19 replies to this topic

[Ivan Tsarevich]

Being playing for just over a week, and I really enjoy the game. I recently had a birthday, and was considering a mech pack as a present to myself. What would be a good Clan one? I was leaning towards the Hunchback IIC.l, but that one won't come out for a ways. How is the Shadow Cat?

[Havyek]

Personally, I'd go with the Hellbringer pack.

If you have any interest in CW, you can do a drop deck with the 3 HBR pack and a trial Shadowcat (until you can buy 3 SCats)

[bad arcade kitty]

crow

[Cupid and Psyche _]

It is honestly hard to say, as they all have their advantages and disadvantages. My advice to you would be to invest in premium time, mech bays, and maybe a hero mech (of course, this is debatable with balancing in the works. They are 50% off, though.). You can also treat yourself to cute cockpit items and some nice colors and camos ^^ In my opinion, this is honestly worth it more than buying a 'mech pack (especially if the chassis has already been released).

[bad arcade kitty]

pug in a helmet was my best mwo buy :3

[Not A Real RAbbi]

I'd say the Cauldron-Born pack is a good call. EBJ is a great heavy mech, and ACH is pretty much THE light mech right now. Shadow Cat isn't very good, to be honest. I've personally had some decent luck with it with 2x cERLL, 1x cERML, ECM, TComp MkI, and some cDHS. But that's not very exciting. It's a hill-humping, corner-poking, long-distance mech, and a bit underwhelming at it. Just not a heavy-hitting medium, and underperforming across the board. But I love 'em anyhow.

Anyhow, if you're looking to toss $90 at PGI, then the Cauldron-Born pack is a good one. As for the Hellbringer pack, the HBR is the only good mech in the whole Wave II collection, IMO. The light and medium mechs in that pack are both weak. The HBR itself is a REALLY good heavy. Might be a bit pricey to buy it a la carte, though. You COULD a la carte the TBR, SCR, and/or DWF from the Wave I collection, and have three of the very best mechs (all tier 1) in the game. Again, that's a lot of money.

Yeah. My vote is for the Cauldron Born pack from Wave III.

[Leone]

The shadowcat has few hardpoints, but a decent amount of tonnage available (17 tons.) This usually means the shadowcat holds a fast sniping role, since it practically build for it (Gauss, ErPPCs, or Lasers, Large.) Also, it can ECM, which can be a solid bonus.

~Leone

[Ivan Tsarevich]

The Ebon Jaguar does look nice, if not a tad expensive. Seems to be a solid mech. At the same time, something seems satisfying about grinding out the cbills and buying them that way, though premium time would be a welcome help. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll need to think about it.

[Spheroid]

Stormcrow.

[DarthHias]

I bought the Hellbringer a la Carte and never regretted it. You get an ECM Heavy with high mounted hardpoints, the Prime with Gauss + 4 CERML is my prime money printer.

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

What RAbbi said:

If you have the Money and want to spend it on a single Mech then go for the following a la card Mechs:

1. Dire Wolf
2. Timber Wolf
3. Storm Crow
or
4. Hellbringer (in no particular order -> it's about YOUR personal taste).

If you want to cash in a good deal buy the Cauldron Born PACK.
The Cauldy is decent and you'll get the Arctic Cheetah on top, so you have everything you'll need for CW (if you plan to play it).

[Ivan Tsarevich]

What if I were to get the Arctic Cheetah pack, then pick up 30 days of premium? I would have a cbill bonus variant, three of the Cheetahs to master, and the 30 day premium that would come with the Ebon Jaguar. I already have a medium, a Stormcrow, and am not sure I want to get three of an inferior (what the Shadow Cat seems to be )chassis before I get two more Crows and master them. Also, thinking about it, I don't know if I want to get too many mechs yet, when I don't have the cbills to make the most of them.

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

Confused.

Do you already OWN an Ebon Jag?

Yes, passing on the Scat is a good idea.
You oculd also go for the Ebon Jag Package and sell those Scats in order to buy the missing 2 Stormcrows.

It really depends on your personal taste and playstyle (Want to play CW or not?!?).
If I'd be forced to choose: I'd rather own just one of every good Mech (unleveled/basic'd) instead of grinding through three of each. Diversity wins and prolongs the fun in the game for me BIG TIMES and honestly, leveled Mechs are quite nice, but the impact ain't THAT big imho. You can do (almost) as good in unleveled/basic'd Mechs.

The second factor is the amount of money you're willing and able to drop.
Simple.

If you're cheap, go for the Actic-Cheetah Package and some extra premium time. Can't go wrong with that.
If you have more money, act accordingly...

[Ivan Tsarevich]

Sorry for the confusion. No, I don't own an Ebon Jag right now. The only things to my name are a single Crow C, some spare parts, and just shy of a million cbills.

I didn't think about selling off the Shadow Cats for Stormcrows. I might basic three out and sell the two non-prime variants for cash.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

About that SHC...

It isn't AWFUL. It's just not META. Not even close. It has its niche. If RAbbi can pull a Johnny Five in it, it can't be that bad. (I suck THAT badly, yeah.). For the role, it's actually pretty good. But it's not a go-out-of-your-way-for-it mech. It's a neato niche mech that happens to come with the Wave III packs, and I'd recommend going ahead and filling ELITE on all 3 (and the -P when it comes up for C-Bills) before you sell any.

This may all change with the coming balance pass that's in PTS right now. Assume it will. At least twice more.

[Maker L106]

As a rookie myself the best pack I spent money on was the Ebon Jaguar pack, and only up to the heavy level. The Jag has given me one of the most toolish mechs in my garage, its a bit hot, but its a real multi-tool when compare to a lot of the other stuff i ran regularly before my comp suicided.

If for whatever reason the Jag doesn't suit you, you can't go wrong with mech bay and premium time if you get to play daily.

[Leone]

Ivan Tsarevich, on 15 September 2015 - 06:30 AM, said:

What if I were to get the Arctic Cheetah pack, then pick up 30 days of premium? I would have a cbill bonus variant, three of the Cheetahs to master, and the 30 day premium that would come with the Ebon Jaguar.

And the Cauldron Born just got released for cbills anyways. I like it.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 15 September 2015 - 07:24 PM.

[Ivan Tsarevich]

That's the way I'm heading. I picked up the Arctic Cheetah pack, and we'll see how it goes. If I'm liking it, I'll just pick up some premium time in a couple weeks. If I feel I'm desperate for more mechs, I'll upgrade to the Ebon Jag.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

ACH is probably THE best light in the game (there are some FS9 die-hard fans who would argue otherwise). That's a fine choice. It's also a relatively versatile mech.

You can run some considerable missiles on that thing. There's at least one ballistic omnipod for it, in case you want to try your hand at a UAC/2 light. Or, you can do the most common/meta thing, and go all energy. It's got the tonnage to carry TWO cERLLs, and can even be talked into doing it with ECM, both on high torso hardpoints for hillhumping. Or 5 (will be six when it comes out for C-Bills, or even seven if you're a nutter) cSPLs for a pretty fearsome fast backstabber. Or, y'know, brave the heat and toss 5x cERML on it. Or maybe get all recon-crazy and hump a cERLL, cNARC, and cTAG. It rocks out. Speed Tweaked, it tops at over 140 kph, and the six jump jets will get you into some really interesting spots (snipe from atop the wall on HPG Manifold, if you like). You could get REALLY crazy with the Cheez Whiz, and throw a cERPPC on there, for some serious long-range counter-ECM work. It's just SUCH a cool mech.

If/when you DO get around to bumping up to the Cauldron-Born pack (Ebon Jaguar), holla. I'll be happy to throw a little advice at you for playing the SHC. I seriously like these things, all of a sudden...

And EBJ? SO versatile! I keep one set up with 3x cUAC/5 and 3x cERSL, one with a cGauss and 5x cERML, and a third with 2x cLPL and 4x cERML. They're all pretty formidable. I'm a lifelong light mech lover (well, since the old 3025-rules BT tabletop game anyhow), but I ELITEd the EBJ first because it's just so freakin' COOL.

[Yosharian]

Stormcrow, without a doubt.

The other mechs mentioned (Arctic Cheetah for example) are good, but the Stormcrow is absolutely peerless and is one of the most flexible mechs in the game. You can run almost anything in this mech.

A lot of people will tell you 'run the cheetah it can do this' or 'run the jaguar it can do this' but the Stormcrow can run a large variety of builds and you will not get bored with it.

Off the top of my head you can run:

Gauss + ERML
6 MPL
12 SPL
5 SRM6
5 STREAK-6
LB20 + a few lasers
3 ERLL

I can supply smurfy links if you need them - send me a message though because I probably won't read this thread again

Edited by Yosharian, 20 September 2015 - 02:04 AM.