31 replies to this topic

[ctrain46]

Hey guys, I've browsed around the new player forums to get a feel for what I should know and i've gotta be honest, a lot of it just looks like mumbo jumbo to me lol. Is there anything anyone thinks I should know as a new player? I played 1 game in the atlas, 1 game in the CLCT-C4 (i know thats probably wrong), a little commando mech, and then a flamer mech. I got owned/had no idea what I was doing, but my best game was by far in the flamer mech haha. These were just the free trial mechs- I don't wanna buy my own just yet!

thanks in advance

[PhoenixFire55]

Go to training grounds and get used to controls. Mech movement, torso and legs directional control, setting weapon groups, managing your heat and such. Don't go into real matches till you get comfortable at piloting and learn your weapons ranges.

[80sGlamRockSensation David Bowie]

Welcome.

As you probably noticed this game has a pretty significant learning curve. The Atlas is big, but slow which means if you are not sure where you are going, you can't get out of a bad situation. The light mechs require a pretty solid amount of map knowledge and piloting to be successful.

To cut your teeth with this game, your best bet is probably with medium mechs or heavy mechs (40 - 75 tons). They have a good amount of armor speed and firepower.

*Take a look at the list of trial mechs*

Oh lordy... Well I guess maybe you should stick with either the Atlas or Blackjack. Unless of course you like playing LRM support for your team.. Just remember, any LRM(Long Range Missle) system you MUST be at least 180m away from your target, or they will do 0 damage.

Good luck

<S> (That means salute)




P.S. First thing you should do, is go into option, and turn THROTTLE DECAY off! And just be sure to never stare at a target you're shooting. Always be on the move, an torso twist!

Edited by mwhighlander, 04 July 2013 - 10:08 AM.

[Stoicblitzer]

i would say that you need to look at the weapons/speed/armor each mech has and consider your role in the team. many people don't do that even at high levels of play. for example, if you're in the trialmando with 1mlas+srm10/97kph top speed/low armor then you can do some minimal scouting (don't get too far from your team) and basically hit distracted enemies in the back or in weak spots. the trialmando is not set up to fight other light mechs.

just think it through.

[ctrain46]

thanks for the tips so far guys. I just went up to the store didnt expect replies already! and yes, definitely a steep learning curve man lol- me and a buddy just installed it last night and we were just laughing at how bad we were

i'll try to remember the 180m for LRM (even though I still don't get how people get kills with those!)

Edited by ctrain46, 04 July 2013 - 10:27 AM.

[ctrain46]

How exactly do I set up weapon groups? I just browsed through the training grounds and couldnt find how?

[Kanajashi]

ctrain46, on 04 July 2013 - 10:30 AM, said:

How exactly do I set up weapon groups? I just browsed through the training grounds and couldnt find how?

To change around the grouping of weapons you use the arrow keys and the right ctrl key.

Edited by Kanajashi, 04 July 2013 - 10:33 AM.

[ctrain46]

thanks man

[CmdrPoopyPants]

Well.. from someone that gets frustrated (sorry ) by new people sometimes, let me make note of the things you can do to both improve your game AND help your team

Don't hide during the bulk of the match. For one, you don't learn anything and for two, your team -needs- you to be helping with the destroying of the enemy. Hiding because you don't want to take hits is the opposite of what the game is (note: some builds are meant to do damage from a distance or indirectly, like LRMs.. no need to be standing front and center when doing those roles).

The other thing I see a lot is people -not- taking shots they have. Meaning, they might be on their way to either help someone, or find someone, or something.. and they keep having clear shot lines on various enemies while they're moving. If your heat is low and you have a shot, -take the shot-. Doing damage to the enemy is the -point-, and not shooting at mechs when you see them is just letting the enemy team live longer. (note again, once you know what you're doing there may be times when you don't want your location known so not shooting is on purpose.. but as a general rule, you see the enemy during 'the fighting', you take a shot when you can).

Don't fight in 3x zoom! .. only be zoomed in when you're trying to make LONG shots (or precise shots on a slow/stopped mech while you are NOT brawling with someone). Being zoomed in makes it hard to see terrain and you can get stuck, makes it hard to keep track of where circling enemies are, etc etc. Brawling with zoom on is a great way to get ripped apart.

And some general info (like with LRMs).. LRMs only track -while you have lock-.. don't fire until the lock is on, and keep the lock until they land (again, general rule until you learn more). Don't fire weapons farther than their max range! .. if you have medium lasers, you will do ZERO damage to a mech 550m away. All you're doing is creating heat and wasting time since you're doing no damage to the enemy. If enemies are outside of your weapon range, -get in range-. Basically, know your weapon ranges and use them accordingly.

And as others have said, using the training grounds to set up weapon groups and getting a feel for how they fire together and making sure all the groups have switched like you want.. good idea. However, I don't recommend spending too much time there. NONE of the 'in game' benefits/mechanics apply (except maybe heat and weapon range) and you won't learn much there past basic movement and a generic feel for how your heat is going to build. You learn by running matches.

OH, and once you're dead, SPECTATE.. watch your teammates.. see what they are doing.. see how they use various weapons.. etc etc. And remember that you can switch people you spectate. If you're watching someone sit at a cap point, you're not really learning much (other than the fact that sometimes certain roles/circumstances require people to be on cap points).

That all said.. welcome, and good hunting!

[Divine Decoy]

Wow, just saw the trial mech loadouts, sorry man thats what you stuck with till u buy your own mech. Thankfully the BJ and Atlas should be friendly enough to learn the game. Suggest you stick with those 2, one is a med and one is an assult.

Med mech: support your team, stay close to atlas, highlanders, Stalkers and awesomes. and shot what they shot. flame them in the face and aim Center torso or leg as much as you can with lasers.

Assult: tend to be spear heads. Never go off alone, but if you are the only atlas/higlander/stalker then you pick a location you want to have a fight and go there. Group your LRMs as 1 group, they only work at distances of 180 to 1000, no more or less then that. Fire at charging units, or when you make a charge at the enemy but not at anything CLOSE/brawling with you.

Group those Medium lasers (wither to a single mouse button or 1 for left arm, and 1 for right arm. I prefere all on button 2 my self). Make the Guase a seperate button, it can partly snipe farther then your missles, but has a decent closeup punch.

Remeber, mech moves like a tank. Body and torso each have own facing, so always face your enemy as your back has less armor (in trials, some lights custom armor more on their back....)

Suvival tips:

1) use the BlackJack's jumpjets when fighting to throw off enemy aim, to climb step moutains, and to jump over and turn around to shot ppl in the back.

2) Toros twist to spread laser damge, don't keep your mouse still as they laser you. Important for the atlas, it can live long if u twist away dmg to the arms.

3) use training ground to pratice aiming while you are moving. Good luck, and don't be afraid to admit you're a noob in a match while supporting other ppl rather then soloing....

[Divine Decoy]

" Don't fire weapons farther than their max range! .. if you have medium lasers, you will do ZERO damage to a mech 550m away. All you're doing is creating heat and wasting time since you're doing no damage to the enemy. If enemies are outside of your weapon range, -get in range-. Basically, know your weapon ranges and use them accordingly."

Oh, he has some good tips i left off, BUT watch out with this one. Flamers say 90 mms, but work up to about 180. So your blackjact you want to close your distance firing lasers as soon as 400 m, and then use flamers only when about 180. Remeber use those Jumpjets (JJ) to bounce around anying those mechs. Great fun teaming up wth ppl taking down heavys and assults in a medium, enjoy

[scJazz]

Welcome... yeah given the current Trial Mech set definitely stick with the BlackJack or Atlas. You could use the Commando but if you do switch to Conquest only matches. You can run around the maps trying to learn them that way.

Read this guide...
http://mwomercs.com/...s-guide-to-mwo/

It will answer many of your questions and make things much clearer.

Your first 25 Matches get a "Cadet" bonus... at the end of which you will have 8 million C-Bills or more. You can use that to buy your first mech. Take the time... learn the ropes... the worst thing you could do is buy a mech too soon. No penalty for buying a mech very slow This section of the Forums gets a lot of attention so expect answers very quickly. Minutes to an Hour is what I see usually.

For your first 25 matches you are intentionally protected from playing good players. Keep that in mind.

Use the Testing Grounds to sort out your driving and shooting. Locking targets, using zoom, setting up your keyboard/mouse, etc.

Some people like playing with Arm Lock (easy) and Throttle Decay (moves like 1st person shooter). Others do not, take notice of the options and mess around with them in Testing Grounds.

Last bit... WARNING!!! Testing your weapons at the spawn point is VERY BAD. If you must test weapons for heat or grouping issues make CERTAIN you will not hit a friendly. Often the immediate response by the person you just struck testing your weapons will be to turn around and shoot you right in the face at point blank. If they do remember it was your fault.

[ctrain46]

wow thanks for all the replies guys. Im hesitating to play again so me and my friend have all the cadet bonus games together- which is good to know, I knew I was getting too much money

And yeah we definitely did WAYY better with the flame mech- we both had 400+ dmg!

[Kanajashi]

ctrain46, on 04 July 2013 - 11:40 AM, said:

wow thanks for all the replies guys. Im hesitating to play again so me and my friend have all the cadet bonus games together- which is good to know, I knew I was getting too much money

And yeah we definitely did WAYY better with the flame mech- we both had 400+ dmg!

When you have enough to make your first mech purchase, be sure to come back and i'm sure people will happily give you some advice on which chassis are good and how to equip them

[Twivana]

Hai!

I was just reading through this thread... I am currently waiting for my patches to finish downloading so that I can play. I must say the info ya'll have provided is awesome. I am new as well... but also an old school player... I played mw1 to black knight patch when I was a kid. Is there anything new from armor/weapons that I should know about?

Any advice is helpful :]

[scJazz]

Make the most of your first 25 matches! Other than that read the above advice If you use the Atlas remember LRMs must lock on target and STAY LOCKED all the way in flight or they go dumb.

Run CONQUEST only matches by clicking the icon in the top right corner of the screen next to "LAUNCH". If you do tour the maps in a Commando and grab the Capture points.

Really we said the important bits above

[Felicitatem Parco]

I created a (somewhat lengthy and dry) quick-guide that outlines many of the Game's quirks and features you'd probably want to be acquainted with, including a little about the game website, too:

http://mwomercs.com/...or-new-players/

If it helps, then I'm happy to help

[Koniving]

Fun read, Prosperity. I might use some of that in the training series with your permission if I ever get the time, though the mech lore one has priority (as with it I'll have a monopoly and higher bargaining chip on which partnership to take on youtube with the hits it'll get).

I know I need to get around to it because while a certain someone does teach some good things, the person's videos teach people to capitalize on exploiting overpowered gimmicks instead of teamwork. Plus I think players could use a dash of stealth and tactics from me in addition to the person's "zomg I'm alone with two PPCs and a gauss and can take on everyone and this is how you do it too!"

Edited by Koniving, 04 July 2013 - 05:07 PM.

[Twivana]

Thanks :] I actually kinda figured it out. I was kinda hoping there would be quests or missions of some sort other than those two. The training area kinda sucks tho :[ I think it would be better for people to learn with live action instead of just empty mechs around everywhere.... not complaining but I thought it was kinda confusing with it.

Regardless I think it's awesome that MechWarrior has come back.

I think for now I am going to stay with grabbing the capture points. Though the first time I did this was with an Atlas (whoops!) lol

[Koniving]

Twivana, on 04 July 2013 - 06:15 PM, said:

Thanks :] I actually kinda figured it out. I was kinda hoping there would be quests or missions of some sort other than those two. The training area kinda sucks tho :[ I think it would be better for people to learn with live action instead of just empty mechs around everywhere.... not complaining but I thought it was kinda confusing with it.

Regardless I think it's awesome that MechWarrior has come back.

I think for now I am going to stay with grabbing the capture points. Though the first time I did this was with an Atlas (whoops!) lol

It's actually called the "Testing Grounds."

The "Training Grounds" are upcoming and will feature an instructor telling you how to control your mech, making you perform various tasks, and potentially present you with a weapons fire exercise with or without the possibility of an enemy mech to contend with. Part of the training aspect we know will be given is that in order to teach the concept of torso twist you will be switched to a third person view so you can see what's happening.