14 replies to this topic

[BodakOfSseth]

Warning, So many questions ahead.

Okay, Is this normal? You old hands ought to know. It seems there's so much pressure from PGI to Spend the things! Do the things! Gain the bonus things! (so you can) Spend more things! Do more things! Gain more bonus things!

Right. Is it normal that they have all these things going on at the same time?
Customer Appreciation "Achievements" (make 100 drops, spend any amount of $, Buy some mechs, then get stuff)
Heavy Mech sale (35% off cbill and MC of all the heavies)
Leaderboard event (make PUG drops, kill count achievements, get stuff)

On top of that, I'm just now at the end of my Cadet Bonus and I feel like I should start seriously consider buying mechs to gain the experience (or whatever), and really get down to training and specializing in my favored mechs and playstyle.

I have this sense that maybe it's their fiscal year end and they're trying to make sales numbers, or maybe they're just trying to keep us engaged or...?

As a new player, I see all these benefits that will vanish soon and I don't want to miss out from hesitancy or reluctance, but I also don't want to be foolish and waste the MC, Cbills and all the rest of that.

Also, how much does this stuff stack?
Clearly if I make a drop and kill something, that counts for all the things counting total drops and/or kills.
But the Inner Sphere Reward for Customer loyalty - those are collections, right? if I buy a heavy from the 35% heavy mech sale, that's not going to count towards the loyalty achievement, right?

I like the idea of getting "free" mechs (or at least, greatly discounted ones) so just for the hell of it, I got the MC reward to get the BJ-2 Loyalty Variant, but I've got questions:
1. I assume it would be a "good idea" for me to pick up two other Blackjack Chassis, for this experience thing (that I still don't really get, but that's okay). Because 3 is the magic number, I'll be fine with that, right?
2. I appreciate that PGI wants to point out the people who are bold enough to spend cash on them but MY GOD that skin is eye searingly AWFUL. I finally found the re-color tool in the Mech bay, but can one apply that to things like these Loyalty Variants?

Also, How the heck am I supposed to know which mechs I like the best if I can't test drive them? Online reviews are a good start, and Youtube is lovely and all, but seriously...
I mean, I suppose I can hypothesize based on performance stats of my profile (yes, I'm clearly a fan of Medium lasers, and I seem to do better in the stock locust compared to the stock spider, but what about the others I don't get to test?? I really enjoyed the Orion for the 4 matches I tried it out in, but is it worth picking up at this point? When can I expect the next sale on large batches of mechs?

I HATE pressure to buy. A lot. I've always been the much more cautious buyer, who evaluates my options, carefully checks things out, and then makes a decision and sticks by it. It seems a waste to me to buy more than one or two chassis types for each of the weight classes.

PLEASE HELP me feel understand and better.

[BodakOfSseth]

OH YEAH and if I buy a Clan Mech, can I use it as an Inner Sphere pilot in faction play? I dont think I can, but... there it is.

[oldradagast]

Welcome!

With regard to which mechs to buy, the Meta Mechs website is at least a decent guide:

http://metamechs.com...meta-tier-list/

Some folks will bash it for not being super up to date or covering the latest "high tier meta," but it at least gives a general way to sort mechs by power level. Nothing is written in stone, but the mechs that do better in that last are generally better mechs.

Also, here's a good link to an online mech lab that will help you experiment with mech builds before buying anything:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

Other points:
- Getting 3 different variants of a given type of mech (Blackjacks, Hunchbacks, etc.) is good since that way you can level up the mech fully. That being said, if you utterly hate the free mech you're given, don't waste the money or time on 2 more since that probably won't change your opinion of the mech.
- Yes, you can change the colors on the loyalty variant camos, though you are still stuck with the overall camo scheme.
- IS and Clan mechs can't mix in Faction Play; if you're clan, you can't play IS mechs, and vise-versa, in Faction Play. You can do whatever you want in Quick Play, however.

I hope this helps.

Edited by oldradagast, 23 September 2016 - 10:47 AM.

[Void Angel]

No, the different tech bases are separate in Faction Play.

I'm dropping in matches right now, but let me answer a few of your questions:

PGI will always be happy to sell you things, being a business and all - but you shouldn't feel pressured. The Loyalty rewards are an annual thing, and you just happened to start near the end of that; trust me, 100 matches in a year is child's play. Even if you're... you know, a child... but it's easy even for - you get the picture. =)

The sales and events are just to keep things interesting - they will come again, so don't sweat it. I myself probably won't make a purchase for the current sale I'm pretty much tapped out on c-bills after buying the Kodiak - and I'm not biting any fingernails at the lost opportunity.

The collections from the Loyalty rewards are indeed the ones you buy on the web store for cash (not MC.) Those particular rewards are designed to thank players who are early adopters and preorder the 'mech packs. I'm not getting half the rewards on that list this year, and again... not sweating it.

[TooDumbToQuit]

I've learned that do not sweat missing one because there will be another next week.

And I still say PGI should have RENT A MECH. For 10% of the cost of the Mech, you can use it for 4-7 playing days. You can change it in any way you want but at the stroke of the clock, it returns to the store without the changes you made.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Loyalty mechs are a one time thing. Once this opportunity passes, you wont have a chance to get these mechs again (unless you win them from some super rare PGI hosted event).

This years loyalty mech rewards are completelly different from last years versions.

But with that being said, you will eventually get a chance to buy those varients without the (L)oyalty tag so its not a total loss if you miss out.

As for sales and stuff, they frequently have them, but sometimes it can take a while before you see the specific things you want.

I always try to buy mechs at discount.... I never like to pay full price on a mech if I can avoid it. But my favorite type of purchase is the early-adaptor pre-orders since those come with the most bang for the buck!

Anyway, keep an eye out for sales, because discounted mechs can really save you millions on cbills!!! They are great bargins!
(Also, if you dont mind spending for mc for mechbays, a coulle times a year, there is a rare 50% off mechbays! 150mc per mech bays is a great price!)

As for events, those cycle through frequently, as they host at least one event a month! I recommend trying to accomplish each personal goal per each event since its a great way to get free mc... And bonus prizes! (Sometimes you can even win a free mechbay!!!)

[Tier5 Kerensky]

At start, you should just play the game, maybe occasionally ask for stuff you are unfamiliar with. Don't worry about any archivements, events or sales, they will all come periodically and repeatedly.

Remember the only real goal in the game, is pleasure, it's something you want to do on your own time.

If you got the C-Bills many heavies are nice to have, they have firepower and mobility. If not, don't worry about it, more sales will come, maybe on average once a month. Sometimes per class(lights->assults), sometimes few specific IS and Clan mechs.

[Roughneck45]

Don't sweat the sales and events, they are constant these days. The only sale that comes once a year if we are lucky is the bulk MC discount.

IS customer loyalty is for packages only.

If you want to level the mech to its full potential get 3 variants every time.

In faction play your drop deck is either IS or Clan, no mixing.

Its hard to get a feel for a mech without purchasing it. They have the trial mechs and I think you can take mechs you don't own to the testing ground, but without being able to change the loadout and fight real players its kind of pointless.

Ask as many questions as you want, builds, mechanics, whatever. Plenty of help available on the forums!

[TooDumbToQuit]

I can't remember if it was the lights or mediums they had on sale for 50% off a few months ago. I bought 3 od each that I wanted, did the pilot trees and sold back the ones I did not want.

And I broke even on them.

[Hunka Junk]

This is kind of a busy end-of-year time.

But, like Teer says, you shouldn't let that stuff overwhelm you.

Your primary question is what to spend your cadet money on.

Remember you need to buy three of the same mech, so don't look at it as a lump sum.

The clan mechs are more expensive but come ready to run. The IS mechs are gonna neeed about 5-7 mill to fully kit out.

So, choose slowly and carefully.

[Roughneck45]

Another thing for buying mechs, if you have to be absolutely sure of your purchase, make another account for testing purposes.

Use that cadet bonus to try things you aren't sure about for your main account.

[BodakOfSseth]

Roughneck45, on 23 September 2016 - 12:36 PM, said:

Another thing for buying mechs, if you have to be absolutely sure of your purchase, make another account for testing purposes.

That's a great idea.
but...
AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

And yes, thanks for the advice. I'm here for the fun - I'm just trying to avoid expensive (in time and c-bills...[so, you know, time]) mistakes. I'll probably chat with my IRL buddy who's been playing for a while about it. Maybe his faction or team or...whatever... needs some roles filled that I can help with.

[Ithilid]

I will give you a few questions to ask yourself.

• Do you want a new mech as soon as possible or willing to walk a longer road and play for it? Now=cash or Later=C-bills
  
• Do you need an extra reward to play? Yes=Challenge accepted No=Meh!
  
• Is that extra reward worth it? No=Diapers cost WHAT? Yes=Wife will never notice!
  
• Are you playing for fun? Well get back to playing then!

Take it from me you can waste plenty of C-bills finding what you like playing and come back from those losses.

Buying 3 variants has to do with the skill tree system (perks that improves play). Don't stress to much over it since it takes a bit of xp to get to mastery

[Void Angel]

Huzzah!

Also, be aware that while the Loyalty 'Mechs, per se, are a one-time opportunity, the actual chassis variants will be offered eventually for c-bills. It's the special patterns that are meant to be exclusive.

[WVAnonymous]

I'll chime in with

Yes, there's events more weekends than not.

If you play events, you'll find buying mechs for c-bills is pretty easy because if you run the same build 50 times in a weekend, you have enough to buy another mech. If you need to buy more than 50 mechs a year, you've found the right place, glad to have you.

If you don't want to spend real money, at 300 MC per mech bay, the frequent events may provide you with enough to stay in mech bays, particularly if you're saving for assaults and maybe can buy one per week.

I have good acquaintances who play constantly, only own 20-30 mechs, and have literally half a billion c-bills. You absolutely do not have to own them all if you find a few you like.