117 replies to this topic

[Deshiva]

Now that we had a chance to test our preordered mechs what are your opinions on them?

Mine at this point, mind i had very limited time to play and theese are all based on stock

Timber wolf
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Just love it, pleasantly suprised with how well it survived battle. Maybe hitboxes are good, the arms made torso twisting effective or my opponents were bad shots. But i managed to survive until almost all armor was gone. This mech is so fast for a heavy, really fit my playstyle. Loadout is nicely spread out,

two energy each arm,

a missile and ballistic on each torso, one torso has an odd energy extra.

In short the all weapons in arms weakness most clan mechs seem to have is not really the case here.

Kit fox
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At first this mech felt sorta large, then i stod next to a firestarter and was looking up at it. Ye this mech is small, the next suprise was the sheer amount of firepower i could fit in. Sure hardpoint wise it's not alot of them, but weight wise you can shove in the heaviest weapons and still fit some extras.

Armor wise it has pretty low, but for some reason it felt pretty sturdy. Maybe the size made it harder to hit, or i didn't draw much fire. Anyway the arms seemed to work good for twisting defence. But the arms seem to hold all the weapons iirc, so it's risky.

The low speed of kit fox felt like it would be an issue, but i personally covered the big guys and had no issue staying alive with enemies rather shooting the big uns. That said whenever i overextended it was scarey.

Hope to hear some first impressions of the rest of you.

[Pariah Devalis]

Tested all of the mechs except the Adder and the Dire Wolf.

Kit Fox: did not get too much of a chance to get used to it. Seems like a solid platform, however. Surprisingly durable.

Nova: LOVE this mech. Love it!

Stormcrow: Barely used it. My build was far from optimized and the puggies in the team let the enemy surround us....

Summoner: Surprised by how the mech handles. Flies like a bird. Reminds me of a faster, more mobile, but simplified Thunderbolt in that it does a lot, but nothing outstanding.

Timber Wolf: A blast. Can be focused to do one thing, but has the tonnage to play both the ranged and brawling game well. I love the flexibility.

Warhawk: Solid. Fun. A lot like how an awesome is supposed to be, except it works beautifully. The negatives of Clan large lasers and large pulse lasers really are felt here, however. Still, it is a platform equally adept at LRM boating as it is at melting an enemy to scrap with energy weapons.

[Lukoi Banacek]

Withholding reviews until they drop and I can see them in relation to current meta and common foes and trends in real matches. They seem great in a small pool of players almost all of whom were also in clan mechs. Not a good indicator imo of the strengths and weaknesses of the new mechs.

[Deshiva]

Lukoi, on 13 June 2014 - 11:49 AM, said:

Withholding reviews until they drop and I can see them in relation to current meta and common foes and trends in real matches. They seem great in a small pool of players almost all of whom were also in clan mechs. Not a good indicator imo of the strengths and weaknesses of the new mechs.

Sound thinking, though i did name the thread "early" for a reason : )

Basically just first impressions that don't claim to be fully fleshed out or tested yet, some impressions do turn out true. For example i heard people say dire wolves have some issue with their CT hitbox being or feeling large. Something that might be compounded by the chassis low twist

[BLOOD WOLF]

The Timberwolf was awesome. I was astounded by how durable the mechs are; However that same belief in armor can cause you to feel invincible.

[Sniper09121986]

I tested Prime versions of all four mechs, mostly stock, but I did modify them somewhat.

Kit Fox

Took torsi from S config (with JJ) and the magic right arm from C config with ECM, 3 AMS (!!!), BAP and an energy slot for TAG, I put a ERMlas there and a ERMlas and a PPC into the other arm. A really nimble mech with all the speed I needed (enough to stay in formation) and a whooping firepower for its size and weight. If you are playing for lolz more than frags or just want to be a good teammate, look no further.

Nova

Took a torso with an AMS slot but otherwise a stock Prime. Chainfire only, alpha is possible only with one hand at a time. The overall low-slung profile may be an issue for poptarts, but since I am not one it is just fine. Suppressing fire never was THAT suppressing, I tell you that. The sole issue is lack of missile slots, unless I missed any. Does have ballistics in side torso though.

Timber Wolf

Replaced the SPLas with a third ERMLas for consistency, otherwise pure stock. Very versatile, participated in a fast-paced brawl and dished out a lot of pain. Are LRM launchers or far protruding CT catching damage? Not really, I was damaged quite evenly and none too fast. Does not suffer from typical Clan mech quirk of stuffing all weapons in the arms. Probably the most versatile mech in the game to date.

Dire Wolf

Stock config, lasers on chainfire. Did most damage with them, the UAC's and the LRM just look like they did not know what to stuff into that thing. Slow and ponderous for two main reasons: I have little experience with Atlas which was, like, a year ago, and I forgot to install arm actuators in the Mechlab (maybe had to remove UAC's for them to fit). No solo raids for this mammoth unless you know what you are doing (and maybe not even then). The armament... press Fire to oppress and humiliate. The Prime may suffer from arm loss, but the B config dakka-monster certainly does not. The best assault mech in the game, and there is C config with JJ and ECM... Not implemented because it also has ATM and, well, probably is just too much for IS fans to swallow right now.

[Pariah Devalis]

Sniper09121986, on 13 June 2014 - 02:37 PM, said:

I tested Prime versions of all four mechs, mostly stock, but I did modify them somewhat.

Kit Fox

Took torsi from S config (with JJ) and the magic right arm from C config with ECM, 3 AMS (!!!), BAP and an energy slot for TAG, I put a ERMlas there and a ERMlas and a PPC into the other arm. A really nimble mech with all the speed I needed (enough to stay in formation) and a whooping firepower for its size and weight. If you are playing for lolz more than frags or just want to be a good teammate, look no further.

Funny, I was planning on testing a similar Kit Fox, but ran out of time. Guess I will have a second shot Sunday.

http://goo.gl/ioeVPj

ECM and ERPPC in the C arm, twin ERMLas in the Prime arm, S torsos with a total of 2 jump jets, will swap the legs out for something without that negative perk to mobility, machine gun in each side torso, and a couple additional DHS to keep those energy weapons firing.

[juxstapo]

Hate to just go with the crowd, but I'm not going to contradict just for the sake of saying something different. In this case, the crowd is absolutely right. Only had the funds to invest in three:

Kit Fox: Freakishly durable for it's weight. Think of it more as a small medium than a light. Can run triple AMS + ECM (yoinks!). Can Streak boat better than IS mediums.

Nova: Had limited play time, and neglected this fellow the most. But my initial impression was... impressed. Just knee-jerk reaction, but the low slung arms, well, the low slung mech, and the general gist of omnipod selection makes this thing scream Brawler to me.

Timber Wolf; This is the most lore-correct feeling mech in the game. The Prime config is literally effective at every range. Seriously. They took to heart the fact that this is the mascot mech for the Franchise in many people's mind. Absolutely no complaints here. -S variant got JJ's and a Streak-24 rack yo!

My only regret is not having the cash on hand for a Masakari pack. Excellent job thusfar on the clan mechs.

However... I am almost certain that within the first month, the community at large will be shrieking for a weapon nerf. Amiright?
Just spectating after pulling some stupid something resulting in my Timber Wolf splodin, I watched Dire Wolves in two separate matches running quintuple clan UAC/5s and absolutely murdering with them.
Blue HUD and blue missile contrails are mcSmexy.
Burst fire cannon and ripple fire missle tubes feel classic. They might technically be less effective, but they are closer to what I wanted a new MechWarrior game to feel like, capisce?

EDIT: I'm jumping (sic) the gun (sic) here, but I suspect the Summoner has the potential to shine as a meta-tastic jump sniper.

Edited by juxstapo, 13 June 2014 - 03:04 PM.

[Corbenik]

Tried out all the Prime of each mech and some Stormcrow and Daishi Stocks, They felt really nice For a Custom Maker noob like myself as Opposed when I try a IS stock and always feel ugh need Cbill Badly to change everything I can.

Found myself tweaking the TW prime with Dual PPC +4x C-s-streak 6 (worked awesome against Lights and Tenderized enemy mechs)Then switched to 1 PPC and 4 LRM 15 + tag didnt get much on that build because time for pts was running out but did Decent damage.

Kitfox was fun used the ECM +Ams arm and Large laser small laser stock arm didnt bother messing with it too much was great support If i stuck to my team had great survivability and sometimes was able to get the drop on people's back when they tried to brawl the groups.

Nova Prime stock, was crazy fun and showed my lack of Heat management skills also the low slung arms would hit buildings in Rivercity night making me waste a hand alpha forcing my to wait. but once in awhile if I could catch people off guard id be able to carve them little by little had a blast.

I just cant wait till the 17th to actually be able to have Cbills and make modifications permanent but the atmosphere was way better and cheerful as opposed to the regular gloom i see lately in the matches i play on Live server.

[NRP]

I only played the Dire Wolf and Warhawk. From my experience, neither of these mechs is an "I Win!" button. They seem solid enough, but the Dire Wolf especially is a complicated beast with seemingly many tradeoffs to be made. Definitely need more time to figure this one out.

[101011]

juxstapo, on 13 June 2014 - 02:57 PM, said:

EDIT: I'm jumping (sic) the gun (sic) here, but I suspect the Summoner has the potential to shine as a meta-tastic jump sniper.

It is good at it, but I feel the Timber Wolf will do it better. It can run 2 ERPPC and a Guass, while moving the same speed as the Summoner. I do hear that the Summoner's JJ's work better, but as I do not have the funds for a Timber Wolf, I cannot test it on the server.

[Mad Strike]

The only Clan Mech i got was the Dire Wolf ; totally love it , best assault (slow , Big firepower) currently avaible. Prime variant is a beast. Of course you need to know how to position yourself and have some spatial awareness skill to tame it. Target info gathering and Adv. Seismic sensor modules help a lot ; Radar depravation to counter Target Decay.

Now my opinion on some of the Clan mechs that i don't have but fight against (from a Dire Wolf perspective):

Kit Fox: very sneaky decent firepower

Adder: good sniper

Summoner: nice support / poptart

Timber wolf: woow , dificult to fight against him in open areas , had to move between buildings to get it.

Warhawk: nice direct support fire , lots of versatile configurations.

Haven't encounter / noticed the stormcrow or nova.

My battle experience in general: Great!!! This is a game changer , its been more than a year since i haven't enjoyed this game like now. Fights are more intense and the best part : IS MECHS KEEP THE PACE!!!!. So if you haven't got any clan mech , don't worry your IS mechs are still viable .....i got killed more by IS mechs than Clan mechs

[Xarian]

NRP, on 13 June 2014 - 05:54 PM, said:

I only played the Dire Wolf and Warhawk. From my experience, neither of these mechs is an "I Win!" button. They seem solid enough, but the Dire Wolf especially is a complicated beast with seemingly many tradeoffs to be made. Definitely need more time to figure this one out.

From what I've read, anything in front of it dies pretty fast (faster than pretty much any other mech), but getting things to stand in front of it is the whole challenge. It's apparently very clumsy and has non-existent arm twists, so it can't effectively retaliate when hit from behind.

Is this accurate?

[KursedVixen]

all the mechs i played seemed cool to me though it's still to early to tell how they'll really do until tuesdays final release.

I LOVE THE NOVA!!! I did a little customization on the s and got myself a killing machine finsihed off a DDC Atlast with it.

[Kael Posavatz]

Kit Fox
3x AMS, AMS range extension module, AMS Overload, 3 tons of ammunition....
Spheroid asks: "Why aren't my LRMs working?"

Timber Wolf Prime
Amazing right out of the box

Dire Wolf
Dire, 'nough said.

Nova Prime
Yes, those Clan ER Medium lasers are piss yellow, but I can take down an Atlas with them.

[Shimmering Sword]

I stuck mostly to my DireWolf. It's definitely the new king of high DPS. I ran it with 2x LB20X and 2x LB10X. A 60 damage alpha that generates no heat and up close can be focused into a single location.
The trade off is it's stalker like maneuverability. Very slow, slow turning, barely any torso twist, no arm side to side. Also it's large nose is an easily identified CT hitbox, so it's very easy to focus down.

How easy to kill? What better to prove than against my own direwolf. I jumped an enemy direwolf and took it from fresh to dead in 5 seconds, all because he didn't twist off the damage, 140 lbx pellets into his face.

The test environment was full of quick brawls. I have a feeling that when things slow down the current IS meta loads are still going to be competitive, but we'll have to wait an see.

[Butane9000]

Can I get a breakdown of the Warhawk, Stormcrow and Summoner?

[WonderSparks]

I didn't play much with other people, but I went into the Testing Grounds with all 8 of the Prime variants without altering them. Even on Alpine the moment my Nova alpha struck a target, instead of the heat building up it simply shut down.
But for the most part I liked the 'Mechs and their performance; I even found a nice, simple build for the Timber Wolf S that I liked. (As well as a dual Gauss dual UAC/20 build for the Dire Wolf )

[Mordin Ashe]

If I may ask, what do you think will be the best Clan LRM boat? TW or Warhawk, and what configs? I will try to build one very heavy LRM boat just for giggles tomorrow but thats still more than a day away.

[CyborgDragon]

Mordin Ashe, on 14 June 2014 - 03:26 AM, said:

If I may ask, what do you think will be the best Clan LRM boat? TW or Warhawk, and what configs? I will try to build one very heavy LRM boat just for giggles tomorrow but thats still more than a day away.

Probably the Timberwolf, it can boat 4xLRM 20s and have a bunch of medium lasers for backup, plus its pretty maneuverable and has JJs if you build it on the -S config.