15 replies to this topic

[UnrealGK]

Hey all,
I currently own a hunchback and i'm saving up to buy a second mech, i came here for some advice on which one to buy.
I'm looking for something that can take a bit more damage than the hunchback but of course also can deal more damage.
I currently really like the vector and highlander trail mech's, and i was also thinking about a jagermech.
The thing that i like about these mech's are the ac/x weapons.
I would like to hear from you guys what your experiences are with these mech's and which one is probably most suited for me.
My play style is probably more sniping/support than assault, scouting or hit and run.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

What about Jagers?

[Koniving]

Shadowhawks, Jagermechs, Cataphracts, Orions, Victors, Highlanders, Banshees and Atlas.

Of them, Shadowhawk is similar to Hunchback if you replace energy with missile and maneuverability with jumpjets.

Jagermechs love ballistics.
Cataphracts can mix and match.
Orions are jumpless Victors that have an easier time getting away with standard engines.
Victors are Victors.
Highlanders are SRM-friendly Victors.
Banshees (mainly the 3E) are just goddamn awesome!
And the Atlas is like wearing a watermelon on your head with a helmet on top of it while marching into a watermelon smashing contest with your sneakers tied.

[Flak Kannon]

Hi Unreal,

If you like sniping, then I'd recommend buying into the Jager line.

One of the better snipers that is not a poptarting snipe boat, is a Jager with Dual Gauss and a couple Medium Lasers..

The nice thing about the Jagers is that you can configure them in so many ways... Some can be LRM boats... some can be laser boats, and all of them are very ballistic friendly. Just know that they are kinda squishy with its large, flat center torso... seeing how most people drop in XL engines.. you will die pretty fast to fire to your front torso via a side torso blown out or center torso coring...

If you only have one hunchback, you might really want to consider buying two more and getting the chassis unlocked up to Master so that you can double your basic effeiencies, and unlock the speed tweak perk.. those double basics make a chassis really shine.

Also, keep in mind all the XP you are earning in the Trial Mechs get stored in your account so if you buy one of the mechs that had been a Trial and if you played it alot, you may be instantly able to unlock all 8 basics if you buy that version ( it doesn't have to be the champion mech version , just the same version ).. which is kinda nice.


Victors are good to, but know that if you drop in a Victor, with match making the way it is, thats on the light side of the assault chart.. I know PGI said they tried to match class AND weight.. but ...your 80 ton Victor is not really a match against the 85 Warhawk as the game stands today. Many pilots may disagree, this is just my opinion.


And don't forget the Catapult K2.. its agile, small, and can carry a lethal sniping loadout also.

If you don't plan on playing clan mechs... going Catapults might be a good way to go. My gut tells me that the Inner Sphere LRM mechs will really shine after community warfare hits. So going the Catapult line is going to be very viable I feel. Get ahead of the curve.

Another you may find of interest is the BlackJack line... they can do some ballistics, some can jump, and they can be pretty agile, they are fast, and they are smallish which is a good thing... just another thought. They don't match up against a Royken( Stormcrow), but not many Medium mechs do..


What ever you do, just know pilot skill is 99% more important than chassis choosen..

[Redshift2k5]

It's important to keep in mind you need to buy 3 of a kind to complete the skill tree- a mech with the elites finished and double basic skills is much more threatening than one without.

The cost of buying 3 Heavies/Assaults and upgrades is of course not going to be cheap, keep in mind total cost including upgrades and not just base cost of the chassis.

You probably want a Heavy or possibly a Victor, and it's hard to go wrong with any of the Catapult, Jagermech, Cataphract, or Victor. Keep in mind your 3 of a kind, the K2 probably fits your requirements but mastering it will require using 2 missile-oriented Catapults. Jagermech is a bit fragile but has amazing layout for going "hull down" by peeking your high-mounted ballistics over a hill while most of our mech is in cover. Cataphracts let you bring JJ and ballistics. Victor is slower but even more armoured. Choosing between them comes down to a great deal of personal choice.

[Davegt27]

[color=#222222]This is the exact title to a thread I was thinking of starting. don't get a Jager that thing is a death trap, I got walked down from the rear the other day and killed (my team ran off and at 64 kph I was too slow), I could go on and on about that thing. Koniving mentioned the Banshee a few times so I want to check that Mech out. I love the BJ it is somewhat fast has jump jets and has almost the same fire power and the armor as the Jager. I was wondering do you guys/gals look at the fire power number. What else do you look at?[/color]

Edited by Davegt27, 18 July 2014 - 09:44 AM.

[Redshift2k5]

The firepower number is not a valuable number for determining your mech; firepower is literally the total damage your mech's will do if fired all at once. Since you will most likely modify the mech after you buy it, the stock firepower is irrelevant.

What is important is thinking about what weapons you want, what speed you want, and other considerations such as JJ or not, weapon placement, hitboxes, etc.

If you want a certain combination of weapons & speed, that will narrow down your choices. In other cases you might choose a mech based on style or price, and pick weapons/loadout based on what the mech is capable of.

Edited by Redshift2k5, 17 July 2014 - 06:26 PM.

[Denolven]

UnrealGK, on 17 July 2014 - 03:50 PM, said:

Hey all,
i'm saving up to buy a second mech, i came here for some advice on which one to buy.

Davegt27, on 17 July 2014 - 06:17 PM, said:

[color=#222222]This is the exact title to a thread I was thinking of starting. [/color]

Please check out this thread: Which Mech you should buy
It lists common mechs according to roles (sniper, brawler etc) and tells you why you might want them. Might be helpful

[UnrealGK]

Thanks for all the fast comments guys/girls, they where really helpful.
What i don't quite understand yet is the XP of a mech and the whole three of a kind thing.
You guys are saying that if i buy three hunchback's for example they all are better?
Or do i have to earn a certain amount of XP with them first?
If anyone has a thread where these things are explained that would be great.

[The Great Unwashed]

You need to earn XP for each mech and spend it in the skill tree to unlock upgrades and bonuses. When you get all basic bonusses, you can only get to the next level (Elite) by unlocking the basic skills for three different variants of each chassis. For the next level (master), you need to unlock at least 3 chassis at elite. The Master level is nice but not required; you get one more module slot and that is it. But it's the Elite level that makes the mech shine because once you have all elite skills the basic skills are doubled (for free).

Once one mech is mastered for a weigh class (light/medium/heavy/assault) you do not need to unlock all mechs at elite to go to master for the next chassis in that class. Still, you still need to unlock all mechs at basic. Something to consider when you buy your next set of three

So to answer your question: if i buy three hunchback's for example they all are better?

No, you need all three to make them better. And then they will be, very much so. Most of the builds discussed on the forum do not work so well without the basic skills unlocked as the mech at master will have 17.5% more heat dissipation and is 10% faster at moving and aiming and then some.

Play each chassis you have at least once per play day (and win) to obtain the 2xXP bonus for your first win of the day.

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 18 July 2014 - 04:57 AM.

[Jody Von Jedi]

UnrealGK,

Welcome to MW:O.

Experience is managed through the "Skills" Tab in the game client UI. There are 2 types of experience points earned while you play, Mech XP, referred to as just "XP" and General XP, referred to GXP. We'll discuss XP first.

As you play matches with an owned variant, you will accumulate XP that can be used to unlock efficiencies to make that particular variant perform better. Examples of efficiencies are "Cool Run", "Torso twist speed", "Torso twist X", or my favorite "Speed Tweak". There are 2 levels to unlocking the efficiencies, Basic and Elite. All 8 Basic efficiencies can be unlocked on a single variant. In order to unlock the Elite efficiencies, you must own and have unlocked all of the Basic efficiencies for 3 variants of the same chassis. So for example, you already own 1 Hunchback. Let's say it's a Hunchback HBK-G. In order to unlock Elite, you'd need to purchase 2 more, let's say HBK-P and HBK-SP. As long as you own 3 different variants, and you have unlocked all of the Basic efficiencies, then you'll be able to unlock the Elite. These skills are all referred to as Mech Skills.

Now let's discuss GXP. GXP is used to unlock Pilot Skills. These unlocks will allow you purchase consumables, like Air Strike, or skills that will allow you to purchase modules like Seismic Sensor or any of the much maligned "Weapons" modules. ( IMHO, Don't waste GXP on Weapons modules). If you have questions about individual modules don't hesitate to ask.GXP is really hard earned. It accumulates at a rate of only 10% of how quickly XP will accumulate, so spend it wisely.

This is just a quick overview of how XP, GXP is used. Hope it clears it up a little.

Jody

[dragnier1]

UnrealGK, on 18 July 2014 - 04:37 AM, said:

Thanks for all the fast comments guys/girls, they where really helpful.
What i don't quite understand yet is the XP of a mech and the whole three of a kind thing.
You guys are saying that if i buy three hunchback's for example they all are better?
Or do i have to earn a certain amount of XP with them first?
If anyone has a thread where these things are explained that would be great.

I have the link in my sig that explains these in greater detail. Basically the mech xp table is tier based rather than tree based. The 2nd tier unlocks when you complete 3 of the same chassis (3 different types of hunchback). The 3rd tier unlocks when you complete 3 of the same weight class (light, medium, heavy or assault). (Others have talked about 2x basic bonus above)

[UnrealGK]

Thanks guys that really explained a lot to me.
I just checked my skill tree and found out that i had enough XP to buy the whole basic tree.
The Hunchback(4SP) plays a lot better now and now i truly understand why people love this mech
Think the best choice is indeed to first unlock the elite tree and then move on to a Jagermech or a Viktor.
Thanks everybody for the reply's

[TercieI]

UnrealGK, on 18 July 2014 - 06:48 AM, said:

Thanks guys that really explained a lot to me.
I just checked my skill tree and found out that i had enough XP to buy the whole basic tree.
The Hunchback(4SP) plays a lot better now and now i truly understand why people love this mech
Think the best choice is indeed to first unlock the elite tree and then move on to a Jagermech or a Viktor.
Thanks everybody for the reply's

Wise choice. Unless you absolutely hated the mech, two more of the same is pretty much always the right answer.

You think it feels better now, just wait until you get double basics. Oh man.

[Davegt27]

man this stuff is confusing, for example I had an AC20 so I unlocked AC20 range below that it says GXP to unlock (I did not see an option to use XP) anyway I go back to the Mech lab and I want to install (or in my case figure out if it is installed) my new AC20 range thingy,
I find that I only have two module slots and they are both occupied with other modules. The question is what good is having all these items when you can’t use them anyway.

[Ertur]

You can add and remove modules. In fact, I only buy one of each kind of module and pull them all out when I switch mechs. Some modules are good all the time, like sensor range or target information gathering. Others are good for certain kinds of mechs, like radar deprivation is good for fast mechs, or target retention is good for lock-on missile mechs. It's a matter of personal choice.
The module system will be changing (soon^tm) so you'll be able to get more than 2-4 modules in a mech.
You get an extra module slot when you master a mech, that is the step past elite.