12 replies to this topic

[ggodo]

So, I went and filled up my mech bays with Light mechs and an Awesome. Now I see that I need to play Faction Warfare to unlock more mechbays. Does anyone have suggestions for Trial Mechs I could use in FW? I know from past experience that Heavies are very much the way to go, but the Thunderbolt trial I had been rolling appears to be gone. So, has anyone else been rolling FW in trial mechs? Do you have any suggestions?

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Quick question: which faction do you intend to contract with for FW? I mean, I could recommend some of the Clan trials as being not-awful, but then that doesn't help if you go an roll Davion loyalist tomorrow. Vice-versa. So let's start there.

Also, what are the mechs you already own? You know you CAN mix trial and owned mechs in a drop deck. And since you still earn XP in FW, it's probably in your best interest to take your owned mechs whenever possible/feasible.

So yeah. What faction do you intend to fight for, and what are your light mechs? Let's start there.

[Spheroid]

I guess I would run the two trial assaults, a medium and the locust. The Trebuchet is garbage but I think it would still net you a higher score than the Vindicator.

Edited by Spheroid, 11 June 2016 - 08:45 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

Most of the trial Mechs are OK at the moment, however few are setup in anything like a configuration I like to play myself.

You mentioned owning an Awesome and some Light Mechs, what are the owned Mechs including variant? we could potentially use some of those Mechs along with trial Mechs to fill the drop deck.

[Leone]

Ugh. I don't actually like the trial loadouts this go 'round. But were you to take em, I'd suggest Ebon Jaguar, Timberwolf, Shadow Cat, and then Arctic Cheetah. You'll leave a buncha tonnage behind, but I think those are the least bad of a bad bunch.

Good luck

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 11 June 2016 - 08:56 AM.

[ggodo]

I have an Awesome 9M and the three C-Bill Ravens, all of them basic'd. So that's 105 tons I could fill, which leaves me with space for 145 tons, I think? as for faction loyalties, probably IS so that I can use the mechs I own, but I'm not above merc-ing for clans to get me that merc rep mechbay.

[Aligertor]

All the trail mechs haev to much rear armor and to much front armor.
Still i would recomment these 4 mechs.

35t Firestarter
65t Thunderbold
65t Jaegermech
85t Battlemaster
95t Banshee

Of cause only IS mechs since it would be hard to fit a clan mech in a dropdeck with your Awsome.

I avoided brawly mechs in the list since this doesnt match the ussual playstyle in FW.
Therefore beside the Firestarter all are mid-long range.

So this would be the mechs i would considder using. Perhaps you can find some medium mech thats kind of playable for u but over all i think all the other builds are crap.

Edited by Aligertor, 11 June 2016 - 10:38 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

out of the available Mechs I would go Jagermech and Orion to fill out your deck, possibly drop the Awesome in exchange for the Battlemaster as well.

I cannot in good conscience suggest any of the other IS trial Mechs.

Sorry

Aligertor, on 11 June 2016 - 10:36 AM, said:

All the trail mechs haev to much rear armor and to much front armor.
Still i would recomment these 4 mechs.

35t Firestarter
65t Thunderbold
65t Jaegermech
85t Battlemaster
95t Banshee

I cannot think of a single example of a Mech having too much front armor and too much rear armor

unfortunately from that list only the JM6 and BLR are currently available.

the current IS trials are
Locust,
Commando,
Trebuchet,
Vindicator,
Jagermech,
Orion,
Awesome,
Battlemaster

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 11 June 2016 - 10:42 AM.

[Spheroid]

Those heavies are garbage. Where in FW are you going to utilize dual gauss well? Answer nowhere. The meta is all about medium range huge alphas.

You sit in back and the guys up front are just going to have one less mech to share armor resulting in the wave being crushed.

[Digital_Angel]

Spheroid, on 11 June 2016 - 11:28 AM, said:

Those heavies are garbage. Where in FW are you going to utilize dual gauss well?

Since the topic is CW specific, if you are on the side defending the base against an attack/counter attack, dual gauss could be very useful on many of the CW maps. Much less useful on the attacking side of a match though.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

ggodo, on 11 June 2016 - 09:24 AM, said:

I have an Awesome 9M and the three C-Bill Ravens, all of them basic'd. So that's 105 tons I could fill, which leaves me with space for 145 tons, I think? as for faction loyalties, probably IS so that I can use the mechs I own, but I'm not above merc-ing for clans to get me that merc rep mechbay.

First, run your Awesome and two of your Ravens. I'd say probably the -3L (ECM, 2x ERLL) and -4X (suggested build, give or take), and the trial BLR-2C(C). Oh, and here's a thought for your Awesome. Probably better suited to FW than the PPC/ERPPC thing. I mean, yeah, it's specifically quirked for the ERPPC, but the quirks aren't enough to make it GOOD. Forget the missile launchers. Strip some armor off of the LA, max everywhere else. Replace the Peeps with LPLs (much better suited to the current meta anyhow, and you DO have some quirks for them), replace the MPL and SPL with three MLs, bump up to an XL 350 (I know it's pricey... it's WORTH it, and you'll get a lot of use out of that engine), and enjoy a relatively solid heat efficiency with a not-that-awful laser vomit fast assault. Still FAR inferior to the BLR for that role, but you gotta work with what you've got there.

Won't be a GREAT deck, but it'll have to do.

Everyone's first FW drop deck sucks, man. If you can do well in a crap deck, though, then you'll do GREAT in a solid deck.

My first FW drop deck? Jester, CPLT-K2, Firebrand, and RVN-3L(C). LOTS of large lasers and large pulse lasers. NOT an optimal deck at all, but it was good enough to get me learning my way around CW and what works.

And look, with Premium Time running, and the Tournament Supporter Package bonus, and even with a BAD (-10%) contract, I can pull about 1,000,000 CBills in a win. And I'm AWFUL at this game.

So get on it, man! The Ravens should be easy. The Awesome is gonna be kinda pricey to upgrade (stock should be an XL 320, so you can work with that... if you can't afford the new engine, then stick with the stock one and turn the MLs to MPLs and stuff in DHS wherever you can). That Battlemaster will have you wishing you had never laid eyes on the Awesome--it's a SPECTACULAR mech. You're gonna LOVE it.

And keep us updated on how it goes for you!

[Nerdboard]

First of all I do not recommend dropping trials in FP. Try to avoid it as much as possible. In most cases if you do not have the mechs to put up a dropdeck then you are not really ready for the gamemode. There are exceptions of course and it definitely depends on your mech choices.

The second point: If you have no aversion against them, play clans. Their trial mechs atm are better. Choose Jade Falcons for now since they are the only faction with lots of matches. You could then build your deck around the trial Ebon Jaguar and Timberwolf. Add whatever fits the weight and do not go LRM heavy.

If - against better judgment - you do want to go trials and do want to go Inner sphere :

Try to avoid the Commando. It is not a strong mech to begin with and the trial loadout is horrible.
The Vindicator is actually quite good if you can work with PPCs.
I'd also try to avoid the Trebuchet since it is very difficult to get locks consistently even with the Tag laser.
Take the Battlemaster over the Awesome, it has better hardpoints and the loadout are basically the same.
Finally the Orion is not half as bad as some people say. It is quite tanky and packs a punch. Its main drawback is the low range. Give it a try on maps with brawling possibilities like defense on vitric forge or emerald taiga.

Edited by Nerdboard, 12 June 2016 - 04:29 AM.

[ggodo]

I've no real aversion to Clans. The mechs I own are all IS, but I have to play FW to get Mechbays to get to the points where I can own more mechs. I usually do pretty well in QP in my Ravens, and I love Ravens, so I bought those, but now I've filled my bays, and the only way to get more bays is to play more FW. I ised to do ok at FW with Trial Mechs before, but I don't know the current set well enough. I've not the time to play frequently, nor the cash to drop $50 on mechpacks, so my progression has been slow.