Post by frunobulax on Sept 15, 2017 15:23:00 GMT -5
The Doc is one of the "wild bunch" robots. The WW robots were generally met with few enthusiasm, because they were hard to get, pretty squishy in their class, and looked much better on paper than in the game. However, the Doc is maybe the best of them, and even though it is not really a meta robot, it's a nice change of pace robot and allows some unique setups. In fact, it has become one of my favorite robots because of its speed and versatility. Much like the Rogatka it has a learning curve, and you can deliver more damage with different robots, but boy is it fun, especially if the reds don't expect you do pull those stunts.
As I'm not a fan of copy and paste, I'll ask you to have a look at what I wrote about the quick draw feature in general in the Butch analysis. The Doc however has a faster cooldown, and Orkans or Tulumbas can utilize the quick draw ability pretty well. And while the Rogatka has superior mobility, the Doc impresses with raw firepower - it can easily take down an Ancilot with 4 Orkans if played well. The HP of the Doc were buffed in the 3.2 update (now 171k instead of 145k). The added HP give the Doc more survivability, so in a close encounter you now have a much better chance to switch weapons and empty that second clip of weapons, if you have something with burst (Orkans/Tulumbas). Too bad that the Doc is pretty expensive to upgrade, due to the fact that it needs 4 medium weapons.
As with the Butch, we can either go for firepower with 4 equal weapons, or for variety with two different weapon types. These are the setups I recommend:
"Changeup" loadouts include:
I would stay away from the other medium weapons (if you equip 4 of the same). A Hydra Doc has the same firepower as a Fujin because the reload cycle of the Hydras does not allow to fire them efficiently with quick draw. Doc is definately too fragiile for a brawler, and there are better platforms for Tarans and Punishers.
The mixed loadouts for the Doc are very interesting, though:
Preferred setup: 4x Orkan, Hydra Orkan or Storm Orkan. They latter two are fun setups and have the potential to surprise your opponent, enough firepower to drop almost all robots, and the quick strike potential from the Orkans. But they are more a fun setup than a "meta" setup. For maximum efficiency I recommend the 4xOrkan Doc or Shocktrain Orkan Doc.
Most other robots have a very well defined role as brawler, beacon capper or midranger/sniper. The Doc can fill a multitude of roles in your hangar, which makes it also an interesting choice. Say you run it as Tulu Doc midranger and decide to go to Zeus Fury, if you don't want to carry 2 midrangers you can still switch the Doc to Tulu/Orkan or a pure brawler lineup. It can play the following roles:
Recommendation for new players: If you convert gold for IP, 7500 is still a steep price, and I'd recommend getting plenty of Orkans, a Lancelot and possibly a Rogatka first. But if you collect IP, a Doc should be your first target (I found the Jesse pretty unimpressive) - and if you have say 5000 IP collected, a gold investment of ~2500 for the remaining IP isn't outlandish for this surprisingly efficient little robot. And if it falls to you via the lottery, don't let it collect dust, give it a spin now and then.
See also: For a few dollars more and the Rog vs Doc discussion.
You will find my other analysis threads linked here.
As I'm not a fan of copy and paste, I'll ask you to have a look at what I wrote about the quick draw feature in general in the Butch analysis. The Doc however has a faster cooldown, and Orkans or Tulumbas can utilize the quick draw ability pretty well. And while the Rogatka has superior mobility, the Doc impresses with raw firepower - it can easily take down an Ancilot with 4 Orkans if played well. The HP of the Doc were buffed in the 3.2 update (now 171k instead of 145k). The added HP give the Doc more survivability, so in a close encounter you now have a much better chance to switch weapons and empty that second clip of weapons, if you have something with burst (Orkans/Tulumbas). Too bad that the Doc is pretty expensive to upgrade, due to the fact that it needs 4 medium weapons.
As with the Butch, we can either go for firepower with 4 equal weapons, or for variety with two different weapon types. These are the setups I recommend:
- 4x Tulumbas. Maybe the most popular loadout, a Tulu Doc can deal 33% more damage than a RDB Griffin, and we all know how good the Griffin is. The Doc has no jump, but is much faster on the ground (51kph compared to the Griffins 35). But while the RDB Griffin became much better when reloading while firing was introduced for Tulus, the Doc still has to fire full clips if it wants to switch efficiently.
- 4x Orkans. This setup costs a lot of gold, but this Doc has the firepower to drop pretty much any robot including a Raijin if it can empty both clips (~280k damage). This is my favorite Doc setup. It is very useful against an approaching Ancile robot (including Ancilot as the HP hog): Find some corner to hide behind. Take down the Ancile when the Ancile robot is still out of sight, using the large radius of the Ancile as hit box. Careful not to empty the whole clip, just as much as required to drop the Ancile. Once the robot comes into line of sight and the Ancile is down, empty your Orkans, switch and empty the second clip. Damage is just enough if the Ancilot is at the same or lower level. Badda-boom, dead Ancilot.
"Changeup" loadouts include:
- 4x Molots. This loadout has less burst power than a Molot Griffin or a Molot Fujin, but it can fire pretty much continuously, with the 12.5s molot firing duration matching up nicely with the 15s quick draw cooldown. Of course, against snipers the Doc is hurt by the comparably low HP value.
- 4x Shocktrains. I'll put this last, because I (a) positively hate Shocktrains (they broke the game), and (b) I think if you have that many shocktrains, go slap them on a Dash bot or for christs sake on a Fujin, but not the Doc.
I would stay away from the other medium weapons (if you equip 4 of the same). A Hydra Doc has the same firepower as a Fujin because the reload cycle of the Hydras does not allow to fire them efficiently with quick draw. Doc is definately too fragiile for a brawler, and there are better platforms for Tarans and Punishers.
The mixed loadouts for the Doc are very interesting, though:
- Shocktrain Orkan. If you have 2 Shocktrains, this may actually be the best setup for them, along with Kumiho and Zeus Lance.
- Storm Orkan. Use Storms if you are out of Orkan range, especially to drop Anciles. Close in, and once the Ancile is down and you're within 300m you switch to Orkans. Play this much like a Thunder Orkan Lancelot on steroids (51kph speed).
- Punisher Orkan. Much like the Storm Orkan, but less bursty. Of course this setup is easier to get and level, too.
- Taran Orkan. Once again, surprise will be on your side. And you have both some splash damage if the red is hiding in cover or approaches around a corner, and the sustained high damage from the Tarans that can hit jumping Griffins or Rogatkas in flight.
- Hydra Orkan. When I read about this I immediately realized that it would work well. First, this is a prime example of a robot that has two different weapon types for different situations/maps. Second, you can soften up any red by hitting him with Hydras, and if you hit it reasonably well with Hydra clips you'll have softened it up enough to finish it with the Orkans. Finally, many players just become enraged by any Hydra build, charging it without thinking. And especially if you remain hidden they will think they've got you if they come close, not expecting you to hit them with the firepower of two Orkans.
- Scourge Orkan. This is another setup that works nicely. Even though the output from 2 Scourges is limited, the mobility of the Doc allows you to stay out of weapon range for Orkan/Taran builds, and possibly also for RDB builds. If the enemy gets close enough, switch to the Orkans and burn him. But you have to be careful, Scourge requires line of sight and the Doc is fragile.
Most other robots have a very well defined role as brawler, beacon capper or midranger/sniper. The Doc can fill a multitude of roles in your hangar, which makes it also an interesting choice. Say you run it as Tulu Doc midranger and decide to go to Zeus Fury, if you don't want to carry 2 midrangers you can still switch the Doc to Tulu/Orkan or a pure brawler lineup. It can play the following roles:
- Knife fighter/ranged knife fighter: 4x Orkans or Orkans plus something. Up to you if you prefer to get personal (4xOrkans or Orkans/Tarans) or if you want Orkans as "sword" plus an option to kill from outside the range of enemy knife fighters as "arrow" (Orkans/Punishers, Orkans/Scourge or Orkans/Tulus).
- Supporter/midranger. 4x Tulus of course, or any combination of Tulus/Scourge/Punishers/Shocktrains.
- Late-game beacon capper. The Doc will never be the leadoff robot that gets to the center beacon in Yama, as it lacks a shield, stealth or jump/dash. But it is a very good late-game option if you need to conquer a red beacon, because no other robot with enough firepower to defeat basically any other robot is that fast (except for the clearly overpowered Haechi). Works better with any knife fighter setup, because midrange setups have more trouble pushing resisting reds off the beacon.
Recommendation for new players: If you convert gold for IP, 7500 is still a steep price, and I'd recommend getting plenty of Orkans, a Lancelot and possibly a Rogatka first. But if you collect IP, a Doc should be your first target (I found the Jesse pretty unimpressive) - and if you have say 5000 IP collected, a gold investment of ~2500 for the remaining IP isn't outlandish for this surprisingly efficient little robot. And if it falls to you via the lottery, don't let it collect dust, give it a spin now and then.
See also: For a few dollars more and the Rog vs Doc discussion.
You will find my other analysis threads linked here.
