18 replies to this topic

[Mad Pilot MkIV]

As a veteran of the "Free To Play" genre, if i like the game i usually spend some money in the form of bundles/packs or sales. This usually contains some gold (cartel coin, station cash, golden eagles whatever), premium time and couple of premium low tier vehicles or stuff.

Now the only boundle i see for MWO is the clan stuff which comes out 6 months later. And man those prices. You have to pay 90 bucks for a month premium and some mechs? All right i don't know about those, but damn. Just take an example: i bought the advanced pack for war thunder on steam in december. The whole thing was 30$. 2 months premium, enough gold to buy premium account for another 6 months and some premium planes. Now in MW:O i will get 1 premium mech and 2 standard in june. What. The. Hell.

Those prices are high even for themselves. Yea i looked up Project Phoenix. Overlord pack has more content than the Daishi collection yet the latter cost one and a half time more. The price increased by 50% percent while content value went down. MI A SZAR?!

Is there any other option i might didn't see?

[Sorpin]

You can buy MC points and buy some Hero mechs that have increased income in the game and unique hard points (usually one of them is on sale every month) or buy some Champion mechs, they only have a xp bonus but the loadout is a good one and you don't have to buy extra engines and heatsinks and such, also use http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ for all mech building ideas, it's a great tool.

[Rushin Roulette]

Those what you are looking at are prepurchase packages. You can buy MC (Ingame real cash currency) here
https://mwomercs.com/profile/credits

or in the actual game launcher.

it may not be a MWO only bundle. but Ive read that currently Ultimate game cards are on sale in the USA in something called "Gamestop" or "EB Games" not sure as our game shops have different names here.

The onyl time MC are on sale are, Im afraid, shortly before Xmas in the Black Friday sales (So you just missed that). Mechs and various Premium time packages are on sale during various times of the year (Premium time can not be bought with real money directly. You have to buy MC and then spend the MC on the Premium time, the same holds true for a few special mech variants).

If you have a looooooooooooooot of patience, then you can buy the Ultimate game cards now, wait for the Black Friday sales to exchange them to MC and then wait again for any particular mech or premium time packet you want to come on sale.

Alternatively you can just play the game free. Any weapons, support system mech upgrades and (nearly) every mech can be bought through ingame currency. The only thing premium time does in MWO is to lessen the grind a bit. There are no special weapons or ammunition which you have to worry about. Your weapons deal just as muck damage as anyone else with the same weapons, your armour holds out just as long as anyone elses with the same amount and so on.

EDIT: I dont know if the offer is still available, but during the Holidays you could type in "HAPPYHOLIDAYS"
here;
http://mwomercs.com/redeem (Note, this offer may have already ended, so dont be dissapointed if it doesnt work )

And you would get 7 free premium time days. You get another 1 day premium time for downloading the game;

https://mwomercs.com/game/download

Press the download button, cancle the file transfer locally and you should see the redeem 1 premium day box on the internet page which loaded.

EDIT 2: As a new player you get soemthing called Cadet bonus. This is basically extra income per match for the first 28 rounds you play. All together you get around 8 Million Cbills on top of your own earnings which is enough to buy your own mech, or be close to saving up for an Assault.

Edited by Rushin Roulette, 10 January 2014 - 05:19 AM.

[The Mechiac]

The devs have stated that the current UI can't sell traditional "bundles" as sold in other f2p games. the store feature of UI 2.0 is supposed to alleviate this problem.
The pre-order phoenix bundles that were sold previously had to be inserted at server resets.
The current release date for UI2.0 is February 4th. I suspect there will be starter bundles and the like then, though PGI has not stated as such.

[SkkyHigh]

Don't spend any money on this game till they put out new content and enable UI 2.0, otherwise you're just wasting your money like the rest of us have.
Too many promises and not enough content, just wait. They'll have some kind of sale when all the features they promised are put in just to try an retain or gain new players.

[JC Daxion]

If you are new, what i would do would be....

Spend 15 or 30 bucks..

Buy a medium mech.. they are not to expensive, and are great to learn the maps, game, piloting, and weapons.. From what everyone says, the Shadow Hawks are great mechs, But i would think in some ways, recommending them to a new player, might lead to developing bad habits cause they do seem to be very popular/good.. the flip side, is perhaps it is a mech that you would blend well with and you end up really enjoying and learning the game.


I personally learned to play on a hunchback, and still am learning.. (See my hit box post about some frustration of losing said Hump) But it is a solid mech to learn the game on, and load outs. I have not played one, but the kintaro look to be fun mechs, and the Trebutche were known as a good learning mech as well.


Anyway's, I would pick a medium even buying them flat out they are not that expensive, But sales are every two weeks, for mechs, paint, or even XP conversion sales. Spend a few bucks, buy your first medium, then grind XP/c-bills with your bonus, Buy double heat sinks, maybe a bigger engine.. Ask on the forums for a good set up for your mechs..


If you are going to play a lot pick up a months of play time for 2500 MC, If you are like me, where you play here and there over the month/months, I would pay 250 per day, for grind sessions.. that will give you 10 days of play, that you buy one at a time perfect for the person that just plays once a week, or random days on occasion. I also would only buy premium if you play more than a few matches.. otherwise you are just better off using that MC to buy chassis, verse grinding cash.

Grind money with your Premium bonus days,. Buy a mech, or use your MC to get your second and third mechs to unlock your upper level XP boxes. (try to save up 20 million c-bills)


Perhaps buy some paint on sale, Or just pick up some of the cheep paints.. You can use them on any mech you own. the cameo is a different story.


Keep some of that MC for future Mech bay purchases, or sales..


Wait for a XP conversion sale, though if one doesn't come soon, spending enough to unlock a single module is not to much money, especially as you will be grinding GXP anyway. But when a sale comes take some of that extra XP you will have grind-ed after playing those medium mechs to death, and convert it to GXP, and unlock Modules... there are a bunch that are great, but they cost like 6m each, and C-bills are the only way to buy them. (that is why i suggest saving c-bills, and using MC to buy your new mechs for a novice)


between spending 15-30 bucks, you should be able to get 3 medium or 3 heavy mechs, grind yourself 20-30m in cbills, and convert some GXP, get some paint, and have a bit left over for a few mech bays, and perhaps a sale down the road.

[Mechteric]

Most weekends (starting on Friday's, ending Tuesdays) there are 30/40% off certain mechs and/or heros in the game as well. We haven't had a sale in a few weeks due to the holidays I think, but I'm guessing its possible that today there may be a sale coming up. Might be worth holding on until this afternoon/evening to see if the sale comes up and is any good.

[JC Daxion]

Rushin Roulette, on 10 January 2014 - 05:09 AM, said:

EDIT: I dont know if the offer is still available, but during the Holidays you could type in "HAPPYHOLIDAYS"
here;
http://mwomercs.com/redeem (Note, this offer may have already ended, so dont be dissapointed if it doesnt work )

Sweet, thanks! I just used it and it worked.. So thanks, and thanks PGI for my 7 days of bonus c-bills!

[Victor Morson]

CapperDeluxe, on 10 January 2014 - 06:12 AM, said:

Most weekends (starting on Friday's, ending Tuesdays) there are 30/40% off certain mechs and/or heros in the game as well. We haven't had a sale in a few weeks due to the holidays I think, but I'm guessing its possible that today there may be a sale coming up. Might be worth holding on until this afternoon/evening to see if the sale comes up and is any good.

Pretty much what Capper said.

You're looking for good hero 'mechs. For quick reference:

The best: Ilya Muromets, Dragon Slayer, Heavy Metal
The worst: Golden Boy, Pretty Baby, Jester, Yen-Lo-Wang

Everything else is varying shades between that for good or ill.

Edited by Victor Morson, 10 January 2014 - 06:33 AM.

[Tuann]

so, the recap :

Starter scenario :

1. Get the Free 7+ 1 day premium time
2. Buy enough MC with real money to buy one of the 'best' hero mechs as listed by victor. (ilya, dragon slayer or heavy metal)
browse through the forums to lookup something about play styles and tips& tricks
3. Activate your Premium time & start playing away with the hero mech.
This will ensure that you have 50% bonus on the cadet C-bill earnings, and Hero bonus on top

4. Use the earned C-bill to buy your next mech, which can be a different standard variant of the bought hero mech or, if it does' t fit your play style after all buy something else. by that time you should already have an idea on what works for you and not, so you will have enough c-bill to buy a decent mech for the next round of fun.

5. just play & grind :-) & have fun

Alternative :
Don't buy the hero mech, use one of the trial mechs (they are actually pretty good right now), do everything else just as in the above scenario.
Have fun


The hero mech is never a waste, because they are solid mechs and as you progress through the game, you will use them to grind c-bills

so in all your 'starter' package is a bit more cumbersome to prepare, but it won't be that expensive as you feared :-)

[990Dreams]

I would recommend this build. It has a nice array of lasers so you don't have to worry about leading with ballistics, and it never runs out of ammo. It is pretty fast, decently armored (I didn't max it on smurfy but you can), and if you fire smartly you'll never overheat (even on Terra Therma)

Name: Photon Storm
Chassis: BJ-1X (Blackjack)
Heat efficiency: 51%
Speed (engine type): 81.0 KPH (STD)
JJs: No
Max DPS: 3.83
Firepower: 30
Specs:

• Right Arm: 2x Medium Laser
  
• Right Torso: 1x Medium Laser
  
• Center Torso: 1x STD Engine 225, 2x AMS Ammo
  
• Left Torso: 1x AMS, 1x Medium Laser
  
• Left Arm: 2x Medium Laser

Chassis on Smurfy

Edited by DavidHurricane, 10 January 2014 - 07:09 AM.

[Mechteric]

DavidHurricane, on 10 January 2014 - 07:08 AM, said:

Chassis: BJ-1X (Blackjack)

• Right Arm: 2x Medium Laser
  
• Right Torso: 1x Medium Laser
  
• Center Torso: 1x STD Engine 225, 2x AMS Ammo
  
• Left Torso: 1x AMS, 1x Medium Laser
  
• Left Arm: 2x Medium Laser

Chassis on Smurfy

I really wouldn't recommend a BlackJack to a new player, despite that I do like my BJ-1X. Also no need to be a pansy on the STD engine, if you're running a BJ-1X load up that XL and go 106+ kph with 6-8 medium lasers (or mix in some small pulse). Speed will be your friend in this mech: BJ-1X.

[Mad Pilot MkIV]

Rushin Roulette, on 10 January 2014 - 05:09 AM, said:

EDIT: I dont know if the offer is still available, but during the Holidays you could type in "HAPPYHOLIDAYS"
here;
http://mwomercs.com/redeem (Note, this offer may have already ended, so dont be dissapointed if it doesnt work )

And you would get 7 free premium time days. You get another 1 day premium time for downloading the game;

https://mwomercs.com/game/download

Press the download button, cancle the file transfer locally and you should see the redeem 1 premium day box on the internet page which loaded.

Thanks i actually started playing about a week ago, and luckily was able to use the Holiday premium, but the 1 day was new to me, must have skipped that.

Reading comments i figured the best way to spend my money is to buy premium and garage slots. Should have noted that i played quite some battles and i mastered the Shadow Hawk and i don't want to sell any of those .

[AaronWolf]

Mad Pilot MkIV, on 10 January 2014 - 07:51 AM, said:

Thanks i actually started playing about a week ago, and luckily was able to use the Holiday premium, but the 1 day was new to me, must have skipped that.

Reading comments i figured the best way to spend my money is to buy premium and garage slots. Should have noted that i played quite some battles and i mastered the Shadow Hawk and i don't want to sell any of those .

Shadowhawk Brofist.

And yeah, its mainly best to buy premium time and garage slots. XD

[Redshift2k5]

MWO has offered bundles, which were all priced pretty well. (Compared to War Thunder a player owns far fewer mechs than planes, so an individual mech is a bigger ticket item than a single plane)

Founder packs were essentially pre-orders and had a very good return on cash:MC in addition to a mech with a lifetime bonus and some premium time.

You just missed the chance to buy a Peonix Pack, which offered no MC but instead came with a very large number of mechs at a deep discount (some of which have permanent bonuses) as well as a larger chunk of premium time.

The upcoming Clan Packs are less discounted than the Pheonix Packs were, and they would make sense to 'jump start' your MWO experience if the deadline was not so far away. Clan mechs are individually much more expensive than inner sphere mechs, and desire for clan mechs has been very, very high.

---

In general you will find MWO to be more expensive than many other free to play games, but it's not dissimilar to League of Legends when it comes to cost for a mech or for time required to grind for a mech.

Edited by Redshift2k5, 10 January 2014 - 08:57 AM.

[JC Daxion]

Mad Pilot MkIV, on 10 January 2014 - 07:51 AM, said:

In general you will find MWO to be more expensive than many other free to play games, but it's not dissimilar to League of Legends when it comes to cost for a mech or for time required to grind for a mech.

I'm not sure i agree with that at all.. You really don't need premium time, and you can earn C-bills to buy tons of mechs.. outside of color and mech bays, you can play this game for very little, and get pretty much the exact same experience. You only real difference is you will be using a lot less choices in mechs. But is that a bad thing? I have almost 3 days worth of game time in 2 mechs.. all others combines, including the trial mech i played the first 4-5 days grinding C-bills, learning the game, is only like 15 hours combined..

really the game is a ton of fun spending next to nothing, or 1000's.. It really is up to the player.

Edited by JC Daxion, 10 January 2014 - 10:08 AM.

[dragnier1]

Can i suggest not getting the hero mechs you might want till they're on sale? It's cheaper this way. In the meantime, spend mc on mechbays if/when you need them.

As for the clan mech package, if they plan to keep the status quo i'm hoping they'll drop the price of a la carte a little. $55 is still costly for medium mechs.

[TheCaptainJZ]

My suggestion is not to buy anything at first until you know if you like the game. For that you should wait until you've finished your first 25 matches and bought your first mech with cbills.

The Clan packs are so expensive because clan tech is more expensive because it's vastly better (not sure how much better it will be here as the devs are going to nerf it so it's balanced)

If you buy the $90 package, you get everything underneath it too so you actually get 9 mechs and 9 mechbays plus the other stuff. And all those mechs will eventually be available for normal cbills, minus the 30% bonus in cbills on the prime variants.

If you want to spend cash, a hero mech or premium time might be a good choose. Search around for a good hero mech you might like (depends on playstyle as well)

[Mechteric]

The Victor VTR-9B is on sale for 30% off MC this weekend so thats about as good a deal you're going to get if you wanna use MC: http://mwomercs.com/...01/770-red-envy

Just make sure you have a few/several million CBills available to upgrade it with double heat sinks, a better engine, probably endo steel too

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 10 January 2014 - 10:39 AM.