44 replies to this topic

[ArmandTulsen]

Atlas, Highlander, Awesome, Zeus, Direwolf, Warhawk, Mauler. Mastered them all on multiple variants, but I've dumped them all.

Was a dedicated assault pilot. No more. We've divorced.

In quickplay you're too slow and eveybody's selfish - nobody gives one damn about the mech next to you. You either get picked off and focused like you have Ebola and your flesh needs to be incinerated, or you arrive too late to the party to be of any use with all of that firepower.

In faction play if you use assaults on you early wave, you're basically pigeonholed into using a light in your later wave. Also, you get focused like you have Ebola. Using heavies and mediums in your drop deck is optimal. You really need a unit to use your assault mech properly in CW. If you're solo'ing/pugging, it's no different than quickplay - all of the same problems surface.

I've fully converted to the heavy mech.

tl;dr: Assault mechs have Ebola.

Edited by ArmandTulsen, 21 July 2016 - 01:56 PM.

[Jables McBarty]

I thought you were going to say you switched to lights.

[MoonUnitBeta]

Heavy mechs are like the medium lasers and AC10's of weapons.

[Mister Blastman]

Assaults are harder to use and require superior judgement and situational awareness to be effective in them. Slow and fat ones, however, are not good at all in the PUG queue. Unless you like to roll dice...

[Moonlight Grimoire]

I am surprised you are selling off your assaults. Assaults are rather nasty mechs, but, yes, they require some bit of communication and team work. So maybe you need to get some friends to roll in group queue with for your quickplay time. But, since you already sold them and have joined the masses in piloting heavy mechs, I guess have fun with the one class this game is really catered to due to bustedly huge mobility quirks making heavies universally as agile if not more agile than mediums.

[Felicitatem Parco]

I always escort the fatties... so, No, they don't ALWAYS get left alone... just in games without me.

[Lukoi Banacek]

Mister Blastman, on 21 July 2016 - 02:21 PM, said:

Assaults are harder to use and require superior judgement and situational awareness to be effective in them. Slow and fat ones, however, are not good at all in the PUG queue. Unless you like to roll dice...

I find that if I use Assaults with around 60kph or better builds I can do just fine in them. My average match score seems to bear that out and I have maybe four assault matches in group queue with them at this point (all from last night I believe). I actually prefer faster heavies in group queue and leave the assaulting to better pilots.

[Novakaine]

Naw Assault mechs are all about trade-offs.
More firepower then less speed and maneuverability.
More speed less firepower.
You just have to find the right balance for each assault you bring.
Never run off solo and never play Baron Von Hide in the rear.

[Mister Blastman]

Lukoi Banacek, on 21 July 2016 - 02:32 PM, said:

I find that if I use Assaults with around 60kph or better builds I can do just fine in them. My average match score seems to bear that out and I have maybe four assault matches in group queue with them at this point (all from last night I believe). I actually prefer faster heavies in group queue and leave the assaulting to better pilots.

Yeah the key in the solo queue is reasonable speed. Assaults slower than 60 kph get left behind. I find that if you're 65+ you can often lead the charge as the PUGs are slow for whatever perplexing reason anyways. Unless they're headless ////NASCAR racers...

Edited by Mister Blastman, 21 July 2016 - 02:48 PM.

[Lukoi Banacek]

Ultimately, all I was really trying to get at is that there are players out there that can play all four classes of mechs, or all of the various arch-types really well, and those that need to find the niche that aligns more closely with their tendencies. I'd argue most of us are not comfortable or good in all types of mechs. Doesn't mean all assaults or lights or meds are ****, just that they may not fit your particular playstyle.

That, and you cannot build sub-optimal mechs in the extreme (i.e. uber slow assaults) in the public queue and expect to do well. They're just too easy to catch out of position because, yes, pugmates are rarely concerned with your survival.

[adamts01]

4 years in this game and I've got 3 basic Atlas collecting dust for all the reasons you mentioned. Welcome to "Heavy Mechwarrior Online".

[Druarc]

Map has a lot to do with it, some maps I dread playing in my DW, Kodies do better at nascar, but as said if your not hitting 60 it can be a nightmare, when I'm running a medium mech I usually escort the fatties as most people will shoot them first .

[Grimm Peaper]

[SteelMantis]

ArmandTulsen, on 21 July 2016 - 01:55 PM, said:

In faction play if you use assaults on you early wave, you're basically pigeonholed into using a light in your later wave.

Having a light on wave four isn't a problem. Use an assault in the first wave to soak up some damage and hopefully run out of ammo before cleaning up with my mediums. It's a play style choice to be sure but how many games are decided by waves one and two vs. coming down to a close fight on wave four?

[Trauglodyte]

Thank you. Means less bad Assaults, if you're bad (I don't know) and means less people in the Assault queue. Enjoy your longer wait times in the Heavy queues.

[Aiden Skye]

Lets face it. Gamers are stupid.

If I'm playing my medium or light to go pressure the enemy rear right out of the gate - the whole team follows me and blames me for nascar and leaving the assaults behind. NO! I'm flanking and causing dissension in the enemy ranks and thinning the herds...picking on the enemy fatties that probably got left behind. If you're in a brawler or slow heavy, YOU stick with the team, not run off following the fast mediums and lights in your sub sonic no ECM brawler only to get shredded by enemy snipers before you get anything done! Players need to learn the roles of their builds and know where they fit in on the battle field. Like wise I'm not going to take my sniper light / medium to hug the angles of brawlers who usually have no sense of positioning, much less the positioning I need to exploit my range.

That said I've also parked most of my assaults. Just not my style. Its feast or famine for me. If the heavies and brawlers stick with me? GG! If I get left out to dry as everyone tries to nascar, Usually get nascard and its GG-close.

[Dingo Battler]

You have 2 choices:

1) Re-buy your fatties, start asking people to "w8 for assaults pls", learn to hide, pray to the gods that a locust doesn't find you, pray to the gods for a competent team, stop pushing in when they ask for pushes, just wait fo the first sucker to go in and die, then go in and mop up, use a long range build and kill from the rear....if the above doesn't work...then... USE LURMS!!!!

2) Buy a KDK. Its an assault with the mobility of a heavy/medium, but the firepower and armour of an assault.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

OP should have bought an Executioner and Gargoyle. Executioner getting up to 90kph in bursts, and Gargoyle moving the same speed as any of our other clan heavy omnimechs.

KDK is fast for an assault, but no where near medium mech speed and still slower than most heavies cruising at about 65kph with max engine.

[justcallme A S H]

ArmandTulsen, on 21 July 2016 - 01:55 PM, said:

In faction play if you use assaults on you early wave, you're basically pigeonholed into using a light in your later wave. Also, you get focused like you have Ebola. Using heavies and mediums in your drop deck is optimal. You really need a unit to use your assault mech properly in CW. If you're solo'ing/pugging, it's no different than quickplay - all of the same problems surface.

I've fully converted to the heavy mech.

tl;dr: Assault mechs have Ebola.

o.O.... My IS deck will regularly consist of:

Atlas
Catapult
Hunchback
Oxide

You cannot for a second tell me that is a rubbish deck, I smash out 2k dmg in it regularly.

That said I wouldn't bring said deck to Boreal Vault/attacking or Grim Portico/attacking because the Atlas is vertically challenged when it comes to shooting upwards and it's too slow. But a defence on Grim? Hell yeah, as they come in the gate, drop behind them and you munch backs faster than your cooldowns.

Anyway you've then got faster mechs like Banshee/Battlemasters/Zeus which free's up tonnage if you want and can swap above mechs out.

Love an assault.

In QP/PUG matches, use VOIP and tell people to stick with the assaults. Maybe one in 30 games people will leave you behind, so it's a rare problem.

[Cy Mitchell]

ArmandTulsen, on 21 July 2016 - 01:55 PM, said:

Atlas, Highlander, Awesome, Zeus, Direwolf, Warhawk, Mauler. Mastered them all on multiple variants, but I've dumped them all.

Was a dedicated assault pilot. No more. We've divorced.

In quickplay you're too slow and eveybody's selfish - nobody gives one damn about the mech next to you. You either get picked off and focused like you have Ebola and your flesh needs to be incinerated, or you arrive too late to the party to be of any use with all of that firepower.

In faction play if you use assaults on you early wave, you're basically pigeonholed into using a light in your later wave. Also, you get focused like you have Ebola. Using heavies and mediums in your drop deck is optimal. You really need a unit to use your assault mech properly in CW. If you're solo'ing/pugging, it's no different than quickplay - all of the same problems surface.

I've fully converted to the heavy mech.

tl;dr: Assault mechs have Ebola.

This is not a problem with the Assaults or any other asset in the game. It is a problem with the people that play the game. Unless I am in a Light or a fast Medium, I will find the Assaults and walk in with them. Unless you are playing Domination or Conquest or in a Light and going to scout there is no good reason to race to the battlefield and leave your big Mechs in your wake.