62 replies to this topic

[Denolven]

Shortcut for competitive players: MavRCKs tier list


Hello fellow Mech Warriors o/

I see alot of topics where people are asking for a second opinion about what Mech to get. To reduce topic flooding, I created this one. Here is how it works:

Step 1
Tell us which characters/roles/classes you liked in other games. That helps us to give you specific recommendations.

Spoiler

What exactly did you like about that character? Do you prefer being in the middle of enemies, or are you more of the sniper guy? Or maybe you prefer to be an assassin, or a "you need something? I can do it" allrounder. Maybe you tried certain mechs already and can tell us what you liked or didn't like about them.
If you have played several matches already, try to answer this question: How fast do you want to go, and what guns do you want to bring when you get there

Step 2
Tell us roughly how much ingame cash you are willing to spend, and whether MC (real life money) is an option.

Spoiler

This helps us to exclude mechs that are not relevant for you. If we know what is NOT an option, we can suggest "almost as good but half as expensive" mechs.

Of course we also take special requests, so feel free to ask even if it doesn't fit the above steps.

Then browse the below list, or maybe go play a match or two. We will do our best to give you recommendations in the meantime, together with reasons why the recommended mech might be a good choice for you.



Common Mechs, based on role:

Never wrong Mechs said:

Shadowhawk (any, medium): jack of all trades, master of none. All of them have access to all hardpoint types, and all of them can be played as pretty much anything. The high mounted torso ballistics give you advantages similar to the Jagermech, but you have less weaponry and alot more mobility, so other roles can be fulfilled as well.

Victor (any, assault): relatively mobile for an assault (requires XL engine); all kinds of hardpoints to try out different weaponry; arms can be used as shields; the big jack of all trades in MWO.

Fighters said:

Firestarter FS9-H (light): lots of guns; high mobility in both movement and weaponry (requires XL engine); arms can be used as shields; can also fit in the roles "Assassin" or "Skirmisher", depending on equipment. This mech is the reason why you don't ignore light mechs.

Centurion CN9-A (medium): very tough if you use arms as shields; works well with all weapon types and offers all kinds of hardpoints to try out different weaponry; cheap (no XL engine required). The Spartan of MWO

Hunchback HBK-4P (medium): cheap (no XL engine required); a bit less durable than the Centurion, but has a frickin laser bazooka on its shoulder. If you like two-handed swords more than the sword+board combo, take this mech. Also, you can make a disco version.

Cataphract CTF-3D (heavy): biggest mobile Dakka you can find. If you like the front row, this is the chassis you want. For even more Dakka, take a look at the hero version Ilya Muromets. Just keep in mind you're not invincible. The 250kg Silverback of MWO.
Hardcore Dakkarists will take the CTF-4x for almost enough Dakka

Second line direct fire support said:

Raven 3L (light): high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover; high speed (requires XL engine); ECM cover for your allies; can be equipped for skirmishing or scouting as well; the allaround usefull little helper of MWO

Blackjack BJ-1 (medium): the little brother of the Jagermech (see below) has pretty much the same advantages; limited to ballistic and/or energy weapons; the "little Jager" of MWO

Jagermech JM6-A (heavy): high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover; works well with all weapon types and offers all kinds of hardpoints to try out different weaponry; cheap (no XL engine required); the mobile Turret of MWO
Dakkarists (see Cataphract in the Fighters section) will take the JM6-DD instead to get access to almost enough Dakka.

Stalker (any, assault): high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover; cheap (no XL engine required); pretty tough in the front; offers a variety of lasers and missiles (easier to aim), lots of them. The weapon platform of MWO.

Second line indirect fire support (LRMs) said:

Trebuchet TBT-7M (medium): high agility and speed for positioning; large arms to shield the torso; is more of a skirmisher than a stationary artillery; comes with upgraded equipment already (almost no hidden cost); the Velites of MWO

Griffin GRF-3M (medium): a bit less agile than the Trebuchet, but higher survivability; otherwise exactly the same

Jagermech JM6-A (heavy): works well with all weapon types and offers all kinds of hardpoints to try out different weaponry; cheap (no XL engine required); the mobile Turret of MWO

Catapult (all except K2, heavy): synergizes well with XL engines, meaning you can take more launchers/ammo; less versatile than the Jagermech (and more expensive, as you're likely to want an XL engine), but has alot more speed and agility, including jump jets and an insane torso twist angle; capable skirmisher-second-line hybrid

Stalker (any, assault): high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover; cheap (no XL engine required); pretty tough in the front and low mobility; offers a variety of lasers and missiles, lots of them. The weapon platform of MWO.

Awesome AWS-8R (assault): good hardpoint-tube-configuration for long range missile focus (4x15); more effective LRMing than the Stalker, but alot less survivability and low mounted weapons (except for the TAG on its head )

Skirmisher said:

Spider SDR-5D (light): very high mobility and survivability (requires XL engine); ECM cover; can be built as a scout depending on equipment; the Ninja of MWO

Cicada CDA-3M (medium): as fast as a light mech but more armor and bigger weapons (requires XL engine); ECM cover; can also be built as a second line support fire mech depending on equipment; famous for being the only invisible sniper of MWO

Trebuchet TBT-5J (medium): almost as mobile as a light mech, but more armor and bigger weapons (requires XL engine); jump jets to go where you want (and where they don't want you); large arms to shield the torso; the Velites of MWO

Dragon DRG-1N (heavy): as mobile as a medium mech, but more armor and bigger weapons (requires XL engine); all kinds of hardpoints to try out different weaponry; can be built as a second line fire support mech depending on equipment; the most nimble long range Sumo wrestler of MWO

Scout said:

Spider SDR-5D (light): very high mobility and survivability (requires XL engine); ECM cover; can be built as a skirmisher depending on equipment; the Ninja of MWO

Commando CMD-2D (light): very high mobility (requires XL engine); very good anti-light weaponry; ECM cover; the Ninja-Assassin of MWO (an assassin that is a ninja, or an assassin that kills ninjas? Both!)

Raven 3L (light): high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover; high speed (requires XL engine); ECM cover; can be equipped for skirmishing or second line fire support as well; the allaround usefull little helper of MWO

Cicada CDA-3M (medium): as fast as a light mech but more armor and bigger weapons (requires XL engine); ECM cover; can also be built as a second line support fire mech or skirmisher depending on equipment; famous for being the only invisible sniper of MWO

More specialized roles:

Assassin (finishing off weakened opponents) said:

Jenner JR7-F: huge alpha strike damage (requires XL engine); fast and with jump jets; good for hit&run against bigger targets (take Jenner D against smaller targets); high mounted weapons to keep most of your body hidden behind cover while waiting for an opening in the opponents formation; does not depend on others to weaken an opponent, but has a huge hittable center torso; the speedy guillotine of MWO

Firestarter FS9-H (light): lots of guns; high mobility in both movement and weaponry (requires XL engine); arms can be used as shields; can also fit in the roles "Fighter" or "Skirmisher", depending on equipment. This mech is the reason why you don't ignore light mechs.

Decoy aka pesky mosquito said:

Spider SDR-5K: high mobility and survivability (requires XL engine); almost heat neutral, but depends on others to weaken the opponent and needs "face time" with MGs to finish off an opponent. The pesky mosquito of MWO.

Command mechs said:

Shadowhawk SHD-5M (medium): jack of all trades; can fill whatever gap your lance has; comes with all needed upgrades and a proper XL engine already (no hidden costs); the toolbox of MWO

Atlas AS7-D-DC (assault): can give and take insane amounts of abuse if arms are used properly; ECM cover; draws alot of attention which means your allies get less attention which is good for them; the Ninja-Giant of MWO

Edited by Denolven, 15 July 2014 - 05:06 AM.

[Redshift2k5]

I always try to inquire as to how fast they want to go, and what guns they want to bring when they get there. If someone wants to go 120-170 (A lot pf people forget the Commando's max speed is now 171!) they require a very different line of discussion than if someone wants to go 70-80.

Weapon choice is a big impact as well, whether they want lasers, or can't shoot straight with a ballistic, or want to run a boatful of lock-on SSRMs, etc.

[Modo44]

Which trial mech do you enjoy the most? Not asking which you are good in -- we know the answer is "none" -- just which one you enjoy.

[Charons Little Helper]

sneeking, on 05 April 2014 - 05:42 AM, said:

start with the fundamentals get a cent 9d...

Except the Cent D is expensive due to the XL engine. And really - with just an XL 300 it's not fast enough to come into its own making you need to buy an XL 350+ which makes it super expensive.

[Anvil ZA]

This is probably the best place for me to venture into the forums for the first time, so let me be the first noob to seek advice. I've been playing mwo for a month or 3 now, but still haven't found a mech that's completely me. First off, some background (this may take a while).

My first bought mech was the Victor, which I bought due to it's mixed hardpoints and the fact that it could be chopped and changed to suit different roles. I enjoyed brawling with an AC-20 and 2 LLas (once I started to think of it more as a "super-heavy" rather than a full-blown assault), but also had some fun with the 9S and a Gauss/2 L Pulse combo. After elite, I went for an Atlas and quite frankly battled to find a setup that really worked. So that is sitting on the shelf for now. Also went ahead and got a stalker 3f(c) (was on sale) and so far it's my fave mech and gets the best results. I like the long range support role and can hold my own 1v1 with the 4 mlas.

However, here comes the part where I need advice. I miss being able to brawl and get into the thick of the battle, so was looking at the Misery as my 3rd stk. Any thoughts? It is quite a bit of mc and I really don't want to regret it down the line. In terms of weights, I'm definately a heavy/assault player, mainly because i live in South Africa and my ping/line stability make it difficult to be nimble and accurate in lights/meds. Which means I'm looking for a mech that can take a certain amount of punishment. Also, I am quite happy being the slow and heavy guy that puts the final few nails in the enemy's coffin. MC and C-Bills are not an issue, I don't mind spending if it's worth it, and will happily grind for hours for extra bucks.

Extra thought, I like dakka, but IMHO most ac are not very forgiving, so for me bigger is better, so that when I do hit, it counts.

Thanks in advance, all help is appreciated
Anvil

[foyrkopp]

Just want to catch a few opinions / advice.

Step 1
What roles do I like in games
1) In other Games I generally prefer utility / supportive classes (Support in LoL, certain Adepts/Engineers in Mass Effect Multiplayer, Healer in WoW...). First, they usually have utility beyond doing and taking damage, which, to me, adds fun. Second, successful teamplay always feels better to me than just trumping my direct opponent. Third, I came quite late to competive multiplayer games and the indirect measurement of success for supportive play feels less stressful to me.
2) I like to aviod generic "cheap" builds as much as is feasible. Killing someone with a Dakkaboat Jager will make him shrug and blame AC inbalances. Killing someone with a Locust will make him respect you.

'Mech experiences
I elited and enjoyed the Hunchbacks, because they're versatile, good for learning and low profile on most players threat list. ("Oh, better focus on that Dakka-Jager firs.." - Blam / Fzzzt.)
I also have to admit on owning a CTF-3D (2 AC 10, PPC, XL280). It's cheesy, but it's cheesy because it works - and it brings in the C-Bills.

Cicada / Jenner Trial 'Mechs have been enjoyable so far. The Spider always got me killed before being useful, Victor feels like UAC abuse, Cat feels to squishy after the Stalker. The Trial Stalker itself was... surprisingly good, but most fun in situations it was never meant for. (Like slowly sauntering into a brawl under the crimson strait platform. Nobody will take you seriously. Tehehe.)

How fast do I like my 'Mechs
70 kph feels pretty cumbersome, faster definitely is better for me. At about 100 kph (which just might be the maximum speed of a fully elited HBK...) I start to feel good. Jumpjets are neat.

Dem Guns
Large & Medium Lasers. Pulse Lasers (especially the large ones. Would love a good, fast build around them.) AC10 is undervalued and unites punch, range & fun. AC 20 is... well, who doesn't like the 20? BAM!. (ER)PPC because I just like 'em and they're good.

Gauss', Rockets & the lighter ACs are somewhat less my thing.

Step 2
I'm willing to save up about 10 million C-Bills before starting on a 'Mech and about the same amount again to finalize the build. I'm unwilling to pay real money except for Mechbays.


So what would you recommend for my next Chassis?


See you in the field
foyrkopp

[Koniving]

Anvil ZA, on 05 April 2014 - 10:48 AM, said:

Thanks in advance, all help is appreciated
Anvil

For the Misery, the real question is how close do you have to be to "brawl"? A Misery is a lot like a Stalker 4N. If you ever had one, you'd know the left arm can't take the same abuse the right arm can, due to no missile door. Miseries have this problem on both arms. Add to it that your left side will always draw more fire than your right, and you're bound to not take the kind of abuse that another Stalker such as the Flamer Stalker can take.

Personally I run an AC/5 + twin PPC combination for range. When I get close I judge it carefully. Yes I lasted about 2 to 3 minutes in a fight against two "4 PPC/ERPPC" mechs in a two on one clusterduck and nearly killed them both in a Misery, but they overheated often as did I. Autocannon users of today don't overheat so often. So again, when I get close I judge carefully whether or not I want to do it. I use the AC/5, 2 SL, an SPL, and an SRM-4 to 6 as my close range weapons for their high frequency of fire and low heat. Once the Misery shuts down you are screwed at close range. If anything gets behind you that's it, you're dead.

So the question is how close is "brawling?" It's not getting surrounded I hope.
For the Misery the bigger the gun the faster you'll lose it.

Edited by Koniving, 05 April 2014 - 11:55 AM.

[Anvil ZA]

Thanks Koniving, that is quite useful. Never thought about the missile door weakness. As for distance, for me a good brawler should be deadly inside of 300m or so, and should never get into a situation of being surrounded. If a targeted enemy does get to within 100 or so, then it should be almost dead, and a well placed shot or 2 should finish it. In your opinion, how does a Misery fair in close quarters compared to a Victor (sorry, my best frame of reference)?

I've kinda decided to keep the best/my favorite of each mech once I elite the chassis, but feel that the stk deserves a long and short range variation, so to be honest, the more I think about it the more I want one...

[foyrkopp]

As someone who brawls up againts Miseries from time to time: When I manage to catch up and circle it in anything with 70 kph so faster, I feel that I generally win out, he just can't get me.

If it sits in a canyon or between teammates, however, I better run retreat and try to come from behind, because otherwise I'm pretty much dead.

A victor on the other hand is far more difficult to outmaneuver due to flexible arms and JJs seems somewhat less scary to take head-on.

This is of course subjective, just the thoughts I have when I face those 'Mechs.


See you in the field
foyrkopp

[xMintaka]

Isn't the answer always a Shadowhawk?

[Denolven]

Anvil ZA, on 05 April 2014 - 10:48 AM, said:

Thanks in advance, all help is appreciated
Anvil

The Misery is a good second line mech, but definitely not the brawler you are looking for. Stalkers in general are not made for melee. They cannot protect their torso by using the arms as shields, and their turning angles are very limiting. The Misery might be your mech if you decide to stick with the long range support role. I play mine like this, and it serves me well.

For brawling, there are a few key things you want to have: big arms to use them as shields if needed, as well as weapon hardpoints in both arms and torso, so you have the flexibility of arm weapons but still are not helpless when you lose your arms (which is the first component you lose once you learn the shielding technique). And of course it helps to have good turning speed (aka good engine). And last but not least you need proper heat efficiency, because you cannot do hit&run while brawling. That usually means ballistic weapons and SRM. Good dps and as little heat as possible. Considering your ping issues, the LBX might be the weapon of your choice. Atlas can mount two of them.

The Victor is probably the best brawler assault, because it's one of the few that are nimble enough and has all the weapon hardpoints you want. Occasionally there is the SRM-packed Battlemaster/Atlas/Highlander, but in most cases the brawling is done by heavy and medium mechs. The kings of brawling are the Cataphract (Ilya/4x) and the Centurion. The CTF does it by sheer firepower, while the CN is like the Terminator and refuses to die.
So I guess my answer is that you should think about using a heavy mech for brawling.
However, if you want to stick with assaults for now, how about this (not tested - I'm a light/medium pilot so I don't really know ). Also brawler Atlas thread (note that the gauss rifle is not a good brawling weapon anymore).

Edited by Denolven, 05 April 2014 - 05:22 PM.

[levitas]

foyrkopp: since it looks like nobody's jumped in with advice for you, I'll bite. Support to me sounds like ecm. ECM gives you flexibility to be in the pack with your teammates, protecting them from missile locks (and as Elo goes up, protecting them from being called as primary targets as easily).

ECM support mechs come best in 3 packages. The raven 3L is the best of the best here. It's high right arm energy mounts work really well with an XL280 or XL295 and 2x ER Large Lasers. If you want, you can also cram in a TAG if you use an XL280.

The Spider 5D is the most survivable of the bunch. It can jump, which is nice, but has a bit less tonnage to work with, which isn't. A thin profile means moving laterally makes leading ballistic shots at you really hard. An XL255 and 2 medium lasers with an ER Large Laser will do well here.

The Cicada 3M is also good. It can do 2 PPCs with ecm and still go 133 kph, which is probably the best build for it. If you want, you can throw in 2 ER Large Lasers, but the raven does it better.


The only other way to do "support" in this game is indirect fire support, which is best accomplished with Long Range Missile heavy builds. LRMs builds can include stalkers (slow), catapults (about right), or even shadowhawks (2D2 is best) or griffins.

[Denolven]

foyrkopp, on 05 April 2014 - 11:50 AM, said:

So what would you recommend for my next Chassis?

According to your preferences, you should go hardcore for medium mechs: moving at >100 + capability of 1-2 large weapons and a bunch of smaller ones = awesome utility/support. You can quickly go where help is needed, and when you arrive you have enough firepower to matter. And if things don't look good, you can retreat to fight at a better place.
The most versatile medium is the Shadowhawk 5M. And it comes with an XL engine already.

Here is one of my SHD that I use as command mech when playing with friends. It can fight in pretty much any situation and is specifically made to fill any gap that migh arise. Need someone to kill that pesky light? I can do it. Need someone to flank? I can to it. Need someone to give suppression fire? I can do it. ECM blinding our team? Let me handle it. You get the idea... the task is to handle any weakness that my lance may have, while being able to pick the tactic that is the enemies weakness, whatever it may be.
If you don't like the AC2 feel free to use another AC. I mainly use it for the dps and the suppression effect. Hated the AC2 at first, but then I noticed how people have trouble shooting back, which is basically like "silence as long as I have line of effect" in LoL (a friend of mine calls it the "shut-the-f*ck-up-weapon"). Suddenly that assault in front of you doesn't look so scary anymore .
This is how I support. I suck at fighting, but I have good battle awareness and see what's happening behind the obvious. That allows me to pick a proper counter, even if it's just by making the opponents aim as bad as mine

If you don't need muliple ballistic hartpoints, the Shadowhawk 2D2 is quite good too. Can pack an AC20 and any backup weaponry you like. And like every Shadowhawk it comes with jump jets, enabling you to pretty much take any route you please. I use mine as a missile-skirmisher (at range 200-250 if I can), because I can't hit shit with large ACs.

If you have lance mate who likes playing LRM boats and teamspeak available, you might want to consider a Commando 2D. You can both scout (TAGing big juicy targets and providing stable locks from an unexpected position) and take care of enemy scouts that may try to pester your LRM buddy. Great synergy. He doesn't even need support weaponry and can go full LRM. A friend of mine regularly did 1k+ damage when we did that combo with his 4x LRM15 Awesome. Despite having 2000+ missiles, he went out of ammo every third battle or so

TLDR: get yourself a Shadowhawk 5M/2D2 and abuse its versatility; and always take a BAP for your team.

Edited by Denolven, 05 April 2014 - 06:43 PM.

[Hawklaser]

As someone just starting out, what would be a good versatile yet mobile mech as a first purchase? Hard to say what I will like as it takes getting used to a game first to see what end up liking about it, as it varies game by game. Though often I do gravitate towards the more utility classes in various other games eventually, but that is not always the case.

Out of the current set of trial mechs, have not tried the Jenner due to the feel of needing to be more used to the controls to take advantage of its fragile, yet close range nature. The Hunchback has been alright, but hate that once they get your right torso you loose about all of your threat value due to most of its weapons being there. The Catapult is ok, but need to get used to having to target lock to fire at anything, as well as how the missiles worked. Was not too impressed by the Victor when tried it out in the testing area, might just be the trial loadout on it.

I do know that I have found enemy missiles to be very annoying, if can't break the fire lock so if going to be playing a somewhat slower mech, it deffinitly needs some anti-missile system.

Been hearing that the Cataphract, and Shadowhawk mechs sort of fit the bill, but in game chat doesn't stick around too long to pick up which one of those specifically.

Real money is not an option, Cbills it depeneds on where tend to end up after all the cadet rewards are given out.

[luxebo]

For the Victor, it's not bad for an assault, but it does need work. Hunchback needs torso twisting, you don't want to lose that hunch. It's up to you on exactly what you want, what do you like specifically? Do you like a lot of lasers, ballistics, all around type mechs, etc? If you don't like the Victor, then likely you might not find use of the Cataphract, as it's similar in weaponry configs (more focused on energy and ballistic but still some have missiles). Cataphracts are not super agile, but they are more agile than the Victor. Nevertheless, Cataphracts are solid mechs Shadow Hawk is not a bad choice at all, as it's all-around and can do mostly anything but boating lasers. If you really like boating lasers however, then you may want to pick something else. Anyway, keep trying the trials, and also finish your Cadet Bonus before anything. Remember, Smurfy is a useful website to planning builds and you need 3 variants of a mech to master it. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab Good luck out there.

[Hawklaser]

luxebo, on 05 April 2014 - 11:23 PM, said:

For the Victor, it's not bad for an assault, but it does need work. Hunchback needs torso twisting, you don't want to lose that hunch. It's up to you on exactly what you want, what do you like specifically? Do you like a lot of lasers, ballistics, all around type mechs, etc? If you don't like the Victor, then likely you might not find use of the Cataphract, as it's similar in weaponry configs (more focused on energy and ballistic but still some have missiles). Cataphracts are not super agile, but they are more agile than the Victor. Nevertheless, Cataphracts are solid mechs Shadow Hawk is not a bad choice at all, as it's all-around and can do mostly anything but boating lasers. If you really like boating lasers however, then you may want to pick something else. Anyway, keep trying the trials, and also finish your Cadet Bonus before anything. Remember, Smurfy is a useful website to planning builds and you need 3 variants of a mech to master it. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab Good luck out there.

Right now really looking for something flexible and customizable enough to start finding what I like, so can go work towards that later. Like with the Victor, it might be one I would like, if I could customize it a bit, as was not very impressed by the Trial load out on it. Which is one of the big things I am not liking about the trial ones, can not customize them at all. With the Hunchback, it did not take long to figure out Torso twisting to try and keep the weapons around longer, but people still heavily focus that right side when possible and is kinda rough to deal with as a new player and not knowing how the maps often play out.

Like with the Armored Core series of games that I played more often, which are similar in some regards to the Mechwarrior games, I would play all sorts of set-ups, Anything from slow as a rock to nimble, and up-close brawlers to long range snipers. It varied between each game in the series, and even from battle to battle. And in the Mechwarrior games I have played in the past, I would do the same thing, as one thing I like doing in games with multiple classes or customization is play each class/main style for a bit to establish a feel for how each works after I get used to the controls and basic mechanics.

[foyrkopp]

@Denolven & solar levitas
Thanks for the advice, I'll add an ECM light and a fast medium to my list. The Shadowhawk just looks awkward to me with its tunnel-vision-cocpit and its slow turning speed (everything else about him is undeniably top rate), so I'll take a closer look at the wWolverine and the Griffin too.

@Hawkaiser
I would definitely recommend the Hunchback series, despite the vulnerable Hunch. Imo the HBKs main selling point are the differing and versatile variants: You got a ballistic heavy chassis (G), an energy boat (P), a variant without Hunch and very fast arm lasers + rocket hardpoints (SP)... Once you mastered these three, you will have gotten a taste of very different playstyles and know better what you like.


See you in the field
foyrkopp

[Anvil ZA]

Once again thanks to all for the advice. Slept on it and I think I'll save my mc for later, maybe get a STK-5S for a bit more clout at closer ranges and can still load up on the support weaps. I like the idea of a twin lbx atlas, but again, I think my atlas (AS7-D) will sit for a while. Battling to get used to a mech which is basically a big "Shoot me first" sign. Will post as time goes by as an update of my success/failures.

If I may offer my own experiences here for Hawklaser (take it or leave it, just opinions really), I still truly adore my Vic 9K. The greatest part for me is the surprise element it brings with JJ's, and also the fact that it packs a decent punch, mounts an AMS, and yet is still quite nimble, especially once you upgrade it's skills. The biggest downside I found was the fact that your main weapons are in your arms, so using them as shields and losing them takes you out of a fight quite quickly. On the other side of that coin, with a std engine, IMHO it does zombie quite well. I have gone through whole matches missing a torso/arm and was still combat effective to some degree. Taking on a heavier assault in a face-to-face fight rarely ended well, but was easy enough with superior speed/agility to stay away from any fatal alphas.

(Disclaimer, warranty void if removed etc.) I am no veteren, so all i can offer are my personal experiences, so maybe consult a few big dogs before making a final choice.

And to the bigger dogs, your help is appreciated as always!
Anvil

[Denolven]

Hawklaser, on 05 April 2014 - 10:22 PM, said:

As someone just starting out, what would be a good versatile yet mobile mech as a first purchase?
I do know that I have found enemy missiles to be very annoying

Usually versatility comes with mediums, as they have the ability to relocate in time, allowing you to pick your fights. They also have enough tonnage already to pick some team equipment.
You should probably check out the Cicada 3M. It's fast, it can use ballistic weaponry, and it brings an ECM wich makes both you and near allies almost immune to missiles (far better than AMS). Plus its arms can only move up/down, which means one thing less to care about (Cicada has very good torso movement, you won't have trouble with the arm limitation). It can be built into a variety of roles ranging from invisible Gauss sniper to pesky hit&run harasser.

Edited by Denolven, 06 April 2014 - 07:16 AM.

[Denolven]

foyrkopp, on 06 April 2014 - 01:26 AM, said:

The Shadowhawk just looks awkward to me with its tunnel-vision-cocpit and its slow turning speed (everything else about him is undeniably top rate), so I'll take a closer look at the wWolverine and the Griffin too.

Now that's funny, because I use Trebuchets for that exact reason
Wolverine and Griffin have the same movement profile as a Shadowhawk I think. They are all 55 tons. I use Trebuchets 5J/7M (various laser/missile combinations, example) and Blackjack-1 (for the Dakka), which are a bit more nimble.
Also keep in mind that twisting speed is affected by engine rating and by pilot skills (once you got full elite skills, you'll notice a difference). I started with a 325 rating engine on the Treb, but after eliting it I noticed that XL300 does the job well enough and gives a bit more room for utility stuff.
The Shadowhawk advertising made me all , and then I got the ingame thing and I was
(never buy anything that you haven't seen ingame before)


As for the ECM lights, keep in mind that the Spider sucks at fighting other lights, unless you have godlike aim. However, the Spider is the one that can survive running through the whole enemy team, doing all kinds of crazy stunts and distracting a whole bunch of people. Raven is more of a fire support, while Commando basically defends your team against enemy lights.

Edited by Denolven, 06 April 2014 - 07:31 AM.