41 replies to this topic

[Pekiti]

OK, I've read a bit about the 3/3/3/3 thing, and it occurs to me that having a couple of mechs in each weight class (i.e., for all four weight classes) would be a good thing, if I don't want to sit around waiting to get into a match or run with some friends.

The question becomes "Which mechs would make a good stable for a relatively new player"?

Here's some assumptions to work with:

I have 8 to 12 mech bays available (no more than 12).
I can afford to buy Premium time in 30 day chunks when I want it.
I have not yet mastered or elited any mechs, though I have unlocked the basic efficiency(s) on several chassis.
I have no particular 'favorite' play style, but I enjoy the Hunchback and own several already.
As a Founder, I have the Founder mechs available as well.


So which mechs/builds would you recommend to create a 'stable' for the 3/3/3/3 limits?

Edited by Marvyn Dodgers, 14 May 2014 - 05:41 PM.

[Buckminster]

My 'stable':

Lights - Locusts, Ravens
Mediums - Shadow Hawks (also own Centurions, Griffins, Wolverines)
Heavy - Jagermech (also own Catapults and Thunderbolt)
Assault - Battlemaster

For the lights, I know the Locusts aren't well liked - that's my preference. But the Ravens give a lot of variety, and have an ECM variant. Some prefer other mechs, but they are still very solid.

For the mediums, the Shadow Hawks have a lot of variety. They are more your jack-of-all-trades mechs, they can built to fill many roles.

For the heavy, I just love the dakka of the Jager. Twin AC/5 & LL on my Firebrand, twin LBX and quad MGs on my -DD, twin UAC and quad Streaks on my -A, quad AC/5 on my -S. I just love autocannons, and the Jager is a perfect chassis for them.

For the assault, it's a simple matter of the Battlemaster being the only one I have. I'm just not an assault guy.

Now, I know there are lots of good mechs that didn't make my list. The 'phracts are nice, and I'm just a total noob at assaults. This is really a matter of what I have in my garage, most of which came through my purchase of the Phoenix package.

As for which builds to recommend - that's tough. I'd look at which chassis are flexible, meaning that you can set up the three variants in distinctly different ways. The Jager is a good example of that - it has two ballistic heavy variants, but it also has a missile variant and a ballistic/energy hero. So while my builds are all similar, you could make an LRM boat out of that -A, and have a mech that plays differently while contributing to your pilot skills.

Edited by Buckminster, 13 May 2014 - 04:47 PM.

[Lyoto Machida]

How "meta" do you want to go?

You could always go:

Assault: VTRs
Heavy: CTF-3D
Medium: SHDs
Light: RVN-3L/Ember

[Mahws]

I really don't see 3/3/3/3 effecting your choices at all if you're dropping solo. You just pick your mech, hit launch and wait, nothing really changes in regards to what you're choosing. Light and medium mechs are the least popular so if you're concerned about wait times you'll probably get into matches a few seconds earlier with them.

Even in groups the only mech I can think of that would be effected by 3/3/3/3 is the Cicada. It's the only medium that can reach 150kp/h so will probably see use with organized teams/4 man groups as the fourth mech in a light mech lance.

[ShinVector]

Buckminster, on 13 May 2014 - 04:44 PM, said:

For the lights, I know the Locusts aren't well liked - that's my preference. But the Ravens give a lot of variety, and have an ECM variant. Some prefer other mechs, but they are still very solid.

Not limited to the Locust. All future 20 ton light mechs will have no real purpose in the game when they have so, little armour that getting 1shotted by a single ac20 is possible.
*One of PGI's failures when it comes to role warfare in this game.

[Pekiti]

Buckminster, on 13 May 2014 - 04:44 PM, said:

As for which builds to recommend - that's tough. I'd look at which chassis are flexible, meaning that you can set up the three variants in distinctly different ways. The Jager is a good example of that - it has two ballistic heavy variants, but it also has a missile variant and a ballistic/energy hero. So while my builds are all similar, you could make an LRM boat out of that -A, and have a mech that plays differently while contributing to your pilot skills.

This seems like an excellent point. I should look for mechs that allow a variety of builds across the variants, so that I can basic/elite/master them and then have some options. Having at least one ECM mech sounds like a solid choice too.

[Void Angel]

First, use Smurfy's for all your reference needs - it is not only the best reference site I've personally encountered, it is an utterly peerless resource for MWO. Stats are pulled from the game files, with very few exceptions, so the data is solidly accurate.

For Lights, go with Firestarters and Ravens - this will give you a heavy-combat light along with the most heavily-armed ECM light chassis.

Mediums, you want Shadowhawks, and Shadowhawks - seriously, though, the Shadowhawk is such a good all-arounder that you should get it, and then pick another medium based on what you like about the Shadowhawk.

For Heavies, I'd recommend the Cataphract and the Thunderbolt. The Cataphract has a huge range of loadout options between its chassis, including one of the two truly efficient jump snipers left in the game. On the other hand, the thunderbolt - despite its light weight - is a very flexible chassis which has the added benefit of being possibly the best chassis in the game at spreading incoming damage. It's boxy body proportions are perfect for it, and my Thunderbolt feels like the toughest thing I drive short of a 90+ ton Assault 'mech.

Speaking of assaults, I'd recommend the Victor, the Stalker, and either the Atlas or the Banshee - pick two, depending on your play style. The Victor is highly agile, and currently the most powerful efficient jump-sniper; the Stalker can boat missiles or lasers with equal ease (or both at once, if you feel frolicksome;) and the Atlas is still the biggest, baddest, slowest 'Mech out there, capable of both high-powered AC/Energy builds and AC/based slugfest brawling with ECM to add confusion to the melee - the Banshee, while lacking missile racks, is almost as tough, a bit more mobile, and can mount more autocannons (particularly the 3E.)

As Mahws pointed out, however, just the Rule of 3s isn't going to affect you much as a solo dropper. We'll have to wait for community warfare and a true pregame lobby first. Still, chance favors the prepared, and your idea of arranging your 'mech stable to accommodate any drop composition is a good one.

Edited by Void Angel, 13 May 2014 - 05:05 PM.

[luxebo]

Since you are a Founder, you should simply master all 4 chassis variants (Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult, Atlas), and you will have plenty of variety here. Jenner (D, F for lasers, and then K for modules or Oxide (hero) for missiles), Hunchback (4G, 4SP for zombie, and 4P for lasers with 4J or Grid Iron (hero) being optional if you don't want a hunch or two of em, no need of 4H as it's the same as 4G pretty much), Catapult (C1, C4/A1 for missiles, K2 for direct fire, and/or Jester (hero) for lasers), and Atlas (DDC for ECM, RS/Boar's Head (hero) for lasers, and K for double AMS and XL 300, though expensive). This would work well with the 3/3/3/3 module, as you've something to play in each class and especially if you already like the Hunchie. Hope I helped.

Edit: Also you have to get 3 variants in order to master that chassis which I believe you know.

Edited by luxebo, 13 May 2014 - 05:08 PM.

[Buckminster]

ShinVector, on 13 May 2014 - 04:54 PM, said:

Not limited to the Locust. All future 20 ton light mechs will have no real purpose in the game when they have so, little armour that getting 1shotted by a single ac20 is possible.
*One of PGI's failures when it comes to role warfare in this game.

Yeah, running Locusts is a combination of "for the lulz" and "MWO hard mode". Unless you're one of those weirdos that likes the Locust, it's really hard to recommend a mech that is about half the weight of a Raven, Firestarter or Jenner.

Does make me wish that PGI instituted tonnage limits, and allowed for lopsided teams. I'd love to see a 9v12, where the 9 mechs are heavier on average than the 12. It'd make for a very interesting match.

[ShinVector]

Buckminster, on 13 May 2014 - 05:46 PM, said:

Yeah, running Locusts is a combination of "for the lulz" and "MWO hard mode". Unless you're one of those weirdos that likes the Locust, it's really hard to recommend a mech that is about half the weight of a Raven, Firestarter or Jenner.

Does make me wish that PGI instituted tonnage limits, and allowed for lopsided teams. I'd love to see a 9v12, where the 9 mechs are heavier on average than the 12. It'd make for a very interesting match.

LOL... Like we don't get enough QQ from try hard assault pilots...
says, "My assault mech is the biggest and baddest mech in MW ! Lights are OP! They should NOT be allowed to destroy my mech !!"

[Pekiti]

luxebo, on 13 May 2014 - 05:08 PM, said:

Since you are a Founder, you should simply master all 4 chassis variants (Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult, Atlas), and you will have plenty of variety here. Jenner (D, F for lasers, and then K for modules or Oxide (hero) for missiles), Hunchback (4G, 4SP for zombie, and 4P for lasers with 4J or Grid Iron (hero) being optional if you don't want a hunch or two of em, no need of 4H as it's the same as 4G pretty much), Catapult (C1, C4/A1 for missiles, K2 for direct fire, and/or Jester (hero) for lasers), and Atlas (DDC for ECM, RS/Boar's Head (hero) for lasers, and K for double AMS and XL 300, though expensive). This would work well with the 3/3/3/3 module, as you've something to play in each class and especially if you already like the Hunchie. Hope I helped.

Edit: Also you have to get 3 variants in order to master that chassis which I believe you know.

The game has changed so much since Beta, I wasn't sure if my Founder's set were even 'average' choices anymore. Not everyone has the Founder's set, either, so I was hoping to find out whether or not they (Jenner, Hunch, Cat, Atlas) were recommended outside of the Founder's benefits.

Edited by Pekiti, 13 May 2014 - 05:57 PM.

[Wildstreak]

Make sure you have 12 bays.

Pick one Mech of each weight, get 3 variants of it so you can Master all. Heroes and Champions count as variants and you still need a free MechBay for them.

Spend time learning what each Mech is good for.

Lights usually are not LRM boats though I have seen attempts, typically fast Brawlers/Skirmishers, sometimes Snipers.

Others depends on the Mech.

Find the ones that allow roles you want to play with, get those.

So your first step is figuring out what Roles you want to play. Hopefully, your time spent in Trial Mechs allowed you to figure out what you liked and did not.

[Pekiti]

Another thought comes to mind - as Mahws and Void Angel pointed out, 3x4 won't affect me much if I drop solo all the time. On the other hand, if I ever want to join an organized group, being able to say 'I have a good selection of mechs mastered and can fill any drop requirement you have' might be a good thing.

[Not Bob]

The founder's mechs are still useful and viable with the right builds

I have 61 mechs, all of them are at least basiced out, most mastered. My personal choice of mechs for 3x4 would be as follows:

Assault: Atlas-D-DC, BNC-3E, STK-M
Heavy: Orion-V (Missle boat on this is OP!), JM6 (Any varient), CTF (3D, or 4X)
Medium: Shadowhawk (Any variant), Hunchback, BlackJack
Light: FS9, JR7, RVN


I picked those for their versatility, resilience and overall firepower they can bring to the enemy without sacrificing too much. You could probably swap out the Orions as they don't preform as well as brawlers (Doable, but tough), but they are a very versatile mech platform. The catapults are mostly good as LRM boats, so I didn't list them in there, but they aren't bad at all. They just aren't versitle enough to fill many roles.


Anyways, that's just my two cents

[Xoxim SC]

I personally don't pilot lights, nor assaults but for mediums and heavies...
Medium: Centurion or Hunchback if you enjoy brawling and not poptarting and whatever the other meta kiddies do.
Heavy: Cataphract/Orion. I personally love the Orions as a brawler, they're quite satisfying.

I'm personally going when clan mechs are released:
Light: Kit fox
Medium: Blackhawk
Heavy: Summoner

[Pekiti]

Looking over the lights and what folks have suggested, it looks like a Raven should be my first pick, and the ECM variant specifically. After that either a Firestarter (Ember or FS9-S maybe) and then a Jenner probably. That would give me a great variety of build options, one solid ECM platform, and jumpjets (on most).

[MortVent]

For me it's going to be:
Light - Jenner (not my favorite weight class , but of all the jump capable ones it's closest to what I like)
Medium - Griffin (can tweak what I got to suit me, might not be a shadowhawk... but I like the chassis)
Heavy - Catapult or Thunderbolt (depends on what I want to run)
Assault - Highlander (versatile chassis) or Victor

And yes, if it don't have jump jets... I'm not likely to pilot it (the thunderbolts are really the only mechs I might pilot somewhat regularly without jets)

[Konril]

Honestly, I would think a legendary founder would be able to answer that question better than I can. After all, the rest of us are even newer than that.

Anyway, I am happy to tell you what I've already done. This is pretty much my own opinion and preferences, so feel free to do your own thing if you want.

Lights:
The two light mechs I currently have in my stable is the RVN-3L and SDR-5D. Yes, two ECM mechs, as I consider them very important to the survival of the team as a whole. Actually, since the stat reset, my Raven has the best win/loss record of my entire stable with 18 wins 12 losses, in spite having the worst kill/death ratio with 7 kills and 18 deaths. Yes, I'm pretty sure that information warfare and supporting the team, even in pickup groups, works.

The Spider is lots of fun since it is the only mech out there with both ECM and jump jets. My record with this mech as of this writing is 17 wins, 13 losses, 19 kills, and 15 deaths. So it performs very well for me in spite the really low firepower rating. Mastering it was more of a hassle though, as trying to do anything with just an ER large laser in the center torso is really difficult (whether the 5V or the 5K). But I'm pretty happy with the final result.

Mediums:
What I currently have kept in this category is the CDA-3M, and a couple of Wolverines (WVR-6R, and WVR-7K). Unfortunately, my Cicada got hit really hard with the light autocannon nerf. But the combination of low-heat Ultra/5 fire with the two medium lasers allows it to DPS much better than my light ECM mechs. So it's still a keeper.

The Wolverines are an unusual choice. To be honest, my first mech mastery was reach with the Centurion series. Way back in the day the medium mechs either felt like overweight lights (Cicada) or underweight heavies (Hunchback), with the CN9-D the only one with the engine capacity and weight to actually feel like a medium mech to me. That has (obviously) been corrected a long time ago. But the Wolverine series looked like a perfect opportunity to put jump jets on my CN9-D loadout with enough variations in the other mechs variants to keep things interesting. Honestly, considering the loadouts that do work for me, I can't help but wonder if I wouldn't have been happier in a Griffin.

Although I personally don't like the fact that the big shoulder cannons block half your view, a lot of people like the Shadowhawk a lot more than the old Hunchback. Jump jets are a huge help with mobility and the Shadowhawk doesn't have that gargantuan "shoot here!" hunch that gave the Hunchback its name.

Heavies:
The top of my list here is the JM6-S Jagermech. Since the stat wipe, this mech has the same 18/12 win-loss ratio my Raven has, but with a lot more impressive kill/death. Specifically 29 kills and 16 deaths. Very ironically, the autocannon nerf that has practically spelled the end of some of my medium designs doesn't seem to be slowing this beast down at all. For training and a change of pace, the JM6-A makes a passable LRM boat.

I also have two of the Cataphracts still in my mech bays, including a 4 AC/5 CTF-4X, and a 2 AC/10 jumping CTF-3D. They have both been doing good for me with 18 winds 14 losses each. But honestly the low arms compared to the Jagermech series does make the Cataphracts feel awkward in comparison.

Assaults:
AS7-D-DC hands down is my first choice. (Or maybe this one?) As the only mech over 40 tons to be able to carry an ECM, it really stands out. Unfortunately a bit too much, as any enemy DDC is my top priority for NARCing when possible. But I can say it's still fun to be in one, and seeing several at once on a time is a sure sign that somebody is going to have a really bad day.

But to be honest, I've been getting good results from two of the Highlanders, the HGN-733C and HGN-733P. The 733C is very close to being a "meta" build, and really good at winning (18 wins 14 losses). The 733P does spectacularly well as a missile boat (17 wins 16 losses).

Since I did talk a lot about some of my personal stats, I think I should say this. My overall stats since the stat wipe are 243 wins, 234 losses (1.04 W/L), 295 kills, and 330 deaths (0.89 K/D). So I feel I'm very likely a mere average player. So, seeing good results on a specific chasis does say something positive to me about that chasis or the loadout I put on there. Your own mileage may vary.

[luxebo]

Pekiti, on 13 May 2014 - 05:56 PM, said:

The game has changed so much since Beta, I wasn't sure if my Founder's set were even 'average' choices anymore. Not everyone has the Founder's set, either, so I was hoping to find out whether or not they (Jenner, Hunch, Cat, Atlas) were recommended outside of the Founder's benefits.

The chassis still all work well up to now, you just gotta watch for the vulnerabilities and issues these mechs have (aka that big CT of a Catapult, Hunchie's hunch, Jenner and being a light in general, and Atlas being focused). With the right builds, all four of em can be very powerful in their respects.

[Pekiti]

Konril, on 13 May 2014 - 06:53 PM, said:

Honestly, I would think a legendary founder would be able to answer that question better than I can. After all, the rest of us are even newer than that.

(laughs)

Well, being a 'Legendary Founder' just means I spent a bunch of money back when the game was even less functional than it is today. I have a long history of supporting games that appeal to me, and I'm a builder/founder/etc in quite a few. Some of those games went on to be very successful, and a few died off early. Most I don't play much anymore, real life just doesn't allow me the same free time I used to have.

Back in Beta I was a little better than average player (1.62 K/D ratio, 488 games). But I left early and came back just a couple of weeks ago - I am just as bad as any new player these days, except I have a hefty chunk of Premium time and some free mechs gathering dust in my mechbay. I want to get better, and I want to be the kind of player that you'd be happy to find on your team in a PUG (instead of weeping/wailing or offering to trade me to the other team for a half a pack of cigarettes).

I really do appreciate your detailed explanation of why you kept the mechs you did, and why they perform for you the way they do. I've tried a couple of matches in a Spider (the ECM version) and despite getting lost/stuck in cracks/falling off mountains for half the match, I finally got into the fight and racked up a nice chunk of XP on it. It was fun, but Lord it was hard to drive after Hunchbacks. The ECM aspect of the game these days seems really important, as I see it every match and it really plays hob with targeting. I think I should have at least one ECM variant (if possible) in each weight class.

Edited by Pekiti, 13 May 2014 - 07:16 PM.