29 replies to this topic

[a gaijin]

Hello MWO Community!

I have been a Mechwarrior fan since MW2 so in 2012 when I saw there was this "Founder's program" to support a new Mechwarrior game I paid in just to support the Mechwarrior franchise but due to a lot of things I haven't had a chance to get into MWO at all.

Now that it finally looks like I can game again I went out and bought a Cyborg joystick and looking forward to playing some Mechwarrior again.

I was wondering: How good are these Founder's mechs?

I saw the YouTube videos of the "Operation Inception" Mechs and of them all, they make the Catapult look like a killer but then reading through these forums a bit I saw that there have been a series of "weapon balance tweaking" patches that changed the weapon dynamics (make some weapons stronger while weakening or penalyzing others).

Will weapons continually be tweaked so some are better one week and then watered down the next? What's the deal?
I'm used to games where there are few changes to the damage dynamics after release.

Thanks to any people out there who can explain this. It's appreciated.

[AlexEss]

The founders mechs are not special in any way beyond that you get more C-Bills while using them. Beyond that they function just like any other mech of said model.

Now what individual build that works best is not something i can say as it all depends on your playstyle and preferences

As for weapons.. Yes this is a on-line game. There will be continuous weapon tweaking and balancing to try and reach a point where no weapon is overly much better then any other.

Edited by AlexEss, 09 January 2014 - 11:41 PM.

[Rushin Roulette]

Actually, since the change to online patches around 15-20 years ago there has hardly been any game which has not been continuously changed (Exception would be where the developers have given up on the product or it only has a very limited number of weapons).

Any game where the development is still active or there is a large number of skills/weapons which can be tuned will be tuned at a regular basis.

As for the Founder Mechs, just because one type of weapon is less good than others at the moment does not mean that you have to use that weapon on that Mech. Every mech is completely tuneable to the extent of what weapon slots are included. Just because the catapult has small lasers, does not mean that it is unable to add a large pulse laser instead or the LRMs changed to SRMs or SSRMs.

[SnagaDance]

And to add to this. You will want to start customizing those mechs as you play with them. Use those C-bills for useful upgrades. New/other weapon systems, engine upgrades, Double Heatsinks, Endo or Ferro-Fibrous.

And of course using the xp earned in-game to unlock your skills. A mech with no skills unlocked is very different from exactly the same mech (in terms of load-out) that has all his Elite skills unlocked.

To this end you'll need more mechs from that same chassis so I'd suggest picking one of your mechs you think you'll like (do you want to zip around in your Jenner or slowly and methodically pick apart your opponents in an Atlas, or anything in between?) and start focussing on that mech to upgrade and unlock skills for.

Asking about certain mech load-outs will help as well as playing around with this excellent mech construction program:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/

Good luck and see you on the battlefield!

[Mycrus]

All the founders mechs are good and viable...

[Koniving]

Founder's mechs. All recorded in chase cam goodness.

Spoiler

Founder's Atlas using joke build (2 tons of ammo, no real weapon focus, left over tonnage)


Founder's Hunch (minor vid of ninja hunch and awesome vid of hit and hammer hunch)
Ninja Hunch


Hit and hammer -- my favorite hunchback rig, this recording is my first time using it


Founder's Catapult (takes a beating and keeps going)
Two part short: Takes beating



Close range brawling

Note that in every video I'm benefiting from the support of ECM jamming enemies from seeing my status, as the Camera Commando is sporting ECM. It's only effective when he's within 180 meters of me.

[Redshift2k5]

Founder's mechs are all still solid mechs with solid builds. Some of them have even been improved recently with updated hitboxes (all four have bene updated but "improved" is a matter of opinion in some cases)

Weapon balance changes affect all mechs, and while some builds come and go, newer mechs are not better than the starting lineup in anyway. The newest 65 tonner, the Thunderbolt, is in no way more powerful or useful than the original 65 tonner, the Catapult. A Catapult C1 with two LRM15 is not as good as it used to be, but the chassis itself is still useful. Other factors, such as ECM, may make some mechs less desirable (The Atlas DDC is generally regarded as superior to any other Atlas, including the base variant, due to it's powerful ECM suite).

Weapons, equipment ,and mechs are all being changed all the time.

[a gaijin]

Thank you to all for the info, links, and the videos. Great info and interesting vids!

For the purpose of _quickly_ learning the "new" dynamics of MWO (compared to say, Mechwarrior 3), I have to assume the trial by fire of repeatedly getting blasted to bits is the only way, right?
What I used to like about the old MW games was that you could practice against "drones" in single player MechWarrior before jumping online but that's not an option in this MW.

Also, I read on another post that this version of MechWarrior is *not* joystick friendly. Is this true?

[Buckminster]

HeroForHire, on 12 January 2014 - 07:27 PM, said:

Thank you to all for the info, links, and the videos. Great info and interesting vids!

For the purpose of _quickly_ learning the "new" dynamics of MWO (compared to say, Mechwarrior 3), I have to assume the trial by fire of repeatedly getting blasted to bits is the only way, right?
What I used to like about the old MW games was that you could practice against "drones" in single player MechWarrior before jumping online but that's not an option in this MW.

Also, I read on another post that this version of MechWarrior is *not* joystick friendly. Is this true?

There is a training grounds option - the targets aren't live but it'll give you a chance to get the feel of the movement and the weapon groups.

And as for being joystick friendly, it depends. I started trying to use joystick & throttle, and it was pretty bad. Using the joystick to aim just doesn't work. But I saw a post here about using off-hand joystick for movement and mouse for aiming, and it's brilliant. I think analog movement controls are a must, but mouse aiming is so much more precise.

[Gambit001]

I know of players who use the joystick/rudder pedal combo exclusively while playing MWO.
According to them, it takes getting used to in the beginning, particularly if you are using the pedals for turning.
The joystick is mostly for torso twisting and aiming.
The dynamics for aiming also change if you have the armlock option on or off.
In any case, it would be great if you use the Training Grounds to familiarize yourself with the controls before heading out to battle.
You can also practice aiming and firing at stationary targets while moving (sorry, no drones yet).
In a similar but divergent note, since you have not been playing MWO for a while, I would suggest you try the hottest map for you to familiarise yourself with the mech loadout's heat limitations as well ;-)
Best of luck with the game man, and see you on the battlefield. o7

[Roughneck45]

All of the founders mechs are solid. These are some of my favorite builds for them.

JR7-D

HBK-4G

CPLT-C1

AS7-D

See which one you like the most, then save up for two other variants of that mech. Then you can start unlocking all the skills from the mech trees in the pilot lab. They make a big difference for each mech once you get them.

Edited by Roughneck45, 12 January 2014 - 10:16 PM.

[Acyl]

HeroForHire - I'm in a very similar position to you. That is, I got the Founder's pack to support the game, but didn't actually start playing seriously until recently. I did play a little during closed beta, though.

So from that perspective...it's actually good, in a way, that you're only coming in now. The game's changed a fair bit since beta, and I feel the net changes are positive.

Regarding the Founder's mechs, the Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult and Atlas are still considered solid BattleMechs. They're not necessarily the best or most favoured mech types...but they're good.

Most people don't recommend that new players start off in Assault mechs, but...even today you'll see people recommending that new players at least look at picking up a Jenner, Hunchback or Catapult.

Now, the way MWO works, you actually want to be gaining XP on at least three variants of the same mech to fill out their basic skills. That lets you unlock the elite tier of skills for that mech chassis, you see. So if you're at all interested in the family of mechs...even if, say, you want to play a Catapult CPT-K2 and what you have is a CPT-C1(F), well, that's still good. You'd want to put playtime in the CPT-C1(F) anyway.

Finally...bonuses stack, so there's the new player C-bill bonus for 25 matches, the bonus C-bill and XP earning premium time you can activate, plus the C-bill bonus from your mech. That lets you earn a lot of cash quickly, which you can either put towards upgrading your Founder mechs, or purchasing a new chassis if you find the Founder mechs are not to your liking.

One note - given your location tag says you're in Japan - you'll probably have higher ping than the majority of players in a match. That can't be helped, unfortunately. I have the same issue, since I'm also in Asia. I've found it's not usually a problem unless in extremely close combat, which is why I favour long to mid-range, and it's improved markedly since beta.

Additional Note: You specifically mentioned the Catapult in your post. The CPT-C1 (identical to the CPT-C1(F) founders mech) is still considered one of the best LRM platforms around. This is what I personally use. Now, whether you want to use LRMs a lot...that's a different question. If you hate LRM gameplay, then the chassis isn't so great. The CPT-C1 doesn't work as well as an SRM short-ranged mech. Some early videos you've seen may have shown that...but, no, that isn't that viable these days. The CPT-K2 is still reasonably popular as a direct-fire long-range mech; the Jaegermech might be better, but if you're already invested in the Catapult line, it might be something to look at.

Edited by Acyl, 13 January 2014 - 02:54 AM.

[WVAnonymous]

All four founder's mechs are fine. In order to keep from going crazy while leveling up the Locusts that came with Overlord I've gone back to rotating through my oldest mechs. I just had one of (possibly the absolute) the best matches I have ever had and I was in the founder Atlas. It is Pilot XP'ed all the way through Master which makes an enormous difference on all mechs, so that's an important consideration.

Glad to have you back!

[a gaijin]

First of all thanks for welcoming me back I'm encouraged that my delayed entry is actually a good thing.
It's good to be back in the original 31st Century Combat series!

Buckminster, on 12 January 2014 - 07:44 PM, said:

There is a training grounds option - the targets aren't live but it'll give you a chance to get the feel of the movement and the weapon groups.

And as for being joystick friendly, it depends. I started trying to use joystick & throttle, and it was pretty bad. Using the joystick to aim just doesn't work. But I saw a post here about using off-hand joystick for movement and mouse for aiming, and it's brilliant. I think analog movement controls are a must, but mouse aiming is so much more precise.

Gambit001, on 12 January 2014 - 07:52 PM, said:

I know of players who use the joystick/rudder pedal combo exclusively while playing MWO.
According to them, it takes getting used to in the beginning, particularly if you are using the pedals for turning.
The joystick is mostly for torso twisting and aiming.
The dynamics for aiming also change if you have the armlock option on or off.
In any case, it would be great if you use the Training Grounds to familiarize yourself with the controls before heading out to battle.
You can also practice aiming and firing at stationary targets while moving (sorry, no drones yet).
In a similar but divergent note, since you have not been playing MWO for a while, I would suggest you try the hottest map for you to familiarise yourself with the mech loadout's heat limitations as well ;-)
Best of luck with the game man, and see you on the battlefield. o7

Honestly I'm seriously hoping to get a joystick-only config that works like we had in MW2, 3, and 4.
Currently I notice considerable lag in torso twist speed with the joystick (unacceptably slow). The mouse feels about 40% faster ... but also feels "fake" somehow because I'm using a mouse... like I'm not actually playing Mechwarrior despite the beautiful graphics. Call me a "purist"
Fortunately I happened upon a thread here called "Attention Joystick Users" by Mr. Paul Inouye that discusses editing the config file to get joystick adjustments within acceptable specs...after the user does a lot of tweaking and in-game experimentation. I plan to start tackling that beastie this evening at the training grounds. ***Fingers Crossed***

Roughneck45, on 12 January 2014 - 10:13 PM, said:

All of the founders mechs are solid. These are some of my favorite builds for them.

JR7-D

HBK-4G

CPLT-C1

AS7-D

See which one you like the most, then save up for two other variants of that mech. Then you can start unlocking all the skills from the mech trees in the pilot lab. They make a big difference for each mech once you get them.

Acyl, on 13 January 2014 - 02:40 AM, said:

This is what I personally use.

WVAnonymous, on 13 January 2014 - 01:45 PM, said:

All four founder's mechs are fine. In order to keep from going crazy while leveling up the Locusts that came with Overlord I've gone back to rotating through my oldest mechs. I just had one of (possibly the absolute) the best matches I have ever had and I was in the founder Atlas. It is Pilot XP'ed all the way through Master which makes an enormous difference on all mechs, so that's an important consideration.

Glad to have you back!

Thank you Roughneck and Acyl: very nice designs and looking over them really got me thinking about what I used to love piloting:
Mad Dogs, Summoner C (with extra ammo), Timber Wolves, Kodiaks... and occaaaaasionally Novas and Ebon Jaguars despite lack of torso twist.

I noticed something interesting in comparing Roughneck's and Acyl's CPLT-C1: One has CT armor '66 of 66' as opposed to '56 of 56.'
Why the difference?

WVAnonymous, Roughneck, thanks for the Pilot tree reminder -- I've got no doubt those unlocked abilities will make a ton of difference.

WVAnonymous, out of the mechs you got in the Overlord package which one did you end up like liking best?

Acyl, on 13 January 2014 - 02:40 AM, said:

HeroForHire - I'm in a very similar position to you. That is, I got the Founder's pack to support the game, but didn't actually start playing seriously until recently. I did play a little during closed beta, though.

So from that perspective...it's actually good, in a way, that you're only coming in now. The game's changed a fair bit since beta, and I feel the net changes are positive.

Regarding the Founder's mechs, the Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult and Atlas are still considered solid BattleMechs. They're not necessarily the best or most favoured mech types...but they're good.

Most people don't recommend that new players start off in Assault mechs, but...even today you'll see people recommending that new players at least look at picking up a Jenner, Hunchback or Catapult.

Now, the way MWO works, you actually want to be gaining XP on at least three variants of the same mech to fill out their basic skills. That lets you unlock the elite tier of skills for that mech chassis, you see. So if you're at all interested in the family of mechs...even if, say, you want to play a Catapult CPT-K2 and what you have is a CPT-C1(F), well, that's still good. You'd want to put playtime in the CPT-C1(F) anyway.

Finally...bonuses stack, so there's the new player C-bill bonus for 25 matches, the bonus C-bill and XP earning premium time you can activate, plus the C-bill bonus from your mech. That lets you earn a lot of cash quickly, which you can either put towards upgrading your Founder mechs, or purchasing a new chassis if you find the Founder mechs are not to your liking.

One note - given your location tag says you're in Japan - you'll probably have higher ping than the majority of players in a match. That can't be helped, unfortunately. I have the same issue, since I'm also in Asia. I've found it's not usually a problem unless in extremely close combat, which is why I favour long to mid-range, and it's improved markedly since beta.

Additional Note: You specifically mentioned the Catapult in your post. The CPT-C1 (identical to the CPT-C1(F) founders mech) is still considered one of the best LRM platforms around. This is what I personally use. Now, whether you want to use LRMs a lot...that's a different question. If you hate LRM gameplay, then the chassis isn't so great. The CPT-C1 doesn't work as well as an SRM short-ranged mech. Some early videos you've seen may have shown that...but, no, that isn't that viable these days. The CPT-K2 is still reasonably popular as a direct-fire long-range mech; the Jaegermech might be better, but if you're already invested in the Catapult line, it might be something to look at.

Thanks for pointing out the C-Bill stacking. I'd like to get the most "bang for the buck" as possible.

I mentioned above the mechs I really felt I was able to bond with in the older Mechwarrior games and saw they plan to sell a lot of those very models later this year but read Piranha's announcement that they plan to somehow water them down for the sake of game balance (which I guess is why all MechWarrior games aren't considered canon :/ )... so though I want them I'm not planning on buying any... yet.

One thing you mentioned that really caught my interest was that our higher ping affects close range combat. How much does it effect things for us?
The first thing that comes to my mind is to choose a heavily armored, medium fast mech with long range weapons, to stay on the periphery, and shoot in.

I haven't really been able to bond with any specific mech model yet. I've only tried out the stock Founder's Catapult and Hunchback so far and... they don't really float my boat -- but I got to thinking maybe I'd feel different if their Pilot Trees were unlocked.

Regarding your comment on the Catapult and LRMs in particular, in older MW games LRMs were great for softening up targets before dropping the hammer; and in MW2 and 3 they were kinda overpowered and sometimes you could even complete entire missions using only LRMS and a small pulse laser or 2.
Are LRMs in MWO as effective as they were in MW2 and 3?

BTW how come most people don't recommend that new players start off in Assault mechs?
Really curious about that!

Gambit001, on 12 January 2014 - 10:13 PM, said:

try the hottest map for you to familiarise yourself with the mech loadout's heat limitations as well ;-)

Thank you very much for this piece of invaluable advice for testing out cooling capabilites!!



Looking forward to seeing the war heat up between the Inner Sphere Houses fighting themselves, and the Clans..also doing the same.

This last note is kind of unrelated to the topic but I can't resist mentioning it:
It would be ALL KINDS of AWESOME if MW2 was remade using this engine.
Refusal War, anyone?

Thanks again for the advice and GREAT info -- Looking forward to seeing you all out on the battlefield.

[Sephlock]

Founder's mechs also indicate to everyone in the area that you are a better person than them.

Never forget that.

[Buckminster]

In response to a few points:

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

Honestly I'm seriously hoping to get a joystick-only config that works like we had in MW2, 3, and 4.
Currently I notice considerable lag in torso twist speed with the joystick (unacceptably slow). The mouse feels about 40% faster ... but also feels "fake" somehow because I'm using a mouse... like I'm not actually playing Mechwarrior despite the beautiful graphics. Call me a "purist"
Fortunately I happened upon a thread here called "Attention Joystick Users" by Mr. Paul Inouye that discusses editing the config file to get joystick adjustments within acceptable specs...after the user does a lot of tweaking and in-game experimentation. I plan to start tackling that beastie this evening at the training grounds. ***Fingers Crossed***

I was also a joystick purist - I grew up on all the old sim games and it's what I really wanted this to be. But there's a good article floating around about why joysticks stink for aiming (something about zero-order input vs first order input), and my experience mirrors that. A custom built zero-order joystick would rock for aiming (or maybe you could modify a Steel battalion controller), but the Force Feedback 2 I'm using didn't cut it. The problem was really in the dead zones - my joystick had a very hard time making small corrections.

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

I noticed something interesting in comparing Roughneck's and Acyl's CPLT-C1: One has CT armor '66 of 66' as opposed to '56 of 56.'
Why the difference?

It's about the amount of front armor vs rear armor. The total has to be less then 98. (for the Catapult)

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

WVAnonymous, out of the mechs you got in the Overlord package which one did you end up like liking best?

Can't speak for WVAnonymous, but for me it's been the Shadow Hawk. The Locust is fun for laughs though.

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

I mentioned above the mechs I really felt I was able to bond with in the older Mechwarrior games and saw they plan to sell a lot of those very models later this year but read Piranha's announcement that they plan to somehow water them down for the sake of game balance (which I guess is why all MechWarrior games aren't considered canon :/ )... so though I want them I'm not planning on buying any... yet.

I'd definitely hold off on buying anything clan until they sort out a lot of the other content. Without the Community Warfare aspect of it, there's no telling what it'll really mean.

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

I haven't really been able to bond with any specific mech model yet. I've only tried out the stock Founder's Catapult and Hunchback so far and... they don't really float my boat -- but I got to thinking maybe I'd feel different if their Pilot Trees were unlocked.

Any stock mech is going to be rubbish. Due to the mixed technology levels (ES, DHS, FF, XL, ER, Pulse, Artemis, AMS, etc) the basic stock mechs are at a disadvantage.

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

Regarding your comment on the Catapult and LRMs in particular, in older MW games LRMs were great for softening up targets before dropping the hammer; and in MW2 and 3 they were kinda overpowered and sometimes you could even complete entire missions using only LRMS and a small pulse laser or 2.
Are LRMs in MWO as effective as they were in MW2 and 3?

LRMs have gone through phases of "why bother" to "OMG it's raining death". They're currently in a decent spot - effective but not too effective. But PGI is constantly tweaking the game, so that may vary.

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

BTW how come most people don't recommend that new players start off in Assault mechs?
Really curious about that!

Because they are completely unforgiving. With as slow as they are they make easy targets, and if you get outmaneuvered, you'll soon have every opposing mech firing on you. And I don't care if you are in an Atlas, once you have a few mechs focusing on you, you will die.

[WVAnonymous]

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 12:40 AM, said:

...

WVAnonymous, out of the mechs you got in the Overlord package which one did you end up like liking best?

...

BTW how come most people don't recommend that new players start off in Assault mechs?
Really curious about that!

...

I am really enjoying the Shadowhawks. The extra 5 tons over a Hunchback + JJ capability makes a real difference, given how much difference mobility makes as a self-defense tool. The Battlemasters are fine, but in that weight range Victors work better for me, again because the JJ capability.

Assaults are tricky to run. As Buckminster said, they are easy targets. I think many people preferentially attack assaults because it is so much easier to convert firing into damage. Even with two or three times the armor of a light, you are four or five times easier to hit.

Lights are equally tricky. It is fairly normal to see Spiders and Jenners with damage over 500 because even with lower damage/second outputs, the survivability can be so much higher. On the other hand, you have to be physically (end equipment) capable of running over 130 kph non-stop while connecting with your target.

Medium/Heavy are better compromises for a lot of pilots (as long as you don't buy Dragons... )

[wanderer]

Sephlock, on 14 January 2014 - 01:57 AM, said:

Founder's mechs also indicate to everyone in the area that you are a better person target than them.

Never forget that.

Fixed that for ya.

Anyway, regarding the original foursome- they're matches for the stock versions, but give you a bit of a faster grind, as noted.

The Jenner to this day is one of the quintessential light 'Mechs. Punches hard for the weight, can be modded up to a true speed demon, and good jump capacity to keep it going whatever direction you need to be going. It's a 35-ton pirhana fish- ignore it and suffer, try to hit it and curse, and -just- big enough to survive some abuse if it screws up.

Hunchbacks aren't nimble, but who cares? Strap on a Gauss if you want to snipe. Or keep the AC/20. Or confuse the heck out of people and put two PPC's on the thing's arms. Just remember that people will aim for that hump- I know some HBK classic pilots that strap a big ol' gun on the left arm just because everyone and their grandma aims for the ballistic hardpoint on the opposite side and laugh when people think it's defanged.

Catapults are classic-built for LRM use, but you -can- strap a high-end XL engine in one, put some Streaks and a Beagle Probe in her, and go hunting. Jump jets make you a mite more agile than many heavies are, after all. Or disdain the missiles entirely and build around those quad energy hardpoints. 3 large lasers was a common budget build back in the day, or just a pair of ER PPC's to be a wannabe K2 pilot.

Of the four, the Atlas shows it's age the worst- being big and slowest, it's oft considered outshined by the more mobile Highlander. You can brawl with it, but it's a big target that armor can shield only so long. I prefer modding them for long range use- LRMs, Gauss, etc. - and letting my guns do the walking my legs can't.

[a gaijin]

Sephlock, on 14 January 2014 - 01:57 AM, said:

Founder's mechs also indicate to everyone in the area that you are a better person than them.
Never forget that.

If anything I just want it to distinguish me as a dedicated MechWarrior gamer (except for MW4 ... the problem child/Ba$$Trrd of the Mechwarrior series).

Buckminster, on 14 January 2014 - 03:05 AM, said:

I was also a joystick purist - I grew up on all the old sim games and it's what I really wanted this to be. But there's a good article floating around about why joysticks stink for aiming (something about zero-order input vs first order input), and my experience mirrors that. A custom built zero-order joystick would rock for aiming (or maybe you could modify a Steel battalion controller), but the Force Feedback 2 I'm using didn't cut it. The problem was really in the dead zones - my joystick had a very hard time making small corrections.

If you find one of those zero-point sticks please let me know -- I'll pick one up. Like you, I have a MS FF2 but 2 of the base buttons aren't responsive so I bought a Cyborg to replace it. I like the FF2 better regarding button placement but my options here are limited and I was in a rush to get a replacement.
Anyhow, I read Mr Inouye's article on editing user.cfg and experimented three hours tweaking it. The joystick still isn't as accurate or as fast as a mouse BUT there is a substantial improvement so I'll continue tweaking and then run a few trials by fire.

Thanks for explaining about armor. It's a bit different from older MW where back armor was defaulted to about '10.' It's kinda cool you have more leeway in armor customization. Do most ppl stil just put 10 in back or is half & half more common?

I haven't tried a Locust but I ran a test in a Cicada and honestly it reminded me of running around in a Firemoth. Pretty cool

Good points on holding off buying. I am curious about how they'll get Community Warfare to work; I wonder if it'll be the same as the way it's set up in Fallen Earth. It's not perfect but it does give a few nice perks to the winning factions. I can see a lot of ways managing and balancing Community Warfare is difficult. I'll look for a discussion on that inthe forum's Upcoming Features section.

I hope they don't "nerf" Clan Technology and mechs so much that the Clan mechs don't feel like Clan mechs.

It's too bad stock mechs all outright suck in MWO. Back in MW3 some of the most challenging but fun matches I was in were "STOCK ONLY" games. Gettin all nostalgic thinking about MW3
LRMs I'll have to try out. They were fairly powerful in MW3 but didn't seem OP like MW2: it was just right.

Buckminster, on 14 January 2014 - 03:05 AM, said:

Because they are completely unforgiving. With as slow as they are they make easy targets, and if you get outmaneuvered, you'll soon have every opposing mech firing on you. And I don't care if you are in an Atlas, once you have a few mechs focusing on you, you will die.

It sounds like Asssault mechs need an escort to well in MWO. That's good to know.

WVAnonymous, on 14 January 2014 - 11:37 AM, said:

I am really enjoying the Shadowhawks. The extra 5 tons over a Hunchback + JJ capability makes a real difference, given how much difference mobility makes as a self-defense tool. The Battlemasters are fine, but in that weight range Victors work better for me, again because the JJ capability.

Did you ever play MW2 or 3? Shadowhawks feel anything like Summoners?

WVAnonymous, on 14 January 2014 - 11:37 AM, said:

Assaults are tricky to run. As Buckminster said, they are easy targets. I think many people preferentially attack assaults because it is so much easier to convert firing into damage. Even with two or three times the armor of a light, you are four or five times easier to hit.

It sounds like Assaults are "nerfed" compared to the days of old MW games. Kinda sad actually. Nothing like the books

WVAnonymous, on 14 January 2014 - 11:37 AM, said:

Lights are equally tricky. It is fairly normal to see Spiders and Jenners with damage over 500 because even with lower damage/second outputs, the survivability can be so much higher. On the other hand, you have to be physically (end equipment) capable of running over 130 kph non-stop while connecting with your target.

I wonder if my high ping will negatively affect that. It's usually around 200 something.

WVAnonymous, on 14 January 2014 - 11:37 AM, said:

Medium/Heavy are better compromises for a lot of pilots (as long as you don't buy Dragons... )

I've always liked Med & Heavy size so that's good news. I've read something like 10 negative comments on the Dragons. What makes em suck so bad?

wanderer, on 14 January 2014 - 03:36 PM, said:

Fixed that for ya.

Anyway, regarding the original foursome- they're matches for the stock versions, but give you a bit of a faster grind, as noted.

lol "targets"... exactly the way I felt when I plugged in the joystick and jumped into my very first MWO match in a Hunchback. It was awful cause the joystick on default settings sucks bad. I'm starting to get a good feel for it (after 3 hours of tweaking) but it needs more tweaking.

Thanks for the Founders summary. Some really good tips for all four

Well I'm feeling motivated so I'll return to tweaking my joystick when I get home and then try a match and see how it goes. I can use the mouse but honestly the stick is more intuitive and the "sim-like" feel of using a stick is half the fun of playing a Mech game. Hope Piranha gets around to fixing the code for sticks, but I'm not holding my breath.

See ya out there

[WVAnonymous]

HeroForHire, on 14 January 2014 - 10:34 PM, said:

...
I wonder if my high ping will negatively affect that. It's usually around 200 something.
...

I've always liked Med & Heavy size so that's good news. I've read something like 10 negative comments on the Dragons. What makes em suck so bad?
...

Yes, high ping adds risk. The occasional two-three second client desyncs are also worse when you're going over 120 kph.

Dragons are like 1970's Pontiac Firebirds. You have to stick your nose waaaay out into the intersection before you can see crossing traffic. Then someone knocks your nose off.

Also, the Dragon weapons are low slung, so you can't utilize cover effectively while firing, unlike Blackjacks and Jagermechs. Even Hunchbacks let you put some of your primary weapons up high so you can stay covered from the chest down.