I'm finishing up mastering the Jagers and was thinking of switching to an Assault mech to grind and io was wondering which are the most versatile ? I had been looking at the Highlander and Atlas but the Awesome looked fun as well...cant make up my mind lol
I'd say the Awesome just to not be a Stalker, Highlander, or Atlas. I'm still annoyed with myself for getting a Highlander, though, because the thing turned out to be such a pos.
highlanders will be a good option with JJs when the movement restrictions apply. i personally like all assaults, the stalker being an energy or missile boat, the atlas pure damage, the awesome 9m super fast speed. awesome has just so huge center torso hitbox, peopel avoid them.
I am a big fan of Stalkers - and although they are flexible, they lack the ballistics to be truly versatile. The Awesome is similarly lacking. So I would have to rule them out if you are looking for versatility in loadout. The Highlander has missiles, energy and ballistics and jump jets. However - missiles are always in the left arm/torso, ballistic in the right arm and energy in right torso for all but one variant. Nothing in centre torso. I feel the variants lack a bit of flavour. However the heavy metal hero 'Mech is available. The Atlas has all three weapon groups with more load out variety than the Highlander - and an ECM/3 module slot and dual AMS variant. Lacks jump jets and is not very agile. I think the Atlas offers more variety of load out - but is more mono-dimensional in terms of movement and positioning.
I had the same problem a while ago. I mastered the Phracts and wanted to go Assault. After some input and a lot of thinking it came down to Stalker (i like boats) and Atlas. I finally went for the Atlas cause i'm also a huge fan of Ballistics. It really took some time to get used to this ugly, slow and badly maneuverable giant, but after trying out shitloads of builds it really started beeing fun. I cant say anything bout the others assaults, but i got the Atlas D-DC and the RS now and they are both pretty Awesome. My Ilya Chainsaw is still the ubermech itself, but the D-DC is gettin pretty close. So i can recommend those giant and ugly beasts, you just gotta adjust your playstyle a lot. When im back in my Phract 3D i feel like playing a light mech now...
Nice, I think ill fart around on the trial Atlas see how that goes...although the crooked front window drives me batty sometimes lol
Vaeden, here is some reading to help you understand the Atlas and it's playstyle. http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/index.php?topic=1586.0
Atlas is like a walking brick with major weapons. the Awesome is a wall of a mech that takes everything in the chest but has decent speed and payload. Highlander is basically an atlas with a bit lower of weaponry but has JJ that gives him the turning abilities of a medium mech. Stalker is a just a beast of a mech in general, regardless of weight class. great weapon load outs, hit boxes, potential speed, can use an xl engine with minimal risk, turning radius, and just looks cool. Just keep in mind that should you get an assault, they are not some unstoppable force dominating the battlefield. A few good hits can still kill you surprisingly fast. You are also bigger than everyone else and will draw the most attention so positioning is key.
I partially agree with this. When compared to the other Assault 'mechs, the Stalker can can easily get away with running an XL. However, when compared to Lights and Mediums--and even some Heavies--it is significantly riskier.
Yes, the stalker seems pretty awesome and it was a close call for me. But i tend to not go mainstream if possible and the stalker is the most played assault atm by far. Im hoping for gettin some rework on the atlas, cause it still has some bugs and issues. The most important thing i had to learn was positioning. Once you got caught in the frontline or get flanked by 2+ fast mechs, you're done unless your team helps you. You got absolutely no chance of retreat in most situations, so always be careful and check where your team is. The difference even from any heavy mech to Atlas is huge! Most of the times some of your teammates will follow you around, but if they dont, be very careful.
I agree with Archwright about this: XL on a stalker is risky. Actually it depends on where you're attacked from: from the front (and by missiles) you have a very good damage repartition; but from the side everything goes on side torso. In fact I see lots of stalkers with destroyed side torsos.
Oh yeah I understand that but after playing lights, mediums and mastering Cats and Jagers I wanted to try something a touch different.
