9 replies to this topic

[FreeFragUK]

Give we're now approaching the closing hours of the sale I've decided to scratch that proverbial itch by investing in either the Stalker or the Battlemaster. As it stands I own the Misery which I've thoroughly enjoyed piloting but I'm weighing up either getting the STK or the BLR.

My playstyle is typically weighing into the front lines leading the charge or brawling so as it stands between the two which would probably marry up to this playstyle best?

Given we're still running off the Rule of 3 I've been giving both mechs a lot of consideration with their pro's and con's. I'm already on 1 of 3 for the STK whereas the BLR will require 3. I've not looked at which chassis I'd grab for the STK but if I were to invest in the BLR I'd snag the BLR-2C, BLR-1G and BLR-1S.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I'll be aiming to snag whichever I opt for by the end of the sale.

Thank you,
FreeFragUK

[The Basilisk]

Well....the Stalker is a non humanoid battlemech wich brings certain pros and cons by its shape alone.
It rolls frontal damage very good but is vulnerable from the sides.
Also its weapons are pretty close to cockpit hight or higher but you have to expose next to all your torso to fire.
In addition no Stalker has durability quirks. If you got a Stalker model already I asume its the ECM Stalker FB.
What is not good about the stalker is its speed/engincap.
I would classifie the Stalker as medrange sniper/laservomit or missile firesupport platform.

The Battlemaster is a humanoid mech with 4-6 Lasers and often missiles ON its shoulders.
The 2C has excelent durability, it rolls damage quite ok and has even a servicable (sure not meta but doable) ballistic variant. 1G. So long story short if you want to buy only 3 variants and you do not like ppcs the 1S would be number 3 best driven with quad ASRM6 and some lasers.
Also the XL friendlyness of Battlemasters should be mentioned as well as the enormous engine cap.
The role of the Battlemaster is best discribed as moderately fast heavy fire support mech/brawler or even as PPC sniper. The variants of the Battlemaster are much more versatile than the Stalker variants.

I prefer the Battlemaster.

Edited by The Basilisk, 27 March 2017 - 02:50 PM.

[John1352]

At the moment Battlemaster is the stronger choice, it is very well quirked, fast, and still has fairly high hardpoints. As mentioned above XL engines can sensibly be used, although STD has advantages too.

Stalker is still a very viable mech, just don't put an XL in. All sorts of builds can work, 4 arm mounted blue lasers is probably the strongest build on variants other than the misery at the moment, but SRMs are fun too.

[Steel Raven]

If you like energy weapons, the Battlemaster is great. Just got one, it's great LPL brawler for it's size. Though I'm having a hard time finding a different build I would like (why do we still have the rule of 3? Oh yeah, whiners)

Already own a set Stalker from when it was the IS assault, still a great mech. Your going to have a hard time finding non missile builds after the 2N's classic 3X Large Laser build but that's a good thing if you like missiles.

[Black Ivan]

I prefer the Balltemaster over the Stalker, better variability and good quirks for durability.

[Orkimedes]

The Stalker is a good fire support mech with a lot more hardpoints it can sensibly cool and most if not all of those in really nice locations. It also has a low engine cap that leaves tonnage to actually place some weapons in most of those hardpoints. This allows for overgunned mixed energy/missile loadouts that can mix and match weapon groups as heat and range dictate. LRMs and Large (pulse) Lasers or PPCs and SRMs, those kind of things. If that doesn't float your boat, stalkers are not short on hardpoints to boat various kinds of big weapons either, so you can do that too.

The hitboxes mean that directly facing the enemy will in practice typically spread the damage across all torso sections, but you'll struggle to make the arms tank damage. This means that long face-time builds are much more viable than they otherwise would be and side-torso shielding less effective due to the arms being tiny compared to the blimp.

On the downside, the side torso's are HUGE from the side which essentially rules out XL engines. Light Fusion engines a few months from now will reduce this disadvantage, but at the moment it is a key component of why the stalker is overall a weaker pick, as it doesn't have the spare tonnage to really measure up to heavier assaults while being just as slow.

When comparing to the battlemaster, the stalker is less capable when boating lasers due to the lack of the savings granted by XL engine and lack of engine heat sinks saving space and bigger engine cap saving space for more DHS AND it has better quirks for high-heat setups on most energy builds. For mixed loadouts the battlemaster has the option of heat-efficient guns like AC/10 to combine with various lasers whereas the stalkers do not have any such option (except misery). Additionally, most battlemasters still have enough missile hardpoints to pull the most common mixed energy/missile shenanigans.

tl;dr; anything the stalker can do the battlemaster can do (slightly) better. Except hill-humping. Despite it all, you may still come to love the chicken-legged blimp.

[Kuaron]

Btw, do you expect the Stalker to become at least equal after decoupling of engine and agility and after introduction of new tech?

[Steel Raven]

Every one keeps bringing up Quirks, keep in mind those never stay the same. If you are only buying a Battlemaster because of the quirks, prepare to be disappointed within the year.

[Moebius Pi]

Battlemaster gives you engine diversity, pretty good shield arm/torso twist to roll damage and high mounts. While the convergence isn't so great for it, there are missile possibilities and the occasional ppc or ballistic option if you get bored of chewing up opponents in the usual laser vomit way.

Diversity alone puts it ahead of Stalkers in my opinion, though the latter have always been rather tanky with or without quirks and still boast good mounts to work with (potentially with some benefits/builds and a bit of fresh air after the new IS engines come around with LFE).

At the end of the day, the more serviceable options a chassis has will usually give you more longevity and enjoyment when you decide to tinker. Battlemaster now for sure, though with engine decoupling from twist/agility beyond speed, new tech, its hero you may still want to keep the Stalker in mind.

[Randall Flagg]

Battlemaster 2C

all day.