21 replies to this topic

[silvercheckmate]

Hello all!

So as title says, I'm seriously considering the TBR-C as my first mech.
I have collected all the cadet bonuses + tutorial bonuses, have around 17mil cbills now.
I have completed about 20 matches in the HBR-PRIME (Trial) and 30 matches in the TBT-7M (Trial). My latest stats show that I am averaging 72K cbills per match and have a kdr of 0.77.


Here's my thought process thus far.

Timber Wolf pros:
I personally like it hahaha.
Personal biases aside, its a top tier mech, I like knowing that its not a "stepping stone" purchase that I grind for the sake of grinding and might have to sell later on. This mech will deliver all the way to CW-tier competitive play (if I ever get there). TBRs are keepers.
It seems very versatile, you could play any heavy-type playstyle with it. I'm not shoe-horned into a playstyle because of chassis limitations.

Timber Wolf cons:
Its really expensive, which means a much longer grind. Compared to the Hunchback or Centurion at least. Considering that you have to get THREE of a chassis to be competitive, grind time is a factor I cannot ignore.
I'm not 100% sure how expensive it really is, seems like there are plenty of "hidden costs" to factor in.

Questions:
1) Am I biting off more than I can chew? Are "stepping stone" mechs worth the detour?
2) Anything about the TBR that I should know about? Considering that I would be stuck with this chassis for a pretty long time, any insights/advice is welcome.
3) Any errors in my thought process? Did I miss anything out?

[JigglyMoobs]

Tbr-s is his considered the best Timby because it has the minimum weight penalty for taking JJs, 1 in ct, which is sufficient for basic mobility. For all the other ones you have to take at least a tbr-s St, which has 3 JJs.

Remember that you can swap out omnipods but they are expensive.

The Timby builds at metamechs.com are really nice but remember they require different omnipods than what you start with, so plan accordingly.

After you get enough c-bills move to one of the meatamech builds (or something similar) because they will get you the most money.

[JigglyMoobs]

Also, the Timby has a huge ct and pretty substantial St too. It's not easy to avoid damage and torso twist doesn't shield as well as you'd like. What you have to do is use your mobility, your jump capabilities and the terrain to your advantage. Don't treat it like an 89 kph assault. It can't take the abuse.

[John1352]

The Timberwolf C is a potential reward for the Halloween event. Right now, you should buy a different Timberwolf, and hope that the RNG gods smile upon you while you're doing the event.

https://mwomercs.com/tournaments

[FlipOver]

silvercheckmate, on 29 October 2015 - 01:41 AM, said:

<snip>
Timber Wolf cons:
Its really expensive, which means a much longer grind. Compared to the Hunchback or Centurion at least. Considering that you have to get THREE of a chassis to be competitive, grind time is a factor I cannot ignore.
I'm not 100% sure how expensive it really is, seems like there are plenty of "hidden costs" to factor in.

Questions:
1) Am I biting off more than I can chew? Are "stepping stone" mechs worth the detour?
2) Anything about the TBR that I should know about? Considering that I would be stuck with this chassis for a pretty long time, any insights/advice is welcome.
3) Any errors in my thought process? Did I miss anything out?

Hi there.
Just letting you know something.
Any clan mech shouldn't be considered expensive compared to IS. Why?
Clan mechs don't need extra upgrades to be competitive. They already have FF or ES or both, also have DHS (1.5 mill the upgrade for IS). It's a misconception to think IS mechs are cheaper, because to put a IS mech at the same standard as a Clan mech, you usually spend 2 mill on upgrades and other millions on engine (to get the same speed as the same tonnage clan mech - which translates in other 3-5 mill).
All this without considering loadout.
So, thinking Clan mechs are more expensive than IS is actually only true if you do not plan to change the IS mech in any way except loadout - which usually is a tremendous mistake.

About the three mechs, right off the bat you spend less buying IS mechs, but upgrading all of them will cost you something between 7.5mill up to 11 mill extra c-bills.

Now, about the questions:
1) No and yes. the TBR is actually one of the best all-rounders in the game so far. Buying extra 2 will help you a lot to improve its performance.
2) Same advice as any other mech. Use it to fit your playstyle at first. Balance the aiming sensitivity to your needs - use training grounds for it. When you're dead, spec other players and if possible, find those using TBRs, so you can also see other ways to play and other layouts at work.
3) Nope. You're set.

[Rogue Jedi]

the biggest issues I can see with starting in a TBR are:
if someone sees a Timber it tends to be a case of the whole team will prioritize it, not a good thing if you are a new player who has not yet learned to spread damage
the TBR is expensive, and the money saving tactics people use for multiple IS Mechs ^{(e.g. sharing that 4-6million cbill XL engine between all variants)} do not work with Clan OmniMechs
it is arguably the best Mech in the game, so anything else will seem week after a Timber ^{(possible exceptions are Stormcrow and, if you can put up with its low speed and agility, Direwolf)}
many of the "stepping stone" Mechs will teach you useful skills which will make you a better pilot, in the TBR or SCR will likely take you a lot longer to learn those basic lessons because you are not punished so badly for e.g. failing to spread damage and defend vulnerable components as you are in e.g. an Hunchback ^{(loose the hunch and 80% of your firepower is gone, so you quickly learn to protect the hunch, a lesson which is really useful in any Mech, late in the game when you have one side of the Mech open and need to protect it to stay in the fight)}

if you want to start in a Timber then do so, but there are some advantages to learning on some of the "lower tier" Mechs

[Kmieciu]

The only downside of the Timberwolf is that you cannot blame the mech for your failure.
If you fail in a Timberwolf, It's all on you :-)

PS. Even without elite skills, Timber is more mobile than most mastered IS heavies.

JigglyMoobs, on 29 October 2015 - 02:05 AM, said:

Don't treat it like an 89 kph assault. It can't take the abuse.

Timby is easy to hit, hard to put down - similar to the Stalker. Except with better shield arms and jumpjets that let you to shield damage with your legs. I routinely survive matches with 25-30% health and all weapons intact in a Timber. IMHO it is much tougher than a Victor, or a Battlemaster.

Edited by Kmieciu, 29 October 2015 - 03:49 AM.

[Darwins Dog]

FlipOver, on 29 October 2015 - 03:10 AM, said:

So, thinking Clan mechs are more expensive than IS is actually only true if you do not plan to change the IS mech in any way except loadout - which usually is a tremendous mistake.

About the three mechs, right off the bat you spend less buying IS mechs, but upgrading all of them will cost you something between 7.5mill up to 11 mill extra c-bills.

This is only true for the first IS mech you kit out, and not always even then. If you run a STD engine (many heavies are better this way), then you come away around 2-4 million cheaper. If you do run XL then you can share the engine between several mechs.

The overall statement is true though, IS mechs are a lot more expensive than the initial price tag. Clan mechs are much closer to optimized right out of the box.

[Modo44]

JigglyMoobs, on 29 October 2015 - 02:05 AM, said:

Don't treat it like an 89 kph assault. It can't take the abuse.

However, if you remember to use its mobility instead of facetanking, it can survive just as much.

[Kurvi]

silvercheckmate, on 29 October 2015 - 01:41 AM, said:

Here's my thought process thus far.

Timber Wolf pros:
I personally like it hahaha.

Honestly, this is all you need. Easier/harder/whatever aside, if you're not having fun it's not worth playing, and using a mech you like for whatever reason (cool look, JJ, Aidan Pryde) is a big part of that.

[Sylonce]

I bought the Timby for my first mech. It is a good ride.

You do get focused a lot though. You can be side to side with a lot of other friendly mechs, and there is a pretty high chance they will shoot you first.

[Virlutris]

JigglyMoobs, on 29 October 2015 - 01:49 AM, said:

Tbr-s is considered the best Timby because it has the minimum weight penalty for taking JJs, 1 in ct, which is sufficient for basic mobility. For all the other ones you have to take at least a tbr-s St, which has 3 JJs.

Oops, spot check: TBR-S side torsos have 2 locked JJs, IIRC.

John1352, on 29 October 2015 - 02:37 AM, said:

The Timberwolf C is a potential reward for the Halloween event. Right now, you should buy a different Timberwolf, and hope that the RNG gods smile upon you while you're doing the event.

https://mwomercs.com/tournaments

So much this, you beat me to it. You need multiple variants anyway to unlock skills past basic, so it makes a world of sense to see if you get the freebie TBR-C Champ from the trick or treat bags before spending space money on the plain TBR-C in the store.

Jiggly's right IMO, that the -S makes a good choice because of the CT-mounted JJ. After that, 3rd one's a choice between CT energy and CT ballistic. I think I can safely say that many if not most would go for a variant with CT energy.

Happy trick or treating

[JigglyMoobs]

Yep 2 jj on each side. My bad.

I have my tbr s kitted out with gman's build (meatamechs.com), tbr-ckitted out as laser vomit with 2 JJs and tbr-prime as classic gauss erppc with 4 JJs.

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

John1352, on 29 October 2015 - 02:37 AM, said:

The Timberwolf C is a potential reward for the Halloween event. Right now, you should buy a different Timberwolf, and hope that the RNG gods smile upon you while you're doing the event.

https://mwomercs.com/tournaments

This, this, with a force of 1000 suns, this!!

[Inveramsay]

The timber is a great mech but I'm not sure I'd buy one as my first for a couple of reasons like others have said.

They are expensive to buy and will cost millions to outfit with the relevant omnipods and weapons
You will get focussed a lot
Every other mech you buy from then onwards will feel underpowered or slow and quite often both
Clan mechs are more difficult to work heat and beam duration of lasers

My recommendation is still to get hunchbacks as your first mech, varied, cheap and all reasonably good. If your heart is set on a timber try playing the drops and see if you get one. If not and you are still set on getting one by all means go for it. It is a really good mech, maybe not the best starter mech though

[Luscious Dan]

Some folks have no interest in IS, and as such a Hunchy won't be that useful for them. I would definitely try to win a free TBR-C(C) through the halloween event and go from there.

I got one on my first prize reward Oh wait, I already have a TBR-C(C) that I paid for, and still need to buy a third TBR chassis to get elites...

[silvercheckmate]

John1352, on 29 October 2015 - 02:37 AM, said:

The Timberwolf C is a potential reward for the Halloween event. Right now, you should buy a different Timberwolf, and hope that the RNG gods smile upon you while you're doing the event.

https://mwomercs.com/tournaments

Wow thanks, good catch, when I first read about the event I had registered that a mech was the grand prize, back then had no idea what a TBR was.
This actually makes it a no brainer, essentially the best time to start mastering the TBR is now.

[JigglyMoobs]

Inveramsay, on 29 October 2015 - 11:35 AM, said:

The timber is a great mech but I'm not sure I'd buy one as my first for a couple of reasons like others have said.

They are expensive to buy and will cost millions to outfit with the relevant omnipods and weapons
You will get focussed a lot
Every other mech you buy from then onwards will feel underpowered or slow and quite often both
Clan mechs are more difficult to work heat and beam duration of lasers

My recommendation is still to get hunchbacks as your first mech, varied, cheap and all reasonably good. If your heart is set on a timber try playing the drops and see if you get one. If not and you are still set on getting one by all means go for it. It is a really good mech, maybe not the best starter mech though

it balances out though. with a timby you get in trouble if you are focused by a whole lance.

with a hunchie you get in trouble if you get focused by a while timby.

however if either of you stand next to a dire or atlas, you'll disappear.

actually on some teams, all of the above will disappear next to an arctic cheetah.

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 29 October 2015 - 01:03 PM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

It is all about having fun. If you think you will have fun with it, go for it.

Make no mistake, just because you have a tier negative 3 super LEET blah blah blah blah you won't automatically be a good pilot or have a good sense of tactics.

I actually think there is a lot to be learned by piloting the less fantastic mechs. Though sometimes all you learn is they are not popular for a reason.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

I usually suggest clan mechs as a good first mech for their versatility. Timber Wolf is a very good one at that.

People *may* focus you, but that happens in any mech that is alone or up front, if you stand near an assault mech they might just shoot it before you just because its bigger. At least with a Timber Wolf you have the armor and speed to get away alive, unlike in a medium or assault mech, especially a slower moving IS one.