18 replies to this topic

[Sentinel Soul]

New player, total newb. I want to buy some stuff, like a pack that has an assortment of things to get started, however I can't find any options except for getting straight out MC currency. Is there a starter pack or something along those lines? I would buy MC but as a newb have no clue what to spend it on.

Also, for some reason I can't seem to tweak the newbie mech loadouts - is that because they're locked until you own your own mechs?

Thanks experienced peeps!

P.S. Looking for clan for Mountain Time US carnage.

[Koniving]

Sentinel Soul, on 11 February 2014 - 08:19 AM, said:

1) Is there a starter pack or something along those lines?
2) I would buy MC but as a newb have no clue what to spend it on.

3) Also, for some reason I can't seem to tweak the newbie mech loadouts - is that because they're locked until you own your own mechs?

4) Thanks experienced peeps!

5) P.S. Looking for clan for Mountain Time US carnage.

Welcome! You did good stopping here first.

(Edit: Forgot details on hero mechs)

Numbered for convenience.

1) The Phoenix Pack (now gone) and the Clan pack can easily be such things, but the Clan pack won't be released until June so it's no good here.

So for an actual starting pack the closest thing there really is would be the Champion mechs (the trials are 4 of them).

A Champion mech comes with a 10% experience bonus (not worth much but it helps) when you use it. Otherwise, they are the same as regular mechs in every facet including being able to paint and pattern them.

What makes it worth while is this: They come pre-equipped with various upgrades and engines that are usually more expensive in game points/currency/ (Cbills) than the mechs themselves. For the most you can 'get' out of the mech for your buck in terms of Champions, the Jenner JR7-K© is quite useful. The engine alone costs as much as two Jenners and it's only a couple of quarters more than buying the actual Jenner for .

Of course there are many different champion mechs. Another one highly worth the money versus the grind otherwise would be the Highlander HGN 733(C). Sadly it doesn't come with an ultra expensive engine but it does have a good amount of power and durability.

2) If a sale is presently going (like the 4 mechs 4 days sale), I recommend a hero mech as a starting mech.

Sadly the 4 day sale ended yesterday, so hold off until the next one which usually comes on a Friday.

A Hero mech is a lore-friendly or at least semi-lore friendly Battlemech with unique hardpoints based on Battletech lore or at least PGI's interpretation. Each has a story whether genuine or made up and can be found on www.sarna.net under the chassis it's for. These are typically slightly worse, on par, or slightly better than its regular counterparts but generally balanced within reason.

Hero mechs feature a permanent 30% bonus to whenever in use. Combine this with the 7 free days of Premium time by redeeming the code "HappyHolidays" at the top of this page and that's (30% hero mech bonus + premium 50% bonus=) an 80% bonus on your cadet bonus (mentioned in answer 3).

The Protector and Dragon Slayer are both really good. (Thought protector was in that sale. )

Of the two I actually prefer the Protector; with a standard engine (thus cheaper to get going) it can't be matched in a combination of speed and firepower, it truly is the bordering line between Heavy and Assault class mechs. Just remember that climbing hills can be a bit tricky.

Oh, another thing to spend on if nothing else at all is mechbays. If you really get into the game, you'll find you can never have enough mechbays.

Myself, I own all of the heroes except the Oxide and Jester (waiting for sales), and have 91 mechs. I hope I'll see you in the field sometime.

3) Trial mechs are simply "loaners" to help you get started.

For a lore-friendly way of thinking about it; whatever faction, company, or clan you are allied with has loaned you a standardized battlemech until you earn the money to get your own (which you will get at a rapid pace at first due to the first 25 matches giving you a stimulus package known as the cadet bonus).

Once you have your own mech you can do whatever you want with it.

I'm honestly hoping they will eventually unlock all of the stock mechs for trial use sometime in the near future.

4) You're welcome.

5) Are you looking for a unit (faction), Company (Mercenary Corporation), or a Clan (the invading children of Kerensky)? They are very different things here.

Or at least they will be different things coming June or July when Community Warfare adds much more depth to this game. (Link leads to captured video from the live launch party talking about CW. Figure the time tables to be a bit off and rough estimate June or July for its appearance).

Edited by Koniving, 11 February 2014 - 08:51 AM.

[Sug]

Sentinel Soul, on 11 February 2014 - 08:19 AM, said:

I can't find any options except for getting straight out MC currency.

Is there a starter pack or something along those lines? I would buy MC but as a newb have no clue what to spend it on.

Also, for some reason I can't seem to tweak the newbie mech loadouts - is that because they're locked until you own your own mechs?

Hmmm. Usually someone would have answered this by now.

There are currently no starter packs, just straight MC purchases.

Most people recommend using your Mc to buy more mech bays as you need them. Do not use MC to purchase non-Hero versions of mechs. Unless you really have money to burn.

Personally I used MC to convert my excess XP on a mech variant I enjoy to GXP, which allowed me to level up the Pilot Trees of mech variants I didn't want to grind out by playing them. You need to level up 3 variants of the same chassis in order to unlock the Pilot Trees. Most people just unlock up to the Speed Tweak perk in the Elite tree, as once you do your Basic Skills get a x2 bonus. The Master slot only unlocks another module slot in that mech variant.

Premium Time will make the game seem like less of a grind.

Currently there is a sale going on for 50% off the MC price of 4 of the Hero Mechs. A nice deal to be sure but I would say hold off on a Hero Mech until you get the hang of the game and can choose one you'd enjoy playing. Anything but the Dragon would be a good choice.

Yes the trial mechs are not customizable. If there is one you enjoy consider buying one with your Cadet Bonus. For the first 25 matches you get a HUGE bonus to cbill rewards. Try not to blow it all as your earning per match will drop considerable after your bonus.

[Modo44]

The free day of premium time plus the cadet bonus will quickly earn you enough Cbills to buy and fully equip one mech. You want to buy one of the recommended ones in whatever weight class you enjoy the most.

After your first 25 matches are played, you will get access to more subforums. This includes faction forums with recruiting information. Most units are based in the US, so there is a wide choice.

Edited by Modo44, 11 February 2014 - 08:53 AM.

[Sentinel Soul]

Awesome info guys thanks very much!

[Victor Morson]

Your best bet would definitely be to look at a hero. This is even better if you haven't finished your Cadet bonus yet, as you'll get the Cadet bonus ON TOP of the hero 'mechs bonus!

The hero will help you gain cbills pretty quick, to either buy more 'mechs to master that chassis, or buy other chassis if you find something that fits you better.

The three best heroes in the game are probably the Ilya Muromets, Dragon Slayer, and Heavy Metal. The Oxide makes tons of money if you enjoy lights. The worst heroes are the Golden Boy, Pretty Baby, Jester and Fang.

If you're looking for something specific just post up and we'll try to help.

[Koniving]

Purchasing tip: When buying, please do not use the store. The store currently does not display detailed information about the mech.

There's a secondary method. Once in the main menu, click Mechlab. Then under Filter, choose Purchasable (pictured).


This will give you a list of all the mechs. Note, due to large pictures I have spoilered the rest.

Spoiler

Now as an example, this is the hero mech Protector selected.


If you click the mech you can see it. If you hover the mouse over the mech, information will be given. The store doesn't do these things yet.



While hero mechs can't have their patterns changed, they can be recolored. This is mine; it also gives you an idea of the visual changes you will see on mechs. (The list of mechs are the hero mechs I own. If you look at the scroll bar; I had to scroll down. )

Btw. Evidently the sale is still going despite being past the date. Typically sales end/change at 1 PM Eastern, though. Less than an hour. PGI's been doing a chain of 50% off sales to test the new system, so perhaps some of the other good mechs (Misery, Heavy Metal) might come on sale. Here's to hoping!

Myself I want some of the new patterns on sale.
---------------------------------------------------
P.S. Meta boy up there is quite an elitest, but there is a modest point. The most new-player unfriendly heroes are those of the Dragons (Flame and Fang) and the Pretty Baby.

Jester is a matter of opinion; my personal dislike is it didn't follow the trend of visually mixing two variants (it'd be awesome to have had the PPC port arm and the missile port arm). The 6 energy hardpoints fail to impress many, even if it can mount two anti-missile systems instead of the usual one.

Golden Boy is another matter of opinion; it's slower than the other Kintaros but otherwise brings the best traits of two variants to fruit with twin CT doors that, while closed, provide a 20% damage resistance to the CT front armor and overall CT strucure. (The two other kintaros with CT doors only have one door and provide a 10% resistance while closed). Unfortunately most players are using an engine that can be destroyed by losing a shoulder and thus can't benefit from it. People bad mouth it because it can't go as fast as other Kintaros.

Undeniably good heroes mechs include Misery (if you like taking insane abuse), Illya Muromets, Protector, Dragon Slayer, Heavy Metal. Firebrand can be quite effective but you gotta really beef up its armor before you roll out the door.

Truth be told, the starting configuration of the Heavy Metal is actually quite horrible for a new player (my personal experience was absolutely terrible) but customized and mastered I find it to be one of my best mechs.

Some vids provided for fun.
Heavy Metal Vids. Versus Lights (a highlander's biggest terror). Competitive Play Zhizhu in organized 12 vs. 12 play in high meta using my anti-meta rig. Lances split in 3 separate TS channels to minimize com chatter and allowed to run autonomous.

(Two for one vid: Misery and Firebrand)

Edited by Koniving, 11 February 2014 - 09:35 AM.

[Redshift2k5]

No "starter packs" are available, and while the upcoming Clan Packs are a bundle that's not really something to reccomend for a new player since their release date isn't until June.

The new UI system introduced last week sparked a week's worth of "flash sales" with selected Hero mechs on sale at half price for a limited 24 hour period. A hero mech is very nearly a bundle in and of itself, since you get a fully kitted mech (typically includes upgrades such as larger engine, Endo steel, double heatsinks, etc to make it a functional build right out of the box), plus a permanent C-bill bonus (to help you earn more for all your future mch purchases!). A Hero Mech does not include a mechbay, though. Keep your eye open to the Announcement forum or the Store tab in-game to look for flash sales.

For now, you'll have to buy MC in bulk and use it to purchase individual item a la carte. Spend wisely and don't be afriad to ask a lot of questions

Edited by Redshift2k5, 11 February 2014 - 09:21 AM.

[Koniving]

And 1 PM. Sale ended. Got disconnected from my match. No new sale today; wait for Friday then.

[Helmer]

Sentinel Soul, on 11 February 2014 - 08:19 AM, said:

P.S. Looking for clan for Mountain Time US carnage.

I would suggest looking in the FACTIONS - CLANS area of the forums, or the Community run voice chat servers




Cheers

[JC Daxion]

If i where you... I would purchase a small bundle of MC the 15 dollar one,.. then you can buy some extra mech bays and maybe a paint sale for a color you like will happen soon..

For a new player, i would start out with a 50-70 ton mech as they are not to costly.. You need to get 3 of one type to get master unlocks which help a lot..

then just play and learn, and gain extra XP that you can use to convert into GXP down the road to unlock your modules. They help a ton.. GXp conversion goes on sale from time to time too, but really the convertion rate is pretty decent as is, so it does not cost to much. the modules cost about 6m each for the good ones, so by the time you earn that, after buying your first 3 mechs and unlocking all three tiers, you might not need to convert as much as you think.


If you are really enjoying the game, after that, buy some more MC. There are tons of threads about best starter mechs,, But if i was to do it right now, I would probably go with the shadow hawks, because they are basically a version of the hunchback that is a bit more newbie friendly due to their hitbox sizes. they are not to expensive, and you can play with all sorts of load outs of every weapon type, to get a feel for what you like.


When i joined, i started out in a trial Dragon, which dragons are not the most popular mechs, but boy did i love it.. I made 25 million c-bills, and had enough XP to unlock to master before i even bought my first owned mech..


One last thing, depending on how much you play, you can buy premium time which works well helping you grind c-bills.. If you are the type of person that plays occasionally, but for many hours when you do, buy the daily premium for 250 MC, Or if you play a bit every day, buy a monthly for 2500..

If you do not have a lotta time to play, I would suggest skipping premium time, and just buy the mechs for MC, at least your first one, then use the money you earn on customization..

[Victor Morson]

Koniving, on 11 February 2014 - 09:05 AM, said:

P.S. Meta boy up there is quite an elitest, but there is a modest point. The most new-player unfriendly heroes are those of the Dragons (Flame and Fang) and the Pretty Baby.

Recommending quality gear to newbies does not make one an "elitist" really.

Koniving, on 11 February 2014 - 09:05 AM, said:

Jester is a matter of opinion; my personal dislike is it didn't follow the trend of visually mixing two variants (it'd be awesome to have had the PPC port arm and the missile port arm). The 6 energy hardpoints fail to impress many, even if it can mount two anti-missile systems instead of the usual one.

The problem is there's several models that do everything, sans twin AMS, better than the Jester; the K2 is really far and away a superior Catapult, if filling a different role, and even the Thunderbolt has a model that is a superior Jester to the Jester. It WOULD be good if everyone's favorite ghost got busted.

Koniving, on 11 February 2014 - 09:05 AM, said:

Golden Boy is another matter of opinion; it's slower than the other Kintaros but otherwise brings the best traits of two variants to fruit with twin CT doors that, while closed, provide a 20% damage resistance to the CT front armor and overall CT strucure. (The two other kintaros with CT doors only have one door and provide a 10% resistance while closed). Unfortunately most players are using an engine that can be destroyed by losing a shoulder and thus can't benefit from it. People bad mouth it because it can't go as fast as other Kintaros.

There's more reasons to bad mouth it: It's literally a gimped KTO-18. It gains 1 energy hard point, and for that, it pays the price in: Turn rate, acceleration rate, break rate, max torso turn AND as you mentioned, top speed. For, again, 1 energy point. Horrendous hero.. if you really want a Kintaro, get a KTO-18.

Koniving, on 11 February 2014 - 09:05 AM, said:

Undeniably good heroes mechs include Misery (if you like taking insane abuse), Illya Muromets, Protector, Dragon Slayer, Heavy Metal. Firebrand can be quite effective but you gotta really beef up its armor before you roll out the door.

I'd argue some of those are better than others - I personally don't like the Misery much, but all of these are decent 'mechs.

Koniving, on 11 February 2014 - 09:05 AM, said:

Truth be told, the starting configuration of the Heavy Metal is actually quite horrible for a new player (my personal experience was absolutely terrible) but customized and mastered I find it to be one of my best mechs.

Oh yeah. The starting config on quite a few 'mechs is hilarious, but Highlanders are some of the worst.

[Leidulfr]

This thread was very helpful to me; thanks.

[Veteran4568]

Alright I am going to bump this with fresh info for people whom are looking.

Good starter packs can vary on what you want. First get through your cadet bonus matches with the trial mechs and see what chasis you like. Then I would look at the Mastery Packs

There are 4 of them, each come with 3 mech variants(A Hero Mech, A Champion Mech, and a standard one), 30 Days premium time, a statue of the mech package you bought for your cockpit, and mech bays for all your mechs. This is by far the best value for MC.

The 4 packs are as follows

Firestarter Mastery Pack includes:

Firestarter-E(Ember Hero Mech)
Firestarter-S(C))Champion Mech)
Firestarter-H
30 Days Premium Time
Firestarter Statue cockpit item
3 Mech Bays
Total MC 4350

Centurion Mastery Pack includes:

Centurion-YLW(Yen-Lo-Wang Hero Mech)
Centurion-A(C)(Champion Mech)
Centurion-D
Centurion Statue cockpit item
30 Days Premium Time
3 Mech Bays
Total MC-6500

Cataphract Mastery Pack includes:

Cataphract-IM(Ilya Murmets Hero Mech)
Cataphract-3D(C)(Champion Mech)
Cataphract-4X
Cataphract Statue cockpit item
30 Days Premium Time
3 Mech Bays
Total MC-8220

Stalker Mastery Pack includes:

Stalker-M(Misery Hero Mech)
Stalker-3F(C)(Champion Mech)
Stalker-5M
Stalker Statue cockpit item
30 Days Premium Time
3 Mech Bays
Total MC 8785

All of these are worth it but best value is either the Firestarter or Stalker Pack.


There are also the Clan packs that are now released. They are in Increments of 30 dollars and you get 3 additional mechs the higher you go, or if you want to do Ala Carte for specific Mechs its 55 dollars each and the price decreases per chasis as you pick them.

Hope this Helps!

[Koniving]

Nocturnal Link, on 22 June 2014 - 05:54 AM, said:

This thread was very helpful to me; thanks.

Check back, 'cause Veteran4568 updated it with the latest of starting game packs, which didn't exist at the time most of the answers were given.

Directly above my post here.

[Revis Volek]

What about the Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault starter packs? Are they not viable to purchase? I have never bought one so i have no idea what is even in them. If someone knows maybe they can enlighten us all with their knowledge of all things MC?

[Elizander]

DarthRevis, on 23 June 2014 - 10:31 AM, said:

What about the Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault starter packs? Are they not viable to purchase? I have never bought one so i have no idea what is even in them. If someone knows maybe they can enlighten us all with their knowledge of all things MC?

I think those only contain one mech, not three. You'd still have to grind out c-bills to purchase the other 2 variants. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that.

[Xoxim SC]

Elizander, on 23 June 2014 - 11:22 AM, said:

I think those only contain one mech, not three. You'd still have to grind out c-bills to purchase the other 2 variants. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that.

You are indeed completely and utterly................. correct. The Mastery packs are the only packs that include multiple mechs, outside of purchasing a clan pack.

[TheCaptainJZ]

If you hover over the bundles, I think it tells you what's included.