PERIOD. The AS7-S with AC/20 and 4x Artemis IV SRM-6s?! COMPLETE BRUTE. And the Stalker chassis has some of the best long-range Assault-class loadouts there are in this game.

There IS one Stalker that can carry ballistic weaponry, and that's the Misery hero mech. Yeah, it's cash or MC only. Bummer, that. Nonetheless, it CAN be one brutal mofo.

Okay. MOBILE, primarily laser-based IS assault mechs? First thought is the Battlemaster. GOOD energy weapon quirks on them. The BLR-2C has extra structure quirks, too, that make it a little tankier than a tall 85-tonner should be. 4-6 torso-mounted E hard points on each. Can take up to a 400 engine, too (I run one XL400 Battlemaster, and it's FUN to be faster than the Clan heavies in your old skool IS junk!). No jump jets, though, and the ballistic mounts aren't the greatest (all arm-mounted, and low). Still, it's a solid mech.

Banshee? One variant at least is considered a good pulse laser platform. I don't know much about them, as I've never owned one.

ALL of the Highlanders and Victors can do jump jets. They're also right there with the Zeus, as pretty much the worst of the IS assaults. Highlander USED TO BE GOOD, but then jump jets became HoverJets ™ and PPC/Gauss jump sniping got nerfed into the ground, and now they pretty much just sit in the corner at the VFW talking about the glory days gone by.

Awesome is usually anything BUT.

Zeus is not great, but it's a quick assault with some decent (nothing to blow up your skirt) firepower options.

King Crab is a brutal dakka platform, but not very mobile and definitely lacking JJs.

And that's pretty much it.

If you WANT JJs on an IS assault, it's gonna be an otherwise-weak assault mech. If you can live without, get yourself some Battlemasters. I recommend the -1G and -2C at least, and probably the -1S for a third. And be sure to at least TRY OUT the XL400 on one of them, because it's just SO fun to be that fast in an assault mech. It's 82.0 km/h after speed tweak! LET THAT SINK IN! An IS assault mech running at IS medium mech speeds, and with STILL-RESPECTABLE FIREPOWER, and WITH THE TWIST SPEED TO SPREAD DAMAGE VERY WELL ACROSS THAT TORSO!

Standard 325 or 340 also work well in the Fattlemasters.

King Crab for ultimate dakka, with sides of laser and missile.

Good luck, sir, both with your choice of mechs and with command of your unit in the field!

TL;DR- Get a Battlemaster, wreck face, thank me later.

Thanks a lot!

I am leaning owards the battlemaster now r the Zeus... Will make a final decision when I have the appropriate funds. :-)

[TercieI]

Timicon, on 09 April 2016 - 01:40 PM, said:

Thanks a lot!

I am leaning owards the battlemaster now r the Zeus... Will make a final decision when I have the appropriate funds. :-)

BLR! Seriously. Then Zeus is ok, but the BLR is really good.

[Alzarns Fire]

Basically what everyone is saying here.

- Atlas DDC and S are kings of brawling, they can have good speed on them for 100T mechs. The DDC will give you ECM. The S will give you 4 SRM6's
- King Crab - not suited to the brawl, but as a mid to long range mech few can match it. Faster and more maneverable than a Direwolf. Twin Gauss/PPC or Gauss/2 ERLL builds, or 4 UAC5's are a favorite. Work in the 300-600 meters for maximum effect.
- Banshee 3M and 3E. The 3M is a beautiful LPL boat, high hardpoints, and LPL quirks. I run 4 x LPL and 2 ML, but some run 6 LPL. I prefer to max out speed and heat sinks for DPS at 400 meters. The 3E is a dakka/energy beast. Run 3 AC5's and 2 PPCs or 2 LPLs for tearing up the enemy. The con is its very slow as you have to run a STD300 to fit it all in! The other build I have heard of (But not tried) is the 3 AC5, 4ML with a big engine.
- Stalker. The Misery for Brawling is an excellent mech. AC20 + 2 PPC or 2 LPL. The 3F makes a very nice ERLL long range mech, and the 4N makes a nice LL mid range mech. The 5M does LRMS nicely if you like LRMS

A word of caution - don't buy the Victors! ATM they are little more than trash. They have gone from princes of the universe to the child no one likes.

[Kurbeks]

Alzarns - 3M doesn't have LPL quirks, it did have, but it was long time ago.

[The Basilisk]

Timicon, on 08 April 2016 - 07:02 PM, said:

I am an IS pilot, specialising in the Medium and Heavy- class 'Mechs (mainly the Hunchback- 4J and Quickdraw-4G, but that have been wanting to branch out into the Assault-class very soon, because I have played primarily with long range supoort 'Mechs (the Heavy-class and Medium-Class), so I was wondering what some people's preferences were as to a good Assault-class IS 'Mech to buy?
Primarily, I would like one that has a combination of lasers (either pulse or regular lasers, it does not bother me as well as LRMs, but I was also thinking that something with an autocannon (possibly an autocannon 10 or above, since I do not have much experience with ballistic weapons and want to start out using them to both gain experience and, they are also great for up-close brawling, not to mention they also work well as long distance weapons).
I was possibly thinking of the Stalker, but they do not carry any autocannons, as far as I can remember (if someone can correct me on that, please do) but the Stalker is a slow and cumbersome 'Mech, whereas I prefer more speed over what the Stalker can provide and I am not a fan of the Atlas in the least, so that 'Mech is out of the question for me (it is just a personal taste for me that I do not like the Atlas, sorry, all of you Atlas fans out there!).

So is there any good IS Assault-classs 'Mechs people swear on that are good to get up right up into the enemy's face (figuratively and literally) that I could start saving to buy?

Thanks for reading and any help you all could give me.
Rasalhague Guardian Defenders commanding officer and founder,
Timicon.

AN: i know also that most IS Assault-class 'Mechs do not come with jump jets, but that would be an advantage for me, but they are not high on my list to buy an Assault 'Mech equipped with them... As well as I am not too keen on SRMs or SSRMs either.

There is literaly ABSOLUTELY NO MECH that should go up right into enemy faces.

There are two IS Assaults with jumpjets at the moment. Victor ( witch is outright a worse then poor mech at the moment ) and Highlander ( wich is soso )

Hands down 3 most dangerous IS Assault mechs in the three "viable" branches are ( in this succession) Banshee 3M for lazor vomits, Mauler for its hillarious Dakka builds ( 5 AC5, 4 UAC5 or even 4 LBXAC10 in torso hardpoints ) and last but not least the good old Atlas S for brawling ( maybe the DDC for getting easier close to the enemy due to ECM )

[Hit the Deck]

BTW, what's special about the AC/20+2LPL/PPC Misery build? A number of IS Assault can do it. One with reasonably "high" hardpoint location (compared to the Stalker as a base) is the Highlander 733C: HGN-733C

Notice that the 733C has 3x JJs if you want to jump shoot. Remove 2 JJs and the FF if you want to carry more DHS.

[Spetulhu]

Hit the Deck, on 10 April 2016 - 02:08 AM, said:

BTW, what's special about the AC/20+2LPL/PPC Misery build? A number of IS Assault can do it.

Aye, but the Misery has the ballistic hardpoint in a side torso. If you consider that AC20 the main gun it's very well protected there. And ofc, it's a Stalker with all the bad and good. Slow but incredibly hardy. Also the only (?) Stalker with such a thing. If you already like them and want some ballistic goodness the Misery gives it.

[Podex]

Yep, and nobody expects it from a Stalker. The asymmetrical load, high FLD, and easy to twist hit boxes make it an amazingly good brawler. The cbill boost is an added bonus.

I've never wanted to buy a clan mech until I saw the Highlander IIC badge. I need that badge.

Edited by Podex, 10 April 2016 - 03:57 AM.

[Alienized]

highlanders work just well as support assaults.
they just dont work on themselves but still, they do just fine.
i use them in CW quite frequently and in the solo queue. dont have many subpar battles in them but you really have to know what your doing.
you can put gauss in them, ac20, 2 uac5, or the highly quirked AC10 with fast fire cooldowns.


zeus arent really bad either. they are just no typical boats and got the same problems than most mechs that are at the lowest tonnage for their class. they are pure teammechs and cant be played as solo punchers like the mauler or battlemaster.

i also play a victor alot and love it, ac20 and 2 LPL run a bit hot on the -9S but if played sneaky enough they can do some punishment, lpl and ac20 got the same range on it with the range module for the ac20.

if you want a challenge, those are the mechs that will improve your gameplay the most. map control, timing, heat management.

majority dislikes them only because they cant be boated in EZ-mode, you gotta work hard on them and get through alot of rough times. was worth it for me to dish out 1400dmg on the victor in a FW match.