35 replies to this topic

[Rott]

Any tips on learning this game faster. I have been playing WOT for about a year and am doing ok. I have been getting nothing but frustration from MWOL and am about to uninstall it and go back to the panzers.

[Tesunie]

Is there any specific part you wish to ask for help on? Kinda hard to "tell you how to play the whole game" if you know what I mean.

As far as learning curve, I'd only be able to say to just play the game. Finding a group with some voice comms would probably be best in boosting the "fun" factor as well as helping you learn the game better. Just having someone watching your back can really increase your chances of living while you learn. Increased chance of living means living longer, which means playing longer.

If there is a specific question you have about the game though, feel free to post it. Many people (especially Koniving) are on the forums and are willing to help answer any questions you may have.

[GLIZZY GULPER]

Select the Trial Victor, the big one with the electric mixer hand, and stay with friendlies. When you see an enemy, back up the bigger guys and shoot the bad guys. Aim for the middle of the mech.

[IraqiWalker]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 05:16 PM, said:

Any tips on learning this game faster. I have been playing WOT for about a year and am doing ok. I have been getting nothing but frustration from MWOL and am about to uninstall it and go back to the panzers.

I'm also a WOT player (mainly the soviet tree), for me that game is frustration, and this one is easy.

Aside from the mostly unhelpful posts, here are some basic things to do to help you survive:

Stick with the group.
Learn to use cover and terrain to your advantage.
Try and always lock on to your targets, to better see where they are vulnerable.
When you see a target with a solid triangle above them, that means someone else is locked on to them, and possibly hitting them, hit that target. Focused fire is your best friend.

This last one comes from trial and error, more than anything else:
Learn what your mech is strong at, and what it is weak at. Once you figure out the role, either adapt to it, or switch up the weapons, or mech for something you can be comfortable with.


PM me your time zone, and I will personally drop with you to help you with more specific aspects of the game, and the maps. You don't need comms to play this game well, but it helps.

If you give us more specific questions, about which frustrate you, or cause you difficulty, myself and others will do our best to answer them, and to help you play the game. I have this whole week off (except for a 1 hour dentist appointment tomorrow).

[Koniving]

Ouch. There are long standing issues (trust me I complain about them frequently), but I've yet to see real issues even mentioned in either of the big complaint posts. (And if it's so bad.. why are you here?)

Now Dan Novak, the game's got a really broad curve. I'm gonna need some specifics here.

If what you're looking for is specifically on killing something... On your next match try this.
Hit "R" when you see an enemy. In the upper right you'll get information. Yellow, orange, and especially red places are weakened. Red being the weakest. Hit the enemy in these areas as displayed on the screen.

I highly recommend going into the "Testing Grounds."

If you find the enemy too eager to blast you to crap, consider trying the Firestarter. Play it World of Tanks style; don't get too aggressive, observe the field, maybe follow around something larger and hunt down other little pests? Just don't get lured into a chase.

But to truly help you, I need something much more specific.

[Redshift2k5]

without specific problems being raised, let's go over some basics.

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Documentation is lacking so your fellow players are your best source of information.
Bookmark Smurfy, a fantastic resource for mechs info, mech stats, weapon stats, every cost, value, and number in MWO is available on Smurfy.
Stick to your team. Don't walk right up their butt, but go where they go and shoot who they shoot. Don't do anything to make yourself a target. Don't be the first mech to go around a corner.
Get a USB headset, look for a merc corp or use a public grouping service like NGNG TS3 server or the Comstar NA TS3 server. Playing in a group gives you lots of advantages, not the least of which is instant answers to any questions you may have.
Make sure your framerate is at a reasonable level or you will have a very hard time hitting enemies. Pressing F9 shows your frames per second, if it's less than 30 you should probably lower game settings & resolution.

Are you playing in 3rd person (camera behind your mech)? Are you playing with Arm lock on(arms do not move independently of the torso)? Are you playing with throttle decay on(mech stops moving if you stop pressing W)? The options menu will allow you to toggle these optional controls which may give you a better play experience. Pressing F4 in a match toggles first vs third person, easy to try one or the other even during a match. Experiment!

Ask questions!

Edited by Redshift2k5, 27 May 2014 - 06:04 PM.

[Barkem Squirrel]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 05:16 PM, said:

Any tips on learning this game faster. I have been playing WOT for about a year and am doing ok. I have been getting nothing but frustration from MWOL and am about to uninstall it and go back to the panzers.

First get voice communications and I would advise the NGNG (no guts no galaxy) teamspeak server.
http://mwomercs.com/...mspeak-servers/

As far as learning, please tell me that the frame rate you have is over 20 frames persecond at least. That is important.

Then how do you like to play?
What type of play stile are you good at?

Now the basics,
learn to move and torso twist.
Learn to move torso twist and shoot (use arm lock)
learn to move torso twist, shoot and aim with the arm mounted weapons (unlock arm lock)
learn what type of cover can block LRMs (this is very important)


It took me a while to figure out what type of play stile I was good at, like 6 months and I was fighting low frame rates. (hit f9 for that information in mech lab or in game)

LRMs allowed me to sit back and assess the battle, or learn situational awareness. That is more important than learning how to shoot right now. That will come by itself.

If you are out on your own, you will die alone.


Almost forgot, Play what you enjoy playing. That is most important, but first we would have to help you get to that point. The learning curve is huge and even us that have been playing since 2012 turn a corner and say hi to the entire other team, then die.

Edited by Barkem Squirrel, 27 May 2014 - 06:16 PM.

[n r g]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 05:16 PM, said:

Any tips on learning this game faster. I have been playing WOT for about a year and am doing ok. I have been getting nothing but frustration from MWOL and am about to uninstall it and go back to the panzers.

1. Adjust video settings to obtain at the minimum 30 frames per second (1920x1080 resolution if you have a 16:9 resolution monitor, try to match native if you can. If not, lower resolution but keep aspect ratio i.e. 16:9 is 1920x1080, 1600x900 and 1280x720 and 4:3 would be 800x600). I would AIM for 60FPS however, though it's difficult with MWO because it seems poorly coded i.e. I can get near 300FPS on CS:GO in 1080P High settings and near 200fps in BF4 with a mixture of high/low settings on 1080P but for some reason dip to even 50 fps on MWO with almost every setting on LOW. I've seen simliar results with other peoples high-end set-ups. You can even aim for 120fps if you have a 120Hz monitor like myself i.e. BenQ XL2420TX.

2. Adjust keybinds to allow for ease of movement/shooting. Map important keys near your "cluster" i.e. ASWD or arrow-keys or whatever you like. Set mouse sensitivity where it's slow/fast enough that you can aim accurately.

3. Arm lock/throttle decay. Most MW4/old school mechwarrior pilots play MWO with arm lock ON, including most of my team (Clan Smoke Jaguars, http://www.smokejaguars.com). Though the "new" crowd to MWO tend to use arm lock OFF. Both can be used effectively and simliarly. If you find torso turn with arm lock ON too slow, raise mouse sensitivity and vice versa if mouse feels too twitchy/fast with arm lock OFF. You can snipe faster and more accurate with arm lock ON due to convergence between equal with arm and torso weapons whereas with arm lock OFF torso weapons LAG behind arms, though arms move FASTER (again, you can simply raise mouse sensitivity with arm lock ON to obtain a similar feel to arm lock OFF). Throttle decay ON essential mimics modern day FPS where you hold "W" to move forward and when you let go you STOP. At first glance it looks trivial and more cumbersome than simply using the "stick throttle", which lets you throttle the mech in increments forward and let go, but still MOVE. After analysis though, one can see the mechs THROTTLE FASTER with throttle decay "ON". yes, it's true, the mechs will ACCELERATE and DECELERATE FASTER with throttle decay ON. you can test it yourself. it's very minute, but more noticeable with fast light mechs.

IMO, a new player should use arm lock ON, unless he absolutely wants to use arm lock OFF and use throttle decay OFF, unless he is used to FPS like CS:GO or Battlefield.

4. Mech builds. Even with good FPS, good keybinds, good in-game settings, you will essential be "mediocre" unless you have a solid mech build. Most people putting up 500-1000dmg every game have a SOLID, POWERFUL and reliable mech build. Usually meta, which is PPC and AC5 at the moment.

5. Get a team. I wouldn't have the win/loss ratio nor K/D i have now, had I NOT played with my teammates so often at CSJ. Actually, coming from competitive CSGO and BF3/BF4, I would have already un-installed this game since the learning curve IMO tends to be higher and new players more oblvious.

If you want to keep your sanity and really test your teamwork, head to COMSTAR or put in applciations for a solid unit so you can at the VERY Minimum drop with at-least 4 teammates.

That's all I can think of at the top of my head at the moment, if I missed something let me know.

Edited by E N E R G Y, 27 May 2014 - 06:10 PM.

[Xoxim SC]

I want to give good advice, but I can't because PGI gives no room for trial and error, at all.

They literally give you no ability to try out a mech, customize it to your liking, and allow you to try it out for a couple days without spending MC/C-Bills. For new players this would be a FANTASTIC mechanic because it would allow you to A) learn the mech lab, get your feet wet in a multitude of mechs, C) allow you to find a specific chassis you enjoy, and D) give you a level of satisfaction in which you know you aren't wasting your time/money.

All that aside, you can try out the ever slow changing trial mechs until you find a mech that feels right, and go from there, utilize the Training Ground to get an idea of how heat and such works on the different areas that have several types of climates, and watch some videos on YouTube.

Other than that, I ain't got nothin :|

[Buckminster]

I'll say it simply.

First, ignore the haters. There is some bad blood with some players here (and some of it rightly so), but at the core the game is free and fun. There have been some balance issues and some features promised that have not yet been delivered, but they do not change the fact that at it's root, MWO is fun.

Second, listen to Koniving. He has the badge of "welcoming committee" for a reason.

Third, don't try and be the hero. In WoT, if you have a big enough tank, you can reasonably Rambo your way into a match and take a few guys with you. In MWO, if you try and Rambo you WILL perish. Quickly. Every weapon on every mech can be extremely lethal to the one you are in, and if you try and go alone all you will do is make yourself a juicy target.

Honestly, stick with it, and practice in the Training Grounds. Once you start to get through the curve, the game is a lot of fun.

[Golrar]

Don't start with the biggest you can afford. Start with something with good mobility. People say lights are tough to master at the beginning, but mediums are perfect for new players. You have enough armor not to die in one or two shots, and you have the mobility to keep up with the group. Firepower is usually decent as well. Starting with mediums gives you a good place to start and you can adjust up or down as you like.

And don't buy anything until you finish your first 25 matches. Use the trial mechs to get a feel for how you like to play. And don't be worried if you like multiple play styles. Sometimes I like to fly around in my JR7-F and bite ankles, sometimes I like to stomp around in my Heavy Metal. Just do what is fun for you.

Always stay with the group if possible, but don't crowd your team. Just try to stay within 300m and don't bump into anyone. Going off on your own thinking you are going to sneak around and surprise them isn't going to work. They have the same idea.

Torso twist and cover are must learn skills. Only real way to learn this is trial and error. learn where your weapons are mounted so you can stay partially concealed and still shoot.

Don't charge into the enemy at first. Stay back and watch the flow of battle. If you see a guy by himself, chances are he is not alone, you just can't see everybody else around the corner.

DO NOT chase the rabbit. That light that comes in and then fades away wants you to chase him. He is running to his friends.

Shoot what your friends are shooting at.

Learn weapon restrictions. One of the things I see the most when spectating is that guy in the LRM boat trial popping off all his missles at a target over 1000m away. Or trying to brawl with a PPC inside 90m. These aren't the only restrictions, though. Learn your optimal ranges for the different weapons to maximize damage. And learn which weapons work well together (meaning rate of fire and range). Testing grounds is also good to practice aim. Don't just walk up to the stationary mechs and stop, pop off rounds till it dies. Try circling while firing, jumping while firing, firing and twisting away. Think about how in an actual drop that thing is shooting back.

Watch your heat. Overheating turns you into a juicy pot pie, and everybody salivates over pot pie.

And the most important skill to learn is patience. There is no respawn, and unless you get real lucky, there are no one shot kills. Don't get frustrated because you die. Everybody dies in the beginning and everybody dies later, too. Dying is part of the learning process. When you die, don't just exit and go back to the mechlab. Spectate and watch what others do. You will learn a lot.

[IraqiWalker]

Buckminster, on 27 May 2014 - 06:19 PM, said:

Every weapon on every mech can be extremely lethal to the one you are in, and if you try and go alone all you will do is make yourself a juicy target.

Honestly, stick with it, and practice in the Training Grounds. Once you start to get through the curve, the game is a lot of fun.

That part is extremely important, an AC5 on a light mech is still the same as an AC5 on an assault mech.

Basically to use WOT terms.

there are no tiers here. Every weapon is a tier 10 weapon. That atlas with an AC20 is packing (for example) a 175 MM cannon from an IS7. The Raven 4x with an AC20 is also packing that exact 175MM cannon with the same shell.

The same goes for every other weapon out there. The Medium Laser will deal 5 damage regardless of whether you are in a light or an assault.

The only difference between weight classes is the amount of armor and speed. the lighter the mech, the faster it is, but the less armor it can pack. The bigger the mech, the slower it is, but the more armor it has.

For example, and this is using actual numbers where the armor on the CT (Center Torso) has been 100% allocated to the front CT of these mechs:

A Commando (20 ton light) has 32 points of armor on the front CT plus 16 for it's internal structure (internal equals total armor for that section/2, and no, splitting your armor between rear and front doesn't affect total internal health.) for a total of 48 health for it's CT

While an Atlas has 124 points of armor, and 62 internal health. For a total of 186 health for it's CT

However, those numbers might make it seem like assault mechs are invincible, they are not. They are harder to bring down, but since we're all using the same weapons, my commando's lasers deal just as much damage, and if I'm good, I will kill that Atlas with my commando.

[Rott]

IraqiWalker, on 27 May 2014 - 05:55 PM, said:

PM me your time zone, and I will personally drop with you to help you with more specific aspects of the game, and the maps. You don't need comms to play this game well, but it helps.

If you give us more specific questions, about which frustrate you, or cause you difficulty, myself and others will do our best to answer them, and to help you play the game. I have this whole week off (except for a 1 hour dentist appointment tomorrow).

Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it. I'll start with something simple. Is it possible to configure the keyboard on a trial Mech? For the life of me I cannot figure it out. 2nd, is there any kind of complete manual on this game? All I can find are player posted tutorials. Full disclosure here also, I think I screwed up and ran out and bought a Jenner and just kept getting massacred. I'm having more success with the trial Orion. I have not killed anybody yet but I an getting some assists. I sold the Jenner and am saving up for something a bit more substantial.

[IraqiWalker]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 06:58 PM, said:

Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it. I'll start with something simple. Is it possible to configure the keyboard on a trial Mech? For the life of me I cannot figure it out. 2nd, is there any kind of complete manual on this game? All I can find are player posted tutorials. Full disclosure here also, I think I screwed up and ran out and bought a Jenner and just kept getting massacred. I'm having more success with the trial Orion. I have not killed anybody yet but I an getting some assists. I sold the Jenner and am saving up for something a bit more substantial.

I pilot lights mainly, and so I can help you with the jenner. It's a great mech, but lights are one of the hardest weights to get proficient with.

The keyboard can be configured regardless of the mech. Go to settings and then change the controls there. Double click what binding you want to change, and then put in the key you want. (got my weapons groups set up as LMB group one, RMB group 2, Mouse3, group 3, and Mouse 4 group 4, with the scroll button for zoom toggle)

Since you are in a light, you will get massacred a lot. However, if you tell me which variant, I can give you a proper build that will help you perform better. Also, be sure to first unlock "Heat Containment", and "cool running" on your mech's basic XP tree.

They will help a long way with the Jenner.

Also, when piloting a jenner, remember that you have jumpjets (space bar). Use those a lot and get comfortable with them. No need to jump max distance, In fact short jump that allow you to re-orient your mech and turn on a dime are possible, and quite the skill to have.

The Jenner also lacks arms, and it's CT is huge, you have great vertical movement on your "ears", but you can't aim sideways at all. You are however one of the fastest mechs in the game, so always use hit-and-run tactics. If you enter a fair fight, you made a mistake, never let your opponent have a fair chance against you. Cripple them when they are not looking, and run and hide, or hit someone else. Keep doing that until your opponent is worn down and can't do much but token resistance, then put them out of their misery.

[Tesunie]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 06:58 PM, said:

Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it. I'll start with something simple. Is it possible to configure the keyboard on a trial Mech? For the life of me I cannot figure it out. 2nd, is there any kind of complete manual on this game? All I can find are player posted tutorials. Full disclosure here also, I think I screwed up and ran out and bought a Jenner and just kept getting massacred. I'm having more success with the trial Orion. I have not killed anybody yet but I an getting some assists. I sold the Jenner and am saving up for something a bit more substantial.

1. You can change your keyboard bindings for any mech. This is a system setting and has no relation to the mech you own. When you have the game loaded and in the main screen of the main interface (can also be done in a match or training grounds) should see a gear and the word "settings" in the bottom right corner of the interface. From there, select "keyboard" to change what key presses will do what. When done, remember to press save.

2. There are some sections with some explanation of the game, but not really any manuals I can think of. (I just ask Koniving or the forums in general, so Koniving can answer the question anyway. )

3. The jenner is not a bad mech, but like with anything, it might not be a mech for you. If you are seeing decent results with the Orion, I'd suggest you continue to play that mech for a while. I'd also advise you to play all the trial "champion" mechs for a while. Get a feel for all the weight classes you can, and as much experience with as many weapons as you can. The more you understand and know about the game, the better you will be with the game. EX: Learning how LRMs shoot and damage targets can actually help teach you how to avoid said LRMs when they are shot at you.

I always suggest one gain as much experience and use as much variety as possible. All it does it help you in the game. It also can be very helpful in helping you to better establish a play style that works for you. (Took me about a year to find a play style that truly "fit" me, and to find a nice balance of weapons I like to use.) There are plenty of player created guides on the forums. The "New Player Help" forum is also always open.
(Just because it may be helpful, my concept on balanced mech building guide. Use it if you wish when you start to own mechs, or do your own thing is also a very viable option. Smurfy is also a great site to look at mech stats and create custom mechs without having to spend a c-bill or any MC. Smurfy is also helpful if you wish to try and get advice on builds, as you can post them up, like how I can this Dragon build. If you don't know how to link text, is also works if you just copy and paste the web address right into the forum, like this: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bb0bc827b009caf )

[Koniving]

Under the Community Created guides and tutorials thread pinned in new player help...

I found these.
Guide to basic and advanced topics; has a google docs file with lots of coverage.
There is also this. It's Huge and comprehensive.

There was an actual PDF document made by someone which covered damn near everything; can't find it for the life of me.

[IraqiWalker]

Koniving, on 27 May 2014 - 07:17 PM, said:

Under the Community Created guides and tutorials thread pinned in new player help...

I found these.
Guide to basic and advanced topics; has a google docs file with lots of coverage.
There is also this. It's Huge and comprehensive.

There was an actual PDF document made by someone which covered damn near everything; can't find it for the life of me.

I am bookmarking both of these beauties.

[Koniving]

All found here, pinned on the new player help at the top.
http://mwomercs.com/...uidestutorials/

[Redshift2k5]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 06:58 PM, said:

Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it. I'll start with something simple. Is it possible to configure the keyboard on a trial Mech? For the life of me I cannot figure it out. 2nd, is there any kind of complete manual on this game? All I can find are player posted tutorials. Full disclosure here also, I think I screwed up and ran out and bought a Jenner and just kept getting massacred. I'm having more success with the trial Orion. I have not killed anybody yet but I an getting some assists. I sold the Jenner and am saving up for something a bit more substantial.

Keyboard configuration has nothing to do with trial mechs or regular mechs. It's in the Options menu.

There is no official complete manual. The website provides some brief official guides and in-game there is a brief movement system tutorial. Player guides abound, though!

You get a substantial starting bonus (paid out in 25 payments over 25 matches), so do be careful with it. You only have one go at collecting the cadet bonus, so don't waste it buying and selling mechs you don't want. (selling mechs has a very poor return on your investment)

[JC Daxion]

Dan Nowak, on 27 May 2014 - 05:16 PM, said:

Any tips on learning this game faster. I have been playing WOT for about a year and am doing ok. I have been getting nothing but frustration from MWOL and am about to uninstall it and go back to the panzers.

there is a ton to learn.. But for me, the game is tons of fun. Sure i have had bad games, or bad nights... I recall one night that i got rolled nearly 20 matches strait.. But the games that are a blast, more than make up for those bad nights