167 replies to this topic

[Red squirrel]

Hi,

first of all I have to say that I am not an Atlas pilot myself.
I used my founders Atlas just a few times so far.

What makes me wonder is that I thought (and in CB that was the case)
that the Atlas is the ultimate fortress. A slow area denial / defensive mech.
But right now the Atlas feels so weak.

In a close range combat the Stalker seems to win 3 out of 4 times.
Even worse, with my CTF-4X 4xAC5 I rip Atlai to pieces.
I mean I am okay coring Atlas all day long. But it feels a bit odd.

Your opinion?

Edited by Red squirrel, 26 January 2013 - 12:06 PM.

[Livewyr]

I pilot everything, and the Atlas is by far the strongest mech for taking damage, and dishing it out. (Except for perhaps the splatcat.. which can get neutered very easily.)

Trick to atlas:
When on weapon cool down, turn torso to present most armor to enemy, upon recycle, turn, deliver heavy hit, turn torso repeat.

Atlas D-DC
3 SRM6 + Art
1 AC20
2 Medium Lasers

several DHS
Max Armor
Crush everything.

[Joseph Mallan]

Red squirrel, on 26 January 2013 - 12:05 PM, said:

Hi,

first of all I have to say that I am not an Atlas pilot myself.
I used my founders Atlas just a few times so far.

What makes me wonder is that I thought (and in CB that was the case)
that the Atlas is the ultimate fortress. A slow area denial / defensive mech.
But right now the Atlas feels so weak.

In a close range combat the Stalker seems to win 3 out of 4 times.
Even worse, with my CTF-4X 4xAC5 I rip Atlai to pieces.
I mean I am okay coring Atlas all day long. But it feels a bit odd.

Your opinion?

If using stock builds... yes. Even though I don't always win(80ish % success) I go hunting Assaults and Heavies

[Vlad Ward]

The Stalker is an Assault that's designed to ... Assault things.

The Atlas is a walking wall. It has guns, but it will never be able to hit as hard as an STK.

Right now, the Stalker is mildly overpowered due to how they designed missile bay doors. 10% bonus damage reduction on their side torsos is huge.

The Atlas' offensive abilities will continue to fall further down in line as we get more functional Assaults in the game.

Edited by Vlad Ward, 26 January 2013 - 12:15 PM.

[Arclight]

It can be a monster or useless. Depends on the pilot and situation.

An Atlas charging off alone over open ground dies in 10secs. An Atlas focusing fire with 1-2 team members will kill anything in 10secs. (bit of hyperbole but you get the idea)

[Roughneck45]

The Atlas is a beast.

Anything that needs all 3 hardpoint types to function well needs a skilled pilot in the cockpit.

Stalker is more specialized, Atlas can deadly effective at all ranges in the same build.

Edited by Roughneck45, 26 January 2013 - 12:18 PM.

[Mongoose Trueborn]

If the stalker had ecm I would run that.

[Lightfoot]

No, the Atlas is great. I suppose it could take 4 mechs to bring one down, but the current 3 mechs it's almost guarenteed to chew up and spit out will have to do. The only thing the Atlas really has to fear is another Atlas. Just put your back to a wall if they are getting behind you. And keep fiddling with it in Mechlab.

[Heeden]

I'd rather go up against a Stalker in a medium or light, Atlai have a much better firing-arc and take a long time to bring down. Stalkers I can sit behind and concentrate on the rear armour.

[Mr 144]

It's just pilot perception. I have equal success in phracts or atlases. Just a playstyle and role difference.

Mr 144

[Weaselball]

Vlad Ward, on 26 January 2013 - 12:15 PM, said:

Right now, the Stalker is mildly overpowered due to how they designed missile bay doors. 10% bonus damage reduction on their side torsos is huge.

That is also false information. It's a 10% reduction to damage to the component in the torso: IE: the LRM or SRM launcher itself. That means it takes 10% more CRITICAL damage to blow it out. The torso itself is not affected in any way at all.

And here's a Dev comment confirming exactly that:

http://mwomercs.com/...20#entry1788620

[Zatharus Mathew deTora]

Arclight, on 26 January 2013 - 12:17 PM, said:

It can be a monster or useless. Depends on the pilot and situation.

An Atlas charging off alone over open ground dies in 10secs. An Atlas focusing fire with 1-2 team members will kill anything in 10secs. (bit of hyperbole but you get the idea)

The Atlas pilot who AFKs or is timid is something of an irritant that helps in giving the Atlas its undeserved reputation as being underpowered. I love supporting my Atlases.

[King Arthur IV]

if atlas is weak, where is the awesome then?

[80sGlamRockSensation David Bowie]

Vlad Ward, on 26 January 2013 - 12:15 PM, said:

The Stalker is an Assault that's designed to ... Assault things.

The Atlas is a walking wall. It has guns, but it will never be able to hit as hard as an STK.

Right now, the Stalker is mildly overpowered due to how they designed missile bay doors. 10% bonus damage reduction on their side torsos is huge.

The Atlas' offensive abilities will continue to fall further down in line as we get more functional Assaults in the game.

Hey Vlad <S>

Lemme clear something up. First the missile doors are located on its arms. Second, the 10% damage reduction applies to the internal components, not the actual hp value of the torsos/arms itself. If the doors are closed, its just less likely for the internal equipment/ammo/weapons to a'splode.

[Viper217]

Atlas is just fine, the ability to take damage can't be underestimated. Once the large energy weapons get a slight heat reduction the extra raw tonnage of the atlas will allow it to use fewer, larger weapons. The stalker seems to thrive on spamming tons of ML/SRMs (smallish weapons) and that is a great use for that mech, the atlas is a different animal.

[Vlad Ward]

mwhighlander, on 26 January 2013 - 12:23 PM, said:

Hey Vlad <S>

Lemme clear something up. First the missile doors are located on its arms. Second, the 10% damage reduction applies to the internal components, not the actual hp value of the torsos/arms itself. If the doors are closed, its just less likely for the internal equipment/ammo/weapons to a'splode.

d'oh!

[Red squirrel]

Lightfoot, on 26 January 2013 - 12:18 PM, said:

No, the Atlas is great. I suppose it could take 4 mechs to bring one down, but the current 3 mechs it's almost guarenteed to chew up and spit out will have to do. The only thing the Atlas really has to fear is another Atlas. Just put your back to a wall if they are getting behind you. And keep fiddling with it in Mechlab.

Mhh .. have you ever faced a Cataphract 4X with 4xAC5 ?
When I use this mech and meet an Atlas I tend to stand still for a few seconds core the Atlas ... then walk away.
But maybe there are too many people using the Atlas as an LRM boat and the previously suggested 3ASRM6 variant is a stronger brawler....but still CTF-4X is a real thread to an Atlas. ANd I think it should take two of them to bring down an Atlas.

[Roughneck45]

.

Edited by Roughneck45, 26 January 2013 - 12:30 PM.

[Vlad Ward]

Red squirrel, on 26 January 2013 - 12:28 PM, said:

Mhh .. have you ever faced a Cataphract 4X with 4xAC5 ?
When I use this mech and meet an Atlas I tend to stand still for a few seconds core the Atlas ... then walk away.
But maybe there are too many people using the Atlas as an LRM boat and the previously suggested 3ASRM6 variant is a stronger brawler....but still CTF-4X is a real thread to an Atlas. ANd I think it should take two of them to bring down an Atlas.

Quad AC5 CTF is also extremely squishy. You can't twist to dissipate incoming fire, so if you're facing anyone with a modicum of hand-eye coordination you're taking 90%+ of their shots straight to your center torso. It may be able to kill an Assault in a few seconds, but it won't last much longer itself.

[LoganMkv]

True, you can kill an atlas with a melee boat, but it's our small maps that allow melee boats to exist. Also atlas suffers from unimplemented "real" arm shielding, if it ever gets into the game you'd have to do a lot more damage to kill one unlike stalker.