50 replies to this topic

[Narcissistic Martyr]

As a dragon pilot these things scare the crap out of me since I'm a big freaking target. Fortunately I can usually dodge long enough or trade an arm and they'll shut down allowing me to kill them or get the heck away.

[Metalfyre]

I'm pretty new at this, but I've encountered 2 6xPPC Stalkers and both were easy to kill. I'm nowhere near good yet, but in both encounters I've at the very most traded off an arm to close in to 90m, at which point they've been sitting ducks. Maybe I haven't encountered someone with ace gunnery skills in that 'Mech yet.

[Lanessar]

I've encountered two of them in 4-mans I've done recently. Perhaps they were just bad pilots, but I've never been hit full-on by one of the alphas (and as a STK this seems a bit odd - I'm probably one of the best targets). They can be vicious, I'm sure. But they spend a lot of their time shut down, so it appears to be a one-trick pony...

I'd personally tend more toward an AWS-9M as a starter, as stock they have some backup weaponry. But that's me.

[Palutena]

Nice to see you playing Kirika-chan

Atlas RS with 4 PPC and Gaus rifle does a nice killer alpha of 55 (awww 5 less damage) with no extra light engine so its cheaper to buy and doesn't die as easily with no extra light engine. You can fire two alpha strikes without overheating and can fire the gaus rifle while cooling down. All this is totally worth the trade off of 48 kph instead of 53 kph and 5 damage on the alpha strike

[Atheose]

My standard Stalker runs 4 SRM6, 2 PPC and 3 ML, but yesterday I threw in an XL engine and replaced the 3 ML with two more PPCs. So now I have a 4 PPC Stalker which is deadly middle/long range (but overheats after 2 shots), and then can brawl like crazy at close range. I've only played it for maybe 10-15 rounds but I really like it so far.

[Willie Sauerland]

To be fair, the 6 PPC stalker is a lot of fun but gets focused very quickly. Also, if you are not good at heat management, you WILL shut down which is very bad given the fact it is a damage magnet. Even worse, if a brawler gets within 90 meters of you, you will not be able to damage him - and given how slow you are you should be prepared to die.

I have always loved PPCs (even in CBT) and will continue to use them. I own a 6 PPC stalker and have used it quite effectively, but would not recommend it as the first mech. Like somebody said, I would recommend the Cataphract running 4 (ER) PPC or ballistics to get used to how aiming with these types of weapons work. If you want to practice heat management, a stalker with 6 medium lasers and 3 or 4 SRM6's should do the trick...

[FromHell2k]

What I can say after about 100matches...
It is funny to play, hard to handle and insane to control. Even a 1legged commando with 1 SLas could kill you in CQB.. If it gets there. It has much potential, but is a death-trap without a proper team. Besides, to the one who called me cheater after obliterating his cockpit, we laughed hard about you in our TS-Channel
My advice:
Do not use this build without a team
Do not use this build if you want to play fast
Do not use this build if your aim isn't 100%
Do not use the build if you can't manage the heat

Do use this build if you know what are you dooing
Do use this build if you wanna take the risk of blameing your self in an epic way.

So Far..
FH2k

[p00k]

bad first mech

you need a good team to protect you while you're overheated.
a good team that doesn't mind protecting you while you're overheated even though, despite being an assault mech, you aren't there with them to trade armor
a team that basically doesn't mind you getting a few lulzy kills while they absorb the risk of actually being in the fight

so...yeah, bad first mech.

[neviu]

Awesome mech,

But dont play as first mech,
Dont ever use it in pugs you will get rofl mao lmao stomped by anyone up close,

[NRP]

@neviu
I see you're using the 5S. What engine, structure, and HS options are you using?

[neviu]

Xl280
Dhs, till the max, drop some leg armour,
And than the 6 ppc,

And get a bobble head for your auto aim stuff

[Rykiel]

In premades, the 6 PPC Stalker can be quite a valuable addition to the team if handled effectively (aka heat management, sharpshooting skills, well-timed movement, and team awareness). In pugs, prepare to get your face kicked in more often than not.

For folks wanting to try out PPC-heavy builds, the Awesome beckons -- mod up the AWS-9M appropriately and you've got yourself a decent fire-support 'Mech. Cataphracts are also a good starting point.

And for the crazies out there, the "Noisy Cricket" 4 PPC Cicada beckons ...

[Cerberus tech]

lol get 6 large lasers and your good, ok you dont have 1,3k range but 900 and you trade in 6 damage so for a overal of 54 alpha strike your good.
oh and you can pull of 3.5 alphas before shuting down
much more manageable

[neviu]

cerberus thats if you hit the target every second the lla is on target,

whit the ppc its a 1 point hit so you destroy a entire limb 1 shot most of the times,

but you better have a good aim, and a team that isnt full of pug idiots

[FromHell2k]

Cerberus tech, on 01 January 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

lol get 6 large lasers and your good, ok you dont have 1,3k range but 900 and you trade in 6 damage so for a overal of 54 alpha strike your good.
oh and you can pull of 3.5 alphas before shuting down
much more manageable

This is a more durable build, allrounder. I would recommend this over the 6ppc for the beginning. ProTip: 6ER Large are hotter than the PPC, trust me

[Atheose]

FromHell2k, on 01 January 2013 - 12:28 PM, said:

This is a more durable build, allrounder. I would recommend this over the 6ppc for the beginning. ProTip: 6ER Large are hotter than the PPC, trust me

Keep in mind that Large Lasers allow the enemy to know where you're firing from easier, whereas the PPCs are tougher to track directionally.

[liku]

Personnaly i prefere to manage the er ppc heat. Had hard time managing the heat of 4. It s mainly situational, sometime im in the mood for 4 er in alpha strike...but mainly use 3 in chain fire with the option tu overheat to dish the finishing blow.i combine the 4 version with 2 streaks and the 3 version with srm4 :::-) so far so good usually get somze 2-kill with this...but im not to hide or wait for to long i brawl and like to hunt light (situational awareness)

[PaintedWolf]

It is a GREAT MECH, one I would not have thought of in a million years, probably because it takes a lot of skill and risk to use. I don't think I could pull one off, but used well, it is basically artillery.

Say 12 vs 12 and your team just has 1 more of these- that could easily be the match if used well and precisely, it could certainly supress the enemy. If focused fired they can take out daned near anything in very quick order and many multiple Mech types obsolete, especially in more long-range terrain. Long-Range Terrain with Clan types using ER PPCs would be a nightmare.

Edited by PaintedWolf, 02 January 2013 - 03:56 PM.

[BulzEye]

neviu, on 31 December 2012 - 02:55 PM, said:

Xl280
Dhs, till the max, drop some leg armour,
And than the 6 ppc,

And get a bobble head for your auto aim stuff

Auto aim??? Cheater!!!

No Stalker is a noob platform. IMHO

OK - So I run 95% Stalkers. I have 2 5M's and 2 5S's... Run various combinations of Lasers / SRMs and PPCs. 6PPC is not for the weak of heart (or bad aimers). I run a 3 or 4 ERPPC/PPC with streak/SRM / ML combos for close in. If it wasn't for ECM and the fact many people who have ECM mechs don't know how to use the counter mode (here comes the flak for that statement), it would be fool hardy to go toe to toe with it. I kill Atlases 1 v 1 almost at will unless the pilot is very very good! In a crowd - I may die, but 99% of the time I take at least 1 enemy with me...

If you really want to go Stalker, don't immediately jump into the PPC world - Heat management is something you will not be good at as a nood! Go for a Brawler config with Max armor 5 or 6 MLs and a combination of 4 or 5 SRMs.

[Icepick]

6LL Stalker is more usable, especially when pugging. Just remember, it's not a hammer, it's a scalpel.

The STK-3F Scalpel