67 replies to this topic

[Lil Thumper]

Just curious about your thoughts on the must have mechs for MWO. I'm an old vet from MW3/MW4 and mercenaries. My current inventory is small and I'm looking to add a couple of new mechs soon. A few suggestions from the medium, heavy and assault classes would be helpful. Thanks!

[Kjudoon]

Best all around mechs in class from my experience based on flexibility and general functionality on the battlefield roles and use in 12man competative drops

Light
- Jenner (Firestarter is starting to push on that supremacy)

Medium
- Shadowhawk (Possibly interchangable with Wolverine or Griffin)

Heavy
- Cataphract (though I like the Orion better)

Assault
- Highlander (This might be changed with the new JJ nerf, otherwise the Victor we'll see about the Banshee)

[Buckminster]

I've been loving my Jagers lately. The Firebrand scratches my "old school Rifleman" itch, and the others are fantastic at putting lead down range.

For the mediums, the Shadow Hawk is awesome. It'll sport a wide variety of weapons, and is a good combination of weapons and maneuverability.

[Roughneck45]

Kjudoon, on 16 March 2014 - 05:11 PM, said:

Best all around mechs in class from my experience based on flexibility and general functionality on the battlefield roles and use in 12man competative drops

Light
- Jenner (Firestarter is starting to push on that supremacy)

Medium
- Shadowhawk (Possibly interchangable with Wolverine or Griffin)

Heavy
- Cataphract (though I like the Orion better)

Assault
- Highlander (This might be changed with the new JJ nerf, otherwise the Victor we'll see about the Banshee)

QFT

You can't go wrong with Victor's either if you prefer them over Highlanders.

[Kjudoon]

Roughneck45, on 16 March 2014 - 05:17 PM, said:

QFT

You can't go wrong with Victor's either if you prefer them over Highlanders.

Well I don't know what QFT means, but I have a guess.

I love my Victors, not a fan of the Highlanders because I love speed and maneouverability more. The Banshee intrigues me after talking builds with others in my unit and the potential for an incredible Assault mech is there. We'll see if it starts replacing the HGN 733c as the current king of the battlefield.

[RG870]

Lights

• Jenner / Firestarter - lots of firepower in a small package
  
• Spider - hard to hit, fast, 5D with ECM is a great scout

Mediums

• Shadowhawk - definitely one of the best packages for a medium
  
• Hunchback - one of the mechs I have in mind if I think of the Battletech franchise, love all my Hunchies

Heavy

• Jagermech - vulnerable but incredible firepower, one of the best ballistic mechs in game
  
• Cataphract - like the Jager a great ballistic mech, don't like the low mounted arms, but if you get used to it it's a great mech
  
• Catapult - another classic mech I remember from the 90's, love my K2 and Jester

Assaults

• Stalker - like the Hunchback and Catapults another classic mech I remember from older mech games, great missile and energy mech, can take huge ammounts of pain
  
• Highlander - great mix of ballistics, energy and missiles

In the end, you must find those mechs which suite your playstyle best. The best mech is always the one YOU are most effective in, not somebody else. Trial mechs are a way to find out if you like a mech, although most of them have bad builds.

[Bhelogan]

The biggest problem with this question, is that my answer is always changing. I would have told you something different 3 months ago than I would today, and different 3 months prior to that and so on.

Today, my list is as follows: Ember, SDH, Jagger, Victor, D-DC, Battlemaster 1S

[Roughneck45]

Kjudoon, on 16 March 2014 - 05:22 PM, said:

Well I don't know what QFT means, but I have a guess.

Quoted for truth.

[Kjudoon]

As hit registration, hit box and lag issues are resolved the spider is getting less and less functional except for ECM. If, it continues (ohpleaseohplease) this mech will only be seen on occasion like the ECM commando.

The Hunchie is a workhorse. How true that is.

As for the Heavies, I call the Orion the 'illegitimate child of the Jagermech, Catapult and Cataphract" because it manages to do almost everything they do with more tonnage and fewer of their disadvantages. It won't do EVERYTHING they do, but generally, what it can do is more than worth it. That said, I'm totally biased. I said the Cataphract mostly because of it's use in 12man drops and competative play you see quite regularly.

Stalkers are great if you don't mind being slow and unmanouverable. I never managed to like it, but again, that's a personal bias. They can pack quite a wallop and are scary in the right hands.

Roughneck45, on 16 March 2014 - 05:27 PM, said:

Quoted for truth.

boy did *I* guess wrong. Thanks.

[no one]

Light
- Spider - Small, has an ECM variant with jump jets. Jump Jets are still 'technically' a selling point, anyway.
- Jenner - Small, fast, menacing with streak potential.
- Raven 3L - Versatile, great range of motion, fits ECM.
Meta -
People look at Firestarters and go "wow it's got loads of energy hard points AND jumpjets", but my experience is that they run too hot and have too 'stiff' a torso range to be terribly useful. If you get one, consider shelling out for the 'Ember' hero variant.

Medium
- Shadowhawk - king medium
- Hunchback(s) - lots of variety, great range of motion, but a bit slow and fragile.
- Griffin - Best cockpit in the game.

Heavy
- Jaggermech - great variety, supremely powerful.

A lot of people like the CTF-3D. I'm not a fan of the low-slung arms. You can form an opinion on that one now since it's one of the trial 'Mechs. Just keep in mind that it's using an LB 10-X for some reason and those are bad.

The Orion is nice, it just doesn't seem do anything another 'Mech won't do better.

Assault
- Victor - mobile, heavy arm mounted weapons, some jump ability.
- Atlas D-DC - 100 ton doomsday machine, can fit ECM. Just don't expect to be able to dance with a spider.

Edited by no one, 16 March 2014 - 06:04 PM.

[CMetz]

Much of the answer to this really does depend on your playstyle. That being said, I'll try and make some recommendations based on my experiences.

Lights:
Firestarter: Lots of energy based loadouts. High points are the Ember Hero Mech and the FS9-H. Machine guns are key. Damage without heat is at a premium in this game. Personally I recommend NOT trying to use every hardpoint.

Honorable Mention: Jenner for those who enjoy missiles, Commandos for speed freaks, Ravens for firepower/ECM sniping

Mediums:
Shadow Hawk: I personally haven't had much success with it, but I cannot deny its merits and the amount of success I see people having with it. My preference is the Wolverine, but that's personal.

Honorable Mention: Centurion (many, many loadout options), Cicada (for people who enjoy lights but want more armor)

Heavies:
Specialist: Jagermech- strongest DPS mech you can get for c-bills. Rounded build: Orion- Tons of staying power and loadout options.

Honorable Mention: Cataphract- variants suitable for DPS builds and high alpha builds. Versatile with staying power. Hero variant is a DPS monster.

Assaults:
Atlas D-DC: No way around it- ECM and things tend to disintegrate in front of it. Victor: Mobility and ability to use both effective DPS and high alpha builds.

Honorable Mention: Stalker- premier missile boat in the game, Highlander/Banshee- varied loadouts, great staying power and mobility.

[NRP]

Crap, just buy them all!

[Mad Dog Morgan]

I suppose the most common mechs I see on the battlefield are: The Victor, Stalker, Highlander, Atlas, Hunchback, Shadowhawk, Griffin, Cataphract, Catapult, Jagermech, Thunderbolt, Firestarter, Jenner, Raven, Spider (5D), and Cicada.

I'm a big fan of the Orion chassis, since I like having ludicrous hardpoints.

Mechs that are too specialized or aren't worth your C-bills:
Kintaro, Quickdraw, Awesome, Some of the Commando Variants, the Locust 3S and 1V, Catapult A1

Keep in mind, there's always one bad variant in each group that is just less useful than the rest.

[luxebo]

Also, you need 3 variants of a mech to master a chassis. And use smurfy to make up builds. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab What mechs do you already have?

While most of these guys are spot on for mechs in the game, don't let it stop you from say getting an Awesome or Locust.

My own personal opinion is that the Hunchback, Centurion, Shadow Hawk, Catapult, Jagermech, Cataphract, Orion, Victor, Stalker, Highlander, and Atlas all would work fine, though the other mediums, heavies, and assaults work just as fine, although more specialized and specific in their roles (like Awesome 9M and PB is designed as a faster flanker mech).

[Alaskan Nobody]

Kjudoon, on 16 March 2014 - 05:28 PM, said:

boy did *I* guess wrong. Thanks.

If you were thinking of a more vulgar phrase.... it can mean that as well (as both phrases can mean the same thing...)

The meta has been listed several times - I can tell you though, that for the Shadowhawk at least, it doesn't really seem to teach much in the way of core mechanics (other than pop-tarting)

I can carry a lot of ballistic firepower for it's size, but it's limited torso twist (think of what no one said about the Firestarter - and make it worse) means that that is about all it can really do.

[Spheroid]

Firestarter, Shadow Hawk-D2, Jager-S, Stalker-3F, Atlas-DDC.

Edited by Spheroid, 16 March 2014 - 08:44 PM.

[Mainbutter]

My post count is pretty nil because I tend to keep silent, but I've had a few beers and just about spit out a mouthful reading through this thread and only seeing battlemasters mentioned once.

I agree with everything stated so far, but I can't believe that battlemasters are left off this list. Not that newbies will be thinking about assaults, they are awfully expensive, but if I had to pick one set of assaults to stick with, I'd forego D-DC atlases and all my victors in favor of my battlemasters.

It probably helps that next to my ilya muromets, I have more 1k+ dmg rounds in my BLR-1g and 1s

[Eglar]

mavs mech tier list

[Amsro]

Kjudoon, on 16 March 2014 - 05:28 PM, said:

As hit registration, hit box and lag issues are resolved the spider is getting less and less functional except for ECM. If, it continues (ohpleaseohplease) this mech will only be seen on occasion like the ECM commando.

The Hunchie is a workhorse. How true that is.

As for the Heavies, I call the Orion the 'illegitimate child of the Jagermech, Catapult and Cataphract" because it manages to do almost everything they do with more tonnage and fewer of their disadvantages. It won't do EVERYTHING they do, but generally, what it can do is more than worth it. That said, I'm totally biased. I said the Cataphract mostly because of it's use in 12man drops and competative play you see quite regularly.

Stalkers are great if you don't mind being slow and unmanouverable. I never managed to like it, but again, that's a personal bias. They can pack quite a wallop and are scary in the right hands.




boy did *I* guess wrong. Thanks.

Quit Ucifkng Talking

[Kjudoon]

The seraphim code of conduct forbids me to type that kind of response but I cannot confirm or deny that that phrase was not in my short list of possible definitions. Very thankful Roughneck meant it the other way. Otherwise I might have had a sad.