7 replies to this topic

[Deathlike]

This is for newbies, and people who think newbies have it good.

In MWO, it is virtually imperative to have a good plan of progression in order to minimize the mistakes you make. This is very true in combat, but it is equally important for your experience and enjoyment of this game. So, here's the most important tips and explanations for these rules of thumb... for the inexperienced, and the "naysayers".

1) Your first 25 games should be STRICTLY be about collecting the money, and figuring out what weapons you like.

The devs put in this bonus so you can enjoy acquiring a mech early. However, this is really a painful thing. You should expect to lose initially and often. If you win, it's probably by luck or chance or some former experience in a previous MW game title. In any case, it's not your fault... it'e that trial mechs are also stock mechs... which are usually poorly outfitted designs that are better for the dice rolling game that it is based on, and not for an online game. It is best to use the current "Champion" trial mechs as these are slowly being rolled out and are better suited for new players. You will see them with a (C) in their name. Losing will happen... just focus on learning on how to pilot and shoot.. everything will get better as they say.

2) Buying your first mech is important. Do some research before you buy it or you'll regret it. Have EXTRA money on hand (expect to spend from 50% to double the cost of your mech to give it the good stuff). Also, buy the specific variant you plan to spend the most time with first...

The forums here are very noisy and whiny, but we're all happy to give you some basic ideas on what mech you should buy. However, you need to know what weapons you like and the style of play you prefer to do. There is no "best mech".. there are simply "good mechs" that fit a certain playstyle that would make you more effective.. such as sniper or brawler. That is why point #1 is important. There are many mechs that are simply not newbie friendly.. so here's a small list:

Commando (smallest mech, least armor/missile dependent)
Spider (requires a very different mentality)
Dragon (primarily a hit and run mech and not a brawler)
Awesome (a Stalker would be better generally doing the same thing)

I'm sure there's more (Catapults with its big cockpit or the Cataphract with its big torso), but it's kinda up to you to figure this out (especially when you can't try all the mechs just yet...)

3) Once you buy your mech, immediately upgrade to DHS and max out your armor... remove weapons and ammo as necessary. Medium Lasers (every mech can hold some, outside of the Catapult-A1) are your true bread and butter until you get enough money for other weapons and heatsinks.

Find any and every excuse to make the most of your tonnage... if you have extra tonnage you don't know what to do with, you could always add more DHS, and occasionally ammo. Having more armor will reduce the chance of dying quickly (although that is directly related to your skill). The DHS upgrade itself will reduce the heat problems that all stock/trial mechs suffer from.. it is also important to know that engine heatsinks are a lot more useful in this game by design.. so having a 250 engine (assuming you're not in a Commando) at minimum will make life easier.

Note: Changing your engine should be the LAST upgrade you make on a mech, since it is generally expensive, particularly for light mechs that are dependent on them.

Epic idea: Google "MWO Mechlab" and you'll figure out how much $$$ you'll have to grind for to make the most of your mech.

4) Grinding for the basic efficiencies has some order.. ideally you should apply the XP in the order you can obtain them. It's up to you to decide what the order is.. but remember that it will affect your mech rather significantly.

5) After obtaining all the basic efficiencies, you have one of two options:
a) Get a different chassis altogether
b) Get another variant of the chassis you are working on

While option A seems like a good idea, you will actually be a more productive pilot overall if you do option B. Remember that you will have to keep grinding for more money to buy 3 different variants of the same chassis to benefit from this... and it will grant you future relief from later restrictions. Eliting your mechs will make life easier, especially for your preferred/best variant.

Some of the Elite benefits are not that interesting.. Pinpoint is very useful, while next to Speed Tweak for lights (speed is life). Quick Ignition technically is more useful if you overheat/shutdown often... Fast Fire is only helpful if you fire often and don't overheat.. so the order isn't too important.

The Master Slot is only useful if you really plan on using the mech on a more serious basis. It's also a great/bad time filler waster for more C-bills that you'll need for future purchases, so as your initial chassis, it would be good to recoup your investment by doing so.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not use GXP (Global/General XP) to upgrade your mech efficiencies. These are accumulated at 5% of the XP you get for any mech, so these are precious and should be primarily used for pilot modules. Unfortunately, it is VERY EASY to upgrade your basic mech efficiencies with GXP (like Coolrun)... make sure your mech's XP is being used and not GXP. You will probably not be refunded GXP on request.

You can ask others about what modules are good or not.. but that's up to you ultimately to make the most of them...

Doing any or all of this will make your life easier. I use these basic rules myself when I started playing this game, but not everyone will agree with them.. I think most newbies will be best served with them because the game is unforgiving when you make a mistake out of combat just as much as in combat. Once you get the hang of it, the game itself is more enjoyable for everyone.

[Harleen Quinzel]

You may wish to add that:

(1) you don't have to upgrade the engine in all the mechs you buy.

Simply strip the engine out of one, and place it in another mech.

(2) Be careful upgrading structure, armour, DHS, Artemis etc unlike other loadout changes these cannot be removed without paying to downgrade, and if you do so, they do not appear in your inventory to be used on another mech.

(3) As per (2) Items that you remove from your mech are stored in your inventory - they are not automatically sold. This is particularly important for engines, where you can save yourself a lot of matches accumulating credits, by simply factoring in the sale price of the current engine.

[Spiketail Drake]

Another tip:

If you decide to go for a specific mech (Say a Stalker 3f), buy a variant FIRST (preferably the cheapest), then a second one. Don't change much on these two mechs, you want to save that money. Play them till you unlocked all their basics, sell the mech ONLY (IE, strip it) to buy your final Stalker 3f (or the Misery, you don't want to start out with a Hero mech). You should have a good cache of weapons from stripping your other Stalkers.

Despite what others say, DHS is expensive, but you don't want to spend 1.5m/3m Cbills for mechs you are going to sell anyway! So only buy that on the mech you want to keep!

[Cubivorre]

Deathlike, on 20 May 2013 - 06:40 PM, said:

Spider (requires a very different mentality)

I liked your post! Very well organized for new players. And pay close attention to what he said about some chassis' not being new player friendly; those robits require a pretty high level of skill to use effectively and more often than not a new player won't have that yet. My advice would be practice, learn the ropes and then if you still want to.. Jump into one of those chassis' and give it your all!

If in fact you do end up using a Spider, I have a guide made up to help you along with that too!
http://mwomercs.com/...-d-erppc-guide/

[Deathlike]

There's one other thing I'd like to mention:

The most expensive variant for a chassis is NOT NECESSARILY the best one. Usually the chassis contain an XL engine and XL engines are very costly. The Atlas-K for example is not the best Atlas (by a mile).

Despite the fact that XL engines are lighter than standard engines, losing a side torso (Left or Right Torso) is the equivalent of losing the Center Torso. Mechs that tend to lose their side torsos are usually risky bets and can be mitigated with good torso twisting skill and/or selective exposure.

Edited by Deathlike, 21 May 2013 - 06:12 AM.

[Mechteric]

The best tip ever: Use smurfy's mechlab application to build your mech loadout before doing so in game. This will save you a lot of time and money trying to swap things around in game.

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/

[RiSE]

What helped me a lot in the beginning: try to stay alive instead of trying to kill.
And stick with the group in the beginning is a tip, learn from others and do not disconnect but spectate and watch other's tactics.
And don't forget to keep a close eye on your equipment, I had more then 20 million sitting in the garagemechlab :-)
And last but not least, watch the streams of NGNG and Edmiester on twitch - http://nl.twitch.tv/...arrior%20Online.

[Duncan Jr Fischer]

First thing to learn, if you already HAVE the experience of playing previous MechWarrior titles, - you can't survive alone! And I can't stress this enough. Going 1 on 1 with the enemy will end poorly until you get used to MWO combat specifics, and engaging more than one enemy mech is dragging you down, unless you end it quickly, taking cover and uniting with the rest of the team. Watch other players, see the results of their behaviour.

Another tip - Light and Medium mechs are as powerful machines, as Heavy and Assault mechs. They are just used in a different way. If you ride an Assault, don't underestimate some Light or Med running to you. You can put an end to them quick, but they can do that to you if not even faster. So stick with the team, at least while you are getting used to MWO.

Very important tip - Use "R" a lot. Do it whenever you see a red triangle, especially a hollow one. You spot enemy position to the team, which is crucial for tactical awareness, and also you receive a damage report on your target. That helps you concentrate fire on the most damaged parts - the best way to bring it down.

And lastly - don't shoot at the enemy mech as a whole. Try aiming at some important locations - center torso, back, legs.. It is very useful to know the organization of different mechs, for example, breaking a single right torso on most Hunchbacks will leave them unarmed, as they have a good arsenal, but stored in one place.