48 replies to this topic

[Honeybadgers]

I am spectacularly crap with the atlas. I have broken 600 damage a handful of times, but my average is under 250 damage. I'm spreading damage well enough to usually be a stick before I die (I run the DDC so no zombie for me) and I run a fairly high alpha build (STD 325, ECM, LBX20, MRM40, Snub PPC and a rocket launcher 15 for a little burst, 70 point alpha with a 100 point single burst) that has a decent effective range out to about 400 and runs cool enough for 4-5 alphas.

I've got full survival on the skill tree and double enhanced ECM, with a little bit into mobility for the torso twist and some cooldown/magazine cap.

But I just find myself singled out really, REALLY hard, and I don't really know how to pilot a tanky mech. I'm used to the marauder 2 and kodiak 3, being a second line assault works for me.

I try to lead pushes, and usually do okay in initiating a fight, but I just find myself dying super early on every game. I am usually pushing before 1 or 2 mechs are down. Should I be waiting a little longer before exposing? Should I treat the mech more like I do my usual brawlers, wait to engage until things are softened up from the snipers and missiles and a few components are open?

[Johnny Z]

Got to be short range. Hardest style of gameplay to do. When you do get in range got to end it quickly with super high alphas. Only way to pilot most assault mechs actually.

Support and longer range mechs work better in faction play and not so well in quickplay. Quickplay is mostly short and medium range with little room for much long range mechs.

Edited by Johnny Z, 19 February 2018 - 06:28 PM.

[justcallme A S H]

There are no tips TBH - The mech handles like a 1970s Kombi due to de-sync and horrid base mobilty stats. Even after the buff, it's still absolute rubbish now. It was my favourite mech too, it was the mech I started the game in/learning.

The Atlas was (is made to be) a brawler. Being unable to twist/shield with the arms effectively has essentially hurt the mech beyond saving right now and the only way to play it really is to sit back with MRMs and skirmish... But the Atlas isn't good at that because the mounts are low...

IMO - if you are getting 600 damage. That's about as good as it's gonna get. Although the build you have on it isn't the best, but I don't honestly think you can expect much more from it.

[Nik Reaper]

Here's a simple one that seems to work for me, even as I don't like being a tanky front liner, what I found working for my front liner crab is if you want to lead a push find a close by cover destination and head straight for that while exchanging fire and torso twisting , if there is no close by location that will make for cover , don't charge and work to move and find a better engagement.

It's perfectly fine to only take a single enemy valley and take cover as long as the team fallows you and keeps advancing... if that is in there interest... no point charging a bunch of entrenched brawler with long range mechs.

[Athom83]

Drop the LB-20 for something else (UAC/20 or 2 RACs preferred). Get a bigger engine (make use of LFE). Use multiple smaller launchers instead of the singular MRM40. Ignore the energy mounts in the DDC unless you already got a cool running build with a big engine and have used all your space for missiles and ballistics.

Something like;
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0fcce42abe6e569 (can replace 4a with regular 6 if you wish)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a742e07491decaf
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f7ec5438828db94

The Atlas is for leading the charge, so you are getting that part right. The thing you have to remember though is that you absolutely need your team with you.

Edited by Athom83, 19 February 2018 - 06:40 PM.

[Fleeb the Mad]

Patience is the key to being effective in a slow, brawling assault. I'm also not gonna lie, the Atlas is a tough machine to pilot these days.

You need to wait for the teams to close the range so you can go forward without getting focused. Sometimes that means having to sit back and do bupkis while they're trading at range. Pushing into fire from multiple mechs will get you torn up without anything to show for it. Your damage in short range isn't good enough to turn the tables on several mechs once you're close.

Also beware of pushing forward of the team early in the game. Conventional logic says the assault should lead the push, but really you can't be going places the rest of the team isn't already moving. The enemy team will dogpile an assault that can be isolated easily because you're a huge damage sponge and you can't escape. If you're in the very front and your more mobile teammates back off, you're toast.

You have to try and guess where the battle will be fought when the ranges close and try to put yourself there before it happens. That often means watching the minimap to see where your blob is moving, if it has any direction. Trying to see where the enemy push will come through if it doesn't. It just needs to be some place your team is committed to fighting as opposed to skirmishing, because you want to be going forward into an enemy that's somewhat distracted and not free to focus fire on you immediately.

[Escef]

I'd probably go with this build instead. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0c226a538971d82

As for piloting... Your mech is slow, and fairly short range, so be certain of what you're doing before you commit to an advance, because you aren't fast enough to run away. Map knowledge will help, know the approaches to the most common engagement areas, try to stay near the ones with cover. Torso twisting is your friend, use those massive arms to shield your body; fire-twist, fire-twist. If you have a light mech up your tailpipe get your back against a wall if you can and unlock your arms so you can take advantage of the extra lateral movement of your arm weapons. If you call for help (or a push), give a grid location ("I need help over here" does not tell anyone where you are).

Edited by Escef, 19 February 2018 - 06:45 PM.

[VitriolicViolet]

i play 90 tonners more than 100 tonners but i find with assault mechs timing and positioning are everything and generally you dont get a second chance to choose where and when to pop up. Alos the Atlas KGC and Anni always draw fire.

learn all the maps thoroughly, also learn the most common positions for the enemy to move through. You really need to be able to predict where and what the other team is doing so you can position most effectively. Pushing is generally going to help you win but it must be all of you, half the team pushing ends badly. also call for a push and see how your team responds, just charging in obviously doesnt work well.

With the 100's in particular these things i find to be important due to their terrible mobility, you should never poke and hide with them, if the enemy is more agile you will likely lose unless your a amazing shot. What i try to do is stay close to the front but off to the side, use your map a shitload to work out where they are and try to either time it perfectly and push straight through them (obviously the team needs to do this to, it isnt common but 'organic' pushes are often the best) or try get 2 or so smaller mechs to follow and flank them when the time is right.

Im not the best assault pilot admittedly but this seems to help.
Somewhere on the forum is a fairly amazing guide to piloting assaults as well as some other good guides:

fat4eyes Tactics guide with images, fantastic guide on various common positioning styles and mistakes
https://mwomercs.com...ics-101-comics/

Void Angel's Timidity Is Not a Tactic which should be fairly relevant as an assault pilot, great explanation as to why aggression is key to victory and hiding spells defeat
http://mwomercs.com/...s-not-a-tactic/

Finally Leone's Assaulting Thy Enemy, a good guide on assault mechs and how to pilot them
http://mwomercs.com/...ting-thy-enemy/

Alot of these are fairly old now so somethings will have changed, but i think they are decent. hope this helps

[El Bandito]

Don't pilot an Atlas.

[justcallme A S H]

El Bandito, on 19 February 2018 - 07:01 PM, said:

Don't pilot an Atlas.

Pretty much how I dealt with the mobilty nerfs...

In fact they were so bad I'm running about 10 mechs regularly and that's about it these days cause so much else is rubbish

[Alexandra Hekmatyar]

Make sure that people got your back when you push.

[Bohxim]

Lady Alexandra Cousland, on 19 February 2018 - 07:14 PM, said:

Make sure that people got your back when you push.

Prob the single hardest tip to achieve XD

[Knuckles OTool]

Assaults in QP are so difficult even with a good team. The little speedy guys cut in front of you and ruin your firing lanes and movement for the good tasty shots and then run and leave you if the enemy starts pressuring there. I find it best to just hang with another assault and hope he isnt lurming or sniping and try to stay to its side.

Voice coms in QP works wonders too. " I'm pushing that supernova on the right" is usually enough to trigger your competent flankers into action or at least to get another guy to move with you.

Just avoid the "im a tank" mentality and try and lead charges out in the open. Youll just get cut down if the team isnt into it and an assault that cant twist for crap dies just as fast as a medium that can.

[RoadblockXL]

As for teammates, don't be afraid to call out that you're pushing over comms. The thing is, most everybody wants to push but nobody wants to charge in alone. So just call out you're charging and do it. I'll usually just call something like "Alright, Atlas is pushing, I need support." and I've gotten plenty of teams to follow me. People like following 100-tonners into fights after-all.

Build-wise, I'd recommend going all missiles and ballistics while ignoring the energy slots. Something like this: AS7-D-DC
That would give you an 80-damage alpha and possibly 100 with the double-tap. I just find ballistics and missiles are more reliable for putting damage where you want and sending opponents running for cover, which gets them to stop shooting at you and increases your survival.

And if you're open to builds on different variants, my preferred build is: AS7-S
No ECM but you would get another 20-damage on your alpha.

[Lykaon]

I have a similar Atlas DDC build mine is...

350 LFE
Endo Steel
14 DHS
ECM
576 standard armor (little shaved off arms legs and smidge from the head)

AC20 w/ 4 tons ammo
MRM 30 w/ 2 tons ammo
2 Snubnose PPCs.

I speced for torso speed and max speed tweek
Lots of heat gen and cooldown
Max armor hardening
Full enhanced ECM

I find the ECM allows for me to keep distance early game and not be focused upon to much early on. The PPC and MRM give me some decent reach (about 600m). Once the fight gets up close I bring the AC20 into the mix .


So maybe, you may want to try swapping out the LB20 for a standard AC20 or Ultra 20 and craming in the 350 LFE the extra mobility really helps a brawler get in and out of trouble.

An alternative build is ...

325 std engine
endo steel
14 DHS
608 standard armor (81 armor per leg max everywhere else)
3 SRM6 w/ 3 tons ammo
2 medium lasers
2 LB10X w/ 4 tons ammo
ECM

The higher rate of fire and longer reach of the LB10s should give you more opertunities to fire over the single LB20. This build's main weakness is a lack of pin point punch however it's endurance is exceptional with a 42% heat efficiency before skills.

[Honeybadgers]

thanks for the tips everybody! I never played the atlas pre-nerf, so I don't really have a reference point for how things used to be. Now, the kodiak on the other hand, handles like a cow in a shopping cart compared to how it was when I fell in love with it.

[Xetelian]

Pilot a Cyclops instead. 90 torso speed and a few of them can take loadouts similar to an Atlas. No massive armor or structure quirks but much easier to spread the damage in.

Atlas fell behind with the power creeping as much as it has, the quirks helped a bit until the engine desync put the final nail in the coffin.

[Cabusha]

Former Atlas pilot here. Short answer, don't pilot an Atlas. If you want 100 tons, bring an Ani for all the guns. If you want mobile, go Cyclops. Atlas has too poor of hitboxes, torso speed, armor, and harpoint layout for today's meta to do consistently well tier 3+.

Or just go Clan and run MC2 or MAD2C. They're good assaults too.

Edited by Cabusha, 19 February 2018 - 10:04 PM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Use a UAC20 with 2 MRM30s. Also swap from Atlas to a Highlander 733C. It has armor quirks similar to the Atlas and runs the same build but it has mobility, higher mounts, arguably better hitboxes, and its lower threat level, so its just better.

[Khobai]

Quote

Atlas Piloting Tips?

turn around, go back into hanger, come back out in an annihilator