I'd like to provide some feedback.
I think that the skill tree is a step in the right direction. In my opinion, the only complicated part was the historical stuff. It only took a few minutes to figure out though, and once you see how it works, it's the same for every mech.
I like that you're able to customize your mech to a greater degree now, and pick general build-paths for what you're interested in, such as firepower, survival, mobility, operations,
jump jets.
This does help prevent the min-maxing of your playstyle, which can sometimes be a pain. If there's a
best-build-ever build, then you're probably unlikely to
not use that build. Now there are more options for any given mech, which definitely mixes up the playstyle. It's been a lot of fun so far!
While you have to select some 'less useful' nodes to reach others, I don't really mind this. They're all useful to some degree, aside from a few specific weapons that you might not have on your mech. The trees are easy to understand as well, and navigation is decent enough. There is a bit of lag when loading the skill selection screen though.
There is one thing that I'm not sure how I feel about, though. The 45,000 CBILL price tag on unlocking any node for a new mech. It seems a little bit high at first? Perhaps if nodes further up the tiers were less expensive, and nodes further down the tiers were more expensive, it wouldn't feel like as much of a hassle in the beginning. Or maybe just use just a significantly lower price. This especially might mean more to new players. I feel that this is important because it allows people to use their money for trying out different mechs, rather than on skill nodes for just one.
Plus, more mechs means more mechbays. More mechbays means more purchased MC!
The XP costs make sense because they've always been used on upgrading your mech's skills. The CBILL cost just seems a bit unnecessary when there's already plenty of stuff to use them on. (Engines especially!) Having less of a cost overall would also allow people to 'try before you buy' in a sense when it comes to the multitude of potential specs you could use on a mech.