10 replies to this topic

[Moat Drifter]

Hi there, fellow MechWarriors, as you will have guessed, I am new on the game and yet, while not yet past thhe stage of Cadet onuses (to buy your first 'Mech) - I wanted to ask, in everyone's opinions, what would be the best LRM -equipped (preferably LRM 10/15 Artemis preered, but not necessary).
Mostly, I am looking I am looking for somewhat 4-5 million C-Bills for a Medium and 5-6 million C-Bills for a Heavy, but preferably, I would like them to have Jump Jets, or at the least an AMS or BAP.

Thank you,
Leif T.,

[luigi256]

I'm no expert on LRM boats, but the Trebuchet for mediums and the Catapult for heavies come to mind as LRM mechs with Jump jets. All mechs can equip BAP and most mechs can hold AMS. So don't worry too much about those two.

Edited by luigi256, 23 March 2015 - 06:48 PM.

[John1352]

You'll soon realize that you need a lot more c-bills than the initial purchase price to upgrade a new mech to competitive levels. Double heatsinks are pretty much a requirement (1.5m), many mechs are better with an XL engine (3-5m) and you might also want to buy some weapons.

The catapult C1 (a reasonable LRM mech) costs 5,804,000 c-bills, but one that is kitted out properly is more in the vicinity of 14m CPLT-C1

Once you take that into account, you might decide that it's better to start in a clan mech that comes with all the upgrades. Play around on that website I linked with different mechs and builds.

[HlynkaCG]

I generally recommend hunchbacks as a starter mech for IS players. They are reasonably cheap to outfit, and have a solid mix of speed, durability, and firepower. The HBK-4J in particular comes with a pair of LRM 10s stock and has some excellent missile weapon heat and cooldown quirks.

Good luck and welcome to the game.

Edited by HlynkaCG, 23 March 2015 - 07:15 PM.

[Ollorin]

My top 3 recommendations would be Trebuchet TBT-3C, Trebuchet TBT-7M, or the Hunchback HBK-4J. I think the HBK-4J is my current favorite. I'm not a especially good player and even I have been able to rack up an 885 damage game with 2 kills and 7 assists. More often though I've been pulling around 450 damage with a bunch of assists and usually a kill or two.

TBT-3C
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9f652a14ef019bc

TBT-5M (sacrifices 1 ML for a pair of jump jets)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a0db10b71d4903c

HBK-4J
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...90210a34d35675d

I run both builds similarly: try to maintain a distance of 300-500m while staying behind the main line and spam LRMs onto whatever opponent my team is targeting. 4-5 medium lasers help keep lights at bay and once missiles run dry they give you a nice punch to finish off damaged enemy mechs. Since this build is a support role I opted for the 255xl engine, try to stay out of harms way.

The same basic build also works really well in the HBK-4SP (swap out the LRMs for SRMs, 4 tons of SRM ammo, & an extra heatsing and this build might make a good brawler as well)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...344e0305c881f25

Out of curiosity I tried the same approach with a Centurion CN9-AL and had pretty good results
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b021dcf7e9a3b0d

[Rogue Jedi]

most Mech are going to end up costing at minimum 8 million by the time you have done the essential upgrades, even the Locust with a purchase price of less than 2 million will end up costing 6-8 million by the time you have added upgrades.

the Catapult C1 would fit your requirements (2 LRM15, 4 Lasers, Jumpjets) including initial purchase price of 5.8 million but will cost about 15 million by the time you have it fully upgraded as it will probably want an XL engine, Double Heat Sinks and Endo Steel Internals to get it to its best, here is the build I use on the C1:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f6108f6e5aa761d

the Hunchback 4J is about as cheep as you will find a for a LRM Mech, the stock Mech will be usable (although I would advise adding more LRM ammo) and costs less than 4 million:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ba0ea8a689ffaee
here is an upgraded version,
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...65095a524304ef4
I upgraded it with Double Heat Sinks (an upgrade almost every Mech will benefit from) Endo Steel Internals (a weight saving in exchange for extra internal space upgrade) Fero Fibrus Armor (again weight for space but less efficient than Endo) and used the weight savings to add a larger engine (higher ground speed and makes the Mech more responsive in general) and more ammo, then I maxed out and rearranged distribution of the armor. It costs almost double what the original does but will be far more effective due to higher speed, and much lower heat

[Ryokens leap]

Moat don't get pigeon holed into lrm boats, they can be difficult to make decent money with. I would suggest a mixed build so u can get good at piloting/ positioning as well as effectively using energy and ballistics.

[Tarogato]

I advise against Trebuchets. They are a hard chassis to use effectively and are poorly armoured for their speed and rather unforgiving hitboxes.

I would also advise against LRM boats, period. LRMs don't teach you how to play the game. They teach you how to sit back and contribute little or nothing to the team. They are also rather dependent on the rest of the team bringing the equipment and playstyle to help you get locks, and generally if you're out in the open getting your own locks, you're vulnerable.

As a new player, I would recommend Eliting a chassis so you can get the feel for what it's like to play three different variants of a chassis, unlock the Skills, and see the difference between pre-Basic level and Elited level. The Hunchbacks offer variants in a wide variety of styles, including the double LRM10 HBK-4J which at least suits your interests. The HBK-4G will teach you to use ballistic weapons and do close range brawling, and the 4P can boat lasers and teach you to brawl and poke at medium range. Once you have all three variants Basic'd, you can start unlocking Elites. If you don't care about the module slot, you can sell the variants you don't like, but I recommend Eliting all three variants, and then unlocking the Master Slot on the ones you like so you can sell the ones you don't like.

[Voivode]

HlynkaCG, on 23 March 2015 - 07:14 PM, said:

I generally recommend hunchbacks as a starter mech for IS players. They are reasonably cheap to outfit, and have a solid mix of speed, durability, and firepower. The HBK-4J in particular comes with a pair of LRM 10s stock and has some excellent missile weapon heat and cooldown quirks.

Good luck and welcome to the game.

This is very sound advice and I second it. The Hunchback 4J has you covered with twin LRM10's, and other models of the Hunchback will give you experience in piloting and building various roles of mechs. The Hunchback will also teach you one of the most important piloting skills in the game: torso twisting.

Whatever you decide, welcome to MWO and see you on the battlefield!

EDIT: Forgot a couple links!

SMURFY: This is a great resource to play around with builds before you spend money in game.

QUIRKS: This site lists the mech specific quirks, which can help you decide on the best build. They are a little slow to update their quirk lists after changes, though, so immediately after a patch where adjustments were made they may not reflect the true values.

Edited by Voivode, 24 March 2015 - 07:14 AM.

[hoxxie1156]

Play the HBK-4G, it's what I am doing (Newbie here). Its a great Mech that is fast (for it's size), good armor, and a Big Bazooka Ac20 to smash people's faces with.

Had even terrible matches where I still did about 100+ damage.

Ugly dude, but he is a great starter Mech, doesn't cost a fortune either.

Edited by hoxxie1156, 25 March 2015 - 11:45 PM.

[Koniving]

So Moat, how are you fairing now?