7 replies to this topic

[PaquIS]

Let me start off by saying that brawling and overall closer range fighting is the thing I prefer doing in MWO. Also I guess its worth mentioning I pretty much only play solo quick matches. My mechbay includes mostly close range medium mechs (Hunchback, Stormcrow, Griffin, Enforcer, Shadow Hawk, Centurion) and some close range heavys (Marauder, Catapult, Mad Dog, Hellbringer) and well bunch off others which I dont like all too much.

Anyways I thought since there was that assault mech sale going on I'll grab myself the "king" of brawlers, my first assault mech, the Atlas. I ended up buying three variants off it, the AS7-S, AS7-D-DC and AS7-D.

So I upgraded the AS7-S with endo steel and DHS, slapped STD350, 4xSRM6+A, AC20 and 2 medium lasers on it which I believe is pretty much the most efficient and go to build for it. Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor and cooldown for both the SMR6 and AC20.

Now I have enough matches on it that I have all the basic skills unlocked and well... it has been the most frustrating experience so far with this game.

With my previous brawler mechs I can quite consistenly do at least 300-400 damage per round even when our team gets stomped and get those nice 800-1200 damage rounds every now and then. However with the Atlas I think my average damage is somewhere around 200-300 which means that while I have had some matches with 700+ I also have a ton of matches with less than 150 damage.

My main problem is the speed, or well the lack of it. I never really feel like I got close to enemy and managed to pin him down or flank him by my own actions, but to more like the enemy has just messed up by letting me get so close. Iam either too late on the fight or I end up extending a bit too far and take too much damage in return.

And to make matters worse its not enough I get close, or like I said enemy made a mistake by getting close to me, I have to make sure there is not a small bumb between me and the enemy where my low mounted weapons will hit. Or that the enemy isn't bit lower/higher ground than Iam so I can even aim at him in the first place due to the Atlases horrendous torso pitch angle!

When the map vote ends on Polar Highlands, Alpine Peaks, Frozen City or Therra Terma I could just as well hit eject at the start of the match (I mean if it would work on quick play) since I feel like Iam nothing more than just a target practise for the enemy.

I finally understand why I really haven't felt Atlases being too much of a threat when playing my other mechs. I see an Atlas somewhere and all I really need to do is to make sure there is 300+ meters between us and its basically harmless. Or like I have now also learned staying on bit different heigh is enough. When I see Atlas trying to go over a hill I know I can get some free shots on him before he can get his weapons high enough to shoot back at me.

Now the assault event is over so I feel its only gonna get worse for me since there will be a lot less slow big targets to fight with. The only thing I feel like its good at is to lead an attack and soking up the damage for the team but it doesn't really get you too much of cbills or isn't exactly fun either.

Iam really thinking about just cutting my losses here and selling all three variants instead of upgrading the other two with endo+DHS and then pulling my hair out while trying to master them all. I could then buy the Warhammer or Rifleman I have been looking for.

Does anyone have any good tips I could do to make the Atlas really shine?

Edited by PaquIS, 17 August 2016 - 11:29 PM.

[radiv]

Only have one advice, on the s version just take off the lasers. They do little dmg, adds extra heat, makes you facetank more and they are not worth firering by themselfs

[Dar1ng One]

PaquIS, on 17 August 2016 - 11:28 PM, said:

Let me start off by saying that brawling and overall closer range fighting is the thing I prefer doing in MWO.

Very happy to hear that. Friend invite sent.

PaquIS, on 17 August 2016 - 11:28 PM, said:

So I upgraded the AS7-S with endo steel and DHS, slapped STD350, 4xSRM6+A, AC20 and 2 medium lasers on it which I believe is pretty much the most efficient and go to build for it. Modules: Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor and cooldown for both the SMR6 and AC20.

Good build. Same as me.

PaquIS, on 17 August 2016 - 11:28 PM, said:

When the map vote ends on Polar Highlands, Alpine Peaks, Frozen City or Therra Terma I could just as well hit eject at the start of the match (I mean if it would work on quick play) since I feel like I am nothing more than just a target practice for the enemy.

Does anyone have any good tips I could do to make the Atlas really shine?

Hi PaquIS,

You are right about Alpine Peaks. For a brawler it is tough going. Polar Highlands can be winnable with the use of the trenches. Frozen City and Terra Therma can get consistent victories thanks to more cover points. HPG and Canyon can be the brawler Atlai high score maps.

The Atlas takes more mental legwork then the other assaults out there. Tactics, timing and teamwork are key. You really have to out position the enemy. When you are close to enemies you also have to be brave and be prepared to kill or cripple 2 - 3 mechs. This means staying focused on 1 target and finishing them right to the end. If your fighting 2 or more opponents, always fire on the slowest mover first that is not jump capable. eg you have 2 targets, a Mauler and a Victor. I'm not sure of your ping but I find that the "pop-tarts" don't register your full damage out put. So I would focus down and kill the Mauler then leg or left or right torso the Victor.

Any way, happy to team up or duel. Good luck and don't give up on the Atlas. It's a great Mech.

Mmmmmmm..... yes

Mech-Cellent!

[Cyrilis]

You already stated a good point. most Altases are no threat on 300+ meters and I think that is where you need to cut in.
try this one:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...933f142c65b6b3a
it is outside your preferred range, but I would not call it long range yet.
And what was stated here alos:
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Stay with your team! It gives the enemy other people to shoot at...

Edited by Cyrilis, 18 August 2016 - 05:19 AM.

[WANTED]

Your doing it right so far. You might have saved yourself some cbills before buying all three and asked here. Cause the Atlas while labeled in Battletech to be king of the battlefield, in MWO it definitely is not. That is the Kodiak for the clans. The problem with the Atlas is 1) its so iconic that everyone focuses it down when the see it and 2) it's slow and made for in your face brawling almost exclusively. As others mentioned maps , especially Alpine , I feel like you and just want to eject as you have no cover to use to advance on enemy fast enough. But there are those small moments when a mech rounds a corner and you know they have zero chance against you in an Atlas. Problem is those times are too rare in MWO. That's why I have one Atlas and no others and I just use it for fun when I can face tank a couple of mechs.

Really it is a tank class and shield ( rotate torso ) for your other guys to focus down enemies shooting you. Cause no one can resist killing an Atlas.

[PaquIS]

radiv, on 18 August 2016 - 04:39 AM, said:

Only have one advice, on the s version just take off the lasers. They do little dmg, adds extra heat, makes you facetank more and they are not worth firering by themselfs

Well I just figured its good to have something if both of my sides gets blown up. I dont use the lasers when brawling so taking them away wont really gain me anything. Couple tons of extra ammo at most which doesn't make a difference as I rarely manage to use all my ammo anyways.

Dar1ng One, on 18 August 2016 - 04:59 AM, said:

You are right about Alpine Peaks. For a brawler it is tough going. Polar Highlands can be winnable with the use of the trenches. Frozen City and Terra Therma can get consistent victories thanks to more cover points. HPG and Canyon can be the brawler Atlai high score maps.

The Atlas takes more mental legwork then the other assaults out there. Tactics, timing and teamwork are key. You really have to out position the enemy. When you are close to enemies you also have to be brave and be prepared to kill or cripple 2 - 3 mechs. This means staying focused on 1 target and finishing them right to the end. If your fighting 2 or more opponents, always fire on the slowest mover first that is not jump capable. eg you have 2 targets, a Mauler and a Victor. I'm not sure of your ping but I find that the "pop-tarts" don't register your full damage out put. So I would focus down and kill the Mauler then leg or left or right torso the Victor.

Any way, happy to team up or duel. Good luck and don't give up on the Atlas. It's a great Mech.

On solo gueue the teamwork aspect varies a lot from match to match so I have learned to stay in cover and seek for my timings when to attack with the other brawler mechs. Its just with the Atlases low speed among with the other downsides that I listed on the first post doing the same is just so much more frustrating.

And when I do get to the optimal range the thing is I dont really do all that much more damage if anything compared to something like Catapult C4 with 4xSRM6 + 2 lasers (it has very good cooldown quirks for the SRM's) not to mention the Splat Cat or Splat dog builds or 12 pulse laser Stormcrow. Really the only difference here is the armor and even tho Atlas is the tankiest mech in the game it certainly doesn't feel like it when using one as you are so easy and slow target to hit. So I find it much easier to get into good positions and actually do some serious damage with faster mechs dispite them being quite squishy like the Catapult A1 is than trying to stay fresh enough with the Atlas to actually get that extra armor to do me any good.

Cyrilis, on 18 August 2016 - 05:19 AM, said:

You already stated a good point. most Altases are no threat on 300+ meters and I think that is where you need to cut in.
try this one:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...933f142c65b6b3a
it is outside your preferred range, but I would not call it long range yet.
And what was stated here alos:
Teamwork makes the dream work!
Stay with your team! It gives the enemy other people to shoot at...

I have seen some people running that build but Iam not too impressed about it. I mean you cant hill poke with it as you need to expose almost your entire mech to shoot and two large lasers + AC10 doesn't really do all that much at range. Side poking is also out of the question since you can only fire one large laser which really isn't worth it for the potential return fire you will take. Thing is you can easily get more damage out of similiar ranges with medium mechs without all the downsides of an Atlas. And once you do get into a brawling range you cant really use the lasers as they will greatly increase the facetime, so 4xSRM4 and AC10 has to do all the work. Once again you can get the same damage out from a medium mech.

WANTED, on 18 August 2016 - 06:29 AM, said:

Your doing it right so far. You might have saved yourself some cbills before buying all three and asked here. Cause the Atlas while labeled in Battletech to be king of the battlefield, in MWO it definitely is not. That is the Kodiak for the clans. The problem with the Atlas is 1) its so iconic that everyone focuses it down when the see it and 2) it's slow and made for in your face brawling almost exclusively. As others mentioned maps , especially Alpine , I feel like you and just want to eject as you have no cover to use to advance on enemy fast enough. But there are those small moments when a mech rounds a corner and you know they have zero chance against you in an Atlas. Problem is those times are too rare in MWO. That's why I have one Atlas and no others and I just use it for fun when I can face tank a couple of mechs.

Really it is a tank class and shield ( rotate torso ) for your other guys to focus down enemies shooting you. Cause no one can resist killing an Atlas.

At first I wasn't supposed to buy any assault mechs as I haven't really liked them and just had this quick idea to grab some Atlases just before the sale ends so it was too late to ask here. So here we are, the cbills that I had saved up to buy either Warhammer or Rifleman went to something I greatly regret now.

Anyways yeah I have had those moments with Atlas where I have been able to face tank some enemies and completely crush them, but like I said previously I never felt like I made it happen, but to more like the enemy just messed up big time for letting me into a position like that.

[VonBruinwald]

I did the same as you, brought an Atlas on sale (D-DC) and wasn't feeling it. So I stripped it and rebuilt it from the ground up and now I'm happy as a pig.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...92f5c8ffe16071c

Chainfire the SRMs and use the LBX's to suppress anything you see as you close-in. Flamers... half-novelty, half-serious, use them to shut down lights or when you get in really close! Heat is rarely an issue even on the hotter maps once you have the basics covered.
As the 'mech was on sale and the only upgrade is doubles it was relatively cheap to put together since most of the weapons were transplanted from other 'mechs. There's still room for improvement though, I could upgrade to endo, drop the flamers and slap on a LPL if need be.

[Rayden Wolf]

Dont play assaults for the first time during an event. Try it later again.