23 replies to this topic

[MountainRat]

Ok. Have had this downloaded for some time, but have started playing a little more everyday. I understand the basics of the game, but cannot figure out how to increase kills, or better yet to even get my first kill. I have tried a various number of different trial mechs.

I normally use a joystick, but cannot figure out how to set the buttons. I have read the forums, did the repair tool, but cannot figure it out.

Next question is should I join a faction? Have played the table top game since the beginning and have always been House Kurita. So if there is a group recruiting please let me know. I am just looking to play.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[ExoForce]

1. this is not a joystick game. Use mouse.
2. learn to take cover, after that if You live long enough to the end of the battle with luck you will score first kill.
3. stick to big mechs, stick to ecmmechs, be their shadow..

my 5 cents.

[Chadamir Fitzkrieg]

Hey mate! First off, I'll have to discourage you from using a joystick. Next, kills are now not as important as they once were. The game rewards you more for being a good pilot, fulfilling a role, and in combat, being able to do the most damage.

However, learn the various weak points on a mech. When in the heat of things, focus down damaged components. That's what I do in my Hunchbacks.

To choose a faction, go to PROFILE at the top right and look for FACTION, it'll be underneath the FORUMS.

[Jesterboy]

Hi MountainRat,

my first Games was ... *urgs* *shame* ... ok the next Games arent better since.

But First of all use MOUSE! - Stay Close too the BigBoys and shoot Targest that they shoot.

And stay calm wait an shoot ...

some friends are good too to Play with be nice and invite some People in the game you Play someone add you and Play with you sometimes .

btw there many stream on like Twitch.tv to look and learn

[Redshift2k5]

Don't worry about kills. Assists and Savior Kills pay out just as well, and are paid to every player who damages the enemy that dies (Savior Kills give you a further bonus for assisting a kill if the target was damaging one of your critically damaged allies, but it pays to everyone not just the last shot)

Focus on sticking to your lance, and if in a light or medium you can stick to heavy/assaults on your team for additional bonuses.

Have a look at the patch notes & the recent hotfix to see how they have changed the game rewards in the past week. There are loads of other kinds of activities you can do in a match to earn C-bills and XP other than kills.

Setting your controls requires going to the Settings menu then click Controller at the left. double-clicking on the key bound you want to change, then pressing the new key to assign. There are lots of joystick inputs available to remap.

However, this game is optimized more for mouse & keyboard, and I would not recommend using a joystick until after you have gotten a good hold on the basics of controlling your mech. Joysticks will never be as clean and direct fr aiming as a mouse and you are probably making it harder on yourself trying to learn the game and learn to play MWO with a joystick at the same time.

Factions are not currently relevant(No game mechanics are affected by your faction choice YET), but you probably should look at joining a group of players in a Unit/merc corp/etc. You can check the Faction and Merc sections to see who is hiring!

Kills are not necessary to get a good C-bill payout. Kills can be exciting, and we're here to have fun, but kills are just a number, especially while you're still learning.

Edited by Redshift2k5, 25 October 2014 - 11:44 AM.

[RazorbeastFXK3]

Welcome back, mechwarrior!

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

Ok. Have had this downloaded for some time, but have started playing a little more everyday.

Like riding a bike, ahyup, some things are difficult to forget 'specially when we don't want to forget what we learn.

To get kills you either have to aim for the cockpit, circle around your opponent and have your weapons lick at their back armor since most players generally have less armor in their backs than they have in their fronts.

Instead of just shooting for the CT(Center Torso) try shooting the LT(Left Torso) or RT(Right Torso) when you find you can't circle around them. Chances are your opponent uses XL Engines (this is in reference to Inner Sphere 'mechs by the way) and if you take out one of their ST(Side Torso) you can earn a kill that way. OR You can just shoot out both of their legs.. that is usually the "go to" for most players since taking out one leg cripples a 'mech's speed and taking out both legs takes the 'mech out of the fight.

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

I understand the basics of the game, but cannot figure out how to increase kills, or better yet to even get my first kill. I have tried a various number of different trial mechs.

When you go to the Home/Mechlab window outside of battle, there's a 'Settings' button on the lower right corner of the screen/window. Click that and choose 'Controller' (I think that's the spot you can set your joystick buttons to but I've never used Joysticks with online games so not sure)

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

I normally use a joystick, but cannot figure out how to set the buttons. I have read the forums, did the repair tool, but cannot figure it out.

Joining a Faction gives you a better guarantee that you'll drop in a group instead of solo. Generally better coordination skills since Factions/Group Drops use Voice Programs to keep in touch with each other.

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

Next question is should I join a faction? Have played the table top game since the beginning and have always been House Kurita. So if there is a group recruiting please let me know. I am just looking to play.

I hope you find what you need and just keep in mind, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. The only dumb question is one never asked.

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[EDIT]Utilize the Training grounds as much as possible so you can adjust your settings (video/audio/keyboard-mouse-joystick controls/sensitivity/etc) that way you're not entering the battle "whipping your head back and forth" 'cause your sensitivity settings and acceleration/accuracy are set too high and you're not moving like you're swimming in molasses 'cause they're too low.

The training grounds are found in the Home tab when in game.[/edit]

Edited by RazorbeastFXK3, 25 October 2014 - 11:46 AM.

[Uklistan]

1. Faction is no biggie right now. When CW comes out then it will be a choice.

2. Try mouse+keyboard for a bit. Until you get the feel of how mechs run. Joysticks are ok, but some have issues with MWO.

3. Use all of the trial mechs until you have enough funds to buy 3 chassis.

4. Look for a unit to join, they'll help you with getting kills.

5. Aim center mass or legs on all mechs, the kills will come.

[muskrat]

Salute MountainRat

Here is the link for House Kurita Recruitment Thread:

http://mwomercs.com/...aconis-combine/

I mostly Pug do not hesitate to friend me in game and call on me if you need a partner
Im really old but provide an EXCELLENT alternative target rather than you.

Muskrat

[Koniving]

Welcome to MWO.

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

Ok. Have had this downloaded for some time, but have started playing a little more everyday. I understand the basics of the game, but cannot figure out how to increase kills, or better yet to even get my first kill. I have tried a various number of different trial mechs.

I normally use a joystick, but cannot figure out how to set the buttons. I have read the forums, did the repair tool, but cannot figure it out.

Next question is should I join a faction? Have played the table top game since the beginning and have always been House Kurita. So if there is a group recruiting please let me know. I am just looking to play.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

There is a bug currently for setting buttons. Some people will open up an XML file for this, but since I don't know how to do it I won't tell you. Instead, for now you can try to double click any button setting in the options menu as I'm sure you found. It must be a rapid double click. Tedious, I know.

That said, I highly do not recommend using a joystick for aiming. Movement perhaps, but not aiming. I personally use a throttlestick + mouse.

------

Going to your making your first kill. There are a number of ways of making a kill. It essentially consists of doing X amount of damage to a body part until it is destroyed.

Here are some potential targets:

Cockpit. With powerful weapons, a maximum total of 35 damage is necessary to destroy the heavily armored cockpit. It's not always 35, but it will never be higher.

Destroy both legs. Breaking both legs automatically renders an enemy mech destroyed in MWO, because having no legs would get boring pretty quickly if you were still alive.

Destroy a shoulder. On most enemy Inner Sphere battlemechs you can destroy an enemy mech by destroying a shoulder. This is assuming it has an XL engine.
However, you must destroy both shoulders on a Clan mech.

Destroy the core. The center torso on every enemy mech, when destroyed, automatically counts as a kill.

On the following image: Can you identify the easiest ways to kill this player? (Lower left health indicator).

The head is still armored. There's no point in trying for it.
The right leg is about to break. You could make a kill by shooting it.
That left torso is about to break... but is there a point to it? As you can see, this mech is already missing one torso. It is also an Inner Sphere battlemech. If it has already lost a torso, taking away the other won't kill it.
Its center torso, however, is also about to break.

This very short video makes several rapid kills. See if you can see how I will kill the enemy before I do it (upper right display).


Hope that helps.

[MountainRat]

Thanks for all the hints and tips. Will just keep trucking along. Just not that easy to pick up all the things going on. Sighting mechs, using radar, guess it will all come in time.

[Kjudoon]

MountainRat, on 25 October 2014 - 11:06 AM, said:

Ok. Have had this downloaded for some time, but have started playing a little more everyday. I understand the basics of the game, but cannot figure out how to increase kills, or better yet to even get my first kill. I have tried a various number of different trial mechs.

I normally use a joystick, but cannot figure out how to set the buttons. I have read the forums, did the repair tool, but cannot figure it out.

Next question is should I join a faction? Have played the table top game since the beginning and have always been House Kurita. So if there is a group recruiting please let me know. I am just looking to play.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome, or welcome back... kinda?

Kills come with time. That's the best bit of advice I can give about that. Don't focus on them for now. Focus on being alive at the end of the match first. The longer you're alive the greater chance you have to kill something when the opportunity presents itself.

Keyboard/Mouse is the best control you have right now as a new player. Don't try to get crazy with Mouse/Joystick combos or anything. You need to focus more on the basics of the game such as maneouvering and survival.

Philosophically, and yes this does matter, here are some things to keep in mind when playing this game:

1. This is a team game. Joining a group with teamspeak will greatly increase your ability. They can help and guide you in becoming a better mechwarrior and celebrate with you when you start racking up the kills. It will make this game infinitely better to play.

2. Play every match as if you were really in the cockpit and could die. This will control a LOT of stupid/dangerous/reckless activities. Use cover... heck.... LOVE cover! It is your best friend Know it and watch your overhead clearance to protect you from missiles. Use your own fear. Never give the enemy a fair shake. The dead have no honor and victory is victory. Let the forum warriors quibble on what they think of it.

3. "Bravery" is overrated. "Cowardice" is smart. The best match is one where you took no damage but contributed to victory. Just because you survived with 20% health left does not mean you did a good job. It means you got shot a lot. Dying not a sign of good play. Living is. On occasion, your death can be the cause of a victory (case in point, I had a match where 8 mechs were destroyed because many of them were busy trying to kill me in my irritating LRM boat, so when I died finally, we steamrolled them 12-2. That's a good exception to the rule.)

4. Find a playstyle that fits your personality and taste. This is not a 'brawler only' game where you just charge and button mash for the only path to victory.

5. You are only 8.5% of the total effort of your team. This is a team game. If the other 11 people let you down, you cannot win. Learn to accept that. Never think you can carry the whole game, or try to. Just like Brett Favre was the Touchdown recordholder till this year, he also still holds the record for interceptions.

6. Never... EVER play someone else's game because they're bored or feeding you bad advice from the cemetery. You play your game, and play to survive even if it ticks off 22 other people.

7. Once you find your favorite playstyle, REVEL in it! If you're a brawler, learn the craft of brawling. If you're a support pilot (like me) be the best durn LRMboat or sniper you can.

8. Watch videos on Youtube of players who are good at the game. Learn from them little things you never thought you could do.

9. Learn the maps. Map awareness and familiarity is one of the best skills to develop! The way you know true competency would be to run around the map BACKWARDS and not get hung up on the scenery. Find the places in the training grounds that you thought you couldn't get to, and remember them for when things go south. Ever been on top of E3 on Alpine Peaks? Check it out. Find the "Putting Greens" in River City.

10. Lastly... know when to walk away from the game. If you're so frustrated you're seeing red or cussing out the screen... time to take a break and play something else. Do something else, and come back when you are ready because you're thinking... 'what about this build'?

[KamikazeRat]

all good stuff has been said already...one thing to add...gotta disagree a little on telling him to ditch the joystick outright, but i agree he shouldn't use it for aiming

i use Joystick (left hand) + Mouse (right hand, i am right handed, most control for aiming)

Joystick is setup as follows
Throttle: foward and back on the stick, don't have to take my hand off to change speed
Turn: left and right on stick. again, hand stays on stick

mouse is torso twist and vertical aiming

so...you have Joystick = Legs
Mouse = Torso/Arms
set your buttons to taste, important functions: Jump Jets, Target Enemy, Override shutdown, Vision modes. as well as individual firing groups...i have all 1-6 mapped between keyboard and mouse but thats probably not nessicary depending on your prefered flavor of mech.

VERY intuitive for me. helped me alot when i was starting out, really helps separate the two movements and lets you dance a little better. may not work as well for you, its all in how your brain is put together, just thought i would offer it as a thought....maybe wait until you get the hang of the basics on keyboard, then give this setup a try. takes a little to get used to...try running around on training grounds a couple times with it, see how it feels.

Joystick is a Saitek, ST290"pro"... Mouse is a Logitech, standard 4 button wireless with a scroll.....so...yeah, don't need professional gaming hardware to have a decent setup that works for you.

Edited by KamikazeRat, 25 October 2014 - 09:32 PM.

[WrathOfDeadguy]

+1 to Joystick+Mouse. I'd used the same arrangement to play Starsiege for well over a decade before I started playing this, so it was a pretty quick adjustment.

The chief advantage in driving with the joystick for both throttle and steering is finer control over both. With the keyboard, you have two throttle settings- full and stop. Likewise turning. If you're trying to stick with your group, and you're a great deal faster than its slowest member, this saves you having to repeatedly tap W to maintain a lower speed. Precise control over your turn rate will help you maneuver faster 'Mechs through more congested spaces.

The other advantage is not having to let go of anything important to reach anything else important. If you're using a keyboard, chances are that at some point or another you'll need to lift a finger off your throttle or turning controls to press something else, and that might prevent you from, say, targeting an enemy before you fire, or switching your ECM setting, or activating a consumable... and so on.

The only disadvantage is that the response time for *reversing* your current input is faster with a keyboard. That can be useful for dodging enemy fire (you can bypass that limitation by also mapping turn controls to two of your joystick buttons in addition to the stick axis).

[Tarogato]

While we're talking about control mapping... if anybody has the opportunity to try MWO with a trackpoint, oh my gawd the versatility. I've tried playing with a mouse and I can't imagine how you could ever play the game with one. You have to take your hand off of it to do anything on the right side of the keyboard! Lest you take your left hand off the keyboard to use a function mapped to the right side of your keyboard and you forfeit leg control for that instant, which can be vital in a light mech.

Clitmouse ftw.

[KamikazeRat]

Tarogato, on 25 October 2014 - 11:03 PM, said:

While we're talking about control mapping... if anybody has the opportunity to try MWO with a trackpoint, oh my gawd the versatility. I've tried playing with a mouse and I can't imagine how you could ever play the game with one. You have to take your hand off of it to do anything on the right side of the keyboard! Lest you take your left hand off the keyboard to use a function mapped to the right side of your keyboard and you forfeit leg control for that instant, which can be vital in a light mech.

Clitmouse ftw.

this is the exact problem i solved with the joystick....6 buttons, and 4-way hat control,stick moves the legs....mouse has 5 buttons and moves the torso/arms....nearly everything i need
my control map:

Spoiler

Mouse:
mouse1(left click): group 1
mouse2(right click): group 2
mouse3(wheel click): zoom mode toggle
mouse4(rear side button): group 3
mouse5(front side button: group 4 (slightly hard to reach)

Joystick:
Button 1 Trigger: group 4(because its hard to reach on mouse)
buttons arranged in a U with a hat in the middle
Top Left: select enemy
Bottom Left: override shutdown
Center: Jump Jets
Bottom Right: group 5
Top Right: group 6
Hat up: advanced zoom
Hat left: night vision
Hat right: thermal vision
Hat down: target overlay

other non-bound functions i didnt not feel were needed, but you may
centering for torso/legs
arm lock
module slots (don't use them enough to justify)
ECM mode (don't have a single ecm mech, come to think of it....hmm....)
startup/shutdown
weapon door(generally just open them at the beginning of the match, and now that cents don't have them, its just my catapult that i need this for)

Edited by KamikazeRat, 26 October 2014 - 12:32 AM.

[Red Line Pilot]

I know at least one that was pretty skilled with a joystick. Thing is that he used a mouse AND and a joystick. The stick was for movement, the mouse for aiming. Don't ask me how he set it up though since i don´t use a stick myself.

[Kjudoon]

There's a video out there on how to do that on Youtube. A few guys in the Seraphim use it and LOVE it. The joystick is in your left hand though. That's what makes it feel very different.

[dragnier1]

Assists (dmg done to target without killing blow), saviour kills still pay the most like before, as well as most damage done to target (i think). That being said, you still need to take down your opponents in order to win, since wins give more cbills than losses. As covered by others, various factors contribute to you getting kills. Just take your time, my first 5 kills took me many games to get (1st one was lucky).

I noted that you are still using trial mechs. While they are good, they are actually meant to give you an idea of what mechs you could purchase with . The advantage of owned mechs is the xp and gxp you earn can be used to improve your mechs' performance, there-by increasing your chances of survival and taking down opponents.

[Appogee]

Red Line Pilot, on 26 October 2014 - 01:00 AM, said:

I know at least one that was pretty skilled with a joystick. Thing is that he used a mouse AND and a joystick. The stick was for movement, the mouse for aiming. Don't ask me how he set it up though since i don´t use a stick myself.

I used to use a joystick in the left hand for movement in MWLL and a mouse in the right for firing.

The joystick is actually more intuitive than keyboard for movement, especially when you use the Z axis for torso twist. (Y-axis is used for forward/backward, X-axis for turning.) It also provides lots of useful extra buttons for things like override.

I haven't ever bothered to set it up for MWO - a Razer Nostromo does the job well enough. But I suspect a joystick would be slightly better.

Edited by Appogee, 26 October 2014 - 01:22 AM.

[Summon3r]

hey buddy ill jsut reiterate what everyone else is saying,

kills are not the end all be all thats for sure tho it is nice to see your name flash with the mountainrat killed summon3r or who ever, if you are in single que drops try and focus your fire with other mechs, look for weak spots in mechs like cataphracts and victors they likely will have an XL engine and a sidetorso shot will kill them.

this game is very team orriented so short answer yes joining a unit will help you in every way possible in the game and make it ALOT more fun for you. check us out if you like cwdg.us lots of friendly guys willing to help.

oh and another thing for love of god get rid of the joystick mouse and keyboard all the way for this game

one more tip more weapons does not mean a better deadlier build. it usually means a less efficient build!

GL man i hope you dont get discouraged.