60 replies to this topic

[Euphor Kell]

agreed on the orion, its a great all-round brawler, but a little lacking in speed in its stock config.

about getting the "feel" of heavies using a dragon, you're more likely getting the feel of mediums, since thats essentially the role the dragon fills, hit-n-run and counter-light i used to run this dragon for that, going at essentially a "fast medium" or "slow light" speed allows you extra chance to catch those pesky light mechs., since streaks were awesome vs lights, and lasers are also handy, even if you have trouble holding the beam on the mech for the whole time, even small amounts of damage will hurt lights.

and its a good point about getting mechs to "elite" status, because those "Basic" effencies double in effectiveness once you unlock all the elite slots for a mech (so "coolrun" makes you disappate heat 15% faster! and heat containment allows you to get 20% more heat before shutdown, not to mention the turning slots to make you react quicker)

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

Flitzomat, on 19 September 2013 - 03:39 AM, said:

One more thing I think the Dargon is the better beginers mech (sry Dalziel, I agree with everything you say but not on this ):
It can move its arms --> complicated in the begining but one day you have to learn it to become a great pilot. (Remove hook in options if you havent done this to be able to use your arms seperately)

None taken

In fact you and I are not in disagreement - I have no problem with either the Dragon or Catapult as starting 'Mechs. But for someone who has stated that they are interested in gauss rifles and missiles - the Dragon is not a missile platform. The Dragon is easier to get wrong than the CPLT. You have to learn about harassment and flanking to make it work - whereas the CPLT can stand off and fire support - particularly the K2.

Honestly almost any 'Mech platform can be made to work, but certain combinations of weapons and chassis demand certain plays-styles. Are there any /really/ bad choices?

If I had a free choice I would recommend a Stalker - cheap because it only needs double heat sinks (no endo, ff or XL engines), the 3F is versatile - the 3H an excellent missile platform, the 5M and 5S both OK. It's simple (no arms) strong flavour and you can easily get good enough to farm C-Bills with it. However the OP suggested he would like GR and would like to avoid slow moving chassis.

[Flitzomat]

Dalziel Hasek Davion, on 19 September 2013 - 05:50 AM, said:

If I had a free choice I would recommend a Stalker

Looking at your signature I am wondering why you would choose a 3F

K2 and standing around... This story is fictional but might be based on a true story
Once there was a K2 walking into the crater of Terra Therma. While he was standing in the entrance giving fire support he was not turning his torso as he was giving fire support. Then he was dead after 2 secs. End of story.

My point here is, that every Mech is good as long as you pilot it wisely. To pilot them wisely you need sometimes more sometimes less experience and game intelligence. IMHO the K2 is less forgiving.

Recon777, the bad news for you is that in the end you will have a hard time in the beginning whatever you choose. But as soon as you get it you will have lots of fun and a few highroller games with lots of dmg, xp and kills. that you can then brag about to others that are about to start the game. And give smartass comments as we are all just doing
Just be sure to have fun!

[Recon777]

Weeeellll, I just realized the current trial Dragon (5N C) is NOT able to be purchased with cbills. So why am I putting all kinds of XP into a chassis I'll never buy?

Sigh.

Probably will buy the Cat K2. Already got four loadouts I'd like to try on it.

Also, a question since I'm hoping for Elite at some point. Someone recommended not going for the Cat A1. Any particular reason for this? I saw someone's rather deadly loadout with six SRM-6's.

[VanWinK1LL]

Just my $0.02 from a relatively new player. I learned on what many would consider the worst chassis in the game, the Commando. With good reason, most would never recommend it to a new pilot. However, after mastering 3 of my 5 Commandos, learning on those lovable underdogs has made me a much better pilot and I find that as I move on to other chassis, learning to pilot them is easier.

[Reginald Lansing]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 04:30 AM, said:

I know for me, pressing R and getting the info on his damage is usually too much information for me to process while I'm trying to survive and navigate at the same time. I suppose that will become second nature eventually, but right now, I have a hard time translating the readout into knowledge about where exactly to hit him.

This is a skill that will come with time. It took me a few months before I really understood the value of it.

When you die in a match, spectate your teammates. Since you aren't piloting and fighting, you have the luxury of casually watching the fight. Watch his target, watch the enemy 'Mech's paperdoll readout. Watch how your teammate aims, where he hits, and how the damage registers.

After a while, and this is crucial for a light pilot, you won't want to engage a target without knowing his status. Focusing your damage on the weakest / most dangerous part of an enemy increases your value. Instead of uselessly firing your Jenner's MLs into a fully armored Atlas, you can find his buddy whose back is open, use your speed to get in quickly, lay some good damage, and get out.

[chevy42083]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

Weeeellll, I just realized the current trial Dragon (5N C) is NOT able to be purchased with cbills. So why am I putting all kinds of XP into a chassis I'll never buy?

Sigh.

Probably will buy the Cat K2. Already got four loadouts I'd like to try on it.

Also, a question since I'm hoping for Elite at some point. Someone recommended not going for the Cat A1. Any particular reason for this? I saw someone's rather deadly loadout with six SRM-6's.

I prefer the Cat that allowed a large laser (C1)... give me a little something for when the LRMs run out, as well as a sniper weapon... just to make others 2nd guess when they fire their laser at me. I load an LRM15 and an LRM20... allows a strong first hit, and then auto-staggers because of recharge time, as well as tag, Large laser, and medium laser.

I may get a A1 just for grins... but you'll want some type of energy weapon (everyone raves about TAG, I have yet to play with it enough to see the use... but I do use it.) Maybe a load out of LRM5, maybe 10.... whichever can be chainfired till empty without overheating.
I haven't yet, but I plan to try a loadout with a mixture of SRM and LRM... but for now... JUST bought my 3rd Catapult Varient... so gonna build it a bit first (have no baliistics in inventory, just LRM and lasers from previous 2 Catapults)... and at least basic it.


EDIT: just looked into my stats. ~28hrs in total,... 1 catapult decked out, 1 catapult just needing double heatsinks (maybe an engine, not sure), and JUST bought a stock catapult leaving me with close to no Cbills. So, that may give you a timeframe to grind through with no premium, no hero, no MC. Mostly LRM games, so lots of assist, not many kills. Oh.... and not really being great... having not played a mech game since Earth Seige YEARS ago.

Edited by chevy42083, 19 September 2013 - 09:48 AM.

[RiggsIron]

Still relatively new myself.

But after watching numerous videos from various streamers or youtube channels - I started my first grind on a Jenner F Champion. I was a sucker and bought MC because I didnt want to spend 2 weeks dying constantly just to have enough cash to get 3 good mechs. Since that mech came with an XP engine and DHS...I could start being productive without having to spent 10 million on a single mech.(I already had made a couple mistakes buying medium before I was done with cadet bonus and wasted like 4-5 million)

As said double heat sinks are a must in this game - its mentally damaging how much MWO has raised the heat penalties - to the point I have overheated by firing a SINGLE medium laser repeatedly on a hot map.

So getting 3 lighter mechs upgraded with DHS was much cheaper. And I like Jenners anyway.

The big thing was I was being terrible on all sizes of mechs, but by going for 3 light mechs as the first elite grind forced me to get good at moving around and circle strafing big mechs very fast - and while not doing as much overall damage as a heavier mech - you can run around and be very disruptive once you get good at weaving in and out of a group of enemies, taking pot shots at all of them (getting lots of assist bonuses) and going after weaker back armor or chasing down damaged mechs trying to get away.

It also helps learning the maps - as you spend a lot more time speeding around and getting to know the ins and outs of the maps much faster. but then after a while it can get tiring always having to run away or be on the move so much and bigger mechs are a lot more fun to bash things with....so it still all just comes down to playstyle.

[Flitzomat]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

Weeeellll, I just realized the current trial Dragon (5N C) is NOT able to be purchased with cbills. So why am I putting all kinds of XP into a chassis I'll never buy?

You will have them on the regular 5N anyways, my favourite is the 1c though

The Cat A1 I have with four streaks, 2lrm15 and BAP (a must to counter ECM for the streaks), with jumpjets and 300XL (expensive). A bit relying on others ahving a TAG (when dropping in a group that shouldnt be the problem... think about it). I like it alot. Used to be a Cmech too, which I bought afterwards and got the XP on the C-Bill variant.

[scJazz]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

Weeeellll, I just realized the current trial Dragon (5N C) is NOT able to be purchased with cbills. So why am I putting all kinds of XP into a chassis I'll never buy?

Sigh.

Probably will buy the Cat K2. Already got four loadouts I'd like to try on it.

Also, a question since I'm hoping for Elite at some point. Someone recommended not going for the Cat A1. Any particular reason for this? I saw someone's rather deadly loadout with six SRM-6's.

If you buy a Dragon 5N with CB the XP will carry over and be usable.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

Weeeellll, I just realized the current trial Dragon (5N C) is NOT able to be purchased with cbills. So why am I putting all kinds of XP into a chassis I'll never buy?

scJazz, on 19 September 2013 - 01:25 PM, said:

If you buy a Dragon 5N with CB the XP will carry over and be usable.

To clarify, the © versions are treated the same as the non-© versions, so the Dragon-5N and the Dragon-5N© are the same mech

Big difference being piloting the © version gives you an XP boost.

Edit: had not realized they had made it so typing in ( C ) (without the spacing) made the © symbol - neat!

Edited by Shar Wolf, 19 September 2013 - 01:51 PM.

[Euphor Kell]

Shar Wolf, on 19 September 2013 - 01:50 PM, said:

To clarify, the © versions are treated the same as the non-© versions, so the Dragon-5N and the Dragon-5N© are the same mech

Big difference being piloting the © version gives you an XP boost.

Edit: had not realized they had made it so typing in ( C ) (without the spacing) made the © symbol - neat!

Btw, it also applies to the other mechs that have a (letter) behind their name, like cplt-c1(f) and a1(c) are the same as c1 and a1 respectively. Same with the dragon variants.
They're just sold with pre-customised layouts

[Alaskan Nobody]

Euphor Kell, on 19 September 2013 - 06:04 PM, said:

Btw, it also applies to the other mechs that have a (letter) behind their name, like cplt-c1(f) and a1© are the same as c1 and a1 respectively. Same with the dragon variants.
They're just sold with pre-customised layouts

Thought I had implied that already...

Just goes to show you never know what you are leaving out till it is too late

Shar Wolf, on 19 September 2013 - 01:50 PM, said:

To clarify, the © versions are treated the same as the non-© versions, so the Dragon-5N and the Dragon-5N© are the same mech

Big difference being piloting the © version gives you an XP boost.

Edit for one of those leaving outs

Edited by Shar Wolf, 19 September 2013 - 06:16 PM.

[Recon777]

I want to say thanks everybody for your very helpful insight. I ended up purchasing the K2 and making a rather affordable modification to it. In fact, I'm amazed at how little "leftover" equipment I have. The only thing in my inventory now is the 2 PPCs and 2 Machineguns. Everything else from the Stock loadout I'm still using.

I went with this loadout:
CPLT-K2 AC20 + LLas + 3MLas

In my second battle, I ended up getting this as a result!


I'm fairly pleased with the mech and its performance.

[Euphor Kell]

looks like a rather hot build, so long as you're careful with your heat it should be fine though...

just so you know, when you're upgrading that engine:
you can't fit an XL and AC/20 because of the room it takes in the torso.
for each 25 rating, an engine can hold an extra heat sink
double heat sinks in the engine are more effective, reducing heat by 2 per second (DHS outside the engine only reduce it by 1.4)
so, a 275 engine can hold one extra heat sink, and weighs two more tons

however, you need at least 10 heatsinks for a build to be valid, so for each 25 rating under 250, you need to put a heatsink on your mech somewhere outside the engine.

Shar Wolf, on 19 September 2013 - 06:16 PM, said:

Thought I had implied that already...

yeah, didn't mean to sound picky or anything, just wanted to make sure...

[Roboticus Prime]

I posted this in a similar thread.

Roboticus03, on 19 September 2013 - 11:38 AM, said:

My first Mech was the Catapult K2. I love it, and it is still my go-to mech when I want to {scrap} the enemy.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ad39c29b48d3c78

That is roughly the build I use (the armor distribution might be different)

Granted, it is mastered, but I always had it built around 2 MG's and 2 ERPPC's.

The heat of the ERPPC's isn't much of an issue with steady chain firing. Plus, it is fast and agile enough to get in and out of trouble, and has the armor to take a beating! (with proper torso twisting)

Edit: I CAN SPELL!!

Edited by Roboticus03, 20 September 2013 - 12:12 PM.

[Grendel408]

Didn't read through every post here... but this is how I've been cycling through 'Mechs in MWO.

• Buy a 'Mech... get two more variants of same 'Mech chassis.
  
• Grind through the Basic Efficiences for all three variants
  
• Upon unlocking the Veteran tier, choose which 'Mech you want most
  
• Grind until Master tier is unlocked, continue with chosen 'Mech until mastered
  
• Sell other two 'Mechs to free up Mechbays for further expansion...

You don't need to Elite all the variants of a Mech chassis, unless you want to keep all three. Otherwise, you can skip the grind time of the two you don't necessarily want to keep in your 'Mech-stable. Bit of a short-cut, but worth doing if you're only keeping one favorite variant of a 'Mech chassis... keeping all three? Grind away

Edited by Grendel408, 20 September 2013 - 02:38 PM.

[Grendel408]

Recon777, on 19 September 2013 - 03:11 AM, said:

I suppose I should keep playing with the trial Jenner-F while its available, and see if I can gain some satisfaction from it. Jenner is definitely fun but I'm not really sure what to DO with it, since light mechs don't really do much damage no matter how you slice it.

I'd love to differ with you on that one dude LOL! Scored over 700 points damage in my Founder's Jenner, scored almost 900 in my Raven 3L... Lights are deadly... especially if ignored

[Recon777]

Definitely considering the Jenner-F as a second chassis, but it would delay going Elite with the K2 some. The fact that you can stick an XL300 engine and six Medium Pulse Lasers on it at the same time is astounding. 139kph with a 36 point alpha strike? Scary.

Yes, my K2 runs a bit hot but if I am in a fight and I haven't actually killed the enemy yet and my heat is getting close to shutting me down, I'll switch to using the AC20 only until I cool down a bit. Also, the way I've been playing it the last 24 hours, I almost never engage someone without a bigger mech than me by my side. I love hanging around the Assaults, and pounding on whoever they are engaging. I think usually the target assumes my damage is coming from them, and quite often they leave me alone for long enough for me to kill them. Most of my engagements don't require constant fire from me, so my heat hasn't been a problem too often. I've had some amazing matches with this K2 and I'm loving it. It was so cheap to build too, so that's a big plus. I also have all the basic efficiencies unlocked except the quick brake. That was faster than I expected.

One of the few things I don't like about this K2 is that my weapons have very little vertical aiming flexibility. When firing at someone above or below, often the four lasers will cross and land in different spots because the torso has very little vertical movement. I suppose I should lock the arms when playing with this mech, as the arms only contain 1ML each.

A couple notable moments from my first day. One time I was being circled by a Spider and I hit him maybe 6 times with my AC20 and he ended up killing me eventually. I can't explain that at all except it must have been lag. He showed as being hit on my end. Another time was my favorite match. I single handedly won the game. Terra Therma. From the start, I went off by myself and capped the enemy base while everyone else slugged it out in the middle. When I got there, the enemy send only two smallish mechs to "deal with" me, and I dispatched them both very quickly. By the time I capped the base, my entire team was dead except for the wounded Raven hanging out with me. That was incredibly satisfying. What's really funny is that while I was running to their base, everyone was bitching about the map because of how "everybody always rushes to the center. no strategy. no variety." Had to laugh.

Edited by Recon777, 20 September 2013 - 04:35 PM.

[Grendel408]

Recon777... hit detection on Spiders and really any 'Mech running around 130+ kph is not totally accurate. I've shot a spider running head-on at me with a AC20 to little effect. Other times it's plowed straight through them... that's something still be addressed by the Devs.

But... coming from being a Light/Medium pilot... you can't go wrong with a Jenner