20 replies to this topic

[BramLug]

Good afternoon!

Introducing myself here in the New Player forums, having played the first half of the 25 games we get bonuses for. Really liking the game, even though I fairly well suck at it! Of course, steep learning curve, so it can only get better from here.

I appreciate the help of the community on the forums and have seen a lot of good advice for players from how to manage your credits to how to best fire your weapons. It's good to know that an online community can at least be somewhat decent nowadays.

Okay, the inevitable "little bit about myself":
In my 30's, father and husband, full time job. I've enjoyed the battletech universe since i was a kid (anyone remember the old SNES Mechwarrior game?). I even used to talk my parents into letting me go and participate in Mechwarrior tournaments at the Virtual World sites, when that was a big thing. Recently I have been burnt out from MMO's, so decided to try something new, and return to my roots as a Pilot.


Now the inevitable "Noob Question" - although I will try to keep them light as I have tried to find all the answers.

1) Community Warfare - When I participate, do i get the same xp and c-bills i normally would? (Yes, I know it will be a while, just asking)

2) Community Warfare - Is it worth doing it "as soon as possible" for the loyalty rewards? or am I just setting myself up for issues?

3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one.

4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early.

5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately?

6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for)

and finally...

7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time?

Thank you all, and see you in game!
~Bram Lug

[AdamBaines]

BramLug, on 04 February 2015 - 10:34 AM, said:

Good afternoon! Introducing myself here in the New Player forums, having played the first half of the 25 games we get bonuses for. Really liking the game, even though I fairly well suck at it! Of course, steep learning curve, so it can only get better from here. I appreciate the help of the community on the forums and have seen a lot of good advice for players from how to manage your credits to how to best fire your weapons. It's good to know that an online community can at least be somewhat decent nowadays. Okay, the inevitable "little bit about myself": In my 30's, father and husband, full time job. I've enjoyed the battletech universe since i was a kid (anyone remember the old SNES Mechwarrior game?). I even used to talk my parents into letting me go and participate in Mechwarrior tournaments at the Virtual World sites, when that was a big thing. Recently I have been burnt out from MMO's, so decided to try something new, and return to my roots as a Pilot. Now the inevitable "Noob Question" - although I will try to keep them light as I have tried to find all the answers. 1) Community Warfare - When I participate, do i get the same xp and c-bills i normally would? (Yes, I know it will be a while, just asking) 2) Community Warfare - Is it worth doing it "as soon as possible" for the loyalty rewards? or am I just setting myself up for issues? 3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one. 4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early. 5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately? 6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for) and finally... 7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time? Thank you all, and see you in game! ~Bram Lug

Welcome BramLug. Koniving will be with you momentarily with lots of great answers :-) Ill save mine as they really wont be that good. :-)

[Ascaloth]

Welcome!!!

I'll try to answer as best as i can...let's go:

1) Every match awards more C-Bills than normal games, since it's longer and have more mechs to pew pew around. Total XP is divided between your mechs used in the match.

2) Best to grab a few mechs (3 or 4) with at least Basic skills before going to Community Warfare.

3) If you speak portuguese i might invite you

4) No. Every mech can fill a role and can be good in the certain hands. Even those called "the worst mechs of MWO" can be fun to play with creative loadouts. You should try ALL the Trial mechs at least 2 times each to see how you feel about different playstyles.

5) Yes, it's recommended to choose a chassi you like more and grab 3 variants straight away. This way you can unlock Elite and Master Skills, improving your piloting quite a bit. If you really didn't like any of the purchased variants, you can sell them to recover some money, mechbay while keeping any XP and skills gained with the sold variant. I brought 3 Spiders to unlock skills, then sold 2 only keeping the SDR-5D - it was the only one i really liked and managed to pilot well.

6) If you like to pilot Light mechs or fast mediums, yes. If not, not really needed.

7) It's up to you, but i suggest getting some MCs to buy extra mechbays. If you want to get packages, wait for the nice weekly promos (there is one happening right now!).

Hope i've helped! See you in the battlefield, mechwarrior o7

Edited by Ascaloth, 04 February 2015 - 10:54 AM.

[Phobic Wraith]

Welcome to the game! You're right, the forum here (especially the new player forums) is a generally friendly place. We like it here. I'm in class, so I'll have to be brief, but I guarantee others will give you some better, more in depth information as well.

1. You'll get perhaps slightly less playing community warfare, it's designed that way.
2. I would play community warfare when you get a little more confident with your pilot skills.
3. There's always recruitment. there's a section for it on the forum
4 & 5. I'd need to know how you like to play before I can make a chassis recommendation. however, you'll need three of whatever you pick to unlock all the efficiencies that will make your ride run a little smoother.
6. I wouldn't worry too much about scouting. Do it when you feel like it.
7. I would be wary of packages... first look at things that are permanent. Like hero chassis that provide a permanent bonus to c-bill earnings. Or 'mech bays that increase your "garage" size. Unless you really don't have any time, try not to spend real world money on things you can earn with game time, like standard 'mech variants.

Again, welcome to the game, if you have any specific questions or more information, we're happy to help!

Edited by Phobic Wraith, 04 February 2015 - 10:57 AM.

[HlynkaCG]

Insert generic "welcome to the game statements here"

To answer your questions;

• Yes, more infact if you do well. That said I would strongly reccomend that you stay away from CW until you've got a solid grasp of the basics and have started to build up a stable of mechs. You will drop with and against veteran playes and should prepare accordingly.
  
• Setting yourself up for issues ^see above ^, This game has a steep learning curve so I recommend that you get comfortable, and master your first chassis first.
  
• If you're looking for some friendly drops and/or general advice feel free to drop me a pm in game. If you have Teamspeak installed can to stop by our Fed-Suns lfg server, the adress is TS3.hhod.com:7345 no PW required.
  
• Not particularly but it is generally suggested that newbies stick to the medium and heavy classes, lights and assaults are harder to pilot and there is no point making the learning curve steeper than it already is.
  
• Save your CBills until you have a solid idea of what you like.
  
• Light mechs are hard mode, I like them but they are not "newbie friendly". That said if you can get good in a commando you will be damn scary in anything else.
  
• Packages are generally a better deal, which one in particular is a matter of taste

As I said in #3 Feel free to pm me in game or stop by our TS server if you have any further questions or are looking for some friendly games/advice.


Good luck and have fun

Edited by HlynkaCG, 04 February 2015 - 10:59 AM.

[H00L1GAN]

Welcome

[Ascaloth]

HlynkaCG, on 04 February 2015 - 10:57 AM, said:

Light mechs are hard mode, I like them but they are not "newbie friendly". That said if you can get good in a commando you will be damn scary in anything else.

True. Also, every single Inner Sphere Light Mech need an XL Engine to do some good in the battlefield, and those are expensive as hell - sometimes as expensive as an stock Assault Battlemech. Not to mention Double Heat Sinks, a must-have upgrade for every IS mech in this game.

[HlynkaCG]

Ascaloth, on 04 February 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

True. Also, every single Inner Sphere Light Mech need an XL Engine to do some good in the battlefield, and those are expensive as hell - sometimes as expensive as an stock Assault Battlemech. Not to mention Double Heat Sinks, a must-have upgrade for every IS mech in this game.

Not quite every, but 95% for sure. A couple of my Gauss and Missile based builds use SHS but they are definitely few and far between.

Edited by HlynkaCG, 04 February 2015 - 11:13 AM.

[Sarlic]

Welcome buddy. Fresh meat.
I will drink on ya

[Koniving]

I just sat down, popped the threads open to take a break from doing a high concept document for game development, saw the title and read before scrolling down. And before I could reply to this topic that said it had no replies, I saw this.

AdamBaines, on 04 February 2015 - 10:48 AM, said:

Koniving will be with you momentarily with lots of great answers :-)

And laughed. Thankfully before taking a chug from my 32 oz hot chocolate rather than after.
But don't let me ever keep you from giving answers. Never know what another perspective might give a player.

BramLug, on 04 February 2015 - 10:34 AM, said:

Now the inevitable "Noob Question" - although I will try to keep them light as I have tried to find all the answers.

1) Community Warfare - When I participate, do i get the same xp and c-bills i normally would? (Yes, I know it will be a while, just asking)

2) Community Warfare - Is it worth doing it "as soon as possible" for the loyalty rewards? or am I just setting myself up for issues?

3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one.

4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early.

5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately?

6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for)

and finally...

7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time?

Thank you all, and see you in game!
~Bram Lug

1) Participating in CW, are Cbills earned at a normal rate in addition to the contracts?
Yes. You get normal earnings for all the little tidbits you do while playing. I've had matches average about 400,000 to 600,000+ for 20 to 30 minute match. Though the contract payment for winning in addition is what sort of makes up for the time you lost in trying to find a CW match unless you're playing at peak times.

2) Community Warfare - Worth doing now for rewards or am I setting myself up for problems?
If you start too early, you may be setting yourself up for painful run-ins with the Cole Train (Gears of War reference) or stumbling upon a firing line. I would wait until you have at least 4 mechs with their basics completed before making the attempt. And if you do make the attempt, for the love of god don't fight on the Clan / IS borders or you will be pulling your hair out. Try the IS versus IS battles or Clan versus Clan battles instead.

3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one.
Everyone will have their own answer here. If you don't mind evening matches (and during the afternoons on weekends), Zhizhu Merc Group has casuals more than willing to have you tag along (the competitive end of Zhizhu moved on to other things and likely won't come back until MWO's balance is more stable and less fluctuating).

We are home of Lordred's The Perfect Screenshot Thread as well as a few others. We also have the occasional Megamek (BT tabletop online) battle every so often. Urban Mech versus Tarantula, Black Knight versus Grasshopper and Phoenix pack versus Clan Invasion were some recent and interesting battles (the Phoenix pack mopped the floor with the Invasion wave 1 pack; Dire Wolf was disabled in 10 seconds and the kill about 2 minutes later. Last units were Battlemaster and Nova. Phoenix won).

4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early.
Fun? I don't run most metas because they don't work with how I like to play. This really depends on which meta.

5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately?

The most helpful thing I've found is to have a hero mech or a package mech [either has a permanent 30% cbill bonus] and use it when you need to farm cash quick. Otherwise just play.

6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for)

If you were here in closed beta, you'd know the richest people were those who scouted (my record was slightly over 3 million cbills in one match and I am damn proud of it). Now, it's a handy thing but an easy way to get killed. If you do plan on it, bring a BAP, a NARC, and a TAG to roll in some cash while doing it.

Just don't expect to get rich.

7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time?

The starter packs that are hidden in the in-game store contain a hero, a champion and a standard mech with all being 50% off and their own mechbays with goofy trinkets on the side (also 50% off). Otherwise, snag a hero mech (preferably on Fridays/Saturdays during a sale). Or you can consider one of the pre-orders.

As for specifics, most people have always said the Muromets. I'm growing kind of distant from it after Mech Quirks came out however. The Yen Lo Wang is still pretty solid but was never a high recommendation. Thinking on it I haven't played the heroes much since the quirks beyond the Wang and the Misery. Most of them had quirks incompatible with my favorite builds.

Misery is definitely worth its salt, but you need to already like assault mechs as you'll never get it all that fast.

The Wang, well, I'll let you judge it.


(The two vids are in chronological order. First vid is an AC/5 + AC/2 combination with lasers, and at one point it's just the two of us brawling against up to 5 enemies at once [numbers kept raising and dropping as we killed them and more came]. Second video sports an AC/20. Both are before the quirks, which have made it even more brutal).

[Koniving]

And because Firefox is being slow, I didn't get to scroll up and plug in "Welcome to MWO," so that said...
Welcome to MWO.

(Side note: Some people who have been helping out in a certain section for a long time get recognized by PGI. The hardware section has their gurus as well with their nicknames. Here, the title "Welcoming Committee" tends to be awarded for long standing new player helpers. Even so, don't let that take away from what can be learned from the community as a whole.)

(Restarted Firefox).
Second side note: As of when this was edited, I own am only 6 heroes short of owning all of the hero mechs. So I have quite a selection to toy with. Part of the reason I've been avoiding them however is trying to level up other mechs. When you have more than 150 mechs, it gets kind of tedious to look at each one's quirks and deciding how best to use them. Not to mention expensive when a game changer like that hits.

Some other quickies:
If you played tabletop, MWO uses the Rolling Crits rule, with a generic 10 health on most crit-worthy items rather than "it's hit it's gone."

So do be certain to fill those slots to reduce chances of heavy crits being focused on the important parts.

Here's the best resource you can possibly have. Smurfy.
Here's the most important one you can have if you're an optimizing person: The Heat Simulator.
Tells you exactly how the game's convoluted heat mechanics work and lets you play with them.

Finally, while the Store has a good way of pointing out the sales... when you go to buy anything OTHER than a starterpack [or whatever they are called] or premium time [never bought any myself, the year+ I'm cooking off just came with pre-order thingies]... use the mechlab.
At the top of the Mechlab you will find this.


Switch to Purchasable and you can find useful information and visuals of every mech you can possibly acquire.

See you in the field.

Edited by Koniving, 04 February 2015 - 12:09 PM.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Welcome to MW:O


All of the IS mechs had quirks applied recently that has made them much more evenly matched to Clan mechs. Clan mechs have better range, but IS has better FLPPD (Front loaded pin point damage) potential.

There really are no "bad" mechs anymore. Some are just harder to play than others. I wouldn't be too quick to purchase anything until you've completed at least the Cadet matches. Your C-bills don't have an expiration date. They're not going anywhere. Play with the trials and decide what you're playstyle is and then make your purchase. Lights and Assaults are typically harder to play than Heavy and Medium class mechs. Remember, the enemy will usually target what they consider to be the biggest threat, i.e. the Assault mech. If you're in a Medium and you stick with the fatties, you're less of a priority to the enemy and you'll be able to deal damage while your Assault buddy takes damage.

The packages are a great deal. The trial mechs change all the time, so I would recommend playing a trial of what you might want to purchase. If you do well with the trial mech, you'll do even better once you can customize it. A great resource is Smurfy. Use their mech lab to put your build together before you purchase.

[Koniving]

Ascaloth, on 04 February 2015 - 11:05 AM, said:

True. Also, every single Inner Sphere Light Mech need an XL Engine to do some good in the battlefield, and those are expensive as hell - sometimes as expensive as an stock Assault Battlemech. Not to mention Double Heat Sinks, a must-have upgrade for every IS mech in this game.

HlynkaCG, on 04 February 2015 - 11:11 AM, said:

Not quite every, but 95% for sure. A couple of my Gauss and Missile based builds use SHS but they are definitely few and far between.

Not every light mech requires an XL engine, too. In fact I find Firestarters to live far longer than fully kitted Shadowhawks when using a standard engine. Wanna harass 12 Clan mechs and last more than 2 minutes doing it? Standard engine in the 230 range + lasers and if possible some MGs. Watch the tears roll.

Some really good ER PPC builds actually boat around 43 tons of single heatsinks. Only worth it if the mech is already elited, however.

[Rogue Jedi]

• Community Warfare - When I participate, do i get the same xp and c-bills i normally would? (Yes, I know it will be a while, just asking)

Yes, with some extras if you win

2) Community Warfare - Is it worth doing it "as soon as possible" for the loyalty rewards? or am I just setting myself up for issues?

It is better to wait until you have a few Mechs of your own, unfortunately there is no skill based matchmaking in CW so you will end up against veteran players with mastered Mechs optimized for their playstyle or team strategy, new players are likely to find CW frustrating

3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one.

The Praetorian Legion (link in my signature) is more than happy to accept new players, we have members in most time zones so there are usually at least a few people on, otherwise if anyone here suggests a unit it will probably be good, I would suggest you check out a few Unit websites before making a decision.

4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early.

The Locust can be frustrating as most Mechs can kill it in one shot (if they can hit it) and most Lights and assaults are likely to be frustrating for a new player

5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately?

The 50 and 55 ton IS Mediums, specifically the Centruian (great all rounders and exceptionly durable with a Standard engine), Hunchback (has a specialist variant for most roles), Shadow Hawk (versatile jumping Mech), Wolverine (SRM or LPL specilest) and Griffin (SRM Brawler) are the standard recommendations for new players

6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for)

Decide for yourself

and finally...

7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time?

Most of the “Mastery Packs” (containing 3 varients of a Mech, the Hero, the Champion and a regular varient, some premium time, Mechbays and cockpit items) are good value, as are the preorders, the problem with the preorders is that you do not know what the Mech is like before ordering it.

If you want to buy Heroes I suggest waiting for them to go on sale, they frequently go on sale at 30-50% off usual price, unfortunately there is no recommendation I can give without knowing more about what you like and dislike, e.g. if you do not like Lights there is no point me recommending the excellent Firestarter pack, conversely many people will say the Stalker pack is great value but I do not enjoy piloting assaults

[BramLug]

Thank you all - I appreciate the information. I'm still reading through it all while ignoring this meeting at work

I will be lurking, reading, and participating, and you may see me jump into some of the teamspeaks at night and start dropping with people that way... It seems that I may learn more from a more structured play then plugging away at pugging.

See you all in game, and thank you again! o7

[bar10jim]

It looks like most of your questions have been answered fairly well. Something not addressed is "What do you do after you die?".
Some would advocate exiting the match and starting a new one with a different mech to speed up the money grind. I would recommend staying in the game and spectating.

Find players that are still alive running mechs you may be interested in. See what the loadouts are. Is the pilot effective with that loadout? is it maneuverable? does it run hot? is the pilot out of ammo 5 minutes into the match? How are the weapons grouped?

Asking yourself these questions can help you understand some of the dos and don'ts , as well as avoid some of the pitfalls of newer players.

For the same reasons, when looking at some of the training videos (or just videos posted on youtube) ask the same questions.

Oh, and hit the 'R' key. I just gives you and your team so much information.

Edited by bar10jim, 04 February 2015 - 01:52 PM.

[HlynkaCG]

BramLug, on 04 February 2015 - 01:19 PM, said:

I will be lurking, reading, and participating, and you may see me jump into some of the teamspeaks at night and start dropping with people that way... It seems that I may learn more from a more structured play then plugging away at pugging.

See you all in game, and thank you again! o7

Sounds good, Have fun and feel free to send me a friend invite in game.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

Welcome!

I'm late to the thread, but thought I might be able to add a little bit.

BramLug, on 04 February 2015 - 10:34 AM, said:

1) Community Warfare - When I participate, do i get the same xp and c-bills i normally would? (Yes, I know it will be a while, just asking)

The payout looks higher because the matches are longer and there are more mechs over the period of the match. But it is a significant challenge, so for the time being in a CW match and if you are dropping solo rewards might be hard to come by if you are competing against veteran players.

Quote

2) Community Warfare - Is it worth doing it "as soon as possible" for the loyalty rewards? or am I just setting myself up for issues?

At minimum, if you would like to join a faction to get a Faction Emblem to display, you can pick a contract from the Faction tab, I recommend to get a shorter-term contract and not a permanent one.

The one caveat is that the faction you choose will limit what mechs you can use in CW. So House Factions only use IS mechs and the Clans have their Omni-Mechs.

Quote

3) Anyone good units recruiting an epically committed newb? Preferably a casual/family friendly one.

There's a pinned thread with info, but it's not something I'm that familiar with since I've mostly been a solo player.

Quote

4) Is there any mech line that I should AVOID in the current meta? I don't want to waste time and C-Bills early.

This is going to depend on what styles you want to focus on and what you enjoy doing the most in MWO, what works for one player might not work for another using the same build and tactics, it's just how the cookie crumbles.

So, I recommend trying all of the trials and seeing which ones feel better for you before you go and purchase anything.

Let us or if you join a group and you can be directed towards mechs that you can purchase that can help ease the learning curve in this game by using mechs that work best to how you like playing.

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5) Conversely, is there a C-Bill line I should go for immediately?

Mediums provide a fair amount of flexibility and versatility, and choosing the best for you depends partly on how you want to play, so let us know as you try the Trial mechs.

Quote

6) Scouting: Should I buy at least one light mech to practice scouting? It's not my favorite thing to do, but it is an important skill (especially because then you know what scouts are looking for)

In MWO every mech can scout at any time in a match, I often act as a scout in my Assault mechs! As a new player it is a skill that will come in handy, since the main focus is simply to know where the enemy is for scouting and not losing your mech in the process.

What I do is I use my thumb to target by pressing L-Alt key instead of using the default "R" key to mark targets. If I move my crosshair over multiple enemies as I press that key I can make them show up on my team's radar and often gives my team a chance to respond.

The other thing I try to keep doing is share grid coordinates as to where I had seen a target, a simple "one D5" or "four in C6" can be a help to fellow teammates.

And if you do join a group you should be told about what they do for sharing info in a match, which also commonly includes using something like Team Speak.

Quote

7) If I were to spend real money, would you suggest individual hero/champion mechs, or buy "packages" that include mech bays, etc all at the same time?

If you like using C-Bill variants for IS mechs than a Hero mech can be a good buy and come in Mastery Packs, I have several Hero mechs myself. And if you buy a Clan Pack or A la Carte you get a Prime variant with a C-Bill booster.

So one good thing to consider is purchasing Mech Bays and Premium Time. Mech Bays are a good value overall, and you can buy Premium Time to coincide for when you can play to get the most out of it, with the different available options.

And keep an eye out for sales, the Patcher should have a listing that cycles, and you can also see sales posted in Announcements area too.

[HimseIf]

Haere mai.
Everyone else covered your questions well but ..
Community warfare? When you can maneuver taking fire from 6 directions without exploding you will be ready for community warfare, it is rough.
i play in a new player friendly unit.
XL engines, i don't always use, even in lights.
If you want a scout the Raven model 3L is good, it can be support, it does lots of things well.
When in doubt, buying mechbays is a safe choice. If you find a chassis you like a hero mech prints Cbills.
Hope that was helpful.

[Soultraxx]

Hello OP.

As a new player myself I would advise Mediums - they can take a knock or two and are fast enough to get you out of trouble.

My current fave is my Ice Ferret - its nice and fast and suits my preferred style of fire/ relocate.

It took me about six weeks to get comfortable in game so hang on in there and enjoy the ride.