Personally, I disagree with using the Stalker as a purely short-range mech. I feel the lack of maneuverability really really hurts the brawling capacities of this one. Yes, you can lay down an unholy amount of fire, but if you get flanked you're basically dead.
Fair enough. I guess it really depends on your play style and what you want to do with your mech. I have a few other mechs I use as longer range snipers, but nothing that can really dish out the punishment close up like the Stalker. This is why I chose to use the stalker as a brawler. Sure it's not as manuverable as other mechs, but hell, all it takes is one mistake from the enemy and they're dead. And trust me, players make a lot of mistakes
By all means, if it works for you that's great! I just don't think I could be comfortable with that kind of build. Then again, (for now) I play solo only, and I think a short-range Stalker could be pretty damn good with the right support; i.e. your team preventing enemies from flanking you, and you moving in to mop them up.
I like this build... it works very well, and you can take off an arm or leg in one Alpha. Face to face this wastes an Atlas no problem. You really have to abuse it to overheat too. Well done!
@Gneckes I usually play with a friend of mine who has a Stalker with almost the same setup. It's quite devastating to pick a target that both of us will aim with our srms. It's disgustingly good haha @Moonsavage Thanks, man! I'm having an absolute blast in this mech at the moment. It's so much fun to out brawl an Atlas who thinks he can win a fight against you >
Just wanted to say thanks for this build. It is quite fun to play around with, especially if you have a couple buddies running with you. I made a few tweaks and was curious about your thoughts. I found myself not using the torso based lasers as much, so i dropped them and upgraded the SRM's to Artemis. One downside is I also had to pull the AMS. So it has some trade offs but has worked well for me. My Variation Click for Smurfy link.
When I can afford a stalker, this is pretty much the build I was thinking of (4 SRM, 6 ML). You can get bigger alphas with large lasers, but taking everything into account (tonnage, slots, and heat), I think this is the way I will go. Nice thing is that if I decide I don't like this build, I can always go with an LRM boat or an energy cannon without having to change mechs.
I bought my 3F yesterday, and I went with a slightly different build: 300 STD, 6 ML, 4 SRM4, 9 tons of SRM ammo, and 21 DHS. No AMS (not really needed right now, anyway, as LRM boats are rare, and the ones that exist don't dish much damage), but I've used every weapon hardpoint, every crit slot, and every ton. Haven't played too much with it yet, and been having a bit of an issue with heat (no efficiencies yet), but it works like a champ. I've considered taking off 2 DHS and 4 tons of SRM ammo to upgrade the lasers to MPLs, but then it would be a really short range mech.
I tweaked this by removing the AMS and AMS ammo and SRM ammo in the torsos, added a couple of DHS (torso) and SRM ammo in the cockpit. Increases durability (no ammo in torso, runs cooler) and damage output (sustainable DPS up to 6.11). You are still vulnerable to LRMs. Getting close it still is a problem on some maps. I tend to prefer large lasers over ML for this reason.
I'll have to post my build that I'm using now, which is similar to another one posted (although if it's similar enough I'll just comment on it there), it uses 4xASRM6, 4xML, and 2xER LL with a STD 300 engine. No AMS and only 5 tons of ammo (and I think 16 DHS, I can't remember exactly; I had to take Endo-Steel to make it work), but my golly does it hit hard. The 2xERLL gives me extra damage at range, close up I just use the SRMs and MLs. Sacrificing 2 MLs makes the heat a little more manageable.
