just here to answer the playstyle by class thing.
LIGHTMECHS:
for lights it is all about speed, if you are a speed demon you will like to pilot a spider, or a locust.
the firestarter is one of the most solid mechs in the field right now, very good firepower with 8 small laser, it can cut legs off easy or focus any part of an enemy mech.
other lights focus on different things like the jenner is a light mech fighter, usually it is the best for taking out other light mechs.
around one half of all light mechs can fly, and you will need to, believe me!
finally there is 3 light mechs (spider, raven and kit fox) that can equip ECM and be invisible, these are good for scouting, getting recon on the enemy forces, surprise attacks, flanking unseen, sniping on the move, and stealthy kills.
(edit: does the commando also pack ecm? i forgot)
usually you don't want to backpedal with light mechs, just keep driving full speed and do mobster driveby shootings on targets of opportunity.
MEDIUMMECHS:
the mediums have a different playstyle, some are almost as fast as a light, such as the cicada, which is also ecm capable so it can avoid radar detection.
other mediums are further up in the tonnage division and they can take almost as much punishment as a heavy mech as is the case with centurion and hunchback. both are great brawlers too.
mostly gameplay with mediums is about getting in and out, more like guerilla warfare, popping in and out of cover and less hit and run at full speed like a prohibition-era mafia driveby, which you kinda do with light mechs. you have to be very careful of where you get yourself into. because you can get hurt badly early on in the match
HEAVYMECHS:
the heavy mechs are what i would recommend for a noob, they are the most balanced class in the game.
using a heavy mech is almost like playing call of duty, you don't need to have many special considerations besides teamwork, mostly, your armor and firepower are good and your speed is acceptable-
you can expose yourself to enemies without getting blown up immediately, some are fast, some not so much but all have a tough chin and can bring a whole lot of weapons to the battle, it is around this class that you can really start boating weapons such as packing double gauss and get a very strong but gimmicky sniper, or put hundreds of missiles into a catapult for example.
there is one ecm capable heavy as far as i know, the clan hellbringer which is a really powerful mech.
ASSAULTMECHS:
piloting the assault mech is in some ways similar to the medium mech, you have to be very aware of where you are in the map and where the allies and enemies are, because even though you can take a mean punch with your ludicrous armor, and your guns can blow up a planet, you will be very slow, and it pays to think of escape routes and to stay right smack in the middle of your team so you are supported. if you want to play a weaponized space station assault mechs are for you, there is one ecm capable assault, the ultra massive atlas ddc.
when piloting an assault mech, you should have nerves of steel not to panic when under heavy fire and be able to carefully aim and trade blows with other mechs under stress, and knowing when to charge in and trade all your armor so you can get the kill(s)
even within weight classes there is mechs that play totally different
for example, even though the awesome and gargoyle are 80 ton assault mechs, they can probably kill light mechs just fine with their speed and degree of torso rotation.
but the stalker for example is also an assault but it will have trouble turning around to get rid of a light mech on it's tail.
and even mechs of the same exact weight/tonnage will often play completely different.
for example the awesome vs the victor are both 80 tons but the victor is a slow flying tank with very poor torso rotation but good arm weapons.
the awesome is a slow walking but ironically highly maneuverable mech that can twist like the best and can bring a lot of firepower, but no flying and can mount smaller engines. and even bigger difference would be gargoyle vs victor, the gargoyle is super fast and can mount few weapons, but the victor trades that speed for the ability of flight and can pack a few more weapons even though it walks like it's submerged up to it's knees.
edit: there is one more thing i forgot to mention, if you are piloting a jenner or victor you need to learn how to turn around 180 with jumpjets in the air so you can land and take off in a different direction with the jenner, or simply turn around 180 degrees with the victor in less than 365 days.
hope that helps out a little bit, i had to help a friend get into the game lately so i had time to think about how to explain the weight classes to him at first
Edited by Sanlucif3r, 22 December 2014 - 05:47 PM.
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Thanks for the vid, it's helpful. Though, Hawken does have it's fair share of tactical fights. Just like MWO, Hawken's pub matches don't have much thought into them. Going up against organized teams is scary due to how fast Hawken mechs are. XD 
