21 replies to this topic

[TheCaptainJZ]

The purpose of this thread is for any player who is looking for help deciding what new mech to buy to post here for recommendations from other players. So, if you are a new player, and are trying to decide which mech to buy first with your hard-earned Cadet Bonus, post here. If you have been playing for a while and still would like some feedback as to which mech to buy next, post here.

Please provide
- What Trial Mechs you liked
- What weight class you like
- What role you enjoy playing
- What weapons you enjoy using
- How fast you want to go
- Any other criteria such as jump jets, ECM, or anything else

Useful links:
- On trial mechs http://mwomercs.com/...12-trial-mechs/
- Smurfy's MWO reference and mechlab http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab
- Mechspecs (share and discuss builds) http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/
- MWO's version http://mwomercs.com/...96-battlemechs/

(Thanks luxebo)

Again! The purpose of this thread is as Koniving wrote:

Koniving, on 28 June 2014 - 06:18 AM, said:

The logic behind this thread as there is not being a single 'catch all' mech for all new players.

Now the list of questions is for new players asking for recommendations for us to give feedback on. I do not believe it is intended for experienced players to share what they prefer (in the form of said questions) but instead what experienced players could match to what the new player would like to have and use.

Remember: The mech ideal for you is not the mech ideal for me, and the mech ideal for me is not the mech ideal for him or her.

(Thanks Kon)

Edits: Spelling, adjusted topic title, added links and more explaination of the purpose of this thread.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 28 June 2014 - 09:02 PM.

[DarkEnergyBurn]

New guy here. I was just looking for the place to ask this. I went through this process once already, and (foolishly) bought a dragon because of how tanky and speedy they are. I didn't stop to consider the fact that the huge torso kind of offsets both of those advantages.
Anyway, just finished my cadet bonus rounds with a budget of 9.5 m credits. I really enjoyed the Centurion and the Shadow Hawk. Everything else was just too fragile or too slow. I like brawling, but I'm not very good at it; I got 800 damage one match, but most of the time I average between 200-300. I can snipe ok, but I really get tired of the repetitiveness of poptarting. Missile boats are just too dependent on cooperative teammates, which you're not going to find in normal matchmaking. I like ballistics the most, but I've also developed a recent fondness for pulse lasers and SRM's. I like how speedy the trial Centurion is, but I can deal with the slower Shadow Hawk as well. That's, what, between 60-70 kph? I never use jump jets, and the only ECM medium mech is the Cicada, but I'm very hesitant about buying a 'Mech I can't try out first, so specials aren't too big of an issue for me.

tl;dr
1: Centurion, Shadow Hawk
2: Medium
3: Brawler
4: Ballistics, short range energy/missile weapons
5: At least 60 kph
6: ECM is nice, but not essential.

[Ursh]

DarkEnergyBurn, on 27 June 2014 - 10:39 PM, said:

New guy here. I was just looking for the place to ask this. I went through this process once already, and (foolishly) bought a dragon because of how tanky and speedy they are. I didn't stop to consider the fact that the huge torso kind of offsets both of those advantages.
Anyway, just finished my cadet bonus rounds with a budget of 9.5 m credits. I really enjoyed the Centurion and the Shadow Hawk. Everything else was just too fragile or too slow. I like brawling, but I'm not very good at it; I got 800 damage one match, but most of the time I average between 200-300. I can snipe ok, but I really get tired of the repetitiveness of poptarting. Missile boats are just too dependent on cooperative teammates, which you're not going to find in normal matchmaking. I like ballistics the most, but I've also developed a recent fondness for pulse lasers and SRM's. I like how speedy the trial Centurion is, but I can deal with the slower Shadow Hawk as well. That's, what, between 60-70 kph? I never use jump jets, and the only ECM medium mech is the Cicada, but I'm very hesitant about buying a 'Mech I can't try out first, so specials aren't too big of an issue for me.

tl;dr
1: Centurion, Shadow Hawk
2: Medium
3: Brawler
4: Ballistics, short range energy/missile weapons
5: At least 60 kph
6: ECM is nice, but not essential.

Shadowhawk for cbills, or StormCrow if you're willing to put out some real life cash. STormcrow offers better lasers/missiles than the shawk, but only has one ballistic arm. Shawk has very high-mounted ballistics, and can potentially be faster than the stormcrow, but in most normal builds the stormcrow will be faster and pack a bigger punch.

[luxebo]

Bringing back this thread as it's pretty relevant to the discussion here of mech selecting. (Trial mech guide to choose later on what to do with mech building).http://mwomercs.com/...12-trial-mechs/

Also, as a quick link: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/ (Two useful mech building sites, especially smurfy). Linking these to the front is probably beneficial for the thread.

Edited by luxebo, 27 June 2014 - 11:21 PM.

[DarkEnergyBurn]

Just throwing around some designs.
Shadow Hawk:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...99d666307caee69
Centurion:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0f016c795e154e2

What do you guys think?

[Urdasein]

- What Trial Mechs you liked
None

- What weight class you like
Assault & heavy

- What role you enjoy playing
I don't like brawling. I don't snipe but i always enjoy range superiority. I can flank with a dragon, or deal pain with a misery/jager. In fact i like big alphas machines.

- What weapons you enjoy using
IS: AC20+2PPC or 2AC20, L Laser X 2 or 3, M Lasers X 4 or 6.
Clan: ERPPC, LRMS !, ER L Laser x3, ER M Laser X4 or 6

Weapon i dont like:

Any beam weapons that can't be used by 3 or more, heat or weight wise. This include clan AC that are too heavy for non pinpoint damage.

ERPPC -> too hot, IS LRM -> too heavy, SRM -> too short range, too wide spread even with artemis.

- How fast you want to go
Depends of the mech. A dragon that is slower than 100Kmh is a dead dragon. For a heavy, i aim around 70-80 kmh. I dont play fat ass assaults slower than 65kmh (no atlas, no direwolf).

- Any other criteria such as jump jets, ECM, or anything else
More than ECM and jump jets, the weapons must be "high mounted". High mounted weapons prevent you to shoot in walls and to show your face too much (cataphracts, awful mechs IMHO). In fact, shooting without exposing yourself is the better armor you can have.
With my AC40 Jag, put a seismic sensor and a UAV. You will be able to play like a "wallhack" and aiming at your target before having a line of sight on it. With the cockpit shake of the AC40, the poor guy won't be able to return fire as you fall back under cover...

I also like putting BAP and target acquisition together. This way i have informations on my ennemy very fast. If something is cored (leg, shoulder, CT), i will aim for it.

[Mr Ikea]

DarkEnergyBurn, on 28 June 2014 - 12:05 AM, said:

Just throwing around some designs.
Shadow Hawk:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...99d666307caee69

I can only comment on the Shaq. Its the only mech I have mastered, so don't take offense when I say thats not a great build. This might seem like a flood of information, but it will help in the long run.

The strength of the Shaq is its great mobility and firepower ratio (especially with an XL300). As a medium mech, you really need to be maximizing the armor points whenever possible.

The 2D2 and 2K don't just make the best Shaq brawlers, but arguably the best medium brawlers in the game. If you have the 2D, though, its nearly as good. You want to stick with SRMs and Medium Lasers and max your armor points. In the torsos I put 12 in the back, then the rest up front. Tweak that according to your own play style.

You might have to struggle with the default build until you have enough cbills to afford double heatsinks (mandatory on pretty much every build). Ignore the ballistic hard point, put medium lasers in all your energy slots, and 2x SRM6 with 3 tons of ammo. I try and stack my ammo in order of leg slots, head, arms then maybe in the torso. Without double heat sinks, that mech will get hot pretty quickly.

Grinding for an XL300 should almost be a priority over buying your next variant. It is crucial for all good Shaq builds, and can even be used in some lights (Jenner) or heavys (Catapult).

-----

As far as the next variants go, 2D2 or the 2K but only after you've saved for that XL300.

Ferro-fibrous armor isn't advised. Endosteel structure is.

2K: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e644c9a4c2cb0ca

This is pretty much the holy grail of Shaq builds. The hard points are all high on the mech which means better shooting from cover. Jump jet for mobility. Arms used solely to shield the torso.

2D2: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1ba11b9d442f06a
And the build which the 2K dethroned. Quick, agile and has a phenomenal alpha.

Edited by Mr Ikea, 28 June 2014 - 04:35 AM.

[Davic Kerensky]

TheCaptainJZ, on 27 June 2014 - 08:18 PM, said:

Please provide
- What Trial Mechs you liked
- What weight class you like
- What role you enjoy playing
- What weapons you enjoy using
- How fast you want to go
- Any other criteria such as jump jets, ECM, or anything else

1) Blackjack , Catapult, Cataphract and Atlas.
2) Assault [ but have tendencies to Heavy [.
3) Barbaric rusher ! no seriously, getting into the thick of the action and rolling corpses.
4) Medium Lasers, AC20/10/5 and SRM+Artemis.
5) 52-56 Kph, lets me see them scream when you are relentlessly stomping them, no point running to die alone.
6) If I would have to say anything ,definately ECM especially if you want an Atlas go for D-DC all day long. Spider lovers swear by Jump Jets .. and having a trio of them, definately agree ... and of course the afore mentioned Artemis guidance.

Until recently I was a devoted Cataphract fan, my Ilya armed with the usual old school 3xAC5's and 3xMed Lasers .. but since I got into Atlas fun .. my love has swayed that direction .. which makes me feel I should be a Stiener fan now !!

[Koniving]

The logic behind this thread as there is not being a single 'catch all' mech for all new players.

Spoiler

Trouble is contrary to popular belief, different mediums (and mechs in general) are better suited for different playstyles. Which really complicates mech recommendations; what works great for one player or playstyle will be absolute garbage in the hands of another player.

The reason the Hunchback 4SP was so popular was it could fit many playstyles. It was quickly replaced by the Shadowhawk because within certain limitations, it can tailored to suit even more playstyles.

The Shadowhawk is by no means the best medium for every new player, however...leading us back to the paradox.

I simply find it easier to recommend based on the player and anything that can be uncovered by the playstyle.

Now hashing out playstyle specifics and what mechs cater well to them is a good idea.

But equally important is what they come with. Due to the way PGI has priced upgrades, mechs that are pre-upgraded are much easier to obtain. For example the Shadow Hawk 5M, Griffin 3M, Wolverine 7K, Kintaro 20. These each come with an XL 275 engine and double heatsinks at incredible discounts.

For example at the BT rates, the 5M is
10,296,856 C-bills
while the typical price of a Shadow Hawk is
4,627,732 C-bills

In MWO the price of the 5M is
8,166,799 C-bills.
The price of the same typical Shadow Hawk is
4,473,235 C-bills.

BT Griffin 3M is
10,250,744 C-bills.
MWO Griffin 3M is
8,277,351 C-bills.

BT Wolverine 7K is
9,962,056 C-bills
MWO Wolverine 7K is
7,506,381 C-bills

Bit interesting, isn't it? Amazing discounts. I believe it's because XL engines get more expensive for larger mechs. An XL 300 is about 3 million for a Jenner. An XL 300, a different brand mind you, for a 50 ton mech is more than 6 million. For an Atlas the XL 300 is 12 million... and each XL 300 is unusable in other mechs in Battletech. My Hermes XL 300 will not work for a mech that requires a VLAR XL 300, neither will a Pitban XL 300 work.

Now the list of questions is for new players asking for recommendations for us to give feedback on. I do not believe it is intended for experienced players to share what they prefer (in the form of said questions) but instead what experienced players could match to what the new player would like to have and use.

Remember: The mech ideal for you is not the mech ideal for me, and the mech ideal for me is not the mech ideal for him or her.

Edited by Koniving, 28 June 2014 - 06:33 AM.

[Koniving]

DarkEnergyBurn, on 27 June 2014 - 10:39 PM, said:

New guy here.
Anyway, just finished my cadet bonus rounds with a budget of 9.5 m credits. I really enjoyed the Centurion and the Shadow Hawk.
tl;dr
1: Centurion, Shadow Hawk
2: Medium
3: Brawler
4: Ballistics, short range energy/missile weapons
5: At least 60 kph
6: ECM is nice, but not essential.

The downfall to the Dragon is unlike tabletop, everyone has maximum armor. So instead of being 1 ton short of the highest armored 85 ton mech at 60 tons... it's bleh. I know. I'm saddened that max armor isn't based on stock.

Now... I recommend the following mechs:

In the 55 ton category: Shadowhawk 5M. Wolverine 7K. Kintaro 20. Griffim 3M if you want to play mix brawler and ranger.
(All but 1 Shadowhawk and 1 Wolverine can use ballistics; it's not the one I'm saying to start with but it's a lot cheaper to get it on the field in the long run than the others.)
Wolverine in action. It's on the left.

Spoiler

Standard engine brawling rig. Fairly effective.
Wolverine: Koniving
Screenshot: Lordred.

The XL engines that come with my listed 55 tonners will allow you more flexibility in what you can try to use without a compromise in speed until you find what works for you.

Of these 55 ton variants recommended (specifics)..

Spoiler

• The Shadowhawk lets you try a little of everything, but its limited torso twist, limited visibility (only see what's in front of you, can't see to the sides), frequently targeted left side, and finally low jumpjet limit can have its downfalls too. On the positive side, aiming can't be simpler and the only thing you can see is the target in front of you which leaves you focused on your task at hand.
  
• The Wolverine has really good jump ability, horizontal twist, good visibility (so long as you do not equip the head laser), and fantastic vertical arm range makes this a potentially great jumping brawler. Fully utilizing its abilities will take time to develop however.
  
• The Kintaro has no jumping ability, but has incredible horizontal arm range and twist. It can shoot directly behind itself while running away, and the mech itself is designed as an aggressive hit and run brawler. It has good visibility and can shoot almost everywhere it can see (unlike most mechs). The only shame is that PGI's design for SRMs alienated its best feature.. The Kintaro in Battletech carries NARC-enabled SRMs; tag an enemy with NARC and all SRMs fired at that beacon will home in on it.
  
• The Griffin has the best view of any Inner Sphere mech ever put into this game. If you want to sample the kind of visibility you get as a Clan mech, this is the route to go. Griffin is intended as a long range sniper, however it functions great as a combination of the Wolverine and the Kintaro. The 3M can pull off both roles with 1 missile launcher to spare; slap on an LRM-20 as well and you have all your bases covered. Cockpit view.

Spoiler

Lordred, on 27 May 2014 - 09:29 PM, said:

Koniving was requesting high res cockpit stuff.

Griffin Cockpit

I recommend starting with the 55 tonners and then decide whether or not you want to go to the 50 tonners, as if done first 50 tonners are more expensive in the short run, where if done after a 55 tonner it's cheaper (you already have the best possible engine instead of having to spend more than the mech costs to get said engine).

In the 50 ton category: Centurion (all). Start with the AL if you're on a budget. Hunchbacks (any). The 4J and 4SP can both serve the missile and energy setups. 4G solves your ballistic needs.

Edited by Koniving, 28 June 2014 - 06:55 AM.

[Davegt27]

TheCaptainJZ, on 27 June 2014 - 08:18 PM, said:

The purpose of this thread is for any player who is looking for help deciding what new mech to buy to post here for recommendation from other players. So, if you are a new player, and are trying to decide which mech to buy first with your hard-earned Cadet Bonus, post here. If you have been playing for a while and still would like some feedback as to which mech to buy next, post here.

Please provide
- What Trial Mechs you liked
- What weight class you like
- What role you enjoy playing
- What weapons you enjoy using
- How fast you want to go
- Any other criteria such as jump jets, ECM, or anything else

The most often recommended first mech is currently the Shadow Hawk

[color=#222222]Well I already screwed up and bought a death trap Jager but these are my questions 1) can I buy any Mech in the game? 2) When is a good time to buy your first Mech? I see these wolves when I spectate with crap load off weapons and they can take a beating I must off pumped 20 rounds of AC20's into one-- not to mention the other mechs blasting away that thing, it could take some hits. I want to jump on the band wagon and buy a wolf, not sure which one but it was a wolf (I think steppen wolf, dire wolf, storm wolf something like that) ha ha[/color]

[Bigbacon]

game needs more light pilots....locust all the way!

although firestarter is a great mech

[dr lao]

I started with the Hunchbacks and Im working on the Ravens right now both totally deferent but so fun to switch out .

[TheCaptainJZ]

loupgaroupoilu, on 28 June 2014 - 01:01 AM, said:

snessuk, on 28 June 2014 - 04:37 AM, said:

You guys are missing the point of this thread, as Kon wrote.

I'm not looking for recommendations for myself. I'm looking for a place to funnel everyone else's 1st mech questions into one place. The recommendation is to be talored for any new player asking, not what you personally like or run.

Let's try this again, shall we?

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 28 June 2014 - 08:58 PM.

[dragnier1]

Ursh, on 27 June 2014 - 10:58 PM, said:

Shadowhawk for cbills, or StormCrow if you're willing to put out some real life cash. STormcrow offers better lasers/missiles than the shawk, but only has one ballistic arm. Shawk has very high-mounted ballistics, and can potentially be faster than the stormcrow, but in most normal builds the stormcrow will be faster and pack a bigger punch.

Stormcrow...based off building the prime on ssw i'm given the quote of 11.6m, building the shd-2d2 i'm given the quote of 11.4m (2ml, ac5 4ssrm, XL275). Only thing is, no new player would have 11.6 from his cadet bonus.
So, shadowhawk for the new player if he likes it, stormcrow when he saves up his cbills

Edited by dragnier1, 29 June 2014 - 02:45 AM.

[Ursh]

dragnier1, on 29 June 2014 - 02:44 AM, said:

Stormcrow...based off building the prime on ssw i'm given the quote of 11.6m, building the shd-2d2 i'm given the quote of 11.4m (2ml, ac5 4ssrm, XL275). Only thing is, no new player would have 11.6 from his cadet bonus.
So, shadowhawk for the new player if he likes it, stormcrow when he saves up his cbills

Stormcrow won't be available for cbills for months.

[dragnier1]

Ursh, on 29 June 2014 - 05:39 AM, said:

Stormcrow won't be available for cbills for months.

It will be relevant in time.

Edited by dragnier1, 29 June 2014 - 07:29 AM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

dragnier1, on 29 June 2014 - 07:28 AM, said:

It will be relevant in time.

We can probably modify the list when it is then.

After all - when I first started the Hunch was the only medium worth considering, then people realized what the Centurion's hitboxes meant - then it went back to the Hunchie - then the Shadowhawk came out.

The list will change over time, and for various reasons.

[LT. HARDCASE]

Looking to Elite my first mech, and have chosen the Kintaro. I started with the Golden Boy, then bought a KTO--20. Then I found the forums, and found out some people think they're the two worst variants.

So for the third, should I go with the -18 or the -19? Or should I grind for an XL300 first? I currently only have an XL280 and XL325, and I see a lot of build ask for the 300.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Kevjack, on 30 June 2014 - 05:30 PM, said:

Looking to Elite my first mech, and have chosen the Kintaro. I started with the Golden Boy, then bought a KTO--20. Then I found the forums, and found out some people think they're the two worst variants.

So for the third, should I go with the -18 or the -19? Or should I grind for an XL300 first? I currently only have an XL280 and XL325, and I see a lot of build ask for the 300.

The big problems people have with the KTO-20 is the lack of a CT missile bay door (10% damage reduction when shut)
The GB, the lower speed cap in exchange for 1 more E-weapon over the KTO-18, or 1 more M-weapon over the KTO-19 (even though few actually make use of that higher cap)

As for which one we would recommend... I haven't got my 2nd or 3rd Kintaro yet, so I cannot comment on that.
Probably whichever one has more of the weaponry you prefer (3E-4M or 2E-5M) as that is the big difference between the two.