13 replies to this topic

[Berith Apollyon]

Hi there. Im thinking to buy one of the Mastery packs of the Battlemastr or the Atlas, as I dont have any assult mech in my mechbays.

Which one sould I take? or do you have another Assault Mastery pack suggestion?

[Tesunie]

This will depend upon what you are looking for. Each mech covers a different battlefield role, and as I have no idea what your skills are or preferences happen to be, I can't say one would be better for you over the other.

What it typically comes down to (and none of this is written in stone) is this:
Battlemaster:
- Usually fast with high engine caps.
- Lots of varied hardpoints, but have very high mounted shoulder (side torso) weapon mounts.
- Has strong energy preference, due to number of energy hardpoints.

Atlas:
- Slow and tanky. Positioning is everything.
- Varied hardpoints, with a strong dependence on missiles and/or ballistic slots.
- Has one with ECM options (D-DC).
- Tends to be focused because, well, it's still a 100 ton death machine.
- Rather low mounted hard points. It will feel like you are shooting from the hips. Oh wait. You basically are.

If you prefer slower mechs that can take a beating, the Atlas may be a good choice for you. If you prefer faster mechs that has a strong energy focus, the Battlemaster probably would be a better fit.


Edit: Mastery packs come with a Hero mech, right? The Hellslinger (Battlemaster Hero) has some nice quirks that lets it ignore the temperature of the map it is on. Good for hot maps, not so good for cold maps. But, it will always operate the same no matter the map. The Boar's Head is known for it's high engine cap, but if you try to use it you will need an XL engine, which Atlases don't tend to like much.

Sadly, I don't know much more about either mech besides that.

Edited by Tesunie, 29 November 2016 - 04:27 PM.

[Bud Crue]

If you are comfortable running XLs do the BM. If you are comfortable running short range brawlers then do the Atlas.
For money I'd do (and have done) a Stalker Master pack. Never regretted it.

[Tesunie]

I'll agree with Bud Crue. If the Stalker Mastery pack is still avalible, it probably would be one of the better assault mechs to choose from. Has very high mounted energy mounts, which leads it good for sniping with ERLLs or ERPPCs. It's got good missile hard points so it can LRM or even SRM fairly well. Can go reasonably fast for an assault mech as well. And the Hero introduces a Ballistic hardpoint for something different. If you know how to twist to redirect damage, the Stalker can hold it's own well and can take a huge beating.

I don't know what mastery packs are available at the moment, as I honestly don't look at them often.

[Berith Apollyon]

thx for yours tips. Never piloted an Assault. My prime mechs are Centurion, Shadow Hawk, Warhammer, Catapult. Already mastered the Raven, so I was looking for something ion the assault class.

[Tesunie]

Berith Apollyon, on 29 November 2016 - 04:46 PM, said:

thx for yours tips. Never piloted an Assault. My prime mechs are Centurion, Shadow Hawk, Warhammer, Catapult. Already mastered the Raven, so I was looking for something ion the assault class.

Looking at that mix, I think the Battlemaster or Stalker would match best with what you've already played. The Atlas though would be something different for you to try, if that was what you were looking for.

Small tip: If you use an XL engine in the Battlemaster, DO NOT mix it with any missile launchers in the side torso. The missile launcher increase the hit box of the side torso, making it easier to lose that side torso. You will die a lot from it if you do so... (So do it at your own risk.)

(Edit: Trust me on this one... I tried it... Things did not for well for me, shall we just say.)

Edited by Tesunie, 29 November 2016 - 05:02 PM.

[Spheroid]

Don't buy an assault mastery pack they are terrible value. The Kodiak standard package is still a far better deal even after recent nerfs.

[Reverend Herring]

I bought the Atlas Mastery Pack just because, you know, Atlases. They are the face of the Battletech (I tend to buy mechs I adored as a kid, rather than ones that perform particulary well). To be honest, I only enjoyed the DDC because of the ECM. The other two.. oh my did I hate grinding the XP on those. That being said, weirdly I don't feel bad buying the pack =D

Edited by Reverend Herring, 30 November 2016 - 12:19 AM.

[Spheroid]

The Marauder IIC will be out shortly. With energy draw abandoned, that mech looks to be decent.

[Steel Raven]

Big difference in play styles.

The Atlas is the definitive Tank, slow but hard to kill. I do like all the 6 energy hard points on the Boars Head

The Battlemaster plays more like a big heavy with more weapon mounts. The high mounts on the Hellslinger are great

Stalker is tough, with high energy mounts though the broad sides make it a 'face towards enemy' mech. The Misery is very popular for a reason, play it like a regular Stalker with extra C-bill bonus or slap a heavy AC on it for fun.


I own one Banshee I bought during the Assault sale, never warmed up to it. Tough as nails but too slow for my play style so I might not be the best Atlas pilot. I do own 3 Stalkers and eyeballing the Battlemaster after a good run with Trail version post re-scale.

[Kimberm1911]

Honestly if you do not have any assaults in your mechbay, you are best taking the Battlemaster as a first assault mech if you want to choose between the two packs you have suggested. It is a much more forgiving chassis then the Atlas, and has quite a bit more build variety. While I love the Atlas, it is almost exclusively a brawling mech. You can not use Gauss rifles because you need to tank, weapons are low mounted, and it usually runs pretty hot, so it automatically is more difficult to use then the Battlemaster. In addition, due to its super slow speed and the fact that it is extremely deadly in a short range brawl, it tends to get focused a lot, so having experience in assault mechs allows you to survive for longer periods of time. In all honesty however, I would recommend stalkers as a first assault mech. They can run a boat load of builds, have extremely nice hitboxes, and teach you how to pilot slow mechs. In addition, it isn't as frustrating to pilot a stalker, because you can run longer range builds as you are learning the ways of the assault mech. Whereas, the Battlemaster and Atlas tend to run short range to mid range builds.

All in all, buy the darn Kodiak. It's currently the best assault mech in the game at the moment, and this is coming from an atlas fanboy.

I have mastered the Battlemaster, Atlas, Kodiak, Banshee, Stalker, and have basic'ed two King Crabs, a Dire Wolf, a Warhawk, a Mauler, and an Executioner. Out of all of those, I can assure you that the Kodiak is the best assault mech of the bunch.

[Tesunie]

Kimberm1911, on 01 December 2016 - 01:13 PM, said:

All in all, buy the darn Kodiak. It's currently the best assault mech in the game at the moment, and this is coming from an atlas fanboy.

I have mastered the Battlemaster, Atlas, Kodiak, Banshee, Stalker, and have basic'ed two King Crabs, a Dire Wolf, a Warhawk, a Mauler, and an Executioner. Out of all of those, I can assure you that the Kodiak is the best assault mech of the bunch.

Only thing I's say is, the Kodiak is not an IS mech, it is a Clan mech. Seen as the title asked for IS assault, I personally have not presented the Kodiak as an option. However, if you don't need it to be specifically IS faction related, than the Kodiak is easily the best assault mech in the game.

On the IS side, you have Stalker and Battlemaster being highly rated, followed by the King Crab and Mauler for their ballistic loadouts.

[NRP]

Minor thread hijack

Is the Cyclops any good? Now that they're available I've been looking at them. Some of the variants seem interesting.

[Stf Sgt Marblez]

The cyclops isnt bad, but its pretty limited by the stock engine, havent had enough c bills to mess around with it a lot but, not bad, not super impressive, but def not a total waste of money.