37 replies to this topic

[Kyle Wright]

Hello fellow mech warriors,

I recently just started playing this game today and am liking it other then ive been virtually ***** every match. Ive played other games such as MW4 and MW4 Mercenaries so the context of this game is familiar.

Currently I had used MC points to buy a Catapult K2 (w/ ppc switched for ER LL and AC\2 for the mg) and have bought a Hunchback-4G with the AC20 swapped for a guass rifle.
IFirst mechw as a Dual PPC Blackjack that I regret selling. I try not to rush into battle, and be sneaky and flank or hit from the rear. I am lucky to get the first shot then they turn to beat the hell out of me into metal slag. Sniping has done some good, but LRM's ****** to shreds and light mechs give me a hard time.

I just want some advice as to basic strategies that I should implement and what I can do to help my Mech survive more other then adding FF Armor And Reinforcing the internals?

Any help is much appreciated thanks.

[Kyle Wright]

Hello fellow mech warriors,

I recently just started playing this game today and am liking it other then ive been virtually ***** every match. Ive played other games such as MW4 and MW4 Mercenaries so the context of this game is familiar.

Currently I had used MC points to buy a Catapult K2 (w/ ppc switched for ER LL and AC\2 for the mg) and have bought a Hunchback-4G with the AC20 swapped for a guass rifle.
IFirst mechw as a Dual PPC Blackjack that I regret selling. I try not to rush into battle, and be sneaky and flank or hit from the rear. I am lucky to get the first shot then they turn to beat the hell out of me into metal slag. Sniping has done some good, but LRM's ****** to shreds and light mechs give me a hard time.

I just want some advice as to basic strategies that I should implement and what I can do to help my Mech survive more other then adding FF Armor And Reinforcing the internals?

Any help is much appreciated thanks.

[Kyle Wright]

Hello fellow mech warriors,

I recently just started playing this game today and am liking it other then ive been virtually ***** every match. Ive played other games such as MW4 and MW4 Mercenaries so the context of this game is familiar.

Currently I had used MC points to buy a Catapult K2 (w/ ppc switched for ER LL and AC\2 for the mg) and have bought a Hunchback-4G with the AC20 swapped for a guass rifle.
IFirst mechw as a Dual PPC Blackjack that I regret selling. I try not to rush into battle, and be sneaky and flank or hit from the rear. I am lucky to get the first shot then they turn to beat the hell out of me into metal slag. Sniping has done some good, but LRM's ****** to shreds and light mechs give me a hard time.

I just want some advice as to basic strategies that I should implement and what I can do to help my Mech survive more other then adding FF Armor And Reinforcing the internals?

Any help is much appreciated thanks.

[Parliment]

Try and stay with the group ... pick a buddy and shoot everything he does.
Never run out alone
Heat is everything
once you get comfortable use the mech you ENJOY the most
dont worry and scores or match w/l ratios
play with and for the team
find and outfit you like being around
or if your a solobug just enjoy the ride
and I DONT CARE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! armlock is good
read around the forums and watch a few matches on youfloob


the advanced stuff will come to you

[ShockATC]

Here are some tips:

- Stay with the others, never go lonewolf
- use AMS to protect you ( a little bit) from LRMs (dont forget the AMS ammo)
- follow orders! ; if you dont get any orders, ask for them
- always watch how others play after you died, you may learn a lot from it
- just keep on playing, this game has a hard time for greenhorns
- always keep an eye on your "minimap" (called Battlegrid)
- if you get attacked by Lights and you know you cant beat them, ask for help and run back to your teammates

[IraqiWalker]

okay
stop what you're doing right now
save your cadet bonus
for the first 25 matches you are recieving a cadet bonus. save that. Find a clan and join them.

Since you're a fellow Davion member like me I would recommend the group that I am with. Head Hunters of Davion. We even have a TeamSpeak server for House Davion so you can join us, drop with us, and we'll help you get really good at this game, not to mention manage your wallet better.


Now as far as mech survival, there are a few factors to be considered, first of all, are you alone in a spot? if so run back to the group.

Point two: keep moving, however don't just put the throttle at max and never adjust it again. Manage your speed, after that comes focus fire. Find a target that your buddies are hitting, and hit the crap out of it.

The rest comes with practice, and like I said, join a group, you'll improve so much faster. Since you'll be learning from your mistakes and those of your mentors and teammates.

[Revorn]

Practice, Practice, Practice. The best advice i can give.



And its not all about winning at the Start, look at the good Moments of a Round for the Motivation.

Edited by Revorn, 23 June 2013 - 12:58 AM.

[Benjamin Davion]

Be careful of FF. It decreases weight by 12% but does not increase the amount of armor you can carry or increase the effectiveness of said armor. Waste of space on most mechs, though it can be useful on lights.

LRMs are a pain in the keister, but they can be minimized. AMS is invaluable for mechs that can carry it. My primary mech, the Stalker "Red Dawn" carries two, and that cuts down dramatically on incoming missiles. Further, more than one mech moving close by can create a missile defense umbrella, sort of a mutual defense against missiles. It's dangerous to clump up, but a lance moving together with all four mechs carrying AMS, with skill and smarts included of course, can weather most any LRM barrage. A big lesson to learn in MWO is the lesson taught by any and all first person shooters worth their salt. Survival is attained by using Move And Shoot and Cover. Moving and shooting is basic. For light mechs, this is most important. Their armor cannot handle standing still and shooting. Playing in my scout mechs (A hero Jenner and an X5), I virtually NEVER stop moving. Even capping a base, I will run in circles around the cap point so I don't sit still. Continuing to move makes you MUCH harder to target. Some of the heavier mechs can't move fast enough to get out of their own way, but even they cannot stand still for long. A stationary target is ASKING to get alpha'd by the first person to draw a bead on them. Cover is equally important. Whether you're using a low terrain feature to shield part of your mech while you fire or moving back and forth (or, of course, poptarting) from behind cover to shoot, putting something other than your ever-so-finite armor between you and incoming fire is CRITICAL. Even an assault mech can be worn down very quickly for failing to use cover. An assault mech (or any mech for that matter) that hides, stepping out from behind cover to pump an alpha into someone's face before falling back into cover again, is FAR more likely to stay alive than one that goes marching into the fight, For Death And Glory, blazing away and soaking up ammo like a sponge. That's a great way to die. It's harder in a slow mech, but if you can, moving rapidly from location to location, firing at each point, (Move, Shoot, Scoot) is a good way to avoid getting shot and make a real pest of yourself, Cover can also include enemy mechs. If you are forced into close quarters with multiple enemies, keeping an enemy between you and one or more of the enemy makes them either move to get around or risk a friendly fire incident.

As for lights, I'm far from an expert, they drive me crazy too, but don't fall into the trap of trying to circle your point of aim. You can't keep up. Get your back to something solid and wait for the little cockroach to circle into your line of fire.

Over and above all, STAY WITH YOUR TEAM. Lone wolves die. Period. The only real exception are scouts, and they generally don't engage, unless it uses hit and run attacks. My Jenner will frequently dance with a whole enemy lance, picking and pecking at them, darting away before taking too much fire, but it's honestly 50/50 on whether I get away alive.

Hope this helps.

Edited by Benjamin Davion, 23 June 2013 - 01:00 AM.

[Kyle Wright]

thanks everyone, I changed up my catapult to quad PPC. Have to mange heat but was able to down a Quickdraw with a alpha attack.

IraqiWalker, on 23 June 2013 - 12:48 AM, said:

okay
stop what you're doing right now
save your cadet bonus
for the first 25 matches you are recieving a cadet bonus. save that. Find a clan and join them.

Since you're a fellow Davion member like me I would recommend the group that I am with. Head Hunters of Davion. We even have a TeamSpeak server for House Davion so you can join us, drop with us, and we'll help you get really good at this game, not to mention manage your wallet better.


Now as far as mech survival, there are a few factors to be considered, first of all, are you alone in a spot? if so run back to the group.

Point two: keep moving, however don't just put the throttle at max and never adjust it again. Manage your speed, after that comes focus fire. Find a target that your buddies are hitting, and hit the crap out of it.

The rest comes with practice, and like I said, join a group, you'll improve so much faster. Since you'll be learning from your mistakes and those of your mentors and teammates.

Im assuming I already went over my bonus, but I did extend the one I had. How would I go about joining?

[Kyle Wright]

Yeah, im a firm believer in a solid team effort and not lone wolfing it. Bad habits from MW4 i suppose seeing as your AI doesn't do jack in that game.

[IraqiWalker]

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 01:00 AM, said:

thanks everyone, I changed up my catapult to quad PPC. Have to mange heat but was able to down a Quickdraw with a alpha attack.


Im assuming I already went over my bonus, but I did extend the one I had. How would I go about joining?

I PMed you the information. Joining is very simple. You just go to the website and fill an application. That's more of a technicality really, as I mentioned in my PM you can just jump into the TS server and talk with people, I don't know of anyone that would mind dropping with you, and like I said, you can PM me whenever you need a partner, or some advice on battlefield tactics.

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

There are lots of guides and good advice on the forums - welcome! Being here, reading and learning is a good start.

From a design point of view, both of the 'Mechs you have are good in their own way, but there are some simple principles:

Use a web-based design tool like http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab to design your 'Mech before you start building in the game. Swapping guns, heat sinks, ammo and equipment can be expensive if you're not looking.

Most 'Mechs dfon't operate effectively until you have added double heat sinks. This upgrade costs 1,500,000 CBills, but should be factored into the purchase cost of a new chassis.

If you have MC, don't buy 'Mechs with it if you can buy them with CBills (unless you fancy a Hero 'Mech that gives you a permanent bonus to CBills earned). Save your MC for extra 'Mech bays (so you can avoid losing money by selling chassis and because you can never have enough) and, perhaps, Premium Time (giving you a time-limited bonus to CBills and Exp).

Spend your 'Mech XP in the Pilot lab on the basic skills like heat containment, cool run and the other things. As you develop those skills, your 'Mech will run just a bit smoother. Save your General XP (GXP) for modules later on.

If you are solo dropping, the game will gradually adjust to your skill level - the early games are difficult. Take your time. Stick to others. Learn the maps, use of cover - when to hold and when to push. If you get isolated - you will get pounced on.

Grab a headset, download team speak and head for one of the TS servers. People will help you learn.

Good luck and have fun.

[Appogee]

The advice you received above is all good. Here are a few additional points which I found useful in the 3 months it took me to become good at the game.

1. Buy a Hero Mech. The 30% increase in CBills and XP will help you buy more chassis and equipment more quickly, which will in turn help you become a more rounded player. The Hero you choose will depend on your personal playing style... how fast you need to go, what kind of weapons you're best with, etc. I found the Ilya Murmets offered a good combination of armour and manoeverability for my style. Some prefer the Flame.

2. Play a Heavy Mech rather than a Light, Medium or Assault, at first. Lighter Mechs do less damage and get killed quicker, unless you're a really good Pilot. Assaults Mechs are bullet magnets and move slowly. They're not all that more heavily armoured than Heavies.

3. Get Endo Steel before you get FF armour. ES frees up a lot of tonnage for weapons. FF adds only a little advantage, but sucks up a lot of slots.

4. If you're using missiles, upgrade to Artemis. It will significantly improve your lock times and damage per salvo.

5. One Jump Jet is often enough. MWO uses a silly logarithmic scale for JJs whereby each new one you add gives less and less advantage.

6. Aim for the CT (or already-damaged side torsii). Some chassis have quirks that lead to alternative destruction strategies, but while you're still learning, just aim for the middle.

7. Elite an entire Chassis. By unlocking the basic ''efficiencies'' of three variants of one chassis (in your Pilot XP tree) you double the efficiencies for those variants. That gives you a real edge in a battle.

8. Buy the Seismic Sensor module. This stupidly OP module is basically a Wall Hack that will let you see enemies early, even when they're behind hills and corners. It will hopefully get nerfed soon, but even so, it'll still be the best module to increase your situational awareness in a battle.

Other than that, I'd reinforce the following: buy double heat sinks, play as part of a team, stay with the team, use cover, focus fire, keep practicing, don't get discouraged by W/L ratios. (MWO actually rewards damage and contribution to kills moreso than your personal kills.)

[scJazz]

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:10 AM, said:

Hello fellow mech warriors,

I recently just started playing this game today and am liking it other then ive been virtually ***** every match. Ive played other games such as MW4 and MW4 Mercenaries so the context of this game is familiar.

Currently I had used MC points to buy a Catapult K2 (w/ ppc switched for ER LL and AC\2 for the mg) and have bought a Hunchback-4G with the AC20 swapped for a guass rifle.
IFirst mechw as a Dual PPC Blackjack that I regret selling. I try not to rush into battle, and be sneaky and flank or hit from the rear. I am lucky to get the first shot then they turn to beat the hell out of me into metal slag. Sniping has done some good, but LRM's ****** to shreds and light mechs give me a hard time.

I just want some advice as to basic strategies that I should implement and what I can do to help my Mech survive more other then adding FF Armor And Reinforcing the internals?

Any help is much appreciated thanks.

Greetings! Welcome to teh Battlefield!

Honestly, you should have come here first. Read a few guides, posted something along the lines of "Hlep M R N00b!" before you went and bought MC, Mechs, sold mechs, and blew your cadet bonus. I suspect you know that now but... yeah.

Use your Hunchback for now with Arm Lock Off.

1 ) Do not be the first to shoot in a battle
2 ) Do not be the only one getting shot at
3 ) Sneaking around the back and flanking is another way of saying your on the wrong side of enemy lines or cut off from help
4 ) Do not overheat your mech (seriously in a Catapult this is really dangerous as the Head is enormous and easily targeted)
5 ) Do not fire while sitting still
6 ) Lock targets and look for targets with Solid Triangles above them other team mates are shooting those Solid Triangles
7 ) Stay with the pack but behind them all!

Good start for now...

[Johnny Reb]

Best tips I can give are:
1. you are not invincible so stay with friends
2. you (if new) have a terrible mech. See 1.
3. you need(at least for me) multiple games to get any chassis down, so stick with 1.

[Koniving]

For mediums like the 4G watch this video closely. It's an external view, following me. I know it takes a bit to get to the big moment but it gives you an idea of what I went through to get into the perfect spot to take out an enemy PPC mech and its escort.



For this second 4G vid (default trial 4G) skip to 2 minutes and 35 seconds (the clip showing the build itself was in there twice for some reason). I lose my hunch early but still 3 kills after the fact through the use of stealth and attacking while enemies are distracted. There's even a headshot scored.


I'll have to come up with some for the blackjack but I'll make sure you get to see those. For your K2 I'd swap ER LL for LL, and use the AC/2s.

This K2 build while a joke at the time, is still very viable in today's MWO metas but trade the extra MPL for another heatsink and don't chainfire the lasers. It's actually surprising what it can do with its XL 300 engine, incredible speed for having ballistics, and low heat.


If you have a few mouse buttons then this build (pictured in action here) might be fun. I did it to be flashy for the screens but it works rather well.

Edited by Koniving, 23 June 2013 - 05:34 PM.

[Cybermech]

YOU DO NOT NEED TO JOIN ANY CLAN WHAT SO EVER.

anyone telling you to join a clan is just recruiting.
there is a public TS for anyone to join in and have some fun.
also there is NGNG TS thats open to the public too.

[Fajther]

There are plenty of people who are willing to help. There used to be a list of them somewhere. Personally I learned loads in my first hour on voice comms. Finding a team is the most powerfull thing you can do here. Even if you don't want to play with a team, it still is better to learn how to play from a human.

Edited by Fajther, 23 June 2013 - 05:38 AM.

[Sheraf]

You can try to stay with the group at first, as it is power in number. LRM can be dodge quite easy as you getting good with controlling your mech, and used to its trajectory. For the K2, I suggest putting back the PPC, and put large laser on the side torsos, use machine gun when their armor is gone. When you get better with aming PPC shot you can swap it for ER PPC. Good luck

[Mazzyplz]

focus on one mech first until you have it really down.

flanking with a BJ with jumpjets is pretty good, but not with a cat. it's not as good at being separated from the team