23 replies to this topic

[DamnRedcoat]

So i have only been play for a couple days. I have decided to purchase my first Mech. I've found my self play assault mostly with either the dire wolf or the atlas (both trial). I prefer the dire wolf much more due to weapon location (I think they are called hard points?) with the wide arms on the atlas i catch my self missing alot due to hitting the walls I'm peeking around plus the dire wolf has the gauss rifle *drool*. but dat C-bill cost for the dire wolf am i right? so I'm looking for a more sensible alternative....i have read the highlander Isn't a bad decision any suggest suggestion to a nublet such as myself?

[Leone]

I like the highlander, but right now, as they are, I'd suggest something that can carry dual gauss. One just doesn't cut it for me anymore. Perhaps saving up for the Daishi, I mean Direwolf, is the way to go. However, should you want any suggestions on Assaulting Thy Enemy you could check out a thread I made.

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 13 January 2016 - 10:02 PM.

[DamnRedcoat]

Thank you very much I think I am interested in the sustained DPS build you have with with the BNS-3E also i noticed no Gauss rifles in any of you builds is that due to cost and space because you need 2 of them now? Also, why the BNS-3E instead of 3S it has much higher fire power or am i missing something entirely lol. Excuse the ignorance

Edited by DamnRedcoat, 13 January 2016 - 10:22 PM.

[JC Daxion]

Right now.. With the Timber-C in rotation, i would strongly suggest putting some time in it. It is a very nice mech, and runs great in it's trial version. One of the better mechs in the game. It runs cool and hits hard.. Give yourself to learn the game, and try a few play styles.,. these days, playing 100+ matches in trials isn't a bad idea. You get to bank the XP and c-bills, and play with a lot of stuff.

(*edit, the timber-C is what people like to refer as laser vomit, It has 2 large pulse lasers, and 3 Clan ER-medium lasers. It has nice range, and will let you try both styles of lasers. Right now it is called a meta-mech. Meta or no meta, i will say it is tons of fun. It runs 81KPH with out the XP unlocks, and has Jump jets which really help maneuver as you learn maps. It also has a "sheild arm" which basically means one arm just has heat sinks in it, so as you fight you twist, and use that arm to soak up early damage. twisting to spreading damage is a key part of the mech warrior play. This mech will teach ya everything ya need to know about how pulse lasers and normal lasers work.. heat management, twisting, with jumpjets! what more could a pilot ask for.. ohh right is is super fun too!)

Trials used to be bad, Now they are good builds. Not all are great for beginners persay, But all are solid. Not to mention you are gonna need around 40M to try assaults,, so why not bank it before you start..


That said.. after you get done playing around with mechs.. Stalkers are really hard to beat as a first assault IS side. They have many versions/play styles.. And the Hero is a pretty solid bad arse brawler or can pack a gauss, save some C-bill grind and grab an MC hero. who knows it might go on sale too. You get many play styles from long to short range.. snipe, brawl, spread damage, good speed, laser builds, missile.. you get the picture. (the only down side is no ballistic outside of the misery, which like i said is one bad arse Hero/mech one of the few heroes you will see in the CW so that means something for the most part.

to me the 100 tonners are just to hard too learn on, they are just unforgiving and new players don't need to worry about making one mistake and being dead. Many of the others, are kinda nitch, with JJ's or certain types of builds.

Lastly Battle Masters are pretty popular and in a good spot, just from watching them in action. I would no be surprised if someone didn't mention them as a place to start. But i'll just stick with stalkers. It's up there in top mechs.. put it that way.

Edited by JC Daxion, 14 January 2016 - 12:36 AM.

[Phobic Wraith]

DamnRedcoat, on 13 January 2016 - 09:28 PM, said:

So i have only been play for a couple days. I have decided to purchase my first Mech. I've found my self play assault mostly with either the dire wolf or the atlas (both trial). I prefer the dire wolf much more due to weapon location (I think they are called hard points?) with the wide arms on the atlas i catch my self missing alot due to hitting the walls I'm peeking around plus the dire wolf has the gauss rifle *drool*. but dat C-bill cost for the dire wolf am i right? so I'm looking for a more sensible alternative....i have read the highlander Isn't a bad decision any suggest suggestion to a nublet such as myself?

First, a hearty welcome to Mechwarrior: Online is in order. We're glad to have you! Second, I also feel at home in Assault chassis. I started in a medium and went straight to the Highlanders after my Hunchbacks. It felt right. Third, please, please, please don't jump into an assault mech just yet.

Don't misunderstand, I think you should pilot whatever you want to. There are few more satisfying feelings than wrecking someone better and faster than they can with the biggest, meanest guns. Assault mechs and light mechs suffer from a similar problem. Both are relentlessly unforgiving to mistakes. In a light chassis you turn a corner and run the risk of being insta-gibbed. In an assault mech you turn the corner and there's no turning back, you literally will not have the mobility to disengage if you made a mistake, and you likely brought several friends with you.

Before you buy something, take a simple recommendation: play with all the other trial mechs a few times first. If for no other reason than you'll get an idea of how best to kill it when you see one on the battlefield. If you're anything like me, you'll make it to an assault cockpit one way or another, but there are some valuable lessons that are much more easily learned in medium and heavy mechs.

As for the Dire Wolf, nothing boats more guns and can lay down the hurt like it can, but everything moves faster.

[Leone]

DamnRedcoat, on 13 January 2016 - 10:19 PM, said:

Thank you very much I think I am interested in the sustained DPS build you have with with the BNS-3E also i noticed no Gauss rifles in any of you builds is that due to cost and space because you need 2 of them now? Also, why the BNS-3E instead of 3S it has much higher fire power or am i missing something entirely lol. Excuse the ignorance

No problem, it's why we respond. Someone who wants to make an informed decision? Yes, more'n happy to help. So, I don't use gauss on assualts do to the long cooldown. I used to, in fact, two thirds of my Highlanders still have the gauss equipped. It's just with the slow rate of fire, I do not feel gauss is appropriate for such a slow mech as an assault. Now, that doesn't mean I don't use it. I still drop with a few dual gauss heavies in CW now an then, but that's because instead of a slow fifteen point shot, it's a slow thirty point shot that I can pop out, fire and pop back with. The faster speed of the mech mitigates the slow cooldown by allowing me to reposition and hide in cover whilest I wait for my next shot.

As for the 3E, it had the hardpoints for multiple ballistics. The 3S works with a gauss, or an AC20, but cannot carry enough of the smaller guns to be worth what I was trying. (I love me my ballistics. Took a while, but I think I'm finally getting the hand of the Clan ballistics too.) The idea behind the 3E is the sustained damage per second, not the high alpha. It can out damage any high alpha poking build by sheer volume of fire. Now against another good brawler, generally no matter who wins neither mech is leaving the match alive, but them's the breaks.

If you are interested in getting into sustained fire builds, just be warned, they do play differently, and make take some time getting used to. They're great one on one, but you hafta learn when not to over-commit. Or you could just accept that you will and just try to see how much damage you can do before you get overwhelmed.

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 14 January 2016 - 02:27 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

here is a breakdown of each assault, bear in mind this is more from fighting them, I do not like being slow so do not spend much time in assaults.
Atlas
durable, can take a lot of punishment before going down, low mounted balistic and energy hardpoints make it better suited for close in fighting
Dire Wolf,
able to mount the most firepower of any Mech, countered by being really slow and sluggish with its fixed 300 engine, the other 100 tonners can be faster and more agile, best used for long range fire support but is in trouble if anything manages to get in close, to excel the team needs to support it, much more so than the other assualts
King Crab
in terms of firepower and durability somewhere between the Atlas and Dire, able to take 2 large or up-to 6 small balistics, with lasers and missiles
Banshee
big durable, completely different load outs depending on variant, can be reasonably fast and can take a lot of punishment
Executioner
thanks to MASC can be fast and very agile for a Mech its size, but only in short bursts, a bit light on tonage for weapons, but its agility and Jumpjets can make it a dangerous opponent
Highlander
a jumping assualt, unfortunately it cannot mount enough jumpjets to jump high, and cannot be especially fast
Highlander IIC
an upgrade to the Highlander, with Clan equipment, thanks to the Clan XL engine it can pack in more firepower without much of a durability trade off
Battlemaster
one of the fastest assualts with all varients able to take a 400 engine, most of its weapon hardpoints are energy although most varients also offer missile and balistic, one of the varients makes a pretty good LRM boat.
Stalker
not fast but probably the most durable Mech in the game provided it takes a standard engine thanks to its huge side torsos, making it able to soak up a lot of damage, and its energy and missile loadout make it able to deal out a lot of damage.
Warhawk,
probably the best Clan Assault Mech, with a good mix of firepower and speed, designed for energy and missiles it can use ether effectively but it has 1 whole side torso in fixed heatsinks, unfortunately from certain angles it looks like a Dire Wolf, so may be focused down early because people mistake it for what they consider to be a higher priority target.
Awesome
does not live up to its name for most people, energy and missiles, a few variants can take big engine making it really fast for an assault, it has a wide frontal profile but a narrow side profile
Gargoyle
moves the same speed as the Clan heavies, does not have much tonage for weapons, is one of the biggest Mechs in the game
Victor,
again can be fast for its size, it can mount Jumpjets, and has a varied weapon loadout,
Zeus
a good all rounder, usualy with 1 balistic arm, 1 missile arm and torso lasers

[Koniving]

DamnRedcoat, on 13 January 2016 - 10:19 PM, said:

Thank you very much I think I am interested in the sustained DPS build you have with with the BNS-3E also i noticed no Gauss rifles in any of you builds is that due to cost and space because you need 2 of them now? Also, why the BNS-3E instead of 3S it has much higher fire power or am i missing something entirely lol. Excuse the ignorance

Gauss Rifles are good for burst damage, not good for DPS. Its DPS is 2.4, the AC/2's DPS is 2.78. The AC/5 delivers 3.01 DPS.

This is in addition to the fact that the Gauss Rifle is 15 tons (IS) or 12 tons (Clan). IS quirks make the IS Gauss Rifle significantly faster than anything the Clan Gauss Rifle can do, but that means the mech has to have the quirks in the first place to use it. This really limits things.
.
Firepower is transient. It can change with a few clicks of the mouse in the mechbay.

After all, the rated "firepower" of this mech is a joke.

...and yet... it did something good.

[DamnRedcoat]

I appreciate all the feedback guys it all been very helpful. I did head the advice of trying other mech classes and it seams i may favor heavy? The mobility + the retention in survival is whats selling me despite the loss in fire power. within the trial mechs i do well with the tbr and catapult, i prefer the loadout for the EBJ (i love the ballistics ) but i dont have the mobility dont get my wrong its fast but the jump bust the tbr and eve the catapult offer always seem to get me out of a bad situation or enable me to get into a good on. i seem to lean towards more snipey style of play while trying to remain close to the action (not sure what category this puts me in or if thats how im suppose to be playing these mechs) I'm feeling limited with the chassis and loadouts i have when it comes to how i want to play (I'm a needy ******* ) i have just $20m c-bills also looking at maybe dropping $15.

Again thank you for the awesome advice!

[Richter Kerensky]

Get a Thunderbolt 9SE, it's pretty much everything you want.

[DamnRedcoat]

Richter Kerensky, on 14 January 2016 - 03:09 PM, said:

Get a Thunderbolt 9SE, it's pretty much everything you want.

The only issue with that i have is the lack of ballistic hard points otherwise its exactly what i want and the regular 9S doesnt have the jump. how is the TBR-S? or will i not have enough left over to mod for what i want?

Edited by DamnRedcoat, 14 January 2016 - 03:21 PM.

[Richter Kerensky]

The Timberwolf costs closer to 20 million c-bills to customize since you'll want to swap omnipods in and out to get the hardpoints you want. I wouldn't shy away from recommending Timberwolves since they're the best mech in the game, but they're rather expensive.

You can afford a full 9SE with what you have right now. Build something similar (or identical) to this:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7e40b5f5addbb6a

[DamnRedcoat]

Richter Kerensky, on 14 January 2016 - 03:42 PM, said:

You can afford a full 9SE with what you have right now. Build something similar (or identical) to this:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7e40b5f5addbb6a

Isnt that pretty much identical to the trial tbr? i wasnt very fond of it i like LRMS and ballistics but ill give it a couple more games i like ballistics lol and i dont mind dropping cash to buy the mech and mod with the c-bills i have

i dont want to end up with what feels like a second rate mech (in my hands lol) and have to wait EVEN longer to get the mech i want

Edited by DamnRedcoat, 14 January 2016 - 03:53 PM.

[Koniving]

My recommendations include the following *Mobile* assault mechs and sample vids:
Battlemaster. o.O; Support/combat. Defeating the ever deadly AC/40 Jagermech. (Note: Twin IS AC/20s can instantly kill any mech when fired at the cockpit, regardless of armor. An ability that ONLY the Inner Sphere has).
Highlander. Leading the pack in many ways. Construction, poking fun.(Skip to 5 minutes for actual combat). Slaughter in Canyon. Competition 12 vs 12.

If you're uncertain, or want to go more with a budget...
Orion. Orion Pugging. Orion with LRM-100 support. Orions are like 75 ton Atlases. In fact you can imitate their builds. Not to mention they LOVE cheap standard engines!
If you can spend 20 bucks, then Marauder. Don't have vids for it yet, but basically it's a chickenwalker version of an Orion. Can work either way but loves standard engines too!

The Orion at 75 tons is a heavy mech at the highest classification, just shy of an assault mech. At this weight, engines give it a formidable amount of speed without having to get too heavy. It can also tolerate enough weight to host a varied or hefty load of weapons, ammunition/heatsinks and armor to go with that engine power without having to worry about the inertia issues that assault mechs endure. Sure you may not carry as much ammo or tank as much as a 100 ton assault mech, but you can still hit 80+ kph without sacrificing your weapon potential, who cares?! Run some circles around the Dire Wolf. Scratch the paint on that King Crab's claws. Stare down an Atlas, shoot in his face and run! They'll never catch up! Though their mediums might.

Also, because it can sport large standard engines with little sacrifice you'll be rolling in those speeds without having to shell out the price of another mech for a half-decent engine! Who has that kind of cash? Certainly not me and definitely not you. You want to make money, not throw it out. That's why you're looking at the "Poor man's Atlas." C'mon down to Diplass Battlemechs and try out the Kali-Yama Weapon Industries' Orion today!

Edited by Koniving, 14 January 2016 - 04:23 PM.

[Elizander]

The direwolf is very fun but also very limited in its role but if you really like it then go get one. If it is just for novelty's sake the trial is there to play with. Battlemaster 2C, Stalker 4N or Warhawk are more diverse/effective to start with for me.

Try the Timberwolf and Thunderbolt trials too

[John1352]

If you like the trial Timberwolf, I'd say you should go for that as your first mech. The speed makes it so much more forgiving than assault mechs and you won't get left behind either.TBR-S is a good starting point if you want jumpjets.

You won't be able to bring it to faction play until your current contract expires though, no idea how long you signed up for.

[DamnRedcoat]

Koniving, on 14 January 2016 - 04:08 PM, said:

If you can spend 20 bucks, then Marauder.

this is what i did instead of spending the c-bills on a mech i can use the for upgrade only issue is i cant find it in my inventory after purchase

[John1352]

A good choice, the marauder is a very tough mech based on my battles against them. Mech packs sometimes take between an hour and a day to make it ingame, usually it is closer to an hour.

[DamnRedcoat]

John1352, on 14 January 2016 - 04:47 PM, said:

A good choice, the marauder is a very tough mech based on my battles against them. Mech packs sometimes take between an hour and a day to make it ingame, usually it is closer to an hour.

Thank you for the info saved me from a mild heart attack Lol

[Richter Kerensky]

The 9SE trial build was more or less fashioned after what people do with it. It's a great mid-range poker and it's better with elite skills and the 5SS and 9S variants of the Thunderbolt are also worth owning.

If you're dead set on using ballistics, you can put some AC/5s and ERMLs on a Timberwolf and run a hybrid AC/laser build, or try a Gauss rifle and ERMLs (they're not as impressive after they got nerfed recently), but that'll run you an additional 8-9 million cbills. I would warn you against LRMs because there are generally other things you can do with that tonnage that are more effective.