46 replies to this topic

[Sensei Aaron]

I've just started today and I've collected just about 10 million money, now I'm looking for a mech to buy. I've been having fun unleashing hell with Assault mechs, so I want to buy one of those. I'm looking for something with some longer range cannons as well as a barrage to unleash when a scout tries to get me. But since I have absolutely no idea what mech would suit that or what weapons do that I'm looking for some help...

Can anyone recommend me something to buy with my starter dollars? Or if you think my plan is dumb please say so as well, I want to get good and I need a solid tried and tested mech to get me started. Thanks!

[Digital_Angel]

Which ones have you been doing well with on the trials?

The only Assault I own are King Crabs. With AC5s, or Gauss Rifles they can beset up for pretty long range, or if you use tose high mounted energy points for ER Large Lasers

[Vlad Striker]

You need have to over 30 million of c-bills to have mastered assault chasis. So gather more money!

[Sensei Aaron]

Vlad Striker, on 10 January 2016 - 09:46 AM, said:

You need have to over 30 million of c-bills to have mastered assault chasis. So gather more money!

D:
30 whole millions?
But, I can get the base mech already right, to upgrade it along the way?

LadyDanams, on 10 January 2016 - 09:43 AM, said:

Which ones have you been doing well with on the trials?

The only Assault I own are King Crabs. With AC5s, or Gauss Rifles they can beset up for pretty long range, or if you use tose high mounted energy points for ER Large Lasers

I've been liking the KGC-000B(C) with the two cannon and the triple laser on the shoulder. It doesn't overheat nearly as much as other mechs I've tried and it doesn't have too many doodads. Just a few cannons to obliterate the enemy with.

Oh and while you're here, what's the difference between inner circle and clan? I've seen people differentiate between them on the forums and I don't know why...

[Hexenhammer]

Sensei Aaron, on 10 January 2016 - 10:25 AM, said:

D:
30 whole millions?
But, I can get the base mech already right, to upgrade it along the way?

To clarify, you have to have 3 mechs of the same chassis with all of the basic skills unlocked to access elite tier skills. Elite tire skills have speed bust and faster weapon fires.

So if you buy 1 assault you're looked into basic skills until you can buy two more of the same chassis, (example atlases) and level those two as well before you can access elite skills.


Also when you buy a mech the first thing you want to do is modify it! Well nothing worse than buying a mech and running out of money to modify it with.

My suggestion is to sit on your cbills, complete all of the cadet missions, then run an assortment of champion mechs to get a better feel for the game.

[Sensei Aaron]

Hexenhammer, on 10 January 2016 - 10:30 AM, said:

To clarify, you have to have 3 mechs of the same chassis with all of the basic skills unlocked to access elite tier skills. Elite tire skills have speed bust and faster weapon fires.

So if you buy 1 assault you're looked into basic skills until you can buy two more of the same chassis, (example atlases) and level those two as well before you can access elite skills.


Also when you buy a mech the first thing you want to do is modify it! Well nothing worse than buying a mech and running out of money to modify it with.

My suggestion is to sit on your cbills, complete all of the cadet missions, then run an assortment of champion mechs to get a better feel for the game.

Damn, but I want to get started building my very own mech, that's one of the best parts of the game. Also, what's the difference between a champion mech and a regular one? Are champions the fully upgraded versions? Why are those better for learning the game?

[Muriel Steiner]

I believe King Crabs are currently on sale for about 6mill each, so if you really want assault 'mechs, now is the time.

As for upgrading them, I know upgrading 'mechs is fun, but it's also extremely expensive and, unless you really know all about the various weapons and technologies, it probably isn't very useful. You can't just try a weapon and sell it back if you don't like it, because the resale price is so horribly low. Refitting 'mechs is only really fun if you don't let it become the giant c-bill sink that it's designed to be.

So my advice is to get into the King Crab now (while it's on sale) and just don't worry about modifying them until you're starting to unlock your elite skils.

[Spheroid]

If you want a mixed loadout with ballistics I would really start with Jagermechs. Assaults are a very unforgiving class of mech especially unleveled.

If you must have an assault then take one of the Battlemasters either 1G or 1D. All your other options require expensive engine swaps to be viable.

[Sensei Aaron]

Well I've been playing the King Crab and doing relatively well with it and the thing's on sale for 6 mil instead of 10, I bought one of those. As I understand it I'm now supposed to get the other 2 versions as well? Because I can probably get another one from my cadet bonus alone, now would be an excellent time to get one...

[Hexenhammer]

Sensei Aaron, on 10 January 2016 - 10:41 AM, said:

Damn, but I want to get started building my very own mech, that's one of the best parts of the game. Also, what's the difference between a champion mech and a regular one? Are champions the fully upgraded versions? Why are those better for learning the game?

Thats a good question.

Champion mechs have an XP bonus.
Hero mechs have a C-Bill bonus.

Never buy a Champion mech with MC. They aren't worth it. Asides from the XP bonus there is no difference between a champion mech and its regular one.

The only time I'd consider buying a Champion is if there is a mech chassis I love to play day in, day out and it has a Champion version. Then i might buy it farm XP to convert into GXP.

The Trial mechs are all champion mechs and while you can't modify them, you can try them out and get a feel for what the mechs are like without buying them.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 10 January 2016 - 11:24 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

the Champion Mechs are most of the Trial Mechs, they are player designed upgrades to the stock Mech.


by the time you are finished the cadet matches and tutorial you should have about 18 million, I advise against buying a Mech before that

it is not uncommon for someone to get a Mech because they liked it on the older games only to come to the forums complaining it is useless (even if it is widely considered one of the best Mechs in the game).

you want to experience as many trial Mechs as you can to figure out if you like a specific Mech, an Assualt will usualy cost a total of something line 12-20 million to buy and outfit

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 11 January 2016 - 12:44 AM.

[Boulangerie]

Sensei Aaron, on 10 January 2016 - 11:03 AM, said:

Well I've been playing the King Crab and doing relatively well with it and the thing's on sale for 6 mil instead of 10, I bought one of those. As I understand it I'm now supposed to get the other 2 versions as well? Because I can probably get another one from my cadet bonus alone, now would be an excellent time to get one...

Yeah, I'd grab another too wome it's on sale. This way you can level them both at same time.
Drop in one of them, and after you die you can quit the match and drop in the other one. Observing is fun and you can learn a lot but you make more money the other way.
After you die and quit the match, you can also remove anything you want from the mech still in game and put it infi your other mech (in case they are sharing an engine or equipment). Also, you don't lose out on any rewards for dropping after you die, you just don't get to see it.
Good luck, and check out metamechs.com for ideas on what competitive players build the crabs like!

[Rogue Jedi]

Muriel Steiner, on 10 January 2016 - 10:55 AM, said:

I believe King Crabs are currently on sale for about 6mill each, so if you really want assault 'mechs, now is the time.

As for upgrading them, I know upgrading 'mechs is fun, but it's also extremely expensive and, unless you really know all about the various weapons and technologies, it probably isn't very useful. You can't just try a weapon and sell it back if you don't like it, because the resale price is so horribly low. Refitting 'mechs is only really fun if you don't let it become the giant c-bill sink that it's designed to be.

the Double Heat Sinks upgrade is always worth getting, and the vast majority of Mechs will benefit from Endo Steel.

As for trying the weapons that is what the trial Mechs are for, try a Mech with a specific weapon and figure out if you like it on a trial Mech, then buy your first Mech because it has the hardpoints for your favorite weapons

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 11 January 2016 - 02:54 AM.

[Sensei Aaron]

Boulangerie, on 10 January 2016 - 11:48 AM, said:

Yeah, I'd grab another too wome it's on sale. This way you can level them both at same time.
Drop in one of them, and after you die you can quit the match and drop in the other one. Observing is fun and you can learn a lot but you make more money the other way.
After you die and quit the match, you can also remove anything you want from the mech still in game and put it infi your other mech (in case they are sharing an engine or equipment). Also, you don't lose out on any rewards for dropping after you die, you just don't get to see it.
Good luck, and check out metamechs.com for ideas on what competitive players build the crabs like!

Rogue Jedi, on 10 January 2016 - 11:50 AM, said:

the Double Heat Sinks upgrade is always worth getting, and the vast majority of Mechs will benefit from Endo Steel.

As for trying the weapons that is what the trial Mechs are for, try a specific weapon and figure out if you like it on a trial Mech, then buy your first Mech because it has the hardpoints for your favorite weapons

Awesome, thanks for the help. I have one final question: can I use any crab model (even those on trial) and level up all crabs I own? Because then I can go use that trial crab and upgrade the other two crabs I own...

[Rogue Jedi]

Sensei Aaron, on 10 January 2016 - 11:55 AM, said:

Awesome, thanks for the help. I have one final question: can I use any crab model (even those on trial) and level up all crabs I own? Because then I can go use that trial crab and upgrade the other two crabs I own...

just make sure they have different model numbers, and yes you can use any model, however you cannot spend XP unless you own the Mech, so while you can earn XP with the Trial you cannot spend it unless you own that model of Mech.

also assuming you are going with the King Crab ^{(the Crab is something completely different, a 50 ton Medium Mech)} there are 3 special variants the (C), (L), and (S) variants count as the same model as without the letter in brackets ( ) for XP purposes.

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 10 January 2016 - 12:07 PM.

[Boulangerie]

Sensei Aaron, on 10 January 2016 - 11:55 AM, said:

Awesome, thanks for the help. I have one final question: can I use any crab model (even those on trial) and level up all crabs I own? Because then I can go use that trial crab and upgrade the other two crabs I own...

Well each king crab has its own xp pool and the same skills to unlock. You can earn xp with the trial to unlock skill on the same model number you own, and it will probably drive better sure to having better equipment installed.
Also note that when buying a stock model from the store it will have suboptimal armor allocation and ammo placement. A good rule of thumb is to front load your armor, leaving about 10 or so in the rear. If you die to back stabs you can increase the rear amount, but you usually are facing your enemy. Also safe places for ammo are legs and head. CASE prevents damage transfer from ammo explosions but usually isn't worth the half ton since ammo explosions are kinda rare (10% chance when the ammo stack is destroyed)

[Rogue Jedi]

Boulangerie, on 10 January 2016 - 02:44 PM, said:

leaving about 10 or so in the rear. If you die to back stabs you can increase the rear amount, but you usually are facing your enemy. Also safe places for ammo are legs and head. CASE prevents damage transfer from ammo explosions but usually isn't worth the half ton since ammo explosions are kinda rare (10% chance when the ammo stack is destroyed)

the 10 on the back "rule" makes you more durable against frontal assault but extremely vulnerable to a stealth flank, as a Light pilot I love this trend, it means I can usualy take down any Mech inside 5-10 seconds, especially as I usualy wait until the victim is distracted so they are less likely to notice in time to do anything.

[Boulangerie]

Rogue Jedi, on 11 January 2016 - 12:48 AM, said:

the 10 on the back "rule" makes you more durable against frontal assault but extremely vulnerable to a stealth flank, as a Light pilot I love this trend, it means I can usualy take down any Mech inside 5-10 seconds, especially as I usualy wait until the victim is distracted so they are less likely to notice in time to do anything.

I understand. This is why is good to increase the armor if you are back stabbed a lot. However, I die to frontal damage the vast majority of the time, even in my Atlas.

IMO is more effective for a team to call out enemy lights when spotted and watch each others backs, than to run 5-10 extra armor in the rear.

[Eaerie]

As far as purchasing mechs always remember you want 3 varients of the chassis to unlock all the skills. then there are "hidden" costs after purchasing the mech in the form of
1. double heat sinks
2. endo steel/ferro armor
3. engines (especially an XL if your mech calls for it, almost all lights and some other mechs)

An example is a Jenner. You look at the cost of the Jenner and it doesn't look to bad, about 3mil CBills. But by the time you have finished everything above the total cost will run you 10-15mil CBills. That is a reason Hunchbacks are recommended so often to new players, they are a lot cheaper to get and outfit than a lot of other mechs (mainly due to the STD engine and being a medium mech as opposed to a 100ton assault)

[Metus regem]

An option, if you are willing to put some money into MWO, would be to buy some MC, to buy a mastery pack, those come with a champion, normal and a hero mech of that chassis, this isn't a bad deal as it gets you everything you need to master that chassis, as well as a C-bill earner in the hero mech (30% more C-bills), as well as three mech bays and some premium time.