39 replies to this topic

[StarGeezer]

Some great advice, I'll just keep it to a simple "Welcome to the game, and make frequent and prudential use of the Training Grounds to learn how to pilot your mechs."

[warhamsterdave]

Once again thank you for all the great tips.

I had already decided that I would concentrate on learning the game using the Med and Heavy mechs that came with the overlord bundle, thanks for confirming that this is a wise decision.

I thought I would leave the more extreme mechs (light and assault) until I had got my head around the controls.

I have had a listen to some of the NGNG podcasts and they seem like good fun and packed with info.

On a side note....

The ship I work on we have a gyroscope stabilised platform on the back and it always makes me think of a giant mechanical spider when it is compensating for the movement of the ship. Maybe this is the beginnings of the mech's of the future, hehe.

Thanks again, countdown to drop on shore is still ticking.

Dave

[warhamsterdave]

Well we came into Great Yarmouth harbour early to swap some of the crew.

Managed to get ashore for a while. Popped into a well known eating establishment for a cup of tea and to use their wifi.

Played the tutorial and spent about an hour in training maps.

Then...da da da da da daaaa.

6 drops, 4 med and 2 heavy using the phoenix mechs.

Great fun, got fragged each game but really enjoyed it. Think I am hooked. A lot more hectic than WoT but I love all the futuristic stuff so this is right up my street.

Hope I can get ashore tomorrow before we are due to sail again,

Dave

[Buckminster]

I played a lot of WoT, but MWO has really taken it's place. I grew up with Battletech, so there is definitely a lot of nostalgia, but that's only part of it. For me, I really like the fact that any mech can have a real influence. Sure, it was historically accurate that some tanks just couldn't penetrate the armor of others, but it's not fun for a game! Even in a 20 ton Locust, my mech can be the difference between a win and a loss, and even when staring down an Atlas, I have a real chance. I also really like the damage aspect of it - I've had matches where I've survived with nothing but a center torso, a head and two legs.

Glad that you enjoy it!

[Koniving]

I'll share my current builds. They're not set in stone but for the most part many of these have been proving very effective.
This one happened just now.


Almost the second I moved the mouse our base was being swarmed by enemies. Some memorable lines from chat.
"Check base. 3 lights incoming."
"4, 5."
"Check the line!"
"6, 7, 8."
"Just say they are all here."
Kon: "Lights, see what you can do about that missile boat or at least keep it busy so I can do something about it."
"Spotters on the ridge on the left."
"That's 3 boats down."

And just a second and a bunch of disconnects before I took the screenshot, "Holy **** Koniving!"

So, here's my rigs.

Spoiler

There. Got 'em up.

Edited by Koniving, 03 November 2013 - 06:47 PM.

[Koniving]

Colby Boucher, on 31 October 2013 - 04:02 AM, said:

2. For your first... 15 matches, I THINK, you will get a "Cadet Bonus" which will massively improve your income. I don't suggest buying your own mech until that period is up.

25 matches. First 25 matches.

[Buckminster]

A Locust with a 120 XL? Are you mad???

[sneeking]

new also and dieing a lot, seems like everyone can shoot three kilometers and see almost five !

I cant see 800m and the only weapons I have access too go 1000m

its tough.

[Buckminster]

sneeking, on 04 November 2013 - 04:09 AM, said:

new also and dieing a lot, seems like everyone can shoot three kilometers and see almost five !

I cant see 800m and the only weapons I have access too go 1000m

its tough.

Some of that is people knowing the maps well, some is coordinated team work, and some is the extra goodies that you unlock through experience.

Check the pilot trees and the efficiencies out. There are a lot of bonuses hidden in there that aren't real apparent to new players, and they add up. It's made worse by the fact that you need three variants of the same chassis to get the good ones. So what ends up happening is people ditch a chassis because "it sucks", when the reality is that they hadn't unlocked it's full potential. Personally, I don't plan on being much of a threat until I have all 8 basic efficiencies unlocked. And even then, the mech isn't in prime form until you've unlocked the 4 elite ones as well.

Check this thread out: http://mwomercs.com/...cies-explained/

[warhamsterdave]

Thanks for the pos coments guys/gals.

Great info Koniving, will def study that when back at sea.

I got my stats wrong earlier.

Was 7 drops (5 med and 2 heavy). Got 14 assists and 1 kill, hehe. happy with that for a newbie.

Will prob get some free time later, new crew not due on till this eve so hope to pop ashore for some wifi and drops.

See you on the drop zone.

Dave

[Demogarose]

lots of awesome advice here, i'll just add:

Find (and join) a guild/unit/faction that you feel fits your style and has people you can get along with well. Team play will improve your experience in MWO by 1000%

i personally joined up with the FWLM: http://housemarik.enjin.com/
but if they're not ur style there are tons of other great units/houses/factions out there to choose from

i cant stress enough how much more fun this game is when you have ppl to play it with (as opposed to PUGiing all the time)

[warhamsterdave]

I can def see what you mean by that. In WoT I am a member of a small clan that platoons together now and then and uses TS3 and it does make it much more fun.

I will concentrate on solo for the near future when I get the odd bit of time ashore but next week I will get 3 weeks at home where I can get more exp and look for some people who would be willing to let me join them in drops.

Thanks for the tip.

Dave

[scJazz]

Here bud... The 3 "Open" TS servers. You can hop on any of them and people will gladly team up with you. Teach you, share with you, and just be good sports.

http://mwomercs.com/...mspeak-servers/

[Koniving]

sneeking, on 04 November 2013 - 04:09 AM, said:

new also and dieing a lot, seems like everyone can shoot three kilometers and see almost five !

I cant see 800m and the only weapons I have access too go 1000m

its tough.

In truth visual of enemies goes to about 3,000 meters. Beyond that they literally disappear on very high graphics at 1280x720 resolution.
The longest possible range of any weapon is 2,160 (the AC/2) and at that range it does 0 damage.

Some quick range rules.
Missiles will not go beyond 5 meters of its stated range and most of the time they won't even get that far.
All energy weapons to include PPCs but excluding flamers go out to double their range.
Flamers cut off at 120 meters and anything beyond 90 is a decimal of a decimal (0.0# damage).

A flamer is in fact a laser. Ignore the particles. All hits are instant.

Ballistics excluding MGs all go out to 3 times their stated range.
MGs max out at double its range like an energy weapon.

MGs as far as the game is concerned are ammo-fed laser weapons in ballistic slots. Ignore the particles, all hits are instant.

At extreme ranges, the bullets do drop for AC weapons (only). Raising your aim slightly beyond 1,000 meters does help. AC/2s barely need raising until the target's 1,500+ meters out. AC/20 needs to be raised just to hit a target at 500 meters in just the right spot.

That said, maybe take a moment to consider your name as an actual approach to some situations? Sneaking is actually a very viable strategy in MWO especially as a light mech but usable as any mech. When not sneaking around, try to stay in a group and remember Murphy's laws of combat. Especially this one: "Try to look unimportant. The enemy may be running low on ammo."

Some stealth examples.

Spoiler

Ninja Commando.


Chase cam following my Hunchback during the days of the 6 PPC Stalkers. My goal was to isolate an enemy to take it on one on one but it quickly becomes to sneak up and assassinate the Stalker.


Stealthy Atlas. The stealth is in the second match.


Panicking BJ. Starts out with stealth until I make a huge mistake, after that it's freaking out and running.


My very first stealth situation. (Music was too loud, voice too quiet. But after 1:26 I get found and very outmatched so I leaped off a cliff and powered down. Unable to find me, the enemy moved on leaving me to do whatever I wanted.)

Edited by Koniving, 04 November 2013 - 09:40 AM.

[sneeking]

thanks koniving, so far iv tryed been up front in heavy but couldn't believe how quickly even small units dropped me.
in lite moving so fast I get hooked up on obstacles while looking sideways shooting, so iv settled on middle size trying to hang back a little and take opportunistic potshots while running for next point of cover.
but solo dropping with no mic I find almost always the people I surrounded myself with always clearing out unnoticed while im preoccupied then im toast.

[Unnatural Growth]

Safest way to run a medium is to find an Atlas, or another assault class mech on your team and become their wingman. They will appreciate the backup, and you'll have someone to divert attention away from you. Fire on whatever your wingman is firing at. Stay by his side, or just slightly behind and to the side. If he gets attacked by enemy lights, help drive them away.

I basically mastered Hunchbacks that way. And that's just PUGging, so no teamspeak channel. Just find that assault in your team roster and type in chat "Hey XXX, I have your back", or "I'm with you". So they know they have backup.

Then just hope like hell the guy knows what he's doing and doesn't lead you to a quick death.

[Hammerhai]

MC are best used for XP to General XP conversion on double XP weekends
And Mech bays. Anything else is optional, although buying Premium time to stack with cadet bonus is good.
Rarely sell a mech
Hoard your weapons to get a basic stock of items to build a mech with rather than sell for half price. Your storage for wpns is unlimited.
Never sell an XL engine. XL engines good to have are
280 XL
300 XL
325/330 XL
350 XL
360 XL

[Buckminster]

A lot of people come in to the game thinking heavies and assaults will be the best, because they have so much armor and weaponry. But they end up slow (especially stock) and are super easy targets. I've been running my Locust lately, and I can't count the number of times I've just danced around a heavy mech, dumping continuous damage into them, while they are lucky to land a hit on me. Some of the heavy and assault guys are good at picking off a small circling light, but new guys never are.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that there is no shame in running from a fight if the tide is turning against you. Especially in a medium mech, where you don't have as much armor. I know - it's hard - especially when you have that guy almost dead and you're just focused on putting that final nail in his coffin. But knowing when to scoot is the most important skill for the lights and mediums to know.

[warhamsterdave]

Many thanks again.

I managed to get 14 drops in while ashore. Looks like Mon/Tue will be my next chance to play.

I must try to avoid getting caught alone, I keep seeing an un guarded flank and keep going to keep an eye on it and end up fighting on my own and getting fragged.

I will def try to take the advice about backing up an assault mech when I can next get on.

Dave

[Samual Kalkin]

Everyone is always stick with your team, but I have a very different view on this. There are all too many pug teams that are just not worrth sticking with. Most players are under the delusion that they are mechwarrior gods, but do nothing but hide and try to poptart a couple times minute or spam LRMs from where they think they are immune to enemy fire. Unless you happen to really be good, you will be forever stuck in these scrub ranges that crappy players like I will never get out of.

So, you will find at least half your teams are so gutless it's painful to watch. Just wait a few minutes for a shot at a kamikaze run with the chance of a kill or two, and you can move to the next match. Maybe you will get lucky and have a team with balls bigger than BBs that will actually fight, and all of a sudden your kamikaze will turn into a real charge. I do get a few of those and the game suddenly becomes fun for a match here and there. Even if I get killed early, those rare matches where your team actually engages instead of keeps running away are fun to just spectate on.