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Greyboot's Mechlab: Money, Xp And Progression.


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#1 Greyboots

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Posted 17 November 2013 - 11:20 PM

There's things you really need to know about certain things as a beginner in Mechwarrior Online and today's talk in Dr Greyboot's Mechlab is what to look for in your first 'Mech!

You should consider the following points very carefully, especially when wondering how to spend your Cadet Bonus CBills! Your Cadet Bonus is intended to help you get a smooth transition into Mechwarrior Online and this should help you to kepe soldiering on once it's gone.

Choosing the "wrong" mech can have serious implications on how your game experience changes once the Cadet Bonus runs out!


1) Understanding Progression!

It is important to have a basic understanding of how you progress in Mechwarrior Online and there are three basic ways you progress in MWO (and one more which I get to below).
  • Cbills. This is the currency with which you buy 'mechs and equipment to put on them.
  • Mech XP: this is the XP that you use to upgrade individual mech performance. This XP is unique to the mech you are driving and you can't spend it on another Mech.
  • GXP: this is awarded at a rate of 5% of your Mech XP. GXP can be used as Mech XP OR it can be spent in the "pilot trees" section of the Pilot Lab to unlock abilities across all of your mechs (such as the ability to install Modules or upgrade Consumables).
Training Mechs and your Piloting Skills are important aspects to your performance on the battlefield. Affording a mech is only the first part of the journey and there's a lot more to follow.


Additionally, you must train 3 basic variants of the same type of mech to unlock the "elite" skills for the mech you want to pilot. So, for example, if you want to pilot an Orion, it's a very good idea to buy 3 and train them all so you can unlock further skills on the one you intend to keep. This can be a long process so it's well worth understanding how it's done!


2) To get it out of the way, the "paid up player" option.

Mechwarrior Online uses a "micropayment" system allowing you to purchase Premium Time and individual mechs (as well as vanity items like Cockpit decorations and paint schemes for your mechs). This is done by purchasing Mechwarrior Credits (MC) which you can spend in various ways.
  • Buy Premium Time: This awards you a +50% cBill, Mech XP and GXP bonus per match no matter which 'mech you drive.
  • Buy Standard Mechs: All mechs can be bought using either cBills or MC. Buying a Mech with MC will allow you to skip the play time needed to earn the cbills to buy these mechs.
  • Buy Champion Mechs: Champion Mechs are only available to buy using MC. These are existing variants of a mech which you can buy with cBills but with the special bonus that they generate XP and GXP with a +10% bonus. Apart from this, champion mechs follow all of the other rules governing every other Mech in the game and are not "inherently more powerful" in any way.
  • Buy Hero Mechs: Hero Mechs are only available to buy using MC. They are an existing mech type but a unique variant allowing different loadout options from the standard variants. They also provide a +30% cBill bonus. Apart from this, Hero mechs follow all of the other rules governing every other Mech in the game and are not "inherently more powerful" in any way.
It is all pretty logical how these options fit in with what follows.


In the screenshots that follow, my intention is to show the relationship between the different ways of earning XP and Credits and the total earnings are a secondary factor. it must be noted that I use the Premium Time payment option and all final totals for earnings reflect the +50% Premium bonus to both XP and CBills. These bonuses are added after the individual scores are tallied so all individual awards shown are what every player gets regardless of whether they are a "free player" or utilize a paid option!


3) Earning cBills and XP.

It is perfectly possible to make a lot of cBills and make very little XP OR make a lot of XP but very little money in any given match.
  • It is also perfectly possible to make a lot of cBills and a lot of XP without getting a kill.
  • Being a team player is critical to making both cBills and XP.
  • Winning is not critical to making cBills or XP (although winning certainly makes it easier!)
Posted Image



The first thing you will notice is that kills and Kill Assists are reversed in order of importance between cBills and XP. A kill Assist is generally worth more money than a Kill but it is worth less XP. In the end you have to make a bit of a choice between killing a Mech for the larger XP bonus or letting someone else kill it to garner you the Assist to make you more money instead.

Next is Damage Done. The more damage you do, the more more XP and cBills you will earn.

Saviour Kills: This is a special award you will earn for firing on mechs that have scored a critical hit in the 10 seconds before they are destroyed (you must be firing on the mech at the time!). Despite what the patch notes and many forums say, it is NOT necessary for you to get the kill in order to score a Savior Kill (see this screenshot). The rewards for these are quite large at 6500 cBills and 150 XP per Savior Kill.

Spotting Assist & TAG/NARC bonus: These are special bonuses you receive for helping spot for Missile mechs. If you have a Line of Sight to a mech which is the target of LRMs and have that mech locked as your current target (R is the default lock target key) you will receive a Spotting Assist bonus. Additionally, if you have a TAG equipped and are using it on that mech you will receive a TAG/NARC bonus. If you hit a mech with a NARC beacon and this mech is hit by LRMs, you will recieve the TAG/NARC bonus whether you have line of sight or the target mech locked as your target.

Winning: Whether you win or lose you receive the same amount of cBills as the "win" reward. However you will receive an EXTRA bonus depending on the game type. For Assault you will receive a Salvage Bonus and for Conquest you will receive both a Salvage Bonus and a Resource Bonus.

Posted Image

As we can see in this screenshot, the Salvage bonus is 13,681. When we take into account the extra 200xp from winning the game? Winning the game is worth more in cBills and XP than 2 kills (2 kills in XP, 3 kills in cBills).

What's not in the screenshots:

Capture Assist. Capture Assist is a bonus you receive for capturing a base or resource node. At the time of writing, you can only receive this bonus once per match regardless of match type. this means that playing in a Conquest match with multiple captures per game, you will ge tthe same bonus whether you cap 1 point or 10.

Defensive Kills: When you kill an enemy mech within 10 seconds if it contributing to the capture of a friendly base or resource node you get a Defensive Kill. This is equal to the rewards from a Savior Kill. In my experience these are rare but not unheard of either.

Putting this all together:

It is clear that working as a team is the primary way to make money in MWO, especially for beginning Mechwarriors. It's clear from the screenshots that the vast majority of my CBills and XP come from a source other than actually killing an opponent. In the linked screenshot for Saviour Kills, I actually have zero kills and still make 220,000 cBills and 1755 XP (before the "first of the day" bonus).

Winning alone is (on average) worth more to you than 2 solo kills. In the Screenshot above, my largest single earning in both XP and cBills is from savior kills and playing with a group will rack you up more savior kills. In the screenshot above that, my Spotting Assist + TAG/NARC bonus is worth about 2 kills in cBills and 1.25 kills in XP.

I cannot state this strongly enough: In the end you will make MORE money and xp from understanding and fulfilling your role in a team than you ever will by chasing down and killing opponents or hiding to survive when you should be helping to press an attack.


4) An important note on a different kind of progression.

While there is no "kill stealing" in MWO, some people will still react as if there is. These are generally people who are farming up their Kill/Death ratio. It is important to note that your Kills and Deaths are tracked in MWO but it does absolutely nothing for you in game terms. It is not a stat that is used anywhere in the game and is purely a status symbol.

The game uses Win/Loss ratio to determine what skill bracket to put you in through the matchmaker,that is your ability to be a functioning part of a winning team is what matters.

At every port of call, being a good team player is what is most highly rewarded in Mechwarrior Online.


Class Dismissed.

This post has been edited based on input from the following players; Arnold J Rimmer, Koniving.
Thankyou for your help!

Edited by Greyboots, 03 May 2015 - 03:36 PM.


#2 1DeathWalkingTerror1

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Posted 17 November 2013 - 11:29 PM

Hi there, i'm new. I've just added 6500mc to my credit, but the store option is greyed out. I want to buy a hero mech whilst still on sale. Sale ends tomorrow, please help...

#3 Arnold J Rimmer

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 12:08 AM

First, I think the XP/GXP bonus for Champion chassis is only 10%, not 30%.

Second...

View Post1DeathWalkingTerror1, on 17 November 2013 - 11:29 PM, said:

Hi there, i'm new. I've just added 6500mc to my credit, but the store option is greyed out. I want to buy a hero mech whilst still on sale. Sale ends tomorrow, please help...

Go to the Mechlab, not the store. Click an empty mechbay (under Owned Mechs, bottom left), then Buy Mech. Go to the tab marked with a star, and peruse at your leisure. I'd avoid the Pretty Baby and Golden Boy as a newbie, though.

#4 Greyboots

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:11 AM

View PostArnold J Rimmer, on 18 November 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

First, I think the XP/GXP bonus for Champion chassis is only 10%, not 30%.


Completely right! Thanks!

#5 Arnold J Rimmer

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:19 AM

View PostGreyboots, on 18 November 2013 - 02:11 AM, said:

Completely right! Thanks!

That's not to say they shouldn't be 30%... they'd probably sell a lot more of them to the P2G crowd if that were the case. ;)

#6 Modo44

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:19 AM

Be careful not to use MC on mechs that can be obtained for Cbills. The UI is not very clear on that.

#7 sneeking

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:23 AM

what is greyboots opinion on the early stages of building a stable ?

for example, I own one lite one medium so far. currently both are 8/8 for basic efficiency both have advanced zoom and one has extended sensor for pilot modules.

so which (in your opinion) is the better path, to focus on elite and master for one type early in the career? or round out the weight classes and basic those first ?

#8 sneeking

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:37 AM

View PostModo44, on 18 November 2013 - 02:19 AM, said:

Be careful not to use MC on mechs that can be obtained for Cbills. The UI is not very clear on that.


something I noticed in respect to this (and anyone who knows better can and should correct me) but it seemed to me there were mechs with identical hard points for both Cbills or MC, but what occured to me was for Cbills I got standard engine and structure plus some other slight differences. for MC I got xl engine endo steel and ferro fiber which to my mind saved some grind time on the mech I chose.

#9 Arnold J Rimmer

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:50 AM

View Postsneeking, on 18 November 2013 - 02:23 AM, said:

so which (in your opinion) is the better path, to focus on elite and master for one type early in the career? or round out the weight classes and basic those first ?

I prefer getting a chassis to Elite in order to see how well the mech can perform with all its unlocks doubled (well, the Basics, anyway). Then I sell the one(s) I like the least. Or, I sell them all and choose a new one if it gets that bad.

It all comes down to your own preferences. A couple of my buddies own only one or two variants of several chassis, others like to own and keep every mech...

#10 Modo44

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 02:53 AM

View Postsneeking, on 18 November 2013 - 02:37 AM, said:

something I noticed in respect to this (and anyone who knows better can and should correct me) but it seemed to me there were mechs with identical hard points for both Cbills or MC, but what occured to me was for Cbills I got standard engine and structure plus some other slight differences. for MC I got xl engine endo steel and ferro fiber which to my mind saved some grind time on the mech I chose.

This is the difference between normal and Champion mechs. The Champion mechs come with better loadouts and a permanent 10% XP bonus. Most variants, though, have the exact same loadouts, and in those cases, there is no point in paying MC.

#11 Greyboots

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 03:06 AM

View Postsneeking, on 18 November 2013 - 02:23 AM, said:

what is greyboots opinion on the early stages of building a stable ?

for example, I own one lite one medium so far. currently both are 8/8 for basic efficiency both have advanced zoom and one has extended sensor for pilot modules.

so which (in your opinion) is the better path, to focus on elite and master for one type early in the career? or round out the weight classes and basic those first ?


I'm working on that at the moment but the short version is this:

Elite matters. A LOT. Not just for the elite skills but because finishing Elite gives you a 2x bonus to all of the basic skills too. Compared to someone in an identical mech at only basic level? You accelerate faster, you brake faster, you turn faster, your torso twists faster, you run cooler. In short, you can shoot more often and and get a bead on your target more quickly than your opponent can.

In terms of progression? It's still important, even in the early stages. It will allow you to do more damage and live longer on average. This gives you more opportunity to do all of those things that earns you more cBills or XP. If you are alive longer, it also means you are getting more practice!

Master matters IF you've bought modules.

The better path? BIG topic, very personal preference based. My 2 cents is find a medium you like and get it to master. There's some absolutely great Mediums to suit all sorts of gameplay that can slot well into any team.

#12 sneeking

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Posted 18 November 2013 - 03:25 AM

I almost thought I regretted buying my cn9-d it's only 8/8 basic with 2x ac/2 + 2x ammo 2x ML with ams 2xammo case for all ammo storage its got BAP doubble heat sinks ferro and endo a 300xl adv zoom adv sensor modules and the armour just rounded out to its max weight on that.

It's probably not the greatest most powerful but im getting my best match scores so far and beginning to like it.
would be nice to see it mastered.

#13 sneeking

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 12:03 AM

something els iv noticed in relation to the topic of progression is your mech bonuses can be taken away.

I was sure both my spider and my centurion (both purchased with MC) both had a 2xXP bonus but the extent of changes made to the centurion have rendered it null, the spider is however still eligible.

any comments on this ? I certainly wasn't aware.

#14 Arnold J Rimmer

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 12:28 AM

View Postsneeking, on 19 November 2013 - 12:03 AM, said:

something els iv noticed in relation to the topic of progression is your mech bonuses can be taken away.

I was sure both my spider and my centurion (both purchased with MC) both had a 2xXP bonus but the extent of changes made to the centurion have rendered it null, the spider is however still eligible.

any comments on this ? I certainly wasn't aware.

The 2x XP bonus is for the first victory of the day only. It'll come back after midnight GMT.

If I recall, it was introduced to give people more reason to play multiple mechs rather than just grind through them singly.

#15 sneeking

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 12:55 AM

ok, more things about xp that I did not know.

I shouldn't be surprised though "what I don't know could fill a 4tb hdd

#16 sneeking

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 01:27 AM

things I do know about progression and gaining momentum though, for a new guy don't waste time before taking an interest in xp gxp and your mech and pilot trees.
inside of two weeks I have literally gone from shouting rude words at the monitor while been killed by things not on the radar to calmly stomping about detecting small traces of ecm from the other side of buildings ridgelines and mountains.
the combination of bap adv zoom and 2x adv sensor range opened up a new world of survivability for me.

#17 Koniving

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 07:40 AM

(Savior Kills for non-kills used to be called Savior Kill Assists, but the bonus is identical. The word got removed to simplify the score screen at the end because you could get a savior kill and 5 savior kill assists (You saved 5 people and got the kill) and really they pay out the same so it was just redundant. Technically this also means we lost one payout as well.)

Defensive kills can also occur outside of the confines of a base. They need to have been 'capturing' a base that is sided with your team within x amount of seconds or inside the fence while the base is still allied with you. Neutral and enemy bases do not count.

On this thread for the screenshots on earnings, Greyboots, I might've suggested scrolling the bar on the left to better reflect that the earnings were buffed by premium time (as it shows how much of it was premium) and by however many savior kills, defender kills, spots, etc.

For example (and these weren't specifically taken for this so forgive me for not doing exactly what I'm suggesting here on the second one but it is done on the first), these two are without premium time but with the 25% bonus for Founder's mechs (kind of like the 30% bonus for heroes and Phoenix mechs).

Founder's Hunchback 4G(F).
Posted Image

Founder's Catapult C1(f)
Posted Image

Without premium time, you can see that notification in the center. That way they know not to think down on themselves for not making 180,000 or so per match. Even my earnings here are a bit inflated with the 25% founder's bonus on my Hunch and Catapult.

View Post1DeathWalkingTerror1, on 17 November 2013 - 11:29 PM, said:

Hi there, i'm new. I've just added 6500mc to my credit, but the store option is greyed out. I want to buy a hero mech whilst still on sale. Sale ends tomorrow, please help...


You were able to solve this I hope? Remember that there are more sales every Friday afternoon (1 PM Eastern Standard Time; 10 AM Pacific). Since Black Friday is coming up I'm expecting a very big sale then.

Edit: Clarified when on Friday as some people buy something just minutes before the sale starts.

Edited by Koniving, 19 November 2013 - 07:52 AM.


#18 sneeking

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 08:02 AM

I only have one defencive kill in my career, he was cappin and I was only man alive.
it was epic it was my best match in a spider till this day

#19 Greyboots

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 03:32 PM

View PostKoniving, on 19 November 2013 - 07:40 AM, said:

(Savior Kills for non-kills used to be called Savior Kill Assists, but the bonus is identical. The word got removed to simplify the score screen at the end because you could get a savior kill and 5 savior kill assists (You saved 5 people and got the kill) and really they pay out the same so it was just redundant. Technically this also means we lost one payout as well.)

Defensive kills can also occur outside of the confines of a base. They need to have been 'capturing' a base that is sided with your team within x amount of seconds or inside the fence while the base is still allied with you. Neutral and enemy bases do not count.


Awesome. Thanks for the input! I'm at the point in my progression where I know enough to be useful to beginners but certainly don't know everything. However, if I wait much longer I'm going to begin to forget what it was like to be "just starting out" in MWO and I find that my posts for beginners start to lose relevance or become too "advanced" if I wait any longer.

A question on Defensive Kills: Are these like Saviour Kills where "assists" still matter OR do you have to be the player who gets the kill credit?

Quote

On this thread for the screenshots on earnings, Greyboots, I might've suggested scrolling the bar on the left to better reflect that the earnings were buffed by premium time (as it shows how much of it was premium) and by however many savior kills, defender kills, spots, etc.


I considered this but chose to put in a section on premium time instead.

In the end it was my intention to show the relationship between the individual ways to earn rather than place a focus on the overall earnings themselves. This meant staying at the top so the individual methods of earning were clearly visible with individual totals before the Premium bonuses were applied. I almost ran the images through GIMP to blur out the actual earnings for this reason.

Point taken though, I have now added a notation that all screenshots have a total earnings with the +50% Premium CBill and XP bonuses.

Thanks!

Edited by Greyboots, 19 November 2013 - 03:40 PM.


#20 Koniving

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Posted 19 November 2013 - 03:43 PM

View PostGreyboots, on 19 November 2013 - 03:32 PM, said:

A question on Defensive Kills: Are these like Saviour Kills where "assists" still matter OR do you have to be the player who gets the kill credit?


Not certain. I always got the kill but I will have to try and arrange something akin to it to find out. Will keep my eyes open.





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