I'm a pilot from a game you may know as Hawken. I would like to try out this game, and I know it's very different than it's faster paced cousin.
How is MWO and PGI doing? As a long time Hawken player, knowing how the company and the community is doing is something that I must know before starting up the game. Any general tips for this game? I'm sure I have to be very cautious when battling.
Thank you for reading,
-Hijinks
PS: What's with the post limit count?
Edited by hijinks the turtle, 19 December 2014 - 03:42 PM.
Just fight with your brain. Most of the community is susceptible to intelligent fighting.
Some of the community hates PGI, for many reasons. Most of which are invalid and/or irrational. But, there are some things that could be better. Just don't get bogged down in the negativity and try to have fun in the game.
Besides that, the game does have a steep learning curve. When you manage to climb to the top of the curve the game becomes fun, borderline addictive.
Edited by DavidHurricane, 19 December 2014 - 03:48 PM.
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 03:41 PM, said:
1) First of all, hello fellow pilots!
2) I'm a pilot from a game you may know as Hawken. I would like to try out this game, and I know it's very different than it's faster paced cousin.
3) How is MWO and PGI doing?
4) Any general tips for this game?
5) PS: What's with the post limit count?
1) Welcome.
2) It's a whole different ballgame.
3) MWO in and of itself is a pretty solid game. There are die-hard Battletech / Mechwarrior franchise fans that are either enamored or feeling it is not quite deep enough as the game is -- though many new players don't realize this -- trying very hard to simplify the experience and appeal to the newer generations of gamers. (Starting from the far more simplified controls -- if you think the controls are anything but simplified, you've never played a Mechwarrior (1, 2, 3, 4) game -- to ease of access to all your weapons at once.)
The company itself at the beginning was great, then kinda so-so as the publisher was being very controlling and bringing us into the dark ages... and as of some months ago the publisher was sent packing and ever since the company has become as good if not better than they were from the start.
There is still work to be done. But the road looks as bright if not brighter than at the beginning of this journey. If anything I think the only thing holding me back is their choice to make this a game (even if they call it a sim) rather than a sim. Still, far as F2P games this is the closest you're going to get.
5) Anti-spambot measure. The post limit disappears once you play through 25 matches.
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 03:54 PM, said:
How long do games typically last?
Average match? 6 to 12 minutes. Maximum match lengths: 15 minutes for regular matches. 30 minutes for Community Warfare invasions.
Here, I think this might help you out a bit. It's a very simple video using a trial mech. The computer voice was turned off, allowing me to insert voices from the Closed Beta computer as well as the Mechwarrior 3 computer in order to 'narrate' what is going on. This is vid 2 of 6 (or 7?) in regards to a victory challenge of sorts where I chose to use the trial mechs for fun.
Vid 3 is also pretty good, though it is not edited in any way.
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:
Oh wow, thanks! I'm glad to see more people look at this thread. A few more questions:
I know this feels like a pretty vague question, but which playstyle is each mech type/class good for?
What's the deal with this 'choosing faction' thing?
In general, which mech type/class is well suited for beginners?
I, personally, like stealth; is there something similar to cloaking in MWO?
EDIT: I think that'll be my last post for today. Already reaching the limit.
Playstyles depend on the loadout and range of your wepaons more than in the class itself.
for a beginner, use the timberwolf trial and stormcrow, currently some of the best mechs, TBR is quite fast for a heavy, good armored and also allows you a lot adjustments (you can use any weapons on it in any combination when switching the Omnipods ) once you have your own. SCR is very durable and nimble for a medium mech.
but in the end test around with the trials, you can't change their weapon laodout, but they are enough to give you a feeling about the mechs and lern to handle specific weapon mechanics
for cloacking, there would be an ecm device that SOME mech can use.
factions are for the community war, you should now probably not choose one and participate its a bit harder playsytle and you may yet not know which faction to go. People there fight over planets.
My begginertip would be: make your matches, gather the cadete bonus, and safe some more money and buy a TBR.
further chekc this page: http://mwomercs.com/tournaments there is currently the event and you can get some additional stuff for free.
also, deactivate third person view, this is not a good way to play the game at all, MWO is not a hawken like gunnign and running, its a bit closer to a mech simuator than the more shooter like hawken.
Edited by Lily from animove, 19 December 2014 - 04:33 PM.
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:
Oh wow, thanks! I'm glad to see more people look at this thread.
You'll find the community is actually very helpful. In game you'll find some sore winners and sore losers, but here on the forums, we're pretty dang friendly to new folks. =]
Quote
I know this feels like a pretty vague question, but which playstyle is each mech type/class good for?
Light mechs are great as scouts - because you can move quickly in them and dodge enemy fire, you can poke around corners and gauge the enemy locations and relay that information to your team better than any class. They also excel at causing disruptions because they're small, fast, and hard to hit. They're great at pulling flanking maneuvers because they can disengage more easily than other weight classes.
Mediums trade off the extreme speed for firepower. They're still incredibly maneuverable and great in close range engagements with the right builds, but they're not tiny little specks like light mechs are.
Heavies can move around, but they bring firepower to the field.
Assaults are the heaviest and some of them are very slow, so poor positioning with them is a death sentence. The most difficult part about playing them is trying to figure out the best place to be, because if you get it wrong, you're in for some trouble. They pack the most firepower and armour at the expense of speed and maneuverability.
Quote
What's the deal with this 'choosing faction' thing?
You can choose to ignore this if you want to! We've just gone into "Community Warfare Beta" which is a new feature where the factions in the game battle against each other for territory. It's the culmination of the Mechwarrior experience, but it isn't for everyone. It's based off of the Battletech lore (the table-top dice and paper and figurine game that Mechwarrior comes from) where you have Clan vs. Innersphere (IS) and the clans are made up of four clans and the Innersphere is made up of 6 houses. There are Clan-specific mechs and IS-specific mechs and you can only use mechs of your respective side in Community Warfare (CW), but in normal games it doesn't matter, you can bring whatever you want.
Quote
In general, which mech type/class is well suited for beginners?
Mediums! They have firepower, and they have maneuverability. They sit nicely in the middle and are forgiving of mistakes. Light mechs are delicate, so if you're not a good pilot, they're frustrating to play. Same with assaults because they're slow. Get in the wrong position and you can lose all that armour pretty quick.
Quote
I, personally, like stealth; is there something similar to cloaking in MWO?
Sort of! We have ECM (electric counter-measures), which makes it so you are not visible on radar and cannot be targeted. Of course it's a lot more complicated than that, and playing "stealth" is very challenging. It's not really a solo player game where you can go out and do your own thing on the battlefield, you have to work together as a unit with your team and the real fun in MWO comes when you join a Unit and play together and build comradery. Playing pugs/solo matches can be frustrating at times.
The post limit is 5 per day (until you do 25 matches).
You can edit posts to say/ask more if you need to, I tend to refresh pages (and edit my own a lot).
You're welcome. There will be many more to answer things here and giving their opinions, it's just right now there's a challenge to get free stuff so they might be busy. (I already completed it).
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:
I know this feels like a pretty vague question, but which playstyle is each mech type/class good for?
That... is an extremely vague question with an incredibly difficult answer. There's a few things to note: You can customize mechs to turn them into what you want (to an extent that can effectively change their roles massively).
A great example is the Firestarter. Though its use in MWO is nothing like its lore use in Battletech (mostly due to lack of ability to start fires, use heavy amounts of smoke to cloak yourself, set enemy infantry on fire, etc.), the mech has many diverse uses.
First, some quick background information. The Firestarter is a 35 ton mech designed for infantry support. It can do decent speeds but wasn't meant to. It burns infantry alive, sets fire to forests to mask the movement of itself and its allies, etc.
Typically in MWO, the Firestarter replaces the flamers (which have been mostly useless since closed beta, where it was once the only weapon that could kill enemies without ever destroying their armor by cooking the enemy until its ammunition exploded) with lasers. It's given a fast engine and used as a fast harassment mech.
Firestarter in MWO as shot by Lordred (a member of the merc unit I'm in).
But, this is not the only use. Some pilots have used the Firestarter (or a specific ballistic-totting chassis of it) to build a Hollander (which is a Battletech mech not available in MWO yet).
Which is a very slow, very powerful mech totting a single Gauss Rifle.
You can also turn it into a brawler. Something I've done with all my Firestarters. My 35 ton Firestarters can compete with the fighting abilities of 50 ton Centurions, and still manage better speeds.
But for a generalization:
Light mechs (20 to 35 tons) are generally good for scouting, harassment, first responders, taking down assault mechs (singularly or in swarms).
Medium mechs (40 to 55 tons) tend to be anti-lights, though some pack enough firepower to compete with and take down anything -- so long as it is done in moderation. A pack of mediums can take down anything.
Heavy mechs (60 to 75 tons) tend to be the class of choice for the 'do-it-yourselfers' out there. Best balance of armor, speed and firepower you can get though in most cases speed gets sacrificed first.
And then finally Assaults. (80 to 100 tons) These are the walking tanks, the big walking tincans of death. When supported they can keep a battle moving. When unsupported they are incredibly easy to take out. What's funny is a fight progresses or halts based on what the assault pilots do.
Quote
1) What's the deal with this 'choosing faction' thing?
2) In general, which mech type/class is well suited for beginners?
3) I, personally, like stealth; is there something similar to cloaking in MWO?
1) It's for the hardcore players. Just getting in you probably shouldn't worry about it. You can play regular matches without it.
2) There are different mechs/types well suited for specific styles. As for good starter mechs, this list is based on a number of things including survivability, adaptability (the ability to change/experiment with it to fit as many playstyles as possible) and financial investment as far as your cbills (earned game funds).
With that:
Lights:
Jenner / Firestarter.
Mediums:
Hunchback (50 tons)
Centurion (50 tons)
Blackjack (45 tons)
Shadowhawk / Griffin / Wolverine / Kintaro (55 tons; these are each very good mechs but each have their flaws; example Shadowhawk has the best weapon variety but has horrible peripheral vision. Griffin has great peripheral vision but a very right-side focus on its weapons. The Wolverine has an odd way of arranging its weapons, and finally the Kintaro is best suited after learning how to use the Secondary Arm crosshair with independent control of the arms from the body).
Stormcrow (55 tons; Clan mech)... The Clan Omnimechs work very different from Inner Sphere Battlemechs in terms of how they are built, edited, etc.
Heavy:
Cataphract (70 tons).
Orion (75 tons).
Thunderbolt (65 tons).
I can't recommend an assault as a starting mech. Positioning is everything.
3) Stealth. Yes, there is ECM. The following mechs can use it:
Inner Sphere:
Raven 3-L
Locust (Heromech)
Spider 5D
Commando 2D
Cicada 3M
Atlas D-DC
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:
1 which playstyle is each mech type/class good for?
2 What's the deal with this 'choosing faction' thing?
3 In general, which mech type/class is well suited for beginners?
4 is there something similar to cloaking in MWO?
Go play 25 matches, NOW. You won't see C-bills flowing like this ever again.
1. class/type: It's hard to say as class only look at mechs' weight, in actual game even mechs in the same class play very differently. In gerneral though lighter mechs are faster thus require more running around and picking your fight, heavier mechs can't disengage as easy but pack bigger puch and thicker armor.
2. CW, community warfare, ppl fighting for planets in bigger maps and more mechs. Not suggested until you have 4 mechs of a total weight of (less than)240 tons combat ready. A lot of "units" (MWO "guilds") are recruiting you may want to take a look. It's not something that important for a beginner so there's that.
3. It depends on yourself but Iights and mediums get matches faster so you may want to look into that. Also they are more forgiving when you make a mistake and run into a bunch of enemies, as lights and meds can simply turn around and run.
4. ECM, yes, but it can only be carried by certain mechs and tbh it's more of a team support rather than for yourself. Then again it doesn't stop enemy shooting you at the first place.
I have 5 videos. This is purely for the lore if you're interested. (And no, they are not my videos).
Spoiler
This first one is a very basic introduction to what is going on here. Very quick, it gives information, hypes you up with clips from past MW games, and more info.
This second and third video gives a detailed though summarized history as well as introduces all of the significant factions. It'll give the info above and then some.
The beginning, The Amaris Coup, Operation Exodus, Succession Wars.
Operation Exodus (their eyes), Kerensky's legacy and the Second Exodus, Ascension of the Clans, Onward to Terra [Earth] (Clan Invasion).
This video, by Wauweli, is purely a fan-made hype-inducing video using Freespace 2 and Heavy Gear audio clips for the narration/communications. It's about the start of the Clan invasions.
And finally, the words of the great General Alexander Kerensky, which won't be heard for a hundred years after the Clans start their invasion. It contains the intentions of Operation Exodus, which has been lost upon Kerensky's Children (the Clans).
"I fear our forces would do incalculable, possibly irreparable harm." Indeed they will.
This last video isn't part of the lore series, but a cinematic factional battle between Steiner and Kurita by Iqfish and the Topgame Media Crew. I love their videos strongly for the use of native factional languages. (In this case Steiner is using English with real German accents as opposed to German as they do in 'Davion Blues', but there's real Japanese.)
I cannot disagree more than when people suggest new players use THE BEST mechs for everything. Playing a Timberwolf or a Stormcrow isn't going to teach you anything at all about turning disadvantages into advantages. They mostly remove the requirement for gunnery skill, good armor management, good positioning, and good heat management through "kill everything via superior firepower and survive a really long time because hitboxes." That's not to say new players should take out the worst mechs possible; it's just to say they won't really learn anything by abusing broken chassis except, well, how to abuse a broken chassis.
Learning how to survive and protect your weapons systems is a very important skill, OP, and one you should focus on above all else. A dead mech doesn't do anyone any good. Try a Hunchback or something similar, something with a very glaring weak spot. Use those mechs to learn how to protect valuable parts and you'll be that much better equipped in the future to deal with people who are going to know to exploit certain parts of your mech (gauss rifles, side torsos on mechs with XL engines, etc). Medium mechs, like Koniving said, are excellent for beginners; they are the middle ground of speed, firepower, and durability- forgiving of some mistakes but with enough firepower to really hurt someone caught unawares.
Mediums cover such a vast array of builds and mech types that you can pretty much figure out your playstyle. From beefier, tankier mechs (like Centurions and certain Wolverines) to less durable but much faster strikers and scouts (the Cicada and Griffin) to hull-down direct-fire support mechs (Blackjack and Shadowhawk) to mobile LRM boats (the Kintaro and the Trebuchet), you can build a Medium mech to fill whatever role you want them to. You can expand up or down from there once you've figured out what you really like in a mech.
Remember: a good mech pilot balances survival with punishment. A mech that stays alive to the end but provides nothing to his team in terms of either effective firepower (effective being the key word) or scouting is just as worthless as the mech that dies 30 seconds in.
ADDENDUM: I'd almost forgotten this but WATCH YOUR MAP. KNOW YOUR MAP. LOVE YOUR MAP.
Take it home, buy it flowers and candy, woo it, take it out dancing. Your map is one of the tools that makes or breaks a good mech pilot. You need to get in the habit of taking a quick glance and identifying your location, your allies' locations, the enemy's location, possible flanking routes, so on and so forth and doing this every few seconds. Being caught alone is a death warrant and being able to reinforce someone who is being caught alone can save their mech and maybe even turn the whole fight.
The game is doing very well- A tellign sign is the large volume of players returning from hiatus now that we have the long-awaited CW game mode (Community Warfare, which features a new game mode with respawns, objectives, and a galactic map to fight over). PGI divorced from it's publisher, IGP, and things have never been better!
You will ahve a limited post count and limited forum priviledges until you complete your first 25 matches. you will also recieve bonus c-bills (in game money) during those 25 matches, so get to it
Not every player is going to be good with every mech type (whether you look at weight class, archetype, weapon type, etc). some new players do best in light mechs because they're fast enough to get out of trouble, and other do well in Assault mechs because they're armoured enough to take a few hits without beign obliterated.
It's a scale from small/fast/lighly armoured to large/slow/heavily armoured, lights are the smallest/fastest and assaults the biggest, with Medium and Heavies in the middle. There are also various archetypes, ome mechs have long range weapons, some have harder-hi9tting but less range, nd others use indirect fire by using long ranged missiles. Weapon loadout determines archetype moreso than the chassis (ie any weight class can be "a sniper" or "a brawler" with the right weapon)
You should play trial mechs of each weight class and archetypes to see what you prefer
Edited by Redshift2k5, 19 December 2014 - 06:30 PM.
I must respectfully disagree with Kom3d14n. As a new player, you want to take out the best mech possible. When I see a player in a Hunchback I test the waters and aim for the weak spot. Very often I can take out the laser hump and from there easily pick apart the rest of the Hunchback. This must really be a frustrating experience for new players having the vast majority of their armament taken out quickly. Stormcrows can lay down a LOT of fire and are really pretty survivable, which makes them one of the best, if not the best medium currently in the game.
I'd avoid mechs with either jump jets or ECM for new players. Both can be challenging to use well. Keep it simple so you can focus on driving and firing.
I think you should consider your C-bills before buying into a clan mech.
After 25 matches, you are looking at 10~mil CB in your bank.
Stormcrow and TimberWolf are top tier mechs, but they worth 15mil each, and farming 5mil with trial mechs, well...Then it cost you 45mil to buy 3 of them to get elite bonus.
Lights need a XL engie to be good, so even if themselves worth 3 mil, they are still a bit expensive to run. A Firestarter will cost 3mil + 5mil for a XL295, so that 8 mil right there. Again you only need one XL engine to swap around so buying 3 Firestarters only costs around 13mil in total.
Mediums can run standard engine so that's massive savings right there, although some medium mechs still need XL engine. So one Hunchback costs 3.5 mil, and 3 of them cost 10.5 mil. So cheap, wow.
Heavies and Assults are expensive by their own--don't touch the XL friendly Assults yet, a bit too expensive for new players, while XL heavies are fine. Say Catapults cost 5.5mil each, and you need a XL300 to run them, then 10.5 mil to run the first catapult, 20~mil to run 3 of them. As for standard engine assult, unless you are VERY sure you like them, don't buy them as someone can go horriblely wrong with their slow speed.
Welcome to the game. MWO and Battletech splits the mechs under the 4 categories that is already covered by Kon.
Personally i would recommend using the 25 cadet bonus matches to run through the various weight classes to see which ones you are most comfortable/confident in and having fun running. Include additional runs if you want to try out more, don't worry about the lower you're earning as you're still learning the game. Once you have made your decision, goto http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ to "virtual design" your preferred mech before you do the same in MWO.
Do note if you want to master the mech (mastering gives a good benefit) you need to work on 3 different variants of that mech chassis. (eg. 3 Jenners, 3 Centurions, 3 Timber wolf etc)
I actually can NOT recommend mediums in general, some are "traps", because next to the initial cost they may requie an Xl engine, same for the fast lights, and this is quite expesive and porbably not good choice for beginners.
hijinks the turtle, on 19 December 2014 - 04:14 PM, said:
In general, which mech type/class is well suited for beginners? I, personally, like stealth; is there something similar to cloaking in MWO?
Play a medium. Shadowhawks, Centurions, and Hunchbacks are all good choices for a beginner. I'd stay away from the clan stuff for a while. Their lasers and autocannons aren't as good as the Inner Sphere stuff, you have to hold over the target longer to get the full damage, and there's a lot of heat. Clan missiles are pretty good though. Personally, I'd probably go with the Hunchbacks. They teach you the importance of torso twisting, and there's a variant suited for every weapon system. Plus, they're pretty mobile, reasonably durable, but not so durable that you get cocky.
ECM is the closest thing to stealth, you're not invisible, but you don't show up on radar. The Atlas D-DC and Raven 3L are your best bet for Inner Sphere, but the ECM spider is pretty hard to kill as well. I think the Cicadas are too easy to hit, and the Commando isn't very forgiving. Getting into ECM mechs is a bit expensive though, I'd start with the Hunchbacks, learn the game a bit, and then think about ECM.
As you can see, there are a large number of ways you can start off and everyone here has their own perspective based on their own experiences. At a minimum, play through your 25 matches in the trial mechs, and let us know what playstyles, mechs, and weapons you liked. Also feel free to ask any and all questions.
3
you're earning as you're still learning the game. Once you have made your decision, goto 
