7 replies to this topic

[Bloodwitch]

So i decided to roll an alt. account for CW, since i have pledged loyality to a certain clan and can't enjoy inner sphere gameplay on community warefare anymore.

I just finished my 26th game and for some reason i wasn't awarded with the cadet bonus two times.

I mainly played the spider 5K champion, because i wanted a spider 5D for community warefare. I'll do a couple more matches with the 5K so i can buy, skill and sell my own 5K in one go.

After 12 games (and 2 in the banshee trail'mech) i was able to buy a 5D including upgrades and a decent loadout (3ML+ECM+DHS+Stock STD 240 Engine).
After 10 games more i could by a XL 255 Engine.



The main reason behind the spider 5D is that i could neither afford a radar deprivation module nor the GXP for it. So i had (and still have) to depend on the ECM.

Having to resort to unskilled trail'mechs without said module is honestly brutal, even for a pilot who's knowing what to do and how to survive the ELO LRM hell.


The results of my frst matches, until now that i am on my own, are here:
(I havn't used a single consumable to save C-bills. I also havn't used my 24 hours premium time duo to not waste it on a hasty built and unskilled spider. The premium time is for later, once both derp spiders are bought and sold and i can use a mastered SDR-5D to grind out my set of C-bill Dragons (after all, only 3 mech-bays left).)

1x SDR-5D (including Endo/Ferro/DHS/ECM/XL255) + weapon loadout (2MLas+1ERLas)
1x STD 240 (never sell an engine, baby)
1x Flamer
1x MLas
7x Jump Jets Class V


with currently 1,269,036 C-Bills on my account.






7,654 GXP (of which 4,500 GXP are coming from Hat Trick, Johnny Five and Creeping Death archivements alone)

The Spider-5D is about 3,000 exp short on finishing basic skill-level (about the same as the Spider 5K).



Stats for the games are as followed:
(expect weapon stats which for whatever reason don't keep track of all played matches)





Also, bugged weapon stats and to complete map stats (which don't tell anything with such few games played)




I wouldn't call myself a particular good pilot and i honestly don't have much more going for me than a bit of experience and situational awareness.

The Spider-5D is (despite the upgrades and engine, of course) a fairly cheap mech with only a little over 2,500,000 C-Bills. I am honestly baffled with how little i have to start my inner sphere alt.- account.

What do you guys think about the start into the game (under the premise of beeing a new player without any experience or plan to go).

I don't know if i would go through the pain of using trail'mechs until i could afford a decent heavy (even without custom engine and upgrades) or even grind long enough to buy a single clan heavy or assault.

Would you grind with a (badly armored) ECM RVN-3L trail-'mech, without any modules or 'mech skills until you could afford a heavy? A stalker or king-crab maybe?
Could you do it as a new player without losing moral?


(Raven: "I don't want to do it anymore, i need a break.." )

Would you grind your way up to your own "get to go" clan-workhorse with the trail'mech SRC-D? Or even further for a prestige timberwolf or even a direwolf?
Could you keep up the moral and the will to play as a new player for 17,000,000 C-bills while constantly getting focused or lurmed?


(Stormcrow: " Can't keep going... but i need 6,000,000 C-bills more..."

Should PGI rethink the the entry point ot the game? How newbie friendly is it to force new player to use (below average) trail'mechs?
C-bills earning and cadet bonus may be not enough to get a foot into the game?
Thoughts?


*edit: Fixed some brain failures of mine and forgot the map stats, meh.

Edited by Teru Kojima, 01 April 2015 - 02:08 PM.

[Barantor]

Something they will have to address before this game goes on steam or the steam reviews will be brutally honest.

[Kiiyor]

It can be a steep grind to deck out your mech bays - but the upside is that light mechs are significantly cheaper than heavier mechs, whilst still retaining viability (for the most part). I wouldn't mind seeing a small increase in earnings, but one of the biggest draws of premium time is the earning benefit it gives you. Gotta pay those bills.

There does, however, need to be some sort of way to test mechs out before you buy, because doing all that grinding and being stuck with something you just can't make work... sucks.

As for Steam release reviews, I think owning and grinding mechs is the least part of the new player experience to address. There needs to be an interactive tutorial. Those first drops having absolutely no idea what you're doing are utterly brutal.

[Johnny Z]

Well done to the OP. I see a fair new players account. 26 matches and well on the way. No real money put in.

If a player wanted to put real money in they could and be doing even better.

When I was free to play I didnt expect easy street. I was free to play for quite a while and it never occured to me even once for even a moment that earnings were to low. Trying to base the entire game with a preference for free to play wont work. There has to be a balance.

Earnings have gone down since closed beta but there was no rank rewards or achievements. Rank rewards total out to 150 mill and are being completely ignored on this subject.

Premium time and hero mech bonuses also cannot be ignored on this subject. Those bonuses are as much a part of the game as free to play.

Guys that say free to play players expect easy street are not being truthfull.

About Steam, I have found over all Steam is actually fairly accurate on their opinions of games generally. If that is the case for this game if and when it does go on Steam remains to be seen.

Edited by Johnny Z, 01 April 2015 - 03:03 PM.

[zagibu]

I know that I was surprised when I first learned that trial mechs are not a good representation of what an average mechwarrior actually drives. I think having to pilot crap mechs discourages a lot of players unnecessarily, because on top of their not yet up to snuff skill, they also get below average equipment.

Instead, they should have access to 1 decent mech of each weight class after having done an introductory tutorial. And then an advanced tutorial should start when they have bought their first mech, in which they can learn about the mechlab and all the equipment available. A professional game really can't expect players to gather their information in the forums, which is exactly what they currently have to do if they want to learn that flamers are basically useless, and an XL engine in an Atlas isn't a good idea.

Edited by zagibu, 01 April 2015 - 02:58 PM.

[B L O O D W I T C H]

zagibu, on 01 April 2015 - 02:57 PM, said:

they should have access to 1 decent mech of each weight class after having done an introductory tutorial.

I like this idea a lot!
I would like your post twice, could not agree more.

Johnny Z, on 01 April 2015 - 02:48 PM, said:

If a player wanted to put real money in they could and be doing even better.

When I was free to play I didnt expect easy street. I was free to play for quite a while and it never occured to me even once for even a moment that earnings were to low. Trying to base the entire game with a preference for free to play wont work. There has to be a balance.

But if you're a new player and only know how to be dead poor on c-bills + painstaking grinding with either trail'mechs or unoptimzed own 'mech, would you put real money into your account, based upon what you experienced from the game so far?

Johnny Z, on 01 April 2015 - 02:48 PM, said:

Earnings have gone down since closed beta but there was no rank rewards or achievements. Rank rewards total out to 150 mill and are being completely ignored on this subject.

But until someone is able to wield a decent dropdeck including modules (and i don't even mean weapon modules) he has to do about 300 games worth of c-bills (with an average earing of 100,000 c-bills per match)

Luring new players into CW for mechs or mechbays can easily backfire, as the last challenge has shown pretty obviously.

I have estimated that i need about 40 games to get 2 more spiders. + about 50 games for each dragon (excluding upgrades) + 60 games for each radar deprivation module i need (which is a must for CW in my opinion).

*OP here, wrong account, duuh.

Edited by LOADED, 01 April 2015 - 03:25 PM.

[Salinor]

just an idea but give new players access to 8 mechs with full basics (1 per weight class IS and Clan) and make them fully customizeable for x games + x gxp and also set it up so if you bought something less then x days ago you get 75-100% when you sell it.
As for the mechs:
IS:
raven 3L or spider 5D
centurion A or AH or griffon 3M or blackjack-3
thunderbolt-9SE, 9S, or 5SS or Catapult-C1
atlas-DDC, banshee-(whatever the ballistics variant was) or Stalker-4N
Clan:
kitfox or maybe artic cheetah
stormcrow or shadowcat
hellbringer or timberwolf
dire whale or executioner maybe
(all omnipods)

All weapons, equipment, engines, and upgrades would be free and the mechs and equipment would go away after x games.

Edited by Salinor, 01 April 2015 - 03:21 PM.

[zagibu]

That's also quite a good idea, Salinor. But really, most players unfamiliar with Mechwarrior need help with the mechlab. A few friends of mine just bought whatever mech they could afford (SDR-5V anyone?) and slapped on there whatever they thought sounds cool (Flamers?). The disappointment when I told this particular dude that he outfitted one of the worst mechs in the game with the worst weapons in the game was too much for him, he never played another round.

Maybe it's not a good idea to give them access to mech customization before they have even learned the basics. This is why I think trial mechs are not a bad idea, IF they are equipped well enough so that they can keep up with whatever the rest of the community is driving. This usually means close to max armor, decent engine (XL, where it makes sense), acceptable firepower and cooling, enough ammunition. These things imply DHS and endo steel.
I don't think it's bad if their first own mech will be worse than the trials, and has to be "leveled up" first, if you tell them about that fact somewhere along the new player experience. A lot of players like to start with a very basic rusty bucket and slowly upgrade it to nice and shiny.