41 replies to this topic

[Poullo]

I just started playing yesterday, bought some MC points and purchased a Golden Boy. After reading a post today I see that medium Mechs are a poor choice, especially for noobs like myself.

That being said, any advice on do's, don'ts, play styles, tactics etc.

I'm not a complete noob, I did play MW 1-3 on the PC some years ago.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Poullo, 13 October 2013 - 09:39 AM.

[DyDrimer]

You picked a great place to start just maybe not the best mech to start off with. Hunchies and cents are great places to start. HBK 4g is still my fav mech. It teaches you to move your mech by protecting that huge hump on its shoulder, and to aim because you only have so many shoots, you will be happy for that and so will your team mates later on as you are not coring out their backs, it will also teach you to pick your fights. And those two Mechs can take heavy damage and still keep going

Edited by DyDrimer, 13 October 2013 - 09:53 AM.

[Hexenhammer]

I'm not sure if you can get a refund but you can email support@mwomercs.com and ask for assistance. Even if they can not help do to policy, all is not lost because mediums are not that bad and while you might not be good at them now, you can grow into them. And that Goldenboy will be there waiting to make you extra money.

As far as advice goes here's the short list.

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 everything of before they are sold. (don't sell MC only mechs)
5. Never buy mechs with MC if you can buy them with CBills

Past that welcome to the game, read the forums, and have fun.

OH! http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ Its an online mechlab.


#5 added.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 14 October 2013 - 01:57 PM.

[Koniving]

Mediums are not a poor choice, just the unliked choice when so many can run much bigger mechs. In fact quite far from it. This mech in this video (the one being followed) is one of mine. It's considered "the worst" of the Hunchbacks. To make it even funnier, it's got an XL engine (considered to be impossible to use with a Hunchback), an LB-10x (considered to be the third worst gun) with 2 MGs (the second worst guns), and 3 SPL (the fifth worst guns) all slapped together to utterly dominate the enemy team.



So don't let them get to you.

This is another video -- as it happens I'm in the Golden Boy. Admittedly, the Golden Boy is the slowest of all the Kintaro mechs. I find solace in throwing on LRMs and hanging near an assault mech as fire support. Again, the chase camera is following us.


I'll edit this with some builds for you.

Later on, being in a Medium is actually going to be preferred when "drop weight limits" become implemented.

Edit:

Basic designs.

• LRM spammer. Protect the left side more than the right, but remember it's over if you lose either side. Always follow a heavy or assault. Preferably another missile boat when possible. If following another missile boat, remember you're likely the anti-light of the group.
  
• Streak Spammer. I highly recommend turning off armlock for this. The fastest you can possibly go with a boatload of streaks and some ML. Very effective.
  
• What The Pulse? If you like doing the unexpected, this is essentially slightly more powerful (and slightly faster) than an AC/20. Combine it with the speed and you're a sadistic little hit and run, aren'tcha?
  
• What the Pulse and Streaks? Trading large pulses for 3 mediums, it isn't quite as powerful but it allows for the room to back it up with streaks.

Until the next patch, avoid SRMs. Right now they fail to register about 50% of the time. Short Range Missiles of the normal variety are significantly inferior to what they should be due to this issue. Streak SRMs are fine, they can't miss. As in they seriously cannot miss. Ever. The game won't allow it. But regular SRMs fail to register damage frequently.

Edited by Koniving, 13 October 2013 - 10:12 AM.

[Hellen Wheels]

Hexenhammer, on 13 October 2013 - 09:44 AM, said:

As far as advice goes here's the short list.

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 everything of before they are sold. (don't sell MC only mechs)


Past that welcome to the game, read the forums, and have fun.

You forgot five.

5: Join the Federated Commonwealth!

[RainTuga]

The best advice i can give you is since yu are in a medium mech stick with your team, let the assault/heavies go in first then try to flank or get in their rear if possible.
Don't own a GB myself so i cant help with that mech, but i love my hunch 4p and 4sp in my opinion speed is the key in a medium, try to not get caught in the open if the enemy focus you dont last long.

My medium mechs favourite weapons Medium laser + SRM's to kill more heavy stuff or medium lasers + streak's to hunt lights

[StarGeezer]

Hexenhammer, on 13 October 2013 - 09:44 AM, said:

I'm not sure if you can get a refund but you can email support@mwomercs.com and ask for assistance. Even if they can not help do to policy, all is not lost because mediums are not that bad and while you might not be good at them now, you can grow into them. And that Goldenboy will be there waiting to make you extra money.

As far as advice goes here's the short list.

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 everything of before they are sold. (don't sell MC only mechs)


Past that welcome to the game, read the forums, and have fun.

I'd add just one quick corollary to the mech-buying: Never, EVER buy a mech with MC that you can buy with C-bills instead. In your case, OP, you did fine...the Golden Boy is a Hero and the only way to buy it is with MC. But each and every mech can be purchased with MC, which is a waste in the long run. Typically a week of fairly casual play is plenty to net you enough C-Bills for a new mech, and that's without a Hero bump or Premium Time.

Welcome, and enjoy! That Golden Boy isn't horrible, just takes some special love to get it to play right. I've seen it really shine in the right hands.

[Silverfang22]

Lately I've been doing consistently better (save for a few fluke games where I got one-shotted xD) in my Centurion than my Orions, my record for damage is still in one of my Orions, but my Centurion follows closely. Mediums are pretty awesome, you just have to learn to avoid being focused, let the heavies or assaults take the "aggro" of enemies while you pick them apart with your weaponry (you might not have as much, but it's just as deadly).

[Duncan Longwood]

Goldenboy

Two things... First: If you are unhappy with a purchase, every mechwarrior can contact support for a ONE-TIME-ONLY fix for a screw-up. Sold a mech by accident? Purchased the wrong mech? Used MC instead of cbills? All can be fixed by contacting support@mwomercs.com. They will send you an email asking if you are sure you want this to be the only time they fix your account and then you confirm and they make it happen.

Second: I used to hate my Kintaro, but now it's love. Using the above build, I regularly see over 200k cbills for my losses with Premium-time and I have seen that number go as high as 282k for a loss. None of my other mechs are as capable as the GB for making Cbills. I use it with Advanced(seismic+sensor+target decay) modules to make it really shine. Spotting and tag/narc bonuses will just start rolling in. Plus, it's about the only build the Goldenboy can do that the KTO-18 can't do better.

The other night in one of my victors I killed 9 members of the other team on the way to victory... The cbills I made for that game were less than I have made with 3 kills and 7 assists in the Goldenboy on the way to a loss. I would recommend trying to make it work and then, if still dissatisfied, ask for a refund of your MC.

[Bront]

The Golden Boy can make a pretty good LRM boat as well, so give that a try. It can be a good way to farm money as you'll get lots of assists, and several component distructions.

[Koniving]

Duncan Longwood, on 13 October 2013 - 10:04 AM, said:

Goldenboy

O.o; Looks like my What the Pulse and Streaks build combined with LLs.

[Edustaja]

StarGeezer, on 13 October 2013 - 09:51 AM, said:

I'd add just one quick corollary to the mech-buying: Never, EVER buy a mech with MC that you can buy with C-bills instead. But each and every mech can be purchased with MC, which is a waste in the long run. Typically a week of fairly casual play is plenty to net you enough C-Bills for a new mech, and that's without a Hero bump or Premium Time.

I would say that you can buy regular mechs with MC if you wish, nothing wrong with that. If you have more money than time It's entirely valid to buy some of the more expensive variants with MC instead of Cbills. You might get better value by buying hero mechs and premium time, but if you want the mech and would rather spend Cbills on upgrades then by all means go for it.

[Sadistic Savior]

Poullo, on 13 October 2013 - 09:38 AM, said:

I just started playing yesterday, bought some MC points and purchased a Golden Boy. After reading a post today I see that medium Mechs are a poor choice, especially for noobs like myself.

That being said, any advice on do's, don'ts, play styles, tactics etc.

I'm not a complete noob, I did play MW 1-3 on the PC some years ago.

Thanks in advance.

1) This game is nothing like the MW series. This is more like the original tabletop than it is the arcade shooters from the PC. Treat it more like a simulator and less like a shooter.

2) Stay with the biggest group. Follow them. Attack what they attack, but LET THEM ATTACK IT FIRST...you want to be a support role at first. Attacking before everyone else will make you the initial target. Let your teammates lead, and hit what they hit.

3) Always have something targeted. Even if all your weapons are destroyed. Because teammates can use your targeting to hit as well. If a teammate is out of line of sight, they can still "see" the enemy you have targeted. This is called Spotting. If they hit it with missiles you could get a spotting assist.

4) There really are no poor choices for mechs. All mechs have advantages and disadvantages. The only reason I would have advised you to wait is so you could determine your playstyle before buying a mech. Do you prefer brawling? Scouting/capping? Long range support? Close range support? Missiles? Direct-fire? You can only determine this by experimenting. ALL mechs can be extremely dangerous in the hands of someone whose playstyle lends itself to that model of mech.

5) After you die, stay in the game and spectate. For me this was invaluable early on. It will show you how more experienced players attack and evade. Occasionally, it will also demonstrate what NOT to do...observing bad players can be helpful as well. This is really more valuable than any advice you could get here IMO. Spectating is the MWO version of a school.

Edited by Sadistic Savior, 13 October 2013 - 02:44 PM.

[Nick Makiaveli]

Sadistic Savior, on 13 October 2013 - 02:43 PM, said:

<Words and stuff>

Well I'll be [redacted]. A post by SS that not only didn't make me want to say something that would get me in trouble, but one that was actually useful as well.

I think I will go lay down now. I must be sick.

[Vassago Rain]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...813a9700001c85d

Best I can do. You can trade a heatsink and armor out for more ammo, but you shouldn't need to.

[StarGeezer]

Nick Makiaveli, on 13 October 2013 - 03:09 PM, said:

Well I'll be [redacted]. A post by SS that not only didn't make me want to say something that would get me in trouble, but one that was actually useful as well.

I think I will go lay down now. I must be sick.

I know, right? I wonder what the other signs of the apocalypse will be now? LOL

[Victor Morson]

Poullo, on 13 October 2013 - 09:38 AM, said:

I just started playing yesterday, bought some MC points and purchased a Golden Boy. After reading a post today I see that medium Mechs are a poor choice, especially for noobs like myself.

That being said, any advice on do's, don'ts, play styles, tactics etc.

I'm not a complete noob, I did play MW 1-3 on the PC some years ago.

Thanks in advance.

Medium 'mechs can do find, in particular if you are interested in joining a unit and playing in organized (weight balanced) games.

However, you unfortunately bought the Golden Boy first. The problem with the Kintaro is it's way too large, and also, that the only model I see used - 5 Streak 2s anti-light - I don't even think can fit on the GB.

All isn't lost exactly. I'd recommend you pickup two more Kintaros and get that 5-Streak version running at least, to elite something, if you want to stick with them. Again the Kintaros are really, really huge so are probably not the best way to go, but at least this would offset some of your MC investment with at least one commonly used 'mech.

Now I hate to recommend another hero since you paid real world money, but if you want a great chassis to start with, it's the Cataphract. It's diverse, it's powerful, it's fairly agile and it's got a good assortment of load outs. The 3D is considered the best model, but the Ilya Muromets hero is considered one of the very best hero 'mechs; running 3 AC/UAC5 and 3 ML turns it into an absolute c-bill making machine. I highly endorse the Phract in general as a place to start for new players, unless they are exclusively interested in light 'mechs.

If you do want a medium that's incredibly good though OP, pick up a Centurion 9A and 9D. You can config them with:

3x SRM6 2x ML Standard Engine (Cent 9A)
3x SRM4 2x MPL Standard Engine (Cent 9A)
2x SRM6 2x ML Large XL (Cent 9D) [This model can run with light 'mechs at 130+ KPH]
2x LRM15+Artemis 1x TAG BAP + Moderate XL (Cent 9D)

I'd advise against the Yen-Lo-Wang since the Centurion arms are easily destroyed, and primarily useful to turn towards your enemy and soak damage (do not bother with much - or any - armor on them); however the torso-only Centurion setups are considered some of the very best 'mechs in the game. The 9D is all about speed so it should be running an XL in other long or close range setups, where the 9A is all about stubborn durability, so you want to be running a Standard engine so you won't die if you lose a side torso. If you hear the term "zombie" that's what they're talking about.

Notably some of these designs run Endo AND Ferro; a lot of people discount Ferro as useful because of the amount of slots taken - and it can't be used everywhere - but it means the difference between full leg armor or not in a lot of cases!

PS: You might also be able to run a similar twin LRM15 + TAG setup on your Kintaro, which while rarely used competitively is a very solid config that will minimize your huge-size drawbacks and should bring in a ton of money to buy other 'mechs with. Just make sure it's got a large engine and you don't neglect your BAP!

Edited by Victor Morson, 13 October 2013 - 03:48 PM.

[Victor Morson]

Vassago Rain, on 13 October 2013 - 03:09 PM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...813a9700001c85d

Best I can do. You can trade a heatsink and armor out for more ammo, but you shouldn't need to.

I was in error, you can do the 5 Streak on the Golden Boy, cool.

However, ER Large are not the way to run this thing. Try this if you want to brawl:
GOLDEN BOY IMPROVED

By losing the lasers you're able to upgrade your engine massively, go Standard instead of XL (more durability), add an AMS + 1 ton of AMS ammo (a lot of lights have Streaks and AMS helps), and also add more ammo with a CASE - getting it out of the legs, which are often a prime target.

That said, it's too slow to properly hunt light 'mechs (see the link on the bottom for that). Instead for the Golden Boy I'd recommend you try this:
LRM Support Golden Boy

The LRM5 won't cause ghost heat linked with the 15s (you can fire all of them at the same time) and it will allow you to run around at a fairly good speed behind your line just pouring fire onto the enemy. If you feel you're running out of ammo too fast, swap the 5 out for more ammunition.

Many people will try to glue "backup" guns on - medlas and such - but if you're going to dedicate to LRM skirmishing, you need to dedicate to it; 2 MLs have never "deterred" anyone from anything; it's better to put that tonnage into ammo & speed.

Anyway, this should work out well to grind money for your Golden Boy.

However you still want to pick up a KTO-18 instead ASAP, to do this:
Proper Lighthunter Kintaro

This is WAY WAY WAY faster and as such, is going to be many times the light hunter. In fact just due to the speed of the Golden Boy being so inferior, you might want to try the LRM setup I was talking about as well. This model is actually seeing serious use, as it's a wrecking machine against Jenners and Spiders.

Edited by Victor Morson, 13 October 2013 - 04:10 PM.

[Victor Morson]

Sorry for writing a book here, but I hope some of this helped you OP. There's a ton of bad advice floating around out there with split-bracket weapon configs and such, or people using arm mounted guns / sacrificing speed and durability for mismatched guns, when really the key is to optimize as much as possible. The Kintaro isn't the best 'mech again because of it's size, but with setups like that you should have no problem getting money for new Cbill chassis.

EDIT: Also the fact the Golden Boy's engine is horribly nerf'ed compared to the 18 is complete and total BS; it's an example of a hero 'mech being worse than it's regular designs, which isn't usually the case.

Edited by Victor Morson, 13 October 2013 - 04:12 PM.

[Vassago Rain]

Victor Morson, on 13 October 2013 - 03:55 PM, said:

I was in error, you can do the 5 Streak on the Golden Boy, cool.

However, ER Large are not the way to run this thing. Try this if you want to brawl:
GOLDEN BOY IMPROVED

By losing the lasers you're able to upgrade your engine massively, go Standard instead of XL (more durability), add an AMS + 1 ton of AMS ammo (a lot of lights have Streaks and AMS helps), and also add more ammo with a CASE - getting it out of the legs, which are often a prime target.

That said, it's too slow to properly hunt light 'mechs (see the link on the bottom for that). Instead for the Golden Boy I'd recommend you try this:
LRM Support Golden Boy

The LRM5 won't cause ghost heat linked with the 15s (you can fire all of them at the same time) and it will allow you to run around at a fairly good speed behind your line just pouring fire onto the enemy. If you feel you're running out of ammo too fast, swap the 5 out for more ammunition.

Many people will try to glue "backup" guns on - medlas and such - but if you're going to dedicate to LRM skirmishing, you need to dedicate to it; 2 MLs have never "deterred" anyone from anything; it's better to put that tonnage into ammo & speed.

Anyway, this should work out well to grind money for your Golden Boy.

However you still want to pick up a KTO-18 instead ASAP, to do this:
Proper Lighthunter Kintaro

This is WAY WAY WAY faster and as such, is going to be many times the light hunter. In fact just due to the speed of the Golden Boy being so inferior, you might want to try the LRM setup I was talking about as well. This model is actually seeing serious use, as it's a wrecking machine against Jenners and Spiders.

You want the ER larges so you can add something before the fighting happens, as the golden boy can't equip a big enough engine to run with fast robots.

#18 can do streaks and med lasers, with a 350 XL, but our noble hero here isn't so lucky, so needs to earn his keep in other ways.