13 replies to this topic

[Chuck Jager]

So I started playing about a week ago and I have 2 out of 3 Shadow Hawks with their basic skills. I just got paid and I am really wanting to get a wider selection of chassis to pilot. I was looking at buying the Champion SHD to get the set elited and getting either the Cataphract or Catapult bundle. The Cataphract for the Ilya and the 280xl engine to share with the S-Hawks or the Cats because of the good range of builds to help my learning curve (plus a cost savings - really like the K2 and A1). Both of these bundles are a lot lower than $55. With the 30days bonus time and cost savings, I could earn more in game cash and bank some MCs for other stuff (I do like the trial BJ-1 and it is cheap).

I only PUG and I have noticed that the Summoners and T-Wolves have about the same speed as my S-Hawks plus more armor and I really don't have any issue with waits for matches. At this time should I just spend the extra and get the T-Wolf ala-carte. I do not really have a huge selection of inventory so clan vs IS gear is not an issue. $35 was the original budget so with the a la carte purchase, I would have to grind game currency to finish off eliting the Hawks, and the champions with the 2x heatsinks and endo steel seem to be a good deal (I stunk horribly on the SHD-K until I got these upgrades). The t-wolfs seem to have a good range of builds that would help me pad my numbers while I am still be learning, or would I be better off having a wider set of choices.

[luxebo]

You don't need to worry about "pading your numbers". I know when I first started my K/D was under 0.20 but now is give or take 1.0. Ignore stats in general.

Summoner has a trial, give that a go. You like it or not? Check all 4 Clan trials, as Clan is very different from IS.

I would highly recommend a Mastery pack if you really want a nice chassis to go from there. Remember that heroes provide 30% C-bill bonus and Champions provide 30% XP bonus. Also remember that if you already have the 2H, you shouldn't buy a Champion Shad as that is the same mech counted for XP. What is your full roster of mechs atm?

Take a look at how much you are really willing to spend for a Clan package. Clan Wave 1 did lose all it's special bonuses so if you are really interested in a Clan pack then maybe pick up a couple of the mechs in Wave 2 (though admittedly the only appealing one to me is the Hellbringer as I used to love it back in MW4 days.) Especially if you are a true Ghost Bear then that is the way to go.

Hope I helped.

[Kin3ticX]

I would suggest waiting for the cbill versions of the TBRs to come out(which is soon, like a month away). Use your money for mech bays, boosters, and perhaps a couple camos/colors if you want to personalize your 'mechs.

There are also comprehensive 'mech quirks coming in late October to help balance all IS 'mechs against clans. I would wait to see how that affects the Cataphract and Catapult bundles. Regardless, I doubt you would be disappointed with the Cataphracts, I recommend them highly in my guide.

If you buy any MC before the 21st, you will get a Centurion with a hero bonus. If you buy a wave1 or wave2 pack or ala carte before the 21st, you will get a Atlas with a hero bonus. (i think you get the Centurion with a pack too)
http://mwomercs.com/...ewards-extended

Also note: if you buy any wave 2 pack, you will get to choose Clan camos and colors as part of your social reward. Colors can be used on any 'mech you own. Actually, I am not sure if you get the social rewards with the ala carte, something you should look into to make sure.

Edited by Kin3ticX, 12 October 2014 - 11:08 PM.

[Elizander]

I'm on the other side of the spectrum, I prefer to spend my money on mech sets and I just use my c-bills on upgrades and modules because I don't have a ton of time to play.

Most people will say you cannot go wrong with Timberwolf/Madcat Ala Carte and Mastery Packs will be available later. Grinding Timberwolves will cost around 45 million c-bills and that's a lot, at least for me.

I'm not too much for camo and colors right now with the way the system is set up.

[Demi-Precentor Konev]

Some of the Mastery Packs are decent purchases for a beginner. I would definitely use the Trial 'Mechs to figure out which chassis you like. You also might want to consider sitting on that money for a bit. General consensus is that a new 'Mech pack for the IS will be announced in the next month/month and a half.

[Redshift2k5]

Having a hero mech (or Invasion Prime clan mech) with a 30% c-bill boost is a great way to stabilize your c-bill income. If you want to stay true to the Inner Sphere, the Cataphract mater is not bad, the Ilya is still a direct-fire powerhouse and the c-bill boost will be especially welcome on a mech with such a high damage potential and kill potential.

Clan a la carte is also exactly $55 so that is another option; You also get a Prime(I) with permanent c-bill boost, and those mechs are going to cost an arm and a leg with c-bills so getting them grind-free will save you time and frustration. Timberofl is a solid mech for many roles, Stormcrow is really good too but you might as well go big

[ImperialKnight]

If your Shadowhawks are going only 89kph, it's a little slow.

When I was starting out, I bought a Phoenix pack to get a jump start. You get Hero equivalents and extra equipment to play around with

If you're looking to get a jump start on the game, I would highly recommend a mech pack rather than a Mastery pack. The value is FAR greater.

You have a few options currently, you can buy a Ice Ferret pack for $60, you get 6 mechs, 61 days of premium time, the mech bays and tons of cockpit doodads and colours to play with.

Or you could spend a little more and get the Hellbringer pack for $90. That will give you 9 mechs and the privilege of playing the first ECM heavy in the game and 84 days of premium time

Or you could wait for the IS Mech pack that is coming, which I would expect to have similar value as the Clan mech packs. And you get tons of interchangeable equipment

The downside is that you'd have to wait for them to be released.

There's nothing wrong with the ala carte Timberwolf pack but its value is severely diminished by the fact that they are going to be released for CBills in 3 weeks.

[Lily from animove]

depending on how many time you spend ingame and how many cbill you get, buy some mechbays and some camo's you like. The mechs, you can buy later for c-bills.

If you would have asked like 2 month ago, I would have said: Buy a a la carte Timberwolf pack. But now T-wolfs ar close to be released for c-bills anyways. If you still play very rarely not having much time to grind c-bills, buy Timberwolfs a la carte. Best mech, even if it gets nerfed it will stay a top mech. You can make anything with the TW's boat missiles? check, boat ballistics, check, boat laz0rs, check. mix anything, check. Wanna have JJ's? check. most versitile mech you can get and great speed for a heavy. So its the perfect mech to try out various weaponloadouts without havign to buy a new one.

otherwise what knight said above me.

Edited by Lily from animove, 13 October 2014 - 12:05 AM.

[Ruccus]

Kin3ticX, on 12 October 2014 - 10:50 PM, said:

I would suggest waiting for the cbill versions of the TBRs to come out(which is soon, like a month away). Use your money for mech bays, boosters, and perhaps a couple camos/colors if you want to personalize your 'mechs.

There are also comprehensive 'mech quirks coming in late October to help balance all IS 'mechs against clans. I would wait to see how that affects the Cataphract and Catapult bundles. Regardless, I doubt you would be disappointed with the Cataphracts, I recommend them highly in my guide.

If you buy any MC before the 21st, you will get a Centurion with a hero bonus. If you buy a wave1 or wave2 pack or ala carte before the 21st, you will get a Atlas with a hero bonus. (i think you get the Centurion with a pack too)
http://mwomercs.com/...ewards-extended

Also note: if you buy any wave 2 pack, you will get to choose Clan camos and colors as part of your social reward. Colors can be used on any 'mech you own. Actually, I am not sure if you get the social rewards with the ala carte, something you should look into to make sure.

I'd agree with doing something similar to this; for $30 the Koshi Collection looks to offer good value - you'd get three 25 ton light mechs that should be pretty decent (at 113.4kph they seem fast enough and if they're sized like the commando should be a decent light mech) and all the rewards for preordering. Then spend $7 or $15 to get a bit of MC in the bank for adding mech bays or buying luxury items (a hero mech that you like might go on sale, or you might want to add camo to a mech you like, etc.).

By doing those two things before October 21st you'll get an Atlas and Centurion mech to play with (those are delivered October 21st). The Atlas and Centurion come with their own mech bay too.

[Xiang]

Dont spend money on Champion mechs...they only give bonus xp, which you will have plenty of soon enough. Look into buying a bundle or a hero mech, but dont rush into it.

Take some time and play some different mechs and definately use the smurphy site to test some builds of chasis' that you are thinking of moving into that fit your playstyle.

The SHDs are nice mechs for sure, and if you like smaller faster mechs, the spider and firestarter are very good as well. If you want to go Clan, you can also use the money to get some of the mechs that are not yet available for cbill purchase.

Whatever you ultimately decide, have fun and Happy Hunting,

Xiang

[Pendraco]

Welcome to MWO! I'm not one to tell someone else what to do with they're money. But remember, if you buy an A-la Carte Mech right now, you'll qualify for the free Hero Atlas that is coming out.....scrape together another $6.95 for the smallest MC pack and you'll also get the free Hero Centurion!

...That's 3 - 30% income Mechs, and 5 Mechs total!

Edited by Pendraco, 13 October 2014 - 06:36 AM.

[Agelmar]

Build for CW. If your Faction choice will have you playing Clan mechs in CW then start working on those.

[Ace Selin]

Agreed with Timberwolf / Madcat a la carte..best $55 you'll spend on this game

[Chuck Jager]

Thanks for all of the advice - some I took or had already added into the equation.

I bought the 12,000 MCs $49.00 and got the CAT Bundle for the range of builds and factored in the free Cent for buying MCs. I also bought a KTO 18 (C) for the 300xl engine because needed it and could also use all of the parts. Trust me that engine in the Jester paid for itself and let me earn enough to now sport a 350xl. I did also get the SHD(C) model just because the it got me another XL engine and I used the Cbills saved (including endo and DHS) to buy the 350xl. As far as (C) variants are concerned, I see them as a way to get the engines I need if the model is not complete trash. I also really need the GXP for the couple of modules (ok really just RadarDerp), because this seems to make a huge difference in PUG matches if you are one of the few folks on your team without it.

The clan versus IS is really a non-factor relating to cannon of the table top or books. I still wonder about buying what I did versus a Twolf ala-carte, but the 30days prime plus the existing stable info on the Cats has made a difference. Also after stumbling on the tier list a full set of Cats and Shadow Hawks holds up pretty well.

My next decision will be which light class/playstyle (bout 95% chance IS) or try an Assault. For the assaults the Dwhale really seems to epitomize the strengths and weaknesses of that class. Given their hefty C-Bill price, I may need to find a way to swing the alacarte before the sale ends. With the lights it will probably be the Spider bundle, because even with the trial model I have minimal damage, but can really change outcome of the match. I also can not count on my ability to earn Cbills without the prime time. If i had to purchase just one it would be the Ember. Any other MC purchase will probably be for models that have good swappable engines plus playability in that order. I am not sure how clan pricing will be in both MC and Cbils after the IS buffs.

thnx again