Post by Pegasus Actual on Mar 14, 2014 0:03:02 GMT -5
So what's your go-to loadout? Still early obviously, but I've gotten to Generation 2, and I've definitely settled into a favorite:
Pilot:
Primary Weapon - R-101C w/ AOG (or really any sight, I haven't figured out which one I really like best) + Suppressor -
Anti-Titan Weapon - Archer Heavy Rocket - Does good damage, doesn't miss unless they get back behind cover, works great while ejecting. Also I noticed that if you're in a doomed titan, you don't get the warning indicator for a pilot targeting you. So it's a great way to pick up a kill on an unsuspecting pilot who thinks his doomed titan has more time than it really does. I like the charge rifle quite a bit as well. But that's a later unlock and I don't think it does enough damage as a tradeoff to being less accurate. Granted you are less exposed using it, but really if you have half a brain and use cloak intelligently you're not going to get picked off using the Archer that much either.
Sidearm - B3 Wingman - I don't have any real preferences here, Hammond seems good too, easy to spam, autopistol seems like a decent emergency SMG as well. I just like the B3 because I can finish guys off with one shot so long as I winged them with my primary, and I can nail people at distance with that precision shot. Other ones are just a little spray and pray, not that that's a bad thing in a secondary.
Tactical Ability - Cloak - Turning invisible? Too good. Also gets you out of hairy situations against Titans, and will let you approach a turret to hack it without worrying about it shredding you. The echo pulse is probably pretty good for Hardpoint. Sometimes I get that burn card where you have a pulse every ten seconds and it's fairly useful. But the effect is a little distracting. I'll use stim on my run and gun SMG classes, but those are only for a few maps, most notably Angel City.
Ordnance - Arc Grenade - Disorients titans and pilots, takes out grunts and spectres... and surprisingly effective at outright killing pilots as well. Don't see much point in using frags. Arc mines are decent, but I've been playing a lot more Attrition than Hardpoint. Satchels aren't clicking with me, I mean they're great situationally, like owning dudes in rodeo encounters but overall not feeling it.
Tier 1 Kit - Power Cell - Get that cloak or stim back extra fast! What's not to love? Parkour kit isn't bad either. The rest seem kind of useless. Stealth kit might be better than I give it credit for. I think coak + jump has exposed me more times than I realize. So maybe I should consider it down the line, or else be more disciplined and not fire my jump jets while cloaked as much. Footsteps seem like mostly a non-issue, though I did get a little sound whoring done on that one beach map where you can run under certain buildings and hear guys clanking above.
Tier 2 Kit - Minion Detector - Get that titan in a flash with scores of dead grunts and spectres! Nothing is really that appealing in this tier.
Titan:
Chassis - Atlas - Two dashes, not too slow, not too brittle. Nice and balanced. Stryder is super fun, but can die too easily. Ogre just sucks. I don't think I've ever lasted more than one minute in that thing. Maybe if you have support from your teammates it can do work. But you can't run from anyone, you can't easily avoid fire. I have no idea how to successfully play with an Ogre right now.
Primary Weapon - 40M Cannon w/ Extended Mags - So I kind of loved the chaingun for a while in the beta, but it just runs out of ammo too fast, even with extended mags. It doesn't do enough damage to titans. It's fantastic for shredding pilots... but overall it's just not good enough. The accelerator is kind of fun, but too easily countered, and once it's fully accelerated it's super inaccurate anyway. So I've gone with the 40m cannon. It's not so great for sniping moving pilots (but oh so satisfying when you score the hit). Burst fire sucks. It takes away too much damage, and you run out of ammo too fast. Extended mags keeps you shooting forever, and you can take out a titan without reloading if you're decently accurate. Plus with damage core on the Atlas, you don't have to reload during it. With other weapons I've found damage core to be a sad waste.
Tactical Ability - Vortex Shield - When you get ambushed by a few titans on one side, sometimes the only way out is vortex shield while backpedaling away from them. And it never hurts to catch a rocket salvo headed your way. And then there's the pure comedy of catching an archer rocket and then throwing it right back into the pilot's face.
Ordnance - Rocket Salvo - Versatile, no lock-on warning. Unload in the general direction of a pilot, good chance of scoring a kill. Unload close up against a titan, massive damage.
Tier 1 Kit - Regen Booster - Works great with vortex shield in keeping you alive. And it's such a huge advantage over anyone not using it, go around the corner, regen, pop back out and score a hit before their regen starts or finishes.
Tier 2 Kit - Survivor - I kill so many titans and pilots from the doomed state it's not even funny.
Pilot:
Primary Weapon - R-101C w/ AOG (or really any sight, I haven't figured out which one I really like best) + Suppressor -
Anti-Titan Weapon - Archer Heavy Rocket - Does good damage, doesn't miss unless they get back behind cover, works great while ejecting. Also I noticed that if you're in a doomed titan, you don't get the warning indicator for a pilot targeting you. So it's a great way to pick up a kill on an unsuspecting pilot who thinks his doomed titan has more time than it really does. I like the charge rifle quite a bit as well. But that's a later unlock and I don't think it does enough damage as a tradeoff to being less accurate. Granted you are less exposed using it, but really if you have half a brain and use cloak intelligently you're not going to get picked off using the Archer that much either.
Sidearm - B3 Wingman - I don't have any real preferences here, Hammond seems good too, easy to spam, autopistol seems like a decent emergency SMG as well. I just like the B3 because I can finish guys off with one shot so long as I winged them with my primary, and I can nail people at distance with that precision shot. Other ones are just a little spray and pray, not that that's a bad thing in a secondary.
Tactical Ability - Cloak - Turning invisible? Too good. Also gets you out of hairy situations against Titans, and will let you approach a turret to hack it without worrying about it shredding you. The echo pulse is probably pretty good for Hardpoint. Sometimes I get that burn card where you have a pulse every ten seconds and it's fairly useful. But the effect is a little distracting. I'll use stim on my run and gun SMG classes, but those are only for a few maps, most notably Angel City.
Ordnance - Arc Grenade - Disorients titans and pilots, takes out grunts and spectres... and surprisingly effective at outright killing pilots as well. Don't see much point in using frags. Arc mines are decent, but I've been playing a lot more Attrition than Hardpoint. Satchels aren't clicking with me, I mean they're great situationally, like owning dudes in rodeo encounters but overall not feeling it.
Tier 1 Kit - Power Cell - Get that cloak or stim back extra fast! What's not to love? Parkour kit isn't bad either. The rest seem kind of useless. Stealth kit might be better than I give it credit for. I think coak + jump has exposed me more times than I realize. So maybe I should consider it down the line, or else be more disciplined and not fire my jump jets while cloaked as much. Footsteps seem like mostly a non-issue, though I did get a little sound whoring done on that one beach map where you can run under certain buildings and hear guys clanking above.
Tier 2 Kit - Minion Detector - Get that titan in a flash with scores of dead grunts and spectres! Nothing is really that appealing in this tier.
Titan:
Chassis - Atlas - Two dashes, not too slow, not too brittle. Nice and balanced. Stryder is super fun, but can die too easily. Ogre just sucks. I don't think I've ever lasted more than one minute in that thing. Maybe if you have support from your teammates it can do work. But you can't run from anyone, you can't easily avoid fire. I have no idea how to successfully play with an Ogre right now.
Primary Weapon - 40M Cannon w/ Extended Mags - So I kind of loved the chaingun for a while in the beta, but it just runs out of ammo too fast, even with extended mags. It doesn't do enough damage to titans. It's fantastic for shredding pilots... but overall it's just not good enough. The accelerator is kind of fun, but too easily countered, and once it's fully accelerated it's super inaccurate anyway. So I've gone with the 40m cannon. It's not so great for sniping moving pilots (but oh so satisfying when you score the hit). Burst fire sucks. It takes away too much damage, and you run out of ammo too fast. Extended mags keeps you shooting forever, and you can take out a titan without reloading if you're decently accurate. Plus with damage core on the Atlas, you don't have to reload during it. With other weapons I've found damage core to be a sad waste.
Tactical Ability - Vortex Shield - When you get ambushed by a few titans on one side, sometimes the only way out is vortex shield while backpedaling away from them. And it never hurts to catch a rocket salvo headed your way. And then there's the pure comedy of catching an archer rocket and then throwing it right back into the pilot's face.
Ordnance - Rocket Salvo - Versatile, no lock-on warning. Unload in the general direction of a pilot, good chance of scoring a kill. Unload close up against a titan, massive damage.
Tier 1 Kit - Regen Booster - Works great with vortex shield in keeping you alive. And it's such a huge advantage over anyone not using it, go around the corner, regen, pop back out and score a hit before their regen starts or finishes.
Tier 2 Kit - Survivor - I kill so many titans and pilots from the doomed state it's not even funny.
. The Mag grenade launcher is really versatile, though.
