71 replies to this topic

[Arahantius]

When you start out, you won't have any cash and you will only have 4 trial mechs to play with. I'm going to make a suggestion that will help new players avoid the pitfall of annoying other players which results in severe trolling.

Take an assault mech first and more importantly, don't take a spider. As a new player, you will be called a cheat, coward, dezgra and many other horrid things if you innocently take a mech which is considered to be OP (over powered).

If you take an assault mech, you will be less likely to be Team Killed by players who think you're doing something wrong and you'll be able to soak up the damage of enemy attacks. This will also allow you to get used to the flow of battle in MWO.

Tactics - since you're new, you'll want to hang back a bit and see how the game plays out. As an assault mech, some veteran players know that they need to protect the assault mechs from light mechs, so just ignore the light mechs if you can and focus your fire on easy to hit targets.

Never ever go anywhere alone in an assault mech, you'll be slaughtered despite your heavy armour.

Remember that this is advice for absolute new players. You will eventually pick up better tactics and there are plenty of advanced topics on tactics in other sections of the thread.

[mikelovskij]

I don't completely agree with you. I'm quite a new player (I got invited in closed beta but after a couple of games with 5 fps i decided that my laptop wasn't enough for this game, I bought a new one in december and strted playing again). I started with a medium mech (hunchback and mastered three variants) and now I bought a Victor and played about 60 games with it.
Playing an assault mech is (for me) much more unsatisfying. I usually die earlier doing about the same damage as with my hunch but I do less kills, I feel that my job as an assault is mainly to remove the armor from the enemies so my allies can later kill them.
If i wound an enemy I can't chase him, If I get focused I'm not fast enough to get out of trouble before dying or losing most of my firepower, so a small error of positioning often becomes fatal.
Probably I just have to learn how to play an assault mech properly but I think that a similar experience would be discouraging for new players.

Also i never got trolled or insulted in this game.. really I think the community is amazing, try other games before talking about trolling.

Edited by mikelovskij, 19 January 2014 - 03:49 AM.

[Arahantius]

mikelovskij, on 19 January 2014 - 03:48 AM, said:

I don't completely agree with you. I'm quite a new player (I got invited in closed beta but after a couple of games with 5 fps i decided that my laptop wasn't enough for this game, I bought a new one in december and strted playing again). I started with a medium mech (hunchback and mastered three variants) and now I bought a Victor and played about 60 games with it.
Playing an assault mech is (for me) much more unsatisfying. I usually die earlier doing about the same damage as with my hunch but I do less kills, I feel that my job as an assault is mainly to remove the armor from the enemies so my allies can later kill them.
If i wound an enemy I can't chase him, If I get focused I'm not fast enough to get out of trouble before dying or losing most of my firepower, so a small error of positioning often becomes fatal.
Probably I just have to learn how to play an assault mech properly but I think that a similar experience would be discouraging for new players.

Also i never got trolled or insulted in this game.. really I think the community is amazing, try other games before talking about trolling.

As I said in the post, this is for very first timers who will get killed no matter what. May as well give them some padding

I just did a match where I used a trial highlander and did 550 damage and 2 kills just blindly running and shooting. Normally, I take a blackjack because I'm totally horrible at using assault mechs. If I can do that in a trial mech then so can a new player.

I am a very experienced gamer, over 30 years exp. I've seen my share of trolling in other games but I've seen much more trolling in this game. I wouldn't bother mention trolling if I hadn't seen a lot of it but I have, so I warn new players about it.

EDIT - Before you tell me not to mention trolling, please use a spider (the trial one) for 100 matches and then say there was no trolling.

Edited by Arahantius, 19 January 2014 - 05:03 AM.

[BLOOD WOLF]

Arahantius, on 19 January 2014 - 04:57 AM, said:

As I said in the post, this is for very first timers who will get killed no matter what. May as well give them some padding

I just did a match where I used a trial highlander and did 550 damage and 2 kills just blindly running and shooting. Normally, I take a blackjack because I'm totally horrible at using assault mechs. If I can do that in a trial mech then so can a new player.

I am a very experienced gamer, over 30 years exp. I've seen my share of trolling in other games but I've seen much more trolling in this game. I wouldn't bother mention trolling if I hadn't seen a lot of it but I have, so I warn new players about it.

EDIT - Before you tell me not to mention trolling, please use a spider (the trial one) for 100 matches and then say there was no trolling.

I have never seen new players teamkilled before, i dont know how your lance operates but that is not acceptable. also some of your thoughts are far fetched, for 30+exp you have been playing the wrong games. In just about all matches ive been in, when players mention their new the community/players in game recieve them well and guide them as much as they can. the only problem i have with the community sometimes is the {Surat} that yell premade everytime they lose(cant accept a loss) or they are just ignorant. Other than that, great group of players and the friendlies mech pilots you will come across

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Assaults are big targets that are priorities anyway. Seeing that [C] at the end of a variant just makes the thing an even bigger target. Although, if it's a bought mech rather than a Trial, it probably won't have that.

However, I'd suggest a Medium or a Heavy for a first buy. They're generally more jack-of-all-trades, while still allowing focused builds. With an Assault, if you don't want to be useless, your choices are a little more limited. If nothing else, lighter classes are cheaper!

[DonGardenio]

Playing as an absolute fat bum does no favours for a new player's skill progression. You don't learn how to move, you hardly get a feel for maps with your toddling about and have no understanding over a game's dynamics. Then you'll end up getting lost, walking into dead ends, positioning yourself horribly cause you have no idea where to position yourself.

I think a fairly agile Heavy or a Medium is a good choice. Leaning towards the speed. Learn to move, get your sights and sounds before moving up the fatties league. Only then you'll really understand when and where to apply 100 tons of force.

[Redshift2k5]

Assaults can be "unforgiving" due to their slow sped and lack of maneuverability. If you go the wrong way or get stuck in a box canyon, you're too cumbersome to extricate yourself. More maneuverability makes a big difference, so I generally recommend starting with a Heavy.

[TercieI]

Redshift2k5, on 19 January 2014 - 08:05 AM, said:

Assaults can be "unforgiving" due to their slow sped and lack of maneuverability. If you go the wrong way or get stuck in a box canyon, you're too cumbersome to extricate yourself. More maneuverability makes a big difference, so I generally recommend starting with a Heavy.

+1

I think the combination of maneuverability and survivability offered by heavies generally makes them the best place to start, too. Though, these days, a Shadow Hawk offers this as well, for a very modest price tag.

[loopala]

as a newbe myself. i started with the highlander as that is the current trial assault mech. the heavy trial dragon was just too off my play style without jjs. after 200 games (i gave myself 200 game limit before i spent cb or mc) I had way too much xp to just walk away from the highlander. as a first timer if i had a better heavy trial mech i probably would not have gone with an assault. the highland was not a good mech to learn on. it is a big sluggish target that i spent a good part of my first games getting targeted and shot to heck in the first minute or so. oh and don't get left behind as the lights will eat you alive. good fire power descent armor, but way to sluggish. now that i have put the time and games into the highlander to elite them the highlander is a whole different animal. or maybe i finally figured it out. naw i still get jack rolled enough to know i am not god gift to MWO.

out of 473 drops 336 have been in a highlander, of 383 deaths 275 have been in a highlander. of 99 kills 80 of them have been in a highlander.

i liked the spider trial mech and now that i have elited the highlander i may just go and elite the spider. 1 problem i had with the spider is to me it is a scout mech not an assassin mech and in the current game scouts are just about useless. now the current trial cicada looks interesting. of the trial blackjack which was at the time BJ-1 C i just was not used to the game to really make good use of the ac20. like the mech but the fire power was once again not to my liking. btw i have been dropping lately with an ac20 in a highlander. now that i know how to target it is like the hand of god, if i do my part and aim.

as for getting yelled at for being a newb i guess it was in the spider i heard the worse of it. as i was trying to run the spider as a scout harasser instead of the giant killer i was seeing so much of. in a spider i lived longer due to finding the enemy hitting the universal distress code (RRRRR) and running away to spot from cover. in the highlander i just ended up dead too fast for anyone to realize i was even there till then end. then the comments about less the 200 dmg in an assault would start, but that was rare.

best mech for a newbe hmmm can't say much but run the trial mechs a lot before jumping on the ownership bandwagon

[Triforceelf]

I would really recommend a medium or heavy mech to newbies. Granted, out of the current trial mechs, the Highlander is probably both the best mech and the easiest to use right. For a first mech, buy a phract, hunchie or my new personal favorite, blackjack. Those mechs are all good workhourses that can perform other roles.

Alternatively, you could try a scout mech. Like an Atlas DC. Those are good scouts.

[Davers]

I think Jagermechs are great mechs for beginners. Nice varied loadouts, very interchangeable parts. JMA-A is a better missile platform than any Catapult.

[Lachlan Truefire]

Personally, I think a medium is a great place to start. It gives you speed and a bit of firepower to start out. The Hunchback 4SP is a great mech to begin your mechwarrior career in due to its speed and weapons. It teaches you to maneuver/flank and find the best place to apply your weapons. The speed offers a bit of forgiveness if you make a mistake as well. Can you think of a better practice brawler before you move your way up towards Assaults? Personally, I just went towards lights.

[LiGhtningFF13]

I started the game with mechs who have a mix of good speed and punch. So I chose the jenner and the centurion. Two good variants (for me at that time)!

[Son of the Flood]

I do see merit in what Arahantius suggests for brand new players. Being in a mech that's a bit more durable when starting out and not too twitchy with aiming is one way to ease into MWO. There are some folks that take to assaults well and the trial assaults these days are kitted out much better than they were back in the day.

On the flip side, as an assault, folks will be gunning for you first to get rid of your firepower. I would say you are more likely to get trolled in an assault when you are learning (for example, posting 20 damage in a highlander is more likely to get you ridiculed than doing the same thing in a spider). Also, there are few things more frustrating in MWO than when you are in a lumbering assault and can't draw a bead on the locusts and spiders nipping at your heels!

If I were counseling someone just starting out, I'd say take the spider or cicada and play conquest. Stick with any other lights and get used to just moving around and capping so you feel like (and actually are) contributing to your team right out of the gate. You'll get to learn the maps a bit and are less likely to run into the whole red team at once. If you get into trouble, you'll have enough speed to beat a retreat as well (learning when to fall back and reposition is a key skill). Also the weapons loadouts are pretty simple, so you can focus on moving, aiming, and shooting (and staying alive!).

From there, I would say try them all and see which class feels the best and is the most fun. Probably the most critical decision a new player will need to make, (once stompy robots has its meat hooks firmly into them) is which mech to buy first. Luckily there are volumes of good work on the forums about this topic that some of the above posters and others have and continue to contribute to.

TLDR - I'd say try them all on and see which one fits.

Edited by Son of the Flood, 19 January 2014 - 12:42 PM.

[marepinta]

I like the idea of this thread ... but am enough of a beginner that I've never played in any Assault so I can't offer an opinion about starting with that specific one.

Seems like a good idea to let beginners understand that their initial goal is to ... follow teammates -- stand back -- shoot what they shoot -- learn to walk around.

I think most of the beginners who come to the forum to complain have the idea that they will be instantly good ... making kills, 50% wins, etc. This game makes you WORK first ... which is awesome.

Myself, I started with a Raven, plus a blackjack trial mech. bounced back and forth between those for a long time. got 3 ravens and leveled them to elite. I would be in the category you are addressing here ... complete beginner.

For the first 50+ matches I was motion-sick every time I played because of the graphics. Finally getting control of that

Started playing because I know others who play, so I've almost always had someone to follow. I'm still no good at in-game communication and I have people trash-talk me because they think I'm not doing something or other. I am proud to say I have only once killed my own teammate ... a complete accident ... but still, that is such a newbie thing and makes everyone on your team very angry .

[Davers]

Keep with it! Stats show that after 100 matches your scores will make a big improvement.

[JigglyMoobs]

If I were starting all over again, I'd pick up a Yen-lo-wang as my first mech.

They are more forgiving to play than either assaults or many other mediums and heavies:

• They are fast and move over terrain well.
  
• They are durable - more so than most mediums or even some heavies like the Jager.
  
• They are not attractive targets for people in the same way that assaults are.

You have a lot of tactical flexibility:

• They have a big gun to deal real damage to even the largest mechs.
  
• You can use them as an anti-light anti-medium buddy mech to assaults.
  
• You can venture out on your own with hit and run tactics.
  
• You two or more Yen-los run together to do flanking attacks because they are fast enough and carry enough firepower.

They teach concepts for piloting more advanced mechs:

• Torso twisting and using a shield arm - very important skills for graduating to the Victor and the HIghlander.
  
• Easy to exploit terrain and stealth.
  
• AC/20 is a great weapon to learn how to accurately aim ballistics because it's probably the hardest ballistic to aim.
  
• Also a very rewarding mech for those who take time to figure out weak enemy components to target.
  
• You can scout, you can base/resource cap, you can kill mechs, you can run up and down a line and everywhere around the map to learn all the roles and figure out how it all works.
  
• From there, it's not a far leap to go either to heavier mechs or light mechs - you've learned a lot of the skills to excel at each.
  
• The only thing you won't learn to be is a LRM boat - thank god because we don't need more of those.

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 19 January 2014 - 02:36 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

mikelovskij, on 19 January 2014 - 03:48 AM, said:

I don't completely agree with you. I'm quite a new player (I got invited in closed beta but after a couple of games with 5 fps i decided that my laptop wasn't enough for this game, I bought a new one in december and strted playing again). I started with a medium mech (hunchback and mastered three variants) and now I bought a Victor and played about 60 games with it.
Playing an assault mech is (for me) much more unsatisfying. I usually die earlier doing about the same damage as with my hunch but I do less kills, I feel that my job as an assault is mainly to remove the armor from the enemies so my allies can later kill them.
If i wound an enemy I can't chase him, If I get focused I'm not fast enough to get out of trouble before dying or losing most of my firepower, so a small error of positioning often becomes fatal.
Probably I just have to learn how to play an assault mech properly but I think that a similar experience would be discouraging for new players.

Also i never got trolled or insulted in this game.. really I think the community is amazing, try other games before talking about trolling.

The role of assault mechs in MWO has changed over time.

The Victors and the Highlanders are best used as medium range pop-tarts. The specific loadout you use is:

Victor: XL350, 2xPPC (not ER) + AC/20 or AC/10 or Gauss or 2x AC/5 or 2x UAC5
Highlander: STD 300, 2x PPC + AC/20 or 2x UAC5 (UAC5 is preferred)

The Victors, especially, are not really effective in any other guise. There is also a specific way you play the Victor: fly, shoot alpha, torso twist to use your arms as shields.

Here's a battle where I'm in a Victor and the strongest lance on the other side consists of 4 Victors working together:

[Dan Nashe]

I would avoid assaults. They are VERY unforgiving. They are just as unforgiving as light mechs. YES, you will be able to shoot back ONCE when you run into the enemy but you will die helplessly. More than half of this game is being in the right place at the right time and that is VERY tough in an assault mech.

I highly recommend a heavy or a Shadowhawk.
Shadowhawk is very maneuverable, and with a standard engine it can actually take more of a beating than my highlander because I can MOVE faster and not be in a bad spot.

I alternatively recommend the Cataphract (3D) because it has awesome direct fire and jump jets and all sorts of great builds, you can make snipers, brawlers, (not missile boats). You can use all ACs effectively in various builds. I'd vote against the jaeger because the really low cockpit is really frustrating in my opinion. You get shot a lot when you can't see over things, you can't jump, and you will die very very fast with an XL, making them non-functional.

If you do get an assault, consider the Victor because it's faster, even if it's not as top-end competitive as the highlander.

But honestly I recommend the Shadowhawks, they're cheap, they're really survivable, they're fast enough to make mistakes and survive them. And when the team wins, they'll get to participate in more kills because of the speed.

I do recommend new players start on things that are really good under the popular meta. That way when they die/lose they will KNOW it's a SKILL issue and not a Money/Mech issue. Having someone start in a crappy mech "because then they'll learn" is a terrible idea. On the other hand, if they start in a CTF-3D jump sniper, and do better in a brawler, they'll know that their brawler is good, not that their jump-sniper is awful.

That said, player preference will matter. I mean, I had a friend who loved the brawling atlas. And loved waiting around corners to ambush people and did really well.
I honestly recommend
Lights: Jenners (JJs, huge firepower, get some big # games) and all 3 jenners are fun.
Mediums: Shadowhawks. Even better than Cents, and losing an arm won't make your AC20 go away.
Heavies: CTF-3D, other CTFs are okay
Assault: Victor or Highlander or Atlas

My experience (mechs I can actually talk about):
Mastered:
Spider 5D
Raven 3L
Jenners x 2
Cent x 3 (A, AL, YLW)
Trebuchet x 3
Hunchback x 3
Shadowhawk x 3
Jaegermech x 3
Cataphract x 4
Highlander x 3
Atlas x 3

Edited by DanNashe, 19 January 2014 - 03:13 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

I can second the Shadowhawk. I have not played it but it comes highly recommended. It has a lot of the advantages of the Yen-lo I just listed, with the added benefits of jump jets. Some of the best players I know like to use it.