20 replies to this topic

[Rayzoris]

Heya!

My name's Ray(zoris) and before I even download the client, I wanted to ask a couple of
questions regarding the gameplay/mechs/cash-shop.

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair?
I don't want to constantly join games, in which one team is completely dominating,
while ther other team gets slaughtered.

2) Is this game Pay2Win? Do cash-shop-users have advantages, making it unfair to
play against them?

3) Is this community full of crybabies and douchebags or are there more people, who
will help you and answer a question, giving tips, etc?

4) Regarding the amount of virtual cash you earn, is it 'acceptable' or do you have to
play 24/7-365 to buy a good Mech?

5) Is there any crafting in this game?
Thank you for the time you take to answer my questions!

With nice regards,
Ray

[Bhelogan]

1) Both
2) No
3) Mostly no
4) Slow, but not horrid
5) No, you customize mechs, but no crafting

[Malcolm Vordermark]

Howdy,

1) The current matchmaker leaves something to be desired. There are plenty of games that are very lopsided but that may just be the nature of the game. That said when I look at my stats I have only slightly more wins than losses so it should be pretty even. There are improvements to the matchmaker coming though.

2) This game is not pay2win. The hero mechs are the only mechs you must buy with real money and most of them just have have different hard points. If some of the heros are better than the other mechs from the same line the difference is usually just better hardpoint placement.

3) All games have their crybabies. The new player and guide sections have very helpful people. The general forums are a bit less pleasant but honestly compared to some other games its not bad here.

4) Grinding can be pretty daunting without premium time. Without premium time if I have a really good game I'll get 150,00 c-bills, with premium that would be closer to 250,000. Light mechs are about 3 million and assaults are around 9 million, before upgrades. Premium time and hero mechs give a c-bill bonus (+50% and +30% respectively).

However you get a cadet bonus for your first 25 matches that should leave you with around 9 million, allowing you to afford almost anything you want. So make sure to save it up, look around here for "which mech should I buy first" threads and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask here.

5) Sorry, no crafting.

Edited by Rouken, 09 March 2014 - 09:48 AM.

[LauLiao]

Oh boy, here we go...

First off, let me say I REALLY hope you aren't trolling here and I'm going to answer your questions as if you weren't but these come awfully close if that wasn't your intention...

1) Depends who you ask. There a LOT of people who will complain vociferously that the matchmaker isn't fair or balanced, but in my personal opinion, it's not terrible for a 12-on-12 game. Sometimes you'll get rolled, Sometimes you curb-stomp the competition, sometimes you get great matches. If you fixate on the lop-sided games then it will seem like that's all you get, but if you play enough you'll find that your win/loss ratio will probably stay on a pretty even keel.

2) No. There are really no advantages to any paid items. There are a handful of the Hero mechs which are only purchasable with cash that are arguably the "best of the chasis" but they are just as killable as someone in a free mech.

3) YES! There are TONS of crybabies and D-bags in this game. That's because it's a video game played by gamers. If you think any game anywhere is any different you're just deluding yourself. On the plus side, there is a significant portion of the player base that is mature and helpful.

4) Again, depends who you ask. I personally have found that if you spend your cash wisely and actually take the time to level up your mechs after you've purchased them and aren't looking for a new mech every few days, the cash flow isn't terrible. There are many in the community who will feel very stongly otherwise though.

5) No.

[Redshift2k5]

Honestly, even completely equal teams will still lead to apparently lopsided matches. The nature of the game with no respawns and a more tactical approach means once a team gains a numerical advantage it's very easy to multiply that into a larger numericll advantage.

There is no pay to win. The cash-only Hero mechs offer different loadouts and unique paint applications but are not superior to regular mechs. Champion mechs only have an XP bonus, and premium time is merely a shortcut to the same content quicker. you will still need to buy mech bays if you plan to own more than 4 mechs but mech bays cost a paltry 300 .

We have lots of helpful people here, and lots of loud angry people. Ad lots of immature people and lots of mature people. It's the internet, and trolls will be trolls... but we have a pretty tight-knit community here, much more grown-up than many other games since Battletech/Mechwarrior is a decades-old franchise.

you'll get a big fat c-bill boost during your first 25 matches to help you get your first mech (or two). After that ti takes time, but thisi s a business, not a charity. you can grind to earn more mechs or you can buy mechs or you can speed it up with premium time, you have the flexibility to choose how much time or money you want to invest.

No crafting.

[Koniving]

Hey Ray, it's Kon(iving). Been here since June 2012, owner of 93 battlemechs, and one of a few guys that frequently spends my time helping new players between work, art assignments in college (I'm 28, so kinda started late), and matches.

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair? I don't want to constantly join games, in which one team is completely dominating, while ther other team gets slaughtered.

Spoiler

You may experience that but not necessarily due to the match making system. The system pits players of similar skill levels together to try and find a 'balance' of the average skill levels from both teams. This does mean that some higher and some very low skilled players can wind up on both teams.

When it comes to the infiltration of a group of players, the game tallies them together as an average as well before bringing them in, and pits that score in. Typically this results in pulling a group of a similar average score on the other team or pulling some very high-end players in to counter the group or groups.

But, the game has two basic mechanics that rarely lead to the perfect match. The entire game revolves around teamwork, and there are no respawns. You die, you're dead. So if one guy goes out by himself and dies, well, it's now 11 versus 12. If another player did the same, it's 10 versus 12.

Typically if 4 players die early in the match, the 8 versus 12 situation is hard to recover from. Thus, when you start you want to reunite with other players, get together, and when possible move as a group. Support each other. But watch for flank attacks. Even the best group of players tied in a ball can't survive if surrounded on all sides unless they escape the situation by pushing through.

2) Is this game Pay2Win? Do cash-shop-users have advantages, making it unfair to play against them?

Spoiler

The cash shop offers the following:

• Short cuts to buying 'free' mechs without the grind.
  
• Short cuts to otherwise 'in-game-money' mechs that are pre-upgraded; but that's all they are.
  
• Unique variants (Hero mechs), of which some slightly better, some comparable, some inferior to normal mechs. Truth be told it's typically on par to inferior for each hero, and those that are superior can be replicated with a different free/earned/in-game-money mech.
  
• Paint colors.
  
• Patterns (woodland, digital, flektran, crusader, raider, etc.)
  
• Slightly better (at first) artillery and air strikes. You can equal these with some GXP spending, and at the cost of an extra module slot, surpass (or improve) the for cash versions by making them more accurate.

It does not offer any of the following:

• Unique weapon systems.
  
• Unique armor.
  
• Unique ammo.
  
• Unique engines.

So, there's no gold weapons, ammo, armor, or engines. Just gold paint jobs. And honestly you're suicidal if you wear gold paint.

3) Is this community full of crybabies and douchebags or are there more people, who will help you and answer a question, giving tips, etc?

Spoiler

The entry level will have that sort of thing as it's loaded with new players -- and the low end of experienced players. That will change not long after you get on your feet. On the forum here you'll have very supportive players and the occasional elitest "if it's not top tier it isn't worth doing" person here and there.

4) Regarding the amount of virtual cash you earn, is it 'acceptable' or do you have to play 24/7-365 to buy a good Mech?

Spoiler

Your first 25 matches will net you around 8 million cbills. After that, it'll get a bit harder, but making up to 180,000 to 250,000 is still possible without any premium time or mech bonuses. (Note the typical new player with premium and a hero mech makes about that range, which is an 80% bonus in total [50 for premium, 30 for a hero mech])

I personally play evenings, and lately it's about 4 evenings a week.

For tips to improve your earnings after the 25 matches, refer to the last few posts in this thread. I spill some of the beans on money making secrets from nearly two years of playing this game.

5) Is there any crafting in this game?

Contrary to what others said it depends on your definition. Can you mix minerals with walnuts to make a sword? No. Can you take a battlemech, mix a heavy engine shred a bunch of armor and throw on bunch of light weapons to make a hit and run mech? Yes. Then can you later take the same battlemech, mix a lighter and weaker engine, tack on lots more armor and some really big guns to make a brawler? Yes. Later you can then strip some armor for even heavier guns and make a fire support unit too! Better details in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Other than rebuilding battlemechs to suit your tastes, there isn't crafting per sé. The game despite being launched is far from finished and still expanding. Although, I suppose you could consider 'base building' to be crafting but I'm not certain how that would play out.

Experiment a bit, craft something here!

Here is what's being promised, which is supposed to hit us sometime between June and December (being realistic closer to December despite the June deadline).

If you read this earlier please re-read it. There's been a few additions or edits, such as links to a crafting site to experiment with what you can craft -- the data is taken straight from the game every patch day -- as well as a link to maximizing your earnings by using certain items that really benefit the team and get rewards for their use. I also put in spoilers to make it not so overwhelming.

Edited by Koniving, 09 March 2014 - 10:09 AM.

[Rayzoris]

Hello again!

Thanks for all the answers, no matter how short they are. You 5 guys gave me a good impression and
I am going to play this game.

@LaoLiao: No, I'm no troll. I just created my account to post on the forums, because I've been playing a similar
game on STEAM and personally I feel that it is unfinished and deserves more content and since this game is a
couple of years old, I wanted to give it a try, but due to my experience with most shooters, I wanted to make sure
I don't waste my time.

@Koniving: Your answer was the most helpful of them all, especially at the crafting part. I actually meant something
different (Finding parts like a 'Thermofluxmodulator' and a 'Hypercelllaser-Artifact' and combining them to a
'Fiery Laser of Killer-Destruction-Death'), but it is still a good answer.

@The other 3 guys: Thanks to you as well! You should get cookies! I'm totally serious.

Sooo... Thanks again and maybe we will see each other on the battlefields (someday...) !

[Just wanna play]

well there is a little pay to win in the form of already upgrade modules which lets you save module slots and still get better performance

and i now see konivings spoiler pointed that out....

Edited by Just wanna play, 09 March 2014 - 10:26 AM.

[Koniving]

Poor Redshift. *Pat on the back.*

Anyway, there are four videos here. One of which may play while you download.

This one's official, gives you a very quick tutorial. There's a real tutorial in game as well but it's as basic as can be.


Here's me with some active tips being given live during play while using the current trial mechs. Sorry I don't have one with the new Cataphract 3D but the advice there is simple: Hang out near someone bigger than you.

My "computer" voice was turned off during these, sorry.
Spider, the current trial Light.


Cicada, the current trial Medium.


Stalker, the current trial assault. (Gotta say while this isn't bad, I don't know what they were thinking with this one.)

Edited by Koniving, 09 March 2014 - 10:34 AM.

[Koniving]

Just wanna play, on 09 March 2014 - 10:25 AM, said:

well there is a little pay to win in the form of already upgrade modules which lets you save module slots and still get better performance

and i now see konivings spoiler pointed that out....

If you mean the actual weapon upgrade modules like the range ones, those are in-game-currency only. Most of them are punished for your rather insignificant gain.

The only cash-shop options are the coolant flush, artillery and airstrike, and you can meet their quality with some grinding..and you can't mix the cash and 'free' ones to get double the fun. Sadly. I'd like twin artillery strikes.

[Redshift2k5]

Getting the same content/powerup/etc immediately or sooner isn't pay to win. It's just business to cash in on impulse buys or wallet warriors, but you can get the exact same performance without paying any money. Ergo, no pay to win. Certainly lots of pay to get stuff sooner, or pay to look awesome, but not pay to win.

[Remarius]

Koniving... there's something fun about being suicidal and afraid I know a few that took that "suicidal" road so will be interesting to see numbers when the clan's come in properly. Besides, if people want to seek me out in combat it saves me looking for them.

Rayzoris - looks like the others have you covered so I'll just say welcome to MWO and recommend that you drop with others as it becomes much more fun. There are a few public ts servers and you can find details in these threads:

http://mwomercs.com/...then-look-here/

http://mwomercs.com/...e-chat-servers/

I'd personally recommend the No Guts No Galaxy one as its a very friendly place for new players - just mention you're new so would appreciate advice and people will normally be more than happy to help. Same is generally true of most public servers in fairness. If you're looking for background and general info then the NGNG podcasts are good for keeping up to date on happenings. Other than that you've got a very friendly bunch on this sub forum that will give you (from their perspective) good advice.

Edited by Remarius, 09 March 2014 - 11:19 AM.

[dragnier1]

I'll like to add that http://www.sarna.net is another source if you want to find out more about this game and some of what we talk about.

This game is a work in progress, more content will be coming along the way. Sometime around june we should have more space invaders (aka the Clans) joining us.

[luxebo]

I'll try to add on to what the others have said. Koniving, Redshift, and the others hit most of the important things.

1) Don't think anyone had mentioned to upcoming launch module, which would change things drastically from the way some games go now. Comes around in late April I believe. http://mwomercs.com/...28#entry3185728

3) While in game you will see quite a few of these kinds of people, in the community itself, you won't really see many of these here in most areas. There are some in the general discussion boards, which has some qq threads and stuff like that.

4) You can easily get any type of mech after running through Cadet Bonus (not as easy as before however, before you can get even more with premium time bonus for a day, but the free day of premium time offer is gone.)

All I've to imput that no one has covered just yet. Wish you good luck in game.

[Sug]

Rayzoris, on 09 March 2014 - 09:31 AM, said:

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair?

I don't think this has been said yet but when you start playing you're given an Elo "ranking" that is around the average of all players. Teams are matched up based on the average score of all the players on the team so it is not unusual to find people still playing their first 25 matches being placed on teams with or against players that have 2 years of experience under their belts.

So don't be surprised if you find yourself fighting against people with fully upgraded machines. Also don't discouraged by it as this is still a pretty skill based game.

Edit: Not sure if this is still true but new players used to get a free day (24hours) of premium time (cbill/xp bonus), be sure to activated it while you're still getting your Cadet Bonus (first 25 matches)

Edited by Sug, 10 March 2014 - 11:55 AM.

[puffaholic]

Rayzoris, on 09 March 2014 - 10:23 AM, said:

@LaoLiao: No, I'm no troll. I just created my account to post on the forums, because I've been playing a similar
game on STEAM and personally I feel that it is unfinished and deserves more content and since this game is a
couple of years old, I wanted to give it a try, but due to my experience with most shooters, I wanted to make sure I don't waste my time.

*bites tongue*

Edited by puffaholic, 10 March 2014 - 12:04 PM.

[UnsafePilot]

Rayzoris, on 09 March 2014 - 09:31 AM, said:

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair?
I don't want to constantly join games, in which one team is completely dominating,
while ther other team gets slaughtered.

Games without respawns tend to turn into stomps. It's just the nature of this kind of setup; as you lose people the odds of your team turning it around begin to plummet.

[Modo44]

UnsafePilot, on 10 March 2014 - 12:12 PM, said:

Games without respawns tend to turn into stomps. It's just the nature of this kind of setup; as you lose people the odds of your team turning it around begin to plummet.

It's the nature of the current matchmaker. It tends to stack the odds heavily for one team, leading to a snowball effect much more often than would be doable with a sensible approach.

Edited by Modo44, 10 March 2014 - 12:28 PM.

[Dawnstealer]

Rayzoris, on 09 March 2014 - 09:31 AM, said:

Heya!

My name's Ray(zoris) and before I even download the client, I wanted to ask a couple of
questions regarding the gameplay/mechs/cash-shop.

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair?
I don't want to constantly join games, in which one team is completely dominating,
while ther other team gets slaughtered.

2) Is this game Pay2Win? Do cash-shop-users have advantages, making it unfair to
play against them?

3) Is this community full of crybabies and douchebags or are there more people, who
will help you and answer a question, giving tips, etc?

4) Regarding the amount of virtual cash you earn, is it 'acceptable' or do you have to
play 24/7-365 to buy a good Mech?

5) Is there any crafting in this game?
Thank you for the time you take to answer my questions!

With nice regards,
Ray

1) Kind of? I'd say *most* of the time, you end up with a pretty balanced game that comes down to the last two or three mechs pounding the crap out of each other. HOWEVER, you will occasionally be dumped into "MM Hell" where you will be on the downside of a 12-1 smackdown five or six games in a row. That can be incredibly frustrating, but more often than not, at least in my ELO, it seems like it's more hit than miss - when I die in most games, it's because I did something stupid.

2) Nah. You can get everything but the Hero mechs for "c-bills" which you earn by playing (for free). Most of the Hero mechs are sub-par, so (with a couple exceptions), there's not much reason to blow money if you don't want to. If you want a huge stable of mechs, you'll have to pay for more mechbays, but I know a few guys who just sell off whatever mechs they aren't running and buy a new one. You'll hear people cry about P2W a LOT on these boards, but it's really not the case.

3) Yes. Without question, especially on this board, STUFFED FULL OF THEM. In games? It's a lot better. I swear there's people that just troll these boards who have never actually played the game (or haven't for a year or more).

4) The grind is hard, but I don't play this game a whole lot. On a good week, I might put in an hour a day, but usually it's 30 minutes here or there. Especially with the "Cadet Bonus," you can get a pretty good starter mech. Just don't do what I did and buy a Cicada 3C not realizing that your earning doesn't STAY at that rate.

5) Crafting? Not if I understand that reference correctly. Although you DO have a lot of freedom over how your mech is made and you can certainly make something unique to you within the framework of that chassis. But can you make your own weapon combining X, Y, and Z? No.

[Sandpit]

Rayzoris, on 09 March 2014 - 09:31 AM, said:

Heya!

My name's Ray(zoris) and before I even download the client, I wanted to ask a couple of
questions regarding the gameplay/mechs/cash-shop.

1) Of utmost importance to me: Is the matchmaking system fair?
I don't want to constantly join games, in which one team is completely dominating,
while ther other team gets slaughtered.

2) Is this game Pay2Win? Do cash-shop-users have advantages, making it unfair to
play against them?

3) Is this community full of crybabies and douchebags or are there more people, who
will help you and answer a question, giving tips, etc?

4) Regarding the amount of virtual cash you earn, is it 'acceptable' or do you have to
play 24/7-365 to buy a good Mech?

5) Is there any crafting in this game?
Thank you for the time you take to answer my questions!

With nice regards,
Ray

1) Depends on your interpretation of "fair. A lot also depends on when you play, where your Elo is at, etc. Some experience stomps more than others for various reasons. I don't see them often bt do get streaks of them once in a while. Others experience them much more often.

2)No The only thing you can purchase for cash that you can't earn for free are hero mechs. Hero mechs give you a 30% bonus to cbills earned in a match and have different hardpoint layouts. They're not "better" but they are different. This is honestly one of the few F2P games I've played that does a pretty good job of walking that line and not being a P2W. Really about the only advantage you can get by spending money is earning money faster through hero mechs and premium time. You also cannot purchase mech bays without spending money but they are very reasonably priced.

3)Depends on who you ask. lol Usually if you pose a question, concern, idea, feedback, etc. in a civlized manner you'll get positive responses (even if they don't always agree with you). If you post a thread that reads something like "PGI SUXXORS! I HATE (insert popular bandwagon here) AND IT SUCKS!" then you're not going to get a very constructive response.

4)Average earnings (based on some previous threads that have popped up and personal experience after 2 years) for an average skill level player is about 100k/match. That can be increased dramatically with a hero mech and premium time but even at 100k/match it's a pretty reasonable amount. Matches usually last about 6 minutes or so which can get you earning about 600k/hour without hero mechs or premium time. At that rate after about 12 hours of gameplay you'll have enough money to buy any mech you want for free. You can purchase your own custom mech for MUCH less than that and customize it but the 100 ton monsters will run you about 12mil

5)You don't actually craft anythign but there are literally millions of loadouts you can create between all of the different mechs and weapons and engine and upgrades and... well you get the point


On a sidenote

You'll usually do better (especially at first when you're learning the game) by finding a group to drop with on one of the teamspeak servers. It's not required but it CAN make a drastic difference in your experience. This game has an exceptionally steep learning curve so having some people you enjoy playing with that can help answer questions and give advice can make a world of difference.

GL&GH!