68 replies to this topic

[Rogue Jedi]

Lupis Volk, on 18 December 2015 - 02:26 AM, said:

Thunderbolt SE9 i think. The thunderbolt that could handle 3 large pulses. I later got the quickdraws and am enjoying them.

for viable builds for the TDR-9SE, you could do the classic 3 LPL build,
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...89ca4788233999a
I personally am not especially keen on that build, but it does mean all 3 lasers are in the same place, so you can sacrifice half the Mech ^{(2 arms, 1 leg and 1 torso)} and still be fully armed

I would prefer something more like this,
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...69bd0f4058e988e
it would make a great brawler,

or this
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b6250665ff7cad1
would make a good med-long range fire support Mech, the LRMs are there so you can harass enemies you cannot see, and the ERLarge laser in the arm is there so you can keep fighting if you loose the wrong side torso first.

those builds are just suggestions, you could remove some weapons for jumpjets or go for something completely different but I strongly recommend a Standard 300 engine for any Thunderbolt build, and advise against using an XL engine with a Thunderbolt, the TDRs greatest strength is its exceptional durability, which an XL engine removes.

[IraqiWalker]

Lupis Volk, on 17 December 2015 - 03:15 PM, said:

Well i do have to say thanks to many of you community members who helped me over the past few days. It's nice to see so many help a new players.

I though i'd give my thoughts here of how i'm going so far and my thoughts on the game.

1. Community. I'll admit my first taste for the community was the toxic element that was on Steam. Working hard to scare anyone away while hold grudges that appear to be years old. Once i came to the official forum though it was a completely different environment. People went out of their way to help beginners instead of spewing nonsense about "p2w" or "developer is bad" Also Shout out to all the Units who went to Steam to try and support new players.

2.game it self. It's fun. yes there's a grind but honestly i've seen worse grinds. *cough* Destiny *cough* It runs well on my rig and is enjoyable. I have sunk a "small" sum of money to get several mastery bundles to make my life a little bit easy. My only pet peeve is there's no easy ready button when your in a group. Games like War Thunder and World of Tanks have spoilt me in that regard. Oh well i'll get used to it.

3. Faction Wars. Now here we have a competitive game mode that from what i hear was a ghost town before steam and has become thriving after steam. Now i've only played under 20 matches in it. I do think it's fun but the lack of tutorial for the game modes it has is a issue. New players will have no idea how to open a gate. This area needs to have more TLC done to it for veterans and newbies alike.

4. F2P or P2W? I do laugh when people say hero mechs are P2W since they cost MC. I've killed my fair share of heros and been killed while in them. I do think there's no P2W element. However i do think the mechs you can pre-order could be considered somewhat P2W since they are launched unbalanced. No i don't mean their OP, i mean they haven't gone through all the balancing hoops yet when they are sold for irl money. By the time their out for MC or Cbills, yeah sure.

well that's my thoughts so far for MWO. Overall it's a fun game with a helping community in the right places.

We need more of you in here.

[Scyther]

I'm going to add to those who say 'elite the mechs you have (and enjoy) before branching out'. Also, having 10 or 16 or 30 million C-Bills on hand is not a problem and shouldn't leave you feeling like you are under pressure to spend them.

More C-Bills will come in, though perhaps slowly, and once you find a good place for those spacebucks they will go quickly. I often try to build up 50 or even 100 million CB, then wait for a sale and spend a lot.

As for finding 'the next chassis', keep playing, elite your currents (means max out their skill trees for the most passive improvements to the mech, run speed, heat dissipation, fire rate etc). While you do that you will encounter mechs enough times that you see something you like.

(Tip: Nobody ever felt bad about buying into the StormCrow line)

'Tier lists' are an easy way to see which mechs everyone else has banged around enough to decide which have 'more overall utility' we'll call it. One example:

http://metamechs.com...ists/comp-list/

Other than that, relax, play what you got, look around, read forums. The right mech will pop into view some time and it will be love at first sight.

[Rogue Jedi]

MadBadger, on 18 December 2015 - 05:13 AM, said:

(Tip: Nobody ever felt bad about buying into the StormCrow line)

believe it or not I have seen more than one thread in New Player help asking why people think the Stormcrow is a good Mech because they received that advice and could not work with it, I have seen the same for the Timber Wolf.

some people just take an irrational dislike to a Mech ^{(I love the Griffins but dislike the Wolverines, on paper they are extremely similar but I just cannot work with the Wolverine)}, others prefer slow and heavily armed, others prefer fast and agile, I think the SCR is a great Mech, and a good choice for a second or third medium, but working with something else, like the HBK, GRF, SHD, NVA, CN9, CRB or ENF first will teach you lessons which will help you understand how to more effectively use the SCR.

[Morggo]

MadBadger, on 18 December 2015 - 05:13 AM, said:

The right mech will pop into view some time and it will be love at first sight.

This is so true. Not sure what or why, but generally most people find a mech that 'clicks' with them. I'm sure Rogue and others will agree... "your" mech may not be the current meta or fashionable or "if you're not playing this mech you're dumb" choice... and that's perfectly okay! "Your" mech(s) will be just that, your preferred chassis that you play well with and enjoy.

Rogue Jedi, on 18 December 2015 - 05:34 AM, said:

some people just take an irrational dislike to a Mech ^{(I love the Griffins but dislike the Wolverines, on paper they are extremely similar but I just cannot work with the Wolverine)}

Exactly. I do pretty well in my Wolfies, but griffins... not as much. It's just weird that way but we all find the chassis we groove with.

All that said, I just wanted to extend a hearty "welcome", its great to have another eager pilot join us!

Morg

[IraqiWalker]

MadBadger, on 18 December 2015 - 05:13 AM, said:

I'm going to add to those who say 'elite the mechs you have (and enjoy) before branching out'. Also, having 10 or 16 or 30 million C-Bills on hand is not a problem and shouldn't leave you feeling like you are under pressure to spend them.

More C-Bills will come in, though perhaps slowly, and once you find a good place for those spacebucks they will go quickly. I often try to build up 50 or even 100 million CB, then wait for a sale and spend a lot.

As for finding 'the next chassis', keep playing, elite your currents (means max out their skill trees for the most passive improvements to the mech, run speed, heat dissipation, fire rate etc). While you do that you will encounter mechs enough times that you see something you like.

(Tip: Nobody ever felt bad about buying into the StormCrow line)

'Tier lists' are an easy way to see which mechs everyone else has banged around enough to decide which have 'more overall utility' we'll call it. One example:

http://metamechs.com...ists/comp-list/

Other than that, relax, play what you got, look around, read forums. The right mech will pop into view some time and it will be love at first sight.

Rogue Jedi, on 18 December 2015 - 05:34 AM, said:

believe it or not I have seen more than one thread in New Player help asking why people think the Stormcrow is a good Mech because they received that advice and could not work with it, I have seen the same for the Timber Wolf.

some people just take an irrational dislike to a Mech ^{(I love the Griffins but dislike the Wolverines, on paper they are extremely similar but I just cannot work with the Wolverine)}, others prefer slow and heavily armed, others prefer fast and agile, I think the SCR is a great Mech, and a good choice for a second or third medium, but working with something else, like the HBK, GRF, SHD, NVA, CN9, CRB or ENF first will teach you lessons which will help you understand how to more effectively use the SCR.

The real reason is that new players don't have the knowledge, and experience to make the builds, and the mechs work.

There's a reason the no.1 recommend mech for new players is the hunchback. It not only is cheap, offers all weapon systems, but is immediately simple to understand "my guns are in the hunch, it's called a hunchback. Maybe I should watch for that?"

It also helps that the mech is very nimble, and the smallest 50 tonner in the game, with the best torso twist and arm movement range in it's weight class.

The SCR, and TBR are both excellent mechs, pretty much the best in their class, or overall. However, they are that good, only when a pilot who knows which way is up is in the cockpit. I can put a noob in a good TBR mech, and yes, they'll perform decently/adequately. Put me in that same mech, and I'll mow down a lance or more. Furthermore, that pilot won't know WHY the mech is doing what it's doing, nor why it's good/bad.

I rarely, if ever recommend something from the upper tiers for new pilots. Not unless they ran the trial version, and developed an affinity for it. Otherwise, the HBK never fails because it's good because of it's restrictions, and it's straightforward quirks (both physical, and digital).

[Audacious Aubergine]

All I can say is that I have never ever been so frustrated to be in tier 5

[Unreliable Mercenary]

IraqiWalker, on 19 December 2015 - 01:12 AM, said:

The real reason is that new players don't have the knowledge, and experience to make the builds, and the mechs work.

There's a reason the no.1 recommend mech for new players is the hunchback. It not only is cheap, offers all weapon systems, but is immediately simple to understand "my guns are in the hunch, it's called a hunchback. Maybe I should watch for that?"

It also helps that the mech is very nimble, and the smallest 50 tonner in the game, with the best torso twist and arm movement range in it's weight class.

The SCR, and TBR are both excellent mechs, pretty much the best in their class, or overall. However, they are that good, only when a pilot who knows which way is up is in the cockpit. I can put a noob in a good TBR mech, and yes, they'll perform decently/adequately. Put me in that same mech, and I'll mow down a lance or more. Furthermore, that pilot won't know WHY the mech is doing what it's doing, nor why it's good/bad.

I rarely, if ever recommend something from the upper tiers for new pilots. Not unless they ran the trial version, and developed an affinity for it. Otherwise, the HBK never fails because it's good because of it's restrictions, and it's straightforward quirks (both physical, and digital).

The hunchback also punishes you for bad positioning and failing to twist. Learning to protect that hunch and twist translates to every mech in the game!

[Koniving]

Lupis Volk, on 18 December 2015 - 12:35 AM, said:

now i have a big issue. i have around 20ish mechs and 16m Cbills and i'm too afraid to use the Cbills to upgrade or buy a mech.

Invest in the following engines, 280 XL, 300 XL. Possibly multiple copies. This is because these are the two most popular engines across all weight classes.

Some say 325, 330, and 340 are also worth while but that depends on how you play. I personally found 180 XL to be incredibly useful -- but this is because I like to slap AC/20s on my light mechs as an additional "Whomp" for my time.

Use the time to experiment with build ideas and weapons. Every mech should have double heatsinks; if they don't, make it happen.

Then hoard your cbills again until you see something you like.

Now when you get to having as many as I do... well it gets hard to collect enough cbills to keep them perfectly outfitted. So you'll be glad to have those engines when you get to here.

Edited by Koniving, 19 December 2015 - 03:45 AM.

[Elizander]

If would be nice to let players build a mech they don't own and take it out on training grounds or academy.

[Kotev]

From my experience until you buy mech and pilot it you will not know is it for you. On of the uniqueness of this game is that every mech feels different and performs depending on loadout, play style, pilot skill, etc.

[habu86]

While on the topic of testing mechs and loadouts, the Academy is actually a great place to do that, so I recommend going back there even after you farm its C-bills. Take a look at the mechs you can try out over there, take them for a spin and put them through some of the events. You'll get a feel for how the loadouts and chassis perform. Combine that knowledge with the mechs' stats and "on-paper" loadout performance and you'll soon have a much better handle on what loadouts can work well, before spending C-bills on buying the parts.

Also in the Academy, Onslaught mode and the Active Combat zones are great for testing out your builds and getting a feel for hardpoints and convergence before taking your mechs out into the game.

[Tordin]

Great that you seems to thrive, OP and have fun with the game. Also nice choice of faction Liao and FRR are the smallest but maybe also have the most loyal and crazy players/ fans. Enjoy playing as a space nordic/ viking/ scandinavian

The pre order mechs are kinda.. hmm semi pay 2 win? maybe not even that. It more likely functions as a paywall. Since that sooner or later those mechs will be avaiable for mc after the release. And moments later it will be in-game for in game c-bills as well. Aslo the Hero mechs are a mixed bag, some might be greater than the other variants but others are worse or equal.

So no, this game aint Pay to Win at all, and the grind have lucklily eased a bit and the cadet bonus have increased for new players such as you.

Good luck and have fun with the game, it might be unforgiving sometimes. Getting 20 + loss streaks arent uncommon. Its the match maker being a bit wonky and other things that add up to give a negative match result.

Dont bother much with Kill/ Death ratio, neither the tier "xp bar" though that one shows that you improve since you get into thougher pools of players. I have heard tier 3 players are having a challenge with each others and even have some 2 and 1 mixed in to make matters tougher.

Regarding CW or Faction play, it might be a bit flat and hollow now, even with alot of new steam players. But CW phase 3 seems to bring ALOT to the table.

Never give up but take a break if it feels a bit tough and tiresome to play. It usually works in the long run.

[Zookeeper Dan]

Don't be too worried about spending c-bills. I'd also go about optimizing the mechs you have before you buy more. Most of the stock mechs perform way beneath customized ones.

Any equipment you buy and don't use can be saved for use on another mech.

Double heat sinks are expensive, but necessary for IS mechs, buy it for all of them. Just about every IS mechs will benefit from endo steel. If you can do ferro fiberous armor or endo steel go with endo steel usually the only mechs that can't have both are Assaults, Heavies, and Mediums with XL engines. But really the difference between the two is only a couple of tons, so unless you really want to squeeze all the performance you can from a mech if it has ferro and no endo you can keep it that way instead of switching them around.

Really the only time you will spend money for nothing is if you equip Artemis and remove it or buy ferro for a mech and later find you need the critical spots and have to remove it.

[IraqiWalker]

Owen Miller, on 19 December 2015 - 02:02 AM, said:

The hunchback also punishes you for bad positioning and failing to twist. Learning to protect that hunch and twist translates to every mech in the game!

Absolutely. I usually recommend the SP first, since it has no hunch, so first they learn to pilot, move, shoot, and maneuver, before they worry about torso twisting with the other variants.

Edited by IraqiWalker, 20 December 2015 - 03:15 AM.

[Ron Kramer]

I agree - I'm old enough to have (still on hand) mech warrior and 2 from Activision. I never heard of this until Steam release a few days ago.

I love that it isn't pay to win, or pay to play, it's so nicely balanced. But I want to give back so I've spent around 100 so far. (and only been at it a week at most).

I was so impressed by the frame rate and graphics that I went back and tried Hawken. WOW no comparison in game play. Hawken has nice jungle graphics but game play isn't fun. It's run around frantic and shoot fractic. Everything happening to fast and not a feeling of being in mechs.

Back to MWO. The people are very friendly and helpful. A few friended me and invite me each night to join them. I have some questions, but I'll post them in my own post.

GREAT community and setup. SURE some things are over priced. (1000 per color to color your mech) is a bit much when the 1200 currency is 695 (so about 5.00 per color) really? How about a set of 6 colors at that price.

Mechs aren't to bad of a deal. I bought the maurader and hero... been mastering them up added zoom "V" which I love. LOVE the holiday challange. I knew nothing of it until the guys that invite me to play told me where to look. I have them nearly all completed now.

Thanks for a awesome gaming experience. I bought a new PC for this (I was playnig on a Mac with bootcamp) and it played wonderfully at med options. Now with Alienware box I can run max res and max options. My wife's not liking it though. (added headphones and mic and I don't respond to her any longer. = )

[Ron Kramer]

oh heck this is such a good thread, let me ask here.

1. when waiting to drop - there is a list of players. I started always being near the bottom. Recently I see I'm appearing mid way down (or up) and wondered if there is some significance to this? (placement in the "READY TO DROP" roster?)

2. Is there a way to toggle off the 2 long distance servers? I don't have fast internet (and can no get it here at any price).
so I find my best pings are in north America. (go figure) Pings so so at around 120 average. When on the other servers I can see 400+ pings. ODDLY it's still playable with some occasional studders. SO can we set something to allow only the one server?

3. Being a old mech warrior player (I actually was beta tester for activision back then). Does MMO have DEATH FROM ABOVE? I wondered last night when I came down off a high spot on a enemy mechs head. Didn't appear to do anything.

4. While on that topic, what about splash damage? Often I'm doomed with my arms blown off and about to die. Should I run up and HUG the mech that's pounding me? On the other end - I was tight up against a mech the other day so he couldn't turn and I was pounding him in the back - I wondered - was I being damaged by my weapons fire on him? I could have looked at my damage but in the heat of battle it's hard to remember to look away from what matters most. = )

5. Speaking of Mechs - good and bad. I bought the marauder pack because I could get it right away and I liked the look. I remembered using it long ago. I haven't had the best results with it. I thought I just sucked, but I recently picked up a enforcer (that I don't like the looks of) but often enjoy them (SPEED AND AGILITY) mostly - when spectating... and bought one. (C) for the 30% extra c bills. I tend to spend them as fast as I earn them... rarely having more than 8 million max. ANYWAY this mech is a blast - I tend to survive more hits, also can move faster and torso twists are quick. I've just added "V" zoom to the one I purchased and it's become a favorite of all I've tested so far.

6. after being dropped - incoming drop ships were SHOOTING and damaged me? how is that possible?

7. The guys told me to get teamspeak. I did and we use that. IS this separate from the built in VOC? like must I run both? or can I just use the VOC in game? Is team speak better? else why do they recommend it?
My concern is a separate program that is built for voice quality - likely uses more of my limited internet bandwidth which can reduce my ping in the game. Whats the differences?

Edited by Ron Kramer, 20 December 2015 - 10:47 AM.

[Unreliable Mercenary]

IraqiWalker, on 20 December 2015 - 03:15 AM, said:

Absolutely. I usually recommend the SP first, since it has no hunch, so first they learn to pilot, move, shoot, and maneuver, before they worry about torso twisting with the other variants.

Good suggestion. I would say if he can survive the entire match and do 300-400+ damage with his hunch still alive at the end, he will have learned quite a bit. Everyone shoots at that hunch, and it is an easy target if your not peeking and trading effectively.

Ron Kramer, on 20 December 2015 - 10:36 AM, said:

7. The guys told me to get teamspeak. I did and we use that. IS this separate from the built in VOC? like must I run both? or can I just use the VOC in game? Is team speak better? else why do they recommend it?
My concern is a separate program that is built for voice quality - likely uses more of my limited internet bandwidth which can reduce my ping in the game. Whats the differences?

It just lets you have discussions between games and in the mech lab. Most organized units use teamspeak instead of the ingame voip. Ingame voip is more for pug play. Teamspeak can use some resources but on my rig at least I have noticed no noticeable FPS drops or ping issues.

Edited by Owen Miller, 20 December 2015 - 11:45 AM.

[P H O X]

Just want to throw in: CW is not a competitive gamemode, where you want drop solo.

[Rogue Jedi]

Ron Kramer, on 20 December 2015 - 10:36 AM, said:

oh heck this is such a good thread, let me ask here.

1. when waiting to drop - there is a list of players. I started always being near the bottom. Recently I see I'm appearing mid way down (or up) and wondered if there is some significance to this? (placement in the "READY TO DROP" roster?)

2. Is there a way to toggle off the 2 long distance servers? I don't have fast internet (and can no get it here at any price).
so I find my best pings are in north America. (go figure) Pings so so at around 120 average. When on the other servers I can see 400+ pings. ODDLY it's still playable with some occasional studders. SO can we set something to allow only the one server?

3. Being a old mech warrior player (I actually was beta tester for activision back then). Does MMO have DEATH FROM ABOVE? I wondered last night when I came down off a high spot on a enemy mechs head. Didn't appear to do anything.

4. While on that topic, what about splash damage? Often I'm doomed with my arms blown off and about to die. Should I run up and HUG the mech that's pounding me? On the other end - I was tight up against a mech the other day so he couldn't turn and I was pounding him in the back - I wondered - was I being damaged by my weapons fire on him? I could have looked at my damage but in the heat of battle it's hard to remember to look away from what matters most. = )

5. Speaking of Mechs - good and bad. I bought the marauder pack because I could get it right away and I liked the look. I remembered using it long ago. I haven't had the best results with it. I thought I just sucked, but I recently picked up a enforcer (that I don't like the looks of) but often enjoy them (SPEED AND AGILITY) mostly - when spectating... and bought one. (C) for the 30% extra c bills. I tend to spend them as fast as I earn them... rarely having more than 8 million max. ANYWAY this mech is a blast - I tend to survive more hits, also can move faster and torso twists are quick. I've just added "V" zoom to the one I purchased and it's become a favorite of all I've tested so far.

6. after being dropped - incoming drop ships were SHOOTING and damaged me? how is that possible?

7. The guys told me to get teamspeak. I did and we use that. IS this separate from the built in VOC? like must I run both? or can I just use the VOC in game? Is team speak better? else why do they recommend it?
My concern is a separate program that is built for voice quality - likely uses more of my limited internet bandwidth which can reduce my ping in the game. Whats the differences?

1)if you go on looking for groups you can get that otherwise the matchmaker just tries to make a fair game with people of equal skill levels and roughly equal Mech tonnage between teams
2) yes, when you click the down arrow next to the quick button that will allow you to unselect upto 2 servers, but be aware that will probably lead to longer matchmaking times

3) technically yes, when 2 Mechs collide bots suffer extremely minor damage, so landing on top of another Mech can kill it if it was already heavily damaged, but it will not get you a kill if the Mech still has armour and the structure is not already red

4) I think the only weapon with splash damage is the Clan ERPPC, although the Air strike and artillery strike consumables drop bombe/shells with splash damage

5) the Marauder works great for me with a larger engine, I have had great results ^{(as in it performs better for me than the Timber Wolf)} with an energy only load out and a standard 350 engine, I have also had OK results with the XL350

6) on CW the enemy dropships are armed and will fire at enemy who are too close, I suppose it is possible you were in the way of the laser shots

7) you can just use the built in VOIP, but many people prefer Teamspeek because it gives better sound quality, and your group can plan, or just chat before the match starts without irritating the other people on your team, teamspeek does not use much but I do not know precisely how much