And an especially warm welcome to our new players, this one's for you. One question that most new players ask at some point is: Which Mech should I buy first or next? So instead of hopping from post to post, I thought I'd compile a short list of Mechs, one for each class, that I (yes, me personally, y'know, imho) think are excellent choices for new players.
DarkClownIII, on 16 March 2016 - 05:33 AM, said:
read -.-
altho in short;
use all trails mechs
-light
-medium
-heavy
-assaulth
And than decide what suits your playstyle for A LONG while.... unless you gonna spend real live money.. (note mech bays and ect ect,, easy and quick whit MC, and ofc not so easy and sure as *$%# not quick whitout MC)
Not the worst TL;DR
Just so we're clear, these are not simply my favorite Mechs, some of those would actually be bad recommendations. For example: The Raven 3L is still an outstanding Light, but as a chasis, the Raven is kinda weak. Sure, some people love their 2X and/or 4X and do amazing things in them, but grinding through those as a new player is rough. Trust me, I did it, all those years ago... No, especially in the beginning, when one or two chassis is all you got, you should go for the ones that offer as many options as possible without those variants which are simply a chore to grind through.
Oh, and It's for Inner Sphere. I have very little experience with Clan Mechs, and omnipods make available hardpoints less of an issue anyway. If I had to start playing Clan though, I'd pick a Hellbringer. It can mount ECM and 4 of those are a CW dropdeck.
But maybe we already got a deal-breaker since it's a Heavy and you don't like those. Eventually, you should get a feel for all the weight classes, but that can wait. Let's have some fun first. At this point, you probably have figured out which one you prefer. Otherwise, why not earn some more cash on trial Mechs? By the way, if you just started, then you have no idea how absolutely AMAZING the selection of trial Mechs is these days. In the olden days, sometimes a stock K2 Catapult was the best you got.
If you decide to fight for the Inner Spehere, chassis selection becomes more important, since you can't just switch out hardpoints however you see fit.
Raso, on 16 March 2016 - 06:23 AM, said:
Exactly. Eventually, there will be a second, third, etc. Mech, so a good first Mech and the experience gained on it will inform those decisions, right? And bold headers it is:
LIGHT MECHS
The quick and the dead
Ok, Light Mechs. That's your thing? Going fast? Good news, once you get your own little critter, It'll most likely go even faster. Sudden death by random AC/20 doesn't make you break input devices and you actually perform better under constant fear? Sweet, now go out and get yourself a shiny new Locust.
At merely 20 tons, the Locust is as light as it gets, and therefore as fast as it gets too. Ok, a 240XL Commando can chase you down, but Commandos are not that common and this duel can go either way. But you can't beat the Locust in variety, offering up to 6 energy, 4 missile or 4 ballistic hardpoints on its variants, which is it's first selling point. Unfortunately, only the hero variant offers ECM, but it's cheap and comes with the largest engine the Locusts can carry. You don't need it, but it's certainly not the worst hero Mech out there. And that's the second selling point: It's cheap to buy and cheap to equip. Three of these will cost you about as much as a Medium and mastering the chassis should earn you enough cash to buy your next Mech. The third selling point is actually it's inferiority to pretty much every other Mech. Firestarter, Raven, Jenner, they all weigh nearly twice as much and can end your hopes and dreams in a heartbeat, just like everyone else. To a Locust, everyone is bigger and meaner but slower, so the difficult task of prioritizing threats becomes fairly simple. If the Locust doesn't teach you the dos and absolute don'ts of Lights, no Mech will. Conversely, once you're good in a Locust, you're probably a beast in something 15 tons heavier.
Kimberm1911, on 16 March 2016 - 11:48 PM, said:
I don't think the locust is a good light mech for new players. It dies to a sneeze, and its firepower is anemic. I think firestarters are probably a better bet.
Make no mistake about it, the Locust is a harsh Mistress. Yes, compared to any of them, the Firestarter is a monster. Still, I believe that anyone who masters the Locust will be that much better in a heavier Light. But there's an old problem, illustrated nicely in Critical Hit Comics #11, 3 years ago:
http://www.nogutsnog...php?topic=116.0
We just don't have a Light with jumpjets AND high alpha AND ECM yet. The enemy can strip you of your protective bubble, and solid footwork is essential for any light. As for damage...
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...83936da5edaafb6
This one will hurt you. And since it's got 30% missile cooldown, it will hurt you a lot, unless you kill it. If you don't know the linked site yet, bookmark it.
MEDIUM MECHS
The Bullies, the Packhunters
Let's face it, even high-end Lights are often just one wrong turn away from lacking something vital, like a center torso. Maybe you want something just a little tougher. Running fast is good, but why hurry to deliver a disappointing package, right? No worries, The Hunchback always carries a box of serious pain.
What? Still no jumpjets? Well no. Everyone can get around Canyon Network with jumpjets, but you should be able to manage without them. Maybe on the next chassis. The Crab 27SL is pretty good... But they're just a bunch of boring laser boats. The venerable Hunchback offers everything from huge autocannons to fast-firing LRMS and ofc the legendary OG laser vomit machine 4P. Very little you can't do, or at least die trying with a set of Hunchies, yet loadouts rarely become complicated. Lasers in arms and head plus your one big thing, depending on the variant. Did you know that the Hunchies arms can almost fire in a 360° arc? Cheap too, and you don't need XL engines for them. Do not buy XL engines for them. The Hunchback will teach you to guard the valuable side of your Mech (except for the 4SP, that little cheater). You will also either learn teamwork or ragequit at some point.
HEAVY MECHS
Delivering the punches
Bigger, stronger, in some hands better but not exactly faster are the Heavies. And you know what? I'm as thrilled to see Marauders and Riflemen as the next Mechhead. But some of us were hyped beyond coherent speech when they announced the return of the Thunderbolt. Or was that just me? Anyhow, even with a lot of new shiny goodness around, the old T-Bolt is still a common sight on the battlefield and my recommendation for your first heavy Mech. Again, there's not a whole lot you can't do with a T-Bolt, and some things which it does better than anyone else, thanks to some very good energy quirks. No particular love for ballistics, although it's somewhat impressive that those flimsy machine gun mounts are good for up to 15 tons. At any distance, from sluggish weapon platform to nimble brawler, there's a Thunderbolt that fits the bill. Also, if you want to get into Community Warfare as quickly as possible, 4 Thunderbolts are a 260t drop-deck, and not a bad one. And one of them can even jump. You still better know where all the ramps on Canyon Network are.
ASSAULT MECHS
The Kingpins
Which leaves only the biggest and baddest: Assaults. You ain't running. Wherever you are, that's where the party is at and you brought enough for everyone. Your weapons alone weigh more than some Mechs, and on a Mauler, they're always in a good spot. Is anyone surprised? I hope not. Who needs omnimechs when they got Maulers? AC/20 Brawler? Dakka Machine? LRM-Boat? Your drug-induced build of insanity that makes spectators puke just by looking at it? You can fit all of that and more on one of the Maulers. And apart from its versatility, it's... Pretty good at everything. Ballistic mounts aren't super high, but still pretty high. Hitboxes aren't super good, but still... You get the idea. It's pretty good at everything except twisting its torso. It's pretty bad at that. You should resist the urge to always build them symmetrically, that just limits your options. If you're a nerd... Hang on, SINCE you're a nerd, feel free to impress your friends with your 1337 knowledge by pointing out that your MX90 is in fact not a Mauler at all, but a Daboku.
Kimberm1911, on 16 March 2016 - 11:48 PM, said:
For assaults, I wouldn't recommend the Mauler. It's a bit squishy, and because it has to facetime the enemy so much to give effective damage, it really requires knowledge of how much your mech can actually take, and what the enemy is putting out.
In the end, I really don't consider assaults or lights to be new player friendly at all. They are more specialized mechs, and have very distinct roles that they have to fill on the battlefield. Medium and Heavy mechs are a bit more user friendly.
Lacking the mobility to just turn away, all Assaults need to shield their innards by torso-twisting while not firing, and the Mauler does actually have quirks to that effect. It doesn't twist a lot, but it does so quickly. However, an energy-based 2P can avoid quite a lot of facetime, and an LRM-boating 1R might not get seen at all. Whether or not LRMs on an Assault are a good idea, at least this one is actually made for it.
CONCLUSION
As for the Marauder: Absolutely, it's a powerful, versatile chassis, but it's also only available for hard cash money right now. And if the dakka is strong in you, then you've probably already salivated over a Jager. Go ahead, buy it. Whatever you buy though, keep in mind that you need to buy three of them to unlock their full potential, so try to get the most out of them. Starting at either extreme end of the spectrum will undoubtedly offer a greater challenge than a more forgiving, balanced approach, so unless you're already hellbent on getting the ultimate speed or firepower respectively, go easy on yourself and enjoy the somewhat gentler learning-curve of Mediums and Heavies.
And that's it. You made it this far, so I guess a "Thanks for reading" is appropriate. Hope I could help with this. And even if you don't agree with my conclusions, I bet I made you think about what you want in a Mech. Don't sweat it too much though, there are no.... Well there aren't too many bad Mechs. If someone offers you a Kintaro, say "No" and find an adult
Edited by Twilight Sentry, 27 March 2016 - 09:43 PM.