MA - Mystical Five for the Non-Whale

uh you're missing zephyr in your poll

my top 4 are KS, panther, guardian, zephyr. last spot could go to any other bot. I personally run an Ares, but others are viable too. I'm just personally saving up for the new weapons, hence I'm not levelling any more bots up

as a side note, the bots I mentioned just now are all easily obtainable, and the first four I mentioned would be on the top 5/6 lists of 99% of players whose opinions you should listen to.

Like others have said there is really a top four: Panther, Killshot, Guardian, Zephyr.

Those are the ones to concentrate resources on for endgame in tournament. Ares seems a viable fifth (and I found it useful in early and mid-game) but these days I'll rarely choose to drop it in tourney before these other four. It feels like if it truly was a top five bot then there would be endgame maps where I would want to drop it early on.

There are two bots that I am seeing some others drop early on certain maps and getting good results. One is Redox, which seems good only on small maps and only when it is maxed and carrying double Railguns. The other is maxed Shadows carrying double MR8s. Few players run them consistently but the ones who are good with them are devastatingly effective on midsized maps with a lot of cover. Personally I am using a level 5 Paragon on some maps to carry double RM12s in case I need them, but really that is just because it was a cheap bot to easily get to 24EN.

Basically I think there is no fifth bot. There are several bots that should rotate in and out of the fifth slot depending on the map. Prioritize the top four and getting top weapons. Probably make Ares your main fifth early on just for climbing the ranks but don't overinvest, and don't worry about the others until you reach endgame and have a hangar around 4000ish SP. By that point you'll be easily earning A-Coins (credits are the crunch late game).

For me, Panther and KS are unquestionably top 2. I love the Guardian, but that speed is a drawback when compared to the first 2, so I can't elevate it beyond that. I'd say it's a bit more versatile than the Zephyr, but I like Zephyr A LOT! I use it a ton because of how fun it is with the Arc10s on it. I admit it's not for every situation and the Guardian is more versatile with the high EN. I'd have to say the Guardian and Zephyr are tied at 3 and 4 on my list. Both are the kings of CQC against multiple enemies and can rival the KS in CQC 1v1.

I'd have to give my 5th spot to the Ares after having played it for the last 2 months. It's a CPC beast and mine's not even maxed. It has performed well since 6.1 with Carb10s on it. It's going to be the 3rd bot I max in my hanger actually because I want to shift my Carb12s over. The Zephyr is better IMO, but it doesn't need more EN for me to be effective with it so I'm in no hurry. I also want something that's not available for the Guardian (DL16s) so I don't want it maxed right now because I don't need the EN again. So, Ares it is.

My favorite tactic in CPC right now is to start in the Ares when I'm facing a RL player and head to center. Most of the time, they don't know what to do as they've started in a KS and can't dig me out. It takes a skilled KS player with a maxed mech and the right loadout to get rid of me. Loving the Ares for this.

The way this game plays from my point of view is different than War Robots since it has a much shorter play clock. There are no 10 minute battles, so I do not really think in terms of 1st drop, 2nd drop, etc. Many battles have me only deploying 1 or 2 mechs so I see the 5 mech hanger more for flexibility for the different maps that would randomly drop in CPC. Most avoid the smaller mechs as they cost more A-Coins to rank up. However, they can be very fun and powerful starting at rank 5. If you can dedicate the coins to them, Shadow and Cheetah are awesome. MD is always a welcome sight for human teammates and the Lancer can go where no other mech can. Many humans are used to fighting Killshot, Panther, Guardian, Juggernaut, Ares, and Zephyrs but do not always anticipate what can be done by the little guys.

For the normal bots, Panther is best IMHO. High EN, nimble speed, wide chassis to allow easy corner shooting, and of course that stasis field.

12 voters but 55 votes only. 

Maybe I should've added that you NEED to make that 5th bot choice for this poll. 

If I may rephrase, taking everything into consideration (Flexibility in maps, weapon availability, load out options, best compliments your hangar, etc.) and a railgun is put to your head, which bot would you pick as your 5th mech?