24 replies to this topic

[Hrafnagud]

I really love this universe, Mechwarrior has always been a fazination to me, but I've had very little experience with it. Just played Mechwarrior 4 and more on a causual basis and never online.
But when the news about this game came to me, I just knew I wanted to take part in it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I think I would.

So here's the case.

Will someone like me, with very little backstory to the whole "playing the game" mechanics, be able to do do well enough? I have very little knowledge about setting up mechs and such. I never aim for "best" im MP games, I aim for fun and help where I can help.

Anyway, leaning against getting Legendary Founder, because even though I may suck so bad at this, I want to support something I believe in and hope to have great fun with. Take a chance and hope for the best. I seldom do that, so this is kind of a big thing for me.

[River McCain]

You will do fine, support and enjoy.

[Merrick]

support as much as you like, this game is easy to learn, difficult to master so you'll be in the same boat as everyone else adapting to an entirely new piloting and aiming mechanic

Edited by Merrick, 18 July 2012 - 06:35 AM.

[Hezi Baer]

I would say, if you enjoyed playing MW4, you are at the right place. To play MWO no or nearly no background knowledge needed. But maybe the deeper you dive in this world the more you learn. By reading the novels, or tons of information on the net. Im sure there are some houseunits/corps that you can join even as a "brand new to the bt universe". Just go on, you will love it :-)

[Whip]

IMHO MWO like it's predescors, is a game that is easy to play, but difficult to master. there more to this game than just being a good shot.

[Der Zivilist]

Hitch yourself a membership in a "guild" with players who can provide you with 'Mech builds. Over time as you play, you will learn what is important, and you will begin to understand the choices they made. From then on you will be able to make your own designs, based on your playstyle.

Also, what I recommend you do right now is, get a Veteran Founder status. There is a chance (but no guarantee) that you will be invited into the closed beta that way, where you will be able to see for yourself if the upgrade to Legendary is worth it for you. And if you don't get in before August 7th, well... then you can still ponder upgrading before the Founders offer ends.

[LordDread]

Cause you will be fine, just start poking round here http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page read up about the factions, mech then eventualy stumble your way to the weapons list and compare weight v damage v heat, grab yourself some paper pick a mech, work out its damage output v heat and its weapons weights, then start changing out weapons and seeing what figures u can make, whilst not foolproof , its a great way to see stats wise, what happens when u start monkeying about with weapons, then eventualy u can go all the way to changing armor etc

Whilst that wont help totaly with mwo ( the whole hardpoint thing) it will give u a good idea of what u can do

hope it helps

[Name48928]

Der Zivilist, on 18 July 2012 - 06:42 AM, said:

Hitch yourself a membership in a "guild" with players who can provide you with 'Mech builds.

I did some shopping around when I first got here, and I only found one guild that didn't have mandatory "training" three times a week. Not really an option for a "casual" gamer.

Quote

Also, what I recommend you do right now is, get a Veteran Founder status. There is a chance (but no guarantee) that you will be invited into the closed beta that way...

Again, beta is for testing the game. NOT to get early access. hrafnagud83 should only get a Founder's pack if they are willing to spend their own money to support PGI's development of MWO. Getting a Founder's pack for early beta access is just ridiculous.

[Hrafnagud]

Wow, lots of constructive answers in a very short time! *Impressed* ^^
yeah, I read a lot and got some books last xmas and I'll start reading now that my interest for this game and universe skyrocketed through the roof.
I find in general the forums quite enjoyable also, since there are more constructive post than pure trolling and negativity here than in other forums I've been.
But the most important thing; nice to see so many positive answers. It makes the decition so much more easier.
I wanted to support this game either way, but since my wallet isn't as fat as me, the amount I use for the Founders program, have made me go back and forth for some days.

PS: Englsih isn't my primary language, so bear with me on mistakes and grammar mistakes. ^^

[Glythe]

hrafnagud83, on 18 July 2012 - 06:19 AM, said:

I really love this universe, Mechwarrior has always been a fazination to me, but I've had very little experience with it. Just played Mechwarrior 4 and more on a causual basis and never online.
But when the news about this game came to me, I just knew I wanted to take part in it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I think I would.

You can always get an elite founder pack... only $60 and it is the best package deal for the money.

If you want a mech that you will make good earnings with I suggest you try the hunchback founder pack. He is cheap to operate and can have some heavy duty weapons. Or you could go with the Atlas if you want to be slower and have more armor. IF you want a support role with long range missiles then go with the catapult. The jenner should also be a good CB earner as it is cheap to operate but you would be a skirmisher (cant really engage heavier mechs just need to harass them).

As for mech setup really what you do when you build a mech is decide what range or ranges you will control. The default Atlas for example is setup for close range combat:

1 srm, 1 lrm, 4 ml, 1 AC/20

You could tweak him for long range:

1 lrm, 2ml, gauss rifle, 2 LL


But note that in doing these changes you become weaker at close range to someone who has more heat efficient weapons. You can only hope to really dominate one range or have 2 ranges at which you are quite effective (but not as good as if you only picked one range). Proper lance coordination will later be a factor as well so you need to find some friends to play with to really enjoy the game. Generally speaking long range weapons generate more heat.

What are the basics? Ever played world of tanks? Basically you move out, and try to form an information network to find the enemy. Try to engage them in superior numbers or weaker mechs vs your stronger mechs. After a few small victories like that you tend to get a team collapse event. For example 11 vs 7 is a hard battle to win even if those first few victorious mechs got damage; what you have is multiple skirmishes with 2 on 3 or 2 on 4 and it escalates quickly. Unlike WoT everything can hurt everything and there is no bouncing. Try to concentrate your fire on one part of the enemy to maximize damage or else you are just burning off armor and not really hurting him. Another option is to capture the base (assume its like wot where you sit in a designated area and wait while a counter begins.... probably after you count to 100 while not getting shot in the cap area). Killing mechs is a safer win than trying to capture because you can always uncapture but you can't revive fallen mechs. There is also the option of a simultaneous capture and draw.

Edited by Glythe, 18 July 2012 - 08:09 AM.

[Brenden]

To me, so long as you don't have that CoD mentality (Running up behind a mech, trying to knife them when you can't. Whining about taking damage and keeping it, no reloads on ammo and etc. etc.) that would cause you to be a not so well off player I think you'll do great. I'm new so-to-speak as well in that I've never played the Table Top version, but I found a mini from one a few years ago. I think it's called a Shadow Hawk.

[JFlash49]

Dont sweat it dude. You'll be fine. just have fun

[ArchRakshasa]

Playing the game will be easy enough. Just find what role you like to play and go for it. Mastering it comes with experience, once you put in a little time it will come to you.

[Brenden]

The game is easy to learn, but hard to master. You could have been playing MW, MW2, MW3 and M4 your whole life, and get killed by a new guy running a Cicada with an Autocannon. It just takes time to learn, and I think we all have the potential to be awesome Mechwarriors. On that note, whoever equips CASE too an Awesome, I cannot help but facepalm.

[Andrew X]

Glad you are going to try the game!

The easiest way to get over the information hurdle is to hook up with a group of people and share information. Most groups may already have someone who loves all of the details and you could just learn what you need from them. I would imagine there are region specific groups formed already, and definitely more when they open an EU server.

I will say most groups will require some form of voice communications because the gameplay is so fast. You may not have to talk much, except to say, "Ok/Roger/Aff" but you will need to be able to hear the other people in your group.

All in all, I would encourage you to go shopping for some new friends to make the journey easier.

[Brenden]

Listen to Andrew, he knows what he's talking about. I know some information, so if you want I can tell you what I know. You could also go to sarna.net, it's the offical Battletech/Mechwarrior Wikipedia.

[Dork]

I am in much the same boat as you. I hae never really played MechaWarrior (perhaps as a child, did it ever come included with a version of Windows because I seem to remember something very similar to this.... but it was was long time ago)

I signed up with some friends from other games that were talking about it, and up to this week haven't really put any investment into it. I am diving headfirst though, and it's good to know that there are others out there like me.

[Thaygood]

Dude get the Legendary Founder and enjoy learning the game and most of all have fun.

[Davion5150]

If you enjoyed Mechwarrior 4, you should enjoy MWO.

There will be a learning curve with the game. Learning how to pilot a mech, learning how to shoot, etc, etc. But most people are going to have to go through it in some way or the other. So don't let that get you down.

As far as mech builds, once the game becomes 'public', people will start posting mech builds and strategies. So you can just examine those and glean information from them for you to use. In the meantime, try out different mechs to see what kind you have the most fun in.

MWO will be PvP. There will be live players on your team and the other team. This can be daunting for those who have never played a MMO before. I played many MMORPGs but I never delved into the PvP action much. World of Tanks was my first real PvP action. But I found the experience enjoyable. There is nothing comparable to playing with/against other people.

If you like the MW universe and you enjoyed playing Mechwarrior 4, I would recommend you buy the Elite Founder package. If needed, you can always upgrade to Legendary before the end date.

[Hrafnagud]

Well, then I'm in the Legendary club myself. This is too good a deal and too good a game (hopefully) to no invest in.
Still some time 'till it's out, so plenty of time to read and learn and drool all over everything the devs put out for us to see.