18 replies to this topic

[Mole]

I'm thinking I might tackle the Atlas as my next 'mech. I've always kinda avoided them because they looked difficult to play. Theory crafting in Smurfy's 'mech lab has me at an Atlas that is armed with an AC/20 and 4 SRM4. I thought having to get in so close with something as slow as an Atlas was difficult, but then the Kodiak happened. Sure the Kodiak is not really as slow as the Atlas is, but it's a big 100 tonner that doesn't really get much in the way of structure quirks and I ended up settling on the KDK-2 armed with 6 Small Pulse Lasers, 1 UAC/20, and an LRM 15. This was by far my favorite build and variant that I was able to come up with, and it really messed things up. I found myself playing it akin to the way I've seen experienced Atlas pilots play their Atlases. Just stomp around a corner on a target at close range and obliterate while trusting in your armor to hold well enough for you to do so before they can return fire enough to tear you down. Which got me thinking. If I had such success in playing a Kodiak in this manner, maybe I actually would find an Atlas to my liking. What do you guys think? If I was using a Kodiak with success in the manner described above, would I like an Atlas?

[Ingga Raokai]

Mole, on 04 June 2016 - 11:59 PM, said:

.. If I was using a Kodiak with success in the manner described above, would I like an Atlas?

Small comparison (atleast from my exp), KDK is squishy-faster Atlas. Once you try Atlas, you will find it sluggish, but tanky. Go cover-to-cover, but dont poke like KDK, once you move in, you move in, commit to it. you can reverse back to cover, but chance your mate is right on your 6 and well you know how it ends.

Edited by Ingga Raokai, 05 June 2016 - 12:21 AM.

[invernomuto]

Mole, on 04 June 2016 - 11:59 PM, said:

What do you guys think? If I was using a Kodiak with success in the manner described above, would I like an Atlas?

I do not own an Atlas yet but I tried it when it was avaliable as a trial mech. IMHO the comparison with the Kodiak could be misleading due to the fact that the bear plays more like a fast assault (like the Battlemaster) than a "normal" 100 tons (King Crab or Atlas). The Atlas has good structure buffs and its tankier BUT it sluggish: You have to time very well when to commit because otherwise you will get focused fired by all the enemy team (Atlas. like the Direwolf is always a priority target) and you will go down fast, structure buffs or not. If you commit with the right timing however, Atlas can be pretty devastating...

[Mole]

I took the plunge. I bought an Atlas DDC and loaded her up with ECM, 2 Medium Lasers, 3 SRM4, an AC/20, and also a Machine Gun (because I'm weird and feel like I have to have all the weapons hardpoints on my 'mechs filled). I've been mimicing the way I played my Kodiak with it. I've only played two games thus far, but both games have been amazing. First drop in it I survived the match and killed 5 enemy 'mechs. Second drop I again survived the match and killed two enemy 'mechs. Most of those kills were solo kills, and between the two matches my stats page displays that I have done 1,120 damage in those two matches. I think this 'mech agrees with me.

[Spheroid]

Mind posting your build? I recommend ASRM6 on the DDC, standard SRM4s on the S. Also depending on slots/tonnage, CASE might be smarter than a mg in the RT.

Get the D, DDC and the S. Forget the others.

Edited by Spheroid, 05 June 2016 - 04:03 PM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

I have no experience with the Kodiak, but I do own three Atlas mechs and my best performer is the DDC. I run 2ml, lbx 10, ac/5, 3srm 6, ecm. I have WRECKED Kodiaks with the lbx ac5 combo by aiming for the face/cockpit, and I have been wrecked by them. I liked the ac20 but it seems to fire so much slower with much less range for damage. (I may be waaaay off base there, but I have tried both.) Some maps you need a little more range to back people off while your team can join you.

Stay to cover until the red doritos your teammates have targeted get in range, then step out and break stuff.

[StUffz]

Spheroid, on 05 June 2016 - 03:33 PM, said:

Mind posting your build? I recommend ASRM6 on the DDC, standard SRM4s on the S. Also depending on slots/tonnage, CASE might be smarter than a mg in the RT.

Get the D, DDC and the S. Forget the others.

How about removing LL and setting 4xSRM6+Artemis into the 7S? Sorry, but your comparison isn't good. Best use of the 7S is AC20/AC10 + 4xSRM6+Artemis and a 350+ Engine. And this is the best Atlas you can ever fit at the moment. The reason you take a DDC is because of ECM but it's weaker than the 7S or the Spirit Bear.

The Spirit Bear is a bit weaker than the Atlas 7S because last has better quirks and all Kodiaks have the disadvantage that most damage hit CT. Both at brawl range are devastating. Most mechs die because hit by two alphas.

Edited by StUffz, 05 June 2016 - 04:31 PM.

[Spheroid]

@Stuffz those shots are just for missile ttk comparisions not specific build recommendations. I know how Atlases work thankyou.

In my opinion 3x SRM4 was weak on his DDC build.

Edited by Spheroid, 05 June 2016 - 05:08 PM.

[Ingga Raokai]

Mole, on 05 June 2016 - 02:45 PM, said:

...(because I'm weird and feel like I have to have all the weapons hardpoints on my 'mechs filled)..

Common DDC build
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5bc66eaa181f187
If you really want to fill them all (like I was 2 years ago) then try this below
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...21b8f32d4eafb7e

[The Basilisk]

Ingga Raokai, on 06 June 2016 - 12:09 AM, said:

Common DDC build
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5bc66eaa181f187
If you really want to fill them all (like I was 2 years ago) then try this below
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...21b8f32d4eafb7e

Everything over 325standart is a waste of tonnage.
You only loose 4 kph if you downgrade from 350 to 325 most normal players won't notice the difference but appreciate the additional range of medlasers versus lights and the much cooler, faster and more ammunition efficient ASRM4.

AS7-D-DC

Edited by The Basilisk, 06 June 2016 - 12:34 AM.

[Brizna]

Atlases are the pinnacle of slow tanky brawling, they can fill other roles but they will do so subpar, typical weapons for Atlas are all short range they don't do well with long or medium range weapons because their hard points are very low and the mech is too slow and large to poke so you should stick to short range stuff: ML, MPL, SRM4, SRM6+A and AC20s, usable but sub optimal: LB10X, AC10, LL, LPL, Flamer and SL/SPL. Don't bother with LONG RANGE STUFF, they all have drawbacks that off set their range advantage and you can't exploit said range because of low hard points so you are only left with the LR weapons drawbacks.

The best two atlas are AS7-S and AS7-D-DC and they both build around 1AC20 and as many SRM as they can pack, I personally favor SRM6A but SRM4 have merit on AS7-S, also bear in mind you need a good engine, STD mandatory no exception, so they get heavy pretty fast. The key is striking a good balance between engine size and weapons load out, personally I think anything >= 320 is OK, preferably 340ish.

The play style is simple as far a PUG land goes, you will be left behind early in the match, hopefully not so much that you will be picked off by enemy lights though that happens from time to time, once the battle lines stabilize go to the front under cover and if possible without being noticed too much, then wait for the right moment and commit to a push, ideally you should commit against a force you can over power and become visible directly at your weapons optimal range or even closer (270m) any time you spend in the open at longer range is time your armor will melt without you doing much in return. Once you do that you cross your fingers that your team isn't a bunch of snipers and campers and they follow you, because most likely even if you push perfectly and over run the initial opposition the enemy will react a wear you down with superior firepower if you are unsupported. If you think your team is a bunch of snipers, lurmers and campers, do not commit but exercise patience and hope for an enemy mistake, defend on a corner and frag anyone stupid enough to push it.

If you have an organized group atlas becomes much better, you are no longer being tasked with assessing both the enemy and your team so you know if they will follow a push, you can count on your friends to support you and it is here where Atlas thrives, an organized atlas push is very hard to counter in most meta builds, those builds simply aren't designed for that and if you manage to get into a pushing position you are most likely to over run the enemy, the problem is getting there.

[Mole]

Thanks all for your suggestions but my DDC that I built is killing stuff just fine. I've walked right up to every other 100 tonner in the game face to face and won. Last night I even got left behind by my team and a Spider came after me. I backed up against a wall so he couldn't stay behind me. He tried to leg me. I suppose his line of thought was that I would have shaved armor off of my legs and also stored ammunition there. He was right about the ammunition, but incorrect about the armor. I don't pilot 'mechs that don't have max armor on all components. It's another weird personality quirk that I have in building my 'mechs. I noticed him start to panic and get sloppy when he realized that he had 84 points of armor to chew through before he got to my internals to have a chance of causing an ammo explosion. By then I had already tagged him several times with my AC/20. Then came the final moment where his panic became his doom - he overheated. He was gone in an instant.

[Mad Dog Morgan]

Atlas vs. Kodiak in straight up brawls, the Atlas wins every time unless it's got a bad pilot. In anything outside of brawl range, the Kodiak has the advantage, mainly due to movement speed and firepower. The Atlas is the tankiest mech in the game hands-down.

Edited by Vaskadar, 07 June 2016 - 07:41 AM.

[StUffz]

Vaskadar, on 07 June 2016 - 07:41 AM, said:

Atlas vs. Kodiak in straight up brawls, the Atlas wins every time unless it's got a bad pilot. In anything outside of brawl range, the Kodiak has the advantage, mainly due to movement speed and firepower. The Atlas is the tankiest mech in the game hands-down.

Atlas only has the lead because Kodiaks get most damage at CT. Let's wait if PGI will fix this issue.

[Aos]

The Atlas offers nothing over the other 100 ton mechs. Worse, its pathetic mobility and massive size/weapon placement means they are often easier to kill than the other assaults - even the 80/90 ton ones. I often lose all my weapons (whilst torso-twisting like a stripper at a *****-bar) with over 80% armor. Piss-poor torso angling and a turning radius more akin to an aircraft carrier means the Atlas is - bar none - the most infuriatingly poorly implemented effort on the part of the devs. So much potential and yet it lives up to none of it.

Edited by Aos, 13 August 2017 - 07:26 AM.

[Ronald McDonald]

Ddc: 2x lbx10, 1x erll, 3x lrm5, ecm, bap, command console
Weaken the enemy with lrm terror while closing in, then finish em with lbx.
D: 2x lbx10, 3lpl
Just go in and **** em up hard

[Gaius Cavadus]

Aos, on 13 August 2017 - 07:17 AM, said:

The Atlas offers nothing over the other 100 ton mechs. Worse, its pathetic mobility and massive size/weapon placement means they are often easier to kill than the other assaults - even the 80/90 ton ones. I often lose all my weapons (whilst torso-twisting like a stripper at a *****-bar) with over 80% armor. Piss-poor torso angling and a turning radius more akin to an aircraft carrier means the Atlas is - bar none - the most infuriatingly poorly implemented effort on the part of the devs. So much potential and yet it lives up to none of it.

Pilot error. You must to be driving it like something it's not. I play a DDC with 2xERLL, 2xASRM6, and an AC-20 and almost always do well. Lotta points in mobility, survivability, firepower, and a bit in operations and sensors. LAMS, ECM, and command console too.

Edited by Gaius Cavadus, 14 August 2017 - 07:27 AM.

[BTGbullseye]

Gaius Cavadus, on 14 August 2017 - 07:25 AM, said:

Pilot error. You must to be driving it like something it's not. I play a DDC with 2xERLL, 2xASRM6, and an AC-20 and almost always do well. Lotta points in mobility, survivability, firepower, and a bit in operations and sensors. LAMS, ECM, and command console too.

Just don't take it against my MCII-4... (had a match with 2 of them having a similar build to yours, against just me, and I wiped the floor with them, didn't even get through my armor)

[Aos]

Gaius Cavadus, on 14 August 2017 - 07:25 AM, said:

Pilot error. You must to be driving it like something it's not. I play a DDC with 2xERLL, 2xASRM6, and an AC-20 and almost always do well. Lotta points in mobility, survivability, firepower, and a bit in operations and sensors. LAMS, ECM, and command console too.

Normally I'd be the first to agree with you, but by that assessment I should suck at other mechs performing the exact same role. Since I do not (or, at least, suck noticeably less) and having senses and a brain of my own with which to judge stimuli, I conclude - again - that the Atlas is inferior to both other assaults as well as to the Atlas of lore.