39 replies to this topic

[XPhantasmaX]

First off, a Spider-5D with 1 med laser and 1 flamer.....what kind of build is that? It is a laughable piece of garbage of a mech that shouldn't be even considered a "trial mech". Who in the right mind would want to pilot that? The damage effectiveness is absolutely terrible not to mention there were a lot of things that it can be improved on. The other trial mechs are questionable as well, but its manageable compared to this Spider, which I find is the worst of them all.

Heres an example of a good mech. Before this patch came through we had the Jenner with 3 med lasers and 3 small lasers with Jump jets and almost completely decked out specs. That was actually good mech to play as compared to all the other mechs. Hell I even bought a Jenner with the same exact hardpoints, and spent some C-bills to make a close replica of that trial mech, and optimized it to the fullest where it can surpass it.

The point of this post is for PGI to know that they have to make better trial mechs in the future. Normally I don't post a lot on the forums, nor is this the right place to post this topic, but I think this needs to be addressed and considered for future trial mechs.

Edited by XPhantasmaX, 05 June 2013 - 01:39 AM.

[Kmieciu]

I hope they will listen to a new player, since this issue has been raised numerous times since the introduction of the trial mechs.
1) Trial builds are taken straight from Table Top
2) The rules in MWO differ very much from TT rules
3) TT designs are ineffective in MWO

There are three solutions:
1) Balance the game so that TT designs are competitive in MWO (impossible to do at this point)
2) Introduce "stock mech only" game queue (highly desired by many players)
3) At least one of the trial mechs should be a "champion" (an optimized build like the XL300 Jenner with ENDO, FERRO and DHS)

Edited by Kmieciu, 05 June 2013 - 02:08 AM.

[DarkDevilDancer]

Due to recent changes people in elo for the first 25 games people in trial mechs should only face people in trial mechs so i dont see it as a big issue, if your still in a trial mech after 25 games you done goofed up.

[Deathlike]

Trial Mechs have almost always been terrible, so that's technically "working as intended".

With that said, having the stock 5D w/o ECM will kinda confuse me a little. Who wouldn't take ECM?

I think the more atrocious mech is the 4X. It's as slow as an assault, and has the weapon power of like a medium. That's just terrible.

The only trial mechs worth recommending at this time is the 4P (even if you customize it, it'll look more or less like the trial mech). The Atlas-RS has.... too many options for the newbie.

Edited by Deathlike, 05 June 2013 - 10:50 AM.

[Vasily Krasnaya Smert Rasputin]

am brand new player. Have 4 matches so far. Wanna save moeny for my favortie TT mech, the Victor, so dont wan't to use everything I earn right now, but what is a good, affordable mech?

I HATE the Atlas and Cataphract trials, move way too slow. Got killed by a Commando by itslef because I could never turn to face the little *******.

The Hunch moves OK but boy is it HOT!

[FupDup]

DarkDevilDancer, on 05 June 2013 - 02:25 AM, said:

Due to recent changes people in elo for the first 25 games people in trial mechs should only face people in trial mechs so i dont see it as a big issue, if your still in a trial mech after 25 games you done goofed up.

I still see trial mechs on both teams in every match I play. My elo is high enough to be grouped with various forumwarriors such as TexAss, aniviron, Multitalented, and a number of others I forgot the names of. Point is, I'm not in the steering wheel underhive; as such, I should never see trial mechs on either team. Elo isn't doing its job.

Edited by FupDup, 05 June 2013 - 10:55 AM.

[General Taskeen]

Although, Kmieciu TT Mechs are not all ineffective in a Mech Warrior game. That's rather misleading since I have tested some TT designs in this game. A COM-1B, CPLT-K3, or CSR-3R for instance. Some are useless in MWO because of factors including improper balancing of equipment, heatsinks/heat, and weapons. Think about what a flamer does in TT, for example, and what it does here. 2 Damage there, for heat transfer on target (with no cap), or sets the environment on fire. In MWO? You light yourself on fire. BINGO. Or 2 MG's that did 4 Damage total in TT? But not in MWO? BINGO. Solution Number 1 is not impossible at this point due to the aforementioned issues holding back those types of Mechs in the game.

Edited by General Taskeen, 05 June 2013 - 11:00 AM.

[Deathlike]

FupDup, on 05 June 2013 - 10:55 AM, said:

I still see trial mechs on both teams in every match I play. My elo is high enough to be grouped with various forumwarriors such as TexAss, aniviron, Multitalented, and a number of others I forgot the names of. Point is, I'm not in the steering wheel underhive; as such, I should never see trial mechs on either team. Elo isn't doing its job.

The law of PGI averages says "it's working as intended".

[DemonRaziel]

Vasily Krasnaya Smert Rasputin, on 05 June 2013 - 10:53 AM, said:

am brand new player. Have 4 matches so far. Wanna save moeny for my favortie TT mech, the Victor, so dont wan't to use everything I earn right now, but what is a good, affordable mech?

Depends on what you want to do with it. Usually the heavier 'Mechs cost more. Except the ones with stock XL engine, those cost a fortune on their own.

[Vasily Krasnaya Smert Rasputin]

well the hunchback was not terrible, jst hot.I think I want a medium because the heavier ones seem to be too slow to be good against lights. But I don't want to have to buy DHS right away either. Was thinking about Jenner, or HBK-SP? Everyone seems to hate Blackjacks. Maybe aDragon or a K2? But are they really slow to manuever like the Cataphract trial?

[DemonRaziel]

Vasily Krasnaya Smert Rasputin, on 05 June 2013 - 11:29 AM, said:

well the hunchback was not terrible, jst hot.I think I want a medium because the heavier ones seem to be too slow to be good against lights. But I don't want to have to buy DHS right away either. Was thinking about Jenner, or HBK-SP? Everyone seems to hate Blackjacks. Maybe aDragon or a K2? But are they really slow to manuever like the Cataphract trial?

Once you buy your own 'Mech, you can change it's engine, thus making it faster (or slower). Also, as you gain experience, you can upgrade several stats, including the speed at which it can turn, torsotwist and move its arms. So what you see on trial 'Mechs is only a fraction of what that particular chassi can really do.

As far as the 'Mechs you consider go:
Jenner is a light 'Mech. Lights have a vastly different playstyle compared to their heavier brethren. They depend on speed more than anything else.

Mediums are kind of the redhead stepchilds of MWO - not as fast as Lights, lacking the firepower and armor Heavies and Assaults pack. But I do like my Hunchbacks and Trebs as they tend to be faster than Heavies and Assaults while packing more firepower than Lights Also, I know many people that like Blackjacks.

Dragons are like Blackjacks in the Heavy category - disliked by many. They can be very fast (for their weight category), but they are limited to 60t, so the other Heavies can usually pack more oomph. Plus they are somewhat easy to get cored due to their large center torso. K2 is a fine 'Mech, 4 Es and 2 Bs allow for various possible builds. They can move at over 75 kph and have a decent armor.

Double heat sinks, however, are pretty much the most essential upgrade on any 'Mech to help you with the heat management. If you are really trying to save some $$, I would advise you to buy a cheaper 'Mech and twink it out, instead of skimping on upgrading to DHSs. Next on the list is Endo-Steel structure, which is rather expensive as well (for a new player, that is).

My advice would be to go with either a HBK-4SP or a CAT-K2. Or maybe some of the Centurions? The newbie CB bonus should give you enough CBills to get the 'Mech and upgrade its internals and equipment to a desirable level and then you will have ~1 month to grind your cash for the Victor with it.

[Escef]

Hopefully, once things get rolling, we can have some of the Solaris 7 mechs become trial mechs. Those were made with a heat system much closer to MWOs than standard table top. For example, the Onslaught: 75 tons, 375 XL engine, 384 armor (if converted to MWO), 5 jump jets, 10 double sinks, UAC5, large laser, 2 SRM6, 6 machine guns. Fast, maneuverable, able to engage at any range, deadly in close.

[aniviron]

Vasily Krasnaya Smert Rasputin, on 05 June 2013 - 10:53 AM, said:

am brand new player. Have 4 matches so far. Wanna save moeny for my favortie TT mech, the Victor, so dont wan't to use everything I earn right now, but what is a good, affordable mech?

I HATE the Atlas and Cataphract trials, move way too slow. Got killed by a Commando by itslef because I could never turn to face the little *******.

The Hunch moves OK but boy is it HOT!

Yeah, the stock atlas and cataphract are both far too slow, you will never ever see anyone driving a customized mech that moves at less than 50kph, and 60 is considered slow.

The un-customized spider is also really bad.

The HBK-4P is actually a great mech, but you really need to customize it with double heat sinks and a larger engine to make it shine. It's clearly the best of the bunch as far as trials go, but this is a particularly pathetic crop.

[Ingvay]

Just my opinion,

The Cataphract is a good mech chassis (I own and pilot them all) and can perform admirably in the right configuration. If you only own one though, I would not make it the 4x. The 2x is a good "all-arounder" in fact besides DHS, the only other changes I've made to mine is to go from an LRM5 to an LRM10 and add AMS. It does 64.8kph with it's stock engine and 72kph with speed tweak. It's capable and not overly expensive.

Edited by Ingvay, 05 June 2013 - 10:14 PM.

[ChuChuRo]

Deathlike, on 05 June 2013 - 10:50 AM, said:

I think the more atrocious mech is the 4X. It's as slow as an assault, and has the weapon power of like a medium. That's just terrible.

Well, at least it's heat efficient. That's really rare on a trial Mech

[Gralzeim]

Some trial mechs are pretty disappointing if you're using them as your only mech, but sometimes a trial can be handy for trying something out without cost. The Cataphract 4X, for example. Slow, unoptimized loadout, but, if you wanted to get a taste of ballistics, it's at least something to try (but I wouldn't recommend staying with it unless you're very determined).

Each trial tends to give you a taste of something, be it speed, jump jets (hello, Spider), boating and tremendous heat generation (Hunchback 4P, even optimized it's still going to run pretty hot, just not -as- hot as the stock setup), or assault mech tactics (most assault mech trials we've had...assault mechs have a different playstyle than lighter classes).

I agree that they can be frustrating, but if you look at them as a way to try new things without cost, I think that alleviates a little bit of it (at least new players now get that snazzy cadet bonus so they don't have to stay in those for long, 25 matches isn't much).

[Stone Profit]

FupDup, on 05 June 2013 - 10:55 AM, said:

I still see trial mechs on both teams in every match I play. My elo is high enough to be grouped with various forumwarriors such as TexAss, aniviron, Multitalented, and a number of others I forgot the names of. Point is, I'm not in the steering wheel underhive; as such, I should never see trial mechs on either team. Elo isn't doing its job.

The players you mention are NOT good. You should be seeing trial mechs as your elo is very very low.

[Bishop Steiner]

Stone Profit, on 06 June 2013 - 10:04 PM, said:

The players you mention are NOT good. You should be seeing trial mechs as your elo is very very low.

naw, for his ELO to be that low he would be facing me.

[Stone Profit]

Bishop Steiner, on 06 June 2013 - 10:13 PM, said:

naw, for his ELO to be that low he would be facing me.

His ELO probaly isnt negative so no, he wouldnt be facing you

Sorry, I kid.

[Bishop Steiner]

Stone Profit, on 06 June 2013 - 10:14 PM, said:

His ELO probaly isnt negative so no, he wouldnt be facing you

Sorry, I kid.

not far off. Can't get the hang of CapWarrior Online. Current Meta makes Poptarting look fun and exciting. NEver thought I would say that, but it's nothing but mad caprushes all night. Don't mind it when people pull one out of need, but seriously, where is the fun in standing in a red box?