52 replies to this topic

[Xandre Blackheart]

Tactics is actually going to make a difference in this game.

After all you can't bunny hop a me...

ZOMG BUNNYHOPPING JENNER! KILL IT!

[Fastred]

Dab, on 28 June 2012 - 09:42 AM, said:

I am really looking forward to this game. However, the last time I dabbled in a Mechwarrior game was back in the 90's with MW2. I never knew much about optimizing loadouts, the "best" configurations, where to allocate equipment, which mech is best at what, etc.

On this board, and in other discussions, I see a lot of mention and knowledge about the above, and I am truly worried that I will get left in the dust, and lose interest in a matter of hours after constant losses. It seems just about everyone here knows so much more about this stuff than I do. I wish I had time to spend hours and hours reading source material, dev blogs and posts, but working two jobs, a mortgage, the kids, etc. leaves me barely any time to play a game, let alone study for one.

Is there a match-maker that is somewhat skill- or experience-based in participant selection or something? Will the game offer guidance/tutorials, etc.? Will it be forgiving to complete newbies like me? Or am I basically on my own to find a guild ? Sorry, that's a Lance, isn't it? I realize these questions are many, and I was only able to find a few points in anser with my crappy forum search-fu. So any help is much appreciated, and please accept my thanks in advance.

The advice above is solid for the most part. Play smart, be a team player, use the terrain to your best advantage, fight to your teams strengths and the opposing forces weakness and you will do well. On that note I consider myself to be an above average pilot with a lot of hours in league play against players that were both skilled and disciplined.

What I have found, is that what makes a winner is the ability to enjoy the challenge of hard fought loss almost as much as a hard fought victory. When you lose and we all lose matches don't look at it as a failure, learn from it. This is a game it is meant to be fun and when you die here you can look back at the fight and go "Aw nice move that’s where they beat us" learn from it and next match you will be a better player for the loss.

[Circles End]

To relate somewhat to OP's query, instead of challenging Paul to duels (even if I want to myself as well), I don't think either of us need to worry. I played EVE for a long period of time, notorious for a steep learning curve and equally curvy tactics, and I was still able to grasp the fundamentals of a lot of these rather quickly as they were discussed wide and far, and I foresee a similar thing for MwO. Someone will come up with a "best" fit for a given 'mech and will start bragging, or someone will discover that this has happened and figure out a counter response, either in loadout or strat and post it to the forums. So I say "no worries".

[TLBFestus]

Dab, on 28 June 2012 - 09:42 AM, said:

I am really looking forward to this game. However, the last time I dabbled in a Mechwarrior game was back in the 90's with MW2. I never knew much about optimizing loadouts, the "best" configurations, where to allocate equipment, which mech is best at what, etc.

On this board, and in other discussions, I see a lot of mention and knowledge about the above, and I am truly worried that I will get left in the dust, and lose interest in a matter of hours after constant losses. It seems just about everyone here knows so much more about this stuff than I do. I wish I had time to spend hours and hours reading source material, dev blogs and posts, but working two jobs, a mortgage, the kids, etc. leaves me barely any time to play a game, let alone study for one.

Is there a match-maker that is somewhat skill- or experience-based in participant selection or something? Will the game offer guidance/tutorials, etc.? Will it be forgiving to complete newbies like me? Or am I basically on my own to find a guild ? Sorry, that's a Lance, isn't it? I realize these questions are many, and I was only able to find a few points in anser with my crappy forum search-fu. So any help is much appreciated, and please accept my thanks in advance.

90+% of the people in the forum are "blowing smoke" just like we do in the real world.

How many people do you know that have intimate knowledge of Nascar, or certain cars, their power trains, torque, horsepower, productions years, etc, yet can't drive worth beans? You know, the guy in front of you that crawls out to the end of the merge land and just STOPS THERE with his signal light on?

Or the guy that knows everything about Football/Basketball/Baseball/Hockey, but throws like a girl?

Or the Physician that weighs 400 pounds, smokes, and drinks, then berates you for doing the same?

What about the know-it-all neighbor who is on his 3rd marriage, that tells you whats wrong with yours?


Trust me Dab, You will do fine and half of us on these boards will turn out to not be anywhere as good as our knowledge of the game. Except for me of course. I know just enough to get myself killed gloriously and often.

[Spleenslitta]

Try this online Mechlab. It will give you a quick way of configuring your mechs before the game launches.
http://remlab.source...mlab30/mech.lab

[Wolftrap]

Dust off the old MW2 disc and get some practice in...I did with MW4 just so I'd figure out the targeting layout I'm gonna attempt in game. Also even if your a scout that runs randomly around the map taking pot shots at ppl as you speed by them it seems like your gonna fill an important role...or if your a guy that plants himself on a high piece of terrian waiting for said scout to run around like that and give you targets to shot at...most important rule in my book...have fun(if you happen to take some Fedrat scum down with you all the more reason to smile ) .

[Grokmoo]

In games like this, teamwork is key. Stick close to your teammates, and you'll be fine.

If the game is well balanced, the stock loadouts should be competitive, and you won't need to get into the customization aspect until you are ready.

Also, keep in mind that the forums represent a very tiny fraction of the total playerbase. The average player won't be nearly as knowledgeable or experienced with mechs as the average poster here.

[Arganosh]

For the first week or so EVERYONE will be fodder except the beta testers.

[Yoringa]

Frankly, 90% of what people talk about on these forums they have no clue about. Every opinion people have comes from the tabletop game, a previous Mechwarrior game, or a mechassault game basically. Mostly it seems like people that are the most vocal are actually tabletop players to me. They have varying degrees of applicability, but in the end MWO will be its own thing with its own nuances and everyone will be learning. You're not THAT far behind the curve more than likely. Tabletop mechanics won't be translated exactlly. Game mechanics from previous games won't be translated exactlly. It helps to have some familiarity sure, but you should be able to pick that up quick just playing. Don't let people blowing smoke stress you out. There are a lot of bloody idiots on this forum just like every other forum. (takes on to know one :-p)

[McScwizzy]

Everyone here is in the same boat and none of us have played the game. Everyone will be on an equal playing field. Except those lucky beta testers, they might be the ones kicking our rears for the first few weeks.

[Lunchmeat]

Illegal Username, on 28 June 2012 - 10:10 AM, said:

Take out their kneecaps before you die.

Go down like a hero. A spiteful, horrible hero.

Almost spit coffee on the keyboard... well said!

[WM CyberWolf]

Dab,
Join a unit they are happy to help in all ways from lore to mechs to team play..we have a open mech bay for ya if you like

[Glythe]

If you are even remotely good at strategy and have decent reflexes you should be fine. I've seen thousands of pilots fail their way to the top of WoT without having either of these assets.

If you are willing to read the forums a bit (seems like thats a given) then you can read what advice other players can give in terms of build setup (when the game goes live of course).

[Turigand]

Paul Inouye, on 28 June 2012 - 09:49 AM, said:

Dab... I'll tell you this from personal experience and monitoring our current players. Bloodlust is the main killer. You focus on one enemy and go running willy nilly trying to do whatever it takes to take him/her out. That is a sure fire way to find yourself in the middle of a couple enemy lances more than willing to end your fun.

Great - I'm screwed

[Reported for Inappropriate Name]

how to configure a mech simplified;

Step 1: Put guns on it
Step 2: Put more guns on it
Step 3: Don't forget the ammo
Step 4: Load onto dropship
Step 5: Go find something to shoot

[Chuckie]

Yes.. yes. you will.. as we all are "Just so much fodder.. "

[Beardybloke]

Which part of the gun is the dangerous bit?

[Bramage]

Just have fun dude.

[Blackfire1]

I like this new less "Its a TRAP!" Paul. The transision from troll to honorary dev was a quick one.

[CmdrSpider]

Never fear your lance mates and others in this community will be more than willing to lead you the best design for your playing style. There are more ways to set up a mech than you can imagine, but the best designs are based on certain premises;

Type of Mech - Size makes a difference on what you can do or would want to do. Taking a light mech and trying to turn it into a brawler in most situations would make it worthless. Lights are typically design for scouting, run and gun tactics and perhaps sniping from a distance. So understand what you want to accomplish will help you pick the proper mech class (i.e. Light 20-35 tons, Medium 40-55 tons, Heavy 60-75 tons or Assualt 80-100 tons).

Fighting Style - Now here its all about how you attack your opponent. Some like to slip around the edges of the battle and snipe thier oppontents with long range weapons. While others like to dive right into the fray and mix it up in hand to hand combat. The rest fall somewhere in between. Understanding your style says alot about how ot best setup you mech for battle.

Weaponry - Once you start picking weapons other factors start playing a roll. Some weapons require ammo in order to launch an attack (i.e. Long Range Missles (LRM's), Short Range Missles (SRMs), Auto Cannon' (AC) Machine Guns (MGs) and such. So having enough ammo to keep you in the fight is very important. Of course you may suffer an ammo explosion if your hit in the location your ammo is kept (this can ruin your day). Other weapons rely on energy to fire which is supplied by your power plant (engine), however energy weapon can easily over heat your power plant and cause it to shut down. Learing it balance these things is the key to success.

In General - I've found that designs which maximize my damage at my favorite engagement distance and which minimize my heat out put while firing to be the best designs. Nothing worse than having your opponent on hhe edge of defeat and then not being able to fire a final salvo to finish him off because my mech shutdown because it over heat or because I ran out of ammo.

I'm sure you will find plenty of help when the day arrives for you to setup your mech, but if you don't be sure to look me up as I'll be more than glad to lend a hand as I've literally designed over 100's of mechs from the ground up in every weight and class.

Godd Hunting,

CmdrSpider