11 replies to this topic

[PhoenixHawk OSF]

I'm sure the experienced players can add a lot to this, but I'm going to throw out my thoughts after a couple of weeks of grinding away at this and figuring some things out.

First off there are a LOT of really good player guides in this section. Find one that you click with and read through it, especially if you have no prior BattleTech knowledge. It does help coming into this game understanding the difference between a Light Mech, and an Assault, or knowing what a Gauss Rifle, ER PPC, or UAC10 are.

Second major point, one that I struggled with heartily, and got some great help from many people in this forum with, is the learning curve. It's more than just basic piloting skill, or using the Mech Lab. You need time to learn the maps, and know where the major combat points tend to be. The experienced players know where to go to get cover, where to expect the enemy to drive in.

Patience is a HUGE must in this game. Not only for the learning curve (because you will absolutely get your butt handed to you many times as you figure some of this out. It's incredibly frustrating), but in combat as well. When you start out, don't be that pilot who drives in trying to lead the charge...you'll die quickly. Hang back, learn a support role. Let the Assaults crest the hill and draw the enemy out so you can add your firepower to the tankers at the front. Even if you head out in a Dire Wolf, if you're new, don't know the map, don't have a lot of experience picking enemy mechs out of the terrain ahead of you, that behemoth with get blasted to bits quickly.

As you hang back from that front line, keep your eyes out for enemies flanking you. It's easy for your Assaults to get tied up with 5 or 6 enemies in one spot, and to have 3 or 4 more come around a blind side and tear you up from behind.

Know where cover is, and how to get into it quickly.

Learn how to increase your Skills in the mechs you drive, and unlock some of the abilities.

UPGRADE YOUR ARMOR. Not necessarily to Ferro, especially if you don't have the CBills for it, but increase the armor you have. The stock builds give you far too little armor in most points. I found the staying time in battle increased drastically when I did this.

Find a group to play with, and let them know you're new. Most are welcoming and good guys. Get on TS with them and ask for advice. They'll help you out with picking up the basics.

Stay out of CW for quite a while. You can try it if you'd like, but many of the larger groups in CW have been playing for years, are in Elite Mechs, and are using coordinated strategies. It's not just a run-and-gun game at that point, it really is tactical.


This game can make you pull your hair out. I know when I first started I was really close to quitting because I'd not read through the guides, I just jumped in. I have had years of Mechwarrior and BattleTech experience, but there are nuances specific to this game that you have to learn. It takes time, and it takes getting blown up a lot.

[Alaskan Nobody]

PhoenixHawk OSF, on 15 February 2015 - 01:44 AM, said:

UPGRADE YOUR ARMOR. Not necessarily to Ferro, especially if you don't have the CBills for it, but increase the armor you have. The stock builds give you far too little armor in most points. I found the staying time in battle increased drastically when I did this.

In support of this - the stock Jenner (35 tons) carries the same armor as the Locust (20 tons)
IE: Half of it's potential

Other mechs suffer from this as well - such as the generic Shadowhawk (55 tons)
Which carries barely more than said Locust! (16 points to be exact)

Spoiler

A lot of mechs that had reputations for being tough in the older games and table top game - actually simply carried high levels of stock armor - and even some of those, such as the Centurion (50 tons) did not carry full armor

Edited by Shar Wolf, 15 February 2015 - 10:05 AM.

[Zookeeper Dan]

Great write-up!

I was thinking of writing something similar but you summed up everything well.

I'm still learning the patience part of the game. There are still a lot of times I find myself out in front and peek over a hill only to find 3-4 enemy mechs shooting back.

I'd add stay with a group to the list. That way you won't be caught alone by those annoying Firestarters! They can take you out pretty quickly if you don't have a teammate that can take shots at them as they run circles around you.

[PhoenixHawk OSF]

Very true. There are some pretty incredible fast-twitch players in this game running light mechs. Watch them in Spectate after you've gotten dropped sometime, they are always on the move, know the maps, and run circles around the slower mechs.

[Macksheen]

Good post PH-OSF.

Sometimes saying "learning curve is steep" makes me think I'm talking to my kids about something. Yeah, they understand my words, but they kinda half-way refuse to believe me ... but will eventually once they experience it for themselves.

Wonky lesson, and hard to really convey.

[stormfox]

This is a must-read post for all noobs (like me). This game has a learning curve that requires patience,self-discipline and self-analysis. It is not a game where you just buy X equipment, drop in and jump around trying to waste everyone and then get angry when you die over and over again while being zero help to your teammates. The learning curve is part of the challage and depth to MWO. I am having fun and learning. (while dying over and over and over...)

[Johnny GoEasy]

Very well written! The frustration is there for me for sure. I just started playing a few days ago and have desperately tried to get my 24 kills for the little dangling ribbon haha. Well I'm half way there but done for the night. Maybe next time. The learning curve is steep. I was strongly advise against grabbing the credit card right away too, I blew 50 bucks trying to fit a raven and realized the builds I was using were a couple years old and no longer valid.

This game is a ton of fun though, I am really loving it. I do really miss the single player aspect of Mercenaries though, sorry I'm an RPG guy at heart.

[PhoenixHawk OSF]

Thanks everyone.

SwampDonkie, I miss the single player aspect of all of the previous MW games. I REALLY REALLY loved the storyline and layout in MW3, it was just uber-cool to me to play as part of the invasion of Clan Smoke Jaguar space. I liked that RPG aspect of it, having read those books before the game came out.

Stormfox, you're right, this is definitely not just drop in and run-and-gun. Free-for-all games like Quake 3 (remember that, or am I just showing how old I am) were that way, and you could have fun with them. Still even in those games, as with this one, any PvP role is going to pit you against some people who have been at it for a long time, and they'll wipe the floor with you. I think that's part of that learning curve Macksheen was talking about too... we're not just playing against AI Bots, we're up against real, experienced people. It's like trying to play hockey against an NHL player when you just learned to stand up on your skates.

[bruceisnice]

I agree with OP. Just started 3-4 weeks ago and at first, I was terrible, having a hard time going to 200 damage per game and getting a single kill. I was always amongst the first to die on my team, and didnt really understand why.

Tired of being picked on, I decided to try to improve. Id say the things that impacted the most my gameplay were:

-Knowing the maps, where to go and not to go.
-Knowing how to play each kind of mech and each kind of loadout.
-Situational Awareness. Always look at your minimap. Never get isolated. Know where and who your nearest allied mechs are. Know where the escape route is. Try to Flank. Try not to get flanked. Try to anticipate their flanking move and position yourself accordingly. Outflank them.
-Patience. Do not trade shots if you know you wont get the upper hand. Reposition instead. Let the opposing team's impatient players make their mistakes first. When your team is up 1-2 mechs, begin to make your moves cautiously.
-Find mechs that you are good with. I tried many mechs and some just didnt stick.

I must be forgetting some things, but those are the main points to me.

Now I'm getting 1-3 kills almost every game and logging 400-600 damage on average, which is way better than before. My kill per game went from a terrible .36 to a bad .60 and is steadily rising, and so is my winning %. Considering I was so bad at the start of my mech driving carrer, I'll know I have come a long way when I see my kill per game nearing 1.0 and my winning % going over 50%.

And I still have so much room for improvement.

So keep at it! You can do it, and so can I!

[stormfox]

You guys definitely have the right of it. All good stuff. These are many of the core points to remember. The only "negative" thing I might add is directed to you Phoenix Hawk OSF. I remember playing Quake 3---I also remember playing just "Quake". Time flies.

[Bleary]

It's also important to realize that some weapons and 'Mech roles are much easier than others. This game is pretty balanced (despite the frequent complaints on this forum) - it's certainly miles better than any previous Mechwarrior game. But that doesn't mean every 'Mech you drive is going to subject you to the same learning curve.

Don't start on Hard Mode. You don't want to learn the game on 'Mechs that require a lot of fast twitch (lights) or great map positioning and situational awareness (mediums/slow assaults). You don't want to start with guns that make you learn how to consistently lead your targets.

Drive a heavy or a fast assault. Use lasers and AC/5s. Learn the fundamentals and the maps, get a feel for what you like to do in a fight, then start experimenting with other stuff. Most players want at least one 'Mech like that in their stable anyway, and you will have a much smoother time starting with one than jumping straight into a Griffin cockpit.

Edited by Bleary, 16 February 2015 - 05:52 PM.

[PhoenixHawk OSF]

stormfox, on 16 February 2015 - 05:01 PM, said:

You guys definitely have the right of it. All good stuff. These are many of the core points to remember. The only "negative" thing I might add is directed to you Phoenix Hawk OSF. I remember playing Quake 3---I also remember playing just "Quake". Time flies.

I agree completely. Was listening to XM Classic Rewind driving today, and a Def Leppard song from '83 came on, that I remember driving to when it was new. I thought, "I remember that, it can't be 32 years ago!"

So yeah, I hear you. I remember the original Doom freaking me out, the original Quake and Half Life, Descent, and Activision's Mechwarrior. I also remember Star Fighter on my TRS-80 when I was in jr. high.

bruceisnice, on 16 February 2015 - 01:31 PM, said:

I agree with OP. Just started 3-4 weeks ago and at first, I was terrible, having a hard time going to 200 damage per game and getting a single kill. I was always amongst the first to die on my team, and didnt really understand why.

Tired of being picked on, I decided to try to improve. Id say the things that impacted the most my gameplay were:

-Knowing the maps, where to go and not to go.
-Knowing how to play each kind of mech and each kind of loadout.
-Situational Awareness. Always look at your minimap. Never get isolated. Know where and who your nearest allied mechs are. Know where the escape route is. Try to Flank. Try not to get flanked. Try to anticipate their flanking move and position yourself accordingly. Outflank them.
-Patience. Do not trade shots if you know you wont get the upper hand. Reposition instead. Let the opposing team's impatient players make their mistakes first. When your team is up 1-2 mechs, begin to make your moves cautiously.
-Find mechs that you are good with. I tried many mechs and some just didnt stick.

I must be forgetting some things, but those are the main points to me.

Now I'm getting 1-3 kills almost every game and logging 400-600 damage on average, which is way better than before. My kill per game went from a terrible .36 to a bad .60 and is steadily rising, and so is my winning %. Considering I was so bad at the start of my mech driving carrer, I'll know I have come a long way when I see my kill per game nearing 1.0 and my winning % going over 50%.

And I still have so much room for improvement.

So keep at it! You can do it, and so can I!

You're doing a lot more damage and better than I am. Great points as well. I'm still having trouble with knowing the maps and where to go/not to go. Particularly when you drop in one of the remote locations like on Alpine, or trying not to get flanked when you're in Frozen City (I HATE that map).