25 replies to this topic

[Entellex]

My name is Sean and I am new here, just trying out to see if I will like it. I tried it before but didn't get far.

I love playing a defensive/supportive type class in pretty much every game I play. Something that can absorb a lot of damage or something that can provide support fire (long range missiles?) or even both.

I've been doing some research, but still not fully sure.

I like to plan ahead, so I'll be playing whatever I start off with, saving up for that particular mech.

Thanks!

Edited by Entellex, 13 December 2015 - 05:09 PM.

[Jack Shayu Walker]

Entellex, on 13 December 2015 - 05:08 PM, said:

My name is Sean and I am new here, just trying out to see if I will like it. I tried it before but didn't get far.

I love playing a defensive/supportive type class in pretty much every game I play. Something that can absorb a lot of damage or something that can provide support fire (long range missiles?) or even both.

I've been doing some research, but still not fully sure.

I like to plan ahead, so I'll be playing whatever I start off with, saving up for that particular mech.

Thanks!

Hmmm, call me crazy, but I think you may enjoy a dakka-Direwolf (a Direwolf that uses Ultra-Autocannons). It's a slow lumbering machine more akin to a battleship than a mech.

You do put down an insane amount of damage, but you also draw a LOT of aggro, and you support your team in that way. Like a support mech, you also do not function well alone, you're the mobile defensive emplacement that protects and reinforces your teams firing line.

I think you have the right mindset to be a Dakka-Wolf pilot. Be wary though, in the lower tiers, your teammates may not yet be good team players, and they may leave you for dead favoring the NASCAR approach to victory.

Edited by Jack Shayu Walker, 13 December 2015 - 05:36 PM.

[50 50]

Hi Sean, welcome to the game.

A lot of people recommend the Hunchback as a good tanky support mech.
There are lot of options that you can explore and it's a bit of an open ended question.

My recommendation would be to go through the various trial mechs to find one that you like the feel of.
As the mechs can be heavily customised, once you find a chassis that you enjoy piloting you can start buying those mechs and changing their loadout to suit the role you enjoy.

There are some pretty good LRM mechs that you can work on.
Pay attention to the quirks on the mechs as these give each chassis a bit of individuality and some will therefore be better with certain weapons and when used for certain roles.

Keep in mind that the ability to absorb damage will be greatly affected by how you are piloting the mech.
Roll the torso to spread the damage, make good use of cover and keep on the move.

[Nik Reaper]

Hm, perhaps something like this?
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c8314a0e2cade6f

It has high mounts, jumps, and has the ranged poke option while being reasonably cool, and can do an XL variation with more speed/heatsinks.

Edited by Nik Reaper, 13 December 2015 - 05:54 PM.

[Entellex]

Thanks for the fast response guys, I'll definitely look at these!

[Mazzyplz]

i think your style could be a mauler

if you want to tank and engage long range it's hard to beat a mauler

[Entellex]

Mazzyplz, on 13 December 2015 - 06:16 PM, said:

i think your style could be a mauler

if you want to tank and engage long range it's hard to beat a mauler

What is that one? I see the others, but not that.

[Nik Reaper]

Entellex, on 13 December 2015 - 06:23 PM, said:

What is that one? I see the others, but not that.

Not available for ingame currency yet, also while true, nothing as problematic as a slow assault missile boat , something mobile like a shadowhawk or griffon might be a better start.
Even a stormcrow or timber wolf missile boat with ERmed or ERLL might work, but standard engine IS medium mechs are so much more affordable in the beginning.

Edited by Nik Reaper, 13 December 2015 - 07:19 PM.

[Jack Shayu Walker]

I think Mauler and Direwolf are your best bet buddy. The other suggestions people are giving you are certainly fire-support mechs, but they aren't defensive. LRM boats are mechs that prefer to avoid damage as much as possible while supporting their team. If you want to tank damage and be a support mech, Maulers and Direwolves are your best bet.

Like someone mentioned above, Maulers aren't available without paying real money yet. A direwolf with 4+ UAC/5s sounds right up your alley though. (you can run up to 6 UAC5s, but some people prefer to mix in lasers instead.)

Edited by Jack Shayu Walker, 13 December 2015 - 07:29 PM.

[Elizander]

First of all pick something with ECM. ECM will protect you from some stuff so it's good to have.

Kitfox (wimpy little light mech)
Raven 3L (the trial one is decent I think?)
Griffin 2N (ECM + Missiles)
Hellbringer (ECM + anything you want)
Atlas D-DC (ECM + a variety of weapons)

[Spetulhu]

Elizander, on 13 December 2015 - 09:48 PM, said:

ECM will protect you from some stuff so it's good to have.

That's a very good point to think about - an ECM carrier sure is support.

But let's not forget Active Probes (clan or Beagle) for a more active (hah) support mech. I run a probe on a Wolfhound, for example. It's a small and tanky (for a light) mech, reasonably fast and quite heavily armed. It's not made to run off alone, it stays somewhere near the big guys instead to offer them support. Once that enemy heavy is locked trading blows the little WLF will walk up behind it, breaking it's ECM cover with the probe and unloading an unholy laser Alpha into it's backside.

[The Basilisk]

Entellex, on 13 December 2015 - 05:08 PM, said:

My name is Sean and I am new here, just trying out to see if I will like it. I tried it before but didn't get far.

I love playing a defensive/supportive type class in pretty much every game I play. Something that can absorb a lot of damage or something that can provide support fire (long range missiles?) or even both.

I've been doing some research, but still not fully sure.

I like to plan ahead, so I'll be playing whatever I start off with, saving up for that particular mech.

Thanks!

First thing is there is always the principle of "as many minds, as many opinions"

Pinpoint damage and concentrated fire of multiple enemys on your Battlemech make it pretty much impossible to get a mech that "can absorbe a lot of damage."

Your best defense is a lot of agility, fast thinking and constant situational/ battlefield awareness.

There is a reason why heavys are the most played class in MWO.
They are most forgiving.
Enough armor to take a serious hit or two, siluette and size are mostly below the *autohit treshold*, fast enough to get in and out and enough punch to make the difference.

Save some certain chassis mediums are pretty much the same but with drawbacks on the principals I mentioned.
Crab for example. Smal silhouette, benefical hitboxes, lots of punch and fast.
Its lack of armor is no problem due to its ability to evade damage.

To conclude this:

Wich kind of support do you mean ? Firesupport? Scouting ? EWF ? Artillery ?

Defensive. I mentioned it above.
Since there are no healers in this game there are no tanks also.
An Assault Mech has large hitboxes and is quite slow and trys to compensates this with lots of armor.
In endeffect it takes as many firepower to down an assault mech as it takes to get a fast medium.
So your defensive mech would always emphasis speed, AMS and ECM over firepower.
Everything that, on the one hand, draws aggro and on the other, evades damage.

Edit says:
Currently there is only one ECM IS heavy ( you already noticed the difference between IS and Clans right ? )
The Cataphract CTF-0XP.
It has some ups and downs and is far from a balanced mech.
Something I would not recommend for a new player.
The Idea is to stay with the pack keep moving and fire paired lasers ( 2+2 ). No going solo no staying in the line of fire !!!
Your downs are: you are big, your speed is averange, you have low hanging weapons and not lots of firepower.
Your ups are: you have ECM: you have decent armor, you have a standart reactor and your loadout is a nobrainer and running comparably cool. Stay with your guys or select one big uggly bloke and to give ecm to and support fire with your lasers. Just blaze away nothing is more unnerving then constant fire from a target that cant be targeted over a long distance. Your Lasers will have 485m range from the start thanks to quirks but you will need to fire around corners or you will get killed fast. NO FIRING OVER HILLS.
Your mech has low hanging wpns so you would have to expose to much of it.

Edited by The Basilisk, 14 December 2015 - 01:48 AM.

[Jack Shayu Walker]

The Basilisk, on 14 December 2015 - 01:19 AM, said:

First thing is there is always the principle of "as many minds, as many opinions"

Pinpoint damage and concentrated fire of multiple enemys on your Battlemech make it pretty much impossible to get a mech that "can absorbe a lot of damage."

Your best defense is a lot of agility, fast thinking and constant situational/ battlefield awareness.

There is a reason why heavys are the most played class in MWO.
They are most forgiving.
Enough armor to take a serious hit or two, siluette and size are mostly below the *autohit treshold*, fast enough to get in and out and enough punch to make the difference.

Save some certain chassis mediums are pretty much the same but with drawbacks on the principals I mentioned.
Crab for example. Smal silhouette, benefical hitboxes, lots of punch and fast.
Its lack of armor is no problem due to its ability to evade damage.

To conclude this:

Wich kind of support do you mean ? Firesupport? Scouting ? EWF ? Artillery ?

Defensive. I mentioned it above.
Since there are no healers in this game there are no tanks also.
An Assault Mech has large hitboxes and is quite slow and trys to compensates this with lots of armor.
In endeffect it takes as many firepower to down an assault mech as it takes to get a fast medium.
So your defensive mech would always emphasis speed, AMS and ECM over firepower.
Everything that, on the one hand, draws aggro and on the other, evades damage.

Edit says:
Currently there is only one ECM IS heavy ( you already noticed the difference between IS and Clans right ? )
The Cataphract CTF-0XP.
It has some ups and downs and is far from a balanced mech.
Something I would not recommend for a new player.
The Idea is to stay with the pack keep moving and fire paired lasers ( 2+2 ). No going solo no staying in the line of fire !!!
Your downs are: you are big, your speed is averange, you have low hanging weapons and not lots of firepower.
Your ups are: you have ECM: you have decent armor, you have a standart reactor and your loadout is a nobrainer and running comparably cool. Stay with your guys or select one big uggly bloke and to give ecm to and support fire with your lasers. Just blaze away nothing is more unnerving then constant fire from a target that cant be targeted over a long distance. Your Lasers will have 485m range from the start thanks to quirks but you will need to fire around corners or you will get killed fast. NO FIRING OVER HILLS.
Your mech has low hanging wpns so you would have to expose to much of it.

Ah, you're right, but a dakka whale defends itself by making attacking it worse for the attacker than itself. It's something new players will soon learn: "don't go head to head with a whale!" That gives them a sizable defensive ability, and actually makes them feel like one of the only defensive roles.

[Kyrs]

If cost is an issue try to avoid the XL engin, the standard engin is more forgiving to mistake and way more cheaper to start build a mech hangar.

Like many pointed out Heavy mech should be your first mech, then medium or assault. Just remember speed is life.

To start I would go for laser there the most easy direct support attack.

Black knight 6
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9e968650bf46f9a


Black knight 6b
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bc91a4f71418241


Black knight 7
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3f579d780fc4a1e

p.s. Place the armor value to your game play style.

There also the thunderbolt witch is currently the best heavy in the due to the insane quicks, but the nerf bat is coming.

Edited by Kyrs, 14 December 2015 - 07:06 AM.

[Johny Rocket]

http://mwomercs.com/...he-mauler-1-rr/

My Mauler 1R® thread, All the maulers are a beautiful mix of AC and Missiles with low slung arm mounted lasers for defense.
Some people do ok with a Brawler build but mid/long range fire support is where this Beast earns its name. The R is my favorite because it can spam the lrm5s, this blinds the enemy and and causes them horrible screen shake, so do the AC5s and the result has been described as nearly vomit inducing screen shake.

In the vid a few posts down, I give a good example of what its about.

I have a lot of hours in the pilot seat of stalkers and Banshees so lurms and cannons are pretty well reflexive for me, this mech is a beautiful marriage of the 2.

[Lostdragon]

If you want to tank/play defensively what you really need is a sword and board build where all the weapons are on one side of the mech. This allows you to twist your non weapon carrying side toward incoming fire to absorb it without losing critical equipment. Never use an IS XL engine for this type of build. That being said there are many good candidates on both the IS and Clan side. Anything that is 70 tons plus and has a lot hardpoints on one side can usually pull this off ok.

[Mazzyplz]

if you don't have cash to go for mauler (who does?)
then this is a very tanky and lurmy mech:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...11801180d94710b

[JigglyMoobs]

First, due to the peculiarities of this game there really is no traditional defensive role.

In the majority of maps and situations, b teams have to stay mobile to survive and win, so the only thing you can really defend is your teammates.

The above is not an opinion but a fact. If someone tells you differently, they've clearly not played long enough.

With this established we can talk about what a defense oriented mech is.

To me, a defensive mech is something that can put down a lot if suppression fire without overexposing itself to counter attack. it's able to easily maintain position near friendly mech, survive for long periods of time and lay down withering fire on enemy mechs who are trying to attack.

I think you've got a couple of choices. For some one new, I'd recommend a medium or fast heavy mech.

Given that and your predilection for missiles, I recommend the missile specialist hunchback. then, you can move on to a gauss specialist hunchback if you want to do long range sniping, and a energy hunchie if you want to try shortrange offense. once you get through all three you will have mastered your first mech class, and can decide where you want to go from there.

for actual builds, and tactics, there are good guides both on the forums, Reddit and metamechs.com.

[Entellex]

Oh boy, so many options now! If I enjoy this game, cost/real cash won't be an issue, as I like to support the games I play. I guess now that I have options, I need to do some research on each to see which has the playstyle I like.


I want to do what Joe did in his video -> https://www.youtube....iHXHR4q1LE#t=61

Raining missles

Edited by Entellex, 14 December 2015 - 02:47 PM.

[Coralld]

Entellex, on 14 December 2015 - 02:41 PM, said:

Oh boy, so many options now! If I enjoy this game, cost/real cash won't be an issue, as I like to support the games I play. I guess now that I have options, I need to do some research on each to see which has the playstyle I like.


I want to do what Joe did in his video -> https://www.youtube....iHXHR4q1LE#t=61

Raining missles

I just might use that build for one of my Maulers as well.

Look at that, your a newbie who showed me, a Vet, a build that I now want to run. Sure you didn't come up with the build, but I would not have known about it If it wasn't for you.

Edited by Coralld, 14 December 2015 - 03:35 PM.