9 replies to this topic

[uKnite]

Normally, I don't just jump feet first into a video game without knowing too much about it; however, MechWarrior really doesn't elicit that kind of response from me. I've played some MW games throughout the years, but never for more than a few hours at a time, and never paying attention to the lore.

As it stands, I've been super excited to play this game since I've cut my teeth on so many other games and never really MW. I'd like the community to give me some background info on the lore, specifically the factions, and how clans play into the social aspect of the MW verse. I played EVE pretty successfully for a few years, so I'm not really worried about figuring out how to equip my mechs, but I haven't been able to really figure out the MW universe itself.

Are there benefits to being a mercenary over being allied with a certain House? Do certain factions get certain mechs? If, for example, I want to get a Raptor II (should it ever exist in this game), do I need to be allied with whatever house is part of Word of Blake/Republic of the Sphere?

Moving beyond possible alliance-unique mechs, what types of play-styles are generally associated with types of mechs? Each previous MW game I played, I just sort of sat down and tried killing people (with mixed success, being a noob and all).

Looking forward to getting a handle on this stuff and dishing out some pain.

Edited by KniteWulf, 20 June 2012 - 11:14 AM.

[ChromeAss]

You can get a LOT of information on the Mechwarrior Universe here:
http://en.wikipedia....iki/MechWarrior

ChromeAss

[CarpeMortis]

KniteWulf, on 20 June 2012 - 11:14 AM, said:

Are there benefits to being a mercenary over being allied with a certain House? Do certain factions get certain mechs? If, for example, I want to get a Raptor II (should it ever exist in this game), do I need to be allied with whatever house is part of Word of Blake/Republic of the Sphere?

Moving beyond possible alliance-unique mechs, what types of play-styles are generally associated with types of mechs? Each previous MW game I played, I just sort of sat down and tried killing people (with mixed success, being a noob and all).

Looking forward to getting a handle on this stuff and dishing out some pain.

We can't realty speak to the mechanics of this game, but canonically, one of major benefits to House allegiance is support. You pay less for supplies, and they are more readily available. The flip side is that you only get what supplies your House has access to. This does often include equipment that other houses don't have. And the opposite is true for Mercs. Supplies are harder to come by, but since you are buying surplus from your employer at the time, or off the black market, you have a chance to get a wider variety of equipment. But often it is not as high end as a House unit's.

As for availability of house specific mechs, again we can't speak for how this game will handle things. However Salvage is a HUGE part of the canon. If you want a mech and can't buy it... then you put yourself in a position to salvage one. I vaguely remember something about mechs not being salvageable in this way on MWO though... So it remains to be seen what options you have in this regard.

[edit: typos]

Edited by CarpeMortis, 20 June 2012 - 11:25 AM.

[OfficerTaco]

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page

It will tell you more than any of us probably ever could lore-wise about individual factions/clans/mercenaries/etc.

Houses- Only determine discounts on mech example Awesome is cheaper for FWL members but everyone else can still get one.
And when it is added- community warfare (no specifics on it yet)

Most mechs have their own unique playstyles
lights are generally the fastest, but most lightly armed
Mediums are well, the medium
Heavys are a bit slow but are heavily armed
Assault are the biggest mechs and normally have the most weapons and armor, but are normally the slowest

Edited by NotoriousForce, 20 June 2012 - 11:32 AM.

[uKnite]

CarpeMortis, on 20 June 2012 - 11:24 AM, said:

We can't realty speak to the mechanics of this game, but canonically, one of major benefits to House allegiance is support. You pay less for supplies, and they are more readily available. The flip side is that you only get what supplies your House has access to. This does often include equipment that other houses don't have. And the opposite is true for Mercs. Supplies are harder to come by, but since you are buying surplus from your employer at the time, or off the black market, you have a chance to get a wider variety of equipment. But often it is not as high end as a House unit's.

As for availability of house specific mechs, again we can't speak for how this game will handle things. However Salvage is a HUGE part of the canon. If you want a mech and can't buy it... then you put yourself in a position to salvage one. I vaguely remember something about mechs not being salvageable in this way on MWO though... So it remains to be seen what options you have in this regard.

[edit: typos]

I figured Merc's might have access to a wider variety of lesser-quality materials than House members would. Thanks for the clarification. I really hope salvaging is available, but what with mechs not being able to be completely destroyed, I doubt there'd be any opportunity for salvaging, unless you could salvage wrecks that the dev's put out there.

NotoriousForce, on 20 June 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page

It will tell you more than any of us probably ever could lore-wise

Houses- Only determine discounts on mech example Awesome is cheaper for FWL members but everyone else can still get one.

Most mechs have their own unique playstyles

Thanks for the clarification on the availability of mechs. Where did you get that information? I know that each mech has a unique play-style, but I'm not acquainted with which style suits which mech since I don't know the mechs that well at all.

Thanks for the link, too!

[DraigUK]

Click media at the top of the forum and go to videos. Will give you an overview of what different classes of mechs can do. For lore stuff read the wiki is best. Have a drink ready though, you will be thirsty by the time you read it all.

[Hikaru]

KniteWulf, on 20 June 2012 - 11:14 AM, said:

Are there benefits to being a mercenary over being allied with a certain House? Do certain factions get certain mechs? If, for example, I want to get a Raptor II (should it ever exist in this game), do I need to be allied with whatever house is part of Word of Blake/Republic of the Sphere?

Moving beyond possible alliance-unique mechs, what types of play-styles are generally associated with types of mechs? Each previous MW game I played, I just sort of sat down and tried killing people (with mixed success, being a noob and all).

Looking forward to getting a handle on this stuff and dishing out some pain.

The alliance/faction/merc company questions can be answered in the Dev Q&A, but essentially, it's still all TBD at this point. There needs to be balancing to reward people who pick less popular factions. Merc companies get Loyalty Points with different factions, but I think they will end up with a primary allegiance -- which you can drop if you want.

Basic playstyles are essentially:

• Scout: I'm running solo, getting info for my team, harassing and helping pick off stragglers, not really going toe-to-toe
  
• Support: I hang way back, support the team, defend and harass from relative safety
  
• Brawler: I get in the thick of things, up front kill or be killed

That's a huge simplification but just think about how you play most multiplayer games and you'll find a role that fits best. You the guy who rushes in with the P90? Probably want a Jenner. Spawn camper? Definitely the Catapult.

[uKnite]

Hikaru, on 20 June 2012 - 11:57 AM, said:

The alliance/faction/merc company questions can be answered in the Dev Q&A, but essentially, it's still all TBD at this point. There needs to be balancing to reward people who pick less popular factions. Merc companies get Loyalty Points with different factions, but I think they will end up with a primary allegiance -- which you can drop if you want.

Basic playstyles are essentially:

• Scout: I'm running solo, getting info for my team, harassing and helping pick off stragglers, not really going toe-to-toe
  
• Support: I hang way back, support the team, defend and harass from relative safety
  
• Brawler: I get in the thick of things, up front kill or be killed

That's a huge simplification but just think about how you play most multiplayer games and you'll find a role that fits best. You the guy who rushes in with the P90? Probably want a Jenner. Spawn camper? Definitely the Catapult.

Thanks for that playstyle breakdown; I wasn't sure if it was more complicated like you see in some other games, but that's essentially what I was looking for. Did you mean you as an individual within a Merc faction can drop House loyalty? Or the Merc company can do that as a whole?

[SuomiWarder]

As far as I have seen, there has been no official info on the specifics of House/Merc/Lone Wolf mission choice mechanics.

We do know that at some point (they have said that community warefare will lag 90 days or more after release) Merc unit can low bid for battles to control border planets. We assume the other faction will be an opposing merc unit but we don't know.

Lone wolves appear to be slated as able to join into merc battles.

It is speculation, but I assume that an individual merc pilot (or group there of) can go off and solo play something in lone wolf fashion. This assumption is because if mercs can only fight in bidded battles, they will spend many hours not able to do anything but wait for the one drop that is scheduled.

House pilots we assume will go into a battle pool of House X vs House Y. Randomly in the first 90 days, then after that maybe in a more organized fashion that affects the control of a few worlds.

[uKnite]

SuomiWarder, on 20 June 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

As far as I have seen, there has been no official info on the specifics of House/Merc/Lone Wolf mission choice mechanics.

We do know that at some point (they have said that community warefare will lag 90 days or more after release) Merc unit can low bid for battles to control border planets. We assume the other faction will be an opposing merc unit but we don't know.

Lone wolves appear to be slated as able to join into merc battles.

It is speculation, but I assume that an individual merc pilot (or group there of) can go off and solo play something in lone wolf fashion. This assumption is because if mercs can only fight in bidded battles, they will spend many hours not able to do anything but wait for the one drop that is scheduled.

House pilots we assume will go into a battle pool of House X vs House Y. Randomly in the first 90 days, then after that maybe in a more organized fashion that affects the control of a few worlds.

So what are the prospects for lone wolves/Mercs before Community Warfare releases? I'm not entirely familiar with the mission structure of MWO (if anyone is at all), so will there be missions as in APB, where you are told to go do something, and possibly run into opposition along the way?

EDIT: Oh wait, just read your first sentence again. In that case, what do you believe will happen in the first 90 days with Mercs/lone wolves?

Edited by KniteWulf, 20 June 2012 - 12:19 PM.