39 replies to this topic

[mailin]

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 04:37 PM, said:

The heromechs looks like a lot of fun, but my lack of C-bills is so bad that I'm even considering buying a few mechs for MC just so I can sell them for C-Bills >_<

I feel that buying non-hero mechs with real money is a pointless waste and that my money could be better used by buying mechs bays and premium time. I would never sell anything for c-bills that I bought for real money, but whatever works for you. I am patient and I actually enjoy the grind.

[Alaskan Nobody]

mailin, on 21 September 2013 - 06:01 PM, said:

I feel that buying non-hero mechs with real money is a pointless waste and that my money could be better used by buying mechs bays and premium time.

I would add to that - but as I am on a VERY limited budget I may be biased in that account...
I try not to tell people how they 'must' spend their money - but given the choice between spending it on all the things you cannot buy with C-Bills (like paint/camo.... hero mechs.... premium time... mechbays... ) and the things you can...

I would highly recommend only spending real money on the things only real money can buy... at least until you have all of that you might want.

[Hexenhammer]

Arnold J Rimmer, on 21 September 2013 - 02:23 PM, said:

Welcome back to the game! Glad you're having a good time. In order, then:

1) It is always on - if it's mounted and has ammunition, it will shoot down missiles within a certain distance of your 'mech (I forget exactly how far... less than 200m I think) and prioritises ones aimed at you.

2) Phoenix Overlord and Saber would be best overall, I reckon. You get what, 18 'mechs? And mechbays for them, plus premium time. It's an excellent deal compared to what you'd pay for a similar amount of stuff individually. Aside from that, all I've really spent MC on is mech bays.

3) Pretty much any clan that'll accept new players will help you. Some are more competitive, but most will help. I myself am part of Clan Snow Wolf (cswolf.net) and we use the NGNG TeamSpeak server. You'd be more than welcome to come and learn some ropes with us, and either join or not

4) Other than playing lots of matches, not really. Premium time is extremely helpful, as well as Hero mech variants. Combining both will give you an 80% bonus to C-bills earned (but you'll pay a fair amount of RL money for it)

5) Once you have unlocked all 8 basic efficiencies on 3 variants of a mech, you unlock the Elite tier. Completing a single variant's Elite tier will unlock the Master slot for that variant, but there's no real benefit to it besides unlocking another Module slot (and if you're having C-bill flow problems, buying Modules isn't too helpful).

Corollary: good Modules to get are the Seismic Sensor, and Sensor Range. The former is essentially a game-legal wallhack and the latter is always useful for highlighting enemies to your team if scouting

6) I use http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab for all my mech planning needs Easy to use, similar layout to the in-game mechlab, and it'll tell you exactly how much you need to save to fit your mechs the way you want to.

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions Happy to help.

Rimmer nailed it for the most part.

And for 110 bucks the Phoenix/Sabre package is a pretty sweet deal if you want to spend money on the game. It doesn't have any CBills but you get game time and 6 mechs that earn Cbills +30% faster than their counterparts. And once you're finished with them you sell 'em off and keep the ones you like.


And welcome to MechWarrior Online.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 21 September 2013 - 06:24 PM.

[SethAbercromby]

Shar Wolf, on 21 September 2013 - 06:11 PM, said:

I would add to that - but as I am on a VERY limited budget I may be biased in that account...
I try not to tell people how they 'must' spend their money - but given the choice between spending it on all the things you cannot buy with C-Bills (like paint/camo.... hero mechs.... premium time... mechbays... ) and the things you can...

I would highly recommend only spending real money on the things only real money can buy... at least until you have all of that you might want.

Well being a founder came with some free MC for me and after spending some time into the game I've noticed that it's a pain to grind together 10 million C-Bills for a single Stalker 5S Assault 'Mech. At some point I just got bored and did spend that money to get it. Sure, there's no direct benefit but I've saved about a week of grinding for a 'Mech I genuinely enjoy playing with. It's still a pain to get that XL 310 engine though... also DHS... back to grinding it is :/

[Hexenhammer]

Shar Wolf, on 21 September 2013 - 06:11 PM, said:

I would highly recommend only spending real money on the things only real money can buy... at least until you have all of that you might want.

By far the wisest advice anyone could ever get or receive in this game.

1. Buy Mechbays first
2. Buy Hero's second. +% to cbill earnings is fantastic and it never expires.
3. Never sell engines.
4. Strip mechs of every thing before they are sold.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 21 September 2013 - 07:47 PM.

[Johnny Marek Summers]

And with the Pheonix packages you will be following the first two pieces of advice automatically.

Just remember that you will not be able to sell the Pheonix variants. So once you master the Pheonix variants, you can have from 2 to 12 free mechbays depending on which package you bought and how many of the standard variants you wish to keep.

And you really should play the Pheonix mechs all the way to master, you already have the mechs you need to level them up. Also mastered Phoenix variants should make earning C-bills easier.

[Ertur]

Most of my Jenners don't carry AMS, 1.5 tons in engine speed is usually more better. AMS is vital if you are slow, though. If you are fast you can evade by finding cover or breaking the radar lock. Preferably both.
Fighting style for a Jenner is to fly around, look for the flanks, target people for the LRMers (and collect cbills and exp for your trouble), let your team know where the enemy is, and look for large slow mechs on their own. Avoid groups, though. If someone caps your base, you get to go back and mix it up with them. If you can run in a pack of lights, then it can be great fun. For you. Not so much for the people your pack nibbles to death.

[Attackmack]

SethAbercromby, on 21 September 2013 - 03:58 PM, said:

I see no evidence for any of the statements people like you have made before and and still see no reason to believe them. The ones waging war are you and only you and the devs are taking the right decision to take any you people say with a grain of salt.

They didnt say Community Warfare would be here by now?
For me and many others CW is a gamebreaker, and alot of players wont stay/return until its implemented.
Im not saying CW by itself is required to keep this game alive (though I cant see many players solely enjoying assault/conquest for another year) but from what ive read and heard, the developers sure have a way of aggrevating the community. This game feels and looks unfinished.

This isnt the thread to discuss this however, but my original post was an advice for the OP to maybe wait a while before putting money into the game since the future of MWO is uncertain and if he is expecting the game they originally promised, then he will most likely be disappointed.

[SethAbercromby]

Attackmack, on 22 September 2013 - 01:16 AM, said:

They didnt say Community Warfare would be here by now?

Any person that has any idea of game development and programming knows that the unexpected can and will happen. The devs probably ran into problems they didn't prepare for while additionally working on hotfixes and balancing solutions for the stuff already being live. When they decide they must focus their valuable time on something other than a feature yet to come (and thus bearing no weight on the current game experience), it would be appropriate to respond with a little more trust rather than insulting the developers because they aren't putting enough work into satisfying you instead of doing what they think is most beneficial to the community and/or game as a whole. That's my two C-Bills to the topic at least and we should put the thing to rest. This is really not the most appropriate topic to discuss this.

[Bront]

Welcome to MWO!

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

1) AMS - is it passive? Do I need to activate it somehow?

As long as you have the ammo, it works.

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

2) If I were to spend 100+/- 10%, how do I get the most bang for my bucks? I was thinking either the Max MC and get som heromechs or Project Phoenix Overlord with Sabre Reinforcement. What do you think?

Phoenix + Saber is the best value for your money if you're going to buy mechs. 18 mechs+bays, 6 of which are hero mechs, plus 3 paints, loyalty medalions, bonus premium time, and possibly a free skill for all of them.

The biggest downfall of that is you'll need to purchase more mech bays later if you want more mechs or you'll have to sell a few of the normal variants. But that should give you a lot of stuff to play with.

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

3) Is there some kind of "clan" that **** new players when it comes to learning how to be efficient in their mechs?

Lots of the houses have hubs you can use that are newbie friendly. I know I'm writing some training materials for the Steiners and love helping out new players, and most people are willing to help a new player out if they're willing to sit and learn.

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

4) C-bills is a problem, I always need more. Is there some way to get a lot of C-bills?

Premium time helps. Otherwise, get better and win more. I find conquest tends to earn more cbills in general, but I'm not sure if it's faster or not, as matches could be longer.

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

5) As far as I understand I need to get basic training on ALL different versions of a chassis before I can get my pilot from basic to elite. Is it the same from elite to master? I don't think I want to keep all the mechs I am driving

You must get all the basics on any 3 variants of the same chasis to unlock Elites. You must complete Elites on 3 mechs of that chasis type (Light, Medium, Heavy, Assault) to unlock the master slot (the master slot isn't that big of a deal till much later due to the cost of modules). As far as keeping mechs, I generally sell ones I dislike (Cent-AL, Catapult A1, any Commando that's not the 2D) or seem redundant (Victor-9B and 9S are similar, liked the hardpoints better on the 9S, so sold the 9B, Jenner-K is a slightly less interesting Jenner-D, I can make most Cent-A builds I like on the Cent-D). Some folks will tell you to never sell a mech chasis. That's up to you. I have yet to really regret it (though I'll admit I almost didn't sell the Cent-A)

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

6) Is there a place where I can make builds WITHOUT buying all the components? It gets a bit expensive when I make buildmistakes.

Smurfy or Mechromancer (links are already up in several posts).

[Bront]

SethAbercromby, on 21 September 2013 - 02:48 PM, said:

While AMS sounds like a great idea, currently there isn't much gained by using it. Since hardpoints have no size restriction like in MW4:Mercs, insane LRM boats can be created which will render your AMS effectively useless (it might be able to shoot down 10-15 missiles but when there's 60+ LRMs raining down on you with each salvo, there's no real difference).sive.

IMHO, this is bad advice. AMS is recommended on just about any mech that goes less than 100, and required on anything that goes below 80. Faster mechs can dodge/hide easier, but slower mechs are sitting ducks for missiles. Even then, AMS also helps with SRMs and SSRMs (not much, but it can help), and since LRM5 spam has become popular, AMS practically nullifies that.

Beyond that, AMS works for teammates, so when you stay together, everyone's AMS helps everyone. So, sure, someone might fire an LRM50 equivalent, but a group of 4 mechs with AMS will widdle that down quite a bit. It's basically a way, for 1.5 tons, to buy missile damage reduction that could easily ad up to more than it's weight in armor.

[Photec]

Many great ideas and helpfull tips and hints. Thank you all.

I ended up buying the Overlord and Sabre Reinforcement, as well as 6500MCs to tide me over till 15.oct.

Got me a Muromets, so now I, after I've done my daily X2s I'm just grinding in that one and trying to get some C-bills together. I also bought some different loadout options for it, but not having a HUGE amount of success so far, but it's 50/50 so far.

Next up for me is the last of the Jenners I think, so I can get my JR7-F up to elite. Thats the one I've had the most fun with, but the K got pretty sweet as well when I loaded it with StreakSRMs. Having a hard time deciding which to keep

I still need to learn combat manouvering, situational awareness, line of fire on the maps, approximate ranges, likely hotzones etc, so I'm just gonna keep on keeping on for now.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback

Photec - STILL a scrub mechpilot

[Arnold J Rimmer]

The JR7-D has 2 missile hardpoints. More Streaky goodness!

[mailin]

Photec, don't forget to have a BAP on any mechs that use streaks. Also because there is a glitch in Artemis, streaks get enhanced lock time with Artemis, which they shouldn't get, so when you can afford it, put Artie on that Jenner. Glad to hear you're enjoying the game. It does get easier. Looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield, and don't take it personally if we're on opposite teams and you wind up spectating. ;-D

[Gwydion Ward]

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

Hi there! I am a total novice in all things mechwarrior. My only experience before my first few battles ingame was that I loved the animated series I watched as a child

I tried this out in beta, but found it frustrating and not very intuitive. I decided to give it a second chance though, and man am I glad I did

Having a ball running around in my Jenners but there are a few things I hope you guys can answer me

1) AMS - is it passive? Do I need to activate it somehow?

2) If I were to spend 100+/- 10%, how do I get the most bang for my bucks? I was thinking either the Max MC and get som heromechs or Project Phoenix Overlord with Sabre Reinforcement. What do you think?

3) Is there some kind of "clan" that **** new players when it comes to learning how to be efficient in their mechs?

4) C-bills is a problem, I always need more. Is there some way to get a lot of C-bills?

5) As far as I understand I need to get basic training on ALL different versions of a chassis before I can get my pilot from basic to elite. Is it the same from elite to master? I don't think I want to keep all the mechs I am driving

6) Is there a place where I can make builds WITHOUT buying all the components? It gets a bit expensive when I make buildmistakes.

-Photec, scrub mechpilot

With 33 replies im sure you got enough answers already but i'll throw my 2-cents in.

AMS's are passive, but they DO require ammo. You trade 1 tone of protection for 1 tone of armor or ammo or heatsinks.

Spending money wise. I'd honestly say the Project Phoenix. Mainly becauase you get all of the variants you'll need to max out the skill-tree's for ALL of the mech's you get for your level (the level of Phoenix you buy). Otherwise you'll find yourself having to buy standard variants of any 'hero' mech you do get just to max out its skill-tree. Other than that. i'd say the 'premium account' time. As that will earn you the Cbills you need quicker.

For earning c-bills. There's two ways to do this. First is the 'premium account'. The second is a 'hero' or 'champion' mech that has a listed bonus to C-bill earnings. You could also play your matches not so much to 'destroy' the enemy mech, but to destroy equipment on the enemy mech... arms, legs, that sort of thing. I 'think' that gives you a small boost to your total c-bill winnings at the end of the match, but im not 100% sure on that.

Skill tree's DO require that you get ALL of the training in each level on 3 varients yes. Which is why i recommended the Phoenix packages to spend your money on as it gives you all of the varients you'll need, so you dont have to go back and buy the varients, only to sell them. The phoneix packages give you the ''special' phoenix mech + the 2 other varients to get your skills maxed out with.

As for building settups. Not sure how up-to-date it is anymore... but go here: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

For settups though. I'll give you a bit of advice that im sure alot of the 'elitest' will say is wrong, but thats only because they dont beleive the gameplay has degenerated to what it actualy has.

When you get a mech, strip down all the armor from the arms, legs, head. Max out your Center Torso and Side Torso's, splitting them front-to-back however you feel like. Then Max out your weapon slots with whatever type of weapons you wish to use. Then put on however many heat-sinks and ammo packs you feel you need. THEN go back and start adding on armor to your extremities.

I say this for one simple reason. The current 'meta' of the game has degenerated into a "max alpha the CT and ONLY the CT". No one EVER aims for anything other than your CT (either the front or the rear). If you ever take damage to anything else, its because you turned or moved as they fired at you. The "meta" of the game at the moment is twofold. Mass-spam of UAC-5's, or Pure Alpha-strikes repeatably. All of it aimed at ONLY the CT.

Its sad... as targeting specific components is fun, and shows 'true skill', but its the simple fact that that is what the game has 'degenerated' into.

[scJazz]

mailin, on 22 September 2013 - 10:25 AM, said:

Looking forward to seeing you on the battlefield, and don't take it personally if we're on opposite teams and you wind up spectating. ;-D

Someone killed StarGeezer before I could 2 weeks ago and RyanUNDEAD was on my team yesterday. ******* me off!

[StarGeezer]

Awww, there will be plenty of chances for you to spectate my matches in the future, Jazzy!

[Nick Makiaveli]

Rhapsody Repine, on 22 September 2013 - 10:41 AM, said:

You could also play your matches not so much to 'destroy' the enemy mech, but to destroy equipment on the enemy mech... arms, legs, that sort of thing. I 'think' that gives you a small boost to your total c-bill winnings at the end of the match, but im not 100% sure on that.

Skill tree's DO require that you get ALL of the training in each level on 3 varients yes.

1. If you destroy a component, such as a weapon, ammo etc then yes you get paid for that.

2. Sort of. You have to get Basic on 3 variants to unlock the ability to spend XP on Elite. You have to have Elite on 3 chassis of a given weight class to unlock the ability to spend XP on Master on any Light once you get Elite on it. So you don't have to Elite all the mechs you have to Basic.

[Sadistic Savior]

Photec, on 21 September 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

1) AMS - is it passive? Do I need to activate it somehow?

Yes, it is completely passive. In fact, right now there is not even a way to turn it off. It will fire at any enemy missiles in range, whether they are targeted at you or not.

Quote

2) If I were to spend 100+/- 10%, how do I get the most bang for my bucks? I was thinking either the Max MC and get som heromechs or Project Phoenix Overlord with Sabre Reinforcement. What do you think?

The Phoenix pack is a very good deal. For $80 you get a full company of mechs, (several with permanent CBill and LP bonues, and all months before they are publically available), 3 months of premium time, and cockpit items that apply a bonus in LP to whatever mech they are equipped to.

The Sabre pack is up to you. It was not enough for me personally, but if you are a big fan of either of those unseen mechs, I would get it.

Quote

4) C-bills is a problem, I always need more. Is there some way to get a lot of C-bills?

Buy them. Buy Premium time, or buy Hero mechs...or just buy normal mechs for MC then sell them.

Quote

5) As far as I understand I need to get basic training on ALL different versions of a chassis before I can get my pilot from basic to elite. Is it the same from elite to master? I don't think I want to keep all the mechs I am driving

You don't need to keep them. Unlocked efficiencies are permanent. Keep them long enough to unlock efficiencies, then sell them. Those efficiencies will still count as unlocked, whether you currently own the mechs or not.

Edited by Sadistic Savior, 22 September 2013 - 01:59 PM.

[mailin]

Rhapsody Repine, on 22 September 2013 - 10:41 AM, said:

As for building settups. Not sure how up-to-date it is anymore... but go here: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

For settups though. I'll give you a bit of advice that im sure alot of the 'elitest' will say is wrong, but thats only because they dont beleive the gameplay has degenerated to what it actualy has.

When you get a mech, strip down all the armor from the arms, legs, head. Max out your Center Torso and Side Torso's, splitting them front-to-back however you feel like. Then Max out your weapon slots with whatever type of weapons you wish to use. Then put on however many heat-sinks and ammo packs you feel you need. THEN go back and start adding on armor to your extremities.

I say this for one simple reason. The current 'meta' of the game has degenerated into a "max alpha the CT and ONLY the CT". No one EVER aims for anything other than your CT (either the front or the rear). If you ever take damage to anything else, its because you turned or moved as they fired at you. The "meta" of the game at the moment is twofold. Mass-spam of UAC-5's, or Pure Alpha-strikes repeatably. All of it aimed at ONLY the CT.

Its sad... as targeting specific components is fun, and shows 'true skill', but its the simple fact that that is what the game has 'degenerated' into.

Smurfy is constantly and continually updated with every new patch, so it has the most recent data. Also, if you notice it includes the Phoenix mechs, which aren't even available yet. Pretty sweet! As far as the advice about armor allocation, it really depends on the mech. For example, there are some who have brawler builds out there with zero armor on the back. The theory is that no one will be behind them. (False . . . I will be there.) If you have a light, the first thing you want to do is max all of the armor, then place the biggest engine you can fit and use try to use the remaining room for weapons, ammo, heat sinks and jump jets. Never, ever lower the armor on the legs on a light. Also, there are certain mechs that I specifically aim for the legs on. These are lights, centurions and dragons. Dragons because they can be very fast and if I can leg them their speed drops to 40 kph and centurions because they often are zombie builds which can take a lot of damage to the arms side torsi and center torso before they finally drop while keeping some weapons. On them I find shooting at the legs is a lot easier. Pilots at higher ELO do aim for the legs, and we are pretty good at placing our shots, so don't give the enemy any more advantages than they already have.