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[jeffsw6]

You may recognize me from my previous thread: http://mwomercs.com/...on-400-matches/

So to update you, I've been playing for just a couple of weeks. I'm 585 matches in, and have bought plenty of MC to purchase mechs. Currently I have three Dragons (5N, Flame, Fang), two Atlas (DDC, RS), a Raven 3L (I don't seem to have the skill to play it yet), and a TBT-3C (was my first one), and of course, played the trial mechs quite a bit.

I played about 200 matches before buying any MC. I wanted to be sure I liked the game before putting any money into it. Job well done, MWO, because you've earned my money, $200 worth!

$200? Am I "paying to win?" No, not really. I spent MC to buy mechs because I want to play a variety of them, and don't want to spend a whole month farming CB so I can get enough mechs of each chassis to unlock the better "efficiencies." However, the middle tree of efficiencies really left me disappointed. I'll tell you why!

The big power-ups are all in the first 8. Let me remind you what those are: Coolrun, Kinetic Burst, Twist X, Heat Containment, Hard Brake, Twist Speed, Arm Reflex, Anchor Turn -- these provide you with huge combat advantages.

The second group of 4, which you've got to farm at for zillions of games to get XP even if you buy MC so you can have the 3 mechs you need, are crap. Quick Ignition? Who is shutting down their mech all the time? Fast Fire will give you a DPS boost but it's a small one; and if you are limited by heat in most combat situations, the first 8 power-ups already have you a much larger benefit. Pinpoint, that's nice, but Twist X, Arm Reflex, Anchor Turn, etc. are superior efficiencies for putting your weapons on the target. Speed tweak is okay, I'll give you that.

Basically, I spent a week farming XP on my dragons so I could unlock these abilities, and I am pretty disappointed. They need a buff, or some things need to move from the first group to the second one.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy most of the matches I played to get that XP. But I did buy a Dragon 5N and play 40 matches on it without really enjoying that mech. I got it just to unlock these things.

If you sink a lot of time into advancing your abilities, you expect to be rewarded for it. Anchor Turn is better than everything in the 4th group combined, and yet it's far easier to get.

So, devs, this is something you should put some thought into. Consumables? I'm not interested in calling for an air strike yet. Players should feel rewarded for collecting those three same-chassis mechs and farming XP on them.

$0.02.

[Hauser]

I can offer you a different perspective on two skills.

I pilot a HBK-4P and that thing runs hot with a high alpha. Frequently I'll overheat on purpose because I've got a kill-shot lined up. Quick ignition makes me power up fast enough to avoid being a sitting duck. I also play with a guy occasionally that likes to turn a corner and his commando down to give chasing mechs the slip. Powering up helps him get on their tail quickly.

Fast fire is only a minor tweak and limited by heat, but it does allow you to get your damage out faster and retreat to cover earlier. This not a good strategy on a assault but on mediums and lights it tends to work fairly well.