26 replies to this topic

[DrnkJawa]

Hey whats a good selection of mechs for a new player?

At the moment im droping in a TDR-5S(i know i know, i use it cause its 1 of 2 heavys i got), the disgracefull CTF-0XP and a pair of 50 tonner mediums equiped for longer rnage. So im at 235 tons at the moment.

Currently thinking of changing into KGC-000B(probably with gaus), CTF-0XP, BJ-A and a wolfhound. This fits into 250 tons range...

Anyways got any opinions/suggestions/thoughts for changes and improvments? or feel free to mouth off because the forums were made for that.

Edited by DrnkJawa, 22 September 2015 - 05:21 AM.

[Toaster Repair Pony]

I'll say that having max tonnage is not always the best use.

I'd run 4 lights if I could. I'm a light pilot on our IS contracts. One trick is to stay with a certain range profile that suits your play style.

My IS deck is: Griffin 2N, Huginn, Oxide, Ember. 160 tons. Short range and fast.

If you run long range and need a light, I suggest the Raven 4X with ER Large Lasers, 30% energy range increase. Just be sure to check the general quirks, not just the specific weapons quirks.

[DrnkJawa]

Yeah im trying to overcompensate cause im a medium user. And i cant really use lrm's versus the stinking space wierdos. Think i could get away with the KGC-000B, HBK-4G, HBK-4P and CN-9AL?

P.S.
the Wolfhound im still waiting to release so when in doubt use an urbanmech

Edited by DrnkJawa, 22 September 2015 - 05:56 AM.

[Toaster Repair Pony]

Looks nice. I say just get out there and try it. If you like it, awesome! If you don't, change it up.

The thing about CW in my unit is, kill at least 4 mechs and you've done your job. Kill more and you've helped someone else.

So if you can get at least 4 kills, it's a good deck.

[DrnkJawa]

Then again there was that crazy idea of 2 blackjacks and 2 stalkers...but im not sure. I haz a long long long farm ahead of me

[Count Zero 74]

The 2 basic drop decks with a 250t limit are:

65t-65t-65t-55t

85t-65t-65t-35t

so u get Battlemasters, Stalkers, TBolts. Jaegers, Wolverines, Griffins, Ravens, Firestarter.

The current meta deck would be: TDR-5SS, TDR-5SS, TDR-5SS, WVR-6K

[DrnkJawa]

Count Zero 74, on 24 September 2015 - 05:51 AM, said:

The 2 basic drop decks with a 250t limit are:

65t-65t-65t-55t

85t-65t-65t-35t

so u get Battlemasters, Stalkers, TBolts. Jaegers, Wolverines, Griffins, Ravens, Firestarter.

The current meta deck would be: TDR-5SS, TDR-5SS, TDR-5SS, WVR-6K

Thanks chap. wonder if i can make my TDR-5S work(i know people say it sucks but 3LL keep a halfdecent range).
Currently bought a Zeus 6S with 3LL and a Gauss on it, so 80+70(ctf0xp)+65+trial raven?

[Count Zero 74]

DrnkJawa, on 24 September 2015 - 08:37 AM, said:

Thanks chap. wonder if i can make my TDR-5S work(i know people say it sucks but 3LL keep a halfdecent range).

No worries, any TBolt works

Here's an example of a 1st wave from the 1st Thunderbolt Irregulars:

Edited by Count Zero 74, 24 September 2015 - 09:57 AM.

[Richter Kerensky]

these are the good mechs. when i say + i mean its a reasonable tradeoff to less arm armor for larger engines. all mechs need double heatsink and endosteel upgrades

stk-4n, 6ll std300
blr-1s, 4lpl xl280+
tdr-9se, 3lpl std280 4jumpjet (requies ferro-fibrous and endosteel to work)
tdr-5ss, 7mpl std300
wvr-6k, 4ll xl260+
rvn-4x, 2lpl xl255 (needs ferro-fibrous)
fs9-s, 5mpl xl295 (needs ferro-fibrous)

the 5s and top dog are worse than the 9se or 5ss, the 9s used to be good but now isn't, but is the least painful third thunderbolt for eliting if you need to do that still

you can combine them into dropdecks like this:

stalker or battlemaster, 2x thunderbolt, firestarter or raven
stalker or battlemaster, 3x wolverine
3x thunderbolt, wolverine

don't deploy stalkers on anything but cold maps (boreal, portico). they're not great on temperate maps and complete garbage on hot maps

the 5ss is strictly better than the 9se on taiga, otherwise its a tossup depending on what range you're engaging at

deploying 2 assaults makes you very vulnerable to enemy arctic cheetah/firestarter waves, i dont recommend it

lights should only be used as a last drop or in coordinated waves of lots of lights

don't drop your assault mech last

dont bring lrms under any circumstances

if you want to try some other stuff, heres my advice:

gridirons with gauss and 2mpl are okay but you will probably run out of ammo and they're very vulnerable

jagermechs (either dual gauss or the -dd variant with 3uac5s) are okay but slow and easy to kill since you have to take xl engines to carry a reasonable amount of ammo

grasshoppers can be okay if you're using the 5h with 3lpls

ive heard some people like blackjacks but nobody in my unit runs them, ymmv

light mechs to avoid: panther, spider, locust, commando, urbanmech. jenners arent great either, ravens and firestarters are much better

medium mechs to avoid: vindicator, centurion, enforcer, trebuchet, kintaro. shadowhawks and griffins can be okay

heavy mechs to avoid: catapult, cataphract, black knight, orion. the 2ac5 dragon 1n can be good if nobody blows off your gun arm, quickdraws are pretty alright

assault mechs to avoid: victor, zeus, awesome, atlas, mauler. highlanders are okay sorta, banshees and king crabs are okay but also very heavy and force you to drop bad lights

that about does it

[DrnkJawa]

Well...by your list im better off shooting myself with a door knob.

looks like its back to pubs to farm as much money as possible cause all of my mechs fall in the "do not use category" haha.

[Richter Kerensky]

the trial thunderbolt 9se is pretty alright and the 5s isnt completely terrible, it is still a thunderbolt, but its definitely worse than an owned 9se or 5ss

also if you need cbills go do the training, easy 5 mil for like ten minutes of listening to a guy tell you stuff you already know

Edited by Richter Kerensky, 24 September 2015 - 12:29 PM.

[MischiefSC]

If you're not in a team run the Stalker 3F. It isn't quite as cool but way more maneuverable and you'll need that because without a steady team supporting you you'll be moving a lot.

Run the raven 4X with two erlls and the BLR 1S with 4xerlls. While you're new to cw you're going to live longer and perform better playing at long range. The lpl builds are great - when you know the map well and are familiar with positioning and are a solid choice. For now though the only brawlers I'd recommend are Wubmaster, Wubberbolt and BJ 1X. The 3F really counts on that list, you're just brawling by hill humping.

[TWIAFU]

DrnkJawa, on 24 September 2015 - 12:14 PM, said:

Well...by your list im better off shooting myself with a door knob.

looks like its back to pubs to farm as much money as possible cause all of my mechs fall in the "do not use category" haha.

Or, join a Unit/Group and can customize dropdecks to suit strength/weakness of the drop as a whole as CW was made primarily for Unit/Group play.

You do that and you can play and have fun and not be constrained by what someone else think you can only play.

Keep in mind with the rebalance is going to change the meta game and if you depend on meta to win, not going to be very happy.

[Richter Kerensky]

i'm just sayin what works. if you join a unit they'll have their own advice and builds but i laid out what the Official #1 Unit In The Inner Sphere does with dropdecks

obviously if a balance patch comes out and messes with everything a lot of that can change but thats not a good reason to drop in 3 lrm5 spiders and an xl atlas

[MischiefSC]

Richter Kerensky, on 24 September 2015 - 01:09 PM, said:

i'm just sayin what works. if you join a unit they'll have their own advice and builds but i laid out what the Official #1 Unit In The Inner Sphere does with dropdecks

obviously if a balance patch comes out and messes with everything a lot of that can change but thats not a good reason to drop in 3 lrm5 spiders and an xl atlas

You're absolutely correct - when you're dropping with a good group who will stick with you and set firing lines.

IS pugs however will actively seeking to leave you behind to slow down advancing Clanners and even most organized IS drops will "push" by faster mechs going ahead and leaving slow mechs to die. If you want to Pug Like A Thug in CW as IS you need to stay faster than 75 and run stuperduper long range when you can, depending on the map.

Most IS units don't play a ton differently from IS pugs. You going to roll with the IS you need to expect to have to carry on your own and expect that you'll have teammates who leave you to your death or abandon you at the drop of a hat.

[Pepito Sbazzeguti]

Just an advice: if you are in a C-bills farming phase DO NOT BUY any mechs until the next quirk pass cause all the weapons quirks will go away.
Meta for CW (and in general) will change, you're risking to buy something that will be really different in the next 1-2 months and maybe useless for your porpouses or playstyle.. in the meantime save money for your future right mechs.

Edited by Pepito Sbazzeguti, 24 September 2015 - 04:26 PM.

[Agent1190]

I think your initial drop deck is pretty good. What you didn't mention is if you are dropping straight "PUG" (AKA SOLO) or if you drop in LFG or join other groups with voice comms. If you are pugging it, it's best right now to run meta to maximize your effectiveness. You can get away with non-meta shenanigans with a coordinated team.

I haven't piloted the 0XP, but I can see it as a good mech to feed off assaults or other heavies. The ECM will make you someone's best friend ;-). It may not be meta, but you don't NEED to run meta if you are coordinating with a team. I think the best build I saw in a 0XP was 2x Large Pulse in the torsos and an AC20 with ECM. You could roll 4 Medium Pulse with that AC20 as well and add some ammo or bigger engine. I don't know what engine it had.

Your 5S is a decent mech. Get a 5SS with 7 Medium Pulse to run with it, or ER Large Lasers and Modules for 911m optimal range. Don't discount the 9SE - good quirks for Large Pulse. There's a trial of the 9SE right now to try out.

What I don't see is a fast mech. It's not a horrible idea to bring something light that is quick and can jump. Spider 5D for ECM or a Firestarter A with 7-8 small pulse. You need XL295 for the Firestarter and an XL 255 for the Spider, which makes them quite expensive to build. They fill a good role, and if your team does a coordinated light run, you don't want to be the odd man out.

I don't run my Zeus with Gauss I prefer 2 AC5's with a cool down, 3 Medium Lasers and a Large Pulse. The right arm is a shield. I run an XL380 in it (didn't buy it, it came in the Banshee event prize), which is ballsy. I don't usually run CW in the Mech because of the XL.

Edited by Agent1190, 24 September 2015 - 05:23 PM.

[DrnkJawa]

Thanks for the responses guys. And i usually try to drop with the fun people of FRR teamspeak so its a semi-pug. Gues ill have some thinking and rethinking to do with my builds (i still want to use my zeus even if its hardpoints are low the mech drops on you like a tombstone). All in all CW seems fun and abit tacticly engaging(first CW drop had a great Commander who always used his mouth which was enteraining and motivating).

Anyways thanks again and hope to see you and your crazy builds someday.

[nehebkau]

3 thunderbolts and whatever else you want to fit into the last spot -- preference given to something with ECM.

Edited by nehebkau, 29 September 2015 - 05:06 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

the old meta 250 deck it was like stalker 4n 3 wolverines 6k?