The problem isn't that the Atlas II compares poorly to the AS7-D, which it doesn't. It's that it compares poorly to other heavy assault 'Mechs the SLDF had access to (Devastator, Thunder Hawk, Nightstar etc.) and doesn't seem so frightening. (And it was supposed to have been a Royal-exclusive model.) I think that at the very least, it's the command 'Mech in a company made up of those monsters.
It's true that by the time a target closes to a range where the AS7-D can finally bring its AC/20 into play, the Atlas II will have worked it over with its LRMs, ERLLs and LB-10X. But that still seems like a weak work-over compared to what the aforementioned 'Mechs can do.
cheers,
Gabe
As far as I can see on short notice, the
Devastator wasn't available -- the MUL places the intro date of the oldest variant into 3036, and that's the AC/10-armed 1D model. So that's one down right there.
Even if it wasn't for that, though, you're basically comparing dedicated anti-'Mech specialists (
Nightstar,
Thunder Hawk) to a more general-purpose machine (
Atlas II) right in said specialists' area of expertise (that is, against 'Mech opposition only), so naturally enough said comparison comes pre-loaded right out of the gate. And don't try to tell me that the Gauss rifle
isn't primarily a dedicated anti-'Mech weapon -- pretty much the first thing anyone on this site will have to say about it is that it can take a 'Mech's head off in a single shot from 22 hexes away, not that it can remove almost a ton of standard plate from a
tank at the same distance, after all...