

Best Way To Start?
#1
Posted 04 July 2015 - 12:33 PM
First, which of the test mechs will help me get the most out of intial match bonus?
Secondly, I would like to get involved in a team once I get going, but as I said I will not have a great deal of time to develop indepth team tactics. Is there a role and related class of mechs that would lend itself to my situation? I have read and watched alot of stuff and I am thinking light or medium scout and or sniper, but without actual experience I can not be sure.
Thanks for the help.
#2
Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:40 PM
Laonidas1, on 04 July 2015 - 12:33 PM, said:
Secondly, I would like to get involved in a team once I get going, but as I said I will not have a great deal of time to develop indepth team tactics. Is there a role and related class of mechs that would lend itself to my situation? I have read and watched alot of stuff and I am thinking light or medium scout and or sniper, but without actual experience I can not be sure.
Mech's, unfortunately, are a matter of preference. Personally, I did well in Mediums / Fast heavies to start. Lights are much more lightly armored (and less forgiving), especially the "trial" mechs you have available. I am awful in assault mechs, even now. I tried them all out when starting, and despite doing awfully in several, still managed to get enough together to purchase and outfit my first mech. You will want to try them out anyways, as once it comes time to purchase your first mech, you'll want one you like/feel comfortable in. Role warfare, per se, is not an issue in the game until you are running with a large unit, and even then.
As for a unit, each of the factions (and Mercs) have a section available here, various units have posted there, as well as their website information to actually apply to the unit. (Satisfaction may vary).
You can also post your information in the Hiring Hall, and units can contact you that way.
Lastly, when you end up running with a group of guys (usually inadvertently) enough, you can just ask. There are units I would consider joining (if I wasn't already in a unit), simply because I've run with/against their members and like the way they work.
Hope this helps!
#3
Posted 04 July 2015 - 02:58 PM
Sniping however, will be quicker to pick up and is a useful load out. Even when your travelling with the party, sharing damage by being on the front lines, having a counter sniper helps the team focus on the mechs in front of em.
~Leone.
#4
Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:29 PM
Laonidas1, on 04 July 2015 - 12:33 PM, said:
Note that the extra earning ("Cadet bonus") you get for your 25 games is fixed. You'll get your normal match rewards (a few tens to a couple hundred thousand c-bills per match), and those will depend on your performance, but the extra Cadet bonus does not. So it doesn't matter hugely how well you do in your first 25 games: you'll get those extra several million no matter what.
Medium snipers is what I started with ... that's quite a forgiving role for a novice. When I do that I basically follow the big guys, a small distance (but not too much) behind them. Shoot at what they shoot. As you do this, you also naturally cover the rear of your team's heaviest mechs, which is always useful. In this role you'll rarely be the first or highest-priority target that the enemy engages (because your team's big assets are in front of you), and that's what makes this role forgiving. You'll stay alive for a while longer and get more opportunities to learn.
You'll need some long-range direct-fire weapons for this role, as it'll be the big guys and not you who dictate what you are engaging. So you need to be able to join in even if your buddies' target is at the distance.
#5
Posted 04 July 2015 - 03:46 PM
Hunchbacks and Shadowhawks make for good Ridge Snipers with minimal exposure, due to the high shoulder mounts and humanoid design, but they lack the range (and HEAT) of the Clan Tech. They can be cheaper to outfit though, but will still need at least 2 million c-bills for Endo and DHS, on top of weapon and chassis costs.
#6
Posted 04 July 2015 - 05:18 PM
the Firestarter S, then the A then the K or Ember
They are solid mechs, you can swap engines... it's a carry mech to farm cbills in.
Premium time helps too.
Look up Krivvan's videos.
Ignore the noob lrm and whatever else is recommended.
#7
Posted 04 July 2015 - 05:53 PM
If you want to jump start your pilot career I would advice you to talk to some veteran players. Joining a unit early is not a bad idea. Many units have helpful people who are willing to help you with the game. Being part of a unit also helps you to find people to play with once you feel like you're ready to drop with a team. I don't recommend you to do that straight away since you'll be matched against experienced players.
If Free Rasalhague Republic is a faction that interests you visit FRR hub teamspeak server (FRRTS3.tk:9725) (Password: Dragon) and/or visit www.1strdr.enjin.com. We welcome new players and are happy to help.
#8
Posted 04 July 2015 - 10:03 PM
If you like to have both min-max and uncommon builds you could join a casual/semi-competitive unit that is ok with this so you can try both. We do have units that frown on bizarre/funny builds so if you want to only work on min-max you could join them (they are more competitive)
#9
Posted 05 July 2015 - 03:33 AM
Laonidas1, on 04 July 2015 - 12:33 PM, said:
that depends on your preferences, I would recomend try ing all the trial Mechs preferably for at least 2 games each, but to answer your question I need more information
do you want fast and agile, slow and heavily armed/armored or a balanced Mech which is reasonably fast and mounts a fair amount of firepower?
would you prefer a close range brawler, med range fire support or long range sniper, or even a mixed range general purpose Mech?
are you OK with something forcing you to learn heat management early or would you prefer something where heat management is less of a challenge?
unfortunately I need answers to those before I can offer much advice
out of the current Trial Mechs
Spider and Raven, Ice Feret and Mist Lynx fast close range Mechs, the Spider and Myst Lynx can jump
thunderbolt, Griffin, Quickdraw, Helbringer, Mad Dog, Kit Fox and Stormcrow are reasonably fast but fit a variety of roles.
Banshee is a big slow Mech which can absorb a fair amount of punishment but is rather slow,
the Dire Wolf has a LOT of firepower but is really slow and unmaneuverable, it is great for shooting Mechs at med to long range but is in serious trouble if any enemy Mech gets behind or even beside it
Quote
Thanks for the help.
before you can choose a role you want to figure out what you enjoy, I like fast Light Mechs as harassers and IS Mediums/Clan Heavies as brawler/skirmishers, so it would be pointless me choosing the role of heavy sniper/direct fire support because I do not enjoy it.
It is not important to know your role before joining a unit, provided you get a decent unit they will help you figure that out, and will offer you the assistance you need to get onto a competitive team if that is what you want.
there are a lot of Units (player run teams) look in the http://mwomercs.com/...munity-warfare/ subforum for recruitment threads.
before joining a unit try to figure out what you are looking for, some units are exclusively casual players, others are exclusively competitive players, however most seem to have a mix of casual and competitive players.
do you know much about Battletech lore (Battletech, which Mechwarrior is based upon, has been going for about 30 years and there are hundreds of books and many games, comprising a rich history, if you are interested the best source of information is www.sarna.net ) some players have grown attached to a single faction so are only interested in playing as part of that faction, if that is you then look in the relevant section of the Community Warfare forum
conciser when you are likely to be playing, some units are mostly players from a single time zone others are world wide, it would be best to make sure they have at least a few players who are likely to be on at the same time as you
most units will want to help you improve but you and they may not agree on what is the best way to do it, I strongly recommend looking at a few units websites before making a decision.
Edited by Rogue Jedi, 05 July 2015 - 03:36 AM.
#10
Posted 05 July 2015 - 03:52 AM
Laonidas1, on 04 July 2015 - 12:33 PM, said:
First, which of the test mechs will help me get the most out of intial match bonus?
Secondly, I would like to get involved in a team once I get going, but as I said I will not have a great deal of time to develop indepth team tactics. Is there a role and related class of mechs that would lend itself to my situation? I have read and watched alot of stuff and I am thinking light or medium scout and or sniper, but without actual experience I can not be sure.
Thanks for the help.
For what you're describing, there's really only 2 chassis I'll recommend for you. (Sniper is a good start role for someone who doesn't want to coordinate too much, and is short on time. You find a target, and pop it).
Those chassis being:
1- The Blackjack: A medium mech, each variant is around 3 million, and they have very high mounts for their arm weapons. Use ERPPCs (for the 1X), or Gauss Rifles
BJ-1 with Gauss
BJ-1X with ERPPCs
These are sample builds of what these chassis can mount. (notice the 1X can mount a bigger engine, but can't mount Jump Jets)
Also, these are not the recommended builds for those chassis, but as far as sniper builds on a BJ-1 go, these are good. I can tweak them for you later.
2- The Jagermech: It's literally a supersized Black Jack. Exact same style of play, just taller, with more tons to use, and a lot better sniping potential with Dual Gauss Rifles (30 points of damage, where you want, whenever you want it).
Here's the basic Dual Gauss set up:
JM6-S
Here's an illustration of the silhouette for these guys.

#11
Posted 05 July 2015 - 05:13 AM
the trial dire wolf build is worse than like 90% of builds in the 'headshaking facepalming build' thread
trial mad dog is very low on lrm ammo
trial hellbringer is motley and hot (in a bad sense)
trial stormcrow and kit fox are so-so
trial mlx is mlx and therefore should be avoided, very low leg armor too
Edited by bad arcade kitty, 05 July 2015 - 06:08 AM.
#12
Posted 05 July 2015 - 06:05 AM
I started playing the original board game back in 88 before most of you were even born before Clan mechs existed, so I will likely never use one of those abominations :-).
#13
Posted 05 July 2015 - 06:21 AM
Laonidas1, on 05 July 2015 - 06:05 AM, said:
I started playing the original board game back in 88 before most of you were even born before Clan mechs existed, so I will likely never use one of those abominations :-).
Using TT terms.
This is Jihad era tech for the IS, and you have almost no restrictions on what you can slap in your mech. Other than hardpoints, and hardpoint counts.
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