33 replies to this topic

[Richard Hazen]

I've not played a Clan assault before and I'm saving up, I want it to be Ghost Bear themed so I'm going with either the Executioner or the Kodiak, which do you think is worth getting first, I nearly have enough for the Executioner but I'm willing to keep saving, which do you suggest?

[martian]

Will Hawker, on 23 November 2021 - 03:21 AM, said:

which do you suggest?

You are talking about 'Mechs that can be bought for C-Bills, right? No Heroes?

[PsionicMantis]

Executioner isnt going to play like a typical assault, so if you aren't after a fast hit and poke mech, i would avoid it. (I actually enjoy playing an Executioner though)

[pbiggz]

I'd say the executioner is the more forgiving of the two. It's far more nimble but really its armed like a heavy mech so it does not play like other assaults. The KDK on the other hand is 100 tons of angry unforgiving. 100 tonners are pretty sluggish even with big engines in them, so it will play extremely differently too.

TBH I'd caution against hundred tonners period. They aren't the I-WIN button they are in older mechwarrior games.

I'd much more enthusiastically suggest the Highlander IIC-C (A fairly nimble gun boat that is constantly underestimated), and the Blood Asp (a High Hardpoint dream). I run double UAC10 double ERPPC on both. The BASP will probably do more for you as an omnimech, but I have more luck with the Highlander.

[Richard Hazen]

martian, on 23 November 2021 - 04:04 AM, said:

You are talking about 'Mechs that can be bought for C-Bills, right? No Heroes?

Yeah

[martian]

Will Hawker, on 23 November 2021 - 06:07 AM, said:

Yeah

Both 'Mechs require different playstyles.

Mobility

• Executioner is a mobile Assault 'Mech. Its standard running speed is 64 km/h, but it can move faster with MASC (84 km/h). You do not have to worry about being left behind. MASC also makes it more agile. The full set of hard-wired Jump jets give the 'Mech some good mobility and lets you move into some places that many other Assaults can only dream about.
  
• Kodiak is not especially fast. It can move up to 64 km/h, but typical loadouts slow it down to some 60 km/h or less. There are some Kodiak variants can not even equip Jump Jets. It can pack a lot of firepower, but it is not especially agile.

Loadout

• Well-armored Executioner offers 26 tons of pod space. That's not much - actually, this is even less than Clan 'Mechs such as the Cauldron-Born can offer (this Clan Heavy offers 28.5 tons of pod space when up-armored).
  
• Kodiak with 375 XLE and lots of armor has 53 tons of pod space.

Hardpoints

• If you have pre-selected some Kodiak variant and you have a loadout for it, then everything is all right. You just buy it and that's it. The problem is when you get bored with the 'Mech or its loadout (or you find out that the loadout does not work for you), since those hardpoints can not be changed.
  
• The Executioner is OmniMech, so you can alway buy additional OmniPods with diverse hardpoints. As it is frequently the case with these overengined Clan Omnis, people often run Clan energy weapons loadout.

Armor

• Kodiak is 100-tonner, so it can mount more armor and more structure.

Quirks

• The upcoming patch is going to change the Executioner's quirks, so check those quirks after you install the patch.

[Captain Caveman DE]

I'd say that for QP, a KDK3 is your best bet; NOT because it is save, but because
-it is very rewarding in the dmg- and kill-department
-it teaches you a lot about firing ACs correctly
-it teaches you a lot about positioning yourself correctly in a slow&big target.


the EXE is a good mech, but it is kinda 'special' and all it teaches is how to play an EXE, not assaults in general. in other words: it's a mech for people that already know all the other stuff, that want to try sth else.


on the KDK3, try different things. 4xCAC10 run fine, 2UAC10+2UAC5, even 4xUAC10. 4xLB10 is superfun and so on. can't go wrong and you'll always learn stuff (if you're into that).

Edited by Captain Caveman DE, 23 November 2021 - 08:44 AM.

[RickySpanish]

^ This is good wisdom. The fact you are not certain means maybe you should leave the Exe for now. Kodiak 3 is much more reliable in most circumstances. If you know what you are getting into though, then Executioner is the "cooler" choice because it is very unique. But you have to be prepared to basically throw games for your team until you learn how to run it.

With the new quirks tho I would pick Executioner!

Edited by RickySpanish, 23 November 2021 - 05:22 PM.

[Athom83]

Between the Kodiak and Executioner I'd say the Kodiak wins out for me personally, and I say that as someone who still plays a Victor and Highlander because I enjoy mobile assaults.

The Executioner is like a Clan version of the Banshee, both are 95 ton Assault mechs that sacrifice total firepower for speed and armor to close in and get stuck in with a bunch of smaller weapons or perform a more skirmishing roll with a couple medium weapons. However the Executioner is extremely limited for a Clan mech, especially when in direct comparison to the Banshee. You only have 28 tons to play with and most of your pods either overlap or don't offer great synergies with one another.

The Kodiak similarly is basically the Clan version of the Atlas, it's a wall of guns and armor. The clan tech of the Kodiak in that comparison means with similar hardpoints it should be just an Atlas with heavier weight of firepower in most cases. However half of the Kodiaks are completely redundant and it doesn't get nearly as nice protection quicks as the Atlas so usually is a bit squishier in return for the clan XLs and the 400 power engine compared to the 360.

IMHO though if you really want a clan Assault then honestly you should go with a Mad Cat II, Blood Asp, or a Supernova (in that order). That said the Executioner did just get substantially buffed today... so...

[Saved By The Bell]

Kodiak is glass damage, Exe is crazy. Both should avoid close battle.

[The6thMessenger]

Kodiak's weakness is just mobility, whereas Executioner's advantage is mobility.

Kodiak's advantage is it's major weapons are high-mounts and large pod-space, Executioner's weakness is most of it's hardpoints is on it's underslung arms and it's pod-space is basically like a medium or a fast heavy, and in many cases it's only the energy builds that are the sensible option.

Exe can be deceptively forgiving, it is, but you have to understand that it's not like the 100 tonner kodiak or any other assault for that matter, it's like a chad Heavy that it's played like one. The kodiak is definitely played like an assault, it's slow and sluggish, but get good positioning and choose proper engagement, your weapons will carry you.

So all in all:

> Kodiak if you want to feel powerful
> Executioner if you don't want to feel helpless

[Richard Hazen]

I'm more used to playing faster mechs, both my Clan Haunchback and Mad Dog are pretty fast. I'm not really that used to slower mechs although when I played ages ago I did use the Stalker.

Edit: Deal is on now so I can afford either of them and also fit them out.

Edited by Will Hawker, 23 November 2021 - 11:36 PM.

[PocketYoda]

Probably not the usual response but i prefer the Executioner. Both are massive but the Kodiak is just too massive and slow to survive..

There are way way better Clan Assaults for your money.. Mad Cat II, Supernova and even Warhawks are better.

Edited by MechaGnome, 24 November 2021 - 12:35 AM.

[justcallme A S H]

The KDK3, and others, are mega strong however require a fair level of skill to use effectively.

The EXE is Omni so pretty flexible, packs less punch but is more forgiving.

That is basically the high level pro/con.

[Richard Hazen]

Thanks everyone, I decided to go with the KDK3. Had three or four games, changed some load outs, just had a really good game, had over 1k damage, 2 solo kills both assaults, was super fun, ran 4CAC10s.

[justcallme A S H]

4 AC10 + 1 cERPPC.

4 AC10 is pretty under gunned for that mech.

[Richard Hazen]

justcallme A S H, on 24 November 2021 - 01:47 AM, said:

4 AC10 + 1 cERPPC.

4 AC10 is pretty under gunned for that mech.

I had four ER Medium Lasers to.

[Mochyn Pupur]

Avoid the Kodiak; yes you can have some pretty decent and unique loadouts, but they are chronically fragile, with a CT that attracts everything that flies anywhere near it.

Executioner probably carries the lesser of the possible loadouts, but somehow is a more robust mech with a few decent omnipods to make it a situational fair assault.

If you can, use trial mechs (no idea what they are atm, but worth checking) to see which one suits you the best.

[Richard Hazen]

Does anyone know of a good armour layout for the Kodiak? I'm not quite sure how much to put on back armour and I keep getting machine gunned in the ***.

[Captain Caveman DE]

Will Hawker, on 24 November 2021 - 05:08 AM, said:

Does anyone know of a good armour layout for the Kodiak? I'm not quite sure how much to put on back armour and I keep getting machine gunned in the ***.

yes - the same as basically any other armor:
max up on armor (on all the torsi at least), then frontload.

keep 3-5-8 in the back; the trick is 'awareness' of what's going on;
the more awareness you learn/develop, the less backarmor you need.
best to turn the numbers up at first, and shave them off the better/more aware you get.

back when I was playing more & playing faction mainly, I ran lots of mechs with 1-3 backarmor, simply because of how faction in a group works.
in QP, I usually run 3-5 on anything that isn't a light, simply because of random teammates and their itchy triggerfingers opening my back more often than the rare sneaky red.

Edited by Captain Caveman DE, 24 November 2021 - 05:24 AM.