50 replies to this topic

[Angel of Annihilation]

Every time I come back and start playing this game I can't help almost immediately to start getting frustrated due to the economy.

Ok, to start with I am running premium. I am currently working on master the Phoenix Hawk. I have one at Elite and a Second Chassis about 10 matches away from Elite. I need the 3rd Chassis and have settled on the PHX-3S which is about 7 million. I only have 4 million saved.

To start with I am averaging about 200k a game so in 15 matches I will have the 3 million I need to by the next chassis which is about 5 matches after I need it to start working on it. Then some of my builds need modules to really flesh them out, that is another 6 million or 30 matches worth of play time. Then one of the builds I would like to try out requires a 310 XL engine which is another 6 million or 30 matches, JUST TO EXPERIMENT WITH A BUILD I MIGHT NOT LIKE and that is just for the Phoenix Hawk.

But I also want to try out the Highlander IIC which starts out at 12 million a mech before outfitting costs and many of the builds I want to try with the Highlander IIC will require I buy different Clan XL engines. What is that going to cost, another 50 million C-Bills. At 10 matches per million C-bills that is only 500 matches to earn the money for that mech.

Oh and I actually spent cash on the Huntsman, but since I am going to need to buy new weapons and omnipods to build them out, there goes another 2-3 million C-bills so another 15 matches worth of C-bills. Oh and don't forget modules....another 15-30 matches worth.

Then I also bought into the Marauder IIC which is going to literally require a metric ton worth of C-bills to outfit since, ALL the enignes will have to be changed. I mean I guess I could just buy a 325XL, 350XL and 375XL and to experiment with but that still is 20 million worth of C-bills or 200 more match.

I mean What The Frack, how the heck is a person supposed to afford all this <Bleep>. I have to play 600 fricken matches just to buy, outfit and master 4 different mechs, 2 of which I am actually paying cash to own. I play quite a bit recently but sure the heck don't have time to play 200 matches a month.

In general the whole F'ed up economy just completely ruins any sort of feeling of actually progressing in this game. I can't afford to really experiment and generally have to settle with using whatever I have laying around often as not. I can't afford to fully outfit all my mechs with engines, equipment and modules so I can just log in and play, instead I have to play a mini-game of "find the module" or "find the engine" every time I want to swap mechs. Finally I can't afford to really buy new mechs to keep my interest going even when I am spending alot of cash for premium time and the occasional mech pack.

The economy in this game just sucks.

Sorry Rant off now but frack, I am tired of feeling always behind the C-bill curve, even when I am spending several hundred dollars on this game a year.

[FupDup]

*Paulconomy

[Bombast]

It's a bit rough to start, but as you start stockpiling engines, it gets a bit better.

I also wouldn't worry about modules too much, unless it's a weapon system you think or know you're going to be using a lot (Like Medium Lasers, Medium Pulse Lasers, and SRM6s.)

Edited by Bombast, 08 October 2016 - 01:28 PM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

The high outfitting cost of IS mechs is what keeps me from buying IS mechpacks, and with the new clan battlemechs, the Kodiak is the only one I got because it had favorable engines and builds.

I'm generally making a million every 4 matches, but with how bad players are sometimes I tend to not feel like playing much so Cbill income is slow. Playing with a team is very profitable though, I make a little more than average because near 100% win rate with my 4-man and actually feel like playing with a group of friends for a few hours at a time.

Basically join a unit you have fun with, watch cbills roll in, time flies by, you look at your cbill count and its like 5million or more, then in a couple days of playing with your unit you can buy what you want.

EDIT: also be ready to just swap engines and modules between mechs rather than buying them for each mech. I usually don't even buy weapon modules on some mechs except for a few that I've played enough to master them, or a few weapon systems I use on a load of mechs and I just swap them between mechs.

Edited by Dakota1000, 08 October 2016 - 01:33 PM.

[Monkey Lover]

If cbills were easier to get people wouldn't buy mech packs.

If this were easier to get people wouldn't keep playing extra games to get those cbills.

So in the end it needs to suck to earn them or we wouldn't have the basic game we have now.



One side note I think you can try out the highlander 2c on the ED test server for free.

Edited by Monkey Lover, 08 October 2016 - 01:35 PM.

[ScarecrowES]

It's generally a waste of time to work on leveling a single variant at a time. Your time is much better spent playing a single variant until you get the 2x daily bonus, and then switching to the next one... and so on.

It takes much less time and effort to level this way, and you get a LOT more out of your premium time. I'll make more than a million a night just rolling through 3 variants.

If you're only buying/leveling one variant at a time, you're just wasting your own effort. Especially if you add premium to the mix. Just throwing real money in the toilet.

[RestosIII]

I never use modules outside of advanced zoom, and I have one of those just sitting around that I switch between ALL of my mechs. So, that's c-bills saved right there.

[FupDup]

Monkey Lover, on 08 October 2016 - 01:34 PM, said:

If cbills were easier to get people wouldn't buy mech packs.

If this were easier to get people wouldn't keep playing extra games to get those cbills.

So in the end it needs to suck to earn them or we wouldn't have the basic game we have now.



One side note I think you can try out the highlander 2c on the ED test server for free.

Part of the problem is that even Premium players still have to experience a grind. Pay2Grind.

[3xnihilo]

The grind is especially bad if you have limited play time sometimes it will take me 2 weeks to get in 10 matches. But, like Bombast said, once you have a collection of engines and a couple modules you can switch those from mech to mech and save cbills. My other suggestion ion is change things up from time to time, hop in a different weight class or even run a trial (some are ok and some are really bad) to get a change of pace so that playing the game doesn't become monotonous. Focus on trying to improve areas of your game play instead of "how many more cbills do I need?" Grinding cbills can be a lot like watching a pot boil, if you aren't paying attention you get them really fast, if you are it takes forever.

[FupDup]

RestosIII, on 08 October 2016 - 01:36 PM, said:

I never use modules outside of advanced zoom, and I have one of those just sitting around that I switch between ALL of my mechs. So, that's c-bills saved right there.

No Seismic Wallhack or Radar Derp?

[Deathlike]

The Paulconomy is set up so that you are... given the option to "buy a mechpack" (pay to avoid some grind) or grind it out. There's no two ways around it.

So, it begs the question...

[Bombast]

Oh, that was another thing I forgot to say - Just buy one of each module/engine you need. It'll save you a ton. The real trick is to remember to strip your mech out whenever you switch - Not all the armor and weapons, but just any engine you know is currently 'shared,' and EVERY SINGLE MODULE. The only thing more frustrating than buying a new engine is rooting through dozens (Or for some people, hundreds) of battlemechs looking for that one stupid Radar Deprev module.

[Tibbnak]

"economy"
So a closed system that comprises solely of sinks and highly artificially limited outlets, with no ability to trade with any other entity nor bargain nor deal nor barter, counts as an economy now?
Mwo cbills are basically "Pay PGI to increase these, or devote a part time job caretaking whales for PGI."

The *ONLY* negative impact to completely removing normal cbills from MWO would be that nobody would buy hangers or cbill packs anymore.

Edited by Tibbnak, 08 October 2016 - 01:42 PM.

[Spheroid]

Can't say I have this problem. Seemingly every weekend you show up and earn hundreds of thousands of c-bills for no additional effort. Just playing during October pays over two million c-bills. The Huntsman pre-order bonus is another 6.5 million c-bills.

Perhaps you would have more money if you didn't lust after things like the niche and terrible 310XL.

Edited by Spheroid, 08 October 2016 - 01:47 PM.

[Paigan]

People will say again that I'm bragging, but my point is another one and I don't know how else to say it:

Making money in this game is WAY too easy.
And you can't even lose any of it (apart from consumables).
If you think earning money in this game is hard, try Eve-Online.
I have never seen a game where it is easier to earn money/progress than MWO.

I play only casual (although for 2 years now).
I don't buy C-Bills for real money (of course).
And I don't open caches for C-Bills.
And still I have every Mech I want, countless modules and still >200 million C-Bills that I don't know where to spend them on.
My usual reaction to events is: "Yay, for earning another million I don't need, I get another TWO million as a bonus."

This is NOT bragging. It's me wondering how anyone can complain about not getting money fast enough.

I don't know. Maybe I'm just more patient than you people.
Or maybe you squander your money in some instinct-driven quest to have ALL Mechs possible (thinking that would impress some female cavemen or so).

My advice: Play the game with what you have for the game itself, for fun. And before you know it, you'll have enough money for something new.

Edited by Paigan, 08 October 2016 - 01:55 PM.

[RestosIII]

FupDup, on 08 October 2016 - 01:38 PM, said:

No Seismic Wallhack or Radar Derp?

I don't like using magical boosts that make no sense. Advanced Zoom should be a feature on all our mechs, not some 0 tonnage option.

[Monkey Lover]

FupDup, on 08 October 2016 - 01:37 PM, said:

Part of the problem is that even Premium players still have to experience a grind. Pay2Grind.

If I had to money to waste I could convert so much xp to gxp I would never have to level again

[Tibbnak]

Fun fact: Rewards were stealth nerfed overnight. Now you lose cbills if you use a uav in a match you lose but don't basically carry the team on your shoulders in, and if you win you're basically still dedicating half of your winnings to a uav unless you got half the kills in the match.

Edited by Tibbnak, 08 October 2016 - 01:58 PM.

[DoctorDetroit]

Phoenix hawks are expensive to setup and not that easy to do well in.

[Tibbnak]

I've been noticing people spawn into matches, turn on override and overheat suicide. You get participation cbills and winnings if team wins, and it doesn't count as a disco or nonparticipation if you quit afterwards and you can join other matches. Great for cbill farming in post Paulconomy now.