21 replies to this topic

[Famine52]

I have no idea what mechs or systems I should be equiping on them. Currently running a atlas with the stock setup it comes with...

Edited by Famine52, 08 September 2015 - 12:55 PM.

[Boulangerie]

Hey Famine52! Welcome to MWO!

There are really 100 tons of options in this game (i couldn't resist!). It sounds like you have played a few games in the trial mechs and decided to pick up the Atlas! It's the only Assault mech I own, and I have the D-DC, RS, and S variants. It can be pretty hard for new players to use because of the fact that it is slower, benefits greatly from team support and coordination with your team, and is much stronger the more your knowledge of the maps and positioning increases.

Don't lose heart if it seems like you aren't doing as well, this game has a pretty high learning curve! Most of the time new recruits are suggested to use a Medium or Heavy mech as their learning mech, but I don't blame you for picking the Atlas. It looks bad ass. It is 100 tons. It has a fearsome history in Lore and this game.

Which variant did you purchase? Here is a really great guide by Sarlic on the Atlas, his personal obsession, and he has 15 of them!
http://mwomercs.com/...he-new-players/

Normally, you would be welcomed by a few more people with more tips and links, but there was a patch just released today, so they are probably all playing! Lucky for you I had to work

Read some of the guides around, but here are a few general rules for the game

1. Stay with your team!

2. Practice using your weapons in the Training Grounds to get a feel for their ranges and Heat values. Also a great place to set your weapons groups up as well.

3. You will want 3 variants of any mech you decide you want to level up (I wouldn't sell the atlas if you don't like it as you will only get 50% of what you paid for the chassis (you can still keep the engine and equipment though). This will unlock all of the skills for each variant of the mech, and then once you have the Elite level completed it will double the bonuses from the Basic tier.

4. After you die, spectate your teammates, especially if they are in a similar mech! This will let you learn the maps and see what a good position and playstyle is like. You might get a bad player to spectate, but you will figure that out in time.

5. Ask questions! This board is very helpful. General chat is also pretty bumping. The Guides section is full of useful information, and the Battlemechs sections are more sparsely populated, but you could search there for tips for a specific mech.

I probably forgot some tips but I have to get back to work. Good luck!

[Barkem Squirrel]

Ouch, stock some times can be good, but new starting in an Assault is hard.

If it is the DDC, 2 ML, 350 standard engine, AC 20 & 3tons ammo, 3 SRM 6's with 4 tons of Ammo, endo steel, ECM and as many DHS as you can fit into it.

Learn to swing side to side to distribute the damage in any of the atlases. Normally max the armor and maybe front load the armor and take 3 points of armor off each leg and endo steel is really not needed on most assaults mechs. The Atlas is not XL friendly.

Other atlases use ML's, DHS, 350, 340 or 360 standard engines with the AC 20 and SRM 6's unless it is the S variant and then use 4 SRM 4's.

Now I Have run the DDC with 2 LL's, 3 SSRM 2's, AC 5 and AC 2.

One fun build is two LBX 10's with 3 or 2 SRM 6's with some ML's. Here you can change the number of DHS or size of the engine.

Remember to play with what you like at the time and have fun with it. Later you will find some builds that just work.

Also there is the 4 LRM 10 Atlas for the S variant, but learn a bit more before trying that. LRM's can be easy to use, but very hard to master or be real good at.

[Famine52]

Thanks for the response boul!

I'm a early backer who never got around to the game, so the Atlas was my starter to use. I actually hate it, can never make any kills with it and it seems far to weak compared to every other mech around. Maybe I'm doing something wrong with it, I don't know.

Is there any specific go to mechs and setups I should be aware of? Or is putting random weapons on board the way to go?

Also is there any groups to play with, I think if I had some mentors to guide me through this it would be alot easier...

Thanks!

[Boulangerie]

Well, I would suggest trying all of the Trial mechs then. They are actually set up much better than they used to be, with community suggested builds. I don't know how much you know about Mechwarrior/Battletech, probably a little as you said you were an early backer, but there are Inner Sphere and Clan mechs. You can take any mech into Solo or Group queue. If you want to do Clan warfare later on, you should probably pick a faction and stick to it. Right now the best mechs in the game are Clan mechs, but there are some great Inner Sphere mechs that give them a run for their money. I'd check out Metamechs for some good builds once you pick a mech.

What kind of playstyle do you think you'd like to do? Brawling is great fun, but really hard to get in range. That is the strength of the Atlas though. I run mine usually with the Ac20, SRMs a bigger engine than stock, and medium lasers. Eventually you will have unlocked all of the skills for the mech and it gets quite a bit stronger.

Picking a good mech helps a lot, but the game is actually pretty well balanced, there are only a few mechs that are widely considered terrible, and players still can have good games in them if it fits their playstyle and they can work together with a team. I think this thread is still accurate, but try this out if you are looking for a group to play in. Be aware that you will be placed in the group queue, and might get stomped, as the matchmaker will average out your groups PSR (rating) to find opponents. It is still super helpful to learn from others in game though!

http://mwomercs.com/...then-look-here/

Edit: I'm headed home now, but I'll check up on the thread later. Don't feel like you have to keep trying with the Atlas, especially since it was free You can, and should, come back to it later once you have a better handle on the game. That would be more fun than banging your head against a wall with it.

Edited by Boulangerie, 08 September 2015 - 02:00 PM.

[Tuann]

Well, ideally, use a medium or heavy.
They are mobile and moe forgiving.

A thunderbolt is a great chassis to start with.

Units, you have to look for a unit that has a good training program for starters.
Look into the bigger units perhaps.

Cgbi , www.ghost-bear-command.com has a good novice training program, but you certainly might finf a good IS unit too

[Cupid and Psyche _]

I am not too familiar with the Atlas, so I cannot give you much help there.

http://metamechs.com...r-guides/atlas/

There is a guide for the mech. That website is a good place if you want ideas on what setup allows a chassis to play at its peak level.

Assault mechs are difficult to pilot at first, so keep that in mind. Just advice in general for the chassis would be to stick towards the front of the group with the other assaults and fight with confidence. Never go off alone.

[Tylerchu]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Smurfy mechlab. It's a place for you to mess around with mech loadouts and everything else.
http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab
This gives a good idea of how to build and/or what mech to buy next, but that's assuming you know how you like certain weapon types.

[Leone]

Leone, on 06 September 2015 - 11:53 PM, said:

Honestly? To get you in the game right, I'd say try all the trials. Even the bad ones. Find out what kind of mech you like (For instance, most new folk die horribly in lights at first, as their unforgiving, and die horribly in assaults second, since they take good map awareness and positioning.)

Then, some twenty five matches in, you should have your cadet bonus pay and be ready to buy an IS mech with c-bills, or stare wistfully at a clan mech, cuz they expensive. (Clan mechs come fully upgraded, but IS mech have more customization tweaks available, that usually cost you just as much.)

Now, you can come back here with thoughts and ask suggestions. Add quantifiers like "I really liked X trial, but I also liked weapon system Y, I'm thinking about mech Z," and we can provide you with a wide variety of different opinions and feelings on the matter, all at odds with each other. When alot of us argue about the right mech for ya, but agree on one chassis, well then, time to make that purchase an test it out.

Once you've your first mech behind you, then you can decide if you wanna go for the grind an purchase your first few mechs in game using in game rewards, or decide to speed things up an buy a pack. This way, you'll hopefully be able to make an informed decision you'll enjoy that'll launch you into an extended gaming foray leading you upto Community Warfare, where I can shoot at, or along side you. (Warning, there is no Matchmaker in CW and Teamwork is Over Powered. There is, as of yet, no working nerf for Teamwork, despite all attempts.)

~Leone.

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 08 September 2015 - 07:37 PM.

[Famine52]

Thanks for the responses guys..

Currently still have no idea what Im doing, applied to the ghost bear group though!

Thinking of buying myself a Timberwolf, have 20000 gold credits available and about 5million Cbills.

Any thoughts on what my next purchase and setup should be?

[Leone]

.... Try the trials. Seriously. A month or so back someone posted a thread about how they got the Timberwolf cuz everyone said it was so good, but that player ended up hating em and sold it for a Jager mech or something else instead. Yes the TBR is a great mech, as far as general purpose clan mechs go, but that doesn't mean their for everyone.

Tell me what chassis you loved, tell me what weapon systems you feel mighty whilest using. Then I can offer decent, tailored advice. Something a bit better than 'TBR good, you get.'

Also, little button, three little people in your lower right of the menu screen, just to the lower left of your mech's left foot, it's the friends list and looking for group button, should be flashing blue. just got on an there's a CW event up, so I might be inna match, but hit me up. I've a few mechs I could demo if you don't mind the viciousness that is group queue.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 08 September 2015 - 08:14 PM.

[GenghisJr]

The expression "Surprise Atlas" is still relevant.
I'll guess you have the Founders D Atlas. Atlas' do take some practice to use well, your strength is the firepower you can bring
at short range in this mech. The AC20 is compulsory as is a standard engine and 2 SRM6's. (Im at work so cant check).
The way to play this mech is stay out of the open and use cover to get as close as you can. Your arms are you shield, your main firepower is the torso with SRM's, the AC and 2 laser hardpoints.
Go to the training ground and learn to alpha and then immediately torso twist away so any return fire would hit your arm, turn back to he target and alpha again - how hot is the mech? Fire the weapons individually and learn to manage how the heat builds up always twisting away (its a good habit) away after firing. this also helps get the "feel" of the mech's movement.
I didnt buy an atlas until after I had played a while and used the RS trial version, it may be tough to learn the basics in, but - dont sell it, eventually you will acquire two more and they become far more powerful when you have at least three to unlock the pilot skills.
Before buying another mech, use the trials mechs to get a feel for the chassis to decide if you like it, when you find something you like get 3, either MC (real money) or c-biils can be used.

[Tylerchu]

Famine52, on 08 September 2015 - 07:37 PM, said:

Thinking of buying myself a Timberwolf, have 20000 gold credits available and about 5million Cbills.

Wait what the hell do new recruits get MC now?

[Leone]

Nope. Read the other posts again.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 08 September 2015 - 09:39 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

OP: I'm SO with the above advice to give the trial mechs a turn before you go dropping IRL money ('gold credits', or MC) on any mech. It's like a car. You buy it without a test drive, you WILL hate it. This is an immutable law of the universe, today as much as in 3050 (-ish). ABUSE the trial mechs. Fart in the seats, leave potato chip crumbs all over the console, spill coffee on the buttons, and so on. Go ahead. No one's even going to look at you funny for it. PGI's techs actually ENJOY doing that work on their trial battlemechs. I mean, you're not trying to shoehorn an AC/20 into a Raven when you own NEITHER of those two things, right? Worst you can do is scratch the paint, but you're not asking them to repaint the thing to look like a sadistic Cheshire Cat. They'll happily wipe up the various debris and 'fluids' you leave behind, as opposed to completely rewiring and repainting it three times a day.

TL;DR- If you buy before you try, you will cry. Goes double for REAL money.

There's no hurry, man. Take your time...

[Rogue Jedi]

Tylerchu, on 08 September 2015 - 09:01 PM, said:

Wait what the hell do new recruits get MC now?

The OP is an elite founder (helped fund the game before its release and got the Atlas, MC and some premium time for it). the Founders pack stopped selling about 3 years ago

Famine52, on 08 September 2015 - 01:36 PM, said:

I'm a early backer who never got around to the game, so the Atlas was my starter to use. I actually hate it, can never make any kills with it and it seems far to weak compared to every other mech around. Maybe I'm doing something wrong with it, I don't know.

Is there any specific go to mechs and setups I should be aware of? Or is putting random weapons on board the way to go?

Also is there any groups to play with, I think if I had some mentors to guide me through this it would be alot easier...

Thanks!

you should also have a second Atlas and a Centurion, they were rewards for anyone who had ever got MC or purchased a pack, awarded about a year ago, although I suppose if you had never logged in it may not have concidered your account to have existed at the time.

there are literally hundreds of player ran units, many of which will be happy to help you learn, you wiill find recruitment threads for most units in the Community Warfare forum here:
http://mwomercs.com/...munity-warfare/

another good place to look for units is players forum signatures.

some units will be aligned with a specific faction, you can only use faction relevant (IS or Clan) Mechs in CW but that alliance is only relevent for Community Warfare, Merc Corps will change between a variety of factions, but again cannot use Mechs from a faction they are not working for in CW.



before making a choice as to a unit I would advise visiting several unit websites to check if it looks like a good fit for you, e.g. no use joining a unit who are only active when you would be asleep, or joining a unit whose code of conduct you cannot abide

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 08 September 2015 - 10:37 PM.

[SnagaDance]

Rogue Jedi, on 08 September 2015 - 10:24 PM, said:

The OP is an elite founder (helped fund the game before its release and got the Atlas, MC and some premium time for it). the Founders pack stopped selling about 3 years ago

you should also have a second Atlas and a Centurion, they were rewards for anyone who had ever got MC or purchased a pack, awarded about a year ago, although I suppose if you had never logged in it may not have concidered your account to have existed at the time.

Yes, you should have an Atlas-S and a Centurion. If you don't (maybe for the reason Rogue Jedi mentioned) I'd contact Support and present them with your case and if they'd pretty please with Sugar on top give you those mechs. They're cool at Support and I expect them to give you those mechs.

Both also come with a cool unique camo and a 30% C-bill bonus (like your Founders Atlas). That C-bill bonus can really help with the grind. And having a second Atlas helps getting to 3 of them! I suggest taking the D-DC as the third. It's the only one that can take ECM, a marvelous piece of equipment. Do expect other players to cluster around your D-DC and look at you for direction though.

[Elizander]

Do some research and ask around the forums for what mechs you might like and play all the trial mechs a few games. Once you have a good idea of what you like you can use your MC to buy a Mastery Pack or some clan mechs.

[Boulangerie]

Since you have a decent stock of MC built up, I'd use that on a Mastery pack if you decide to go with an Inner Sphere mech. They are a great deal, everything is 50%off the normal costs and the mechs come with better load outs than the stock versions. If you are going clan, I'm not sure what to do. They might have a sale at some point (usually have then every couple weeks I think).

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

i had so much fun with the Atlas RS trailmech at the time i was new to the game that i flat out went to the store and bought it full price. Mastery packs weren't a thing back then, sadly. well, still love my RS, it's a keeper.

That said, welcome to MWO.