260 replies to this topic

[Gibson Ibanez]

Hello to everyone.

I am waiting for the new patches to install and just wanted to say hello and relate my first match against other players. I made it through the academy and loved it. I ran around the academy area and later the training grounds to get a basic layout of most of the maps there. It turns out my computer does not like the water areas on certain maps.

I recently started playing the boardgame after buying the intro box set and a couple of hexpacks. I saw the ads for MWO and had to try it. I am not that experienced in the boardgame, I played decades ago and bought it recently to introduce my kids to it. I like it and can see its influence in MWO.

My first match showed me that they both have a steeeeep learning curve. I was in the Battlemaster rent-a-mech (I used it because I have the bonus plastic mini with my new box set) the map was the mining collective. Someone on VOIP gave orders for the assaults. I typed, "I am new. I will follow" and so I did. I followed the other assaults until someone called out a flank and I turned and saw one of our lights playing peek-a-shoot with an Atlas. I went to help and misjudged the space while trying to peek out behind him and help with the Atlas. I accidentally blocked his retreat and heard, "DON'T STAND BEHIND ME YOU STUPID A-HOLE!" Here I thought, "I am getting jawed at by someone whose danglers have yet to feel the pull of gravity" I didn't have time to say "Sorry" because out stepped the Atlas and we were scrapping. My teammates pulled my tail out of the fire and one of them finished the Atlas. Someone said "Assaults push" I followed, targeted and fired at anything red.

Somehow I survived that match. Sorry to the kid I accidentally blocked while trying to help. I am still working through the first cadet matches and I plan to hold off on buying my first mech after seeing so many pages on that topic here.

Anyway . . . . .If you see me in a match, please feel free to set me straight if I start to screw up. I have a tendency to be aggressive, but I will follow directions when I hear them. I may miss chats on screen, with everything going, until I become more accustomed to the game.

Hope the best,

Jack McKnight

Edited by Jack McKnight, 17 May 2016 - 05:02 PM.

[Metus regem]

Welcome and good luck! Assault mechs and Light mechs are the two hardest weight classes to start with, I'd suggest a Heavy or Medium as a place to start. For IS heavies, I'd suggest dropping $20 on either the Marauder or Warhammer pack, both are very solid tough mechs with good fire power.

[Nik Reaper]

Not to go to the kids defense, but keep in mind that the game has a steep grinding curve as well, unless you shell out money, witch the kid probly didn't do ( or did but felt entitled to a more satisfying round because of it ) and so, as profits depend on the performance of played matches grind rage at team mates is not too uncommon but is more regularly in the form of sarcasm than open mic rage.

Have fun newby and read a lot of guides , both for buying mechs and for strategy, they will help avoid costly mistakes and make you capable of earning more faster.

[Gibson Ibanez]

The kid was right. I did mess up and I am glad that did not get him killed. He was just in fight mode and I have said worse things. I tried to put a funny spin on it but I came off a little jerkish.

[Leone]

Welcome!

Jack McKnight, on 17 May 2016 - 04:59 PM, said:

I typed, "I am new. I will follow" and so I did.

Sounds like you'll do alright.

When you feel upto trying group matches (Which are tougher, cuz groups,) hit me up. (Little button, bottom of the mechlab, just to the right of the LFG button. (I may not be on when you are, but I'm always happy to show new folk the ropes and go over my thoughts on mech tactics and builds.)

~Leone

Edited by Leone, 17 May 2016 - 05:53 PM.

[Koniving]

Jack McKnight, on 17 May 2016 - 05:44 PM, said:

The kid was right. I did mess up and I am glad that did not get him killed.

We've all done that; I'm doing it at the very beginning of this vid.

Keep in mind this video is from 2013 and is Olllld.

Welcome to MWO.

If I see you in a match, you'll probably wonder if I've lost my mind.

On tabletop:

Spoiler

Side note: If you have access to more than one computer... or if you don't mind sharing the same computer and flipping between 2 or more windows... Consider Megamek, the unofficial Battletech tabletop (that Battletech booklets have been using screenshots of to demonstrate rules for quite some time). It isn't as satisfying as playing on a boardgame, but if you're looking to play on a 'grander' scale or to play quickly, the computer handles all the rules and you just tell the game where you want the mech to go and who to shoot; it handles the rest and provides reports. It also provides AI so you can team up against computer players or play online.

Edited by Koniving, 17 May 2016 - 07:51 PM.

[Pocket_Aces]

Welcome to the game, all I can say is, "watch your spacing." It can and does get frustrating when you get torn apart for the umpteenth time due to some one not watching their spacing, been guilty of mic rage myself.

Also where are you from? I would suggest joining a unit to help you learn the ropes.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Thanks for the welcome.

I am sitting on 20 million c-bills after the cadet bonuses, and the only thing I know for sure is that I am NOT a light mech pilot. I tried almost every trial mech with exception of the Vindicator, Commando, and the Mist Lynx. I did not enjoy running the light mechs. My favorites were the Shadowcat, Warhawk, Battlemaster and Ebon Jaguar. I read somewhere that the trial mechs will be changing soon so I may just stuff the c-bills under my matress and try the new trial mechs before I commit to any mech.

Edit: I am from the U.S.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 17 May 2016 - 08:11 PM.

[JC Daxion]

the biggest problem with PUG's

One people don't press as a group.. aka when you start walking around a corner, you do it staggered, side by side, and push around, each on the other persons outside shoulder. Often it is better to keep pressing if you have numbers and twist to spread damage as your weapons recharge.

instead they peek around the corner, and block the space, and then back up and get pissed that you are not playing right. Or worse they try to squeeze between you and the inside corner but instead of blocking movement they block your shots.. Both suck!

Sadly, many people think everyone is a mind reader, and never say, i am just going to peak and back up, or lets push as a group ect.. and then go rage after it doesn't work out. I've been around for years and i still see this stuff happen all the time even trying to talk strats in game, people listening, or going with a play is 50/50 at best. (and just FYI i am just as happy to listen to a shot caller, as i am trying to call the shots, for me the whole object is to just be on the same page.) I'd rather go down trying something new, than the typical camp X spot, which every map has.

So honestly take being yelled at with a grain of salt,, and yea some of the funniest moments i have had was when i was being raged at, noob! and an endless rant of slurs by someone that i would of been shocked if they had hit 12.. I laughed so hard over the mic i think i hurt his feelings, because he didn't say anything the rest of the match. I wasn't even laughing at him persay, just the whole situation was so funny, still makes me smile




Besides all that, i am sure people will come and give you tons of advice, or you can read any one of a number of threads on these boards.. I suggest the LRM's are over powered types,, or the I am new types that have many pages as they are chock full of great info..



My advice, SAVE YOUR 20M!!!! Seriously getting mechs at this point is pointless for the most part. You really need to learn weapon systems and mech classes at this point. You really have a ton to really learn.. so keep playing all those trials.

Another thing i would stay away from assaults as you learn and go with heavies or mediums as they are much more forgiving on movement, and you are in luck as the new mechs dropped which means the assault cue is heavy, and the heavy cue is a lot lighter meaning shorter waits.

Lastly, go play around in training grounds more, learning the weapon systems, and maps with out being shot at.. Practice circling mechs and managing heat, and twisting away, as you pretend to shield fire with your arm as your weapons recharge and twist back, retaining your target for another volley, and repeat..

another thing, get the handle on weapon ranges, and try the whole peak and pock thing around rocks, and around corners, or the ever popular hill humping..

Learn how the different classes move around up ramps, and hills and such as well. The more time you spend learning this stuff with out being shot at, the better. I know it can be boring but 5-10 hours just screwing around in training will make you 10x better, heck maybe even more. Just knowing maps puts you way up on the ladder.

My main rule of thumb is don't buy a mech till you get at least 100 matches under your belt.. and even better 20+ in every trial.. (that is 100-200 matches in total really) By that point you will have a far better understanding and can really dive into what you want because really having 40M pluss before you buy something really opens your options, and will really ease the grind. besides all that XP you have earned in those trials can be used later for unlocks if you choose to buy those mechs.


Good luck man, and have fun!

Edited by JC Daxion, 17 May 2016 - 11:09 PM.

[Koniving]

While I agree learning weapon systems is important, never heard "Don't get mechs yet" before at 20 million.

Snag a Battlemaster. Preloaded in the link is the trial mech's loadout. Also use it to gauge what variants or other mechs you may want. Build a mech up from there to get an idea of the overall cost (brand new plus all modifications) it'll be in cbills.

There are variants with all three weapon hardpoint types that will let you learn the weapons as you play.

Though it's not a bad idea to keep playing trials if that's the route you want. They can be fairly impressive.

Some of us just don't have that kind of patience.

(Some trials I've used in the past.)
Light trial Spider.
Medium trial, Cicada (note this has a very epic 1 vs 2 battle toward the mid-ending starting at about 5:55 and the computer voices have been edited to give a lot more information about what is going on during gameplay; I consider this one a must watch. Lots of tips throughout.).
Heavy trial, Dragon. (Doesn't say how, but shows that arms can be aimed independently of the torso to give a far greater range of movement and even makes a kill using this rather than allowing a faster enemy to encircle me.)
Another medium run, Centurion (the run as the Stalker was disappointing; and it shows why people hate the base cap system, but as the Centurion I even get ballsy and run for short periods of time with the HUD turned off during combat).

Edited by Koniving, 18 May 2016 - 02:56 AM.

[Dragoon20005]

Hi and welcome to the world of MWO

I too was once a noob

but because i been watching youtube for the previous matches that are played by many other players.

you can learn a lot on how they move, use team and terrain tactics to gain the upper hand on the enemy

I am a weekend warrior kind of player due to work on the week days, sometimes gameplay is getting lesser and lesser

some PUG matches can be great when there is a commander providing instructions on the targets to engage and where to find the hiding enemy. Other match is where everyone go and fight on their own and end up getting everyone killed.



My main role in the PUG matches is your friendly Drop Commander leading the 12 man pack. I am still learning the ropes just like any junior officer.

you can hit up my guide although it may need polishing

http://mwomercs.com/...icer-101-guide/

you may need to know the lingo some players may be using at times.

it will be based on NATO naming standards

A for Alpha
B for Bravo
and so on

knowing where your allies are and giving them space while they engage the enemy is key to avoiding friendly fire and stopping your buddies getting stuck as they try to get back into cover.

[Doctor Dinosaur]

Welcome to MWO. One tip which has not been told yet (perhaps because it is obvious):
Aim your shots.
Learn to watch the paperdoll modell of the enemy mech, identify the parts worth shooting at and then learn to hit them. It's useless shooting at the side torso if it is well armored, while center torso is open. Take your time, aim for one second longer and finish the enemy with one shot. Turning down mouse sensitivity and especially mouse acceleration helps a lot. Also many people don't think they will ever get shot in the legs, so they strip armor from there...

Also: The "heavy" queue is normally fuller than the light, medium or assault queue. There's a reason for it (heavy mechs OP )

Edited by Doctor Dinosaur, 18 May 2016 - 04:13 AM.

[WildVector]

Greetings, and welcome!!

You've gotten solid help already, but I must underline something that has more newbies than can be count.

Go watch some YouTube tutorials made by players, there are at least 2 forum references with them. Other than first hand experience it's the best info source. It will help acquiring good habits and hopefully prevent the formation of bad ones.

May sound redundant, but i guarantee that it is time well spent. As an added bonus you'll be presented with several reviews from different angles.

Also there is a rather informative post around with visual pictures to introduce you MWO tactics 101 (hint: never bet on the blue team )

As a farewell note I recommend you try some TS faction/public MWO channels and add/friend helpful players, especially those that can coordinate public groups successfully.


Have fun and happy hunting!!

[General Solo]

Some simple rulez to pilot your Mech .

Stick with the team
Shoot what the team shoots
Hit more than you get hit
See a friendly mech getting hit, return fire at the guy shooting him (Some people just watch)

The End

The other stuff you can pick up on the way.

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 18 May 2016 - 06:37 AM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Thanks for all of the advice I recieved. I have been watching youtube vids. I also watched the videos Koniving posted in the topic. I enjoyed them and picked up tips for sure. Thanks also for the TT tips; I will be sure to check that program out. I read the post in your sig, Koniving, and it helped me understand why people say to avoid using stock mechs. You are definitely more knowledgable about MWO and the boardgame.

I found an app in the Google play store for the boardgame. Not sure if I am supposed to post the name here, but it rhymes with shMech shFactory. I love it. Soooo much information.

[Koniving]

Send me the link via meassage (open my profile and send message).

Try to imagine mwo as BT mixed with Solaris arena with 24 (to 96) mechs and then sped up about 1.5 times.

Also thank you.

[Gibson Ibanez]

In my last post I zeroed in on Koniving for his help but my gratitude was meant to be directed at everyone for the welcome and the tips. Just wanted to make that clear because I have OCD when it comes to explaining myself. Apparently I also like to type run-on sentences.

Edit: I bought the BLR-3M; STD 340, LB 10-X, 6ML. (Chicks. Love. Battlemasters.) It already had double heat sinks so it seemed a bargain. I Changed my POV to 90 and it helps so much with that cockpit. I am focused on running around the training grounds learning to pilot without throttle decay. It is taking some practice.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 18 May 2016 - 07:02 PM.

[Bohxim]

First, Welcome to MWO! Even though I'm not that veteran a player yet either haha. Anyways after about onwards of 6 months playing, I feel that on top of the when to push when to poke strategies, the biggest thing anyone can learn is positioning. 1-2 guys raining fire at a path you know red mechs walk often softens them up decently before they engage your blue death ball or firing line. This also changes most player behaviors as well. Once they take some fire from an angle, some aren't as willing to poke out and oftentimes come out staggered which might be too late. (Even I'm guilty of that sometimes)
Learn also to twist your dmg around your mech to last longer and make use of your mech hard pounds effectively. High mounts work wonders for hill cresting, low mounts have to learn to find open grounds to put all their fire out effectivery. Arm mounted weapons are faster reacting and great for tracking lights but tend to be low mounted if they have lower actuators (those that let you swivel your arms left and right)
If you want a mech that punishes you for not being in the right position and twisting properly, yet dishes out the punishment freely when you get your positioning correct, get the jagermech. Great learning platform
Hope it helps
Cheers

[Koniving]

Jack McKnight, on 18 May 2016 - 05:03 PM, said:

Edit: I bought the BLR-3M; STD 340, LB 10-X, 6ML. (Chicks. Love. Battlemasters.) It already had double heat sinks so it seemed a bargain. I Changed my POV to 90 and it helps so much with that cockpit. I am focused on running around the training grounds learning to pilot without throttle decay. It is taking some practice.

(The meme reference to one of my vids made my day. Fatal does love her Battlemasters.)

I've found that Marik mechs almost always have double heatsinks and often have XL engines built into them; reading into the Mariks explained why which I can summarize in two words: "Red. Tape."

Mariks barely got into any fights during the Succession Wars and as such they never really had their tech ground into dust like the rest. While every faction has its niches in lore, the only ones who have a technological comparison beyond the Clans is Comstar.
Of course, this also means that Mariks have all the combat experience of a kid given a gun and told "Shoot the scary things." In this case the gun would basically be the movie trope of a golden gun but when your greatest achievement in a mech is being able to do a handstand under controlled conditions....

Heh.
Random (very exaggerated) ramble.

Seriously though in MWO's faction play, the Mariks are pretty awesome allies of Liao.
(Mech designations do have some neutral letters, but in general the letter is indicative of their origin, M for Marik, L for Liao, X for 'made because we can' or experimental.) (This has no meaning in MWO though a few years ago it was implied that it 'could be' when/if logistics and world bonuses to an economy comes into play. If.)


Any mech that has DHS or XL engines in it already does so at a significant discount versus having to get those from scratch.

LBX is a great but often underappreciated weapon. Its principle effectiveness comes from two things:
1) While most weapons have 2x range (meaning up to stated range it does full damage, and can do gradually decreasing up to 2x the number where it finally does 0), the Gauss Rifle, AC/2 and yes the Inner Sphere LBX can do damage to 3x range. Meaning full damage to stated range, at twice that it does half damage, and beyond that it does 0 damage. (Fun fact: Crit damage isn't reduced by range).
2) The LBX has as many chances to do crit damage as there are pellets, so for the IS LBX there's 10 chances for each to do 1-3 times crit damage against structure (no through-armor crits). Remember that the crit rules are "Rolling Crits" meaning if one is scored it will keep rolling until it settles on something and BLAM!, damage. And that most items have 10 HP. Additionally, 15% of every amount of crit damage you inflict on their equipment is also applied as bonus damage to internal structure.

People really underestimate the value behind that. It's why the Heavy Metal I made in Ze Battlegrid Tutorial works so well.

If and when you decide to change to an XL engine, might I suggest an ER PPC to compliment the LBX? It has an impressive velocity quirk for the ER PPC. You wouldn't be able to miss with it and its range compliments (and for focused damage surpasses) the LBX. The cool nature of the LBX also helps balance it out.
----------------
If you do go back to Light mechs and 40 ton mediums, you'll want throttle decay on as the advantage of the near instant stop is astronomical for 'pop-and-shoot' tactics. Myself though I keep my throttle decay off; I like to feel like I'm in a mech and speed variance helps with dodging enemy ballistics.

Btw that App is pretty handy. It's a bit quicker than looking them up on megamek.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Im glad you liked that app. I have been referring to it constantly. It even lets you print off record sheets for any unit.

I bought the BLR-2C with the leftover c-bills. I sold the extra STD 340 and bought the STD 315 to build a clone of the trial. I will try the PPC with the XL idea out.

Edited for random period mid-sentence and other grammar screwups.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 19 May 2016 - 05:38 AM.