Edited by IraqiWalker, 01 January 2016 - 06:53 PM.
1
New Player: First 25 Battles, First Mechs
Started by GotShotALot, Dec 14 2015 10:49 AM
New Player Feedback
68 replies to this topic
#41
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- FP Veteran - Beta 1
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- LocationCalifornia
Posted 01 January 2016 - 06:48 PM
Unless you found something you really like. I would recommend the HBK-4SP as your first mech. It's nimble, small, fast, versatile, well hitboxed, and will help you very well. Especially when you add other Hunchback variants.
#42
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- Knight Errant
- 31 posts
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Posted 01 January 2016 - 07:27 PM
really enjoy reading your reports... now if only i did half as well as a new player as you did...
#43
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- 125 posts
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Posted 03 January 2016 - 07:08 AM
For battles 22-24 I changed my original choice (Jenner) and instead went with the pesky Clan Artic Cheetah. I liked the ECM on the Raven, plus I've not really tried enough clan mechs in this trial run, plus, it is short-range assassin style mech which is pretty much the opposite of everything I've played so far.
Along with the clan ECM, the trial Cheetah has 6 clan ER-Small Lasers, optimal range 200m, and the clan Targeting Computer Mark I, which probably does stuff. So let's toss a citrus-freshener in the cockpit and roar with the Cheetah!
Battle 22 - Forest Colony, Skirmish
14 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 66 map load, 38 sec Drop Prep screen. 10:46 battle time. 12-5.
Cadet Bonus 22: 275k C-bills, +116K match, 1,370 XP.
Impressions:
Battle 23 - Tourmaline Desert, Skirmish
38 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 29 second map load, 30 Drop Prep screen. 7:05 battle. 12-4 win.
Cadet Bonus 23: 250k C-bills, +147k match, 1,890 XP.
Battle 24 - Frozen City, Assault
7 seconds matchmaking, 20 vote, 33 map load, 22 seconds Drop Prep screen. 6:53 battle time, 12-5 win.
Cadet Bonus 24: 225k C-bills, +212k match, 2,670 XP.
3 matches, another 3 wins for the lights! Cheetah was very nice, maneuverable, good weapon setup - 2 lasers on each arm and 2 on high torso mounts. I generally lost both arms or an arm and a torso by match end, but still had weapons left (not always the case with other mechs). The high torso mounted lasers were occasionally nice for shooting over objects in my way, but the short range limited the usefulness of this.
Given my poor showing in the assaults, one of my goals for lights had simply been 'to survive'; or more accurately, 'to avoid situations where I get blown away without accomplishing anything'. The speed, size, ECM, and JumpJets all helped with this, although in general I was sacrificing potential damage for safety.
Obviously, when you are only 1 of 24 mechs on the field, it's the overall team balance that decides the 'win' or 'loss'. I paid more attention to 'did it feel like I was using the mechs properly?'. The lights felt pretty good overall, even if not exactly 'game critical'. Fun to run and gun, though.
Totals: 21,151,424 C-Bills, 9,323 GXP.
Wow, look at that GIANT PILE OF C-Bills! We'll be able to buy anything! ANYTHING! Well except for modules of course, because apparently they cost the same as a largish asteroid base. Or mech bays, because you can't buy those with C-Bills. Or a Death Star, because wrong IP. But we'll be able to buy something, that's for sure!
I wonder what it will be...
Along with the clan ECM, the trial Cheetah has 6 clan ER-Small Lasers, optimal range 200m, and the clan Targeting Computer Mark I, which probably does stuff. So let's toss a citrus-freshener in the cockpit and roar with the Cheetah!
Battle 22 - Forest Colony, Skirmish
14 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 66 map load, 38 sec Drop Prep screen. 10:46 battle time. 12-5.
Cadet Bonus 22: 275k C-bills, +116K match, 1,370 XP.
Impressions:
Spoiler
Battle 23 - Tourmaline Desert, Skirmish
38 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 29 second map load, 30 Drop Prep screen. 7:05 battle. 12-4 win.
Cadet Bonus 23: 250k C-bills, +147k match, 1,890 XP.
Spoiler
Battle 24 - Frozen City, Assault
7 seconds matchmaking, 20 vote, 33 map load, 22 seconds Drop Prep screen. 6:53 battle time, 12-5 win.
Cadet Bonus 24: 225k C-bills, +212k match, 2,670 XP.
Spoiler
3 matches, another 3 wins for the lights! Cheetah was very nice, maneuverable, good weapon setup - 2 lasers on each arm and 2 on high torso mounts. I generally lost both arms or an arm and a torso by match end, but still had weapons left (not always the case with other mechs). The high torso mounted lasers were occasionally nice for shooting over objects in my way, but the short range limited the usefulness of this.
Given my poor showing in the assaults, one of my goals for lights had simply been 'to survive'; or more accurately, 'to avoid situations where I get blown away without accomplishing anything'. The speed, size, ECM, and JumpJets all helped with this, although in general I was sacrificing potential damage for safety.
Obviously, when you are only 1 of 24 mechs on the field, it's the overall team balance that decides the 'win' or 'loss'. I paid more attention to 'did it feel like I was using the mechs properly?'. The lights felt pretty good overall, even if not exactly 'game critical'. Fun to run and gun, though.
Totals: 21,151,424 C-Bills, 9,323 GXP.
Wow, look at that GIANT PILE OF C-Bills! We'll be able to buy anything! ANYTHING! Well except for modules of course, because apparently they cost the same as a largish asteroid base. Or mech bays, because you can't buy those with C-Bills. Or a Death Star, because wrong IP. But we'll be able to buy something, that's for sure!
I wonder what it will be...
Edited by GotShotALot, 03 January 2016 - 07:12 AM.
#44
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- Overlord
- 4,908 posts
Member
- LocationSuffolk, England
Posted 03 January 2016 - 08:13 AM
GotShotALot, on 03 January 2016 - 07:08 AM, said:
-Light levels start out sorta normal, bit dim, then shift to quite dark. Night vision powers, activate!
-Both teams running around in the dark,
-Both teams running around in the dark,
PGI are in the process of updating the maps,
the update included breakable trees and other small (in comparison to the Mech anyway) objects, and 4 "time zones" each compressing 6 hours into the 15 minutes, so you get evening including sunset, early morning including sunrise, morning and afternoon.
The maps which have got those updates are Forrest Colony, River City and Caustic Vally.
as for the whiteout that always happens on Frozen City (but not Frozen City Night)
#45
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- 125 posts
Member
Posted 07 January 2016 - 09:39 AM
Okay, let's go 'Mech shopping! At first I thought, hey 21 millions smackers, I can get anything! Well, did a little googling on first mech purchases, and here is what I found:
-You're not buying your 'first' mech, really, since you need to elite the chassis to get full performance out of it. That means we need 3 different variants - so our 'first' mech just became 'our first THREE mechs', and 21 million doesn't look like such a big pile anymore.
-'Mechs are purchased with 'stock' builds, and any MechWarrior worth his salt is gonna modify his chassis (AKA 'pimp my ride'). In most cases, that will mean at least Double Heat Sinks (1.5 mill C-bills) and probably Endo-Steel (varies, call it half a mill) and likely a few weapon swaps/changes - call it another half mill. So Mech base price, PLUS 2.5 mill per mech, for 3 mechs.
Our 21 million C-bills has just been whittled down from "I'm rich!" to "Better shop for a deal on something cheap". No Timberwolves or Atlases for this eager young warrior - which is OK, because I sucked in those anyway.
So it's probably gotta be a light or a medium. What do my first 24 battles tell me it should have?
-Maneuverability is very important to my battle effectiveness. Decent speed and if possible, JumpJets.
-Really liked having ECM but it wasn't 'required' to do well
-I prefer a decent amount of armor so a lucky hit or two doesn't stop me.
-Want at least one weapon system to have good range, and I strongly prefer to have them spread around on my chassis so I don't lose all/most of my weaponry when one section goes.
-High weapon mounts are nice too.
Arctic Cheetah and Ravens are tempting here, fit a number of requirements, fairly cheap. What they DON'T fit is the future need to do higher damages and score kills to earn the C-Bills needed to get my next set of mechs (at this stage, for me).
Hunchbacks? Fairly common recommendation, but so much of the firepower is in that oh-so-obvious hunch. Shadowhawks? Also tempting, but forces me towards ballistics and missiles more than I would like (lasers were my best weapons so far).
Time to poke around a bit more in the MechLab, see what turns up!
-You're not buying your 'first' mech, really, since you need to elite the chassis to get full performance out of it. That means we need 3 different variants - so our 'first' mech just became 'our first THREE mechs', and 21 million doesn't look like such a big pile anymore.
-'Mechs are purchased with 'stock' builds, and any MechWarrior worth his salt is gonna modify his chassis (AKA 'pimp my ride'). In most cases, that will mean at least Double Heat Sinks (1.5 mill C-bills) and probably Endo-Steel (varies, call it half a mill) and likely a few weapon swaps/changes - call it another half mill. So Mech base price, PLUS 2.5 mill per mech, for 3 mechs.
Our 21 million C-bills has just been whittled down from "I'm rich!" to "Better shop for a deal on something cheap". No Timberwolves or Atlases for this eager young warrior - which is OK, because I sucked in those anyway.
So it's probably gotta be a light or a medium. What do my first 24 battles tell me it should have?
-Maneuverability is very important to my battle effectiveness. Decent speed and if possible, JumpJets.
-Really liked having ECM but it wasn't 'required' to do well
-I prefer a decent amount of armor so a lucky hit or two doesn't stop me.
-Want at least one weapon system to have good range, and I strongly prefer to have them spread around on my chassis so I don't lose all/most of my weaponry when one section goes.
-High weapon mounts are nice too.
Arctic Cheetah and Ravens are tempting here, fit a number of requirements, fairly cheap. What they DON'T fit is the future need to do higher damages and score kills to earn the C-Bills needed to get my next set of mechs (at this stage, for me).
Hunchbacks? Fairly common recommendation, but so much of the firepower is in that oh-so-obvious hunch. Shadowhawks? Also tempting, but forces me towards ballistics and missiles more than I would like (lasers were my best weapons so far).
Time to poke around a bit more in the MechLab, see what turns up!
Edited by GotShotALot, 07 January 2016 - 09:40 AM.
#46
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- Bridesmaid
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- LocationCharlotte, NC, USA
Posted 07 January 2016 - 09:48 AM
One suggestion to consider as well... IF you have your heart set on one of the more expensive chassis... go ahead and pop for the big ride. You'll grind out more cbills as you basic that one... if you spend wisely you might cover the cost of the second by the time you fully basic the first ride. If so, rinse and repeat.
Nothing wrong with buying smaller first to get all three chassis at the same time, just giving some option if there is a more preferred but expensive ride you'd rather pilot.
Nothing wrong with buying smaller first to get all three chassis at the same time, just giving some option if there is a more preferred but expensive ride you'd rather pilot.
#47
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- Overlord
- 4,908 posts
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- LocationSuffolk, England
Posted 07 January 2016 - 09:58 AM
GotShotALot, on 07 January 2016 - 09:39 AM, said:
Hunchbacks? Fairly common recommendation, but so much of the firepower is in that oh-so-obvious hunch. Shadowhawks? Also tempting, but forces me towards ballistics and missiles more than I would like (lasers were my best weapons so far).
a big part of the reason I recommend Hunchbacks is that after you have learned how to protect that hunch you know how to make any other Mech survive a LOT of damage, a pilot who learned on the HBK tends to be much more effective at soaking up damage compared to someone who trained on one of the "more durable" Mechs, and when he/she does move onto something with hitboxes optimized for spreading damage he/she will frustrate the enemy by making that Mech seem twice as durable as it does in the hands of other players
#48
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- FP Veteran - Beta 1
- 9,682 posts
Member
- LocationCalifornia
Posted 07 January 2016 - 10:32 PM
I am personally biased towards HBKs myself.
My recommendation is going 4SP first. After that it's up to your taste.
My recommendation is going 4SP first. After that it's up to your taste.
#49
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- Ace Of Spades
- 2,693 posts
Member
- LocationOutworlds Alliance
Posted 08 January 2016 - 11:16 AM
May I suggest looking into the blackjack. For a medium mech, with high energy hardpoints that are spread out, I cannot think of a better starter. And then there's the structure buffs. Kinda on the fence about those for a new pilot, might make you feel more invulnerable than you should starting out, but if your okay with that...
If you wanna see what I mean about the hardpoints, mosey on over here and scroll down to the blackjack. See those arms? Yeah, cockpit high. The torso locations are a bit more scattered if I recall, but you'll notice the hitboxes set up fairly well for spreading damage. Anyways, it'd be all lasers or ballistics, so if your okay with that, think about it.
~Leone.
If you wanna see what I mean about the hardpoints, mosey on over here and scroll down to the blackjack. See those arms? Yeah, cockpit high. The torso locations are a bit more scattered if I recall, but you'll notice the hitboxes set up fairly well for spreading damage. Anyways, it'd be all lasers or ballistics, so if your okay with that, think about it.
~Leone.
Edited by Leone, 08 January 2016 - 11:17 AM.
#50
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- Survivor
- 1,688 posts
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- LocationDeath to Aladeen Cafe
Posted 08 January 2016 - 12:19 PM
GotShotALot, on 07 January 2016 - 09:39 AM, said:
Okay, let's go 'Mech shopping! At first I thought, hey 21 millions smackers, I can get anything! Well, did a little googling on first mech purchases, and here is what I found:
-You're not buying your 'first' mech, really, since you need to elite the chassis to get full performance out of it. That means we need 3 different variants - so our 'first' mech just became 'our first THREE mechs', and 21 million doesn't look like such a big pile anymore.
-'Mechs are purchased with 'stock' builds, and any MechWarrior worth his salt is gonna modify his chassis (AKA 'pimp my ride'). In most cases, that will mean at least Double Heat Sinks (1.5 mill C-bills) and probably Endo-Steel (varies, call it half a mill) and likely a few weapon swaps/changes - call it another half mill. So Mech base price, PLUS 2.5 mill per mech, for 3 mechs.
Our 21 million C-bills has just been whittled down from "I'm rich!" to "Better shop for a deal on something cheap". No Timberwolves or Atlases for this eager young warrior - which is OK, because I sucked in those anyway.
So it's probably gotta be a light or a medium. What do my first 24 battles tell me it should have?
-Maneuverability is very important to my battle effectiveness. Decent speed and if possible, JumpJets.
-Really liked having ECM but it wasn't 'required' to do well
-I prefer a decent amount of armor so a lucky hit or two doesn't stop me.
-Want at least one weapon system to have good range, and I strongly prefer to have them spread around on my chassis so I don't lose all/most of my weaponry when one section goes.
-High weapon mounts are nice too.
Arctic Cheetah and Ravens are tempting here, fit a number of requirements, fairly cheap. What they DON'T fit is the future need to do higher damages and score kills to earn the C-Bills needed to get my next set of mechs (at this stage, for me).
Hunchbacks? Fairly common recommendation, but so much of the firepower is in that oh-so-obvious hunch. Shadowhawks? Also tempting, but forces me towards ballistics and missiles more than I would like (lasers were my best weapons so far).
Time to poke around a bit more in the MechLab, see what turns up!
-You're not buying your 'first' mech, really, since you need to elite the chassis to get full performance out of it. That means we need 3 different variants - so our 'first' mech just became 'our first THREE mechs', and 21 million doesn't look like such a big pile anymore.
-'Mechs are purchased with 'stock' builds, and any MechWarrior worth his salt is gonna modify his chassis (AKA 'pimp my ride'). In most cases, that will mean at least Double Heat Sinks (1.5 mill C-bills) and probably Endo-Steel (varies, call it half a mill) and likely a few weapon swaps/changes - call it another half mill. So Mech base price, PLUS 2.5 mill per mech, for 3 mechs.
Our 21 million C-bills has just been whittled down from "I'm rich!" to "Better shop for a deal on something cheap". No Timberwolves or Atlases for this eager young warrior - which is OK, because I sucked in those anyway.
So it's probably gotta be a light or a medium. What do my first 24 battles tell me it should have?
-Maneuverability is very important to my battle effectiveness. Decent speed and if possible, JumpJets.
-Really liked having ECM but it wasn't 'required' to do well
-I prefer a decent amount of armor so a lucky hit or two doesn't stop me.
-Want at least one weapon system to have good range, and I strongly prefer to have them spread around on my chassis so I don't lose all/most of my weaponry when one section goes.
-High weapon mounts are nice too.
Arctic Cheetah and Ravens are tempting here, fit a number of requirements, fairly cheap. What they DON'T fit is the future need to do higher damages and score kills to earn the C-Bills needed to get my next set of mechs (at this stage, for me).
Hunchbacks? Fairly common recommendation, but so much of the firepower is in that oh-so-obvious hunch. Shadowhawks? Also tempting, but forces me towards ballistics and missiles more than I would like (lasers were my best weapons so far).
Time to poke around a bit more in the MechLab, see what turns up!
I humbly recommend the Shadow Cat.
Fast, if not blindingly so.
ECM-capable, but that can be ditched for other weapons.
Good spread of weapon mounts, including HIGH E mount in the RT, and can roll with a pair of ERLL pretty easily.
Six JJs for the pop-up stuff.
Clan omnimech, so no worries about upgrading heat sinks and structure and armor. Omnipods are relatively cheap for these, too.
Not a GREAT mech, but good for the kinds of stuff you were doing with that Cheeter on Frozen City, with more survivability.
#51
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- 125 posts
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Posted 11 January 2016 - 08:41 AM
Hunchies, Hawks, Cats, and Jacks, oh my! All good suggestions, and looked at them all. However a comment by Leone earlier had me looking at a less-discussed Battlemech. Given the opportunity, I will generally choose 'the path less traveled by'. So the mystery 'mech turns out to be...
the crafty CRAB!
It wouldn't normally have shown up on my radar, given the small amount of discussion I have seen for it. Yet the more I checked various builds in Smurfy Mechlab, the more I liked it.
Checking through the 'mech list, there is really no mech that has 'everything' (speed, JJ, ECM, good weapons placement, decent armor). So it comes down to, 'which of these is most important for the next mech set to try?'.
Crab is all-energy, no ECM, and JJ on only one model. Good weapon distribution, arms, torso, and can even zombie with a standard engine. Nice speed, and given the shape, the weapon mounts are decent, not high but not too low either. I also don't mind the all-energy because lasers have been my best weapons so far, and while I am learning the maps I want the easiest weapons for me to use.
Good quirks for the energy, and because energy weapons are slot-efficient, I have room to cram in Endo, FF, a decent standard engine, and a fair number of Dual Heat sinks.
And BONUS: the Crab comes with a satellite dish on top for pulling in all the local Tri-V stations! Handy on those long garrison assignments...
So our first 'mech purchase will be the Crab 27B, built as follows:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cda912cdec98dc3
This hot little monster runs 4.24 million CB stock, plus a little over 2.85 million for my custom mods, total price:
7,097,400 C-Bills.
I did some theory building in http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab and price checking in the MWO Store (although Smurfy gives some pricing info also) and figured out that, with the money I earn while doing the Basic skills on the first 2 Crabs (as Morggo suggested), I will be able to afford the 3rd Crab when I get there.
Coming up next, the final Cadet Battle #25 in our shiny new Crab, followed by everyone's favourite topic... STATISTICS!
the crafty CRAB!
It wouldn't normally have shown up on my radar, given the small amount of discussion I have seen for it. Yet the more I checked various builds in Smurfy Mechlab, the more I liked it.
Checking through the 'mech list, there is really no mech that has 'everything' (speed, JJ, ECM, good weapons placement, decent armor). So it comes down to, 'which of these is most important for the next mech set to try?'.
Crab is all-energy, no ECM, and JJ on only one model. Good weapon distribution, arms, torso, and can even zombie with a standard engine. Nice speed, and given the shape, the weapon mounts are decent, not high but not too low either. I also don't mind the all-energy because lasers have been my best weapons so far, and while I am learning the maps I want the easiest weapons for me to use.
Good quirks for the energy, and because energy weapons are slot-efficient, I have room to cram in Endo, FF, a decent standard engine, and a fair number of Dual Heat sinks.
And BONUS: the Crab comes with a satellite dish on top for pulling in all the local Tri-V stations! Handy on those long garrison assignments...
So our first 'mech purchase will be the Crab 27B, built as follows:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cda912cdec98dc3
This hot little monster runs 4.24 million CB stock, plus a little over 2.85 million for my custom mods, total price:
7,097,400 C-Bills.
I did some theory building in http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab and price checking in the MWO Store (although Smurfy gives some pricing info also) and figured out that, with the money I earn while doing the Basic skills on the first 2 Crabs (as Morggo suggested), I will be able to afford the 3rd Crab when I get there.
Coming up next, the final Cadet Battle #25 in our shiny new Crab, followed by everyone's favourite topic... STATISTICS!
#52
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- Ace Of Spades
- 23 posts
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- LocationIdaho
Posted 11 January 2016 - 09:15 PM
I just started on my cadet play here. I suck sooooo bad. The last couple nights with heavies have just sucked so hard, but enjoyed reading your extremely thorough and well thought out approach. Can't say i was as detailed or purposed on my 25 engagements. But OMFG I'm loving the Arctic cheetah! Had 5 games tonight that I just completely enjoyed myself. Had 2 kills and over 400 damage, on two of them which is a record for me, even with assault or heavy, and this was a LIGHT. What a blast. Finally getting the hang of the controls. Can't stand the Raven without JJs now...
This was the most fun I've had in a mech game since MW2...thx for making me try the AC!
Jhondra
This was the most fun I've had in a mech game since MW2...thx for making me try the AC!
Jhondra
#53
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- 125 posts
Member
Posted 13 January 2016 - 08:23 AM
Hey Jhondra, good to hear! I also really enjoyed the Arctic Cheetah, and yes those JJs really are a game-changer, especially on a small fast mech. The Cheetah was pretty high on my list of 'what next?' mechs, I was just worried about being able to do real damage in it without getting nuked.
I was probably playing my lights too cautiously after having gotten stomped in Assaults. Sounds like you are going a little more 'balls to the wall' with it and doing well, so good on you!
Apologies for the slow updates on this, January's been pretty busy. Just a couple more posts to go for this thread, should be done by this weekend.
PS: regarding 'just started & sucking' - MWO isn't a game most people can just jump into and do well right away. I've played every BattleMech game I could get, and just finished two full campaigns of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries (Davion and Rogue endings) before starting MWO, so my numbers/results wouldn't be typical I think. If you are doing 2 kill/400 damage matches in a new Cheetah, I'm pretty sure that counts as 'not sucking'.
I was probably playing my lights too cautiously after having gotten stomped in Assaults. Sounds like you are going a little more 'balls to the wall' with it and doing well, so good on you!
Apologies for the slow updates on this, January's been pretty busy. Just a couple more posts to go for this thread, should be done by this weekend.
PS: regarding 'just started & sucking' - MWO isn't a game most people can just jump into and do well right away. I've played every BattleMech game I could get, and just finished two full campaigns of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries (Davion and Rogue endings) before starting MWO, so my numbers/results wouldn't be typical I think. If you are doing 2 kill/400 damage matches in a new Cheetah, I'm pretty sure that counts as 'not sucking'.
#54
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- Bridesmaid
- 356 posts
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- LocationThe Dropship Texas, FRR
Posted 13 January 2016 - 01:45 PM
Cheetah is arguably the best light mech in that as a clan omni you can configure every single chassis to pack ECM. 5 small pulse lasers means serious damage and with the modules for them plus a targeting comp 1 the range is very much extended and the rate of fire increase couples well with critical chance increase. Get behind anything for more than a few seconds and it dies. My best games kill wise are in cheetahs. Can rack up 5 6 kills a match and never do more than 300 400 damage just by blowing rear torsos out of mechs that can't keep up with your agility and speed. Also very deadly in groups, 2 cheetahs aND any other 2 fast lights or mediums can make some flanking manuvers that will baffle the entire enemy team and scatter them for easy pickings for your bigs.
#55
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- Bridesmaid
- 670 posts
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- LocationCharlotte, NC, USA
Posted 13 January 2016 - 02:45 PM
I have not driven a Cheetah (IS only for me, thank you. Personal preference ) However, I have faced them wayyyy to often for my liking. Lately I have taken to "Kitty Hunts" on Friday nights and give priority targeting to them, just, well.. because. What I found was many pilots overly rely on the Cheetah's capabilities and a good many pilots tend to freak out and make deadly mistakes when YOU start chasing THEM down. I'm going to start tracking my 'anti cheetah' stats out of curiosity as I've managed quite a few kills in PUGs on them.
Moral of he story..they are wicked powerful mechs, but don't over rely on their capabilities to protect you...
That aside, I just wanted to again complement GotShotAlot for this great step by step journey into MWO. It has been a great read and provides a solid insight into the early days of a new pilot.
cheers!
) However, I have faced them wayyyy to often for my liking. Lately I have taken to "Kitty Hunts" on Friday nights and give priority targeting to them, just, well.. because. What I found was many pilots overly rely on the Cheetah's capabilities and a good many pilots tend to freak out and make deadly mistakes when YOU start chasing THEM down. I'm going to start tracking my 'anti cheetah' stats out of curiosity as I've managed quite a few kills in PUGs on them. Moral of he story..they are wicked powerful mechs, but don't over rely on their capabilities to protect you...
That aside, I just wanted to again complement GotShotAlot for this great step by step journey into MWO. It has been a great read and provides a solid insight into the early days of a new pilot.
cheers!
#56
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- 125 posts
Member
Posted 16 January 2016 - 11:45 AM
For our final cadet battle we're rockin' the snazzy new Crab 27B, 3 ER Large Lasers and 3 Medium Lasers for close-in work. This mech is gonna run a little hotter than I'd like, so it's probably going to be sniping work with the ERLLs followed by MLas defense if things get close.
With a speed of 87.5 KPH, it is barely acceptable for maneuverability. I would like to crank up the engine at some point but will wait and see if Speed Tweak (pilot skill) makes it workable as is.
The lasers are spread out nicely, an ERLL/Mlas combo in each arm as well as in the Head/Center Torso, giving me fighting power right to the bitter end (zombie mode). Using the standard engine also means I can zombie, as I can lose both arms and side torsos and still be in the fight.
Battle 25 - Frozen City Night, Assault
8 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 40 map load, 18 sec Drop Prep screen. 6:18 battle time. 12-7 win.
Cadet Bonus 25: 200k C-bills, +213K match, 2,460 XP.
Impressions:
I was pleased with the Crab 27B for this fight - need to see how it does on a hotter map though. I may need to replace 2 of the ERLLs with regular Large Lasers if it's way too hot. It was definitely a bit slower than I would like to run at, hopefully Speed Tweak will help with that.
Final Totals after all 25 Cadet battles (minus 7.1 million spent on the Crab):
14,464,089 C-Bills, 9,443 GXP.
(Keep in mind that various events/awards occurred during this cadet run, I think I had 5 days of premium all told so a bit less than half of these battles were run with 50% premium bonuses.)
Overall impressions of the whole process coming up next time!
With a speed of 87.5 KPH, it is barely acceptable for maneuverability. I would like to crank up the engine at some point but will wait and see if Speed Tweak (pilot skill) makes it workable as is.
The lasers are spread out nicely, an ERLL/Mlas combo in each arm as well as in the Head/Center Torso, giving me fighting power right to the bitter end (zombie mode). Using the standard engine also means I can zombie, as I can lose both arms and side torsos and still be in the fight.
Battle 25 - Frozen City Night, Assault
8 seconds matchmaking, 20 voting, 40 map load, 18 sec Drop Prep screen. 6:18 battle time. 12-7 win.
Cadet Bonus 25: 200k C-bills, +213K match, 2,460 XP.
Impressions:
Spoiler
I was pleased with the Crab 27B for this fight - need to see how it does on a hotter map though. I may need to replace 2 of the ERLLs with regular Large Lasers if it's way too hot. It was definitely a bit slower than I would like to run at, hopefully Speed Tweak will help with that.
Final Totals after all 25 Cadet battles (minus 7.1 million spent on the Crab):
14,464,089 C-Bills, 9,443 GXP.
(Keep in mind that various events/awards occurred during this cadet run, I think I had 5 days of premium all told so a bit less than half of these battles were run with 50% premium bonuses.)
Overall impressions of the whole process coming up next time!
Edited by GotShotALot, 16 January 2016 - 11:46 AM.
#57
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- Bridesmaid
- 356 posts
Member
- LocationThe Dropship Texas, FRR
Posted 16 January 2016 - 10:31 PM
I think the crab might be my next 3 mechs, so really looking forward to your mini-analysis of them. I need to elite my marauders and war hammers first but the crabs aesthetics just appeal to me.
Speed tweak won't help much, but an XL engine will cause a loss of zombie mode, and going up an engine size will cost some weapons or heat sinks, so you are probably better off with what you have already.
Good luck and looking forward to the rest of the games
Speed tweak won't help much, but an XL engine will cause a loss of zombie mode, and going up an engine size will cost some weapons or heat sinks, so you are probably better off with what you have already.
Good luck and looking forward to the rest of the games
#58
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- 125 posts
Member
Posted 22 January 2016 - 08:18 AM
Welp, we got some good news, and some bad news.
The good news is, we got CRABS!
The bad news is, due to the need to grind out C-Bills and Exp rapidly while Premium time is active, no more play-by-play battle reports.
(Certain people may choose to reverse the good/bad nature of these news items.)
While my first battle in the Crab 27B (3 ERLL, 3 ML) went quite well overall, the fact that I was shutting down from overheat on an ICE PLANET should have been my clue that perhaps it was running a bit too hot. My 2nd battle on Terra Therma was plenty evidence of this. So a rapid re-design took place, followed shortly by acquiring my next 2 Crabs, the CRB-20 and the jumpjetting CRB-27SL.
The eventual Crab line-up looked like this (I am aware these are not optimal or even overly good builds, just what I went with at the time):
CRB-27B 7,097,400 CB, 5xML(Arms, Head), LPL(CT), STD275, Speed 95.7, DHS/Endo/Ferro
CRB-20 6,528,877 CB, 3xMPL(CT,Head), 2xLL(Arms), STD250, Speed 87, DHS/Endo/Ferro
CRB-27SL 7,144,233 CB, 3xML(CT,Head), 2xLPL(Arms, XL250, Speed 87, 4xJJ, DHS/Ferro (Endo is better but I was out of CB)
Maxed armor, mostly front-shifted, with a few points taken off to round up the tonnage (usually about 4 points of the head and a few off each leg, everything else max armor).
I went to work on eliting these 3, while also grinding up C-Bills for whatever triplet of mechs I may end up getting next.
To Elite the Crabs took the following battle totals:
Mech....Matches Wins Kills Deaths Damage Avg.Dmg Battle Time
CRB-27B....26........15.....27......14.........9,411........362.......3hr.15min
CRB-20......23........14.....28.......14........8,456........368........2hr.52min
CRB-27SL..24........14.....32......14.........9,443........393.......2hr.43min
Keep in mind that all these Crab battles, and almost half of my Cadet battles, were done in Premium time (50% bonus C-Bills and Exp). If you are starting out and don't happen to luck into some premium giveaways/events, it will take somewhat longer.
(More Crabby thoughts coming up after the break!)
The good news is, we got CRABS!
The bad news is, due to the need to grind out C-Bills and Exp rapidly while Premium time is active, no more play-by-play battle reports.
(Certain people may choose to reverse the good/bad nature of these news items.)While my first battle in the Crab 27B (3 ERLL, 3 ML) went quite well overall, the fact that I was shutting down from overheat on an ICE PLANET should have been my clue that perhaps it was running a bit too hot. My 2nd battle on Terra Therma was plenty evidence of this. So a rapid re-design took place, followed shortly by acquiring my next 2 Crabs, the CRB-20 and the jumpjetting CRB-27SL.
The eventual Crab line-up looked like this (I am aware these are not optimal or even overly good builds, just what I went with at the time):
CRB-27B 7,097,400 CB, 5xML(Arms, Head), LPL(CT), STD275, Speed 95.7, DHS/Endo/Ferro
CRB-20 6,528,877 CB, 3xMPL(CT,Head), 2xLL(Arms), STD250, Speed 87, DHS/Endo/Ferro
CRB-27SL 7,144,233 CB, 3xML(CT,Head), 2xLPL(Arms, XL250, Speed 87, 4xJJ, DHS/Ferro (Endo is better but I was out of CB)
Maxed armor, mostly front-shifted, with a few points taken off to round up the tonnage (usually about 4 points of the head and a few off each leg, everything else max armor).
I went to work on eliting these 3, while also grinding up C-Bills for whatever triplet of mechs I may end up getting next.
To Elite the Crabs took the following battle totals:
Mech....Matches Wins Kills Deaths Damage Avg.Dmg Battle Time
CRB-27B....26........15.....27......14.........9,411........362.......3hr.15min
CRB-20......23........14.....28.......14........8,456........368........2hr.52min
CRB-27SL..24........14.....32......14.........9,443........393.......2hr.43min
Keep in mind that all these Crab battles, and almost half of my Cadet battles, were done in Premium time (50% bonus C-Bills and Exp). If you are starting out and don't happen to luck into some premium giveaways/events, it will take somewhat longer.
(More Crabby thoughts coming up after the break!)
Edited by GotShotALot, 22 January 2016 - 08:20 AM.
#59
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- 1,271 posts
Member
- LocationOntario, Canada
Posted 22 January 2016 - 01:52 PM
Good work in the Crabs. I haven't tried them but hear they are a good mech.
On the other hand (just playing devil's advocate), your earlier games in the trial Enforcer and StormCrow averaged 1.7 kills and 438 damage per match - better than you did in any of the Crabs.
On the other hand (just playing devil's advocate), your earlier games in the trial Enforcer and StormCrow averaged 1.7 kills and 438 damage per match - better than you did in any of the Crabs.
#60
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- 125 posts
Member
Posted 22 January 2016 - 02:59 PM
Ah! Hmm. Well. Good point, I guess.
Nonetheless, I feel the Crab was a good mech for me. I actually didn't do any stats for the early mechs because I felt; 3 battles is too small a sample, highly luck-based, plus tier 5 so easiest matches.
Also, the trial Enforcer with its' AC/10 and 5ML, DHS, Endo, and XL engine, is by no means a poor design. Nor is the trial StormCrow, being Clan, DHS, Endo, AND Ferro, plus Clan XL engine, plus 5 Clan-MPL and a TComp I. In fact those designs may well be better than my own. So, on with the Crab!
Overall Impressions of the Crab:
As you can see, the 'variety' of the Crab variants is sort of a 'six of one, half-dozen of the other' mix. That was OK for me because I wanted to 'master' a certain play/weapon style as opposed to trying to learn 3 quite different setups at the same time.
The 10% extra speed from the 27Bs larger engine was noticeable, and the extra maneuverability from the 27SL's jumpjets was quite effective. The match/kills/deaths/damage was fairly consistent across the chassis. I believe the better performance I had in the 27SL (kills, damage) was due to a combination of being more experienced in the Crab by the time I got it (it was last), plus the JumpJet maneuvering giving me more battle positioning options, plus the extra punch of those 2 Large Pulse Lasers in the arms. A fraction of extra performance from each of those added up to a noticeable battle edge.
The Crab chassis was quite tanky overall: I died in just over 1/2 my battles, I often lost a torso and an arm or two but could fight right to the end. Damage spread pretty decently across arms/ST/CT and I rarely lost a leg.
Note: none of these chassis were 'elited' until AFTER their final match. I purchased upgrades as I could after each match; Cool Run > Heat Contain > Decel > Accel > Turn Radius > Torso Twist > Twist Speed > Arm Reflex.
Earnings
Buying the 3 Crabs drained my C-Bill account completely - by the time I bought the 27SL I couldn't even afford to switch out the Ferro-Fibrous armor for Endo-steel. On the other hand, my initial stack of C-Bills did buy me 3 very capable, expensively refit mechs so that's a pretty fair deal.
After the above matches, my account was at 14.75million C-Bills, with 16,877 GXP, and premium time had (at that point) run out.
This brings up the issue of being told multiple times that I really ought to have Radar Deprivation on my mechs. (A LOT of my overall damage taken was from LRMs on certain maps.)
A single Radar Deprivation module costs 6 million C-bills, and 15,000 GXP. That is almost as much as a fully-outfitted IS Medium Mech, and takes virtually all of my GXP, in one shot. For ONE module. Frankly that's insane.
Nonetheless, I feel the Crab was a good mech for me. I actually didn't do any stats for the early mechs because I felt; 3 battles is too small a sample, highly luck-based, plus tier 5 so easiest matches.
Also, the trial Enforcer with its' AC/10 and 5ML, DHS, Endo, and XL engine, is by no means a poor design. Nor is the trial StormCrow, being Clan, DHS, Endo, AND Ferro, plus Clan XL engine, plus 5 Clan-MPL and a TComp I. In fact those designs may well be better than my own. So, on with the Crab!
Overall Impressions of the Crab:
As you can see, the 'variety' of the Crab variants is sort of a 'six of one, half-dozen of the other' mix. That was OK for me because I wanted to 'master' a certain play/weapon style as opposed to trying to learn 3 quite different setups at the same time.
The 10% extra speed from the 27Bs larger engine was noticeable, and the extra maneuverability from the 27SL's jumpjets was quite effective. The match/kills/deaths/damage was fairly consistent across the chassis. I believe the better performance I had in the 27SL (kills, damage) was due to a combination of being more experienced in the Crab by the time I got it (it was last), plus the JumpJet maneuvering giving me more battle positioning options, plus the extra punch of those 2 Large Pulse Lasers in the arms. A fraction of extra performance from each of those added up to a noticeable battle edge.
The Crab chassis was quite tanky overall: I died in just over 1/2 my battles, I often lost a torso and an arm or two but could fight right to the end. Damage spread pretty decently across arms/ST/CT and I rarely lost a leg.
Note: none of these chassis were 'elited' until AFTER their final match. I purchased upgrades as I could after each match; Cool Run > Heat Contain > Decel > Accel > Turn Radius > Torso Twist > Twist Speed > Arm Reflex.
Earnings
Buying the 3 Crabs drained my C-Bill account completely - by the time I bought the 27SL I couldn't even afford to switch out the Ferro-Fibrous armor for Endo-steel. On the other hand, my initial stack of C-Bills did buy me 3 very capable, expensively refit mechs so that's a pretty fair deal.
After the above matches, my account was at 14.75million C-Bills, with 16,877 GXP, and premium time had (at that point) run out.
This brings up the issue of being told multiple times that I really ought to have Radar Deprivation on my mechs. (A LOT of my overall damage taken was from LRMs on certain maps.)
A single Radar Deprivation module costs 6 million C-bills, and 15,000 GXP. That is almost as much as a fully-outfitted IS Medium Mech, and takes virtually all of my GXP, in one shot. For ONE module. Frankly that's insane.
Edited by GotShotALot, 22 January 2016 - 03:02 PM.
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