181 replies to this topic

[Crotch RockIt]

Shar Wolf, on 14 May 2014 - 12:21 PM, said:

Grats then, you know if he actually enjoys the game, (IE he is one of those that prefers to talk smack about the things he likes?)

Because if he actually means what he says - I am amazed that he still plays.

(I am not trying to make fun of him, or make him look bad)

I don't really know the guy too well or anything, but I can tell that he's a die-hard Battletech fan that rages because he's frustrated about the current state of the game. I'm no psychiatrist, but I guess his love of the franchise outweighs his hatred of PGI, so he still plays (for now).

[Alaskan Nobody]

Crotch RockIt, on 14 May 2014 - 12:34 PM, said:

but I can tell that he's a die-hard Battletech fan that rages because he's frustrated about the current state of the game.

I consider myself pretty die hard, but one of the things BT/MW has taught me, is that you cannot take things to seriously.

Especially considering how fragmented BT/MW is
(IE - there are sourcebooks out there that put the MG for the Twolf in each side - and others that put one CT and one on the side - was a massive source of contention when the announced the hardpoints for the prime Twolf - with both sets of sourcebooks being quoted and linked to)

Only problem I ever had with Victor was his "My way or you suck" attitude, which does not work with a series like BT/MW (or much of anything, but especially a series like this one)

[Solveig]

i think centurions are the best mech to start with. very forgiving hitboxes, varied loadouts, it teaches the value of torso twisting, and being a medium, it teaches you to pick your fights

[Photec]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b9308a8c7cb8035

About the thunderbolt 9SE being bad: It really isn't. It's a pretty sweet little brawler that can pick apart light mechs and assaults alike if played right.

My build is similar to what was being run in the FRR Viking challenge. I have downgraded my engine slightly to gain more heatsinks.

Is it a competitive metamech? No. Does it require some slight amount of skill in not alphastriking everything? Yes. Is it perfectly fine for PUGdrops? Absofreakinlutely.

I use different variations of this build when I want to have fun and not just play a gauss/ERPPC cat 3D, an AC5-PPC Victor (B/S or DS)

Many people seem to believe that the TDR is ****, thus they leave you alone and go for what they perceive to be a more dangerous target, With the LPLs you can make them regret that decision fairly quickly.

Battlemasters are also mechs that have an underservedly poor reputation, but that is for another post.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Solveig, on 14 May 2014 - 12:40 PM, said:

i think centurions are the best mech to start with. very forgiving hitboxes, varied loadouts, it teaches the value of torso twisting, and being a medium, it teaches you to pick your fights

Similar thing with the Hunchbacks
(slightly less forgiving hitboxes - but simpler weapon groups, and more emphasis on learning to twist)

Both are STD engine friendly - which is a bonus over the Shadowhawk.

[qki]

Shar Wolf, on 14 May 2014 - 11:42 AM, said:

What is sad is that is about word for word what he said just before he quit.

In his defense though (Surprise!!) in the uber-intensive-competitive-crowd - any advantage is huge, even a 0.00000000001% increase.
So for the uber-competitive, only the 5* units/moves/whatever are any kind of viable.

His big mistake was believing that was true for even the non-uber-competitive.

Only the problem is - tactics will account for over 50% of your results. Having a better loadout is nice, but boiling everything down to "when two equally skilled pilots meet and duke it out, the one in the better mech will win" just doesn't work.

A situation like that will almost never happen in the game - there will be prior damage on both mechs. One pilot may "get the drop" on the other and get a free hit or two in. Or take advantage of a fight - having a teammate with you is often much more of a factor than a "more efficient" mech. Barring my lurmcat, my YLW is my favourite, and most successful 'mech,and I run it in pugs with an AC20, 2ML, and a 250 standard engine.

Likewise - a little flexibility is required when dealing with online games. While many people criticise UI2.0, I can vouch, that it isn't worse than world of warplanes UI. And throwing a tantrum "because the devs said there wouldn't be a 3rd person view in the game" is just childish.

My first reaction to 3pv was "screw that - get to work on something that needs doing", but once it was in the game and it turned out not worth using except maybe once in a blue moon, I went about my buisness. And the militant crowd pointing out carfully selected screenshots as "proof" that 3pv is an advantage over 1st person, have only made me laugh.



As for "newbie 'mechs", here's my $0.02:


Pick a medium, or a LRM boat. Seriously. Brawler heavies and assaults are slow, which can be very unforgiving to new players until they get their positioning right. And the heavy armour and firepower can be decieving, while light mechs require a more specialised approach. Mediums, on the other hand, are more mobile, and can take a decent amount of abuse (shadow hawks and centurions especially). LRMs, maligned as they are, are fairly simple to use effectively and once you learn the dos and don'ts, will produce a decent amount of kills.

[Alaskan Nobody]

qki, on 14 May 2014 - 01:55 PM, said:

Pick a medium, or a LRM boat. Seriously.

I would argue that - but it is very good general advice.
For example, I have known a lot of people who - for whatever reason, did not learn much useful playing LRM boats.
At the same time - the LRM boat puts you far enough back, that you can (hopefully!) watch the ebb and flow of the battle, letting you learn through observing your teammates/foes.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Mycrus, on 14 May 2014 - 03:44 PM, said:

.....
I want this one stickied...

/

[Ursh]

Shar Wolf, on 14 May 2014 - 12:49 PM, said:

Similar thing with the Hunchbacks
(slightly less forgiving hitboxes - but simpler weapon groups, and more emphasis on learning to twist)

Both are STD engine friendly - which is a bonus over the Shadowhawk.

All mechs are STD engine friendly. Some mechs are not XL engine friendly.

Other than laser boating on one of the hback variants, there's really nothing the centurion or hback do particularly better than the shawk.

[Mynder]

I think Hunchbacks can be leveled fairly cheaply, because in most variants, you are going to use STD engines. So if you look to master a first chassis cheaply, the HBK is not really a bad choice.

That said, Save up for an XL300, and you will find a number of workable builds for all she Shadowhawk variants using it (and be able to use that XL300 in many, many other mechs, too).

And yes, the SHD can run on STD engines, too. It's not that common, though, because damage spreads out well, and the XL makes it a much harder hitter.

[Modo44]

Two big things: 1. The guide is missing the Highlander nerfs which made it much harder to drive and generally inferior to the Victor. 2. There is no disclaimer whatsoever about most bad mechs (i.e. most mechs, period) actually being OK below the all-meta-all-the-time bracket. Provided the pilot has enough overall experience and practice with a mech, even a Lolcust can be useful.

[Itsalrightwithme]

Let's take a step back: What do you guys think will actually make a guide useful to new players?

Thinking back to when I was very new to MWO, here are some things that bothered me:

1. Aiming.

I never played FPS before, or at least not in multiplayer setting. So for the longest time I knew I sucked at aiming/shooting and thought I would never improve. This pushed me away from PPC, AC, Gauss.

2. Positioning.

Another aspect that took me a very long time to figure out was about positioning, esp relative to teammates and opponents.

3. Being useful to the team.

Very hard to learn on your own. Should I charge in with my hair on fire? How do I distract enemy mechs? How I help teammates kill one?

4. Countering specialists.

Meaning, how do I deal with a team of LRMers? With a very good sniper?

5. Which mechs to choose.

It was a big deal in closed beta, but as we have so many mechs today it gets complicated to new players. Are Jenners a better bet than Ravens because the Jenner actually has more "good" variants? What about Jagermech versus Catapult? Should one start in Assault class or Heavy?

Usually when I talk to new players 1-on-1 I feel I can help gauge confidence in different factors (aiming, positioning, avoiding fire) and thus make a good recommendation, but what about on the forums? It's really hard.

One thing that I argue is overlooked, is that 12-v-12 pug games are a worse venue for learning than 8-v-8 pug games were. Let's try something different this time.

So may I suggest the following: let's use Lobbies to teach and to learn.

Lobbies have many advantages. We can limit number of players per team, we can select maps and game modes, etc. That way we can explore and teach specific aspects of the game.

Whoever are interested in helping new players get started, let's organize sessions where we can play 4-v-4 or even 8-v-8, with each team consisting of experienced players and new players. Of course, there has to be one player per side with premium time. We can pick themes, such as brawling, light mechs, sniping, etc. I ran these sessions in an old outfit mostly for my own selfish reason since I wanted to learn to do specific things from players I knew were experts, and what better way to get their help than through flattery?

Anyway, let's discuss.

Edited by Itsalrightwithme, 15 May 2014 - 08:54 AM.

[qki]

Ursh, on 15 May 2014 - 05:40 AM, said:

All mechs are STD engine friendly. Some mechs are not XL engine friendly.

Other than laser boating on one of the hback variants, there's really nothing the centurion or hback do particularly better than the shawk.

But some are more standard engine friendly, than others (Orwell anyone?) - the centurion used to be one such mech, with prominent side torsos that absorbed a good deal of damage.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Ursh, on 15 May 2014 - 05:40 AM, said:

There's really nothing the centurion or hback do particularly better than the shawk.

STD engine friendly usually means that you are better off with a STD than an XL.

As for doing better - there is a LOT they do better.

They just do not do it well enough to counter the 5 extra tons the Shawk brings to the field.

[Mycrus]

Locusts are five stars...

[Alaskan Nobody]

Mycrus, on 15 May 2014 - 03:27 PM, said:

Locusts are five stars...

Zero point five actually.

[Mycrus]

Shar Wolf, on 15 May 2014 - 03:29 PM, said:

Zero point five actually.

Five in my hands... like all other mechs...

One of my favorite mechs is the missile locust... absolute gold...

[Tekadept]

[White Bear 84]

Crotch RockIt, on 14 May 2014 - 12:34 PM, said:

I don't really know the guy too well or anything, but I can tell that he's a die-hard Battletech fan that rages because he's frustrated about the current state of the game. I'm no psychiatrist, but I guess his love of the franchise outweighs his hatred of PGI, so he still plays (for now).

I know what you mean. Like myself, I know a number of players that are a bit frustrated at a number of aspects of the game (which I will not go into details so to not go off topic). Needless to say, why do we stick around?

Because we love Mechwarrior! But id be damned we want the game to be much more, in so many ways.... ...but then that is a topic for one of the 100's of thread on that subject.

[LordKnightFandragon]

Whats Ghost heat all about? Just heat you start with and have just by operating the mech?