10 replies to this topic

[Gazbeard]

As the title says ... how do I acquire new mechs?

In the mech bay I cannot find any method to purchase new mechs for credits.
Could this be because I just downloaded and installed the game a few hours ago - Do I have to complete all 25 cadet missions before I can buy (for C-notes) new mechs?

[Xaat Xuun]

you need to earn C-Bills
or
purchase with real $, in the store

best to do your 25 first, also better to use trials at the start to get an idea what you like the most

[gloowa]

Go to "Store" (at the top bar) and then open "Battlemechs" (on the left). Items which can be bought with MC only do not have CBill price listed (cbill prices are white, MC prices are yellow)

Edited by gloowa, 19 December 2016 - 10:35 PM.

[Reverend Herring]

You earn cBills from matches. Then use the ingame Store to to buy mechs and equipment with those. The first 25 Cadet matches will earn you enough credits to buy pretty much any mech (avainvable for cBills).

I'd suggest that you research the forums etc. and try out the trial mechs before you buy your own. Selling an unwanted mech is bad business since the resale value is abysmaly bad.

[Gazbeard]

Thanks guys

I've been playing Mechwarrior since last century with the CD based versions up to MW4 Mercenaries, so I pretty much know which mechs I prefer.

Sadly, the interface for the mech bay is very confusing and not at all intuitive compared to the CD versions of the game, which is what led me to posting here.

Hopefully I can get sorted out now I have the info above.

Cheers all.

[SnagaDance]

Gazbeard, on 20 December 2016 - 12:23 AM, said:

I've been playing Mechwarrior since last century with the CD based versions up to MW4 Mercenaries, so I pretty much know which mechs I prefer.

This is actually a reason for caution! In the previous MechWarrior games you always end up in Assault mechs, as you need the weapons and armor to destroy the increasing number and tonnage of the (not actually really that smart) AI opponents.

In MWO Assaults are considered one of the harder classes to play as you need to have good map knowledge, know how to torso twist and know the most common strategies for the maps and game modes. One of the biggest reason is because you're slow. Get in a bad situation and you won't be able to get out, and more experienced players on the enemy team will capitalize on that.

Light mechs need all the same skills but have the advantage of being able to quickly get out of a bad situation. Of course there's the downside of being able to be one-shotted by enemy mechs if you're unlucky/foolish.

That's why most players recommend Mediums or Heavies to beginners, which are more balanced on the speed/firepower/armor spectrum. But even here there can be exceptions, like the Medium Cicada being really a big Light for instance. There are also other things to consider, like which mechs are really viable. You won't find many players recommending mechs like the Vindicator, Trebuchet, Kintaro, Ice Ferret, Dragon, Quickdraw, Awesome or Victor for instance. They're just not very good in their current form or only acceptable with a few very tailored builds.

So don't hesitate to ask us on what mech you have in mind and/or which kind of playstyle you'd like. It can be an extremely rough road when you buy a mech that's just not suitable (for you) from those nice juicy first 25 battles C-bills. You'll never have an income like that again! And grinding through battles with an underperforming mech will not net you the C-bills you need to move to another mech very easily.

That all said. Welcome to the game, and see you on the battlefield! 07

[Reverend Herring]

^That pretty much.

[Bohxim]

Everything that's been said up there, plus to add a little more.
Aim to get an IS heavy or hunchback first. Generally cheaper IF you go for standard engine builds, tankier to boot. It'll teach you how to survive longer by twisting and let's you survive longer to generally play and explore the map more per match and how the team moves. Thunderbolts, war hammer and marauders are good tanky mechs with decent load outs. After experiencing the maps and play in general, you can opt for XL upgrade when you're more comfortable with less survivability but more speed to reposition. Clan mechs early on is a huge cbills sink that may take a new player too long to get the other 2 variants. (You need 3 variants of a chassis to unlock elite and mastery status for mech) you can't go wrong with either of these 3 chassis, always a staple in most faction warfare drop decks

[JC Daxion]

and you can always keep playing those trails for a while till you get the hang of the game.. Nothing wrong with playing um for 100 matches or so.. I know when i started my clan account last year, i played the trial timber for 75 matches before i even picked up my first mech..

I then messed around in the shadow hawk trial, even added it to my clan drop deck.. Did pretty well in it, finally grabbed my own and unlocked the XP..

my point is, for new players, learn a bit, and play those mechs.. really see what you enjoy.. its a lot easier to screw around in trails, and end up with 50m c-bills than it is to blow it and get a few mechs you thought you might like, but in the end you don't, or just find they are not right for you at this time..

[Gazbeard]

Thanks guys

I've bought my first mech for grinding out some GXP (because - pilot skills) and deliberately chosen a mech style I wouldn't play once more experienced - a Wolfhound WLF-2

I went for this because I wanted a mid to long range sniper build with enough punch to deal damage if defending a position getting overrun. I refitted it with 1 x large laser, 5 x medium laser & AMS with a half ammo load then twiddled with the armour - giving the empty arm only 10 armour and moving more the the torso parts and weaponed arm. It's a tough build to win with (currently running at around 40%) but when I get the right maps I can do respectable damage for a noob.

I've also just redeemed the free Centurion NCIXMECH code and will play around with that later.

From the old disk-based games, some of my favourite mechs were Raven, Shadow Cat, Timberwolf IIC, and Thanatos (I don't see Thanatos is the store for MWO = shame, it was a great brawler and/or sniper). I also don't see (S)MMS or (S)LMS, in fact no MMS systems at all - again that's a pity, I always found them very useful.

As someone said above, the difference facing human controlled opponents to the AI opponents of disk delivered game versions is huge, and being a knackered old fart with dodgy eyesight and a half paralysed left hand the challenge is high, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Thanks for the warm welcome and encouraging & helpful replies.

[SnagaDance]

Gazbeard, on 22 December 2016 - 02:00 AM, said:

I've bought my first mech for grinding out some GXP (because - pilot skills) and deliberately chosen a mech style I wouldn't play once more experienced - a Wolfhound WLF-2

I went for this because I wanted a mid to long range sniper build with enough punch to deal damage if defending a position getting overrun. I refitted it with 1 x large laser, 5 x medium laser & AMS with a half ammo load then twiddled with the armour - giving the empty arm only 10 armour and moving more the the torso parts and weaponed arm. It's a tough build to win with (currently running at around 40%) but when I get the right maps I can do respectable damage for a noob.

Not a bad build to start out with. I'd personally dump the AMS, you'll probably run out of ammo for that during the initial stand off face of most bouts.

I'm assuming you're using the original Standard 210 engine? That will give you some additional surviveability but to most Lights the best defense is simply speed. So I'd suggest switching that 210 for an XL295. It's a great engine that is useable in a good number of other mechs so can be readily switched out. You can fit it by removing the 2 external DHS as the 295 comes with 10 internal DHS already (with improved characteristics btw, it will have slightly better cooling than your build, but with the original ERLL!!).

That will all of a sudden give you a 40kmph speed boost, which will also help speed up your twisting and arm movement speed. By taking the Endo steel and Ferro Fibrous upgrades you can free the tonnage to bring back those 2 DHS as well, giving you even better cooling.

That would end up looking like: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...07f1ebf1ad7f3cc

The ERLL will allow you to easier engage enemies at a distance when needed, the Engine will get you in and out of trouble faster and the extra DHS will see you do more damage over time.

Of course losing a side torso means death, so there's that downside but in my experience the extra speed helps more than the added vulnerability costs me.

And of course, it's hella expensive C-bills wise. But that's why you can luckily use that engine in other mechs as well.