6 replies to this topic

[DigitalJester]

Relative newbee here. Actually a founder in Beta but could never get the game to work to an enjoyable standard. Heard about the official launch, came back to try it and love it.

Currently having a huge amount of fun charging around the board in my SDR-5K( C) and to a lesser extent the medium as well. Not killing much, getting some assists here and there, and lots of capture points and a 15-14 W/L. (Compared to 2-8 in Heavies/Assaults).

Looking to buy my first real Mech and given the fun was thinking about getting a Light. Consensus advice seems to be a Jen-D something like this JR7-D but this costs almost 10M Bills, pretty much everything I have. So I started investigating budget SDR-5K builds since I've already accumulated a decent amount of experience in this chassis. Everything I found suxs compared to the Trial Mech !! So I built the trial mech and it (SDR-5K) costs 8.7M Bills.

Hence this raises the questions
i) Why would I spend 8.7M to build something that is free or 10M for something thats barely better than free?
ii) Given how good this Mech appears to be versus alternates, what is the obvious choice for a 1st Mech purchase?

Any other advice always welcome.

[Evil Ed]

You don't gain XP / can't unlock skills / can't add modules on trial mech?

[Chris2401]

evid ed I think you misunderstood him.
while you can't unlock skills and modules on a trial mech, you still get the XP for that specific model.
if you choose to buy it someday you can use the gained XP to unlock skills.

if you like the playstyle of lights, the spider is a good choice, I really those thing when I am playing in my Highlander!

you should try to spend the remaining tonnage useful, otherwise the ferro-fibrous is a waste of money.
it doesn't give you more armor, it just makes the armor you have a little bit lighter and not even that much. its sometimes useful to gain that extra ton for a heatsink or ammo, but it always comes at a great cost.

I looked at the trial mech and it actually has a ER Large Laser.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...132ec3a0590d787
the laser has significantly more rage and damage, you can try to hit a lot of people for the distance first (evey mech that you hit and gets killed later is a killassist for you) and after that engange in close comat with the MGs.

the trial mechs do change from time to time, so if you want to play spider, buy it! it also enable you to spend the XP on the skills for that chassis.

if you ask for a opinion for 1st mech to buy, a lot of people say hunchback, centurion or catapult-k2.
I started with a Jagermech JM6-S, the high mounted guns are awesome for shooting over cover, everyhing you can see, you can shoot at!

Edited by Chris2401, 08 October 2013 - 12:50 AM.

[Walks_In_Circles]

The spider is my favorite light. It's fast, can jump and packs a good punch for the tonnage. The SDR-5k c is exactly how I love the spider. If you don't mind spending $6, I recommend buying the trial mech. It's definitely worth it, especially with that XL on it.

The K2-Cat was my first mech and has been my favorite for a while now. Sniping takes a lot of patience, and the high mounted energy hardpoints make shooting over cover easy. I love the geometry, and with the phranken paint, she looks ferocious.

Edited by Hrothmar, 11 October 2013 - 06:26 PM.

[Evil Deaz]

Well first of all welcome back, nice to see fellow beta pilots com back to the game. Anyways I have to admit i'm a big fan of the SDR series. My first mech was the RVN-3L but i've had alot more fun in my SDR. So if you like it i say go with it, since you've already got some xp from the trail version, thats my advice anyways.

[Bront]

The trial mechs rotate, so it won't be free forever. Plus, you can use your pilot skills on mechs you own, but not the trials.

That said, I use the trials to earn XP on mechs I might want to get later (The Spider or Atlas), or learn about mechs I want to avoid (The Dragon), so even with 12 mechs, I still use them.

[Koniving]

DigitalJester, on 07 October 2013 - 07:52 PM, said:

Hence this raises the questions
i) Why would I spend 8.7M to build something that is free or 10M for something thats barely better than free?
ii) Given how good this Mech appears to be versus alternates, what is the obvious choice for a 1st Mech purchase?

Any other advice always welcome.

The expenses on those mechs relate to the XL engines. Mediums are ideal as most of them do not require XL engines to function at their peak. But that said, you can just as easily make a light mech and not use an XL engine.

I have a commando (Death's Knell) fitted with a 210 standard (max) and 4 SL. Works great. Same thing can be made with a 1-B short a laser.


A jenner can fit a much larger standard engine and still carry the weapons. So can a spider. I do have a standard engine spider, it's the 12v. It'd make a good mech given your practice with spiders.

This guy's an affordable favorite of mine from the Raven series. Play him like a classic Hunchback.


The engine used on him would be commonly used in the Blackjack series as well as certain ballistic heavies for those of us who love to stack 18 tons of ballistics on and sport another 10 tons of ammo.