9 replies to this topic

[BrunoSSace]

He all,
So I'm a new player, says I have only played like 250 games. Being new and having no clue i did a little research beforehand. I then rushed out and brought my first mech. My searching came up with advice to pick a medium mech. Giving me ok firepower, armor and speed so I can adapt to the situation better then a heavy or an assault. It told me start with the hunchback. The 4G, the 4P and the 4SP. I have since then been grinding threw them and have just mastered all of them. I found builds that I thought looked useful off a site called mech labs and I have to say they are all working really well. The 4G with its A20 that can 2 shot lights, the 4P with its huge amount of medium lasers and the 4SP that has taken on the role of a small LRM missile boat.
So my question, and thanks for for reading, is what do I do now? No I'm serious, I'm really at a loss? Do I sell my Hunchbacks and keep grinding some other mech? If yes, then what mech next? The Hunchbacks have been bloody awesome, I don't want to sell them.
Any advice greatly appreciated, since most of you guys/gals have been playing for years.
Cheers Bruno.

Edited by BrunoSSace, 26 April 2016 - 04:09 PM.

[Karl Streiger]

Don't sell them....Always good to have a Mech you know. Haven't driven my Atlas Mechs for almost 2years- and using them again was just like coming home.

you may grind some additional MechBays using the Faction Play... the only way i know to earn MechBays without spending real money.

[ice trey]

If you are willing to put money into the game, mech bays are pretty cheap. Sometimes they even have mech-bay sales when they're half off and they're usually... what.... 300 MC? I bought a truckton months back and I have more bays then I know what to do with.

If you're not willing to put money into the game, there are a number of things that you can do to get bays. You can jump whatever the hoops are now to get Loyalty Points through Faction Warfare and earn yourself some new bays that way, and every few months there are events that allow you to earn things like Mech Bays or MC, which can in turn be spent on mech bays.

As for your next 'mech, the only suggestion I'd give is avoid going heavy - not because heavy is bad... just the opposite. Heavies are fantastic. Unfortunately, the pub cue is cluttered with them and it's always the longest wait time for a match. A light is always the shortest wait, followed by assaults and mediums.

Edited by ice trey, 26 April 2016 - 02:25 AM.

[ImperialKnight]

play Faction, get achievements, get MCs and mechs bays and spend MC on mech bays. wait for MC sale, then wait for mech bay sale to buy a ton of them.

grind till you master every chasis in the game

[Rogue Jedi]

to get more Mechbays
for $6.99 worth of MC you can get between 4 and 10 Mechbays depending on if you get the MC and/or Mechbays on sale

faction play will give you Mechbays although the ease of getting them has significantly reduced with the most recent patch.

the weekend events sometimes include free bays

if you buy a Mech pack or bundle they come with bays.

I strongly recommend against "grinding".

Play for fun, play the chassis you enjoy and have fun, if you are "grinding" that by definition means you will not be having fun.

levelling a new chassis it may take you a while to find a good build or you may hate it and abandon it.

if you desperately need bays and are not willing/able to buy them then conceder selling your least favourite variant of a Mech but I recommend against selling Mechs you enjoy as you get half price for just the basic not upgraded chassis, unless you sell equipment as well (not recommended, again half value).

[WildVector]

If you are not in a unit already, now is the time to browse for one.

I'm not sure the old rules still apply faction wise regarding mech bay farming BUT the solo player faction rotation can be painful.

Give it a try in clan wars, and IF you find a unit you fancy apply. They now have extra rewards one of which a free mech bay every other lvl.

Also you'll be taught first hand the diff between pug play and group queue xD

Regarding your mech options, I'd say to go a full week testing diff light and assault mechs, then after a bit of research acquire the one you wanna elite first. On a diff note only lights and mediums can play the inteligence maps..

so it's all up for your taste..

[invernomuto]

Don't sell mechs.
My experience: I started the game with a Cataphract. I bought CFT-0XP, CTF-3D and CTF-1X. Even if the CFT-0XP had ECM, I could not find a good build for it. It was "meh" and I ended rarely using that variant.
Recently I began looking for a mech with ECM for the sniper role.
I put a XL300 engine and 3 LLs, and I now the 0XP is my most fun and played mech.
TL;DR don't sell mech variants.

Edited by invernomuto, 27 April 2016 - 09:00 AM.

[Digital_Angel]

What next? Well that depends partially on what you enjoy in the game.

The game is MUCH more fun if you get to know people in a unit or form a unit from other players that you know. Even if you don't play FW much, group dropping with people you know in Quick play is a lot more fun than playing alone.

If you like a mech and enjoy piloting it, DO NOT SELL IT!!! If you really hate a mech or a particular variant of a mech after you elite or master the variants you care about, then selling isn't so bad, but still be cautious. Even if you hate a mech, I would advise to elite it first before selling it. Sometimes you just need time to figure a mech out (and the improvements from the skill tree don't hurt either). Quirks and such sometimes change as they try to rebalance things in the game occasionally (seen 2 major re-balances between IS and Clan mechs in the last year) and what was once a bad mech can become better.

You can earn more Mech Bays in Faction Warfare or in some of the events, especially some of the larger holiday events in the later half of the year usually. You can also earn MC through almost all the events and then use that MC to buy Mech Bays without spending real $. Sometimes the events will even give away a mech, but that only happens 1-2 times a year. I've earned 10-11 Mech Bays and 2 mechs from events and Faction Warfare in 9 months of playing, plus 1 mech and a mech bay as a loyalty reward last September for having spent $7 on the smallest MC package. I don't even spend anywhere near half my time playing in FW either, and only average 10-12 hours a week playing with a little more time online during events and such.

If you want to put real $ into the game, the $7 MC package is enough to buy 4 mech bays even without waiting for any deals or sales to happen, and larger MC packages are a better $ to MC ratio. Also a few times a year both MC and Mech Bays will go on sale. I stocked up on 13 mech bays on the half off sale during the holidays after purchasing 2 hero mechs when they were on sale the month before, and most of that MC was all earned from events in under a year of playing with only putting $7 real money into the game at that point. I did splurge on a MC sale since then, but that's another story.

As far as a next mech to learn, there are several ways you could go. If you want to get involved in FW then the answer varies greatly on whether you are more interested in IS or Clan factions. As a second mech, I would recommend either learning another Medium with has a different style or moving to a Heavy. You can also go back to the trial mechs and see if there is one that catches your eye to use as a next mech for you. Experience earned on the trial will be there to use if you buy that mech (same variant) down the road.

[SnagaDance]

Well, most people have given you solid answers with regard to the selling of mechs and acquiring mechbays. So I'll chime in on what mech you might like next.

For me, I simply like to look at what kind of mech looks fun to play. Back when I started there was the attraction of Lights, Jenners at high speed moving around the map, shooting other mechs in the back and annoying the hell out of them. I really learned piloting and jumping with these, as well as going for weak spots.

I was then attracted by the slow moving firepowerhouses of the Assaults in the form of the Atlas. I learned to optimise my pathfinding, feeling the flow of the battle so I could be at the right place at the right time. I also learned to tank damage through rolling.

Then came the Mediums in the form of Centurions and I learned how to be a good support mech and how to use a shield side.

Only then did I go for Heavies with the Jagermechs. Not too much to learn anymore except for the particular blend of movement and firepower, oh, and how you could become more of a priority target for the enemy time than when I was piloting an Assault!!

Now I've got 68 mechs with: Light > Mediums > Assaults > Heavies (I actually like heavies but man, that queue)

So pick what you think is interesting or what you'd like and things will probably work out.

And if you really, really dislike a variant, make sure to give it a fair shake (I always Master a mech so I can properly experience it with the doubled Basics from finishing Elite), but if it still feels wrong, get rid of it. (for me it was actually all Shadowhawks and Catapults for instance, but I've only dropped 2 of my 4 Atlasses and for most mechs I still have all of them)

[JC Daxion]

First and foremost, if you can spend 7 or 15 dollars, do it, and save the MC till you need to buy a bay as you add mechs down the road. The 15 dollar amount is the way to go as you can add 10 bays and that is not even with a sale, so earn one more with earned MC at events, or maybe even a weekend event, and now you can master 4 more mechs at 3 variants each, counting the extra bay you have atm


If you are liking them and it sounds like you are, i'd just keep playing and saving C-bills, till you really get an itch to try something new. But HBK's are so solid, and so flexible, you can try PPC set ups, AC5's, AC10's, gauss, Large lasers, Pulse.. you get the idea.. there is really no need to even bother picking up chassis to try out any of these set ups. So if you are wanting a new weapon load out, spend a bit of money and try out some new systems. For the cost of one mech with upgrades you can basically pick up a lotta weapons instead, and play a whole new mech, at least in feel anyway.

My IS account i sorta non-stopped just kept grinding chassis for a long time. I ended up playing Parts warrior, or store room attendant more often than not. Mech bays filled with stripped mechs. Even even if not, i would have to strip mechs to get things loaded out and look for modules, and engines, or weapons ect...

My new clan account, i have been spending more time just playing, and getting things loaded up with modules/weapons ect and have had a much better time in that since, even if i only have a couple mechs to play. (though the stupid mech sale at the new year ate up some cash that i would of used on modules, but the savings was too great to pass up on a couple mechs, but honestly i haven't even touched um yet.


Next for you

I would buy some mech and weapon modules for your HBK's, grab a seismic sensor, as they are used in so many mechs, Even spend an extra 6m and grab a spare if you like it is really nice to have 2 mechs fully loaded out with modules and ready to go.

I'd really recommend a hill climb module too. Your HBK's really shine with that installed It makes a big difference climbing hills and with no JJ's they really help with getting around. You will find many places on that map that you could not go over with out it installed. After getting used to it i would not run an HBK without it (though i could say the same about many lights and mediums with out JJ's) HBK's have 3 module slots you have room to spare for it.

Target Info gathering is a great module for your 4P, and 4G, It will help help you get the paper doll up quicker to make mode informed choices. Mediums often really benefit from it, as they are more hit and run types, so that extra speed of gathering can help you land a shot in a place that will do the most damage. Hold your fire, a bit longer to get to that open torso, or maybe they have an open back, so save that ac20 slug till you get around back, or flank, and go for the kill instead of just knocking off more armor.

The 4SP on the other hand as the SRM's spread a lot despite having 4 or 5ML's you tend to brawl more in that mech looking away quick, as you recharge for another volley, so may i recommend a 360 targeting module instead for that. It helps you maintain your lock so friendly LRM's can land, or just keep your lock for your lasers.

Lastly i would pick up radar dep, though i often don't use the module over others, the HBK's with it's many slots, .. So that right there is about 24m in modules alone.. but well worth every penny spent. Really get to learn your mechs, and how they play.

But even going with the typical Seismic+ radar dep, that leaves you a slot to play around with trying hill climb, info gathering and 360 lock anyway.. Mix and match and see what suits you best

i'd also pick up some weapons modules, Medium laser range and recharge, along with AC20 recharge, (and i am not sure if you run SRM 4's or 6's in your 4SP, but i would get that module too) Personally i find SRM4's work way better, as you can actually save 4 tons, 2 by not having artemis, and 2 for the lower weight launchers, and with those 4 tons, you can pack in 4 more double heat sinks, in a mech that runs very hot, it is well worth the change.

all that is probably about 30m worth of modules, maybe a bit more, but if you are really enjoying those mechs.. by the time you do all that, my guess is you will really have a great handle on what you are liking, and a much better idea of what weapon systems, and play styles fit you best. HBK's can be brawlers, flankers, or even longer range mechs, so play the heck outta um, and get every cent's worth.

When i started playing my HBK's i played 450 in my 4G, and 300+ in my 4SP before i really started to thing about something new.