12 replies to this topic

[Cadodd]

Hey guys,
I have not been around here for like 1,5years or so. Last Time I played there were no Clan meches and CW and not even the new hangar UI...
So now I have played some games again and also joined some CW matches,
But I dont feel really comfortable with my current owned (back from the old days) Meches:

3 Highlanders (ok actually only 2 now as I sold one..) and currently using the HGN732 with 3LL+1Gauss (as stated on metamechs). Most time i am doing something like 200 damage, my best game so far has been 550 but there are even quite many games with <150 damage. I got some problems with his weapon placement being only on one side and I think really low, I often hit walls/stones (thanks to hitboxes not equals visuals..) with the Gauss although I feel I have to expose my mech by a big amount. So although I am an Assaultmech I have to stay back or I tend to loose my only weapon side quite early and can't do **** afterwards..

I also got Sarah's Jenner, an centurion cn9-ah and cicada cda-3f, but they seems to be really weak (or it's just me.. )
My last mech is an Jagermech JM6-S with 3*AC5 and 1ML, it's ok but it's also slow and so I have to be really carefully with it.

Anyways I was thinking about getting a new mech, but it seems like it's almost mandatory to play a Clan mech especially if you are not a "Pro" (and I am far from it)?
So is there any clan Mech that you can recommend as "entry-level mech" for Clan which is not tooooo expensive.

On the other hand I somehow like the CW and as I already own IS meches (and currently pledged to Steiner) it would also make more sense to get some better IS meches..I was thinking about Wolverine or Thunderbolt, althought both seem to lack three good Chassis (for purpose of Elite/Master Skills)?
So are there any other Chassis you guys could recommment me?

[Leone]

Important note: I dont like meta mech designs. Personally I use the left side missiles on my Highlanders.

I don't actually like the thunderbolt chassis, though I've finally gotten decent with one of the variants. They're good for long ranged poking, I just don't like that. That said I really love the wolverine. And shadowhawks, but I'm betting wolverines'll be nicer for ya, they more new player friendly. Clanside, most folk'll suggest Timberwolves or Stormcrows, and they are decent mechs with alotta build options.

Now, about CW. If you are getting 200~ damage, youre getting focused. Even my best builds cannot hold up under the withering gaze of a dozen alpha strikes.

I would rather give some CW advice than suggest buying whole new mechs that may very well run inna the same issues. But, if you wanna try something new, three wolverines or three ryoken(stormcrows) fills out a CW drop nicely.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 11 October 2015 - 10:47 AM.

[The Basilisk]

Most of those metamech designs are quite singleminded.
The Highlander for example you are citing is rated T2 on metamechs and is just garbage for any averange mechwarrior cause its absolutely inapt vs the chaotic nature of singleplayer pug wild dog pack style games. Its just a big clumsy target that is a to be victim of roaming fast meds and heavys ( especialy the clan mechs )

The sad fact is that you need to think of what will you get a high score with your curent tier players and exploit the sh... out of it to get C-bills.

Playing CW is a COMPLETELY different piece of cake.
Its simple.
JOIN.
A.
UNIT.
AND.
LEARN.
TEAM.
PLAY.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those are your steps to this level.

Edited by The Basilisk, 11 October 2015 - 11:15 AM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Experiment with what you've got. Buying a clan mech is fine but they aren't automatic win buttons

[kosmos1214]

ok let me start by saying clan mechs are not insta win buttons if you are not top notch on controlling your heat you will likely be worse in a clan mech then in a IS mech

now about your highlander build highlanders have there weaknesses but you can do very well in them a large part of the trick is build the LPL gauss build you are runing now can put out damage but it leaves you open at close range witch is a weak point of the chassis any way so you need to work of sureing that up now heres the build i run on that mech i commonly pull 500-780 damage in this build

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ef8fdde5cefb921

oh and one more thing try to invision the lay out of the battle fieald and where every one is it helps a lot because you will be moving to counter there moves before they make them open with the lasers and finish with the srms and auto cannon when you get hot if you give me the other highlander model ill give you my build for that 2

edit also try to stand on the edge of the battle and pick off the guys who move a little to far out highlanders do not do well being the center of attention

edit 2 if that build is a little to hot you can drop the ams and ammo for 2 dhs

Edited by kosmos1214, 11 October 2015 - 01:15 PM.

[Spheroid]

CW is hardmode. The Thunderbolt-5SS is the only thing that can stop the clans. Also join a group or use the LFG, because otherwise you are going to get low skill PUGs bringing things like trial Trebuchets or Commandos. Mechs that can't contribute are worthless. It needs to be 12 mechs smashing the opposing 12 in full strength. There can be no weakness in the ratio of incoming to outgoing fire. The entire gamemode is based on forced attrition, gen rushing no longer exists.

The entire team needs to be fast, tanky and bring tons of alpha. Don't bring lurms, srm, mg or anything other than direct fire. Even ECM is not really needed, because your opponents who are there to farm you are all packing laser gauss builds.

List of meta mechs for CW.

King Crab (map dependent)
Banshee-3M
Stalker-4N
Battlemaster-1S/Hellslinger
Thunderbolt-5SS (7x mplas)
Thunderbolt-9SE
Jager-DD (3x UAC-5)
Dragon-1N (2x AC-5)
Blackjack-1X
Raven-3L
Firestarter-A/S

Honorable mention

Hunchback-4J
Wolverine-6R/6K

Edited by Spheroid, 11 October 2015 - 01:18 PM.

[Koniving]

CW on the Clan versus IS planets is going to have a lot of new players in IS mechs against "been there, done that" players who have used most of the IS mechs to date and thus are using Clans 'cause shiny and new.

Playing CW IS versus IS or Clan versus Clan, however, and it becomes a much more pleasant experience even as a solo-player.

I won't be sharing any meta mechs because I smear my heresy in its face. I like to go with long range, clean up, and two fast SoB's to get in to do the deed. This way I can swap between them as the situation calls.

[Cadodd]

Thank you guys for all the advices so far.
I made a little error in my opening post, I got a HGN732B not 732, but anyways after I wrote the post I finally got some good matches with it, even one with 750+damage, current average is around ~290. But still I think it's not an easy mech to handle, as you need to have a high sense of situational awareness as I am relativly slow and I hate it when the team tries to Nascar(?), cant hold up with them and so get outflanked.
I got a new WVR-6K with 3LL+1ML and it feels nice and differently (already feeled a bit bored by the low-speed pace of HGN.. )
Then I joined the faction TS and grouped up with some Steiner's and although my setup with hgn732b,jm6-s,wvr-6k and trial Raven(*coughcough..I think it's okeee-ish for a trial mech..) and it was a good experience, finally wining a CW match (especially against pesky Clans )
After getting the other 2 WVR I think Ill get some TDR, but it will take some (/lots of) time.

The only thing that currently bugs me is the still very low cbill earning per match, which actually was the originally reason I left years ago, back in the oooold days I think you could easily earn up to +400k per match...I still think it was the worst idea, especially if you have to buy 3 of the same mechs to really get its full potential and you can't even sell the mechs that you wont use again for a good price..

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Welcome back!

I, too, took about a 16-month break (Apr '14 to Aug '15), so I missed the Clan invasion and initial implementation of CW. It was a tough enough game to lean back in open beta. Worse yet, at the three year mark.

I remember the old economy. Remember, we used to have R&R costs to cover, too, after a match. OR, as long as it wasn't destroyed and had at least one functioning weapon, you could drop with your still-damaged mech. I think there might have been a gap there, after they dropped R&R costs but before they got the C-Bill economy balanced out, where we earned quite a bit.

Nowadays, assuming I don't blow my consumables, I'll pull close to 100k in an average loss, and closer to 200 in a good win. It's a slow C-Bill grind even then, to build up to buy a mech. And all the modules go for 2-6 million C-Bills each, so THAT's kinda rough.

Good luck with it.

And again, WELCOME BACK!

[Spheroid]

The trial Banshee and Thunderbolt-9SE are pretty good. You could build a CW deck with those. Might want to separate the LPAS and mlas into different groups though, even my fully mastered 3M runs fairly hot when alpha firing and I have one fewer mlas than the trial build.

3x TDR-9SE + 1x WVR-6K?

Also you can run budget Thunderbolts with a surplus 275 STD(stock Wolverine engine) and not initially invest in endo. So startup costs are 5.1 + 1.5(DHS) million c-bills.

Edited by Spheroid, 11 October 2015 - 03:32 PM.

[Void Angel]

Clan 'mechs aren't automatically better; some are worse than the Inner Sphere, and the Inner Sphere has some top contenders - plus PGI knows balance is a little borked right now, so they're trying a new balance pass. If that works, any currently overpowered 'mech you buy may not be so neat any more, and if it fails, they're sure to do something else. I'd recommend you buy a Heavy or Medium 'mech which is widely considered to be good. Bear in mind that the Clan 'mechs aren't really much more expensive than the Inner Sphere: because the Clans come pre-upgraded, they look more costly, but most Inner Sphere builds require things like Endo-Steel which put them at roughly the same cost after you're done. Some Inner Sphere builds are actually more expensive than the corresponding Omnimech.

The Thunderbolt and the Stalker are good Inner Sphere chassis, and while

[Kjudoon]

Just remember that they're about to eliminate all weapon quirks if Paul's requirkening goes through, so beware of buying mechs based on their quirks. Just like the Thunderbolt became worthwhile only after overquirkening, so too, can a good mech become garbage.

If you can't build an effective mech without using the quirks, it's not a safe bet for long.

Oh, and the Tier system is not a real descriptor of how good a player you are, or how well you play as a team. It's how well you play to the desired gameplay mode of Broken/Clanmech Alphastrike Warrior. If you like playing stock mechs, odd chassis or things that are not boated Pewpewpewdurkadurka... your PSR will plummet... and that's a good thing then.

You are not bad. The system is broken is all.

[Void Angel]

I liked the Thunderbolt before quirks - but it was admittedly at a disadvantage against top-tier 'mechs. Everything was. So, if they remove the weapon quirks and balance the tech bases against each other organically, I think it'll be a better game.