56 replies to this topic

[LordBraxton]

TexAss, on 23 December 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

Im challanging any stalker to a brawl with my AWS-8R. You can't win this, since I never lost it.

I pilot AWS and recently gave the ugly stalker a try.

I would completely destroy any AWS that isnt a 9m without even thinking, and the 9ms arent much more difficult.

You probably have been facing a lot of trial mech stalkers, or stupid pilots out on their own.

PS: I LOVE my 9M, and rock face in it all day, but even its speed can't compete with the pure DPS an SRM stalker can dish out.

Edited by LordBraxton, 23 December 2012 - 10:31 AM.

[Soy]

Sennin, on 23 December 2012 - 10:17 AM, said:

I was responding to the previous poster about his statement of brawling in an Awesome vs Stalker. He stated that if pilots of equal skill were brawling the Stalker would have no chance and that mobility would be one of the key factors. The 3F negates alot of the Awesomes ability to get around the Stalker or catch it at awkward angles and the addition of a 300 Engine furthers this by giving the Stalker a competitive speed boost while maintaining superior firepower. The Stalker is not without it's glaring flaws but the 3F goes a long way to doing away with the major fault of lacking a good degree of torso twist and smart players will capitalize on this.

I respect that; I don't recommend brawling a Stalker in a 9M given that situation then, either. I recommend throwing sticks at it for a while until it's banged up then maybe go in close for a sniff.

[LordBraxton]

Soy, on 23 December 2012 - 10:34 AM, said:

I respect that; I don't recommend brawling a Stalker in a 9M given that situation then, either. I recommend throwing sticks at it for a while until it's banged up then maybe go in close for a sniff.

Exactly, stalkers are vulnerable if you harass them from about 300meters. If a stalker catches you point blank, say goodbye to some torso locations.

[M4NTiC0R3X]

I sold my 9M days before the Stalker was released, it has a better hardpoint layout for what I want to get done.

[Khobai]

Quote

Exactly, stalkers are vulnerable if you harass them from about 300meters. If a stalker catches you point blank, say goodbye to some torso locations.

Maybe your Stalkers are vulnerable at 300m. Mine typically have large lasers.

The way I would rate the Assaults is as follows:
1st) Atlas D-DC- overpowered ECM still makes this the best Assault by far.
Tied 2nd) Stalker 5M- does way more damage than anything else in the game
Tied 2nd) Founder's Atlas- 25% c-bill bonus is very nice.
3rd) Awesome 9M- because despite all its flaws it still an assault that goes 85kph!
4th) Stalker 3F- basically a way better version of the 5S (you get better torso twist instead of the extra AMS)

So yeah I would say the Awesome-9M is still very much a contender for the top assault mech in the game. What it lacks in firepower it makes up for in speed. It can run circles around other assault mechs, especially Stalkers.

Edited by Khobai, 23 December 2012 - 11:11 AM.

[Soy]

Khobai, on 23 December 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

Maybe your Stalkers are vulnerable at 300m. Mine typically have large lasers.

My nemesis...

[Sennin]

Khobai, on 23 December 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

Maybe your Stalkers are vulnerable at 300m. Mine typically have large lasers.

The way I would rate the Assaults is as follows:
1st) Atlas D-DC- overpowered ECM still makes this the best Assault by far.
Tied 2nd) Stalker 5M- does way more damage than anything else in the game
Tied 2nd) Founder's Atlas- 25% c-bill bonus is very nice.
3rd) Awesome 9M- because despite all its flaws it still an assault that goes 85kph!
4th) Stalker 3F- basically a way better version of the 5S (you get better torso twist instead of the extra AMS)

So yeah I would say the Awesome-9M is still very much a contender for the top assault mech in the game. What it lacks in firepower it makes up for in speed. It can run circles around other assault mechs, especially Stalkers.

I would disagree with your assessment of the 5M if you are basing this off the fact that it can mount 5 missle racks. That additional missle hardpoint in the torso is for NARC and only allows one missle to fire at a time from this point. It is very restrictive and if you have ever mounted a large LRM pack on a Raven's NARC hardpoint you will know what I am talking about. With SRM's it's not as bad but it still has the same restriction. Only SSRM-2s do not suffer from this.

[Tuku]

Stalkers are slow as an atlas....have a **** torso radious and turn about as well as a train would on land. On top of that most builds, while being amazingly powerful and hard hitting run hot as the sun . And almost all of the stalkers are essentially the same....

By comparison Awesomeness have

Amazing speed and maneuverability for an assault
More varied hard point setups.
are much easier to fit and use if you use some restraint and common sense

[Khobai]

Quote

I would disagree with your assessment of the 5M if you are basing this off the fact that it can mount 5 missle racks. That additional missle hardpoint in the torso is for NARC and only allows one missle to fire at a time from this point.

Im aware. Which is why you put it on a seperate weapon group. Additionally I put an SRM4 in that slot so I can fit an extra double heat sink.

The 5M with 5 medlasers, 4 SRM6s, 1SRM4, 300 standard, and 22 double heatsinks is the optimal close range build for the Stalker.

Edited by Khobai, 23 December 2012 - 12:23 PM.

[kilgor]

The biggest problem I see with a Stalker is that its Torsos get shredded too fast and it seems that as soon as one side gets blown away, the other goes pretty quickly as well, so I usually have a big moving target and no weapons. This with running with no ammo. The Awesome can at least absorb some of the damage with its arms, but then it also seems like because it's an Awesome, people want to focus fire it down above all others.

[Monkeystador]

There is just one thing which bugs me all the time. STalkers, Catapults and Hunchback do all have a similar advantage. Weapon mounts are high about the ground. That is an advantage for shooting over terrain and other cover. It's beneficial and has little disadvantage. Mostly both mechs are similiar height too. So mechs with weapons mounted lower do not benefit from a lower profile.

I have to agree that the stalkers turning speed and torso twist abilities are quite weak. A Awesome might be able to outmanoeuvre a Stalker.

Edited by Monkeystador, 23 December 2012 - 12:47 PM.

[Thunder Lips Express]

Imo awesomes still have their place, I have yet to see a stalker do over 80kph

[Nullzero]

Sounds like we are all in agreement then.

Awesome are all poo now, with the Stalker recently released.

With the one exception of the 9M. So if you want to max your 9M pilot skills, you basically have to pilot 2 of the other GARBAGE variants for a hundred+ matches.

Surely there must be some other alternative for player progression. This is just bad. I have to spend 2/3rds of my time playing mechs I have no interest in, and which are underpowered.

PGI FIX PLZ.

[Foksuh]

Well, I don't know. I think every mech has their place, it's not just about whats best. Sure, the Stalker can pack more firepower than an Awesome, or even an Atlas, but each of them is different in design.
I think Awesome will do generally better in a close brawl, especially against faster mechs, simply because of it's torso twist and the fact that it actually has arms..
A good Awesome pilot can make the most out of the turning ability, which means it's slightly harder to concentrate damage on specific points, while the Stalker can't use an arm for cover, for example.

You'll never see them being "balanced". It's just a matter of making the most out of whatever mech you play, not just finding out what's the best.
Look at the pugs you drop into, you see all mechs being played and all sorts of teams winning and losing

[Fate 6]

Elizander, on 23 December 2012 - 01:57 AM, said:

I think that, for now, it's good enough that one variant is capable while the rest are mostly niche or flavor. We can't have so many mechs that are all equal, unique, and cool at the same time. That's just not possible.

As long as the 9M can run circles around any Stalker variant and the rest of the Awesomes have better turning with the advantage of arm-mounted weaponry then it should be okay.

Looking at the game in a face-to-face, stand-and-deliver point of view to compare the mechs isn't usually a good thing.

Edit:

Still waiting on a Hero Awesome to be released before I finish up my Awesome efficiency trees.

Not to mention the fact that the various Stalker variants suck. The only good ones are the 5M and 5S (and 3F if you want to brawl), the other two are literally garbage. And the three that aren't pointless still aren't very different.

Edited by Fate 6, 23 December 2012 - 08:52 PM.

[Baudolino]

I`ve been specializing in the Awesome for the last 4 months. I`ve done a stint in various stalkers and cataphracts and i still find they don`t really compare to the awesome.

I`m not saying the Awesome is better- it`s just designed very differently. Most Awesomes are not very good. Only the 9M is still really effective. The chassis is designed for SKIRMISH fighting and with the engine nerf, the other variants got screwed.

I`ve killed stalkers 1v1 in frontal assaults- though i would not attempt that if i suspected the pilot was any good. Stalker excels Brawling- 9M excels at Skirmishing. Just running around, weaving in and out of combat. If it ever stops or someone catches it in the open- it`s generally dead.

The stalker had a better slot layout so i tried doing my 9M thing with it, but of course it failed, because the stalker isn`t designed for that.

Personally i feel all other chassis then 9M are obsolete since the engine nerf, The 9M however is still one of the best chassis around if fitted and used correctly. I rarely see anyone using it correctly though..

[Kaspirikay]

SRM6 + ML stalkers = Assault killer.

Though they'd have to get in range first.