Dymitry, on 08 September 2012 - 07:08 AM, said:
If the sighting of an atlas does not scare you, a DW will.
In his prime configuration it outguns every other mech out there. Plus the wolf comes with 19.5 tons of armour and a 300 rated engine as standard.
The "lower armour/slower than an atlas" is another of those lovely MW4 creations. In terms of everything but cost of operation it is way superior to any Atlas.
This said, I am a sucker for the skull head commissioned by the great father himself, always have been!
AS7-D Atlas specifications (originally from TRO 3025)
Dire Wolf/"Daishi" (primary configuration) specifications (originally from TRO 3050)
Actually, the performance/capability gap between the two isn't really that great:
- speed is identical (in TT terms, both are 3/5)
- neither is jump-capable
- armor coverage is identical (304 points of Standard Armor, distributed identically)
- both lack CASE by default (though, the Daishi can - and generally does - add it as an OmniTech pod without allocating tonnage or space to it)
Atlas alpha strike damage (assuming all weapons hit): 72 pts of damage
Atlas alpha strike heat generation: 29 units of heat
Atlas heat dissipation: 20 units of heat per 10 seconds (2.0 units of heat per second)
Daishi weapon tonnage: 50.50 tons
Daishi alpha strike damage(assuming all weapons hit): 98 pts of damage
Daishi alpha strike heat generation: 72 units of heat
Daishi heat dissipation: 30 units of heat per 10 seconds (3.0 units of heat per second)
Atlas cost: 9,519,000 c-bills
Daishi cost: 24,900,000 c-bills
The Atlas may not be able to inflict as much damage in an all-out attack (e.g. alpha strike) and cools 33% more slowly, but it is far more heat-efficient (damage-to-heat ratio for an alpha strike is 2.48, versus 1.36 for the Daishi - 1.82 times the efficiency).
Each is still capable of coring the other in a single all-out attack, but the Atlas would not shut down after the initial strike while the Daishi would; in fact, the Atlas could execute 2-3 such attacks before imminent shutdown became a concern.
The Daishi generally enjoys a substantial range advantage over the Atlas - the Daishi's maximum effective engagement range is 750 meters (versus 630 meters for the Atlas), and the Daishi need only approach to within 360 meters to make use of all of its weapons (versus 270 meters for the Atlas).
The Atlas, possessing both Lower-Arm and Hand actuators (unlike the Daishi), holds an advantage in physical combat; the Daishi can't punch as hard or use melee weapons without those actuators (though, the Clans tend to eschew physical combat, to it's not too much of a loss from the Clan mindset... still, is is an advantage for the Atlas if and when the situation presents itself).
The Daishi, having originally been built without Lower-Arm or Hand actuators, should be capable of flipping its arms over and firing backwards - thus giving it 360-degree coverage for the bulk of its weapons (everything except the LRM-10).
Also, as already indicated, the Atlas costs less to acquire/operate than the Daishi - ~15.7 million c-bills less.
In other words, one could field two very well-paid Atlases for the cost of a single Daishi (which translates into nearly a company of Atlases for each star of Daishi).
In summary: while the Daishi does have some advantages, the Atlas is not without its own advantages, and the claim that the Daishi is "way superior" to the Atlas is arguably an overstatement.
Edited by Strum Wealh, 09 September 2012 - 08:06 PM.