37 replies to this topic

[Koniving]

Since answers were given to each of these threads, I'd like to call on Niko, Prosperity, Ego, or whomever to merge these threads by Kyle Wright.

[LauLiao]

My only recomendation is to keep trying new chasis, weight classes, loadouts, and tactics. When I first started playing I began with mediums and found that I was getting pounded to scrap before I even knew I was in trouble. Figuring I needed more armor to last longer I moved up to heavy, and then assault and was STILL getting stomped. What I learned through those agonizing months of painful trial and error was that I was much better with certain weapon systems and that my play style dictated I utilize speed and mobility more than a heavy or assault would allow, so when the new Trebuchet came out I decided to give it a whirl since I had always been a fan of the TT Treb anyway and LIGHTBULB! Turns out Mediums are really my class all along. Of course it took me Mastering something like 9 chasis and "Elite"ing about 6 more before I found the mechs that worked best for me. So don't get discouraged! You'll find your niche eventually.

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

for the cadet phase do conquest missions its much more cbills awarded, i been playing around a week and hardly hit,but im slowly improving.when they say 'arm lock' off your arms target will be the small circle and the cross is the torso,arm target awareness seems really tough heh.i put missles on my arms cause im bad at arm aiming.as far as clan joining (im not in 1)id think youd end up with the same guys helping and fighting with you opposed to random players that may or may not help you.

[Sheraf]

It might be easy to start with arm lock on, but I think get used to arm lock off would be better .

[IraqiWalker]

Starting with arm lock offers the advantage of making your aiming easier, however it also restricts you from aiming where your torso can't go, thus reducing the advantage of having arms. It also means your torso is facing directly at what you're shooting at. That can be a problem in the case of return fire. I'd say start without the arm lock, since it'll be easier to just adjust to that than start with it, and then try to ween yourself away from it gradually.

There are TS servers for all kinds of things, the emphasis here is on dropping with a group, because dropping solo can be frustrating sometimes.

Seriously, get some buddies with you, having even one friend in the drop that is coordinating with you will make your life astronomically easier.

[Aym]

Cybermech, on 23 June 2013 - 03:02 AM, said:

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.

But, if you DO join a group because you like the players in it, so much the better. It's always nice to play with friends, like Cybermech, underneath his grumpy exterior he's a good guy.
Someone above me said get your friends to play, or make some here, and I second that whole-heartedly.

[Koniving]

Aym, on 23 June 2013 - 05:14 PM, said:

But, if you DO join a group because you like the players in it, so much the better. It's always nice to play with friends, like Cybermech, underneath his grumpy exterior he's a good guy.
Someone above me said get your friends to play, or make some here, and I second that whole-heartedly.

I haven't known poor Cyber to be grumpy. He's the missile boat in both of these.

Spoiler

Now if you wanna see someone that's grumpy, you should see those that employ Zhizhu Merc. Corp. for missions. Now ~they~ are grumpy when they receive the bill!

(Actually that just got me thinking, for those wanting the hardcore mode with repair and rearm... maybe if the merc corps had that. In the army for whatever house the house would pay to resupply its soldiers. Mercs don't have that luxury as it comes out of their pay, and since mercs are getting more benefits based on their performance perhaps repair and rearm might help balance that.)

Edited by Koniving, 23 June 2013 - 05:40 PM.

[scJazz]

Koniving, on 23 June 2013 - 05:38 PM, said:

I haven't known poor Cyber to be grumpy. He's the missile boat in both of these.

Spoiler

Now if you wanna see someone that's grumpy, you should see those that employ Zhizhu Merc. Corp. for missions. Now ~they~ are grumpy when they receive the bill!

(Actually that just got me thinking, for those wanting the hardcore mode with repair and rearm... maybe if the merc corps had that. In the army for whatever house the house would pay to resupply its soldiers. Mercs don't have that luxury as it comes out of their pay, and since mercs are getting more benefits based on their performance perhaps repair and rearm might help balance that.)

That is an awesome idea... what would the Carrot be in this Carrot and Stick situation?

[Koniving]

scJazz, on 24 June 2013 - 06:14 AM, said:

That is an awesome idea... what would the Carrot be in this Carrot and Stick situation?

According to Bryan Ekman, the more planets you hold control over as a mercenary corporation the more steady income you receive for holding those planets. Not fighting. Simply existing.

Since Bryan Ekman explains things as clearly as looking through blood-stained glass smeared with feces after using Kaboom (the real stuff not the fantasy b.s. that Billy Mays sells), we're forced to imagine what this means.

Steady income implies one of two things. Either you're receiving a daily to weekly lump sum of cash (makes more sense by the wording), or a supplement (like a premium bonus you don't have to pay for, requires you to play) to each match.

if you're steadily floating on money while holding 10 or so planets you need a place to sink those cbills. Repair and rearm would make a lot of sense.

You work for the military, you earn x amount for stuff but get repairs and ammo free.

You work for a company and pay for your repairs, pay for your ammo, but earn more money as mercenaries are always paid better.

Just like capitalism if you do great working for a company you can thrive and if you perform poorly you'll sink into a hole of debt until you join the army or get better (or at least run a cheaper build: During R&R days I ran an LRM commando that made as much as 3,000,000 per good match assuming I did some good damage, got one to three kills and won, and only cost me no more than 27,000 cbills maximum to repair and rearm).

Edited by Koniving, 24 June 2013 - 07:19 AM.

[Galen Crayn]

Quote

thanks everyone, I changed up my catapult to quad PPC.

Yeah, another player with 4 PPC... THATS a really bad start... You learn nothing if you only push one button to fire 40 damage pinpointed... How i hate this power gamer using an unballanced weapon boated...

Edited by Galen Crayn, 24 June 2013 - 07:20 AM.

[scJazz]

I dunno maybe we should be happy... it took less than an hour after his first cry for help to learn the Meta.

[Aym]

It just shows how obvious it is in this game. PPC's were buffed, then hit detection buffed them again. Time to roll back to some weaker stats. Full disclosure my favorite mech by FAR is my 4xPPC Stalker. I still think PGI is missing the mark or don't have a mark to aim for yet in terms of balancing.

[80Bit]

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

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.

Any help is much appreciated thanks.

None of the mechs you have are mechs you should be flanking in. Unlike other games where catching the enemy from behind is a huge boon, in MWO if you are solo flanking it just means you are separating yourself from your team. This is likely a large part of your difficulty. If you separate from your group with the mechs you have, you won't have the speed to evade the inevitable enemy onslaught.

supernachos, on 23 June 2013 - 12:43 AM, said:

Try and stay with the group ... pick a buddy and shoot everything he does....
Never run out alone...

This tip is absolutely key for new players, or any solo player really. It does not matter what mech you are in, if you are with the group, your survivability goes way way up. Try to stay just behind the front line. The mechs in front of you will be your cover, the mechs behind you will keep the light mechs away.

Your Catapult K2 is one of the best mechs around. But AC/2s and Large Lasers are not the best idea. You don't want to have to face the enemy 100% of the time to do damage, which is required for the fast firing AC/2. Quad PPC is better but man, than heat. Gauss is a fantastic weapon to put in your K2, since it's side torsos are so small they rarely get damaged, your Gauss is very safe there. And low heat Gauss mixes great with high heat PPC. You can do 1 gauss and 2 ppc like this, which is one of the more devastating load outs in the game.



Keep at it and good luck. Toss me a friend invite if you want to drop together some time.

Edited by 80Bit, 24 June 2013 - 07:39 AM.

[oldradagast]

The quickest way new players die, IMHO, is splitting up from the group. Don't wander off on your own (unless you KNOW there's nothing there and you're trying to cap or do something useful), and don't bum-rush the enemy team. Even an Atlas with max armor will get creamed if he's the only mech facing down most of the enemy team.

I can't speak much to Catapults, but I have a Hunchback-H, so I can offer a bit of advise with that. First, while you can snipe with it, don't try to win a sniping war - the other guy probably has more guns and more armor. Instead, snipe at people who are focused on somebody else. Nothing wrecks somebody's day faster in the game than random Gauss rounds (or similar) crashing into them from a direction they didn't expect.

Medium mechs are also good if they are fast enough to dodge weapons up close - usually torso-mounted heavy ballistics. Still, you're not a light mech - you can't depend upon speed for real protection from attacks. Keep close to your team, take advantage of enemy distractions or weaknesses, and realize that sometimes you'll be capping and doing base defense since you may be the fastest guy on the team.

Good luck!

[Lostdragon]

Regarding having trouble with lights there are three basic things you can do:

1. Put your back against a high wall. This forces the light to run in front of you and exposes him to your weapons if he continues to attack.

2. Get into the open. Not as effective as 1. but it can help when no wall is available. Lights rely on being able to move in and out of cover and if you can take away this advantage it can make a difference. This is not feasible on some maps.

3. Ask for help! If you are near the group as you should be then it won't be a problem for someone to move to support you. 2v1 or more is usually not going to go well for a light. Move into the middle of your team and force the light to expose himself to as much fire as possible.

[FrDrake]

Good advice here, I would recommend taking the ERLL off and using just regular LL. The extra heat from ERLL is just not worth it. Grind for and invest in Double Heat Sinks asap on whichever mech you want to farm up. If you stick with the catapault getting an XL 300 will take you a long way as well as it gives the catapault some good speed and you mostly get cored CT in the catapault anyway.

Right now if you still have some MC to burn you can get a really good deal on the champion Jenner, it comes with an XL 300 (5 million cbill value) but the mech is only 1495 MC and the Jenner F is a really good mech in its own right.

The basic tips from above posters are right:

1. stay with your team
2. if enemies know where you are, don't peek and try for a shot, they get to shoot you way more than you get to shoot them, change positions
3. shoot at the guy your big mechs are shooting at
4. if you are fighting lights go for their legs, once you take a leg off lights turn into free kills
5. when a light tries to circle you, hit X once he goes by then throw your mech in reverse and turn the opposite direction he went, most lights will show up right in your crosshairs super fast that way (good ones of course will still outplay you until you get the hang of light fighting)
6. PPCs have a minimum range of 90m, below that the dmg drops off to 0 at 0m(half dmg at 45m)
7. ditch the ac/2 on the K2 and go either gauss or just add more heat sinks to shoot the PPCs/LL more

[John MatriX82]

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

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?

First: always stay with your main group. If your mech isn't mastered or fully upgraded and properly configured, you MUST have a support role. Identify allied assaults and shake off enemies trying to flank or get in their rear and always try to shoot to enemy mechs that are already engaged without drawing too much attention.

Do the above especially when you are in mediums/lights, but also quite easy-to-kill mechs such as the Catapult. The head hitbox is HUGE, everyone will have a few troubles reaching for it.

-Another thing is.. plan to upgrade your builds as soon as possible. First thing ever to do is go DHS.

-Second thing is: try to reach 250 engine rating in every mech as a minimum. This because you'll have 10x 2.0 working DHSs, while if you go below (eg. 245 engine) you'll have to allocate an external DHS, and those outside of the engine work at 1.4x efficiency. Usually to reach higher rated engines you'll need the following:

-Third the next upgrade is usually ENDO steel. Drop FF. It doesn't give you any extra armor, only weight savings that are WAY inferior to those of the ENDO. Stack FF after you've got a build that already has ENDO, the needed DHSs and you see you have free critics (ENDO + FF it's something that can be done especially on lights, sometimes on mediums, rarely on heavies).

-Fourth shift armor from the rear to your front. Do it at your discrection, if you snipe you don't need all that armor in the rear.. if something makes to your six then you did something horribly wrong . Usually on heavies ranges from 10-13 for side torsoes and 15-16 for the rear ct do good, while on HBKs 8-10/12-8 in the rear should do it.


Getting more in detail with your two owned mechs, for the Catapult you'll need an XL engine ASAP. Catapults are the safest to sport such a kind of engine. If you want to go ballistic then think about a XL 255, if you want to go energy then 280/300 are the best ones (btw NEVER SELL a XL engine. You'll enjoy them in other mechs swapping them!).

For the 4G my advice is to keep that AC 20, the GR explodes once the enemy strips your armor off, while the AC 20 may have greater chances to survive and stay operative even without armor.

Unfortunately you chose a good mech (the K2) that however needs ENDO, DHS, and a XL engine to give its best and the 4G which is way inferior to a 4H, and this one is inferior to 4SP and 4P (which should be the next ones you should get to master the HBK chassis).

HBK-4G proposed build (also FF)

Catapult (easy build with full energy mid range):
CPLT-K2 (more expensive, faster, full armor)
CPLT-K2 cheaper, risky (lots of armor shredded from the legs)

Edited by John MatriX82, 24 June 2013 - 11:30 AM.

[Sadistic Savior]

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

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.

This game is very different from those, because you are playing real people in a lag-free environment.

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

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 would recommend NOT spending real money on mechs until you determine your playstyle and find a mech that compliments it. This is only possible through experimentation. It is not something that usually happens quickly.

Do not assume that there is a hierarchy of mechs like in other games...heavier is not an "I win" button. I am a good player, and i have been owned by a Jenner while piloting an Atlas before. All mechs, of every weight, have strengths and weaknesses. Which is best will depend on your playstyle.

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

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.

Find the largest group of teammmates. FOLLOW them (do not lead). Wait till they Start firing at stuff, and then target and fire at what they are firing at. If they move, move with them, but stay behind them.

The goal is to let the more experienced players draw fire from you while you take shots from the sidelines. This is not your permanent role...as you get better you can take the lead. Until you are very comfortable with the game, you should follow instead, and save your CBills.

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

Sniping has done some good, but LRM's ****** to shreds and light mechs give me a hard time.

Staying with a group is the solution. Light mechs like to circle strafe heavies and LRM mechs. But in a group, they become an easy target. So they will not attack you if you are surrounded by allies (at least the smart ones won't).

Kyle Wright, on 23 June 2013 - 12:08 AM, said:

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?

No one can really advise you on a mech or loadout until they see what your playstyle is.

At this stage you just need to experiment to find out what you enjoy doing and what comes easiest. Brawling? support? Interference? Scouting/spotting? Sniper (Long range) or sharp-shooter (Short Range)? Follow my instructions above to get your feet wet, and that will help you determine your playstyle. Then advice in a thread like this will have more meaning for you.