28 replies to this topic

[K0DIAK]

So I've managed to get enough c-bills from the free mechs to purchase a few of the mechs from the store, I was wondering should I buy something now or wait to buy something better. I was looking at a Centurion or Trebuchet, or saving for a Cataphract. I've seen some say start with what you like, but lets be honest here, this is an online game. There are the "good mechs/builds" and the ones noone uses.

Any advice on what a good starter Mech to buy is? If I had my choice I'd buy a Dragon right now but I never see them being used when I do play.

Thanks!

[Mordino]

There`s no bad mechs, really(yes cicada, even you).

I`m a dragon fan, but I wouldnt recommend you getting it as a starter mech. It`s really useless without XL engine. I started open beta on a dragon, but I had huge amount of experience before, and it was a pain anyway(saved MC for later).

Catapult is a great choice as a starting mech. Start from C1.

Edited by Mordino, 01 March 2013 - 12:29 PM.

[Redshift2k5]

Dragon is a poor choice for a starting mech. They have their strengths but tend to require more skill to be used at the same level as the heavier Heavies.

The Hunchback 4SP is touted as one of the best starter mechs, solid, dependable, and if you lose one side torso you still have one SRM6 and two of your lasers and are still dangerous when cornered. Of course, this means you will want two more Hunchbacks to fill out Elites, and you may not like two other Hunchbacks as much.

The Trebuchets are all pretty decent. Hardpoints are a little less ideal than Hunchbacks but you have the option of a much higher top speed.

Cataphracts are solid mechs suitable for a variety of roles. Hard to go wrong with a 75 ton Heavy mech.

You need to ask yourself: Do you like three variants of each of those chassis? Do you want to go a little faster than the Hunches can offer? Willing tokeep grinding until you can afford a Cataphract?

[Dredhawk]

Im a Cataphract fan my favorite one of the variants is the Cataphract 3D....Choice what class you like to play and go from there im a assault,heavy mech person never like running around in little light mechs going 100+ not my cup of tea..

[Clubs]

Yeah if you like heavies go with the Cataphract 3D.

If you have any MC the K2 is on sale and is a good mech with several build options. (Ac20, gauss, PPC, large laser)

As others have stated the hunchback 4sp is a good starter mech but you will see more heavies deployed than mediums.

[El Death Smurf]

i would say it depends on what Wepons you like, and how you like to fight.
my advice would be a heavy or medium.

Trebuchet is the best medium for fire support (rather than brawling, but they still can brawl) and 2 of them come fully upgraded (3c and 7m) and that saves you money in the long run, as well as providing a 300xl or 250xl engine that you can swap to other mechs later on when you want to use them.

I started with catapults, and you really can make a large variety of roles for each varrient, and they're easy enough to upgrade. none of them but the A1 with its 6 missle slots are piggon holed into a limted number of roles.

[Splinters]

Of the mechs you listed, the Centurion 9-A would be a great choice, 3x SRM6's with 2 ML's is a powerful flanker build with a 55 point alpha. the Cent-YLW (Yen Lo Wang) is also another one if you are using C-bills.

For Cataphract's, the 3D and the Ilya are the two popular choices, 3D for it's sniping/pop-tarting ability and the Ilya for it's DPS madness with 3x UAC5's.

The catapult is also a good platform to look at as well. I do enjoy my K2 and A1 a lot. Personally the Stalker 3F is doing really well for me right now, PPC's are a lot more fun than previous patches.

Good luck!

-S

[Elizander]

A heavy mech would be a safe choice (any one that has the option to go 80 kph or so) at the moment. Probably avoid the Cataphract 4X as a first purchase because it is very slow. Anything else should be okay with the usual DHS/Endo (optional) and weapons you can actually hit with.

[BINDLETORC]

so. as a fairly new player myself i respectfully disagree with the folks above. i learned the most from a light chassis. they are inexpensive and have great speed. you learn to aim on the move and duck those incoming missiles. when you can take down an atlas with a jenner you are ready to drive anything in this game.

loadouts are as important as the mech itself so save those c-bills to swap weapons until you know which you are best with.

most importantly... don't get frustrated. what works for someone else may not work for you. hop in something and start shooting, every mech is a good mech. (except that cicada thing...)

cheers.

[Davoke]

Something that works great for me is the Cataphract 2X with 2 SRM6(+Artemis), AC10, and 3Mlas with the standard 280, it runs a little hot, but it shreds through everything under your tonnage, and does good damage against Assaults if you pair up with someone.

[Spungie]

It depends on the mechs and weapons you've enjoyed so far. If you are planning on going for elite, look for a mech which has 3 chassis with weapon hardpoints you know you'll enjoy. I only used 2 trial mechs and they are still my favourites. Jenner and Cataphract. A scout is a fun first mech because they are simple to use. I don't really enjoy missiles much so my 4SP is going dusty. (incidentally the only mech I bought that I didn't trial first)

[BirdToes]

Redshift2k5, on 01 March 2013 - 12:30 PM, said:

The Hunchback 4SP is touted as one of the best starter mechs, solid, dependable, and if you lose one side torso you still have one SRM6 and two of your lasers and are still dangerous when cornered. Of course, this means you will want two more Hunchbacks to fill out Elites, and you may not like two other Hunchbacks as much.

I like the 4P about as well as the 4SP.

From there, it's all down hill. The least painful third variant (for elite) is the 4J IMO. Simply abuse it by placing two ASRM6 in the hunch and a couple LLAS in the arms. You also have the option of using it as God intended and place an ALRM15 or even ALRM20 in the hunch.

[Darwins Dog]

Hunchback-4SP

It works great right out of the box, and can get really nasty with endosteel and double heatsinks. The weapon layout is intuitive (missiles shoot at the cross, lasers shoot at the circle). From there you can try out other things, but this is a great start.

[burns]

I´ll never regret going Commando as 1st choice.

Foremost it´s cheap.
And due to it´s characteristics (everbody wants to kill teh commando!) literally teaches you the in&outs of the battlefields from ground up. Any fault can lead to end of match in this shoebox.

Train hard, fight easy

[loliza]

i started with a jenner big mistake it didnt fit my playstyle at all, sold it bought a cn9-A the learning curve is somewhat steep but you will be amazed at your survivability and the 55 dmg alpha is a huge plus not too expensive either 180k cbills for each of those srm racks only downside is the D variant is expensive but you will be able to afford it long before u have enough xp in reserve for elites in the A and AL variants.

all in all cents are a great choice i think.

[John MatriX82]

My vote is for the 4SP.

[Koniving]

Most everyone will tell you the Hunchback 4SP.

There are a few good starting 'Mechs. My own was the Jenner, although in closed beta we got free MC before the trial 'Mech system, so I instantly went to the C1 and then K-2 after a short period of time. I was hooked. However my performance in a Hunchback 4P (not the SP) impressed as I single handedly (as everyone else died) took out heavies, mediums and assaults and finally one light using a plethora of small pulse lasers that I fired like machine guns at a time when few people chainfired and excellent heat efficiency while my enemies all kept shutting down. That got me an invitation into Zhizhu.

There are several recommendations. Many suggest stalkers, but finding a good build for a specific stalker can be difficult as they have heat issues.

Honestly you cannot possibly go wrong with a Hunchback 4SP no matter what your playstyle is. You can be an LRM boat, you can be a brawler, you can hit and run, you can snipe (ER PPCs). Just whatever you do, don't load in streaks (as you'd be undermining its damage potential).

Good luck.

[Alto]

I started with a hunchback, I think mediums are a good place to start. You get agility and enough weight to try some new ideas. All the Hunchbacks bar the one with the LRM10's are great in their stock load-out too.

[muskrat]

My vote is the "Trashbucket" 7M,
Standard 300 eng for speed, (99+ with speed tweak)
JJ if you want or use 2 ton for ammo
Missle hard points, Beam hard points
can be used as a up front med brawler,
can be used as a jj'n sniper

[Splinters]

Here's a short list of what I would get as a first mech depending on weight class:

Lights: Raven 3L (Craven is still the deadliest mech out there)
Mediums: Centurion 9A (used all the way up through 8-mans due to speed and punch combo)
Heavies: Cataphract 3D (Pop-tart original) or Catapult K2 (Dual AC/20's are fun)
Assaults: Atlas D-DC (brawler with AC/20 and 3x SRM6's) or Stalker 3M (4x PPCs w/ 4x SSRM2s)

I was also thinking about the Catapult A1 w/ 4x JJs and 6x SRM6's "Splatcat" as well too, but it takes the least skill to pilot and tends to get a lot of grief.

-S