MechWarrior Online: 1000th Match in Atlas AS7-D-DC

This is my 1000th match in an Atlas AS7-D-DC. It's not pretty. It wasn't fun. It really wasn't how I wanted my 1000th  match the D-DC to go, but oh well. :D

The weapon load out is my preferred build for using the D-DC in 4 man groups these days. An AC20, two ER Large Lasers, and three SRM6. It gives me decent damage at long, medium, and short engagement ranges.

I also have a second AS7-D-DC that is my "shotgun" build with two LB-10X, two Medium Lasers, and three SRM4 that I run in 4 man groups. It is a strictly a short range brawler.

In 12 man groups I swap out the ER Large Lasers for regular Large Lasers because I tend to engage the enemy at shorter ranges and the drop in heat from the lasers is needed for better heat management once the brawl starts.

Stats after 1000 matches (blame PGI for inaccurate numbers)
Wins: 539
Losses: 453
Win/Loss Ratio: 1.19    
Kills: 731
Deaths: 512
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.43    
Time Played: 4 days 11:44:59 hours

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with AC20 and 2 Large Lasers In Action

This is a series of videos where I pilot an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, two Large Lasers, and three SRM6. I've liked this particular build for close range brawling since Closed Beta. The Large Lasers give it some mid-range attack, but it excels at ranges under 270 meters due to the AC20 and 3 SRM6.

You'll probably notice I have no problem using the AC20 to hit targets past 270 meters. I started doing this after the change to ACs where their max range was increased from double to triple the optimum range. At 500 meters, the AC20 is doing about 10 points of damage and, I feel, is effective to about 600 meters.

Battle in Canyon Network where I get 2 kills and 4 assists on 673 damage.

 

Battle in Caustic Valley where I get 5 kills and 2 assists on 818 damage. You will probably need to watch in full screen to see what I'm shooting at most of the game. :)

Extra Life 25 Hour Fundraising Event

I'm just going to borrow the post our Extra Life team leader, Dark Treader, made to our private boards. YouTube clips of him saying his thank yous and my last match follow.

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Wooo-hoo!

That was an awesome run, everyone! After 25 hours of MWO, with Gimpy running his stream and getting the word out, we were able to meet our goal of $1000! As of 4:13pm EST, 11/3, we're at $1,205!

So, major events during the event:
1. The Extra-Life.org site & associated servers, 4 times during the event, came under a DDoS attack. Why this happened, no one knows, but the general consensus is that whoever initiated it is an asshole of the highest caliber. But in a strange way, I think this did help to increase the support for the program, as the event hit a new milestone this year: as of the time of posting here, they've raised over $3.4 million dollars!

2. A WHOLE lot of people from the unit joined in and participated, giving the group support. We ran 12-mans for a good block of time on Saturday (even did some "training" drops to help out 2nd, and I put training in quotes because if you saw the result of the drops from our end... oi. Taking goofy builds vs. 2nd's comp builds is definitely not a way to have success ), then broke back into 4-mans for the rest of the run. A BIG thank you to everyone who dropped with us, helped support us, and especially during the last few hours when all of us were drained and the energy was gone, kept us going for that last stretch.

3. We made our team goal (as stated above), and two of the team made personal goals as well - and donations are still coming in! So if you're interested in donating, you're more than welcome to do so

4. Thanks to Niko Snow from IGP/PGI for hopping over and dropping with us!

5. We got a shoutout on the MWO Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MechWarriorOnline ), also

I think that pretty well covers the big points of the day, it was a lot of fun overall, and we raised a decent amount of money - a good bump from last year's numbers
Next year, I'd love to see us even more organized and try and double or triple the amount we raise. I know that 24 or 25 hours is a big block of time to set aside, but I think it's worth it - and the numbers we posted and the word we spread about the event showed.

In any case, just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who supported us and donated to the cause.

DHB effin' ROCKS!

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Dark Treader say his Thank Yous

 

Gimpy's last match of playing 25 hours straight.

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battles

Here are a few videos I recorded during one of our, Death's Hand Brigade, recent training nights. We were sync dropping two 12 man teams against each other and I was lucky enough to be on the winning team 3 out of 4 battles.

I am piloting an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, two Large Lasers, and three SRM6.

A battle in Alpine Peaks. I get 1 kill and 10 assists on 411 damage.

 

 A battle in Tourmaline Desert. I get 1 kill and 10 assists on 745 damage.

A battle in Caustic Valley. I don't get any kills, but have 9 assists on 523 damage.

MechWarrior Online: Combined DHB and Aces Wild 12 Man in Caustic Valley

Deaths Hand Brigade and Aces Wild team-up for a match in Caustic Valley. This is the last match of an impromptu event between DHB and Aces Wild. We started with two 12 man groups with members of the two units in both teams. The original plan was we were going to sync drop against each other. However, due to people coming and going it took a long time to get the two groups to sync drop and we eventually just did normal 12 man drops as much as we could.

Overall, it was fun dropping with Aces Wild and everyone had a good time.

MechWarrior Online: Lance of 4 Atlases in Tourmaline Desert

While grouped with another DHB member, Von Kempf, we get placed in a lance with two other Atlases. Result? Fun!

This was complete luck to get grouped with two more Atlases for my last drop of the night. The best part is they realized it was best for the four of us to stick together without anyone having to say it.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with AC20 and 2 ER Large Lasers in Action

These are a series of videos where I pilot an Atlas AS7-D-DC with an AC20, 2 ER Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6. It's currently my preferred D-DC build in PUG matches when I drop solo or when in a 4 man group with mechs of various weights.

The match below took place while in a DHB four man lance during an epic battle in Tourmaline Desert. Not the best place to be running this slightly warm build with only one Cool Shot, but somehow I manage to get 7 kills and 3 assists on 1063 damage and our lance accounts for all of our team's kills (11).

Battle in Forest Colony Snow where I get 5 kills and 7 assists on 787 damage. This was the last match of a long night where I had mostly very mediocre games in the D-DC.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X in Action Video Series

This is a video series showing off my Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X, 2 Medium Lasers, and 3 SRM6 with Artemis build. I don't claim to be the person who first ran the build, but I did originally run it back in Closed Beta and see others running similar builds from time to time.

Its major weakness is the lack of pin point damage of the AC20 and the raw damage per second of the Ultra AC5. However, with the fast recycle time, low heat, and critical hit rate on internals, the LB-10X makes for some good fun. Especially when combined with the SRM6s. Strip the armor off the torso armor and watch the light show begin!

Assault match in Canyon Network:

Assault match in River City

Assault match in Terra Therma

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battles in Alpine Peaks and Tourmaline Desert

Here are two 12v12 battles between two Death's Hand Brigade 3rd Battalion groups during a training session. We sync drop in Conquest mode to increase the odds of getting matched against each other. The purpose of the training is to work on communication, focus firing, and moving as a group. The overall focus of the training is combat. So, we don't intentionally cap bases.

The mech I'm piloting is an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s.

Alpine Peaks

 

 Tourmaline Desert

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X AC in Action

This mech is a slight variation of one of my favorite builds from Closed Beta, Atlas AS7-D-DC with two LB-10X AC, two Medium Lasers, and three SRM6 with Artemis. I get 6 kills and 3 assists on 628 damage. This was also the last match of a nearly 9 hour long MechWarrior Online play session. This was arguably my best match of the day. 

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battle in Caustic Valley

Two Death's Hand Brigade 3rd Battalion teams face off in Caustic Valley. This was during our first night of 12v12 training. We had dropped against this same DHB group two times earlier and they kicked our butts, but we make up for it this time. Our teamwork and communication were much better than in previous drops and it paid off.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D-DC with AC20 and 2 Large Lasers in Action - Part 3

While piloting an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20 and 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s, we run into a DHB group in a Caustic Valley Assault battle. Not sure if you can see it in the in-game text chat, but one of my fellow DHB team mates put a bounty on my head if someone would team kill me.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with AC20 and 2 Large Lasers in Action - Part 2

While piloting an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s, we run into another DHB group in a Tourmaline Desert Assault battle. I get a couple of light mech kills and a lucky finishing shot on another Atlas.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with AC20 and 2 Large Lasers in Action

While in a DHB 4 man group, I pilot an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s in an Alpine Peaks Assault battle. The AS7-D-DC is the mech I have spent the most time in (37 hours time played) and is arguably my best mech.