22 replies to this topic

[summet]

I am a little new to Mech Warrior Online, and I am planning on buying my first mech soon. I have found that though the heavies and the assault mechs have great fire power, I cannot stand how slow they move. I die much too fast with them. However, with the light mechs, I find that they are quite fast, but are not very powerful. I stay alive longer and get more kills with the small ones, rather than the heavies. I also was experimenting with the medium mechs, and I have come to love the loadout they have on the trial mech now. I do not know the termanology, but all I know is that it is a Centurion(?). The primary (Left click) weapon is short range missiles and the secondary (Right click) is a laser of some sort.

What I am asking is, should I go with a light or a medium mech? What mech of that type would be good for a (sort of) beginner? Thanks!

[knight-of-ni]

Generally speaking, most are going to recommend a medium mech to start with. In a light mech, one mistake can mean instant death. To do well in a light mech takes practice.
A medium mech is more forgiving. You are not as fast as a light, but you've got much more speed and maneuverability than the larger mechs. A Centurion or a Hunchback would be a great start. However, understand that your opponents will be targeting specific parts of each of these mechs: Centurion (right arm) and Hunchback (the hunch). Once you earn cbills, modify your mechs with this in mind.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

That Centurion is a solid first mech to get.

And if you care, you can get the other Centurions to unlock their Mech efficiencies.


After that you can explore light mechs, but the Cent is a good start.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

That Centurion trial mech is also a variation on one of the most popular builds for that chassis - 3 SRM6 launchers and 2 Medium Lasers. If you ever buy the CN9-A variant yourself, maybe try that build. Also, the Centurion is one of the most durable mechs in the game due to a quirk of the way its destruction model is designed - destroyed components still provide a lot of cover to surviving ones, and drastically reduce damage reaching your centre torso.

So in this case (and being an unashamed Medium pilot myself ) I'd say stick with the Centurion. It's fun, hard-hitting, and almost impossible to put down after you've had some practise.

[summet]

Thank you guys! I was almost about to buy a Centurion, but I wanted to make sure it was a good mech first. I will be buying one and try to emulate the current trial mech build.

[LauLiao]

A solid medium is a good starter mech. I do recommend with most mediums that you put the biggest engine you can fit in it. From what I've found is that mediums really do need a decent bit of speed an maneuverability to stay alive. They have better armor than lights which will protect you from stray fire and potshots, but it won't be enough to stand up do a direct assault.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Big warning to the Centurion, to master the chassis, you are going to either have to buy the Cent9-D (costs about as much as at Atlas mech) or spend real money on Yen-lo-Wang.
Which is why for a very long time, the Hunchback was the suggested medium for new players.

Having said that, I started with the Centurions and have not regretted it in any way.
Am looking forward to when I can afford the Hunchbacks though

[Dawnstealer]

Cents are great starter mechs and tough as nails; you'll last long enough in matches to really learn the game. Bonus that you're not so small that you're an easy kill, or so big that you're always a target. Yeah: Cents are pretty fun. Barring that, going for a Shadowhawk might be comparable.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Shar Wolf, on 31 October 2013 - 11:05 AM, said:

>CN9-D or CN9-YLW

You forgot the AL. It gets a bad rap, but it's still my favourite of the Cents

[summet]

They seem pretty great. I am going to buy it soon.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Arnold J Rimmer, on 31 October 2013 - 11:12 AM, said:

You forgot the AL. It gets a bad rap, but it's still my favourite of the Cents

My big point was the cost of the D, or the real-money aspect of Yenlo
The AL is an awesome mech in and of it's own right (what Centurion isn't though? )

[Bront]

For mediums, Cents, Hunchies, and the soon to be released Shadowhawk should be nice and fit what you want. Cents are Hunchies aren't particularly fast, but they aren't slow either. The Shadowhawk can be fast, but isn't out yet and will require an XL engine to hit those speeds.

For lights, Jenners and Ravens are both good mechs, though some models are better than others (Raven 3L is superior to the others, Jenner D and F are better than the K)

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Yeah, I just realised how much I'd misunderstood your post about 30 seconds ago. My bad!

[summet]

I need to save up for double heat sinks.....

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Yeah, on almost every mech that doesn't already have them. The price doesn't change either. 1.5mil, every time!

[Alaskan Nobody]

JKEnayat, on 31 October 2013 - 12:22 PM, said:

I need to save up for double heat sinks.....

DHS are a killer PITA requirement that I for one rather intensively dislike:
One of my favorite mechs right now is my Locust 1V because 4MG do not require it
Another advantage to mechs like the Centurion, if you do not go for the 'cheese' builds, you can stagger the use of your weapons to avoid heat-buildup

IE - at long range use the Missiles, mid-range either the missiles and AC or just missiles / just AC, then at close range, the lasers and AC or just lasers or just the AC.
It gets even stronger after you add the DHS, but it will let you fight with some effectiveness till then.

[Agryfvar]

It's going to depend on your play style. Do you naturally take to hit and run tactics or are you more effective with short or medium range weapons rather then long?

Once you settle on a play style you will better know which mech should be your first purchase. Once you know that you can outfit almost any mech to match, just be careful as some can be made to match better then others.

[Bront]

Shar Wolf, on 31 October 2013 - 12:27 PM, said:

if you do not go for the 'cheese' builds

I've found cheese doesn't have very good weight efficiency anyway, but damn does it smell great when you overheat!

[Alaskan Nobody]

Bront, on 31 October 2013 - 12:33 PM, said:

I've found cheese doesn't have very good weight efficiency anyway, but damn does it smell great when you overheat!

Burnt some cheese for breakfast this morning (really)

<----- regularly fights 'cheese' 3-SRM6 Centurions in my 'near-stock' AC/5 3-LRM5 Centurion and wins (then proceeds to die horribly because I got cut off from my teammates)
Moral of the story: cheese is good, knowing your mech is better.

Back on topic: almost any mech can be good - when you know how to use it.
Some may be better at the 'top tier' of competitiveness, but if you plan on pugging it - it doesn't matter that much which you choose.

Add to the fact that with DHS and a near 50-50 chance of needing an XL engine (raises the faster you want to go, IF you want to maintain a decent weapon count) almost all the mechs will cost about the same when you are done upgrading them.

IE, when all was said and done, my Centurion-A cost me about as much as my D cost - the D cost more upfront, but it comes partway upgraded.

[summet]

I just bought all I needed to. It works the same, if not better, than the current medium trial mech! It has some heat issues, but I can fix those when I get more money. Any ideas on some more weapons I should get?