Hello everyone, my name is Demarticus Stone and I've wanted to become a part of MechWarrior Online for a LONG time but I kept putting it off because of my Internet speeds, but now that I'm here I have a few questions.
#1: What is the best long range Mech?
I had my eye on the JagerMech, I also checked out the stats on the JagerMech and it doesn't seem too bad.
The reason I have chosen Long Ranged Mechs is because I have always been the type for Long Ranged engagements, on any game, whether it be Battlefield, or World of Tanks, I ALWAYS go for range.
But I also am looking for defensive capability for when and if I get into a sticky situation.
#2: I really hate to ask this, but several games have made me unsure of others, is this game Pay-To-Win?
I honestly don't like asking that question but, games like World of Tanks have made me a very skittish person about Free-To-Play Games.
As someone who has played many of the 'Mechs, I will tell you that you will want to check into two things: One, the sort of weapons you plan to use, and two... what affect each mech can have on the said weapon.
Showcased in this image (taken just now, for this edit) is my current primary Inner Sphere sniper 'Mech.
My mech count is pointed out by the yellow arrow. Take the owned 'Mechbays (179) and subtract the Empty bays (13) to get my mech total (166 'Mechs currently owned).
This game, rather than go for the much requested 'weapon variants', has opted to have Mechs directly affect the weapon's performance.
A Gauss Rifle for example may have a standard optimum range of 660 meters and a maximum range (at which the damage just cuts to 0 damage) of 1980 meters as a base stat, in the hands of one mech it may reach up to 2277 meters before doing losing all effectiveness and hold full damage at 759 meters. Or, for another 'Mech it may reach somewhere in between those two, but be able to reload much faster. For some 'Mechs, the firing delay (charge time) may be reduced. Others will have a significantly faster projectile. Some combine smaller levels of two or three traits... and some mechs are considered so impeccably sturdy (hitbox/health/armor combination) that they "don't need quirks."
There's a number of things to consider. I suggest looking at Smurfy for weapon hardpoints on 'Mechs as well as "Mech Quirks", in addition to possibly making an experimental build within Smurfy's "Mechlab."
Note that under Mech Quirks, Gauss Rifles count under Ballistic weapons and thus Gauss specific traits stack with it.
PPCs, an energy-based weapon not dissimilar to Gauss Rifles, count under ballistic weapons in terms of velocity, but count as energy weapons in terms of heat.
(Any game is less pay to win than World of Tanks, but in MWO the most pay 2 win 'Mech can be killed in a single shot and comes in only 20 tons).
Jagers are prime fire support or sniper mechs. It can hold heavy amounts of ACs or two big guns, which either way it does well. The DD variant comes with a great engine, and is the best JM6 at AC boating (6 Ballistics). It has great quirks for UAC anti-jamming, so if you played Dwf-B trial or VTR-9S trial then you know how it is, but it will be better with the high mounts. DD is more for mid-range gameplay however, though it's UACs can reach far enough (1000+ m I believe). The S has generic quirks and less ballistic more energy so it's fitting for dual gauss (another sniper type mech.) The dual gauss is outright a pure sniper mech, and as long as you lead your shots, charge both and then fire, and aim well, you will do well. The A and FB are both decent, though aren't quite prime as snipers, though you can play them as support roles and the FB can do asymmetrical PPC + Gauss/AC20 type builds. The A has missiles, which while it can do LRMs, it's not fantastic at it, and therefore SRMs are better overall.
This game isn't much P2W as it is Pay to get stuff early and skip on the grind. That's pretty much it, since most heroes have a c-bill counterpart that does better.
There is no real P2W. Youi can get unique 'Mechs for real cash only (Hero Variants) that have unique hardpoint options (Misery is the only Stalker with a Ballistic hardpoint, Pirate's Bane is the only Locust with ECM) or gimmick (Heavy Metal's warhorn before warhorns were a thing, Hellsingers reduction of heat modifiers), but most of them are just different from the normal variants. The big selling point is the permanent boost to income, which takes some of the edge off of grinding.
The other big thing you can get for cash are the preorder packs. These allow you to get the 'Mechs before everyone else, but the 'Mechs might be subject to tweaks as they come out, as what looks balanced on paper might end up utterly broken. *cough* Firestarters *cough*.
As for your question, the JagerMech is a popular choice, but it's need for a large XL engine may be quite a turn-off for a new player due to it's hefty price tag. A great choice would be Thunderbolts in the Heavy class or Stalkers in the Assault class. TDRs (short for Thunderbolt) and STKs (short for Stalker) have a big energy-focus which makes them a lot less ammo-dependant, good quirks (STK-4N and TDR-5SS being close to broken in that regard) and great durability. Both do extremely well with an STD engine, which saves you a lot of upgrade costs (XL engines being 4 times as expensive as the same rated STD engine)
As someone who has played many of the 'Mechs, I will tell you that you will want to check into two things: One, the sort of weapons you plan to use, and two... what affect each mech can have on the said weapon.
This game, rather than go for the much requested 'weapon variants', has opted to have Mechs directly affect the weapon's performance.
A Gauss Rifle for example may have a standard optimum range of 660 meters and a maximum range (at which the damage just cuts to 0 damage) of 1980 meters as a base stat, in the hands of one mech it may reach up to 2277 meters before doing losing all effectiveness and hold full damage at 759 meters. Or, for another 'Mech it may reach somewhere in between those two, but be able to reload much faster. For some 'Mechs, the firing delay (charge time) may be reduced. Others will have a significantly faster projectile. Some combine smaller levels of two or three traits... and some mechs are considered so impeccably sturdy (hitbox/health/armor combination) that they "don't need quirks."
There's a number of things to consider. I suggest looking at Smurfy for weapon hardpoints on 'Mechs as well as "Mech Quirks", in addition to possibly making an experimental build within Smurfy's "Mechlab."
Note that under Mech Quirks, Gauss Rifles count under Ballistic weapons and thus Gauss specific traits stack with it.
PPCs, an energy-based weapon not dissimilar to Gauss Rifles, count under ballistic weapons in terms of velocity, but count as energy weapons in terms of heat.
(Any game is less pay to win than World of Tanks, but in MWO the most pay 2 win 'Mech can be killed in a single shot and comes in only 20 tons).
I can already tell you the community over here is already seeming more Friendly and less Trollish then WoT.
Also, thank you for the Website with the Mechbuilder, what would be an ideal amount of Armor for a Sniper Mech but still maintains enough armor to defend itself when it needs to?
I can already tell you the community over here is already seeming more Friendly and less Trollish then WoT.
Glad to hear it. Though the trolls are abound. We just have authentic Bulgarian Miak!
Well... it helps...kinda.
Quote
Also, thank you for the Website with the Mechbuilder, what would be an ideal amount of Armor for a Sniper Mech but still maintains enough armor to defend itself when it needs to?
Also edited that post to add my own snipermech -- which is a Jagermech -- as well as to show I do in fact have a lot of 'Mechs.
Vids too.
That would depend on the 'Mech, but most people almost always use close to maximum armor. Gimme just a minute to reopen MWO and I'll give you a snapshot of my armor and build. The specific Jagermech isn't a capitalist on maximum quirks, however I've had the Jagermechs for more than two years and they have more than proven themselves time and time again. They don't play as well to "twist to survive" tactics, but they do manage what is most important: Allow you a high viewpoint with high-mounted weapons perfect for ledge peeking as emphasized by this 2013 silhouette guide.
"Yagerbomb." Can you see it? Neither did that mech it just killed.
Anyway, will edit this shortly.
Sorry about the delay, I learned that Jim Varney played the Dulcimer, and played one of the Beverley Hill Billies in a later iteration of it.
For most 'Mechs I recommend between 8 to 20 points of rear armor (12 or 14 max for mediums to heavies; 20+ for assaults).
I'm also throwing in this video, which showcases one of the earlier designs of my go-to Clan sniper 'Mech. This uses the Dire Wolf.
Specifically, the video is one of the toughest and deadliest battles I recorded of it.
Long range combat is usually done with ER Large Lasers. Gauss Rifles and to a lesser extent (due to weapon projectile speed being too slow) ER PPCs. I define long range as shooting stuff at 700-800m up to 1500m (but you don't deal much damage at this range).
As long as your mech has high mounts for your preferred weapon and can move around 70-90ish (90 being preferred) kph then you should be alright. Quirks for your weapon range and heat reduction (in the case of energy weapons) and velocity (for ballistics and PPCs) are nice too. Play around with the weapons and watch some videos to see what you'd like to use.
Jagermechs can do Gauss really well and if ever you buy the Hero mech (for real monies) Firebrand, you can swap between energy and ballistic weapons in the high mounted arms. Other options would be Shadow Hawks, Blackjacks, Ravens and Thunderbolts. I'd throw in the 1C dragon (it has 2 energy on the shoulder). For clans it pretty much boils down to Stormcrow/Hellbringer (both have high torso mount energy and head energy slots. Hellbringer can have high mount torso ballistic). Timberwolf should have a 3 energy high shoulder mount but not sure when that'll be available for c-bills.
Just make sure to check the mech quirks so you get the right one for the job.
There is no best long range mech but the Jagermech will put in a good performance, 2 ac5's with 2 LL or ERL's will give you some decent games and is a lot of fun. They all run the dual gauss build well too. Specific builds are hard to recommend because i dont know what engine(s) you may or may not have.
Jag's are good for hanging back & sniping and have enough weapon flexibility to allow you try different things when you want, i think they would be a good choice for you
Also note that you should max your armor if you can (though shaving some off legs and a couple off head is fine if you can squeeze in extra goodies). Distribution of front/back is usually more to the front. Most of us leave only 8-10 points at the back.
If you feel changes need to be made, feel free to do so to guide me in the right path and just link it back to me
Very much tons of MG ammo for only 1 MG,with 2 tons would be fine. Anyway u would try other loadout,only 1 gauss rifle...meh... U always can try 2x AC 10 or 2x AC 5 with other weapons. Im partidary of have same at both sides,i dont like to have 1 MG to one arm and a laser to other,tell me annyoning.
If you feel changes need to be made, feel free to do so to guide me in the right path and just link it back to me
In tabletop that would be pretty decent, mainly because of the deadliness of the Gauss Rifle. In MWO, all 'Mechs have double armor and structure, so a single Gauss Rifle would struggle to be as effective.
*Stretches and yawns.* Sorry, late night here.
Mkay. From what I see I should start from the beginning.
Ferro armor, while very practical in Battletech, isn't a great idea in an environment where repair and rearm is not an issue. It only saves -- at most -- half the tonnage that Endo Steel would (5% instead of 10%) for the same slots. Endo steel would consequentially be about three times more expensive (paid only if you had to repair the structure under the armor), but there is no repair and rearm at the moment. It was disabled in 2012 and though they keep talking about bringing it back at this point I don't even think they would know how to go about that.
That said, endo steel would be more suitable.
This immediately freed 6 tons. Though you already had 3.96 tons free. Having free tonnage will not enable you to be any faster, and you get 65 tons so you should capitalize on it.
Each ton of machine gun ammo contains 2,000 rounds. Even with 4 MGs I rarely carry 3 full tons. Here with my build you can see I only use a single ton.
Gauss Rifles get what was it... 10 shots, right? MWO isn't the same as BattleTech and so the different ammo counts get to me these days. So 2 tons is 20. For twin Gauss Rifles I carry 4 tons, but this is because I'm so limited in tonnage.
What enabled the tonnage, is the high risk, high reward Extra Light (XL engine) found under equipment (third button on the right), below the "STD" standard engines.
Appogee, on 06 May 2015 - 11:48 PM, said:
No, it's that smoking pile of wreckage over there, as I just killed it through its squishy squishy torso.
Squishy-squish is only a problem if you foolishly try to protect your torsos instead of maximize frontal armor.
Like this poor sap did. Twisting? Pfft.
Well this is my last post for today, I've yet to download the game due to crappy internet and would take me 6 Hours to download.
I'll work around with the Jager DD Model, although, I still want defensive modifications, like have my Gauss Rifle and then have a defensive Energy or Ballistic Weapon to defend itself within close range.
Edit: Here is my current progress on my Jager DD Model Build - Tell me what you think
4
