35 replies to this topic

[FLG 01]

Jiang Wei, on 25 May 2018 - 04:43 PM, said:

That wouldnt be much of a problem if it didnt have paper armor. its supposed to be tanky, but its not.

First, there is absolutely no canon source on the Thanatos being particularly tanky. Its components are well stabilized, surviving falls from great heights but that's it. I mean, most variants use the decidedly not-so-tanky XL-engine, and none stands out in terms of armour.

Second, bad geometry is always a huge problem, and the Thanatos does not even have paper armour; it has armor quirks - unlike the Marauder or the Timberwolf. Maybe not enough, but that only highlights the importance of a good geometry, which the Thanatos canonically lacks. If you need to ask for god-tier quirks to make a Mech work, you know it is a bad chassis.

Frankly your image of the Thanatos, both in BT canon and in game, is far from accurate.

[Nightbird]

They're not crap, they're performance challenged.

[BrunoSSace]

Thany isnt for brawling, jump snipping and use range all the time. I own all the thanys and I build and play them all roughly same way. Fire everything as quickly as possible then fall back. So racks arnt that good on thanys.

Since they added armor quirks to them and with full ecm and armor quirks its a good mech. Better then lossing your torso in the first trade.

The hero the Hangover is probably my favorite of the bunch. I run 5 large laser and it does some amazing work.

[Jiang Wei]

evilauthor, on 25 May 2018 - 03:15 PM, said:

I'm skilling up a Thanatos now and having a blast doing it. The key to the bad geometry I think is taking advantage of that ECM and hanging back. If there's isn't a red icon over your head, a lot of potatoes just won't shoot at you if you aren't in their face. To that end, I armed my Thanny with twin full sized Gauss Rifles. Gauss weapons have the added advantage of not drawing a line to your location unlike missiles and energy weapons.

You can fit a pair of gauss on lighter mechs, so its not really helping to make that claim for the thannie..

FLG 01, on 25 May 2018 - 05:11 PM, said:

First, there is absolutely no canon source on the Thanatos being particularly tanky. Its components are well stabilized, surviving falls from great heights but that's it. I mean, most variants use the decidedly not-so-tanky XL-engine, and none stands out in terms of armour.

Second, bad geometry is always a huge problem, and the Thanatos does not even have paper armour; it has armor quirks - unlike the Marauder or the Timberwolf. Maybe not enough, but that only highlights the importance of a good geometry, which the Thanatos canonically lacks. If you need to ask for god-tier quirks to make a Mech work, you know it is a bad chassis.

Frankly your image of the Thanatos, both in BT canon and in game, is far from accurate.

Yeah... perhaps I have the incorrect image of what a thannie is. But compared to other IS mechs I have played, this one is not very appealing from what Ive seen. I still want the 3 ballistic slot varient.

Edited by Jiang Wei, 25 May 2018 - 06:53 PM.

[eminus]

these millenials are still complaining about the Thanatos even after the recent buff, wait till they get to use the Nightstar

Edited by eminus, 25 May 2018 - 06:57 PM.

[Hauptmann Keg Steiner]

Adridos, on 25 May 2018 - 09:31 AM, said:

MW4 didn't break them, it simply introduced many restrictions.

I can take an Annihilator in 4 and mount quad LB20Xs in the arms. 'Restriction' is not a word I'd associate with MW4's mechlab.

[Jackal Noble]

eminus, on 25 May 2018 - 06:56 PM, said:

these millenials are still complaining about the Thanatos even after the recent buff, wait till they get to use the Nightstar

Hahaha ikr!

Use the skill tree with the armor buffs. Far more tanky than a Timber wolf. Far more tanky.

Edited by JackalBeast, 25 May 2018 - 08:49 PM.

[Davegt27]

they are on the bad side

sort of like the Orions

I sold the ballistic thanatos (lost a bunch of C-bills)
one I converted to LRMs
the last one I am trying 2 HPPCs and a LB10X

[Adridos]

IdToaster, on 25 May 2018 - 07:28 PM, said:

I can take an Annihilator in 4 and mount quad LB20Xs in the arms. 'Restriction' is not a word I'd associate with MW4's mechlab.

That's pretty interesting considering Annihilator is not even available in MW4.
Also, dual LB 20-X per arm are perfectly legal and buildable under Battletech construction rules.

[Hauptmann Keg Steiner]

Adridos, on 26 May 2018 - 12:29 AM, said:

That's pretty interesting considering Annihilator is not even available in MW4.

Never tried the Mektek stuff I see.

Quote

Also, dual LB 20-X per arm are perfectly legal and buildable under Battletech construction rules.

Not when they're contained entirely in the arms. Can you even crit split multiple guns per arm anyway?

[PAYWALL]

TLBFestus, on 25 May 2018 - 07:15 AM, said:

Variant with 3 ballistic slots = HERO MECH FOR SALE


Just wait.

I guess the mech you are looking for is the Victor 9A1.

[Adridos]

IdToaster, on 26 May 2018 - 02:07 AM, said:

Never tried the Mektek stuff I see.

That's a fan mod. Just because there is a mod that adds RX-78-2 to the game doesn't mean MW4 had the good old Gundam in it.

IdToaster, on 26 May 2018 - 02:07 AM, said:

Not when they're contained entirely in the arms. Can you even crit split multiple guns per arm anyway?

There is nothing saying they are contained entirely in the arms.
And yes, you can split to your heart's content.

[lazorbeamz]

ECM + jumpjets whats not to like? unique

[Davegt27]

lazorbeamz, on 26 May 2018 - 03:37 AM, said:

ECM + jumpjets whats not to like? unique

PGI would screw up an F15 if they got there hands on them

ECM+JJs look good on paper (which is why I bought them)

but I already removed the JJ's on one for fire power

the 2 HPPC + LBX is fun but super hot

[FLG 01]

Jiang Wei, on 25 May 2018 - 06:46 PM, said:

Yeah... perhaps I have the incorrect image of what a thannie is. But compared to other IS mechs I have played, this one is not very appealing from what Ive seen.

Well, it does have some strengths which can be useful in MWO. Due to its geometry it will never be a really good Mech but it is far from useless.

The canonical role of the Thanatos is either heavy cavalry (-4S, -4Sr) or heavy fire support (-4T, -6S). In other words, it's a glass cannon, and actually that's what it is in MWO too.

You can either go for mobility and long range combat by using PPCs or Gauss as your main weaponry (cavalry), or you pack a real big punch (fire support). I for one love the combination of two SNPPC and an AC/20. That's 40 PPFLD, effectively deleting lights and mediums, and hurting heavies and assaults badly. JJ and ECM help getting into range, and due to the front load you don't need facetime.

Front loaded damge is your friend.
Facetime is your enemy.

You want to shoot and be gone when driving a Thanatos. The Mech has no staying power because the components are easily isolated and rolling damage is extremely difficult. That's because of its geometry...
If played correctly, the Thanatos can be effective. Mind you, it's not efficient (i.e. comparing input to the output) but it can be effective (judging by output only).


Lastly, the BattleTech universe offered Mechs which can do everything the Thanatos does, and do it better. But the community wanted the geometry-challenged Thanatos.
Now deal with it.

[Seranov]

eminus, on 25 May 2018 - 06:56 PM, said:

these millenials are still complaining about the Thanatos even after the recent buff, wait till they get to use the Nightstar

I hate the Thanatos and love my Nightstars (particularly the -9P and -9S). I have not, admittedly, played the TNS since it got armor quirks, but I can't imagine slightly more armor would make such a fat target any less frustrating to play. Especially that godawful cockpit that is only compounded by having hunches on both sides.