25 replies to this topic

[Cuxman]

Hi, I’m pretty new to the game and read some guides and stuff to chose my first mech.
In all what I have seen the Stormcrow was under the best mechs BUT:
1.) it was never in the context as a starter mech
2.) most of it was a little old and maybe even before the other mechs got quirks or other balance changes

So can I just go for it or are the some things that I missed and should consider before I buy one?

[3xnihilo]

First, run a lot of the Trial mechs. Get a feel for whether you like light, medium, heavy, or assault class mechs the best. The stormcrow has a variant in the trial rotation now so you can see how it works for you. I personally think that the stormcrow would make a good first mech, but I never piloted one until I was pretty experienced. They are pretty versatile with ballistic, missile, and energy omnipods available. A lot of people recommend starting in mediums so they fit there too. Other mechs that are often recommended for New players are:

Hunchback
Shadowhawk
Centurion
Griffin

Those are all medium mechs. But if you find you prefer a different weight class you might want to forego this list. Bring any questions you have back here so we can help you out. Also, as you develop a preferred play style let us know that too, it can make a difference on what mechs you will like best.

Some alternate weight class recommendations (I am a light pilot, so I may be guessing a little on some of these):

Lights:

Firestarter
Raven
Spider

Heavy:

Maddog
Thunderbolt
Jagermech
Timberwolf (great mech, but gets targeted first since it is considered a high threat.)

Assault:

Victor
Banshee
Stalker


TL:DR

Use lots of trials, Keep asking questions

[YCSLiesmith]

Cuxman, on 22 March 2015 - 02:40 AM, said:

Hi, I’m pretty new to the game and read some guides and stuff to chose my first mech.
In all what I have seen the Stormcrow was under the best mechs BUT:
1.) it was never in the context as a starter mech
2.) most of it was a little old and maybe even before the other mechs got quirks or other balance changes

So can I just go for it or are the some things that I missed and should consider before I buy one?

stormcrow is one of the best mechs in the game at the moment. It simply outclasses everything in its weight class and can deal a ridiculous amount of damage, while moving extremely fast. I recommend playing a lot of games with the trial mechs first but really there's no reason not to buy a stormcrow unless you want to be a slow tank or something. I think it's affordable with the cadet/Knight Errant bonus money so finish your cadet games and buy it.

[Rogue Jedi]

as the others have said, the Stormcrow is a great Mech, however as it is arguably the second best Mech in the game (behind the Timber Wolf) it is likely to get a lot of attention (people will try to kill a Stormcrow before most other Mechs), its great hitboxes mean that is not a problem for pilots who know how to spread the damage but learning how to defend vulnerable components first may help.

there is also the fact that after learning on the Stormcrow most other Mechs will seem underwhelming, and that other Mechs have a lot more to teach you

[Kyynele]

You can't really go wrong getting a Stormcrow. It's a great mech.

However, it's quite expensive, and getting the money to buy 3 of them to get elite efficiencies is going to take quite a while. And while not fully elited, you can't get out the same potential out of your SCR that everyone else gets.

If I were to start the game now (or an alt acount), I'd personally buy Hunchbacks 4G, 4P and 4J or 4SP, use a cheap 250STD engine to level up them all to full elites. This I think is the fastest, and also very newbie-friendly way to get yourself a decently competitive, fully elited money making mech.

All the Hunchbacks have pretty powerful quirks to very different weapon systems, so you also get a crash course to using them.

After you have the one you like at Elite efficiencies, you can sell the ones you didn't like to free up your mech bays for Stormcrows or Timber Wolves that you can start grinding the money for in the Hunchback of your choice. This way, you always have this cheap, lower priority, maxed out mech to fall back on.

At least I would rather grind the money for 3 Stromcrows in an elited Hunchback rather than in a non-elited Stormcrow. It may be a slight detour, but I'd be willing to bet it to be more enjoyable. Others may have differing opinions.

[YCSLiesmith]

Kyynele, on 22 March 2015 - 04:25 AM, said:

You can't really go wrong getting a Stormcrow. It's a great mech.

However, it's quite expensive, and getting the money to buy 3 of them to get elite efficiencies is going to take quite a while. And while not fully elited, you can't get out the same potential out of your SCR that everyone else gets.

a lot less time than if he bought a less effective mech, though!

honestly if i could go back I'd probably buy one of the two clan demigods (ryuken and madcat) before getting anything else. I'd have a lot more cbills I bet. Not that I really regret my dragon 1n

[3xnihilo]

I don't know if this is at all helpful, but I recently started an alt. account to run clan mechs and my first purchase will probably be the stormcrow prime. It performed really well jus as a trial mech. So I am looking forward to owning it and customizing it.

[TercieI]

It's extremly good and extremely flexible. I honestly feel every new player should start with it now.

Welcome to MWO and good luck!

[grendeldog]

I bought an SCR prime as my second mech, and I suggest going for it. I don't think that Hunchbacks are as forgiving as a Stormcrow, and I have the Hunch three-pack too. I suggest you take out the trial crow and see how you like its movement, it's torso twist range and twist speed. It's not as powerful in lasers as the prime, so if you like it you should like the prime even more.

Keep in mind that you will get shot in the torso a ton at first. I suggest trying to slide out of cover sideways, instead of moving up a ramp or some such. In other words moving out of a low spot up a ramp towards enemies your torso will appear to them before your guns do, so you'll take hits before you can return fire. Whereas coming around a corner your arms and torso will appear to the enemy at about the same time.

I personally enjoy the Stormcrow a lot. I like lasers, and you can swap in body and arm omnipods because it's clan to switch things up without necessarily having to buy a whole other variant, though I'd sure love to speed tweak my SCR.

In summary it's a lot of fun if you enjoy lasers with speed and hit and run, but I am occasionally too slow and too direct about attacking and get a proper beatdown as a result, so keep in mind this does not go toe to toe with other mechs well. It's not a support mech either, just a fun, speedy, medium that all medium pilots should at least check out.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Scr is excellent,but most builds run very hot and are bit skill intensive due to the long burn times on lasers and the mentioned heat.

Go for Centurion or Hunchback,those wont let you down.

[Rattler85]

I love my Storm Crows. They are sexy and deadly! The Prime you can run almost stock and be very effective. The other 2 may require some modifications.

[SethAbercromby]

Stormcrow is currently a little skewed because it benefitted from somewhat broken hitboxes last I heard. It's great but I wouldn't reccomend it as a beginners chassis simply for the advice of "never confuse the powers of your 'Mech as your own". Less broken 'Mechs will be less forgiving, but it will benefit your overall play (including that with the SCR) in the long run.

[Motörhead]

I think it would be one of the most newbie-friendly mechs around.

It also allows you to try any weapon system, because it can literally load succesfully any weapon in MWO.

The only feature you won't be able to test on in are Jump Jets.

[grendeldog]

fx8320, on 22 March 2015 - 09:03 AM, said:

I think it would be one of the most newbie-friendly mechs around.

It also allows you to try any weapon system, because it can literally load succesfully any weapon in MWO.

The only feature you won't be able to test on in are Jump Jets.

And frankly, while it woukld be nice to have some jump so as to get up onto ledges more easily for sniping, being on a ledge (I'm thinking canyon network for example) limits your mobility somewhat, and the SCR is all about mobile firepower, so in this case I don't think the lack of jets is any big problem.

[Bluttrunken]

Definitely a great choice for your first mech. I'd suggest a Prime for the start. The Prime Variant is close to current metasetups. You might want to switch one Heatsink for a Targeting Computer I. It will run compartively hot but it should make it easy to earn money for the other 2 variants.

[Iron Wolf]

I wondered about this as well, good to know.

[MavRCK]

Yes - Stormcrows are excellent medium mechs.


Here's a solid build with the prime that is new player - unmastered friendly.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e5c9c8577450ba5

Edited by MavRCK, 22 March 2015 - 10:14 PM.

[SnagaDance]

While almost impossible to answer for new players it would help if you already knew which grand faction side you would choose, (Inner Sphere versus Clan) if you would like to go and play Community Warfare down the line, as you can only use mechs belonging to that grand faction (I say grand faction because below that tier there are several different factions to choose from but for now they offer no discerning benefit, unless you really like the logo or ranknames you can get with that faction).

I am an Inner Sphere player for instance, so I mostly have IS mechs. That said I actually do own Stormcrows, I bought them at a C-bill discount some while ago. Know your enemy and all that, plus more fun mechs to play.

If you go for Stormcrows know that one of the best things is that you can swap whole mech sections (and their accompanying hardpoints), only the Center Torso truly defines the mech variant. During Mastering them I frequently made use of a combination of Prime and D variant omnipods for a 2 LPL 2 SSRM4 build that I really liked. Don't just buy new omnipods though, I recommend simply buying the variant mech they come with. This may be more expensive to save for but will save you money in the long run as you'll need those variants to Master the mech anyway. Only buy omnipods if you want extra pods.

[Elizander]

For a CW warfare clan deck getting 3 Stormcrows and 1 Timby will get you off to a good start so go for it and don't be distracted by side purchases.

[grendeldog]

Also, when I only had trial mechs I really sucked with the C variant Stormcrow, which has a large pulse laser, two medium pulse, and an LB-10, which is like a shotgun auto cannon. But I could tell that I liked the mech itself, though I just wanted more lasers - the prime variant in other words - because as a new player lasers were my favorite. I think lasers are easiest to understand how to fight for new people. So now that I'm playing okay, I went back and played the C variant again today as a trial mech.

I bought it on the spot! I just had three kickass games in a row, swerving through river city, tourmaline desert, and the area of crimson strait that has towers and other buildings, shooting people in the back with the auto cannon shotgun and lasers. I feel so confident with this C variant now that I go out hunting, as opposed to my usual more cautious play style where I hang back and snipe. These sort of built up areas are the ideal abitat for the C variant IMO, whereas I expect it wouldn't do so well on a map with a bunch of open space.

So my point in saying all this is that you may want to give the C variant anther look if you get the prime and enjoy it a lot. I would not recommend the C for a new player as a first mech because I remember just how terrible I was with it, not understanding the rhythm of autocannon, laser, and movement that it requires. But once you feel up the the challenge that C variant will be there waiting for you (and will help you get closer to speed tweak on your prime).

Edited by grendeldog, 23 March 2015 - 02:22 PM.