(MA) Milestones: Maxed at Last

Well, it's finally done!! This has been some Ahab vs Moby 「wee-wee」 「dookie」 I swear. I didn't buy Stalker until well after the buff and that cost me a lot of A-Coins in the end. But now he's maxed and ready to roar. Even splurged a few A-Coins and subbed in the gold Predator Drive Damage implant. It's a couple levels below max though so the tippy top guys can out muscle me still. But this should even the field.


And here's the first game I played with it. Ended it with full health, lol. What a monster!

Been a while since I maxed a mech. Marching this little s.o.b. up the ranks while dealing with my EMRs took a while. Next steps are to max both the EMR16 and 12 and then I guess I'll turn attention to Bastion. I was going to do Tengu and Shotguns but now there's no point.

Paragon with Neymar is a hoot. Not nearly as fast as with KS but still pretty darned fast. You can do a super sprint more often thanks to the sprint cool down. I think the normal sprint also lasts longer but I'm not sure. You can't super sprint sideways or backwards but you can do it with just the Paragon's ability. It's still not fast enough to get you into cover in today's OSK but it does help especially when you use DLs or JRs or even RMs.

I didn't think of the JR16 idea for Paragon and have to admit that it's kinda appealing to me. Almost makes me want to invest in the JR16 now.

Three are DL implants: Reload (gold), Radius (purple), and Damage (purple). They're all maxed. So is the one mech implant where I put my one gold Ability Cooldown implant that I just recently won. Shaving down 5 seconds off the reload is totally worth it. I am actually starting to really like this mech for CPC. It is so nice to have a mech with real endurance.

BTW, I assume you meant to type MR12s, as the Bastion tops out at 24EN. ;-)

OU812? - Awesome!! Congrats! I love my Stalker DL12 in every mode but it is a total beast in FFA. It's a great opener in both the hotel and wide-open maps. Expendable enough that you can drop a sniper in your preferred position next, but also capable of just wiping everyone out for the whole match. In the Red Shift map I find it's better to hold off and drop it later on the match if needed.

Do you have the gold Predator Drive Damage implant for it? DL12 honestly is the best build I think and RM12s are also a top one. I haven't run Jav12s or HR12s on it but I've seen others make good use of those. Direct fire weapons are a lot trickier given Stalker's low HP. I have seen a player or two do well with EMR12s on certain 5v5 maps but I'm convinced they were on a computer and thus could cornershoot better than normal. Definitely experiment as you want and see, but I would most stick to Discs.

My Orion is maxed now. Missiles are my fave build. I call it my blunt sniper. Hit the front mech of a group with my hunter’s mark and then watch 2-3 targets explode. Orion’s challenging my Shadow for fave mech. Great with the Brazilian pilots speed bonus.

Nice congrats! I've given up on my EMRs simply because I can't seem to hit the broad side of the barn with them. That shot delay really kills it for me. I did try to "train" myself for a bit but found that my hit rate with RGs really suffered so I decided I would rather use RGs. I might change my mind down the road but who knows?

Aaannnnd... my Lancer is maxed!! After getting Paragon maxed earlier this year, that means it only took me 3 1/4 years to max the mechs I first got (for free?) when I started this game, lol. In terms of upgrade prioritization though, I am actually kinda proud of that. I got the better mechs done first, but I didn't forget the hopper! Trying it out last night against tons of terminator AI, I was wondering a bit whether I should have bothered. But my first match this morning was against humans on the 3-beacon pagoda map and it was awesome! Lancer is very map specific and I know there will be some 5v5 tournament maps where it'll be spice things up to rotate it in. Still it is frail; I can't believe I used to think of it as tanky back-in-the-day. Liking RG16s over EMR8s. Will try EMR16 and DL16s & 8s too. I never invested in guided missiles past the Jav6, but when my HR16 is levelled, I imagine that will be a nice fit.

Nice! I have the jump range implant too. I'm not going to put it permanently on a pilot, but it'll be fun to use during implant discount weekends.

Congrats on Eclipse! It is by far my fave mech now in this game. I've tried various load outs on it and they all work great but I keep coming back to RG12s on mine. Can't wait to max my RG12! It's pretty much countered by Nomad now but is still a great mech.

Just maxed my second pilot, Stefania. Myna has been pink for awhile now. Shot my SP up by about 50 each! That’s both of my regular mech pilots. Still have a way to go to get everything pink, but this is the farthest I’ve taken anything in this mess. 

I just doubled my EG12s this weekend. I'm still getting the hang of them. I also have it on only a purple pilot with purple implants vs. a gold pilot for my ArcTs. Arcs are the better overall weapon, although up-close in the right maps, Embers probably are better. My damage isn't quite there so it's a bit hard to tell, but on the right bots like Eclipse they seem strong for anti-personnel mode's (5v5, FFA). On CPC Arcs definitely seem better, not just because they have the distance but they are a bit more versatile as a defender. Embers seem more like pick the target, stalk the target, kill the target in their style. High HP bots can definitely be a problem and (for me at least) take up to 4 rounds of firing. That might not be that much of a time difference though with Arcs, not sure. The chain effect and continuous fire makes Arcs better for masses of enemies, although you can get groups with Ember too. Arcs are probably better for corner shooting. It is a little frustrating how much damage gets blocked by your target being partially covered.

All that said, Ember is definitely the first real close-up weapon since Arcs came out. And they are fun to play. Until a legendary shotgun drops it is definitely worth getting. Put it on a gold pilot if you can. For those fine with spending, getting the two gold implants (which are a cheaper package deal as there are only two) is probably worth it. The gold range only bumps it up from 40m to 45m but that's useful. Extra damage is definitely useful.