132 replies to this topic

[bad arcade kitty]

i wasted my cadet bonus for cute fox and i'm very glad :3
could get a crow of course but it's way more expensive and ugly and i dont like the name and ... w/e

[bad arcade kitty]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 12:41 AM, said:

Like I said, certain variants that are noticeably better and considered better are only available through payed money which negates this statement. This is known as pay to win.

i don't think mwo has such mechs
the top tier stuff it's dire wolf (assault), timber wolf (heavy), stormcrow (middle), firestarter (light), they all are available for c-bills

btw the cadet bonus + other earnings from 25 games is almost enough to buy stormcrow, whose prime version doesn't even need refitting

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 12 April 2015 - 12:47 AM.

[Durant Carlyle]

You're lucky. We didn't get a Cadet Bonus.

And this game is decidedly NOT pay to win. The 'Mechs that are available for real money aren't any better than the in-game money 'Mechs.

Edited by Durant Carlyle, 12 April 2015 - 12:48 AM.

[sneeking]

Do you or have you tried smurfy to do some theory on what you might like how effective it might be and what it might cost ?

Also check out the battle mechs forums for builds others are using.

Some hours reading could save weeks and months of your life.

[MechWarrior414712]

Grid iron and Huginn are the worst offenders. Come at me haters, you know it too.

[sneeking]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 12:54 AM, said:

I just found out about smurfy. And unfrotunately you're right. This is the way games are now. Before spending the time on a build I really should have done all this

Wait till you get started on modules

The Mech Daddy, on 12 April 2015 - 12:59 AM, said:

Grid iron and Huginn are the worst offenders. Come at me haters, you know it too.

Hush up you, huggie is fine...

[PocketAces]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 12:28 AM, said:

Much appreciated, this should be made known to new MWO players but I can see how the devs aren't likely to do that themselves.

Or...... you could come on the forums and ask the veteran players.

[bad arcade kitty]

btw it's kind of funny that in-client loadout is so much less convenient than smurfy lab

[Durant Carlyle]

That's being changed very soon.

[sneeking]

Time taken to understand the quirks, sometimes one variant can be built to mirror another and be more efficient ( even though its not utilizing all its hard points )

[sneeking]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 01:10 AM, said:

You understand I have so much on my mind? When I get ready to enjoy myself with any activity - this may be a fault - I do not usually come to ask people how to have fun before doing so. How am I supposed to know that some of the stuff included in the game is bad?

Is that the new thing now? Whatever game I play, hop onto the forums and ask people which stuff IN THE GAME is good or bad? How bout I just play the game? (I'm not being a smartass I'm just doing a stand up comedy routine about gaming)

But seeing as how this game is relatively slightly more complex than others and has also had a long online history and community, you're absolutely right and I should have thought ahead.

I come online to have fun also, it doesn't have to be taken so seriously.

Many times I just tinker about wasting space bucks switching stuff back n forward while drinking beer.

Check my balance lol im space poor

Im at 3.3million, the second it hits 4mill im swapping the derp mod out of my urbie just to see what its like with ams overdrive ( I don't own one of those yet )

Edited by sneeking, 12 April 2015 - 01:19 AM.

[Sjorpha]

MessyBopzz, on 11 April 2015 - 11:59 PM, said:

When the average newcomer to this game thinks "customization" they are not thinking that the beloved customization will stop at wanting to put TWO ballistic guns on the arms and TWO energy weapons on the chest/chassis of your spider mech. It's like a slap in the face, but that's just my opinion.

For MWO, you gotta pay to go that far and get that crazy with your customization. But by that point it's not customization it's a new variant that costs the price of a whole new mech. I honestly do love this game though hehe

I can understand that the spider feels especially problematic to a new player, since the hero has more, and more varied, hardpoints than the normal variants, expecially if the spider is your first mech.

But it's actually the 3rd vartiant in terms of power, both 5D and 5K are better mechs. Sadly, the 5D is actually the only spider with any form of competitive value, and then only as JJ capable ECM carrier in CW light rushes. Then comes Anansi and last is 5V. So it's not "P2W" as if buying it would give you a stronger mech.

The Misery has a P2W element to it. The 4N is stronger, but the Misery can fill several roles the 4N can't. The Ember and Dragon Slayer used to be top tier comp mechs and a very clear example of P2W, now they are both weaker than other variants. (some might argue the DS is still the best Victor, I think the 9S is, but none are competitive like the DS used to be)

Yen Lo Wang might be the best Centurion, I'd argue the AH is better.

Other than that I don't see any contenders for P2W, to customize and get extra options for sure, but not to increase chances of winning. Unless you count early access as a form of P2W, then the good clan mechs and new variants are P2W until out for Cbills. There are several contenders in the wave 3 package in that case, but I personally can't find that line of thinking reasonable, PGI wouldn't be able to give early access to any good mechs in that case, losing their primary source of income. So yeah.

Edited by Sjorpha, 12 April 2015 - 01:24 AM.

[Elizander]

PGI can still release unskinned hero varians without the 30% bonus for perhaps 3-5 times the base price (or maybe 10x). They can even go the extreme and give it a 10% xp penalty or something to add more grind to it and release them only after 3-6 months after the original hero mech is released.

[sneeking]

But if it wasn't a grind you would pick it up put it down and be gone...

If it seems like there is no end in sight you're less likely to stop.

Edited by sneeking, 12 April 2015 - 01:33 AM.

[Sjorpha]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 01:27 AM, said:

Everything you said might prove my point that the lack of further customization limits possibilities.

What is the use of mechs like the spider then? If it has mostly unimpressive variants and the best version of the spider is outdone by other mechs that can do a better job why is this mech in the game and how can I have fun with it. I fell for the spider web trap in MWO.

That's what this post has now evolved into. A discussion about how choosing the spider 5K at first and then experimenting with things to buy for it really did waste a lot of time in my life and was less fun than it could have been. Other potential players should be aware the spider web trap.

The 5D used to be good. Now power creep has happened and it wasn't buffed enough to keep up. It was always a very specialist mech, not one I'd recommend for a new player. A lot of Inner sphere are in this category, the game has lots of imbalance when it comes to mech power.

Why should it be in the game. Well IMO specialist mechs are very fun, even if they are hard to use and bad choices for new players. You could subtly tweak the spider to be strong again, but it would still seem bad to a new player. That problem is hard to avoid without dumbing down the game. The best solution IMO would be a more solid introduction and tutorial.

How to have fun in it is easier to answer. The 5D with 3MPL is still a very sneaky little ninja to run around in public que coring out backs. You can learn to do very well in it. With "not competitive" I don't mean "useless in normal games", only that it isn't top tier or used in tournaments and such.

A lot of the problem is that the game is based on battletech lore and tabletop rules, but the lore is inherently unbalanced and the tabletop rules are balanced by giving different mechs different values so you can field more if you choose weaker mechs. PGI is only willing to stray so far from the source because a lot of the die hard fans are religious about it, and there is only so much you can do with the balancing tools they allow themselves to use.

[Myray]

didnt read most of the posts but one can get hero mechs without paying a dime its just a massive grind
4.5k mc per fraction its just playing a lot of cw

[zagibu]

MessyBopzz, on 12 April 2015 - 12:41 AM, said:

For example, a spider mech with 2 er large lazers on its chest, an AC2 and a machine gun?

So you want to fit more than 16 tons of weaponry on a 30 tons mech. Good luck with that.

The thread is still relevant, though, because it shows how lost new players are. A mechlab tutorial is really needed, before this game goes to steam.

[sneeking]

The grind and failing didn't stop me when I was new.

[Yosharian]

Pay barrier clan variants are one of the reasons I've taken a break from the game (that and RSI)

[El Bandito]

Mcgral18, on 11 April 2015 - 11:41 PM, said:

Name each pay only variant that is better.


Dragon Slayer? Misery?
Ember isn't that robot anymore.


PGI has done a pretty good job on keeping them in line. One isn't obnoxiously better than anything you can buy with Cbills.

Certain heroes do better than their regular brethren.

1. Pirate's Bane--ECM.

2. Yellow Wang--Dem AC20 quirks, and out of this world torso twist speed.

3. Ilya--Much dakka, so wow. Especially since JJs got nurfed.

4. Dragon Slayer--Asymmetrical build is very powerful on that mech.

5. Misery--Ballistic slot on a Stalker, mon.

Out of my head. With Large class laser GH increased to three, Heavy Metal can also make the list, since having three energy slots in one arm is awesome.

Edited by El Bandito, 12 April 2015 - 03:31 AM.