11 replies to this topic

[Calvyr]

I'm trying to decide where to start for CW. I eventually want to have a drop deck built for both IS and Clan. So far, I have all the elite skills on the Hunchback 4G, 4SP, and 4J, as well as the Stormcrow C, D, and Prime. I'm looking at heavies now, but I know that I can likely get into IS heavies for close to half the price of the Clanners.

Should I build the IS deck and start working there to earn the CBs to build my Clan deck, or the other way around?

I figure that if I go with the Clan side, I'll go with Timber Wolves, but for the IS side what would a good deck look like?

Are the Hunchies I already have good options?

Is the Quickdraw a good choice (since it happens to be on sale)?

Should I also have a light for rushes, and what would a good option be?

Ok, I'm done with questions, for now.

[p4r4g0n]

I would go Clan first because once you buy the mech, the modification cost is much less compared to IS. In some cases, after all modification costs, an equivalent Clan mech can be cheaper.

When it comes to Clans, deck building options are generally limited to Artic Cheetah, Stormcrow, Hellbringer, Timber Wolf, Dire Wolf. IS options can be a little more varied unless you stick to Thunderbolts, Firestarters, Blackjacks and Stalkers.

Also, in most cases, it is easier/cheaper to replicate a particular build that you like amongst the different variants of a Clan mech vs IS mechs where you would normally have to buy a duplicate mech.

Having said that, do bear in mind the different strengths of IS vs Clans and how that fits with your playstyle since the goal here should be to start with whichever is easier to earn C-Bills with to build up your other deck.

Edited by p4r4g0n, 16 January 2016 - 11:02 PM.

[Calvyr]

As far as a role/playstyle goes, I generally like to play in a brawler/striker role, mid-short range. I don't mind poking, either. I just prefer a little more "up close and personal" engagement. I don't have a definite preference of weapon systems, I like to keep a good mix of fits using combinations of lasers, missiles, and ballistics, to keep things interesting.

Edited by Calvyr, 16 January 2016 - 11:11 PM.

[Davegt27]

Don’t go Clan you will get your butt handed to you

Go IS might as well have some fun in this game

[Leone]

My suggestion would be to find the best heavy or assault trial to round out your four mech dropship and choose the faction that lets you play it until you get your own fourth.

~Leone.

[DarklightCA]

The best bang for your tonnage are heavy mech's regardless if you are IS or Clan. If you want to go IS quickdraw's are good heavies right now as are thunderbolts, grasshoppers, heard black knight's were also good but never tried them. Blackjack's are also really good medium fillers as are cicada's but hunchback's are decent and could do the job as well.

If you want to go Clan, Ebonjag's and Hellbringer's are really good heavies for Community Warfare being they both weigh 65 ton's, pack a lot of firepower in a variety of builds that can fit any of the maps and at the moment you can fit all 4 in a dropdeck. Timberwolf's are also a good heavy especially if you want to be more of a front line push mech, they are more tanky than the rest of the clan heavies. Nova's and Artic Cheetah's are good tonnage fillers as are Stormcrows. I would however recommend that you build a bigger variety of mech's before you go play Community Warfare.

Edited by l)arklight, 17 January 2016 - 06:02 AM.

[S T I N G S]

I would go to the IS and build thr cbills up to finish your clan deck then go between all the factions to get mechbays

[Wolfways]

I have separate IS and Clan accounts. I want to play clan...but can only take losing so long before I load up my easy mode account

[Sjorpha]

Calvyr, on 16 January 2016 - 10:50 PM, said:

I'm trying to decide where to start for CW. I eventually want to have a drop deck built for both IS and Clan. So far, I have all the elite skills on the Hunchback 4G, 4SP, and 4J, as well as the Stormcrow C, D, and Prime. I'm looking at heavies now, but I know that I can likely get into IS heavies for close to half the price of the Clanners.

It's a bit of a misconception that IS mechs are so much cheaper, a fully tricked out IS heavy with endo steel, modules and optimal engine cost about the same as a clan heavy. You also don't need to keep all 3 clan variants after basic which saves some money as well. I'd say the cost is pretty even in the end.

As a new player I would most definitely look for a place to group up with friendly veterans as the primary factor of where to start CW. Either in a big casual unit or a faction hub, IS currently has the best faction hubs I think, so if going clan I would look for a big unit instead.

Playing in a unit/group/faction hub is a better newbie experience than soloing, don't get the idea that you should start soloing and then find a unit, it's the other way around because you need more personal skill to do well solo than you need in a group.

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Should I build the IS deck and start working there to earn the CBs to build my Clan deck, or the other way around?

Doesn't matter, as long as you focus on one of them first. Choose faction first and let that decide which deck comes first.

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I figure that if I go with the Clan side, I'll go with Timber Wolves, but for the IS side what would a good deck look like?

You want a baseline of heat efficient long-midrange laser mechs that are fast enough to keep up with different waves.

The battlemasters are excellent primary CW assaults with big engines and great with all flavors of lasers, for heavies you can use Quickdraws, grasshoppers or thunderbolts, the best medium right now is the Blackjack (1X and 3) by a significant margin, and for lights you can't go wrong with firestarters (S and A).

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Are the Hunchies I already have good options?

They are definitely ok mediums, a good thing about them is that the different variants can be built for the different maps and switched on the fly (lasers/ballistics/LRMs etc), but the hunchback has no really strong long range build which is a downside. They can't really compete with blackjacks for raw power, but there is no problems with using them as your medium while you buy the other mechs you need.

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Is the Quickdraw a good choice (since it happens to be on sale)?

Yes they are, quickdraws are very strong right now. Specialized towards (er)large lasers and large pulse lasers so maybe not the most inspiring mech, but those builds are very very strong in CW. Possibly the strongest CW heavy in the game actually.

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Should I also have a light for rushes, and what would a good option be?

You don't really need a light with the high deck tonnage we have right now. Light rushes aren't strong in CW anymore. But I would definitely start with Firestarters for IS or Arctic cheetahs for Clans once you decide you need a light in the deck. I would start with the heavier mechs though, they're more important for your deck.

If you decide to go FRR (My unit is on a quick faction tour, we're FRR primarily) then go find the faction TS hub through the FRR subforum here, and feel free to drop me a PM if you need any help finding good people and groups there.

Edited by Sjorpha, 20 January 2016 - 03:39 AM.

[habu86]

While folks are correct that IS mechs usually end up just about as expensive as clan ones after you're done optimizing, that doesn't quite hold true in the case of Thunderbolts and Stalkers due to the fact that all good builds for them run standard engines.

If you're looking to start out CW, I would recommend 4x Thunderbolts to start out. They were a perennially solid choice even before the latest quirk/tonnage pass, and right now it's probably the best combination of versatility and efficiency from a budget perspective.

Get four of those and start touring IS factions to rake up C-bills and get mech bays. You can then decide if you wanna continue rounding out your IS deck (next good additions point would be Stalkers and Blackjacks), or start building out your clan deck. If you decide to build your clan deck, you can either add Timberwolves and drop 2 TBRs + 2 SCRs, 3 TBRs and the trial Cheetah, or get 4 Hellbringers or 4 Ebon Jags and drop those together. Either option is a solid starting point.

Also, check http://mwomercs.com/...action-rewards/ for a list of TS hubs where you can find other people so as to make your transition into CW more fun, as well as https://docs.google....d.g263f6502b_00 for Kin3ticX's MWO guide, complete with quality CW drop deck recommendation and mech buying guides.

[Heart of Storm]

I would go clan based on what you already own, to conpete in IS space you really need to have a good stack of Heavies under your belt, those Hunchies won't carry you far in CW im afraid.

Stormcrows are a good start to a solid Clan deck, make your next mech a Timberwolf and your more or less good to go with a good chance of performing well

[Tom Sawyer]

@OP

https://docs.google....d.g263f6502b_00

One of the best guides you can read