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#1 Nightmare1

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Posted 08 February 2017 - 05:03 PM

Nightmare1’s Comprehensive New Player Guide


Welcome!

So, you’re a new player who just installed MechWarrior Online (MWO), and you’re wondering what your first step should be to get into the game and learn the ropes! Well, have no fear! This guide is designed to not only help you get started learning those ropes, but also to guide you as you develop your skills and progress deeper into MWO’s gameplay.

To veteran pilots who read this, I ask that you bear in mind that this guide is written simplistically to give new players a bird’s-eye-view of the game. As a result, some difficult concepts have been potentially oversimplified to introduce new players to them. Please refrain from picking those apart. However, if you see real errors, feel free to weigh in on this guide.

New players, as you grow you will realize that the simplified portions of this guide are not as simple as initially presented. This guide will give you a working knowledge to get you started, but it will ultimately be up to you to take your education further!

First things first! MWO has no story. It is not campaign or story driven, and lacks a single-player system. The game is completely multiplayer focused and success will depend heavily on how well you work together with your teammates. With the exception of one game mode (more on that later), MWO matches take place between two teams of 12 players each. While individual efforts can be enough to turn the tide of a battle, it is more often than not the team’s overall performance which paves the way to victory. So, do your best not only to boost your score, but also to coordinate with your allies to win matches! Now, let’s get started!



User Interface (UI):

Spoiler



Buying Your First Mech:

Spoiler



Old Skill Tree:

The Old Skill Tree has been removed from the game and replaced with the New Skill Tree. I have left all of the information concerning the Old Skill Tree in this guide, which you can access by opening the spoiler immediately below this text. It no longer relates to the game, but it can provide your with a better understanding of the game's history.

Spoiler


Important Note Regarding the Skill Tree: The Skill Tree has been completely overhauled. Please refer to the section below for the new information regarding the tree. I have decided to keep the old information above as a reference so that players can understand the differences between the two versions. However, if new players find it confusing, then I will remove or hide it.

New Skill Tree Update!

Spoiler



PSR Tiers:
Spoiler


Game Modes:
Spoiler



Additional Resources:
Spoiler


Closing:

I hope you found this guide enlightening! Please post feedback on anything you thought could be improved or topics you would like additional help understanding. Welcome to MechWarrior, and I wish you the best of luck! See you on the Battlefield!


Addendum: What Is the World and Lore of MechWarrior?

Koniving has written two good, detailed posts providing background on the Lore with respect to Factions, Mechs, and Tech and their differences. As MWO gains a larger presence on Steam, there has been an influx of players who have little to no experience with the decades-old, long-running series of board games, books, and video games that constitute the world of BattleTech and MechWarrior. For anyone who needs a primer on this, please refer to his two posts that I have quoted below:

Spoiler

Edited by Nightmare1, 13 January 2018 - 08:46 AM.


#2 Leone

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Posted 08 February 2017 - 10:29 PM

Nice work. Very comprehensive, and whilst I didn't go over the videos yet, I can tell you your Faction Warfare sections is a little outta date. There isn't really a counter attack anymore, as far as I've seen it's been all invasion once we get to that point. (I could be wrong, I hardly get to play it anymore.) That said, we now have multiple drops in the other game modes, and I would suggest just adding a sentence or two to clarify, and suggest players think of their spawn points as resources to defend.

The rest of my issues are minor quibbles that're more a personal preference thing you probably already thought of and discarded as being unnecessary.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 08 February 2017 - 10:29 PM.


#3 Nightmare1

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Posted 09 February 2017 - 06:15 AM

View PostLeone, on 08 February 2017 - 10:29 PM, said:

Nice work. Very comprehensive, and whilst I didn't go over the videos yet, I can tell you your Faction Warfare sections is a little outta date. There isn't really a counter attack anymore, as far as I've seen it's been all invasion once we get to that point. (I could be wrong, I hardly get to play it anymore.) That said, we now have multiple drops in the other game modes, and I would suggest just adding a sentence or two to clarify, and suggest players think of their spawn points as resources to defend.

The rest of my issues are minor quibbles that're more a personal preference thing you probably already thought of and discarded as being unnecessary.

~Leone.


Yeah, I almost never play planetary Invasion anymore, so I'm not sure which modes are in it now. The last time I played, I'm pretty sure I played Skirmish, Assault, Conquest, and Invasion, but I didn't play Counter. Honestly, I'm not sure that Counter is even in-game any more, but thought I'd include it just in case.

Thanks for the feedback! :)

@All: If anyone who plays FW frequently wants to provide a clarification on that, then they are more than welcome to do so! I can edit the OP to include the clarification.

#4 Rogue Jedi

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Posted 09 February 2017 - 07:42 AM

just a few sugestions (may be covered in the videos, but were not covered in the text

1) advise them to complete the tutorial as well as the first 25 games, the tutorial pays 5 million cbills, add that to the 12 million + match earnings from the 25 cadet games and you should have at minimum 18 million, enough to purchase any 1 Mech (and purchase and outfit 2-3 cheeper Mechs, note also worth adding Lights may look cheep but are usualy realy expensive to outfit costing on average 9million + to get combat ready.

2) skill tree, your information is accurate but it is likely that the information you put in about that will be obsolite inside 2 weeks, as the new skill tree is planned for the 21st (although I hope they fix the problems before it is launched, I played the PTS and while there are definately some improvements over the old skill tree the fact that you have to unlock skills you do not want to get to the skills you do, with a limited number (91) of unlocks and the cost of 100,000 cbills and 15,000 xp to unlock each of upto 91 (max allowed) skill nodes for each Mech means I am not impressed)

#5 Nightmare1

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Posted 09 February 2017 - 07:50 AM

View PostRogue Jedi, on 09 February 2017 - 07:42 AM, said:

just a few sugestions (may be covered in the videos, but were not covered in the text

1) advise them to complete the tutorial as well as the first 25 games, the tutorial pays 5 million cbills, add that to the 12 million + match earnings from the 25 cadet games and you should have at minimum 18 million, enough to purchase any 1 Mech (and purchase and outfit 2-3 cheeper Mechs, note also worth adding Lights may look cheep but are usualy realy expensive to outfit costing on average 9million + to get combat ready.

2) skill tree, your information is accurate but it is likely that the information you put in about that will be obsolite inside 2 weeks, as the new skill tree is planned for the 21st (although I hope they fix the problems before it is launched, I played the PTS and while there are definately some improvements over the old skill tree the fact that you have to unlock skills you do not want to get to the skills you do, with a limited number (91) of unlocks and the cost of 100,000 cbills and 15,000 xp to unlock each of upto 91 (max allowed) skill nodes for each Mech means I am not impressed)


Yep, the Tutorial was covered in writing and in video. The Skill Tree had a note indicating that it would be revised once the new Tree went live.

Thanks though! :)

#6 Nightmare1

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Posted 10 February 2017 - 07:07 AM

Cool! It was pinned! :D

#7 Jables McBarty

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Posted 15 February 2017 - 12:28 PM

View PostNightmare1, on 10 February 2017 - 07:07 AM, said:

Cool! It was pinned! Posted Image


Nice guide Nightmare1!

EDIT: Formatting changes look great :)

Edited by Jables McBarty, 21 February 2017 - 03:06 PM.


#8 Nightmare1

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Posted 15 February 2017 - 03:51 PM

View PostJables McBarty, on 15 February 2017 - 12:28 PM, said:


Nice guide Nightmare1!

Some formatting suggestions based on my experience as a tech writer (note how I completely don't follow my own advice due to laziness):

I'd suggest adding more sub-section headers to the longer sections. For example, under "Buying Your First Mech" I'd add sub-headers for
-"Tech Base" or "IS vs. Clan: What's the Difference?"
-Same for "BattleMech vs. OmniMech"
-Maybe "Weight Classes" though since you already have Light/Medium/etc. in bold that might be superfluous
-Under Game Modes > Faction Play, a sub-sub-header like "Interaction of Invasion and Scouting" where you discuss that topic (or "how Scouting Affects Invasion")

For Game Modes, I might mention the principal differences between QP and FP right away, right in that first sentence (simply QP has a matchmaker and no respawns; FP has no matchmaker and limited respawns but is NOT noob-friendly).

Also under Game Modes, it would be easier on the eye to split out the QP modes in a bulleted list rather than paragraph form. For instance:
-Assault: Like skirmish, but with a base...
-Conquest: Like stationary CTF...

Same for Add'l Resources. E.g.,
-How to Grind Cbills: See this discussion...
-Description of the Match Rewards and Cbills... (honestly I'd put this one first, but your choice Posted Image )
-'Mech Grindiness: [Link] This spreadsheet details how long...
-etc.

Last--since it was sort of hidden and I overlooked it until I was actually writing this up--I'd suggest emphasizing the TS section. Took me months to figure out what that was. Maybe title it "TeamWork" or "Communication" or "Grouping Up", mention TS3, in-game VOIP (and its limitations), the in-game chat (and how you need to turn on Lance and All Chat), describe the LFG queue (which I've only started using after 14 months in game) and seamlessly move on to units.

Super-last: Thank you for this bit:

"Being in Tier 5 is nothing to be embarrassed about as a new player. It is natural and you will move out of it before too long as you progress upward through the Tiers. Though Tiers are somewhat skill based, it is better to consider them as an XP bar. The more you play, the more the bar fills up and the higher you climb. You get lots of PSR credit for victories, but only lose a little bit for losses. Hence, unless you are highly unskilled or unlucky, it is actually more difficult to move down in PSR than it is to move up."

Something that definitely needs to be said Posted Image

Good work!


Thanks! This weekend, I plan to incorporate some of your suggestions as well as suggestions as others into the overall guide. :)

#9 Nightmare1

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Posted 18 February 2017 - 09:42 AM

Updated the formatting and moved a couple sections around to improve its overall readability.

#10 Jables McBarty

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Posted 21 February 2017 - 03:05 PM

View PostNightmare1, on 18 February 2017 - 09:42 AM, said:

Updated the formatting and moved a couple sections around to improve its overall readability.


Changes look great! I'm going to edit my earlier post to reflect that.

Only thing I noticed on second read was under the IS vs. Clan description, you mention "Locked chassis." I'd say this wording/concept potentially too advanced for brand-new players, and might be confused with "fixed hardpoints." (okay, I admit I was also a little confused by it too)

I would elaborate that you mean "Cannot change engine type, structure type (endo-steel/normal), armor (ferrofibrous/normal) or heatsink type (single/double)."

#11 Nightmare1

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Posted 21 February 2017 - 03:07 PM

View PostJables McBarty, on 21 February 2017 - 03:05 PM, said:


Changes look great! I'm going to edit my earlier post to reflect that.

Only thing I noticed on second read was under the IS vs. Clan description, you mention "Locked chassis." I'd say this wording/concept potentially too advanced for brand-new players, and might be confused with "fixed hardpoints." (okay, I admit I was also a little confused by it too)

I would elaborate that you mean "Cannot change engine type, structure type (endo-steel/normal), armor (ferrofibrous/normal) or heatsink type (single/double)."


Good point. I'll alter that this weekend.

#12 Roc Ingersol

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Posted 25 February 2017 - 12:27 PM

Thank you for setting this up.

#13 Nightmare1

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Posted 25 February 2017 - 12:45 PM

View PostChuck E Finley, on 25 February 2017 - 12:27 PM, said:

Thank you for setting this up.


You're welcome! :)

#14 762 NATO

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Posted 18 March 2017 - 09:57 PM

Bump for Nightmare!!! o? from GROG.

Cheers!

#15 Nightmare1

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Posted 19 March 2017 - 05:10 AM

View Post762 NATO, on 18 March 2017 - 09:57 PM, said:

Bump for Nightmare!!! o? from GROG.

Cheers!


Thanks Nato!

#16 AlexWildeagle

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Posted 26 March 2017 - 08:07 AM

Nightmare, very well done!

So, I'm back after a very long absence. New and improved internet connection as well as computer, but same crappy player *G*

Mouse sensitivity has always been an issue(excuse) for me, what is a good setting?

Also having an issue with text in the mechlab as well as other places in those screens, by issue I mean letters are blocky and difficult to read, barely could read "save". My computer is as follows:
AMD 1700x
Gigabyte mobo with 16gig DDR4 ram
GTX-1060 with 6 gig ram
Win10 64

Tried settings on "high" and set for 1900x1200 which is native for my monitor, couldn't read hardly anything. Reduced to medium and it got a little better. I thought I should be able to run at high with no issues so I'm asking y'all if you had any suggestions as to what I could tweak? I mean other then dropping to low.

#17 Rogue Jedi

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Posted 26 March 2017 - 10:25 AM

possibly try repairing MWO
if using the MWO portal go to the 3 lines upper left, then from the dropdown choose repair tool, unfortunately that can take hours.
if using Steam, go to your library, right click on MWO, local files, verify local files, that is pretty quick.

if that does not help could you post some screenshots of what it looks like, to post screenshots you will have to upload them to online file storage, you cannot post direct from your computer to these forums.

#18 AlexWildeagle

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Posted 26 March 2017 - 11:38 AM

OK. That ticks me off. I did repair it found no issues. I log in and it's still hard to read. I did a screen shot and the screen shot looks fine??!?!

https://www.dropbox.....31.07.jpg?dl=0

#19 Rogue Jedi

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Posted 26 March 2017 - 01:31 PM

View PostAlexWildeagle, on 26 March 2017 - 11:38 AM, said:

OK. That ticks me off. I did repair it found no issues. I log in and it's still hard to read. I did a screen shot and the screen shot looks fine??!?!

https://www.dropbox.....31.07.jpg?dl=0

the image looks fine on my PC when I enlarge it, at first glance it looked realy distorted on my 1920x1080 monitor but when I zoomed in it looks fine.

I mean no offence but are you certain that your monitor is 1900x1200, and if so please check that both Windows and MWO are set to that resolution.
the screenshots resolution is 1920x1200, so trying to view that at the wrong resolution would be likely to cause the problems you described

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 26 March 2017 - 01:38 PM.


#20 AlexWildeagle

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Posted 26 March 2017 - 01:52 PM

View PostRogue Jedi, on 26 March 2017 - 01:31 PM, said:

the image looks fine on my PC when I enlarge it, at first glance it looked realy distorted on my 1920x1080 monitor but when I zoomed in it looks fine.

I mean no offence but are you certain that your monitor is 1900x1200, and if so please check that both Windows and MWO are set to that resolution.
the screenshots resolution is 1920x1200, so trying to view that at the wrong resolution would be likely to cause the problems you described


no offense taken. Had this monitor for quite some time. Yes it is native at 1920x1200, double checked windows and that's the (recommended) setting and what I have had it set for as long as I can remember. Checked the game settings and I had changed it to 1920x1200, but changed it to different settings and it's still distorted.

oh...and I agree with you. When I pull up the screen shots I took they look great. Not sure why it looks like crud live but screen shots look right.

Edited by AlexWildeagle, 26 March 2017 - 02:15 PM.






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