402 replies to this topic

[Ashnod]

Awesome is a long range direct fire support mech.. while the stalker is a brawler..

[Booran]

Noth, on 19 December 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

The centurion is huge for a medium mech (seriously it's almost as big as an atlas volume wise. So comparing it to the centurion is not a good comparison.

Yeah, I just used the other scale-offender to make a comparison.
Should've maybe used the catapult, which with its big ears makes it an even bigger target profile than the Stalker.

[EnigmaNL]

Ashnod, on 19 December 2012 - 08:22 PM, said:

Awesome is a long range direct fire support mech.. while the stalker is a brawler..

The Stalker is not very capable as a brawler, in part because of the slow and limited torso twist. I see it as a medium range support 'mech. Taking shots with LL's and LRM's and such. I tried a brawler build on my 5S but found it lacking.

[Ashnod]

EnigmaNL, on 20 December 2012 - 12:05 AM, said:

The Stalker is not very capable as a brawler, in part because of the slow and limited torso twist. I see it as a medium range support 'mech. Taking shots with LL's and LRM's and such. I tried a brawler build on my 5S but found it lacking.

My stalker 5M would like to have a word with you.. Can you bring a salvage truck as well for whatever wreckage is left of your mech?

[Ashnod]

Booran, on 19 December 2012 - 01:53 PM, said:

I think it's weird to have an assault class mech looking smaller than a centurion. I can understand a specialized mech might be built small for concealment and target profile, but it's 35 tons heavier, where does all that extra junk even fit? And it's not even built for concealment, it is the epitome of the "walking fortress", a mobile weapons platform consisting of nothing but two stubby legs, a barrel on top full of weapons, and a seat in front to enjoy the view.
I like the design though, only not the size.

Have you not noticed the massive amount of space it's center torso takes up?? Granted the nose should be a bit longer but it would look odd having the legs reversed the way they have them now

[EnigmaNL]

Ashnod, on 20 December 2012 - 12:49 AM, said:

My stalker 5M would like to have a word with you.. Can you bring a salvage truck as well for whatever wreckage is left of your mech?

Which build do you use on your 5M?

[Bayamon]

The Stalker needs to find its niche...or rather the players that want to fill it.

Its the first mech (imo) that has the most obvious and extreme disadvantage to counter its raw firepower and that is its limited torso twist and speed and the lack of "proper" arms.

Most people get into the Stalkers cockpit and expect it to play like any other heavy/assault mech and theyre in for quite a rude awakening because the Stalker is _different_.

I have never seen so many players give up and just shut down when engaged by fast mechs...actually never ever before...even the most sluggish Atlas will still swing around wildly to try to catch a glimpse of you and maybe hit you with arm mounted weapons.
Not the Stalker...it simply cant. Its ridiculously easy to stay outside their FOV.

As a result, some players simply leave the Stalker alone. "Not my type of 'Mech".
i see a few who have already adapted their playstyle and never leave their back exposed.
They will stand in places that dont allow lights or other fast mechs to circle them unhindered.

Others whine about it and want the stalker changed, so that we will have yet another mech that only differs from other mechs in hardpoint layout and the model.
I like it the way it is....i like diversity.

[EnigmaNL]

Bayamon, on 20 December 2012 - 01:38 AM, said:

The Stalker needs to find its niche...or rather the players that want to fill it.

Its the first mech (imo) that has the most obvious and extreme disadvantage to counter its raw firepower and that is its limited torso twist and speed and the lack of "proper" arms.

Most people get into the Stalkers cockpit and expect it to play like any other heavy/assault mech and theyre in for quite a rude awakening because the Stalker is _different_.

I have never seen so many players give up and just shut down when engaged by fast mechs...actually never ever before...even the most sluggish Atlas will still swing around wildly to try to catch a glimpse of you and maybe hit you with arm mounted weapons.
Not the Stalker...it simply cant. Its ridiculously easy to stay outside their FOV.

As a result, some players simply leave the Stalker alone. "Not my type of 'Mech".
i see a few who have already adapted their playstyle and never leave their back exposed.
They will stand in places that dont allow lights or other fast mechs to circle them unhindered.

Others whine about it and want the stalker changed, so that we will have yet another mech that only differs from other mechs in hardpoint layout and the model.
I like it the way it is....i like diversity.

While I agree with you on the part of diversity, I disagree on the part of not changing it. In my opinion the Stalker is a good 'mech but it's severely limited torso twist is too big of a handicap and it should be changed. At the moment it can't even look sideways properly. Any 'mech should at least be able to look 90 degrees to either side.

[Bident]

I have all awesomes on elite,yesterday i try(on my second acount) Stalker 5m build with 300STD engine 5SRM6 and 5ML and i can tell u its a Beast when it comes tu pure brawler fight. Its never been easyer to have 1k-dmg at the end of round even in good days when fight were lasting much longer.
In theory Stalker have many disaventage when its come to manuvering ,but in game even mediums have truble to unmanuvering me.
So in my opinion Atlas dont have a chance under 60m ,awesomes are peace of cake ,yes they all can core me from distance but only if i play stupid.
I am awesome fan and will bee ,dont plan to use this beast but its very tempting atleast
This is few SS from yesterday with 5M:

http://img803.images...21219121505.jpg
http://img837.images...21219122210.jpg
http://img338.images...21219142407.jpg

(and have plenty more, with over 1k dmg)

[Mjting]

The stalker needs to look much wider and taller. I think it is not that hard for the model designers to redesign the mech.

[VXJaeger]

SRM-pult is terrifying and dangerous.
SRM-Stalker is a big and slow chunk of metal for target practice.

Edited by VXJaeger, 20 December 2012 - 03:39 AM.

[JediMastaDJ]

Mechrophilia, on 19 December 2012 - 07:56 PM, said:

The Stalker has been penalized with a terribly tiny angle of available torso-twisting. And its twisting is slow, and its turn speed is slow, and its arm weapons have autonomous vertical pivot, but no autonomous horizontal pivot (they are glued to the torsos when it comes to targetting along the horizontal). The mech is much more vulnerable than I thought it would be. (Oh, btw, never use an XL. You'll pop like a grape).

The stalker has a couple more weapon slots, but I think the AWS can be far more agile and resilient (but that's just my opinion).

Pop. Like. A. Grape. This one knows exactly how I felt. I'm moving down to a non XL engine and I'll just be a slow tank of LRM's with Lasers for backup. I don't think I'll go outside of 500m from the base.

[Irreverence]

I feel like it is the resilient assault we have so far.

[Suko]

El Death Smurf, on 19 December 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

I would appreciate 2 things
1) knowing each stalker (and each mech's for that matter) full torso twist range
2) whether "twist x" has any impact on the stalker, because my 5m only has 60 degrees to each side while my 3F has 85 to each side. was it even less before i got twist x?

Since the Twist X perk is based on a percentage of a mechs existing/standard torso twist ability, the Stalker gets even less than most mechs do from this perk.

Edited by ShadowVFX, 20 December 2012 - 10:42 AM.

[Snib]

ShadowVFX, on 20 December 2012 - 10:41 AM, said:

Since the Twist X perk is based on a percentage of a mechs existing/standard torso twist ability, the Stalker gets even less than most mechs do from this perk.

Twist X does not apply to mechs without arms.

[Dormax]

Skyfaller, on 19 December 2012 - 01:45 PM, said:

Its like this mech is mediocre in everything. Long range? Catapult beats it. Brawl? Again, a catapult eats the stalker alive.

Last night, I played probably 7 or 8 matches with a stalker brawler (with a 90 point alpha strike). I counted 6 catapults that thought the same thing. Maybe they were all bad pilots, maybe not. Either way, I was standing and they weren't after the nosecone-to-nosecone fights.

With an XL, it does feel a little squishy, but that's to be expected.

I don't have any issue with the actual torso twist, per se. Limiting the range of movement and the fact that it's a lumbering mech makes it more interesting to play. Not everyone will be willing to take on that challenge. My real problem wih the torso twist issue is that I can't SEE what's happening. I don't care if I can't shoot at 90 degrees but I wouldn't mind having at least the ability to see my wingman if he's trailing a little behind.

[Child3k]

Lightfoot, on 19 December 2012 - 12:59 PM, said:

Does anyone else have this happen alot on defeats with the Stalker? Suddenly all your weapons, or most of them are gone, then pffft, the mech is dead. Seems like a light mech almost once it starts taking damage.

Sure - but that's cause of the gigantic RT/LT-hotboxes. that can be hit from every angle. You can't protect them with torso twist and such tactics - well the quite low torso twist arc of 120° doesn't help with it either. When you loose thr RT or LT you just loose half your firepower.

The thing about the stalker: It packs a real punch that is bad news for everyone on the opposing team. But it also is one of most vulnerable mechs on the field. It is a little underarmored in comparison with an atlas, it has the rather large RT/LT issue - CT is not that much of a problem. Plus everything that moves faster than ... I don't know. Just everything. You can even get outpiloted by a freakin' atlas.

So it all comes down to this: You just need support. You need faster heavies and mediums to support you and keep everything at distance.

On a note: All stalkers have the 120° torso turn arc - only the 3F has 170°. But still, without the arms - brawling is a pain.

[AntiCitizenJuan]

I still think it needs to be bigger.

[steelblueskies]

so. extremely small torso twist range is good because of 6 weapons in the arms?

therefore we shall nerf the jenner f with 3 energy each arm to the same range of motion?

what else should be given the same or similar restrictions based on this wondrously vague logic?

a1 catapult?

shall we divide it up by the possible tonnage of the arm mounted weapons? should say the 4sp hunch or the rs atlas have restricted torso ranges because their arms make up for it in big gun mounts and arm actuator maneuverability?

what about the commando?

the cataphract has it's arm mobility impaired. should we be buffing its torso twist range and/or speed?

[JudgeDeathCZ]

Thontor, on 20 December 2012 - 12:24 PM, said:

It has nothing to do with how many weapons are in its arms... It has everything to do with the fact it has so much potential firepower with so many total hardpoints, more than any other mech, and the weight to use them.

6 meds on jenner will do less dmg than 6 meds on Stalker.
And if I remember it right Jenner and Cicada have 0 degrees of torso twist in canon/TT.

Edited by JudgeDeathCZ, 20 December 2012 - 12:33 PM.