68 replies to this topic

[JC Daxion]

When i started playing a few months back, i was given the advice to go with the Hunchback medium mechs..

I must give that advice in return. They are a good mix of speed and fire power, and let you take up more than one roll. you have the speed to crap capture points in conquest, and the fire power to back up, flank, and take shot of opportunity with your lance.

Over the last 3+ months i have bought many mechs, But for some reason i just can't get away from my HBK's. I grind up money to buy a new mech, and outfit it.. play it a few times and then hop right back in the hunchie.

They are also pretty cheap to outift, adding the internal structure, double heat sinks, and a 250 engine, plus the cost of the mech is less than the cost of buying most mechs with zero upgrades. The engine can be used to swap back and forth so only need to buy one.


If you have lots of free time to play for the next month, buy a premium month to boost your earning.. If not, then just grind away a little slower..


Personally the MC you have, i would buy mech bays, and Permanent paint.. (those cost around 1k MC) but can be used on any mech. just wait for colors to be on sale and eventually you will have lots to pick from.



There is a new hero Hunchback mech, that gives you an XP boost, But the varrient is the 4P which is all lasers, It is by far my least favorite, so that xp boost would make the grind easier on it. I just wish they had a version that had the + C-bill in any of the 4G and 4H, along with the 4SP as they all are great mechs

[Tor Gungnir]

Heroes are not really worth the MCs though, if you ask me. Mech XP is easy enough to earn, especially with Premium Time where you can easily average 1.000+ per match.

[Roughneck45]

Tor Gungnir, on 08 July 2013 - 06:11 PM, said:

Heroes are not really worth the MCs though, if you ask me. Mech XP is easy enough to earn, especially with Premium Time where you can easily average 1.000+ per match.

I disagree, but only for two mechs.

IYLA and FIREBRAND are great mechs. Even if hero mechs didn't exist, I would still use those variants.

FLAME is great too, but that's more personal taste. Dragons are not for everyone.

Either way, with 6500 MC, I would certainly get a hero mech. You could get one and get some premium time with it and really bring in the c-bills.

Edited by Roughneck45, 08 July 2013 - 07:07 PM.

[scJazz]

JC Daxion, on 08 July 2013 - 05:56 PM, said:

There is a new hero Hunchback mech, that gives you an XP boost

Tor Gungnir, on 08 July 2013 - 06:11 PM, said:

Heroes are not really worth the MCs though, if you ask me. Mech XP is easy enough to earn, especially with Premium Time where you can easily average 1.000+ per match.

The mech in question is a Champion variant. 10% boost to XP which is nearly useless except for generating GXP. Definitely, not something you want to spend your first bankroll on.

[Unnatural Growth]

It's up to you OP on what you want out of the game. If you want to run Jenners, fine, but you have to play them a certain way. SPEED is your armor in a Jenner. You need a bigger engine. If you're really sure you want to elite up Jenners, my advice would be to use some of your MC to buy the Jenner -F Champion mech. It is a good weapon loadout for a Jenner and it comes with the XL300 engine. That Champion Jenner was the first mech I bought myself and I still have it. I have since bought and leveled up the other 2 variants through elite. I sold the other 2 variants, as I didn't care for the -K, and I'm waiting for the "Sarah Jenner", which is a -D variant.

Lights are hard to pilot WELL, and the Jenners are more difficult imo, as they don't come with a variant that is ECM capable like ALL the other lights do. That means you are more exposed to enemy fire, especially LRM fire. The 2 best ways to combat that are SPEED and get AMS on your ride asap.

To be an effective Jenner pilot you have to play hide and seek, run fast, play hit and run tactics and fade away. Use cover to approach your enemy from behind, crank speed up to max, run by and strike them in the back as you fly by. Already have your escape to cover mapped out before you start your run. NEVER try to brawl in a Jenner, you are a high speed set of guns wrapped in tissue paper armor. NEVER stand still or run slow in a Jenner. If you get detected, you're a goner. Only engage enemy mechs that are either facing away from you, oblivious to you, or are fighting one of your team mates and therefore not paying attention to you.

I would not even field a Jenner without an XL300 engine, BAP, AMS and at least 2 JJ's, regardless on what weapons you loadout with. You get speed, extended sensor range, and a little bit of missile defense. The rest of your missile defense comes from speed and cover. It will not take an enemy LRM boat long to destroy you if you're caught in the open.

I would also highly recommend DHS's, Endo Steel and for the Jenners, FF armor. On the Jenners, you run out of weight capacity before you run out of slots, and that extra ton of weight with FF will get you either another DHS, another ML, or your AMS or streak ammo.

All just my opinion, but I do both love and hate my Jenners. It's a rough grind learning this game AND learning to pilot a light mech at the same time. The map "Tourmaline Desert" is littered with junk piles of old mechs from previous battles...

...and most of those are MY Jenners!

[Tor Gungnir]

scJazz, on 08 July 2013 - 07:18 PM, said:

The mech in question is a Champion variant. 10% boost to XP which is nearly useless except for generating GXP. Definitely, not something you want to spend your first bankroll on.

Yeah I realized that after writing, but was too tired to correct myself.

Heroes are definitely worth it, Champions not so much.

[Aym]

Tor Gungnir, on 09 July 2013 - 05:29 AM, said:

Yeah I realized that after writing, but was too tired to correct myself.

Heroes are definitely worth it, Champions not so much.

They're both situationally worth it. Heroe mechs with good hardpoint load outs CAN be worth it, if you like them. Champions with good equipment CAN be worth it as well. Consider this, many Hero mechs require several million c-bills invested into DHS, Endo-Steel, and maybe even a new engine. A well built Champion mech often comes with the upgrades you need, so for the Hero mech to cover the difference... let's just average 2.5 million c-bills in equipping costs... 30% bonus earnings... average per-match of around 100k, so 30k per match in Hero bonus... it takes 83 matches to make up the difference. That's a LOT of matches. Hero mechs cost more MC per ton, which is something to consider as well, so the "value" of getting a mech for MC is worse for Hero mechs. Then consider getting to Master level with a Champion mech will be about 14 matches quicker, and that's an impossible to quantify value, but if you like playing it past Master, you will get more GXP which is something to consider as well.

[Tor Gungnir]

Worth it gameplay-wise, maybe.

But not worth it real life cash-wise.

In my opinion.

[Hammerhai]

Generally, do not sell equipment unless you are really really sure you won't use it again. NEVER sell XL engines as light pilot.
My XL engines of choice for a light
280 XL good all rounder
300 XL Hair on fire style
As a light it may benefit you to grind your mechs up to speedtweak. This allows you to run the 280 XL and still be fast enough to stay with other lights.
(For Dragons 360 XL and 350 XL, but that is a confused light)

Welcome as a fellow light player, even if maybe not totally intended.
You may laugh, but a few days ago I ran through an enemy pack, collecting a few hits on the way. (These days that will usually get you legged, don't do it by choice!) shouting "squirrrrrrel" to myself at the top of my lungs. It's addictive. And not good for your Kill/Death ratio.

Another thing is: don't worry too much about your statistics. They have their place but often do not tell the whole story. For instance, you may die being chased by the Hating Heavy™ club, but in doing so you may pull them all away from the front line, exposing their backs to your team. My K/D is only 0.14, for instance, but I only cry every other day about that. Freud was right about that death wish thang, I tell you.

There is something to be learnt from them though, and if you like a few more stats than those on your profile there is the tool called Mechcollect by SjurWarEagle. Note you have to put in your login details, but other members of the community tested it, and it is clean. I use it myself, and no issues.

General. Stick with the group. As a light you should roam a bit, but do not push it.
If there is a light pack. (2 or more lights on your team), then wolfpack and HAVE YOUR VENGEANCE on those heavies. Kill errrrrthang.

[wickwire]

great thread, great community!

Edited by wickwire, 09 July 2013 - 07:56 AM.

[Hammerhai]

PS: Right now I think your priority should be Premium time over a champion Jenner, as it yields more rewards, btw. and get at least another 3 Mech bays, the price is quite low.

[scJazz]

Tor Gungnir, on 09 July 2013 - 05:29 AM, said:

Yeah I realized that after writing, but was too tired to correct myself.

Heroes are definitely worth it, Champions not so much.

Yeah I was pretty sure you knew what you were talking about even if you didn't type it correctly. I just wanted to make sure it didn't stay uncorrected overnight.

[Rando Slim]

Ah a helpful, active forum warms the soul, done with 19 of my cadet matches, still struggling to just pilot the thing correctly as I keep letting my momentum build up too much and keep running into stuff when trying to maneuver or run away (turning on throttle decay helps a bit). Probably too much Hawken.....the only thing stopping me now that it keeps saying "session lost" right after I log in or "network request timed out". Very annoying, don't think theres anything wrong with my internet connection. Anyway I'll probably save up for an XL 280 or 290, I want to keep the engine to where it weighs equal or less than what it weighs now at 15 tons. I also read up on jumping and re-equipped 2 jump jets. Probably gonna stick with both ferro armor and endo stell for now, though maybe with an XL engine then I won't have enough free slots. I guess the issue with my current build is the medium lasers that came on it and lack of double heat sinks. Also the SRM4 doesn't do squat it seems like. I kinda feel I need weapons that are effective from longer than 270m though, for something thats not a brawler, you sure do have to get close to things to hit them hard.

Getting about 325k c-bills per match so tentatively I'll end up with 4.5-4.7 million c-bills when I'm done being a cadet (I already burned through 12 of them before I started this thread and made a series of blunders). The DHS is a must for sure, even with 4 med lasers you overheat so fast, whats a good heat efficiency rating? Mine is at 0.98, I had it up a little higher but removed a heat sink to get more armor on there, that seems low. Is there a typical target range or rule of thumb based on what weapons you use? Anyway thanks again for all the help, I feel much more acclamated even after just a day. Hopefully now the game will just let me play and stop losing the session.

[Hebdomas]

Lights do take some getting used to, in a way they're kind of like playing a game with fighter planes.

For lights speed/mobility=life/defense so you want to be as close to the speed cap as possible, I think the cap is 140. A xl300 will put you at 138.9 (no speed tweak) while a xl280 is more useful after you get speed tweak. I know it sounds expensive, but an xl300 can go in a lot of mechs, in fact all of the current heavies can use a xl300 though dragons and quickdraws might want something faster depending on play style.

As a jenner you don't need weapons with a longer range, you're a harasser, you *** at mech's heels and shoot them in the back when possible. Range isn't too much of an issue when you're as fast as a jenner, dart between cover, zigzag, etc until you're close enough to engage. Weapons with a longer range aren't really an option, they just weigh too much. Heck, some of us even decrease our range by using small pulse lasers or small lasers (both have optimal range of 90m), but that's user preference.

Heat without double heat sinks can be harsh, my advice is to get double heat sinks as soon as you can, 1.5million c-bills + 20k or 40k (can't remember) for each DHS. I think my lowest heat efficiency is 1.2 or 1.21 with DHS. My recommendation until you get DHS is to not use alpha strikes (firing everything at once) unless someone is showing their back and you won't overheat. Stagger your weapons fire once you get to the halfway point on the heat gauge (maybe even sooner) fire two medium lasers at a time instead of all four. If you're running hot, break away to go cool down and re-position yourself for another attack run. As a light you do not want to overheat! If you overheat your mech shuts down, if you're shut down you aren't moving, if you aren't moving you're probably going to take an AC20 (and every other weapon in range of you) to the center torso or leg, if you lose your center torso you're dead, if you lose a leg you're going to be dead in a few seconds.

[AlmightyAeng]

Scrotacus 42, on 09 July 2013 - 08:31 AM, said:

Anyway I'll probably save up for an XL 280 or 290, I want to keep the engine to where it weighs equal or less than what it weighs now at 15 tons."

Hi! Just took the time to read through your whole thread. First off, never sell of engines...since you get HALF your money back. Always save up to grind out another one with C-bills.

As far as your engine size, though, people keep pushing "BIGGEST ENGINE POSSIBLE" for 2 reasons.

1) As a light, you NEED speed. You're fragile. That's a given.

2)The other HUGE benefit is that bigger engines have MORE internal heatsinks. Right now, if you look at Single Heat sinks vs. Double Heatsinks, you're getting 140% more heat dissipation at the cost of 300% space (double heatsinks cool at the rate of 1.4 and take 3 slots, while single heatsinks cool at the rate of 1 and take up one slot). Here's the thing. With internal heatsinks, there's NOT COST OF SPACE. So, the bigger your engine, the more heatsinks you have that magically double their cooling efficiency and you still have JUST as many slots. I believe if you look at the XL300 vs the XL295, it has more heatsinks...and in any light mech, if you overheat and shut down, someone's gonna pound you into the ground like a tent peg.

Scrotacus 42, on 09 July 2013 - 08:31 AM, said:

I also read up on jumping and re-equipped 2 jump jets. Probably gonna stick with both ferro armor and endo stell for now, though maybe with an XL engine then I won't have enough free slots.

Good call. Fit the XL. Lights have such tiny side torsos, there's really no reason NOT to use the XL and put more weapons on with the tonnage you gain. If it comes down to space, sacrifice ferro instead of endo. They're both 14 slots, and Endo gets you more tonnagen back.

Scrotacus 42, on 09 July 2013 - 08:31 AM, said:

I guess the issue with my current build is the medium lasers that came on it and lack of double heat sinks. Also the SRM4 doesn't do squat it seems like. I kinda feel I need weapons that are effective from longer than 270m though, for something thats not a brawler, you sure do have to get close to things to hit them hard.

SRM'***** a little light right now, I believe a damage buff is currently under review. And yes, from what you said your heat is at, you're running REALLY hot. Get those double heatsinks and suddenly medium lasers become more useful by an order of magnitude. Keep in mind, all the longer-range weapons are MUCH heavier. Medium lasers are 1 ton each. A large is 5. 2 mediums out-damage one large.

Scrotacus 42, on 09 July 2013 - 08:31 AM, said:

The DHS is a must for sure, even with 4 med lasers you overheat so fast, whats a good heat efficiency rating? Mine is at 0.98, I had it up a little higher but removed a heat sink to get more armor on there, that seems low.

That .98 is incredibly hot. I like to 'ride the line' with a lot of my builds and run fairly hot. 1.15 is about as low as care to go, 1.08 for VERY specialized builds. 1.30 is the comfort zone of firing while almost NEVER overheating. Bump yourself up to double heatsinks, and based on the size of your engine you will see an ENORMOUS increase. My Jenners run full armor and somewhere around 1.25 heat.

Scrotacus 42, on 09 July 2013 - 08:31 AM, said:

Is there a typical target range or rule of thumb based on what weapons you use?

Each weapon has it's own "optimal" range. When you're in your mech and it shows your weapon list, the number to the right is the "optimal" range. That means, up to that range, if you hit, it'll do full damage, and past it, it drops off. Beam lasers will still do damage out to twice their optimal range at a SEVERELY reduced rate. Ballistics go out to 3 times their optimal range.

For medium lasers at an optimal range of 270? Don't bother with anything past 500. Don't expect to hit anything hard past 350. Don't brawl, strike. Run in, unload a couple blasts, run out, cool off. Rinse repeate. Use bigger guys brawling to your advantage...don't become the focus of ANYONE. If you are, bug out.

Hope it helps!

[Unnatural Growth]

This is my -F(C):

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cbcc1d28f68b8b5


And this was my -D

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...692a84105a5e4c8

Hopefully I did the links right...

Speed is 138 kph before speed tweak, and 152 kph after.

[Tor Gungnir]

You'll be hard pressed to fit ENDO, FERRO and an XL engine all at once. You really should get rid of the FERRO.

Edited by Tor Gungnir, 09 July 2013 - 09:59 AM.

[Hebdomas]

Tor Gungnir, on 09 July 2013 - 09:58 AM, said:

You'll be hard pressed to fit ENDO, FERRO and an XL engine all at once. You really should get rid of the FERRO.

All three of my jenners use a XL engine, endo, ferro and DHS. With the jenner (and possibly other lights too) space isn't at a premium, you'll probably run out of free tonnage before you run out of open slots.

[Rando Slim]

Yea I planned on keeping Ferro and Endo with an XL 280 is what I'm saving for. I just got the DHS, wow what a difference! I'm thinking of switching to SRM 6 also.

A fellow noob posted a topic yesterday and one point that he said was: "put your ammo in the legs because it rarely gets hit and you can avoid having to get CASE", how valid is that? If I have to get CASE that will kinda mean I can't get SRM 6 or Artemis. I also was trying to decide if I should get BAP.

[Koniving]

OldOrgandonor, on 09 July 2013 - 09:53 AM, said:

This is my -F©:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cbcc1d28f68b8b5


And this was my -D

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...692a84105a5e4c8

Hopefully I did the links right...

Speed is 138 kph before speed tweak, and 152 kph after.

Your links worked.