30 replies to this topic

[Tezcatli]

Blackjacks are effective mechs if you know what you're doing. And they're not very expensive. But the Shadow Hawk is just a good choice all around. You can try many builds with it and it is the maximum weight for it's class. Firestarter is a fun light to play, but doesn't have much variety in builds.

[kilgor]

For Heavies, I like the Cataphracts. They can pack some large engines without needing XL. On one, I run 3 AC-5s and an ER Large Laser, on another, 2 ER Large Lasers, an AC/20, and a Small Laser, and on the other, I run 2 ER PPCs and an ER Large Laser. Since they have actual arms, they have a wider firing arc than a Jaeger and because I don't run XL, I can usually tear through their Torso before they can kill me.

[aniviron]

OP, you mention you're considering a Wolverine. I strongly recommend against this. The reason you almost never see any Wolverines on the field is because the Griffin and Shadowhawk can do almost the exact same loadouts at the same tonnage, but they're much more survivable. The WVRs have terrible hitboxes, and are very fragile.

Really though, the answer to your question depends: What do you like piloting? Do you want to go fast? Hit hard? Something in between? Do you care about clan vs IS?

If you want a clan mech, your choices are pretty clear, since they all go about the same speed except for the assaults: You want a Stormcrow or Timberwolf. If you don't care about speed, get a Direwolf.

For the IS, it's a bit tougher. The best lights are the Jenner and Firestarter, though the Raven 3L is good, even if the other two Ravens are worthless. For mediums, you get a bit more choice: The Shadowhawk and Griffin are both good, and the Hunchback and Cent are decent, though both have some problems. Heavies are mostly going to be Jagermech or Cataphract, though there are people who swear by Catapults and Orions. Assaults are a bit of a mixed bag; there aren't any real duds now that the Awesome has some quirks, but the only one that really stands out is the DDC with ECM.

[Pezzer]

Seems like you have a peculiar taste is regards to mechs. We need more people like you.

As for your next Mech:

Light: Firestarters are great, a combo of mediums and smalls is recommended on some of the variants. If you want missiles instead of MGs, go with the Jenner instead. It has become an unappreciated mech since the Firestarter's release.

Medium: The Wolverine is like slightly bigger Hunchback. I enjoy it,and it's a great alternative to the Shadow Hawk if you want to play a 55 ton brawler instead of a damage-dealer that relies on burst damage. The torso twist is its' main draw.

Heavy: What everyone else has said.

Assault: If you enjoyed the Awesome, I would suggest the Battlemaster. If you want to try ballistics out while keeping your energy weapons, try the Banshee. It's a tall Awesome that uses ballistics more in place of the missile hardpoints. I would suggest a mix of XL and standard engines in both of these mechs, they can equip both comfortably. The Battlemaster doesn't play as well with an XL, so I would suggest only using the XL 400 if you want to play around with one. The Banshee needs to go 54kph+ to be worth the 5 ton loss over its' bigger cousin, the Atlas.

I know you've made your decision already, but i thought that a few suggestions wouldn't hurt either.

Also, I would like to advise you to this guy's blog: http://raksarmory.blogspot.com/
His build suggestions and general commentary are great, but keep in mind that what works for him may not work for you. Check his older posts for Mech guides and the like, his latest posts have been filler while he finishes his education up.

Gl and happy hunting!

P.S. A lot of people are going to steer you towards the Meta mechs. If you can handle the Locust and Awesome, I would suggest considering them while also considering the path less traveled. There are some great not-so-popular Mechs out there that have a higher learning curve but play in unique ways and feel very rewarding to pilot. Dragons and Quickdraws, for example, are awesome mechs. They just suffer from being low-weight heavies and having a couple of useless variants. Just ask for advice and people will shy you away from the bad choices (DRG-5N isn't garbage, but it isn't a good mech either. QKD-4G is the same deal arguably), we have a great community in MWO.

Edited by Pezzer, 25 September 2014 - 05:49 PM.

[ICEFANG13]

Get a Jenner because you are awesome, get a Jenner-D if you are freaking awesome.

[BrockSamsonFW]

If you aren't sure what you want I recommend an Orion for a heavier mech or a Firestarter for a lighter mech. Both of them are extremely versatile and can equip a wide range of powerful loadouts. The Orions are great but in all honesty if I had to pick just one I would take the Firestarters.

• They can do 95% of what my Orions and Victors can do (don't be afraid to run with a 200/225 XL and no arms!)
  
• They can do 95% of what other lights can do.
  
• The hardpoints on all of the variants are great and give you tons of options.
  
• They are cheap.
  
• They are easy to play.

In fact they really only have one drawback which is that they can't aim their torso weapons very far up or down. It can be annoying sometimes but with everything else considered they are probably some of the best mechs in the game right now.

[Liveish]

IS

RVN, CDA, SHD, CTF, STK.

Clan

Crow, Timber, Direwolf

[BraveInsanity]

Wow. I was not expecting to get nearly this much feedback. This community is indeed awesome and I thank each and every one of you for your input. The fact of the matter now is that I'm back to being undecided lol. I shall re-read this post when I am able and begin to narrow it down. I'm thinking Cataphract for the heavy now, though Catapult is still a viable option, but I do love me some ballistics and the afforementioned builds Kilgor mentioned are enticing. Medium is still up in the air. I certainly want to be a faster chassis than I'm used to. Jenner was always a solid choice in the older games for a cheap and effective mech. Looks like I have 3 weight classes I'm going to be buying in. I may just go Firestarter for my light. I was curious though, I only saw one person mention the Cicada. It seem's like a fairly survivorable mech with incredible speed for its weight class.

[Wolfways]

Ignore hardpoints, hitboxes, weapons, etc.

Look at the mechs and pick the one you think looks best (best as in "that looks nice" not "that looks OP"). Play it as stock a few times (if IS you may want to upgrade to DHS first) to see what it's like.....then customize if you like that kind of thing.

If you don't like it, start again

[elismallz]

If you haven't picked up a light yet, I'd recommend the firestarter or jenner. Piloting a light for a while really helped me with learning to target specific components, as you can't just hug and shoot like in larger chassis. You gotta run and aim to get kills. Bonus: the chassis are cheap.

[CDLord HHGD]

You haven't truly played until you've piloted Hunchbacks.