MWO - Assassin

[Cyc]

https://mwomercs.com/assassin

365 engine cap and 7 JJ on ALL variants = Nice!

Standard pack:
ASN-21 - 2 missile both torsos, two energy in right arm
ASN-23 - 3 missile RT, three energy right arm
ASN-101 - 1 energy head, one missile and energy in each side torso, one energy right arm

Reinforcement:
ASN-26 - ASN-30-alike with 280XL, JJ armed with Ultra AC/5 and 2 Medium Pulse - 2 energy in each arm, 2 ballistic in RT
ASN-27 - ASN-99-alike with with an XL, two SRM-2s and a Standard PPC, no stealth armor but keeps TAG and ECM! - 1 energy head, 1 energy right arm, 2 energy left arm, 1 missile in each torso

Hero:
Dark Death - 280XL with medium laser head, medium laser LT, 2 LRM-5 RT, and an AC/2 right arm and ECM. no hardpoint inflation.

[Caedis Animus]

I'm both surprised and honestly a little happy. That said, it sucks that the ECM is locked to two variants-both of which are behind a paywall.

[Mech42ace]

Looks really sharp! Found it interestin that they went for two canopy locations instead of choosing one or the other. I wonder which will be the cockpit location in game.

[Caedis Animus]

Looks really sharp! Found it interestin that they went for two canopy locations instead of choosing one or the other. I wonder which will be the cockpit location in game.

Actually, both would be pretty cool. Like... The top one counting as a CT you can look up through.

That sounds really weird but really cool.

[pensiveswetness]

How would Stealth Armor be implemented in MWO? Delay in targeting a Stealth-on Mech when cycling thru targets (takes twice as long to LRM lock? Twice as long to pull up damage status?)

[Black_Knyght]

Looks really sharp! Found it interestin that they went for two canopy locations instead of choosing one or the other. I wonder which will be the cockpit location in game.

That same detail drove me nuts in my early days of painting Battletech miniatures! I ultimately settled on the bubble-canopy and used the "nose" viewports as sensor panels, like on the nose of the Apache.

And for the record, THAT is one hot looking ride!

[martian]

Looks really sharp! Found it interestin that they went for two canopy locations instead of choosing one or the other. I wonder which will be the cockpit location in game.

Yeah, the art is nice. Alexander Iglesias did a good job.

However, I wonder if this low-end medium 'Mech will be actually viable.  It may easily end up collecting the dust in hangar, such as other similar chassis (Cicada, Vindicator or Fenris etc.).

How would Stealth Armor be implemented in MWO? Delay in targeting a Stealth-on Mech when cycling thru targets (takes twice as long to LRM lock? Twice as long to pull up damage status?)

Probably something easy to do, exactly as when PGI copied HellSlinger's Heat Transfer quirk to Night Gyr instead of creating actual Laser heat Sinks.

[Stormforge]

I always thought that upper part was a radome, not a canopy.

[Empyrus]

Probably something easy to do, exactly as when PGI copied HellSlinger's Heat Transfer quirk to Night Gyr instead of creating actual Laser heat Sinks.

Only the Night Gyr prototype used Laser Heat Sinks, so PGI did the 'Mech right.

[Burning Chrome]

I'm in...first miniature I ever bought and a mech I was very successful in on TT.

Not a huge fan of the triple jointed legs and hope the actual in-game model won't be overly tall, but overall I like it!

[martian]

Only the Night Gyr prototype used Laser Heat Sinks, so PGI did the 'Mech right.

No, many Night Gyrs used them too.

[Empyrus]

No, many Night Gyrs used them too.

Not really, the thing doesn't even have a record sheet (nor does it appear in Master Unit List).

TRO58U notes the early ones used laser sinks but also implies those were refit with standard DHS.

[martian]

Not really, the thing doesn't even have a record sheet (nor does it appear in Master Unit List).

TRO58U notes the early ones used laser sinks but also implies those were refit with standard DHS.

That's not what TRO3058U implies. It directly says that many Night Gyrs have been left with Laser Heat Sinks. And a novel description confirms that.

[krazzyharry]

I think I going to have to get this set (who I am kidding I have bought every IS set).  I am wondering with the apparent effort to "align the universes" between Catalyst, PGI, and Harebrained Schemes are the -26 and -27, as well as several others, going to be recognized as canon/official battlemechs and result in recordsheets?

RS: Digital World, anyone?

[martian]

I think I going to have to get this set (who I am kidding I have bought every IS set).  I am wondering with the apparent effort to "align the universes" between Catalyst, PGI, and Harebrained Schemes are the -26 and -27, as well as several others, going to be recognized as canon/official battlemechs and result in recordsheets?

Who knows?

And the second question: Is it even neccessary?

ASN-26 is PGI's obvious attempt to include the canon ASN-30 in MWO without actually implementing its weapons and equipment. Since Light Engine and IS ER Medium lasers with IS LBX-5 ACs are not in MWO, PGI simply used lighter XL Engine and heavier UAC-5. And since they still had some spared tonnage, they "wasted" it on heavier two-ton MPLs.

ASN-27 is PGI's take on the canon ASN-99. PGI deleted Sword from the canon 'Mech (since Melee combat has not been implemented in MWO) and used the spared tonnage on upgrading Light PPC to standard PPC. MWO has no Stealth Armor, so PGI just kept Guardian ECM Suite.

[Burning Chrome]

I ordered the basic and hero package.

Still concerned it is going to be overly tall with the extra joint in the legs...not sure why he did it that way.

If it sux, or is as large as the Enforcer or Centurion I can always cancel it.  :-\

[IAMCLANWOLF]

I love my mediums. Alex has done an amazing job with them.
This guy is disappointing... However, I'm optimistic about the orthos/in-game.
Hopefully the legs will be a little less ostentatious, and the total height gtg.   

[Burning Chrome]

Kinda asking myself what the hell was I thinking after ordering the hero...looks like the better ECM unit is in the re-enforcements pack.

Should be easy to ask PGI to swap them...right? :-[

[Cyc]

more people pushing to swap the Reinforcement ECM for one standard pack variants I would expect.

That said, given that loadout, little wonder DarkDeath lost to the Bounty Hunter's Marauder.

[Cache]

Hopefully the legs will be a little less ostentatious, and the total height gtg.   

They bug me. I don't like replacing 'man' legs with dog legs... and this isn't the first.  Hopefully it's a short-lived trend. The rest of it looks great.

[martian]

They bug me. I don't like replacing 'man' legs with dog legs... and this isn't the first.  Hopefully it's a short-lived trend. The rest of it looks great.

Well, Huntsman had such legs in October 2016. Assassin will have them in March 2017.

Considering that there are going to be Bushwacker, Marauder IIC, Linebacker and Supernova (all chicken walkers) between those two 'Mechs, I would not call it a trend.
Plus, there were Cyclops, Night Gyr and Kodiak, Unseens (all human walkers and MAD as chicken walker) prior that Huntsman.

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Well, Huntsman had such legs in October 2016.

[To me] they work perfectly on the Nobori-Nin/Hunstman. Seriously, Alex's redesign is exceptional. I cannot say enough good things about it. On the Assassin, though?

[martian]

[To me] they work perfectly on the Nobori-Nin/Hunstman. Seriously, Alex's redesign is exceptional. I cannot say enough good things about it. On the Assassin, though?

Personally I am not interested in the Assassin. I have always considered it a mediocre 'Mech in BattleTech and those MWO stats don't seem too impressive to me.

As for those legs, perhaps all canon art, that I have seen, depicted the Assassin with human legs. The only occassion, when I saw the Assassin with this "new" type of legs, was in Mektek's fan mod of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries.

[Cache]

Well, Huntsman had such legs in October 2016. Assassin will have them in March 2017.

Add the Panther and Grasshopper to them. Less defined but they're canine.

[martian]

Add the Panther and Grasshopper to them. Less defined but they're canine.

I would say that both have pretty much standard human legs with funny ankle joints.

And of course, both the Panther and the Grasshopper are from February and March 2015.  That's about 18 months with about 12 non-demon-leg 'Mechs between the Panther with the Grasshopper and the Huntsman. I wouldn't call it "a trend".

[Burning Chrome]

[To me] they work perfectly on the Nobori-Nin/Hunstman. Seriously, Alex's redesign is exceptional. I cannot say enough good things about it. On the Assassin, though?

Agreed. Huntsman, beautiful improvement.

But the Assassin, its only ok and completely unnecessary.  Makes it "leggy-er" and taller than it needs to be.  It will have enough to contend with as is, so being over-sized/poorly scaled will only add to the woes.

[Wrangler]

Why are they coming out with this?  Isn't it alot money for them to work up and produce a new mech?  From what I know of MWO and my brief days playing it. It's leans to the beefy and weapons spammy.

Unless this thing is use for some kind of mission where they need get someone scout ahead of a group or capture a nav point, it won't last long in a fight.  Unless it has restrictions on what can be used...i doubt that thou.

[Caedis Animus]

That's more a gross generalization. A great assault 'mech pilot can't evade but he can usually rely on guns and armor to see him through.

A light/medium pilot, especially on the lower ends of both scale, seem to require a lot more skill and speed to stay alive-which tends to work in their favor.

[MightyBolamite]

Well. I'm a bit of a fan of the Assassin. Plus, its the closest thing to a light they've released in a while.
That said, I am still a bit hesitant based on the hardpoints. I'll likely buy it still, but still deciding if I want the full pack or not.

[Burning Chrome]

Hero variant.

But with the "improvement" of the Skill Tree relook...might be asking for a refund.

[Orin J.]

i mean, weird leg design choice aside, it's a good representation of the Assassin overall. not enough to get me to bite and make a grab for my wallet, but that's more the game is stagnant to the point i play it once a month tops.........

[Burning Chrome]

My concern with this pack is that the Skill Tree "improvement" is to be released at the same time.

With that, there is no point in having any mechpaks as the rule of three is gone (a good thing).  But it could be worse due to the time/cost it will take to grind them out.  Not to mention that every new mech you have will be a target on any battlefield since you have to earn "radar dep" on each one, rather than being able to equip a "radar dep" module before you step foot on a battlefield.

So why the hell did I buy the Assassin standard, plus the expansion?  I don't have the kind of time required to grind/suffer through 5 new mechs nor do I feel its worth the money spent now on potentially "wasted" variants.  With the current system I could at least buff my mechs a bit from the get-go, making the grind to Mastered a bit more enjoyable. 

Add to that I will have to spend time to respec all the mechs I previously Mastered.  I only have 46 mechs, and some of those I will be selling anyways, but the amount of time that is going to take respec-ing vs playing the game is wasted.  Management Warrior Online before I can play Mech Warrior Online...yay.  It is not the GXP, XP or CBills, I'm good there (or so I think), it is the time that will have been for nothing and the time I will have to spend getting back to where I was, let alone going forward...

I hope PGI reconsiders the release date on this and pushes it off a bit to work on the concerns more.

On a related note...  While I don't believe this is what is going on at PGI, google "Shocking Interview with a Piranha Employee" at CaptionGenerator and ensure you have the captions on before hitting play.  It is how a lot of folks feel, and pretty damn funny/clever overall.

I was laughing so hard I was crying.

I don't want to cancel my Assassin and Roughneck, but I'm not sure the game is worth my time/money at this point. 

If the new Skill Tree is coming in March, I think it only fair that PGI remove the "mechpack" model and allowed a la carte for the Assassin, Roughneck and Javelin.  I would not get 5 Assassins and 5 Roughnecks, but I would definitely get at least one, maybe 2 or 3 of each.

All that being said, I'm still looking forward to more images, and the updates leading to the release date.

[Fear Factory]

Ugh...  I want to like it but the legs, man.  So freaking ugly.

[Caedis Animus]

I think the legs are the best part.

[Burning Chrome]

Looks the Assassin page got messed up?

Glad the Skill Tree is delayed indefinitely. 

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Glad the Skill Tree is delayed indefinitely.

Noooooooooooo!! So, we get more mech pack sales (again, again, again, again,...). However, the actual new game content we were promised (if you can even call it that) is delayed indefinitely? What the poop!... [madflame]

[Cyc]

Noooooooooooo!! So, we get more mech pack sales (again, again, again, again,...). However, the actual new game content we were promised (if you can even call it that) is delayed indefinitely? What the poop!... [madflame]

Skill Tree needs a massive rework, that would have taken literal years in XP and C-Bill grinding just to get my 'Mechs back to what we have now in terms of mastery was a massive slap in the face and that PGI was going to drop it March 21st without more reworks are horrible. My only fear is it will go the way of infotech and power draw and never return, just need more PTS and tweaks!

As for what we will see on the 21st...


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Liao

[Adgar76]

Looks the Assassin page got messed up?

Glad the Skill Tree is delayed indefinitely.

I am kinda sad that the Skill Tree was postponed, but i'm confident sure that it will be released before (or, at the latest, when) the new tech is released. It's a much needed improvement, and I really hope that PGI doesn't cave in to some tantrums. Hopefully they will take this time to improve upon it.

[Fear Factory]

Ugh....

Stupid jerks....




I'm still buying an Assassin.   :D O:-)

[Jayof9s]

It's a much needed improvement, and I really hope that PGI doesn't cave in to some tantrums. Hopefully they will take this time to improve upon it.

I mean, I haven't played in a few years so I don't have a stake in this, but a change that effectively resets everyone's progress to 0 (negating days of grinding for XP) seems like a sure fire way to make a lot of your active player base leave.

There are ways to redo skill trees / masteries without requiring everyone to start over.

[Orin J.]

I mean, I haven't played in a few years so I don't have a stake in this, but a change that effectively resets everyone's progress to 0 (negating days of grinding for XP) seems like a sure fire way to make a lot of your active player base leave.

There are ways to redo skill trees / masteries without requiring everyone to start over.

i think the problem was more there was way too much grinding for the new model, with too little reward (which they were going to let you buy your way through, so nice of them!)

[Caedis Animus]

i think the problem was more there was way too much grinding for the new model, with too little reward (which they were going to let you buy your way through, so nice of them!)

That was the problem. That and a cumbersome interface.

[Jayof9s]

That and a cumbersome interface.

From what I recall, the MWO devs don't know of any other kind of interface.

[Burning Chrome]

My biggest gripes were the time it would take to re-spec and the fact I would have to unlock items I had no interest in to get to those I wanted.

Besides having to play the "Hunt for your module" mini-game, it is rather painless to swap/test new builds/configs...not so much with the new system.  I do hope PGI works it out though and I applaud the decision to delay implementation.

Cockpit preview and catwalk video.  I like what I see...but there is controversy among players as to the cockpit location.  Others complain that it is "stiff" in motion, but I think it acts more like a mech would. Doesn't bob around to the point it kills the pilot like some others.

Ah well, everyone's mileage varies I suppose.

Preview Videos

[Burning Chrome]

The Assassin is a fun ride so far.

[Caedis Animus]

Best two experiences I've had against them were in my BNC-3M. First one got stupid and tried tanking 3 LPL and 5 ML to the left torso while standing still with an XL engine (Seriously?), and the second one got smart and came close to killing me by repeated SRM blows to the rear CT, and was only stopped by decent maneuvering and the help of about three teammates to get the little jerk off my back.

Long story shot; Easy to kill at medium range, but the SRM backstabber ones are nasty against slower assaults (So, all assaults).

[Cyc]

I like them, definitely feel agile and seem to have right balance of tankiness and mobility.