14 replies to this topic

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Cameron231099, on 10 July 2016 - 07:50 AM, said:

Not really sure what the meta is at the moment, but looking for an assault to just put out a lot of damage quickly in quick-play battles for when I'm bored and the Assault % is low to find a quick match. I know that the Atlas S is great for survivability due to it's quirks, so fitted it out with some short-mid range weapons. And feedback appreciated.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3bf1bdb61b90ed1

I am personally not a fan of the LB10X, and would drop it in favor of a ac20. 20 PP damage is very important for punching holes through critically exposed mechs. You already have massive spread damage from the srms. Also the heat from 4 mlas is hard to manage with the srms.

The following is the generally accepted build taken straight from metamechs:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...51dffd2cb6608da

I personally dont run any mlas on my build but thats personal taste, and would rather recommend the above mech over mine.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Cameron231099, on 10 July 2016 - 11:05 AM, said:

I put the LBX's in there to try to increase the range as both the AC20's and the SRM6's have optimal ranges of 270 which is incredibly close. On maps like polar highlands this build is completely useless imo.

I can assure you that while the lb10x has a better "optimal range", i can guarantee you that the ac20 will do more damage at long range then the LB will do until the point that the ac20 will do zero, but at that point, doing 1 damage with the LB10x is irrelevant due to how often the ac20 will out perform the LB.

While I am not saying that LBs cannot perform well... Because I am sure there is probably a situation where its better, (maybe running 2 LB10s should the situation arise?), in this instance, the atlas in question needs that puncturing power that the ac20 provides.

Now, while I dont pilot one with LB10s, i can see some people running and atlas with 2x LB10s in leu of the ac20.

[Tezzereth]

Cameron231099, on 10 July 2016 - 11:05 AM, said:

I put the LBX's in there to try to increase the range as both the AC20's and the SRM6's have optimal ranges of 270 which is incredibly close. On maps like polar highlands this build is completely useless imo.

And the LB10-X shot spread out pretty quickly. Even with the tightened cone, you aren't going to hit all those pellets on the same component very often if it's not very close to you. Certainly, those pellets will travel a lot farther than an AC20 round, or any kind of SRM, but the pellets still spread out too much. Remember that 'optimal range' that the game gives you is how far a pellet can travel before each one does less than 1 damage. It really is more like the 100-300m range, on par to other common Atlas weapons.

And then without Artemis, the missile spread is going to be enough that even a light torso twist will spread them out. The 6's also spread out a bit more than a 4, making them even easier to dodge.

Regarding the build itself though, that's way too much ammo for a single LB10-X.

--
If you really want to run a LB10-X on an Atlas, run it on a DDC. Double them up with three aSRM4 and 2 ML in a STD 325 and of course required ECM.

Sneak up on folks, double tap that LB10-x pair on chain fire to rock their cockpit. Follow it up with a SRM burst and some medium lasers burning at them while you do so. Of course you can't go vs. three mechs, but 1 v 1, you can really wreak anything but a dakka whale, and even then, if they get an unlucky jam, maybe so! And since everyone aims at your left torso to get rid of your ECM most of the time while in a DDC, you got your big thumper. And if they go for the guns, then you still have a solid 24 damage of missiles with some tight flight path for near-ac20 damage there anyways.

[Mazzyplz]

Tezzereth, on 10 July 2016 - 11:42 AM, said:

Remember that 'optimal range' that the game gives you is how far a pellet can travel before each one does less than 1 damage.

FALSE, you're describing MAX range not optimal range.

[Tezzereth]

Mazzyplz, on 10 July 2016 - 11:55 AM, said:

FALSE, you're describing MAX range not optimal range.

Uh, no.
Pretty sure optimal range is just that... range that you can do max damage, and damage fall off from that number until max range is hit.

[Boulangerie]

Tezzereth, on 10 July 2016 - 12:24 PM, said:

Uh, no.
Pretty sure optimal range is just that... range that you can do max damage, and damage fall off from that number until max range is hit.

Yes, this is correct. LBX-10 also has 3x range for max damage, similar to the Gauss rifle I believe. That said, you will be spreading the damage around and missing with some of the pellets. With the falloff of an AC20 taken into consideration, you are still doing more pinpoint damage to a single component with the AC20 than the LBX even out to around 450m.

As far as OP's build is concerned, trying to add in long ranged weapon in such a low mount to remain relevant on maps like Polar takes more away from the strengths of the mech than it does to cover up the weaknesses. You really need to focus on learning paths to take to stay in cover, avoiding peeking at enemies. Twist when moving through open areas until you are in range. Be patient, every game will eventually close to your strong area, even if you aren't contributing much for the first 2-3 minutes. Once it gets down to brawl time, and if you are pretty fresh, you will find yourself dropping enemy mechs with every few salvos.

I run AC20, 4x SRM6s, and two ML in the torso mounts. I ignore the arm mounts and shave a little bit of armor off the arms and legs as well. Most opponents will be gunning for your LT on the S variant, and the RT on the D-DC, so you might end up losing that arm armor anyway. Try to pick positions which force the enemy to come to you. The basement on HPG Manifold is a great example. Get a couple teammates to go with you, and you'll wreck anyone who comes inside.

For weapon modules, I'd suggest running cooldowns for both AC20 and Srm6. Their cooldown timers already sync, so using just one cooldown module actually desync them. Range for the 20 is acceptable for a single module as well, but range on the SRMs is pointless since they spread so much anyway.

When you need a 3rd variant, I'd suggest the -D or the -RS. The -D has resistance to critical hits, which can keep your equipment alive longer, and the RS has a good amount of energy mounts in the arms for larger lasers if you like. LPLs paired with an AC10, ignoring the 2 missile slots, is an OK build but not spectacular.

[Moldur]

Metamech builds are nice especially for IS mechs when you don't want to buy the wrong engine or reinvent the wheel after going through a bunch of weapon purchases to see what works.

That said, there is wiggle room for personal customization. If you don't like the metamech build after running it a few times, it won't ruin the mech by tweaking some things here and there.

[Mazzyplz]

Tezzereth, on 10 July 2016 - 12:24 PM, said:

Uh, no.
Pretty sure optimal range is just that... range that you can do max damage, and damage fall off from that number until max range is hit.

thats not what you wrote the first time.

what you wrote the first time is "how far a pellet can travel before doing less than 1 damage"

not "before damage falloff"

tha'ts not the same thing at all.

the first sentence describes max range, the second one describes optimal range



if your weapon is doing less than 1 damage that is max range.

if you are measuring how far you can shoot before damage is reduced that's optimal range.


neither is a gradient. optimal range is the precise point at which the weapon's range peaks before dropping.

max range is the precise point at which the weapon's range diminishes the damage to zero. or rather just before it drops to 0.

Edited by Mazzyplz, 10 July 2016 - 04:14 PM.

[ProfessorD]

Moldur, on 10 July 2016 - 03:02 PM, said:

Metamech builds are nice especially for IS mechs when you don't want to buy the wrong engine or reinvent the wheel after going through a bunch of weapon purchases to see what works.

That said, there is wiggle room for personal customization. If you don't like the metamech build after running it a few times, it won't ruin the mech by tweaking some things here and there.

It's unfortunate that we see so much hate for "the meta" and Metamechs on the forums. Lots of folks just like to hate, of course, but I think lots more are not really using a site like Metamechs to its full potential.

When I want to try out a new recipe for dinner, I don't necessarily just copy the first thing I find when I Google search. My normal approach is to look for about 4 recipes from different sites. I check the differences between them, especially the subtle things like cook times and spices. If there is very little disagreement, I pick one and follow it. If different recipes for the same dish differ a lot in the specifics, though, I might use my own knowledge of cheeses, spices, and whatever else is in the mix to put together my own twist on the dish. It usually works out reasonably well.

Metamechs should really be used the same way. Look at the basics first. What weapons are on the Metamechs build, and why does the article say those weapons work well together? Look for other sources, maybe on the forums, /r/OutreachHPG, or MechSpecs, on that chassis. Are there multiple posts about using the same set of weapons, and do the explanations of why you should do that match up? If so, they're probably on to something, and you should probably test out that set of weapons, too. Even if that set of weapons is awesome, though, it probably doesn't make a huge difference whether you use a 300 engine or a 295, so spice the build up the way you like.

[Boulangerie]

Mazzyplz, on 10 July 2016 - 04:06 PM, said:

thats not what you wrote the first time.

what you wrote the first time is "how far a pellet can travel before doing less than 1 damage"

not "before damage falloff"

tha'ts not the same thing at all.

the first sentence describes max range, the second one describes optimal range



if your weapon is doing less than 1 damage that is max range.

if you are measuring how far you can shoot before damage is reduced that's optimal range.


neither is a gradient. optimal range is the precise point at which the weapon's range peaks before dropping.

max range is the precise point at which the weapon's range diminishes the damage to zero. or rather just before it drops to 0.

Remember that the pellets do 1 damage each under optimal range. Once they are past that, they are doing decimal amounts of damage per pellet, up to max range, which will be zero.

In this case, saying it does "less than 1 damage" per pellet is accurate description for any range increment between optimal and max range.

Edited by Boulangerie, 10 July 2016 - 04:42 PM.

[Karl the Plumber]

Hey man, if you like the LBX you like the LBX and just keep rocking it. I run this: AS7-D and I love it. The DDC is a little better suited to the 2xLBX loadout though.

Edited by Karl the Plumber, 10 July 2016 - 04:40 PM.

[hordes1ayer2]

look at the Atlas DDC. Do ac20, 3 srm6, 2 ml,standerd 325 engine, double heat sinks, artemis,with ecm. AKA the spooky atlas. the b33f does a good showing on how to use it. great mech