26 replies to this topic

[DivineBovine]

So I began MWO last night and so far am very much enjoying it, including the difficulty curve of learning how to properly control a mech and heat management and so on and so forth. But I do have a few questions, if the community would be willing to answer them to the best of their ability.

First, if I wanted to make an in-game purchase with real money, what would be the smartest/safest purchase?

Second, when should I begin investing in a mech and if so which kind, is it more personal preference or should I try and stick with the tier list higher picks?

Third, Ballistic weapons, are they bad? I see people suggesting lasers but never see anyone use ballisitics...

Fourth, Consumables, can a trial mech even equip them?

And I think that is all the questions I have for now, thank you for reading.

[Zoeff]

1) Mechbays. Definitely mechbays. While these days you can get them through achievements in the game they're not exactly easily accessible for new players. It involves FP and you really need to be at the point where you have a whole bunch of level'd up mechs to start off with which ideally requires...mechbays. Besides that, the mastery bundles are quite nice. They include 3 variants of the same mech which is what you need to unlock all the efficiencies. (Includes mechbays) One of them will also includes a 30% boost to your cbill earnings (in-universe currency) which lasts forever. As for what mastery pack to go with...that's a harder question. Heavy mechs are usually the ones that are the most versatile. I'd recommend a good clan mech just so you get the 'right' engine right away, because clan mechs have the engine locked in. But currently there are no hero mechs for clans which is what's required to make a mastery pack. I'd say play a few trial mechs and see what kind of playstyle you like. Then decide what mastery pack to go for.

2) This varies a lot from player to player. Some will gravitate towards the meta while others go with whatever they feel like on any given day. Personally I go with a mech that I find fun to play but is still quite capable.

3) That depends, lasers are hit-scan weapons so they're effective at their full range potential. With ballistics they become harder and to some extend less effective. Right now a properly configured laserboat is going to be the most versatile, and works best on faction play maps as well as you're not reliant on ammo. However ballistic boats can very easily be very effective. They're more about DPS than outright burst. It also depends a lot on the mech.

4) Nope, trial mechs are as they are, can't change a darn thing.

hf playing the game

[LightningStorm]

First, the most important thing to purchase first are mech bays so you can have more mechs to play with. Then comes hero mechs in my opinion, or maybe a colour you like. One thing to consider is when they are on sale, wait for them to be at like 50% sale so you can buy mechbays for 150 mc.
Second, you should try trial mechs to see if you like them, and if you do, you can buy them. If the mech you like isn't available to try, then you could maybe try building something you might like on http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ also keep in mind, you can't play a mech with less than 10 heatsinks when you have under 250 engine, so make your builds accordingly.
Third, lasers are more user-friendly. There is bullet velocity and limited ammo for balistics. but they generate low heat and thus useful when you need to sustain damage.
Fourth, nope

[Wintersdark]

Lasers are easier to use because their hitscan, but not necessarily better. Ballistics - particularly IS ballistics - fire quickly allowing you to twist away from your target so he can't get a good shot back at you.

We're at the end of a "laser meta" right now, where everyone was piling on as many lasers as possible, but while that'll linger in lower end public play for a long time, it's got some downsides.

First, it's heavily heat dependant. Lasers are hot. This means you can hit hard, but then have very limited damage output (you're "heat capped"; you can only fire more as your heat drops enough to allow it). Ballistics tend to run substantially cooler, allowing you to put more damage down ange before being heatcapped, then to maintain higher damage output afterwards.

[Koniving]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 08:25 AM, said:

So I began MWO last night and so far am very much enjoying it, including the difficulty curve of learning how to properly control a mech and heat management and so on and so forth. But I do have a few questions, if the community would be willing to answer them to the best of their ability.

First, if I wanted to make an in-game purchase with real money, what would be the smartest/safest purchase?

Second, when should I begin investing in a mech and if so which kind, is it more personal preference or should I try and stick with the tier list higher picks?

Third, Ballistic weapons, are they bad? I see people suggesting lasers but never see anyone use ballisitics...

Fourth, Consumables, can a trial mech even equip them?

And I think that is all the questions I have for now, thank you for reading.

1) This answer isn't easy enough to answer on a lunch break. Will edit with suggestions later but in general the already-delivered pre-order mechs give the most for your dollar if you need it sooner than later.

2) Some say 100 matches, some say after x times using each mech. Bare minimum is after 25 matches and all the basic stuff in the academy (the ones that pay out). Thats all bonus income.

3) Tier stuff generally is nonsense. I do recommend medium mechs in the 50 to 55 ton range if on a chill budget. The things to look for is can you get what you want without having to get an XL engine... And if not, can you find one that comes with? That way you get the most out of your cbills to start. Use anyone's smurfy link here to get started and custom-built things. Pick from a category you find to be fun.

4) Ballistics -- if you can aim -- are quite overpowered especially if you are using inner sphere heavier Ballistics like AC/20s.
The thing is... You can miss. And in snap, crackle, pop meta's that means standing out in the open, aiming, firing and possibly missing. The high end stuff wants to instantly pop from cover, shoot a lot of lasers and adjust aim while firing and pop back into cover before the enemy can say "what the". Plus too many energy quirks going around.

4th. No.

Good luck and welcome to MWO.

[Metus regem]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 08:25 AM, said:

So I began MWO last night and so far am very much enjoying it, including the difficulty curve of learning how to properly control a mech and heat management and so on and so forth. But I do have a few questions, if the community would be willing to answer them to the best of their ability.

First, if I wanted to make an in-game purchase with real money, what would be the smartest/safest purchase?

Second, when should I begin investing in a mech and if so which kind, is it more personal preference or should I try and stick with the tier list higher picks?

Third, Ballistic weapons, are they bad? I see people suggesting lasers but never see anyone use ballisitics...

Fourth, Consumables, can a trial mech even equip them?

And I think that is all the questions I have for now, thank you for reading.

Hi Devine,

Welcome to MWO, if you are going to spend some cash, i would suggest buying some mech bays, they are really, really handy. If you want to spend a bit more, I would suggest buying a basic mech pack, either Warhammer or Marauder, both are very solid Inner Sphere mechs, the basic pack for each is $20 USD and comes with 3 mechs and 3 mech bays.

Now on to your question about lasers and Ballistics...

Lasers are a lower skill floor weapon then Ballistics, simply due to the fact that they are instantaneous hit weapons, that means they hit exactly where you point the second you point. The down side to them is that they are hotter than Ballistic weapons and deal their damage over time (DoT), they are also very weight effiecent.

Ballistics are a higher skill floor weapon, due to the fact that you have to be able to account for travel time of the round down range and lead your target correctly for Inner Sphere AC's, Clan UAC's are a burst fire mechanic so you can correct some during the fireing process to correct for being a little off in your aim. The advantage to Ballistics is that they are cooler running than lasers, the down side is that they are both ammunition dependent and heavy. The general rule of thumb around here for the Ultra AC/5 (UAC/5) is 3 tons of ammo should get you through a match, per UAC/5 you have installed on your mech.

[Fobhopper]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 08:25 AM, said:

First, if I wanted to make an in-game purchase with real money, what would be the smartest/safest purchase?

Second, when should I begin investing in a mech and if so which kind, is it more personal preference or should I try and stick with the tier list higher picks?

Third, Ballistic weapons, are they bad? I see people suggesting lasers but never see anyone use ballisitics...

Fourth, Consumables, can a trial mech even equip them?

1) That depends, are you looking for individual mechs or mech collections? For a new player, I would say the Marauder package would be an amazing buy. If you are looking for a collection of mechs, do you want clan or inner sphere? For clan, Clan wave 3 would be the best value for the mechs you are given (arctic cheetah is probably best light mech in the game right now, shadowcat is pretty good, ebon jaguar is amazing and the executioner is a solid mech). If you want Inner Sphere mechs, Resistance 2 is a really solid set of mechs. All of the mechs except the mauler are laser focused (the mauler is more ballistic and missile focused).

2) its more personal preference, most would recommend starting with medium mechs (I started with assault mechs). Do you like lasers, missiles or ballistic more? Lasers are easier to use and dont rely on ammo, but generate a LOT of heat. Ballistic weapons are really heavy, but all their damage is pinpoint and front loaded, unfortunately the you need to carry lots of ammo (usually) and most ballistic weapons ammo can explode if critically hit. Missiles require more skill and also have inherent danger that ballistic weapons have, but they do more damage and reliable damage depending on the type of missiles fired. LRM's (long range missiles that have a vertical travel arc) and SSRM's (ssrm's are streak short range missiles) require locks, but can do a lot of damage. while SRM's are more 'shotgun rockets', and can do considerable damage but have really short range.

Choose a mech that matches the weapons you like to use. Light and Medium mechs are going to have a hard time fitting LRM's and AC weapons because of tonnage and weight.

3) Ballistic weapons are really good, its just that the laser meta is too good right now and it makes all other weapons '**** tier' to elitist who only believe lasers are the best weapons. Ballistic does their damage instantly, can have good or better range compared to most other weapons comparatively and aren't heavy heat generators (usually). Their downsides is that they are very reliant on ammo (no ammo no pewpew) which can be blown up, and you often have to lead your target in order to hit them and requires considerable skill to make proper use off. Especially the gauss rifle, which you not only have to charge up, but then you usually need to lead your target and long range as well, which is even harder. So the elitist players frown heavily on its use. The AC weapon systems ARE great, but when compared to lasers (instant damage, less weight and slots, easier to stack on a side of a mech for alpha strikes) they are lackluster. I personally love the **** out of AC weapons, and tend to prioritize them over lasers, but for the time being (until they release the new weapon control system) lasers are king.

4) no, only mechs you can customize can carry consumables. And as a new player you should ignore them completely until you can skill them up with GXP to make the actually useful. Each consumable cost you 40k cbills. So if you have 2 on your mech and use them both and only do mediocre in the match, its more than possible to not earn any cbills for the match. Wait until you have both Improved UAV (increases sensor range of the UAV) and Longer UAV hover time (if I remember correctly it adds 15 more seconds to its active time) to start using the UAV consumable. And dont use the artillery or air strike consumable until you have the improved damage skill upgrade (where it drops 10 shells/bombs instead of 6). Until you have all the upgrades for it, consumables are not worth taking. And I recommend NOT getting the accuracy GXP skill for the strikes, it reduces the damage range of the strike. And most mechs can easily move out of the range of a strike, so making the strike radius smaller is a bad idea.

Edited by Fobhopper, 20 May 2016 - 10:05 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 08:25 AM, said:

So I began MWO last night and so far am very much enjoying it, including the difficulty curve of learning how to properly control a mech and heat management and so on and so forth. But I do have a few questions, if the community would be willing to answer them to the best of their ability.

First, if I wanted to make an in-game purchase with real money, what would be the smartest/safest purchase?

Second, when should I begin investing in a mech and if so which kind, is it more personal preference or should I try and stick with the tier list higher picks?

Third, Ballistic weapons, are they bad? I see people suggesting lasers but never see anyone use ballisitics...

Fourth, Consumables, can a trial mech even equip them?

And I think that is all the questions I have for now, thank you for reading.

1) as others have said Mechbays or Mech packs, I would not recomend any specific pack unless you give me a lot of information on your likes and dislikes.

2) I personally am not a fan of tier lists, many of my favourite Mechs are not high on those lists, and many top tier Mechs are worthless in my hands, it all comes down to your playstyle and personal preferences.

I strongly recommend completing the tutorial ^{(pays out 5 million)} and first 25 matches ^{(12 million on top of regular earnings)} by that point you should have 18-20 million, enough to buy and out fit any 1 Mech or 2-3 of some medium Mechs ^{(Lights may look cheep but are usually relay expensive to outfit and often end up costing a lot more than mediums)}.

I recommend you try all the trial Mechs and make note of what you liked/disliked about each, if you find one you fall in love with then get that, otherwise come back here with your notes and we can offer tailored suggestions about what will be good for you.

3) depending on the Mech balistics can be great, for IS all except the Machine Gun ^{(rapid fire, short range 0.8dps against armor but far more damage against unarmored sections provided they are not empty)} fire a single projectile, Gauss and AC2 are fast long range projectile, the larger ACs get slower projectiles and shorter range as size increases, for Clans they fire a burst instead of a single projectile, Ultra ACs can "double tap" to fire twice as often at the risk of jaming (if you double tap the mouse, they will not double tap if you hold down the button), and LBX ACs are effectively shotguns.

4) No, you can only fit modules (including consumables) to Mechs you own.

Fobhopper, on 20 May 2016 - 09:55 AM, said:

3) Ballistic weapons are really good, its just that the laser meta is too good right now and it makes all other weapons '**** tier' to elitist who only believe lasers are the best weapons. Ballistic does their damage instantly,

that is true for some but not all, the Clan Autocannons and Ultra Autocannons ^{(except 2s)} fire a burst of shells, and the Machine Gun fires a continuous stream

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 20 May 2016 - 10:09 AM.

[Fobhopper]

Rogue Jedi, on 20 May 2016 - 10:03 AM, said:

that is true for some but not all, the Clan Autocannons and Ultra Autocannons ^{(except 2s)} fire a burst of shells, and the Machine Gun fires a continuous stream

While technically true, C-AC weapons may fire in bursts, but that also means they have better chances to critical hit a mechs internals. Since critical hits are based on individual hits, not total damage dealt. But They still do their damage instantly if they hit (whether its machine guns, gauss or AC). C-AC20 still does 20 damage like the IS AC20, but the C-AC20 fires four 5 damage shells while IS fires 1 single 20 damage shell. But if you miss with an IS ac weapon, thats ALL potential damage lost, as compared to Clan AC weapons fires in burst, and missing a single shell is more forgiving as you can still hit with other shells in the burst as you move your targeting reticle.

But yes, machine guns fire in a continuous steam, but thats kind of a-given. But its still solid ammo like other AC weapons and can still be blown up with critical hits.

[Rhavin]

Welcome to the innersphere!

If I was starting over today and knew what I know now about this game , I would buy a Warhammer or Maurader package and 10 to 20 dollars of MC for one shot camos and a couple of paints. That's just me though.

Since everyone else went into detail on energy vrs ballistic weapons. I am going into detail on money. Here is my advice on buying / spending real life cash on this game. Some may disagree with it, but most won't I imagine.

I find that 2 of the earlier packages have the best bang for the buck because they include premium time, colors, camos, warhorns and cockpit items along with a Special Hero style chassis for each mech chassis in the package. You could spend more and grab an assault with these bundles, but the value isn't there unless your a mech collector.

90 dollars to spend? Clan wave 3 will get you 3 heavy ebon Jaguars, 3 medium shadowcats, and 3 light Arctic Cheetahs and all the mech bays you need for them.. All are solid mechs, and you could start Faction Warfare for the clans right away if you wanted, with a very strong lineup of mechs. This package has 3 of the mechs (one each chassis ) as a Special Invasion variant that functions as a hero mech. It also includes 3 faction packages which means you get 9 paints and 3 faction camo schemes for the mechs you bought, plus some warhorns and cockpit stuff. The only thing this lvl of commitment does not provide is pilot skill.

60 dollars to spend? Resistance wave 3 will get you 3 black knights, 3 crabs, and 3 wolfhounds,and 4 (or is it 5?) faction packs (see above ). One each is a hero mech as well. Whike the wolf hound and crab are generally not considered as "good" as other mechs in their weight class they are serviceable and deadly all the same. You could be playing FW for an innersphere house with this pack. But as its an innersphere pack these mechs will need more cbill investment to get up and rolling than the clan mechs above. You will be buying xl engines and upgrades to armor,structure and heatsinks to get the most out of each one before it will shine.

20 bucks...Warhammer or Maurader, these mechs are good, i think they are great myself. 30 days premium time, 3 mechbays, 3 mechs, some cockpit stuff, a title and a badge for your profile. Because the pre order bonuses are far in the past for these mechs the value has dropped, it is still a great deal of firepower for a minimal investment into a game. None of these 3 mechs are heros but For 15 more dollars you can upgrade the base pack and grab the associated hero mech of the chassis and both heros are pretty good, or 20 bucks for 1 month more premium time and a duplicate special hero mech plus some more cockpit stuff. There is no faction content with the base mech package though, so no colors or paint scheme unlocks for all of the mechs you bought. But all hero/special mechs of any type come with a default camo and color scheme that is different from the basic green/grey. Some cbills required to upgrade these mechs but not as much as they come with great engines already that can be swapped around if you need. Both of these chassis are a good mix of energy and ballistic builds with some missile hardpoints thrown in.

There are other 20 dollar 3 mech packages (rifleman, archer, and the just released Kodiak assault) but the general consensus is they are not as strong as the Warhammer and Maurader. Though the kodiak is new, at the moment I am not as impressed as I had hoped to be with it. Still 20 dollars for 3 100 ton clan mechs it is not a bad deal at all. The $20 orgins pack for the Jenner II C isn't bad if you want to play light mechs, but they are overengined little glass cannons imho.

Alternatively you could buy a mastery pack for an innersphere chassis that will include a hero mech, a champion mech, and one other variant, 30 days premium time , and sometimes a mech statue. Prices vary, but some of them are good deals, and some few are great deals. Everything in a master bundle is 50% off so they are a year round sale. So in the future if your looking to buy a hero mech..check out the mastery bundle first.

Beyond buying mechs the only other thing is mechbays for mechs you will eventually buy for cbills. However they are best bought once or twice a year when they go on sale for 50% off. You can also buy camo schemes and colors for MC but they are priced pretty high unless you catch them on sale. Everything goes on sale eventually.

Also remember that cockpit items, colors, MC, mechbays, and somtimes even mechs are given away in weekend/week long personal challenges. Earning ranks in faction play will net you simular rewards as well so don't waste money buying a bonsai tree, or speakers. Heck most people have more cockpit items than they have mechs to put them in . I know i do.

[DivineBovine]

Well I guess I got another question coming along then! I keep seeing people reference Innersphere and clan stuff...is there a major difference?

[Gibson Ibanez]

Welcome to MWO. I am also a new pilot and I can only reasonably answer your ballistic question.

I have a much easier time with lasers. You can sweep them around if your aim is a little sketchy. Pulse lasers seem to need a little more precise aiming. Ballistics will rock you and your enemy when used right. The only ballistics I have done decently with, and would recommend for another rookie, is the LBX - 10. It has a spread shot like a shotgun and has good range and damage. Other more experienced players may disagree. (If so, go with their recommendation)

Edited by Jack McKnight, 21 May 2016 - 06:37 AM.

[Metus regem]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 03:37 PM, said:

Well I guess I got another question coming along then! I keep seeing people reference Innersphere and clan stuff...is there a major difference?

That is a complicated and very long answer.... I would suggest doing a little reading on Sarna.net for that....

[DivineBovine]

Metus regem, on 20 May 2016 - 04:12 PM, said:

That is a complicated and very long answer.... I would suggest doing a little reading on Sarna.net for that....

Oh my...that is quite a bit of reading to do XD!


But thankfully I do have a few more questions~

When using a non-trial mech, do you have to repair damage between matches?


And people were earlier wondering what kind of game style I am focusing on, at the moment it is mid range scouting/combat. Being able to peck a few times then scamper away~

[Koniving]

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 03:37 PM, said:

Well I guess I got another question coming along then! I keep seeing people reference Innersphere and clan stuff...is there a major difference?

As far as MWO goes...
Clan weapons generally do more damage, have more range and are lighter. This is at the cost of being hotter (lasers), more DPS oriented (Have to krep on target for longer periods of time to get full damage for lasers, ballistics), weaker (srms; also same range except for streak srms), easier to shoot down (Clan lrm streams versus inner sphere lrm clusters). Gauss Rifle is basically identical. Clans have some additional weapons but also lack some weapons the I.s. have. Clan mechs with XL engines must lose both STs or the CT to die by torso.

Inner sphere weapons are meant to hit hard and heavy. They fire more frequently, require shorter exposure time, possesses the only instant kill combination against every nech in the game (twin AC/20s to the cockpit). Once close enough Inner Sphere mechs are incredibly dangerous. The IS also have three ballistic weapons with extra range. AC/2. Lbx. Gauss Rifle. These weapons don't stop doing damage until 3x range. Most weapons stop at 2x range. Inner sphere xls die by losing a single side torso or center torso.

There's a lot more but that is the basic functionality difference.

DivineBovine, on 20 May 2016 - 05:57 PM, said:

But thankfully I do have a few more questions~

When using a non-trial mech, do you have to repair damage between matches?


And people were earlier wondering what kind of game style I am focusing on, at the moment it is mid range scouting/combat. Being able to peck a few times then scamper away~

Do not have to repair. (There seems to be an on the fly repair mechanic being made for FP.). There is no repair and rearm in mwo since late 2012.

----

You will generally favor light mechs. Then.

Edited by Koniving, 21 May 2016 - 08:02 AM.

[Koniving]

Fobhopper, on 20 May 2016 - 10:21 AM, said:

While technically true, C-AC weapons may fire in bursts, but that also means they have better chances to critical hit a mechs internals. Since critical hits are based on individual hits, not total damage dealt. But They still do their damage instantly if they hit (whether its machine guns, gauss or AC). C-AC20 still does 20 damage like the IS AC20, but the C-AC20 fires four 5 damage shells while IS fires 1 single 20 damage shell. But if you miss with an IS ac weapon, thats ALL potential damage lost, as compared to Clan AC weapons fires in burst, and missing a single shell is more forgiving as you can still hit with other shells in the burst as you move your targeting reticle.

But yes, machine guns fire in a continuous steam, but thats kind of a-given. But its still solid ammo like other AC weapons and can still be blown up with critical hits.

Clan acs and lasers do crit damage equal to 1-3 times the pulse or shell fired. Example if the shell does 5 damage, the crit is good for 5 damage minimum. If the pulse does 0.25 damage, the crit does 0.25 damage minimum.

Also while the IS AC has a yes or no result the percentage is the same. If the weapon has a 25% chance to crit once, then the total bullets or pulses have that chance. A weapon with 5 bullets would have 5% per bullet. A laser with ten pulses would have 2.5% per pulse. Yes, each rolls. Yes, the total is the same. The advantage is more attempts.

Pgi's percentages are accumulative (additional, totaling an overall percentage) not inclusionary (percentage bonus on an already percentage enhanced number).

Interestingly Clan uac2 has bonus crit percentages.

Edited by Koniving, 22 May 2016 - 02:10 AM.

[DivineBovine]

Ho boy...getting into the nitty gritty it seems.

Well how about some more questions~

Any recommended viewing on how to properly torso turn or however you call it...where you move your torso to protect exposed areas :X

Should I change my keyboard layout at all?

Are there any perks/quirks don't really know the names..... I should avoid getting?

[Insects]

What to get depends so much on personal preference.

For a bundle, a lot of the Mastery Bundles besides lights arent that good value anymore since their price goes up by class but the new mech releases are fixed at $20.
Eg $41 Atlas bundle, or $20 Kodiac bundle... ok you get the 30% cBill mech with the Atlas but otherwise its about the same and unless Kodiac gets nerfed its going to remain a serviceable mech even after the hype wears off.

Whatever you get you will probably just play them a while and then get bored and want more.

[p4r4g0n]

DivineBovine, on 21 May 2016 - 08:42 PM, said:

Ho boy...getting into the nitty gritty it seems.

Well how about some more questions~

Any recommended viewing on how to properly torso turn or however you call it...where you move your torso to protect exposed areas :X

Should I change my keyboard layout at all?

Are there any perks/quirks don't really know the names..... I should avoid getting?

Torso twisting merely requires that you swing your mouse away from the mech firing at you so that you present your arm & shoulder towards the enemy assuming you are using a mouse & keyboard.

If you wish to get complicated, some mechs protect their torso better if you can also raise your arm while it does squat on other mechs. Some other mechs cannot torso twist to save their lives due to limited torso twist range e.g. Stalkers.

I assume your reference to quirks/perks refers to the mech skill tree. Under the current system, you will want to get all skills up to elite level to double the percentage of the skills. If you wish to unlock the master module slot, then you will also need to get all the master level skills.

If you are referring to the mech quirks these are linked to the specific mech or mech omnipod. Most people will build their loadout around a mech's quirks to get the maximum performance out of the mech.

[Rogue Jedi]

DivineBovine, on 21 May 2016 - 08:42 PM, said:

Ho boy...getting into the nitty gritty it seems.

Well how about some more questions~

Any recommended viewing on how to properly torso turn or however you call it...where you move your torso to protect exposed areas :X

Should I change my keyboard layout at all?

Are there any perks/quirks don't really know the names..... I should avoid getting?

to twist move the mouse, on a humanoid Mech you will usually want to turn the torso 90^o to use the arms or side torsos to protect the CT, on a non humanoid Mech you will usually want to twist less, in some cases 20^o can be enough to make it hard to hit the CT, fire then twist away, twist back when the weapons are almost ready then, if you have a shield side twist back to use it, if not twist the other way to evenly spread damage, ideally you want to use all your armour before you start loosing weapons.
If a component is blown off any damage passing through that component is reduced by 60%, so if you loose an arm and damage passes through it only 40% of that damage reaches the side torso, if you then loose the side and damage passes through both the destroyed arm and destroyed side only 16% reaches your Centre Torso

I have remapped about half the keys I commonly use to make things more convenient, I know a lot of players remap things but it is all down to personal preference, e.g. I have almost everything I use frequently on the left side of the keyboard with weapon groups and zoom on the mouse only.

I am assuming you mean Mech Skills, you want them all except maybe the Master level extra module slot which should not be valid to you until you can afford multiple modules for each Mech ^{(some modules cost as mush as a new Mech and it will take you hundreds of games to earn enough GXP to unlock enough modules to fill 1 Mechs module slots)}

Quirks are modifiers to a Mechs capabilities, they can take the form of percentage boosts/reductions to a Mechs agility, cooling, weapon ranges and reload/recharge rates, they are assigned to each chassis, you have no choice about them.
as for modules, the Radar Deprivation and Seismic Sensor are the most recommended modules but any module can be useful in a certain situation, just bear mind that Modules have to be unlocked and purchased, some modules have multiple levels if you purchase the level 1 module and later unlock the level 5 the lv1 modules will be upgraded free of charge.