14 replies to this topic

[Puppy Monkey Baby]

So, I dove into this game a few days ago.

I was puttering around in a Jenner IIC, which ended up with 2 ER Large Lasers and 4 Small ER Large Lasers.

I then switched to a Blackjack, which has 2 ER PPCs and 3 Medium Lasers.

I'm just wondering when I'll be allowed to use non-energy weapons?

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

You can use other weapon types if you purchase a mech that has hardpoints for other weapon types.

Just check them in the store before purchasing them to see if they have the hardpoints you'd like.

[JC Daxion]

I'd highly suggest you play trials, and try many and put some decent time in them before you pick up your own mech.. a good 100 matches in various mechs. IMO 5-10 drops in every trial is a good start..


Pretty much all the trials right now are pretty decent, the HBK IIC, shadow cat, griffin, stalker, highlander, ebon jag, grasshopper will give you a very good idea of how the weapon systems play..


Enjoy!

[BodakOfSseth]

Also make sure you try out the Academy - there are several more mechs there to try out.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Puppy Monkey Baby, on 11 October 2016 - 02:17 PM, said:

So, I dove into this game a few days ago.

I was puttering around in a Jenner IIC, which ended up with 2 ER Large Lasers and 4 Small ER Large Lasers.

I then switched to a Blackjack, which has 2 ER PPCs and 3 Medium Lasers.

I'm just wondering when I'll be allowed to use non-energy weapons?

ALLOWED? Uh, I hereby grant you permission! J/K You're already allowed to use any trial mech, or any other mech you can purchase (in-game with CBills or MC, or through this site with IRL $$$). Yes, you'll likely make a BAD decision on your first mech purchase. Most people do. It's cool. This game's learning curve is steep, and that includes what's in and out in the meta-game.

NOW, as for using ballistic or missile weapons, I honestly don't know what the trial mechs are right now. BUT, as someone else already pointed out above, you can use loaners in the Mechwarrior Academy. I'm certain that the JM6-FB 'Firebrand' hero mech is in there, and it's got a pair of AC/2s on it. Also, there's a King Crab in there (not sure which variant), which will have ballistic and missile and energy weapons.

Now, I cannot overstate the importance of this: USE THE ACADEMY! Make it your b***h! That's what it's there for, and Dave Forsey's crew have done a pretty darned good job with it. We only got that like a year ago, give or take. Play with the available mechs in there, give different styles of play and different mechs a fair go. See what works for you. Spend some time honing those marksmanship skills in the various events in the Academy. Go trade shots with the dummy mechs in the Battle Zone. And then, take it live in some Quick Play drops and see which tactics do/don't apply well to real fights.

Most of all, enjoy this game. If anything is frustrating you, or confusing you, come back here with your questions/problems, and folks around here will be happy to give you some fine advice. New Player Help is one of the highlights of MWO!

[Boulangerie]

Not A Real RAbbi, on 11 October 2016 - 07:35 PM, said:

NOW, as for using ballistic or missile weapons, I honestly don't know what the trial mechs are right now. BUT, as someone else already pointed out above, you can use loaners in the Mechwarrior Academy. I'm certain that the JM6-FB 'Firebrand' hero mech is in there, and it's got a pair of AC/2s on it. Also, there's a King Crab in there (not sure which variant), which will have ballistic and missile and energy weapons.

I didn't realize they'd put a hero mech into the trial rotation, I think you might be mistaken RAbbi. There should be other mechs which use ballistic or missile mechs however.

Seconding the Academy suggestion too, you'll also get a big pile of Cbills for completing the Academy achievements (you can check progress from the achievements tab on home screen in game). I think you just have to finish the basic tutorial and win the "race" mode with the Thunderbolt provided to get all the cbills, although I did it a looong time ago. There are other mechs in the academy you can get into and out of as well without reloading a map. It's a fun way to derp around and mess around with fire groups etc.

[Ruccus]

Boulangerie, on 12 October 2016 - 01:27 AM, said:

I didn't realize they'd put a hero mech into the trial rotation, I think you might be mistaken RAbbi. There should be other mechs which use ballistic or missile mechs however.

He's saying the Firebrand is in the academy, not the trial rotation. The OP can try it out in the academy.

Edited by Ruccus, 12 October 2016 - 10:40 AM.

[Boulangerie]

Ruccus, on 12 October 2016 - 10:39 AM, said:

He's saying the Firebrand is in the academy, not the trial rotation. The OP can try it out in the academy.

Oops my bad. Mis read that bit.
Firebrand was my first Heavy mech. I still really like it.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Boulangerie, on 12 October 2016 - 11:07 AM, said:

Oops my bad. Mis read that bit.
Firebrand was my first Heavy mech. I still really like it.

No worries! I, too, fell in love with the Jagermechs when they first came out. Couldn't quite get into heavies until then. Been done some weird stuff with Jagermechs, too (LB-X's and SSRM-2s? Yup.). They're fun! Firebrand is in the Academy, and that'd cool. So is Ember, and so is Jester. There are also at least a Boar's Head, Hellslinger, Anansi, and recently-added Oxide, among the heroes appearing in the TARGET rotation.

Honestly, there are two things I wish they'd do with the Academy's target mechs, to make it a little more applicable to our expectations in-game. 1.) Use Champion mechs. 2.) Use some Clan mechs, including Clan Champions. Those builds may not be THE meta hotness, but they're more common or like the common ones. Especially after this last round, where like half the new winning champ builds were submitted by GMan129 anyhow. I mean, who sees a Shadow Cat in-game and expects a pair of LRM-15s on it? No one. Why? Because no one runs stock loadouts (outside of stock mech matches, which are all private at this time).

ANYHOO. There are some ballistic (other than MGs) toting mechs in the Academy that one can use for free, which is a very helpful thing for new players wanting to get a grasp on the game's mechanics.

And Firebrand is still a relevant mech, in a great weight group too!

[Koniving]

Puppy Monkey Baby, on 11 October 2016 - 02:17 PM, said:

So, I dove into this game a few days ago.

I was puttering around in a Jenner IIC, which ended up with 2 ER Large Lasers and 4 Small ER Large Lasers.

I then switched to a Blackjack, which has 2 ER PPCs and 3 Medium Lasers.

I'm just wondering when I'll be allowed to use non-energy weapons?

Nobody quoted you which makes it hard to find out if someone answered you.

So the long and short is... You happened to choose the only Jenner that is energy exclusive... and the only Blackjack that's energy exclusive (I'm assuming the BJ-3).
Each mech has a set of hardpoints.
Energy, Ballistic, Missile, AMS (anti-missile system) and ECM.

The most commonly found hardpoints are energy and AMS, followed by missile, ballistic and finally ECM.
Ballistic hardpoints are either blue or dark purple when you look up information on the mechs in game.
Alternatively...
http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ is great for its list and practice mechlab.

To expand, you have either bought or are using: the Jenner IIC A and the BJ-3.
Both of which are energy-only variants of those chassis.

BJ-1, BJ-1-DC, and BJ-Arrow are all three ballistic-using Blackjacks.
There are no ballistic-using Jenners, but the IIC-2, IIC-3 and IIC all use missiles in addition to energy (the straight IIC is missile-exclusive).

I hope this helps to clear up any misunderstanding about whether or not you need permission to use ballistics. You simply need a variant of a mech that can use them.

Edited by Koniving, 14 October 2016 - 08:28 AM.

[Akillius]

Koniving, on 14 October 2016 - 08:18 AM, said:

Nobody quoted you which makes it hard to find out if someone answered you.

Thanks 'Sheldon' for that ^line of social protocol, while failing to Read/Notice those who did quote OP above.
Otherwise everything else Koniving wrote is solid, and smurfy website is great.

BTW Puppy Monkey Baby welcome to mwo.
Others have given a lot of info and yes the first mech you choose is just part of the learning curve so don't sweat it.
Hope you just have fun with any mechs you choose.

[LMP]

I went into the Academy to see if I could try the Mecs in there and I got to the point where I figured out how to get into one of the other Mecs, but when I'm in the other Mech I get no HUD, how do I get the HUD to come up?

[John1352]

Sounds like a bug LMP, or the mech could be powered down. P is the default key to power up a mech, right shift+f11 toggles HUD.

[Koniving]

LMP, on 15 October 2016 - 04:51 AM, said:

I went into the Academy to see if I could try the Mecs in there and I got to the point where I figured out how to get into one of the other Mecs, but when I'm in the other Mech I get no HUD, how do I get the HUD to come up?

Mechs are supposed to do a powered down and powering up animation when you enter them. If you can move but it didn't power up, chances are there's a bug. Try the right shift + F11 option twice to reset the hud.

Alternatively if you can't even get it to move, or if the option above doesn't work, hit P. If it shuts down hit P again to reset the display.

[LMP]

Koniving, on 15 October 2016 - 10:47 AM, said:

Mechs are supposed to do a powered down and powering up animation when you enter them. If you can move but it didn't power up, chances are there's a bug. Try the right shift + F11 option twice to reset the hud.

Alternatively if you can't even get it to move, or if the option above doesn't work, hit P. If it shuts down hit P again to reset the display.

That did the trick, thanks.