22 replies to this topic

[recsa]

Hi,

I just started playing today and although i have read every piece of info ive found i must admit im kinda lost, so i hope no one gets mad at me if i ask something stupid or that has already been asked a thousand times

Currently i have a Hunchback 4J, bought it cos i like the range play style, but i feel it does little damage and would like to buy something with more fire power and a bit more armor, so im thinking on a heavy but have no idea which one would better fit me, as i said i like the sniping play style.

A few questions numbered for better understanding:

1) With above premises, what (heavy?) mech should i buy? got 9-10M c-bills (as a bonus, once bought, how should i tweak it?

2) Can i have 2 mechs without buying Mech Bays?

3) What skills should i get first? and how the hell do i get decent amounts of GXP without converting XP to GXP?

4) If i enjoy game i might want to spend some money on it, whats best way to do it? buy a bundle? buy MCreds? and whats best use for Mcreds XP to GXP conversion or Premium?

5) For a sniper whats best weapon? PPC, AC20, LRM, LL, ...

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

[Spheroid]

The Hunchback-4J is a fantastic little mech. I strongly recommend buying two more Hunchbacks and finish leveling them.

My build is a 200 STD, endo, 13 DHS, 4xmlas, TAG(head), 2x LRM10(5 tons).


As for heavies the clear best is the Thunderbolt-5SS/9SE or Jager-DD with dual gauss/triple UAC setup.

Edited by Spheroid, 03 October 2015 - 12:55 PM.

[The Basilisk]

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Hi,

I just started playing today and although i have read every piece of info ive found i must admit im kinda lost, so i hope no one gets mad at me if i ask something stupid or that has already been asked a thousand times

Currently i have a Hunchback 4J, bought it cos i like the range play style, but i feel it does little damage and would like to buy something with more fire power and a bit more armor, so im thinking on a heavy but have no idea which one would better fit me, as i said i like the sniping play style.

A few questions numbered for better understanding:

1) With above premises, what (heavy?) mech should i buy? got 9-10M c-bills (as a bonus, once bought, how should i tweak it?

2) Can i have 2 mechs without buying Mech Bays?

3) What skills should i get first? and how the hell do i get decent amounts of GXP without converting XP to GXP?

4) If i enjoy game i might want to spend some money on it, whats best way to do it? buy a bundle? buy MCreds? and whats best use for Mcreds XP to GXP conversion or Premium?

5) For a sniper whats best weapon? PPC, AC20, LRM, LL, ...

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

-- Hunch 4j ...ranged style ... you are using LRMS ?
!!! DONT !!! I strongly disrecomend LRMs for new players. Either use SRMs or Laser SRM combi builds

-- heavy mech for a newby player ... NOPE

-- you have 3 mech bays from the start you do not need more, master one chassis ( 3 variants of one chassis ) before buying a mech from an other chassis

-- you do not need gxp as a newby player. Use your mech XP to master a chassis before even thinking about GXP and modules
( modules meen lots of C- bils you dont have as starter )

-- If you did not master a chassis i strongly advise you to not wasting real mony on mechs you soon may not like anymore.

-- there are no sniper in MWO....but the closes thing to a front load pinpoint dmg setup is any mech that can carry dual gauss or similar setups ( AC20 is short range, ppc is circumstantial and takes lots of patience and skill to master, LLaser for dps, and Lplaser for more burst )

Edited by The Basilisk, 03 October 2015 - 12:53 PM.

[Spike Brave]

Firstly, always ask questions. We post because we like to answer them, no matter how many time. Second, welcome aboard. Now for your question.

1) Find a mech that suits your play style by experimenting with the trials. I recommend a medium for new players with an eye to the hunchback or stormcrow.

2) Yes, you get four bays for free.

3) Radar deprivation and seismic sensor. You gain gxp and you earn xp. 10% of what you earn in xp goes to your gxp pool.

4) Get a mastery pack. They are great deals that don't cost much. The mech packs on the website are good too.

5) Either an er large laser, Gauss rifle, or er ppc.

Finally my youtube channel is geared to starting players and lone wolves. You should check it out here: https://www.youtube....tNUCKmcC0Q7pKJQ

It'll should answer a bunch of questions for you.

[Spheroid]

The trial Raven is setup for long range stealth sniping with ER large lasers. You could experiment with that at no cost.

[Spleenslitta]

1) I would recommend getting 2 more Hunchback variants. Some get very hung up on weapon quirks. Those quirks won't be around for much longer. Link with a detailed overview of what it will be replaced with.
http://mwomercs.com/...a-new-web-host/

3) When you have basiced 3 variants of a mech you should get the Speed tweak first. But the basics can be done willy nilly after what you feel you need since they only cost a small amount of XP.
Except pinpoint skill....that one is....not exactly functional. But you need it to get a variant basiced.

5) That's not a question that can really be answered easily. Some say this and others that.

Gauss has very good pinpoint damage, really fast shell traveling speed and almost no heat....but it's heavy, has charging function and it explodes when it's crited.
Somewhat low ammo count too.

ER PPC is the hottest weapon in the game and it has a travelspeed that takes a while to get used to.
But endless ammo makes up for it and it's not that heavy. Clan ER PPC's are incredible. Get used to the PPC bolts travelspeed and you can snap off shots while leading your targets instinctivly.

Standard PPC lacks the range to be a proper sniping weapon and does no damage when the target is 90 meters or less away from you.
Good at midrange though and less heat than ER version.

ER Large Lasers are like beacons that screams I'm over here. Shot me. Especially the Clan version. It's because of the long burntime they need to do full damage.
But in return they are lightweight for their power and easy to aim. Tends to spread damage over the target if moving.
Clan Large Pulse laser suffers from the same problem as the ER LL from a snipers perspective.

Do not snipe with an AC20. AC5 or Ultra AC5 is fine as long as you don't mind getting a little bit closer.
But all the AC2's are almost as close to useless you can get. Trust me...i've tried all of them. Only the Flamer can be concidered a worse weapon.

LRM's. I got no experience with those so i'll keep my mouth shut about them.

[Creag]

Don'forget to do the Academy training in game to learn the basics, and just for fun try to kill the captain while in training for some extra c-bills

[Leone]

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Hi,

'Ello

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

I just started playing today and although i have read every piece of info ive found i must admit im kinda lost, so i hope no one gets mad at me if i ask something stupid or that has already been asked a thousand times

No problem. Sometimes I just copy paste old replies, but you've gone an asked a number, so you get a thoughtful response.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Currently i have a Hunchback 4J, bought it cos i like the range play style, but i feel it does little damage and would like to buy something with more fire power and a bit more armor, so im thinking on a heavy but have no idea which one would better fit me, as i said i like the sniping play style.

LRMs are one of the easiest weapons to use and one of the hardest to master. Ignore the naysayers that dismiss Lrms, a decent Lrm mech can be useful almost anywhere. Granted, sometimes in group queue or CW you'll see a team with ams on every mech. Can't get around that. Otherwise though, you can deal with the various hard and soft counters, but there are whole threads devoted to that. (Hint; the HBK-4J is one of my best mechs. I only break it out for scoring events.)

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

1) With above premises, what (heavy?) mech should i buy? got 9-10M c-bills (as a bonus, once bought, how should i tweak it?

So, the Jagermech is a well known sniping king, and one of my most respected foes. Most often seen as dual gauss or triple uac 5 builds, I never ignore a Jager. I cannot say that about most chassis. That said there are a wealth of other options. Any clan heavy, but giving least preference to mad dogs, could be designed into a snipey mech. Inner Sphere wise other people like thunderbolts, I've seen decent Catapults, and the rest make better rangers than snipers, but then I might be classifying my mechs different than you do.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

2) Can i have 2 mechs without buying Mech Bays?

Yes, you get four for free, and, once you've gotten your feet under you, you could try to nab rank 2 in CW for free mechbays. Be warned, CW is about teamwork. Teamwork is OP, and also hard.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

3) What skills should i get first? and how the hell do i get decent amounts of GXP without converting XP to GXP?

I tend to nab the heat skills first, then moving on to movement and torso twist, before finishing my basics. Heat is king for most builds.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

4) If i enjoy game i might want to spend some money on it, whats best way to do it? buy a bundle? buy MCreds? and whats best use for Mcreds XP to GXP conversion or Premium?

GXP conversion is usually not worth it, since it's most used to unlock modules to buy, but most new pilots would rather save that 6 milion c-bills for a new mech, rather'n getting seismic sensors. Later, it's time may come. Me, I nabbed mechbays most, grabbed black as a colour (beware camos, they are chassis specific, and if you do go that route, one shots are most economical, even though they are mech specific.)

If the Marauder were out already, I'd suggest that, since 20$ for three mechs is great, but it's not. If you wanna buy mechs, I'd suggest trying one version out via cbills first, then, if you like it, check out the hero mech. 30% cbill boost is nothing to sneeze at, just make sure you'll like the mech first. I have bought mech bundles, but, I went the 20$ for three mech route grabbing the low tiers of bundles. But then, I enjoy lights.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

5) For a sniper whats best weapon? PPC, AC20, LRM, LL, ...

Best is subjective. For me, it's gauss. I trained alot on a gauss light just to learn it, and now have three dedicate gauss mechs. That said, lasers are easier. Also I don't like the high heat cost of ErPpcs, and normal ppcs feel more ranged than sniping for me. That said, I don't like sniping, so take that under advisement.

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

Your welcome. Good Luck, Mechwarrior.

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 03 October 2015 - 03:57 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Hi,

I just started playing today and although i have read every piece of info ive found i must admit im kinda lost, so i hope no one gets mad at me if i ask something stupid or that has already been asked a thousand times

Currently i have a Hunchback 4J, bought it cos i like the range play style, but i feel it does little damage and would like to buy something with more fire power and a bit more armor, so im thinking on a heavy but have no idea which one would better fit me, as i said i like the sniping play style.

A few questions numbered for better understanding:

1) With above premises, what (heavy?) mech should i buy? got 9-10M c-bills (as a bonus, once bought, how should i tweak it?

You're doing fine with the HBK chassis. I'd go with another of those, maybe the -4G or -4H, for a good ballistic primary mech. Or -4P even. You might even consider the Hunchback Mastery Pack. More on that below, suffice to say that it includes the Hero and Champion versions of the HBK, as well as a standard variant, and some Premium Time to make the grind go by faster.

Quote

2) Can i have 2 mechs without buying Mech Bays?

Yes. You get four (4) mech bays right off the bat. If you buy a pack or collection, the included mechs usually come with their own mech bays. Or you can just buy some MC and buy more. But you can have four mechs at once without spending a penny of IRL money.

Quote

3) What skills should i get first? and how the hell do i get decent amounts of GXP without converting XP to GXP?

No simple answer on the XP-GXP question, other than PREMIUM TIME and HERO MECHS, which both boost your XP (and therefore GXP) earnings. For skills, go with the two heat-related skills first on ANY/EVERY mech. After that, though, it really just depends. I like Anchor Turn and Hard Brake next, but the rest just kinda depend on you. Until you complete BASIC skills on 3 variants of that chassis, you can't start the ELITE skills, so you'll want to eventually have three of whatever mech it is you're piloting.

Quote

4) If i enjoy game i might want to spend some money on it, whats best way to do it? buy a bundle? buy MCreds? and whats best use for Mcreds XP to GXP conversion or Premium?

Better to use Premium Time for now, if you're going to buy MC. I wouldn't consider switching XP to GXP on any mech that isn't already complete through MASTER, unless you're SURE you never ever want to pilot that variant again. Since Premium Time buffs your XP earnings, it'll make the grind go faster. And since it buffs CBill earnings, it also speeds up your acquisition of new mechs and equipment.

Quote

5) For a sniper whats best weapon? PPC, AC20, LRM, LL, ...

ER Large Laser is the top sniper weapon right now. Gauss WOULD be, but it's a little tricky to use, it's HEAVY, it's BIG, and so on. ERLL goes first. Then Gauss. Then PPC, though you should beware the HEAT from those things. (ERPPC is the only option on a Clan mech, but it's hotter, so a regular PPC on a IS mech might be a better call for a new player.) Then you have everything else. AC/2 has great range and projectile speed, but low damage. As the damage climbs with bigger ACs, the range and projectile speeds fall off. There really is no good sniper AC. A regular IS large laser doesn't really have the range to snipe well, even WITH modules (an ERLL is still going to be superior for the role). LL and LPL are better for medium-range skirmishing/brawling.

LRMs are really not sniper weapons at all, but more like the role that a mortar section plays in a modern infantry unit. They're the shortest ranged indirect fire support weapon system that isn't considered small arms. It's not direct-fire, so 'sniper' isn't a good term to describe what they do. That being the case, a good LRM mech should be mobile enough to stay within LRM range of targets that his scouts and/or brawlers (depending on the situation) designate, so he may support them by indirect fire. And you should still have weapons enough that, once the LRM ammo runs dry, you can step in to the direct-fire brawl and take your share of the enemy fires.

Quote

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

Keep the questions coming. We love helping out. And welcome aboard!

[JigglyMoobs]

First of all:

http://metamechs.com/

Best mechs and builds in the game until you figure out how you want to spec your build according to your style.

Heavy: Timberwolf if you want Jump Jets. Hellbringer if you want ECM. Ebony Jaguar if you want high mounted weapons (good for hugging hills and being a d***).
Medium: Stormcrow.

Sniping builds:

The best "pure" sniping build is a Jagermech, 2 Gauss Rilfes, adv zoom, loaded with ammo. This is very hard to play for a new player but can be very fun:




You can also outfit a Timberwolf for sniping. You will not be able to carry as much ammo and it's a little harder to aim but it will also be fun:

TBR-S



A more balanced sniping and fighting Timberwolf is something like Gauss+2xER PPC. This will require more finess and skill to use as you need to sync the PPC firing with the Gauss and jumping.



Finally you can go full on d*** and outfit a mech with ER LL for sniping:



A lot of different mechs can use this type of build. A heavy is probably not the best choice. The classic version of this is actually an IS light: an ECM equipped Raven with 2xER LL. Just know that if you do this, your role is more to harass the enemy than to do hard damage.

General advice:

• If you are buying mechs, probably buying one of the mech packs is best.
  
• First try out the free versions.
  
• When buying, buy at least 3 variants of the same mech (this is why packs are good). This is the only way to master the mechs and get all the performance bonuses.
  
• When trying mechs, don't just think about armor and firepower, but also how the mech feels to you when you are piloting it. Different mechs move and interact with the terrain in different ways. Getting a mech to move the way you want it to is very important to how fun it is to play.
  
• Tactics is vital to how "good" or "bad" the mech is. As long as you stick to the tier one mechs on the metamechs list, your mech is good enough to win. The rest is up to you (and your team).

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 03 October 2015 - 08:22 PM.

[InspectorG]

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

A few questions numbered for better understanding:

1) With above premises, what (heavy?) mech should i buy? got 9-10M c-bills (as a bonus, once bought, how should i tweak it?

2) Can i have 2 mechs without buying Mech Bays?

3) What skills should i get first? and how the hell do i get decent amounts of GXP without converting XP to GXP?

4) If i enjoy game i might want to spend some money on it, whats best way to do it? buy a bundle? buy MCreds? and whats best use for Mcreds XP to GXP conversion or Premium?

5) For a sniper whats best weapon? PPC, AC20, LRM, LL, ...

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

Hunchback J is a strong mech...but not for a beginner. LRMs are bad, as in inefficient, and to be good with the HBK-J you need to know How/When/Where to pressure the enemy while moving. Sitting in the back bagging for locks, launching LRMs at 900m isnt that good.

Trial Thunderbolt is a strong starter mech. 3LPL doesnt seem like much but the mech is balanced with armor, speed, firepower/DPS, HEAT.

Heavies are a good place to start, but you want to use meta builds to increase efficiency.

1) Thinderbolts for Inner Sphere, Timberwolves(or Ebon Jags) for Clan. Clan mechs cost more up front but require little to no extra cost...evens out with IS mechs.

2)You get 4 mechbays to start, play CW with one faction long enough and you get more for free. Or spend $ and get a Mastery Pack which is a good investment. Just really research which mech to get.

3)Skills come as they will. New players will struggle and avoid spending GXP on mech skills. Save them for Modules. CW also gives GXP rewards.

4)Best investment for a beginner is: play for a month with a medium and a heavy. Hunchbacks and Thinderbolts - i reccomend. Buy a Master Pack. You get Mech Bays, Premium Time, Champion variant(xp bonus...meh) and a Hero(Cbill bonus - nice but most Heros are lame. Grid Iron, Sparky, Misery, Pirate Bane, Huginn are viable)

5) Sniping in MWO is not like sniping in other games. Because there isnt really a 'One-Shot-One-Kill' you have to have SUPERB aim and positioning.

Really 'Direct long range support' is more appropriate and for IS mechs you need to look at quirks. Basically Gauss(Grid Iron) LL/ERLL(Stalker Quickdraw Raven Thunderbolt), PPC/ERPPC(Awesome Panther Thunderbolt)

Clan mechs make better at range with their Lazors and cooling(called Lazor-Vomit) Gauss+Vomit is best meta now because of the cooling options(Gauss has no heat and can fire when hot)

The 'hardest' form of Sniping would be 'Jump-Sniping' or Poptarting, which used to be over powered but was nerfed and only a few mechs do it decently. Summoners, Nova, Timby, Panther, Spider(Lols).
Jump Sniping has a steep piloting and aiming demand. Youtube it. Im trying to learn it in my Summoner now...with small success.

TL;DR

HBK-J is good but not for newbs.

Use Thunderbolts, the Trial is good, to grind Cbills/EXP.

Play CW to get more XP/Mech Bays

If you like the game, get a Mastery pack or a Clan Pack(Clan Trial Mechs are not optimized and tend to suck hard. )

[Sixpack]

Another way to get mech bays is to achieve tier 2 in every faction in community warfare, once you reach tier 2 you get a mechbay and there are around 10 factions. (So ten mechbays)

Mind you, considering how new you are I can not recommend this in good faith because community warfare is brutal.

(And LRMs are even worse in community warfare than in any other game mode)

Edited by Sixpack, 03 October 2015 - 07:22 PM.

[Elizander]

We're just a bunch of granddads fawning over a newborn. Enjoy all the advice.

[recsa]

OMFG!!! saying THX A LOT to every1 isnt enough, most helpful community ive seen in my XX years (where XX is a too big number to be publicly admited XDDDD) of online gaming. Really, THX A LOT, is not just a lot of replies with helpful information, its the ******* awesome job in every single reply, dam!! not even one "******* noob, L2P"

I must admit thou i feel like Lionel Messi in a museum, kinda lost with so much info i dont understand .. yet, but have subscribed to the channels posted in this thread and trying to absorb it all.

Now im going to abuse of you a bit more:

1) What is this Clan vs Inner Sphere you guys talk about? i have seen Clan related weapons in the mechlab but not available to every mech, do i need to choose a side? if that is what it is all about.

2) Some people have told me here to get a heavy if thats what i want, while most have told me to stay with medium for now, i think i understand now how the elite thing works, is pretty similar to the way World Of Tanks works, but if im gonna have to work my ass on a big grind, i might want to do it with a mech that atm i feel like my "style", it could be that heavy (dont remember chasis name) double Gaus+Lasers, why exactly are heavies harder for a noob than mediums?

3) Where is that CW thing? i only see a button for match start

Did i say THX A LOT?? really meant it.

Edited by recsa, 04 October 2015 - 03:14 AM.

[Chados]

I tend to agree that if you are already into the HBK and like it, get two more-there are many to choose from.

I also uphold Leone and Rabbi for advice-givers-they are solid players who know the game. I can add nothing more to the advice they give.

For 'mech buying...yes, IS mastery packs are the only way to fly. Good deals, three 'mechs for the price of two, and two of them have either a Cbill or XP bonus, plus free 'mechbays and premium time. For the Clans, an a la carte chassis is not a bad deal but is much more expensive. Just get three if the same chassis, because no 'mech reaches its potential until all its skills in the skill tab are unlocked and you need three variants to do it.

Clans are another global faction in the game. Think "Horde v. Alliance" in World of Warcraft. The Inner Sphere is the older, more established, less technologically advanced faction. Consequently, its 'mechs are cheaper, and easier to customize, but a bit harder to master. On the other hand, Clans have better overall 'mechs but they shut down for heat issues a lot faster and they are harder to customize in some ways because they have fixed engines and some kinds of equipment.

See the purple bird icon next to my handle on the left? That signifies House Marik, also known as the Free Worlds League. It's an Inner Sphere faction. You can choose your faction in game in the "Factions" tab. But that isn't a must til you decide to play Community Warfare, which you shouldn't try to discover til you get comfortable with the game mechanics.

Edited by Chados, 04 October 2015 - 03:56 AM.

[mailin]

recsa, on 04 October 2015 - 03:11 AM, said:

OMFG!!! saying THX A LOT to every1 isnt enough, most helpful community ive seen in my XX years (where XX is a too big number to be publicly admited XDDDD) of online gaming. Really, THX A LOT, is not just a lot of replies with helpful information, its the ******* awesome job in every single reply, dam!! not even one "******* noob, L2P"

I must admit thou i feel like Lionel Messi in a museum, kinda lost with so much info i dont understand .. yet, but have subscribed to the channels posted in this thread and trying to absorb it all.

Now im going to abuse of you a bit more:

1) What is this Clan vs Inner Sphere you guys talk about? i have seen Clan related weapons in the mechlab but not available to every mech, do i need to choose a side? if that is what it is all about.

2) Some people have told me here to get a heavy if thats what i want, while most have told me to stay with medium for now, i think i understand now how the elite thing works, is pretty similar to the way World Of Tanks works, but if im gonna have to work my ass on a big grind, i might want to do it with a mech that atm i feel like my "style", it could be that heavy (dont remember chasis name) double Gaus+Lasers, why exactly are heavies harder for a noob than mediums?

3) Where is that CW thing? i only see a button for match start

Did i say THX A LOT?? really meant it.

1) Clan vs. IS. There are basically two types of mechs called clan and IS. Clanners are more powerful on paper, but this is mitigated by them not being able to remove certain equipment, such as engines. Clans tend to do more up front damage, but at the expense of greater heat, and in some cases, less armor. If you choose a faction (or side) you will possibly be limited to playing only clan or IS mechs, but this only applies to Community Warfare.

so, I'm gonna answer #3 next. CW is a different game mode. In order to do it, you need to have 4 mechs, called a drop deck. If you are playing CW for clans, this means that you'd need 4 Clan mechs. Also, this is sort of advanced mode. Generally it is brutal for those whose mechs aren't fully optimized (even veteran players). It is accessed by pressing the faction button in game and then looking at the planet finder on the right side. For now, you don't really need to worry about it.

2) Heavies tend to be harder for noobs due to generally less speed. We tend to say that new players should start in mediums, and the Hunchy is one of the most recommended, because of a decent mix of speed, firepower, and armor. If you really feel that you'd like more firepower, and are willing to give up some speed, then by all means try a heavy. But note that in order to get any mech to really shine you need to have 3 variants, so maybe for now stick with the hunchbacks. The nice thing about them is that the differences between them is pretty significant and, unlike some other mechs, there really is no bad variant of a Hunchy.

See you on the battlefield.

Edited by mailin, 04 October 2015 - 04:30 AM.

[Dame Irulan]

Hallo, new guy. I was in your shoes two months ago. I'm also an older player. My biggest advantage is that my wife has played MWO for a long time and has given me lots of good advice.

1. Take all the trial mechs out for test drives in the training grounds. Ignore the targets and just get used to how they move and how they react. Learn to use your jets if you have them. You can also use this time to get familiar with the various maps - because knowing the ground can make all the difference between defeat and victory.

2. Once you've determined which mech or mechs you like to drive best, I recommend (as others have) that you think about getting a mech pack. It looks like you've found the skill trees - that's good. But you can't unlock the Elite tier of skills on a mech until you've got ALL the Basic skills unlocked on THREE different variants of the same chassis.

3. Definitely go through the tutorials. You'll get some C-bills out of it.

4. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

5. Inner Sphere vs. Clan: Like Chados said, Horde vs. Alliance in WoW. You can't put clan equipment on an IS mech or vice versa. So initially, I would pick one side or the other and stay with it. The IS mechs are considerably cheaper. The Clan mechs tend to do more damage and be tougher.

6. Don't waste money converting mech exp to GXP, and don't use GXP to skill up your mechs. If you've got the self-discipline to do it, I'd recommend saving up 15000 GXP and unlocking radar dep. I don't think anyone's mentioned it yet, but spending the GXPs just unlocks the module. You still have to spend C-bills to actually purchase it so you can use it in-game. You'll probably have multiple mechs by this time, so always make sure to equip your modules on the mech you're driving.

[Rogue Jedi]

recsa, on 04 October 2015 - 03:11 AM, said:

OMFG!!! saying THX A LOT to every1 isnt enough, most helpful community ive seen in my XX years (where XX is a too big number to be publicly admited XDDDD) of online gaming. Really, THX A LOT, is not just a lot of replies with helpful information, its the ******* awesome job in every single reply, dam!! not even one "******* noob, L2P"

I must admit thou i feel like Lionel Messi in a museum, kinda lost with so much info i dont understand .. yet, but have subscribed to the channels posted in this thread and trying to absorb it all.

Now im going to abuse of you a bit more:

1) What is this Clan vs Inner Sphere you guys talk about? i have seen Clan related weapons in the mechlab but not available to every mech, do i need to choose a side? if that is what it is all about.

2) Some people have told me here to get a heavy if thats what i want, while most have told me to stay with medium for now, i think i understand now how the elite thing works, is pretty similar to the way World Of Tanks works, but if im gonna have to work my ass on a big grind, i might want to do it with a mech that atm i feel like my "style", it could be that heavy (dont remember chasis name) double Gaus+Lasers, why exactly are heavies harder for a noob than mediums?

3) Where is that CW thing? i only see a button for match start

Did i say THX A LOT?? really meant it.

1)
to properly answer this I need to give you a bit of background information
Mechwarrior Online is based upon Battletech a tabletop game first released about 30 years ago, it was originally based around a struggle to control the Inner Sphere (IS) of the galaxy by a number of great houses after the fall of the Star League (a great alliance)
after about 300 years much technology had became lost (LosTech), think the "dark ages" of Europe and the IS was only just starting to recover some of what was lost, enter the Clans, descended from the Star League military, who went into self imposed exile after the fall of the league they had never suffered the losses of technology that the great houses did so came in and steamrolled through the IS, until Comstar who took care of the interstellar communications network and had been hoarding LosTech

now as this is a player vs player game PGI decided they could not allow the Clans to have outright superior equipment in game, the Clan Mechs can only mount Clan weapons and the IS Mechs can only mount IS weapons, Clan VS IS is mostly balanced as the Clans have longer range, lighter and more powerful weapons but they have to hold them on target for a lot longer to achieve full damage, on the other hand most IS weapons launch much faster so e.g. Clan Lasers have longer duration, Clan Autocannons are burst fire (where as IS fire a single shell for full damage) and Clan Missiles fire in a stream whereas IS missiles fire in a cluster.
the IS Mechs often also have quirks to make them more effective with specific weapons.

Clan Mechs are Omnimechs meaning they have fixed engine, structure, armor type, heatsink type and lots of fixed equipment, however they can swoop omnipods containing weapon hardpoints so e.g. if your Summoner has 2 missiles in its arm and you awould prefer lasers you can take the pod containing the energy hardpoint from another variant (or purchase the pod in the Mechlab) and fit it to your Mech, giving you the Laser hardpoints instead of the missiles
conversely IS Mech are at current all Battlemechs, they have fixed hardpoints but can customize Armor type, Structure type, Heatsink type and change the engine.
soon Clans will start to get Battlemechs, and I would assume IS will get Omnimechs before too much longer.

2)
a faster Mech will give you a better chance of getting out of trouble, and positioning is a big part of this game, also usualy Heavies make up more than 30% of the queue and the game tries to put 3 Mechs of each weight class (Light, Medium, Heavy, Assault) on each team, so you will usualy find matches more quickly in Mediums, Lights usualy find matches even faster but take much more skill to use

3) Community Warfare is a game mode which you can find under the faction tab, you get to pick a planet, and when enough players are available you lunch into a game, you are required to take 4 Mechs weighing between 160 and 240 tones in total, you can choose which Mech to use first, and when you die you chose the next to play.

winning or loosing can help conquer the planet for your faction.

[dragnier1]

Now i don't usually recommend hunchbacks because i was really bad at it. I eventually bought 3 hunchbacks but only completed elite on the 4SP before selling them to fund my commandos (don't follow my lead).

Anyways, completion of elite tier class skills unlocks 2x bonus on basic skills for that mech. That means, 20% faster cooling, 20% higher heat tolerance, double bonus on twist range and speed etc. This means better performance on your mech.

How does one unlock elite tier skills? Complete basics of 3 variants of your owned chassis. Great example would be to complete 3 different hunchbacks (4G, 4J, 4P, 4SP, 4H, any 3) to unlock. Now you see why the veterans recommend that.

[Koniving]

recsa, on 03 October 2015 - 12:41 PM, said:

Hi,

I just started playing today and although i have read every piece of info ive found i must admit im kinda lost, so i hope no one gets mad at me if i ask something stupid or that has already been asked a thousand times

Currently i have a Hunchback 4J, bought it cos i like the range play style, but i feel it does little damage and would like to buy something with more fire power and a bit more armor, so im thinking on a heavy but have no idea which one would better fit me, as i said i like the sniping play style.

Guess thats more than enough asking atm, thx a lot.

For the question you didn't ask: Here's some advice for your 4J. First a demonstration. This is how I typically run it.


Depicted below are the 4P, 4SP, 4J and 4J (yes two 4J's). These are my Hunchbacks mind you.

In the video above, I'm using the first 4J (the third image).
And while this uses a 4P you can -- for the most part -- replicate this build on a 4J.


It would then become the second 4J (fourth mech in the image above.) Or a more accurate demonstration would be this triple PPC 4P, as the 4J matches it pretty well.

Good luck and remember: Nothing beats a Hunchback without bringing a lot of friends.