^^ im gonna get burned, please keep in mind that i have never had a problem with dying in the Ares, usually only making 7 to 5 or 8 to 3, depending on the enemies.

its slots are RA: 2b 3E, la:same Omni rack:2o missle rack:3m very ballanced, you could have 8 laser*omni* 6 ballistic, or 5 missle

i dont believe in a "perfect" mech, infact, there isnt, the ares weaknesses are its appendages and its omni rack, usually caring some useful weapon, taking off its arms limits its fp by 10 slots *4 ballistic, 6 laser* and the omni contains 2, leaving 3 missle slots *rarely used IMO*

ive found that long range is a joke with the ares, its like asking to become a 2nd line mech, but in frontal assault the Ares has many capabilities.

though being unable to load LBX20's, HVAC10 & 20, or any of the 3 slot ballistics, it can still carry a well balance of firepower one good, but hot brawler:

2 Clbx 10's
2 hvmedlas
1 strk6

a few armor tweeks and speed, im not definate on the design. ill get them when i have time. the best thoughts for a ares are "light, fast, quick striking" armor is not really an issue, maybe 9.5 to 10.5 would be fine, giving you maybe a ton to play with. and the ares should never run under 90kph, EVER!

though this takes you to maybe 32 to 34 tons to play with, if you just look at the weapons and thier ranges you can make effective models, 2 lbx10 6 ermedlas, 3 lbx10, 3 erlargelasers, 2 erppc 1 erll.

Jump jets on the ares.... sometimes useful.. but otherwise more of a disgretion than a tactical need, its fast enough to defend itself *possibly a good reason for its longevity* and unless your a strafe sniper *like me, sometimes* they are rather pointless.

i have found the HVmedlas to be the funnest toy with the Ares, a 2 slot 1 ton weapon with 6/6/4 isnt bad, course keep your eye on your heat dial, putting 3 on will assure that you will be needing heatsinks. other ok weapons are the ermedlas,erll,erlpls,and the smaller lasers, i would recommend not using Erll in 3s unless you like overheating, and only use ppc if your in a Tournament game *like CZ* and you have to resort to popup sniping

missles are iffy, i only load streaks, i dont have the time to lock my missles and im usually not in range for LRMS but i am in range of SSRMS, infernos and the ATMmed are also ok, the RL is a nasty toy but you have to keep a good eye on him... yawn!

3 flamers
2 lbx10s
2 Isrm2s.

its got enough heat to shut down some of the coldest assaults, just keep the trigger down, then blow away his capabilities with the lbx10s

ballistics should strictly be short range, longer range weapons that fit well are usually small, cuac2's and hvac2's are nice, but they are small and arent the best attacking weapon at 6 tons or so, lbx10 is the Ares's favorite. its balanced, small, and quick.

so even though people like to use the ares as a sniper, its best abilities are short range, carrying many little high powered weapons and having the speed and manueverability to survive in a 1v1, but just make sure if your brawling to select your targets correctly, never engage straight into the enemy, you'd get sh*7hammered by his brothers, watch for a guy to move too far from his team, circle and isolate, and kill him.

i've had alot of fun in the Ares, ive studied its capabilities and tested hundreds of designs, it may not be your favorite mech but it matches what ive wanted in a mech: speed, armor, and decent FP, i havent found a mech like it that ive felt so comfortable riding in. as long as you dont abuse the 6 laser slots with PPC's then youll probably be fine, also, light gauss is a bad idea, too heavy and if you put it in one of the arms you cant balance it by adding it to another *youll be left with no space* it is a brawler in the purest sense, and can easily fill the ranks of the thor/Cauldie brawlers if used correctly.

now that i have spammed this huge report, really take some time to get to know the ares, you'll find it to be very responsive, very fast, and nicely balanced for use, making it a brawlers dream.

The ares pilots that I find give me the most trouble are the jumpjetting Rac/ERLL combo pilots.

yeah, but i make 10 to 11 kills with few deaths in my Ares short range, usually 2/1 ratio, sometimes better ^^

The few times I've taken an Ares (twice) I've liked it. It did make a nice brawler, it handled well, had JJs, to keep me mobile while fighting, but there are a few things that turn me off it.

It's too over-used...you can't hit a game these days without seeing atleast one. I've always been more into the under used mechs like the Mauler, the Catapult, the Awesome, the Cougar, the Zues, the Dragon, and even brawler Gladiators (outside of Sliverthorn and I, I rarely see them), the list goes on.

The tendency to take no damage...those times I took it, I felt guilty about taking it simply because of that tendency. I don't like having to fight Ares (I can do it, and often come out on top, but not always), to me, the answer is not to take the same thing I despise having to fight, but to out-brawl it, out-snipe it, out-whatever it, even in what could be considered a "crappy" 'mech. I've got a Bushwacker that tends to rip Ares limb-from-limb, even if it is lighter than it, considered lower-tech than it (this matters only for NBT, truly), and used far less than it.

Take NBT for example, the Clans now have an advantage over the IS, more so than their tech advantage was already giving them. Clanners can load up on Ares for a brawl, or snipe, or whatever, and because of the fact that the Ares can last longer than most other 'mechs, the Clanners are going to do well, if not win, every time.

Anyway, off to next period, if I feel like it when I get home, maybe I'll finish this. *kicks school*

Those are the easiest to leg. <_<

My favorite ares was 2 rac2 and 2 erll with jjs
I was in swamp, found myself a nice reverse slope to hide out on, jumped every few seconds and rocked the other team a bit

By the end, every1 was saying "d*mmit serion, quit knocking me around!! I cant shoot anything!!"

Good times

-Serion