76 replies to this topic

[projecteulogy]

Is there a specific reason why new players can't customize their mechs? IMO if you gave us 1 light mech with 2-3 weapons we could interchange, that would make all the difference in the world.

As it sits right now, more experienced players, OR players who have coughed up the money to buy stuff have a gargantuan advantage over new players. The 90 ton Trial Mech is a complete joke. At least pit new players against each other instead of a bunch of rag tag folks against 8 Gold Mechs....

Trial mechs suck. Plain and simple. Tool tip says they "change periodically". Wut? I started last night. in a 16 hour span, I Played several games, Got pissed off and quit for 10 hours to sleep. Either my team kept shooting me, or i'd be in a 60 ton mech, turn a corner and OH HAI 6 90s. my ER LL and GC are like throwing rocks at superman in a hurricane. I get hit by anything whatsoever and my mech goes all kinds of crazy like i just got Donkey punched by Mike Tyson.

Please keep in mind, i'm not new to simulators, or even the Mechwarrior Universe(I started on MPLAYER with Mech2 and have played almost every game up to date INCLUDING the nifty board game which i still have from when I was a kid)

I would honestly be more prone to spending money in game if i could have a little bit of fun first.

Btw. I have yet to get a single kill in any game ive played thus far and thats really disheartening. There are no loadout limits on mech tonnage, armaments, or weapon specifications for fights. just Death Match and CT(F).

Is there anyway to request at the VERY least that the Trial Mechs "change" every few hours? Since it seems like they chance every few days, and that is NOT Periodic. Thats Idiotic.

Otherwise, beautiful graphics and gameplay.

Edited by projecteulogy, 17 December 2013 - 04:37 AM.

[Clydewinder]

I think the matchmaker is the larger problem. The champion mechs used for trial mechs are mostly FAR better than stock mechs but, yes, not as good as some custom builds.

RIght now it seems that the matchmaker will throw new players right in with the wolves early on. I think this is a terrible idea as it is discouraging to players who maybe haven't even found out what kind of mech they like to pilot yet.

That being said, my two cents is that the Dragon trial mech is one of the better ones out there. Use the range advantage of the gauss & try not to engage anything up close. 2 large lasers is too hot for that. Use the superior speed and low profile to hit and run while supporting your team's assault mechs.

[Azulia]

Hi, welcome to MWO.

"I'm not new to this kind of thing" but then "turn a corner and OH HAI six 90's".

Don't expect to do it all at once, and do it all alone. You wont. Not even in a hot-rod tricked out 90 yourself. There're 11 other mechs on your team, stick close with a couple of them, dont engage te enemy head on just because he's there.

Kills *are* fairly few and far between, at least for me, but I'm feeling the fun, and when I get one Isavour it. As well as racking up 5-8 assists on a regular bassis.

Be there for your team, and they will be there for you.

And yeah, its the internet, its a pug-fest, but you get grouped by lance at the start and there are enough players out there who will stick with their lance if you stick with them.

The trial mech's are pretty good - they're not fully optimised, but they are builds that you'll see a lot of almost the same of.
I believe they change every Tuesday after maintenance, but don't quote me.

And don't be fooled by the orange tag and my join date - I've been back and playing for two weeks - I left just after launch, and the game is far better now then it as back then.

Stick with it, you may yet find the fun.

Edited by Azulia, 17 December 2013 - 04:55 AM.

[xMintaka]

The Dragon and Blackjack are probably the best of the bunch. The Dragon because you can use the Gauss and LL's from a fair distance away, and you have the speed to maintain that distance. If you get in close, you're toast. But that's true of any Dragon, no matter how you build it.

The Blackjack is, imo, superb. Jumpjets and a fast AC20 platform to boot. Again, it's not something that can survive being shot at for long (or at all, for that matter) and having such a shortrange loadout makes using it somewhat of a challenge. However, it can be used to devastating effect with just a little practice.

But yeah, as Clydewinder says, the main problem is the matchmaker. I just got out of a match with four trial mechs on my team, the rest an assortment of lights with myself and another Victor being the only assaults. The other team had two Highlanders (poptart), a Cataphract (poptart), two Victors (poptarts) and an Atlas. Safe to say we got wafflestomped.

The ELO system is, unfortunately, what it is. As I understand it, new players with low ELO will be put with higher ELO players to balance out the team to make it "fair".
What you end up with is maybe a pre-made lance of uber-awesome players, four total newbies and four average guys. The other team could end up with 10 great players and 2 newbies.

Guess who wins?

[Thoummim]

One of the problem is new player start with Elo (ingame skill rating not avaible for player to watch) in lower average instead of bottom curve, what it mean is at the very beggining you'll get effectively destroyed by player that know way more about the game than you.

Trial mech aren't that bad actually I don't like most of thembut they are at worse valid, sorry to say that but if you can't score a skill with them, chance are you will not score a kill with anything.

The only thing I can say is dont get discourage analyse your mistake, why you are dead, try to NEVER blame your team (I am guilty of this from time to time :/), doing this you'll get better quickly.

As for trial mech changing periodically its actually every patch so 2weeks of waiting. :/

Edited by Thoummim, 17 December 2013 - 05:03 AM.

[Basskicker]

You could do worse than that highlander for a trial mech. The atlas they had before was horrible... slow... at least with the hgn you got some jj's, not to mention the ac20 in the arm.

I do however agree that a limited customization should be available. Let new players get a feel for the mechbay before they blow their cadet bonus on a mech they really don't know anything about. Like I did when i bought a BJ-1DC. If I had known then what I know now I woulda bought something a little faster, but I was just eager to get my first mech I didn't really care what I was getting.

[projecteulogy]

See thats my problem. I do stick together. I'm saying is that i came around a corner with 4 guys behind me then all of a sudden i got one shot(which is not apparent since i had 6 people hit me at once).

My issue is the severe lack of customization at the beginning of your career. I don't mind not getting kills. In fact i'm used to playing support/ECM mechs in earlier games. I just find it really stupid that out of all the Trial Mechs not one has long range missles. Which is what I die from the most. I know how to duck and cover, but none of the trial mechs have hardly any firepower.

My trial mech of choice IS the dragon. But by the time i charge up my GC ive been hit so hard my reticle has either been thrown into the sky, the dirt, or towards a teammate.

I really enjoyed MW3 thru MW4: Mercs. The Balance of story to PVP was great. Then those nifty folks at MTX came out with an expansion that completely changed the game for the better. Not saying that should be the case here.. but still.

If i ever actually get the money to BUY a mech and it gets destroyed, its not gone forever right? Anyone who's played Steel Battalion knows what i mean lol

Edit:
I'm not a team blamer, with the exception of being legged by my teammate who afterwards says "oops sorry wrong button". So thats w/e. Maybe this game isnt for me. If i can't score at least one kill in the next few days then i'm going to just chalk this up to a waste of harddrive space and move on to something else.

Edited by projecteulogy, 17 December 2013 - 05:08 AM.

[Itsalrightwithme]

I agree that new user experience isn't great. Between the lack of tutorials, resource limitations such as inability to customize mechs, and unforgiving gameplay, it isn't easy to enjoy. I do like your idea of changing the trial mechs more often. Although maybe what should be done is to give more than one trial mech per weight class.

If you've played other MW games, you know that each specific mech build plays to a specific play style and approach. The current ERLL+Gauss assault isn't exactly a brawler. So it will be great to give players options.

Friendly fire isn't cool, you should report it. Unfortunately it does happen sometimes (not often) at lower ELO ratings, which is where you are probably unfortunately stuck in. Sometimes it happens inadvertently when your teammates try to shoot past you. If you say that you often run around a corner to find yourself facing multiple enemies, then my advice is to hold back and follow your team's stompy friends. There is a lot more unforgiving requirement for situational awareness compared to other previous MW games, due to higher heat tolerance and higher damage per weapon.

Shoot at the same things your teammates are, and you're guaranteed a good chance at landing kills. Shoot at things your teammates aren't shooting at, then unless you're a very good shot it will take you a while, especially early in game when targets are still fresh.

And just to make sure, you pay attention to which body parts are missing armor and are ripe for destruction, right?

Good luck, and welcome to the game.

[Basskicker]

No your mechs are yours forever once you get them. But leave yourself about 3 million for customization.

[Itsalrightwithme]

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

See thats my problem. I do stick together. I'm saying is that i came around a corner with 4 guys behind me then all of a sudden i got one shot(which is not apparent since i had 6 people hit me at once).

Next time you shouldn't lead .... never lead in a pug match .

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

My issue is the severe lack of customization at the beginning of your career. I don't mind not getting kills. In fact i'm used to playing support/ECM mechs in earlier games. I just find it really stupid that out of all the Trial Mechs not one has long range missles. Which is what I die from the most. I know how to duck and cover, but none of the trial mechs have hardly any firepower.

I think you need to be more patient, young padawan. If you really have patience, AND you know how to duck and cover, you wouldn't die from LRMs so much.

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

My trial mech of choice IS the dragon. But by the time i charge up my GC ive been hit so hard my reticle has either been thrown into the sky, the dirt, or towards a teammate.

The Gauss Rifle, like LRM, aren't really great weapons for new players because one requires charge-up time and the other requires locks, paying attention to flight paths, etc. If you really like the idea of the Gauss Rifle you should practice in Training Grounds first. Experienced players keep their GR charged as much as possible, instead of waiting for a target to present itself before you charge it up.

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

I really enjoyed MW3 thru MW4: Mercs. The Balance of story to PVP was great. Then those nifty folks at MTX came out with an expansion that completely changed the game for the better. Not saying that should be the case here.. but still.

If you stick with MWO for a bit more, I bet you'll enjoy this game, too. To be honest I think you are suffering from too much expectation or too much excitement or both. We share the love of stompy robot games, and we have to accept that each game is very different, each with its own quirks. It sounds to me you are just starting to discover these quirks. Now you have to accept them and in the process adapt to the game that is MWO.

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

If i ever actually get the money to BUY a mech and it gets destroyed, its not gone forever right? Anyone who's played Steel Battalion knows what i mean lol

No, nothing gets destroyed permanently, at least not in the current version.

[Thoummim]

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:05 AM, said:

I'm not a team blamer, with the exception of being legged by my teammate who afterwards says "oops sorry wrong button".

I didn't wanted to imply that you were one, just wanted to mean sometimes its easier to blame your teamate rather than yourself thus effectively slowing your skill progression.

If you get killed by lrm it mean that you are waaayyyy to much in the open, always stay near cover pay attention to the ennemy lrm boat position, also remember that the dragon is not a good tanker, bad at dueling and should never be frontline (basically suicide in this mech) stay at mid/long range use your speed to get into cover just after you've fired. As said above shoot what your teamate (especially the assaults) are shooting, and never forget to hit "r" for sharing ennemy position with your ally + knowing where the baddy is damaged, shooting where it hurts is often more efficient than going straight CT/leg.

I havent played the dragon in like 11month so my commentary about it is a little outdated :/

Edited by Thoummim, 17 December 2013 - 05:26 AM.

[projecteulogy]

Cadet Bonus..? What Bonus?

I perfer Medium - Heavy. Assault mechs are too slow for me and I just end up being a sitting duck, unless i'm outfiited with LRMS(Hello Longbow) then I can at least put on a beautiful display of power and take out 1-2 people before I die.

Also, I don't lead. Ever. I was actually headed in the direction of my Alpha lance since the other 3 people in my lance were 2 SDR-5K, and a BJ-1. Needless to say those Protectors hurt and hurt bad.

On a brighter note, I just finally got a kill assist and i hit 4mil cbills. I'm very weary of what to buy now after all this.

Also, mechs without ECM, or other Radar imparing abilities need to stay on the freaking map if they are alive. I keep seeing Red Triangles right next to me disappear, so I think theyre dead. This is not the case. I'm assuming this is a bug? I know nothing can be perfect but I do have a pretty high expectation of what I want out of a MW game after playing them for half my life. MWO is fun. But like several previous posters have stated, the beginning stages are extremely difficult, almost hairpulling. Almost like it was done on purpose to MAKE you spend real life money.

[627]

the joke is you have to endure the first 25 matches, in those you get a "cadet bonus" which should sum up something like 7-8 millions beside your "normal" income from the match - that's what you can use for your first mech.

This is a bad mechanic and no one likes it. To be true, we're happy that we got so far. PGI was way more sadistic in closed and open beta with trial mechs and new player experience.

Btw. trial mechs changing periodically means only "maybe every second patch" i.e. monthly if you're lucky.

Edited by 627, 17 December 2013 - 05:30 AM.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

For your first 25 matches, you are rewarded much more for your matches, win or lose. It adds up to ~8 million c-bills in total. You WILL notice when you hit your 26th match, as you'll get a fraction of what you were earning before. This is the Cadet Bonus.

The red triangles only stay on your map as long as you have line of sight to the enemy. You can only see an enemy out of your LOS if someone else on your team has it targeted. Basically every mech in MWO has C3 equipped for free.

EDIT: With regards to your first mech, you should have enough to fully kit out a Medium (Endo-steel and double heat sinks are basically required for all chassis below Heavy - and the cases where DHS are NOT required can be counted on one hand, for any mech in the game), or get a Heavy and do some decent stuff with it, or buy an Assault and run it basically stock for a while as you save for upgrades.

Edited by Arnold J Rimmer, 17 December 2013 - 05:41 AM.

[Itsalrightwithme]

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 05:27 AM, said:

Also, mechs without ECM, or other Radar imparing abilities need to stay on the freaking map if they are alive. I keep seeing Red Triangles right next to me disappear, so I think theyre dead. This is not the case. I'm assuming this is a bug?

Mechs stay targeted only when you have LOS to them. If they are behind you, they don't show up unless either a friendly has them targeted, or you have a 360' Target Retention Module.

[Modo44]

The default in-game mouse sensitivity is very high. Try turning it down all the way. Aiming should become much easier, which in turn should make your weapons feel more potent.

[Mao of DC]

projecteulogy, on 17 December 2013 - 04:36 AM, said:

Trial mechs suck. Plain and simple. Tool tip says they "change periodically". Wut? I started last night. in a 16 hour span, I

The trial mechs change about every 2 weeks with the patch. Should change today along with new mechs and a new map.

The Cadet Bonus is extra money you get for the first 25 matches.

Edited by Mao of DC, 17 December 2013 - 05:58 AM.

[sneeking]

its the way of the new world, licence for classic games you have fond memorys of are purchased by trolls who want to make you suffer.

iv noticed this before with other things I loved and mech warrior is all the final confirmation my theory required.

[Charons Little Helper]

If you think the trial mechs are bad now (the blackjack is quite well built) - they used to be stock loadouts. Ugh - those were awful.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

sneeking, on 17 December 2013 - 06:07 AM, said:

its the way of the new world, licence for classic games you have fond memorys of are purchased by trolls who want to make you suffer.

iv noticed this before with other things I loved and mech warrior is all the final confirmation my theory required.

On topic, please.