Alright. Let's get started.
Your First Account
1.) Don't get attached to the name on your first account. Attach it to some random e-mail address you made just for this game, and make it a name that you don't mind losing. Why? Because you will most likely waste your Cadet CB bonus on things you later realize you didn't want.
2.) Play a match in every trial mech. Do this to get an idea of how they handle. The ONLY things you should pay attention to while running a trial mech are its maneuveravility and survivability. Mech weapon loadouts can be changed, but most trial mechs are running near-full armor and near-max engine rating.
3.) Win a match in every trial mech, even the ones you don't like. This will help you get GXP bonuses which you can later use to unlock modules, assuming you don't make a wrong purchase and ruin your account.
4.) Pick ONE mech. Build it in the Smurfy mechlab (just google Smurfy, you'll find it), and look at the estimated CB cost. Remember that number, and use trial mechs until you have enough CB to build your ENTIRE loadout in one go. This is because mech stock loadouts are basically unplayable, and not worth using unless you're in a private match with others using stock mechs.
5.) Unlock all the Basic effeciencies for your one mech. USE MECH XP, NOT GXP. Though the game doesn't tell you this, your GXP gain rate is 10% of your mech XP gain rate. Save GXP for things that can only be purchased with it.
6.) Decide if you like the mech. If you don't, just log out and start over with a fresh account. Trying to modify something like engine rating or weapon systems will cost too much once your Cadet Bonus has worn off, and isn't worth your time.
Your First Mech
If you've made it this far, your Smurfy build must have worked to your liking. Great! You are absurdly lucky. You should probably buy lottery tickets instead of a clan pack. Anyway.
1.) Play Conquest or Assault, but never Skirmish. This is because Skirmish has the highest chance of keeping your mech stuck in "Deployed" mode after you die. Why? Because the last guy alive can hide and run down the timer. In the other two game modes, there is an alternate objective which ends the match before the timer runs out. Once you've got more than one mech, this is no longer a problem, as you can just leave the match and drop in your other mech, if you don't feel like waiting.
2.) Stay alive. Previously, you got a big bonus just for completing a match, and thus could "suicide farm" by rapidly dying and re-deploying in another mech. Now, your main CB income will be Kills, Assists, and Component Destruction (something that happens most often during a kill). Assist CB bonus is huge, but you must still be present in the match when the enemy mech dies to gain the assist bonus; doesn't matter if you're dead or alive as long as you haven't yet disconnected.
4.) Buy 2 more variants of your mech, and start leveling them. If you can, leave them in their stock loadouts, buy all the basic effeciencies, then sell them right back. This is incredibly hard to do. You will be tempted to start making loadouts on your variants, but it's not worth it in the long run, unless you plan on keeping that variant. When I say ONE mech I mean ONE mech, not one chassis. You should literally play on a single variant of a single mech if you want to minimize your grind.
5.) Finally, unlock all the "Elite" effeciencies for your first mech. This will apply an X2 multiplier to your basic effeciencies, which will put you on a level playing field with paying players.
---This entire process can be completed in a few days, if you stay focused and resist the temptation to waste currency changing your build. Remember, you are not dying because your build is bad. You are dying because your mech isn't leveled.---
Your Second Mech
1.) Repeat the process with another mech. This is CRUCIAL because it will allow you to farm the rest of your account more effeciently. As soon as you die, disconnect and queue for a match in your other mech. Do not swap engines back and forth. Buy two engines. You do not need to be present at the end of a match to gain currency from it.
^Edit: This suggestion is under some scrutiny, since I've learned you can gain assist bonuses while dead. If you don't like waiting around, though, and want to keep playing, this should work fine. You'd still get bonsues for the things you'd already earned in that match, you just can't gain any additional assists while dead IF you disconnect. Also, if your first mech has an XL engine, you can save Cbills by giving your second mech a Standard, assuming you've smurfy-crafted a build that works with one.
2.) Now that you've got 2 mechbays filled, the remaining 2 mechbays should be used to level your second mech, assuming you didn't keep a variant of your first.
3.) Prepare for a long grind on this one. Your cadet bonus is long gone, so planning in Smurfy will be a necessity.
Your Third/Fourth Mech
1.) This is where it gets really difficult. I would suggest opening a second account to try out the variant you want before you attempt to throw additional mechs on your main account. This is especially true for your Fourth, because To completely level a fourth mech on a free account, you must first buy the variants you don't want, level them, and sell them back, before finally buying the variant you do want. This is because you've only got a single mechbay left at this point.
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Protips
*Use TAG lasers, even on mechs without missle hardpoints. Got a spare energy hardpoint? Can't handle the heat of another laser? Throw a TAG on that bad boy! If you are TAGging an enemy, and they take missle damage, you get an assist bonus. This bonus applies right away (on damage, not kill) so long as the laser is still on the target when the enemy receives damage.
*Set a per-match CB goal for yourself. Mine is 100,000. On a free account, you need to play pretty well to acheive this. If you're an absolute all-star, you could set the goal higher. If you are earning less than 50,000 CB per match, imo you should just uninstall or pay, because the grind will take you too long.
*Unlock some basic colors with CB. Don't want to bust out the cash for a fancy camo pattern? No problem! By combining the basic colors, you can break up your figure a bit and put together a basic camouflage scheme for your mech. Imo very worth it, especially now that we have more ECM coverage in matches.
That's all for now
Edited by Vodage, 10 August 2014 - 11:19 PM.