62 replies to this topic

[H00L1GAN]

Hi all, TIA for opinions and advice.

I've been driving mechs since the dawn of PC and played Mechwarrior RPG and Battletech (and Aerotech) when I was little.

I fairly suck at MWO, been playing slightly less than a week. But I love it. I want to improve and be part of the bigger game, CW, etc.

I know what i'm doing wrong as a pilot, I've been scoring more lately, trying not to chase bait, rush, remembering it's a sim and not an FPS, etc.. I usually play the trial summoner and try and remember to snipe and not brawl.

As far as the rest of the game I am in extreme need of advice. I have 9,760,109 C-bills and 2667 GXP. i'm ready to spend but can't afford a summoner yet. Also, I can't spend real world $ for about a week.

Can I get a quick primer on what I should buy that can take a few hits, has JJ, and is long range?

how do I / Should I spend my GXP?

Also, is 50.00 a good inital investment in the game?

thanks for helping me unnewb myself.

[Banditman]

If you are going to play consistently, the best purchase you can make is Premium time. Nothing else will get you further faster. I'd recommend starting with 30 days. The key is consistency. If you're only playing once or twice a week the premium time won't really have enough opportunity to pay off, but if you're playing three or four (or more) times per week, yea, you're going to get tremendous value from premium time.

The next most valuable investment is mech bays. You can't even begin to understand the quality of life improvement you experience by having more mech bays at your disposal.

For starting out, that's all I'd recommend. If you like the game, at that point start looking at some of the mech packages such as Resistance or Clan.

Best of luck.

[DEMAX51]

Welcome to the game, bud!

First off: even for MechWarrior "old hats" this game can have a pretty steep learning curve, so hang in there and keep learning

Second, I might be inclined to save those C-bill and GXP until you have a VERY good idea of what sorts of 'Mechs you like to pilot. When you ARE ready to invest, you're going to want to get three variants of the same chassis (you need three of them to level their 'Mech skills all the way, and those skills make a gigantic difference in 'Mech performance).

If you're looking to drop some cash on the game, you can do a lot with $50. If you REALLY love summoners, for $55 bucks you can get three of them, each comes with a 'mechbay, and the Prime variant will give you 30% more c-bills every match you play in it, so that could be a good first investment for you.

[Koniving]

GXP save for modules under the pilot tree. Only use regular XP (Mech XP) on unlocking things for mechs.

Also welcome to MWO.

[Big Tin Man]

Welcome! A couple things.

1. Do you have a major preference for Clan vs. IS mechs? Clan tech is WAY more expensive and makes a long grind, longer.

2. Summoners are not a great mech at the moment. They're manuverable but suffer from not having enough free tonnage or enough hardpoints. Personally I hate the beer keg (SHOOT ME HERE PLEASE) missile rack. If you like heavies, the Timber Wolf is probably the best mech in the game. IS best heavy mech is open for debate between the Dragon 1N, Thunderbolt 9S and 5S, but none of those have JJ's.

3. Once you own a chassis, you can fully customize it to fit the role you want to play (brawler, sniper, whatever). Go play over in smurfy's for a while. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...echlab#modified

4. If you want to go IS, the resistance pack is a pretty good value if you can stretch to $60. If you want to go clan, you'd want to go al a carte, because the lower level clan packs are, well, not very good. For the al a carte money, you'd probably be better off buying MC and buying several hero's to get c-bills faster though.

Edited by Big Tin Man, 28 January 2015 - 10:40 AM.

[HlynkaCG]

First off welcome to the game and to the forum.

Secondly the basics.

You say you've played the Pen-and-Paper games as well as previous Mechwarrior titles, do you have any particularly strong feelings about faction or allegiance?

What other trial mechs have you played and what did you like or not like about them?

If you have team-speak installed and are looking for some friendly games and general assistance drop me a line at ts3.hhod.com:7345 (no password required). Even if you don't sign on with us we're always happy to help out new players, answer questions, and expand community.

ETA:
If you're looking for a solid Inner Sphere mech that plays similarly to the trial summoner I reccomend checking out the Cataphract 3D or IS 55 tonners like the Griffon and Wolverine, at first blush they sound like they'd be up your alley. Otherwise if you really are a Clanner at heart take the Summoner and run with it.

Again welcome to the game .

Edited by HlynkaCG, 28 January 2015 - 10:53 AM.

[Phobic Wraith]

I would diverge from the standard advice and tell you that if you spend any money on the game, spend it on things of permanence. While premium time is a great purchase, it can easily be wasted and squandered when your life gets busy. If we're talking money making, I would look at a hero chassis you like. They have a permanent c-bill boost.

The most important purchase you can make is for more mechbays. They permanently increase your garage of death and allow you to say, "gee, I've never run a Hunchback before, I'll buy three and check it out." Full paint and camo unlocks are nice, but completely superfluous. So it's up to you. I'd look at things that don't run out, though.

Edited by Phobic Wraith, 28 January 2015 - 10:41 AM.

[JC Daxion]

If i was a brand new player starting out and wanted to spend some money, I would pick up one of the mastery packs..

For a first timer, i would highly recommend the centurion or hunchback, Mediums are a great place to learn the game, and the cost isn't bad.. You can then use your c-bills for some upgrades, weapons, and save for a module you like a bit down the road.

But seeing you said sniper, And honestly, i would not really recommend that as a first time playing for the first time.. you need to learn mechs/maps/game.. and sniping doesnt make that as easy

But seeing you did say you like to snipe, The Dragon is an excellent long range mech, and has snipe options, which is another mastery pack you could buy, (if you really want to snipe, to me this or the HBK, are the best newbie bang for the buck). They come with a hero for boosting c-bills, and a champion for helping to grind XP. Now i will say i am not a big fan of the hunchback 4P, (the energy boat mech, for boating energy, i just have others i enjoy more, but it a very solid mech) and many love it,. the hero also has Gauss quirks, which is a sniper mech. It also has the 4SP, which is a laser/missile mech, which is one of my favorite mechs in the game.

the centurion pack, to me is a better over all, has a very nice engine in one of them, along with a nice mix of mechs, and the Yen-lo-wang is a great mech and cents are just a great mix of fire power and mobility, with lots of load out options, which are great for new players.

The dragon.. if you really want to snipe, this might be for you, over all just an excellent package.. While it might not have the 1N, the others are very good mechs, and hey if you really enjoy them, you have more than enough c-bills to pick up the 1n and upgrade it anyway.. If you learn on any of the packs i mentioned, they are all very good learning mechs.. and you will be a better player for it, verse say buying a timber wolf as your first mech...

If i had 50 bucks to spend, that is what i would do..... Keep saving that GXP to unlock your first modules, either weapons if you really know what you want, or unlock Radar deprivation, and then use 6M to buy the module, you really can't go wrong doing that first.

Edited by JC Daxion, 28 January 2015 - 11:03 AM.

[Nori Silverrage]

Don't ever spend GXP on mechs. GXP takes a long time to accrue and there are many many things to get with it. Mech XP becomes more or less worthless after a while so just hang in there until you get all the upgrades.

As far as what to do with your money. I highly recommend not getting the Summoner. It is a pretty lackluster mech currently and you really don't see it played very often. Maybe they will tweak it to get better, but who knows.

I would highly recommend getting a stormcrow while they are on sale. 8.3mil is what they cost now. Advantage is you don't need to buy any upgrades and the Crow can do SRM, SSRM, LRM, Gauss, PPC, laser vommit, wub wub... So you can get a lot of versatility out of it.

Otherwise if you wanted to go IS, I would look at maybe a stalker 4N, or a heavy of some sort, like the Cataphract, or the Jager.

Oh and $50 will get you 3 clan mechs if you do al la carte. It'll could also give you enough MC to buy a mastery pack which includes 30 days of premium time (super helpful). There is a few packs in there that are pretty good depending on what type of play you like.

Edited by Nori Silverrage, 28 January 2015 - 12:07 PM.

[Gauvan]

I would second the advice to buy a mech pack that comes with premium time--you get mechs to grind with plus the premium time to boost your earnings. As JC mentioned, the Mastery Packs are a great way to get a leg up when you are starting out. Unfortunately that's an IS only option. If you are a Clan aficionado the only combo packs that include premium time are the $120 and $240 collections.

The Mastery Packs that I feel are best are the Stalker, Cataphract, Centurion, Jenner, and Firestarter. That's not to say that there aren't other good ones, just that those are the ones I think appeal to the broadest number of players.

[Void Angel]

As others have said, Premium Time is perhaps your best use of MC (other than the occasional mech bay,) and every time I have ever used GXP to unlock a 'mech skill, I've regretted it - the same for selling Battlemechs, particularly with the quirk system.

Other than that, there are a lot of guides out there (shameless plug: check my signature!) and those of us who haunt these forums will help you with any specific questions you might have. Consider joining a unit, as well. Many units will take brand new players who are willing to learn and train them up in the way they should go.

Welcome to MWO, and see you on the battlefield!

[H00L1GAN]

“Save GXP for modules under the pilot tree” - Thank you.

“Do you have a preference for Clan vs IS mechs?” I like them both, Since there’s no Uziel in the game yet, I prefer Clan mechs. I like to snipe from range with cannons. I know the Summoner sucks at the moment, it’s just he only trial mech with PPC, AC and JJ. I don’t like the trial TImberwolf because since I don’t own it, I can’t mod it to carry PPCs, and the lack of JJ means I can’t pop tart.

I really suck with the way lasers work in this game. I try to move fast and turn in random directions to avoid damage and keeping the lasers on target is hard for me.

Thanks for the Smurfys link J

“What other trial mechs have you played and what did you like/not like about them?”

I like the Adder. Mmmmm CANNONS. But the trial overheats quickly, is slow compared to other lights, and no JJ.
I played the timber, summoner, dragon, centurion, hunchback, cata… I figure I have to buy something so I can mod it to make it feel more like what I want.

I prefer the clan “lore” as opposed to the IS, but I guess I will wait to choose and still play trials for a minute while I figure this out. Also, I have to say that the light RP trashtalk in the clan forums here is amazing.

Thanks for the TS link, I have vent, but will D/L teamspeak later.

Thanks for all the advice, I see many articles about heroes and premium time, but I find I listen better when it comes from people I know actually play the game. So until I get cash invested over the weekend, I’ll just pick up pennies playing trial mechs, and then I’ll buy something probably over the weekend.

I’ll spend the time trying the rest of the trials focusing on the dragon and centurion. I don’t like the trial HBK, it’s a laser boat, nad not even a HBK imo, due to lack of AC in the “hunch”

Thanks for ALL the welcomes, and the strange half trollish rant from the guy asking players for cbills.
This community rocks.

[JC Daxion]

Gauvan, on 28 January 2015 - 11:22 AM, said:

The Mastery Packs that I feel are best are the Stalker, Cataphract, Centurion, Jenner, and Firestarter. That's not to say that there aren't other good ones, just that those are the ones I think appeal to the broadest number of players.

I love stalkers, and yea, it is a good pack, though, not sure it is to sniperish. Jenner and firestarter i agree But lights are a different bread.


Now cataphract on the other hand, the hero, can be one of the best dual Gauss snipers in the game.. and can pack an ERLL while it's at it, It is at the higher end of the scale, but does come in under his 50 dollars of MC. The rest he could use on mech bays, and maybe some on sale paint.. that would give him a good value to get going right off the bat..

By the time he mastered all 3, he would probably be around 30-50m depending.. plenty of cash to jump into anything including clans at that point.

[JC Daxion]

H00L1GAN, on 28 January 2015 - 11:41 AM, said:

I’ll spend the time trying the rest of the trials focusing on the dragon and centurion. I don’t like the trial HBK, it’s a laser boat, nad not even a HBK imo, due to lack of AC in the “hunch”

Fair enough, But there are many Hunch variants, the Hero, has a Gauss in the hunch, The 4G has an AC-20 and 2 machine guns, The 4H has an Ac-10, the 3SP is a dual hunch with SRM's on each side, The 4J has Dual LRM10's in the hunch.. You can also run Dual UAC-s, AC-5's, 3 AC-2's.. So plenty of Hunchieness But like i said, I am not a fan of the 4P either, but it is a fine performer in the hands of many.

Giving those other trials is a great idea.. I noticed the Cataphract is also on trial, and it can give you an idea of how it drives.. The Illya with Gauss is the real sniper, but others can do their fair share as well. I also noticed the firestarter is on trial,, No harm in trying it out, who knows you might really enjoy it. They are tough little tanky lights that can give mechs fits. They are also a Great Bang for your buck on MC, and has one of the best hero's there is.. (You could probably even make a ERPPC sniper outta one of um too)

[H00L1GAN]

awesome, thanks!

[Mazzyplz]

KahnWongFuChung, on 28 January 2015 - 10:43 AM, said:

I understand there was going to be lower reward but not so bad it took me 9 hours game play to buy 1- 4 million Cbill mech and I not buy 1 upgrade for any mechs yet.I find this needs fix.I ask please other players give me Cbill and they mostly tell me to fuckk-off and die not explain why they could not give me cbills and help.

wow 9 hours for 1-4 million cbills?

you are definitely doing something wrong.


a win should give you 200k in 15 minutes. and a loss should give you around 80k so for 1 million you aproximately need to play 1.5 hrs give or take with no premium time or anything.

if youre losing all matches it's going to take like 13 matches so like 2.2 hrs for 1 million cbills if you're BAD -

are you sure you haven't clicked on your consumables to auto replenish? that will leave you with aprox. 0 cbills if you spend both consumables on auto replenish and lose






if you want to make cbills faster quit a match as soon as you die and get on another mech and play until you die and repeat.


this way it will take less than 15 minutes, probably around 10 sometimes to get your 200k or 80k, then repeat.

this way you can get a million cbills in one hour



i haven't had such bad times even in the trial mechs, the trial nova is what i use sometimes; i make 6 weapon groups with it; it is the most important thing in that trial mech to sort out how you will shoot the 12 lasers which is a lot..
6 weapon groups helps because i have 2 groups of 3, 2 groups of 2 and 2 groups of 1


also if you lose community warfare in 2 minutes it's not the fault of the attackers for not making it fun; it's the fault of pgi and the design of community warfare for not making it fun; do not point fingers at the players who are just completing the objectives

Edited by Mazzyplz, 28 January 2015 - 12:01 PM.

[HlynkaCG]

No worries mate.

The Summoner isn't a "bad" mech per-se it is just happens to be overshadowed by the omgwtfbbq-ness of the Timber Wolf. That said I actually think that the Summoner makes a better sniper/skirmisher than the T-wolf due to its superior speed/maneuverability and higher mounted hard points.



*Peekabo*

As far as spending real money is concerned I would prioritize mech bays. Going from 4 bays to 8 really is the best "bang for your buck" when it comes to improving your MWO quality of life early on.

[H00L1GAN]

Mazzy... I think you just walked under a troll bridge

[Mazzyplz]

H00L1GAN, on 28 January 2015 - 11:59 AM, said:

Mazzy... I think you just walked under a troll bridge

no i believe this guy is serious unfortunately

[H00L1GAN]

HlynkaCG, on 28 January 2015 - 11:59 AM, said:

No worries mate.

The Summoner isn't a "bad" mech per-se it is just happens to be overshadowed by the omgwtfbbq-ness of the Timber Wolf. That said I actually think that the Summoner makes a better sniper/skirmisher than the T-wolf due to its superior speed/maneuverability and higher mounted hard points.



*Peekabo*

As far as spending real money is concerned I would prioritize mech bays. Going from 4 bays to 8 really is the best "bang for your buck" when it comes to improving your MWO quality of life early on.

Peekaboo is exactly what I like. Pop Tarting.

I wish I had access to an Uziel or Shadow Cat.

Should I just buy some cheap chassis that's decent and on sale so I can actually use the mechbay?