84 replies to this topic

[cazidin]

I've heard good things about the Timber Wolf and Night Gyr, but why are we giving new players the easy Clan mechs? Let's stick them in a Panther or Vindicator! Like Russ intended!

[ingramli]

Tordin, on 23 May 2017 - 07:01 AM, said:

Alongside the timber wolf? Night gyr I guess.
IS? Marauder/ Warhammer/ Jagermech
Imagine that.. Heavies the most userfriendly class, no wonder the que % are the highest.

Used Warhammer a lot in the past.....the STD engine leave me little tonnage for weapons (and of course no dakka which is my favourite), the XL made me a glass cannon (very often get killed by ERPPCs + gauss which send me spectating at speed of light no matter how hard i tried to twist my torso.....), no, i am not riding a IS's XL equipped heavy/assault again......

[Foxwalker]

Are you talking about a purchase or looking at Trials?
Tire 5 noobs would do fine with the Trial Stalker 3F. Missile boats work pretty well in the lower tiers.
The Kintaro is not a bad mech either.

Looking at the Trial EBJ and the Hellbringer are also good choices. Wub Wub mechs.

[LORD ORION]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 03:09 AM, said:

The kdk-3 got nerfed with super truck twisting now even mobility tree fully locked, the timberwolf got a XL375 which dont do me much good now, my match score cant maintain even T4 (up and down between t4 and t5), have played half year, 2k+ games and watched hundreds of video about piloting a mech, but didnt improve much....definitely need suggestion for noob friendly. (ie. forgiving and OP) mech and loadouts that can do decent match score without being too hard/luck dependent. Suggestion is appreciated.

BLR-1G without XL engine

Edited by LORD ORION, 23 May 2017 - 07:16 AM.

[ingramli]

LORD ORION, on 23 May 2017 - 07:14 AM, said:

BLR-2C without XL engine

With the decoupling of engine, i guess an IS assault is fine just fit a STD250 and spare the tonnage for weapons/ammos?

[LORD ORION]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 07:16 AM, said:

With the decoupling of engine, i guess an IS assault is fine just fit a STD250 and spare the tonnage for weapons/ammos?

There is such thing as too many weapons and not enough speed.

That BLR-1G has good mounts, can fire a few times without any funky weapon management requirements (like fire 3 Large Lasers, and wait 1/2 second to fire the other 3 large lasers to prevent melt down), has good speed for its armor/firepower, and won't go down to an XL check when people who can aim shoot at you.

Edited by LORD ORION, 23 May 2017 - 07:24 AM.

[Bud Crue]

Remember when you were a noob? Think about your habits. Think about what noobs do, what behaviors they exhibit. Now if you want a noob friendly mech that takes those bad habits into account and tries to compensate for them, then that is going to by a mech from category A. If on the other hand you want a mech that teaches better habits and encourages better play then that is going to be a mech from selection B.

To illustrate: Noobs tend to rush out in front or hide in back. Noobs tend to shoot at targets as soon as they see them and often beyond the range of their weapons. Noobs like fire and forget weapons but fail to take into account those weapons' shortcomings (e.g. streak inability to target ecm protected mechs, minimum range of IS LRMs, etc.) Noobs face tank. Noobs overheat...a lot. Noobs don't attempt to position, learn the maps, anticipate the enemy locations or understand the nuance of advancing as a group and focusing a single target.

So. What mech(s) will allow a noob to get away with these sorts of behaviors to the greatest extent possible? Something with long range weapons that is tanky as hell? Something LRMy? Etc, So that means...a LRM Atlas with to Large lasers as back up?

Ewww. No. I don't think we want to encourage that now do we?

Or perhaps instead of being friendly to these bad habits we think of mechs that encourage better habits, and yet are a bit more forgiving? Something with a bit of speed to allow the noob to keep up with the pack but not too fast so as to allow them to get out in front and die early. Something that is indeed a bit tougher than average but also allows the noob to learn the joys of positioning and acting in concert with others? Something that has good hard points to encourage the use of direct fire weapons. Something that doesn't readily overheat but gets hot enough to illustrate that this is something to be aware of. For my money a good compromise mech would be something like a Thunderbolt (tough, variety of builds, some with excellent hardpoints, SE with JJ). Or even a Cataphract 3D (I'm serious: bonus armor, two high torso mounts, JJ ).

Others will undoubtedly have their own take on what is a good mech for a new player, but I think it is important for such a mech to allow the player a bit of forgiveness of their inevitable bad "noob" habits but that also encourages the player to develop and learn from his/her mistakes while allowing them to experience the various nuances of the game.

Now if only I would learn from my mistakes...

[ingramli]

Bud Crue, on 23 May 2017 - 07:35 AM, said:

a LRM Atlas with to Large lasers as back up?

Sounds like a good idea, put a XL on it, and you got speed and range, sounds good, isnt it?

[Weeny Machine]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 03:09 AM, said:

The kdk-3 got nerfed with super truck twisting now even mobility tree fully locked, the timberwolf got a XL375 which dont do me much good now, my match score cant maintain even T4 (up and down between t4 and t5), have played half year, 2k+ games and watched hundreds of video about piloting a mech, but didnt improve much....definitely need suggestion for noob friendly. (ie. forgiving and OP) mech and loadouts that can do decent match score without being too hard/luck dependent. Suggestion is appreciated.

Take one of the heavies. PGI dropped the ball because they are still in the sweet spot: firepower and heat dissipation rivaling assaults, good armour and relatively fast to get out if you mispositioned. Also: they still have a (too) easy time to keep light mechs in their firing arch

[Crusher Bob]

Here's my candidates:

Around 5 or 6 million C-Bills should let you to buy and outfit any of these 3.

Crab 27B
Good with default engine
surprisingly survivable geometry
some Struct Quirks
Comes with DHS so is mostly playable with just some weapon swaps
Has AMS slot
Can load Asym 3LL build for midrange poking or 6 ML build for energy brawl

HBK-SP
Monster struct quirks
works well with 'cheap' 250 engine
can go SRM or LRM with good laser payload
AMS slot

DRG-1C
Monster Struct and Armor quirks
very agile for a heavy (matches or beats most medium mechs)
Good potential with 3LL, 3ERLL, or 3 LPL
works well with stock engine or 'cheap' smaller regular engine
AMS slot

[Willard Phule]

First off, you don't want to start out with Clans. IS is getting the love right now and has been for a while. Secondly, you might just as well do what every other new guy does....run LRMs until T1. Because PGI.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Tordin, on 23 May 2017 - 07:01 AM, said:

Alongside the timber wolf? Night gyr I guess.
IS? Marauder/ Warhammer/ Jagermech
Imagine that.. Heavies the most userfriendly class, no wonder the que % are the highest.

I don't know about the Night Gyr. They nerfed the base agility into the ground and it now has the lowest Acceleration and Deceleration of all the heavy mechs by a large Margin. I think it is 13.11 Acceleration while the next lowest is at like 17 and most are in their 20s. I just bought one and the Night Gyr handles like a brick, even fully maxed out on Agility.

Willard Phule, on 23 May 2017 - 12:35 PM, said:

First off, you don't want to start out with Clans. IS is getting the love right now and has been for a while. Secondly, you might just as well do what every other new guy does....run LRMs until T1. Because PGI.

On the other hand, with a Clan mech, you can actually skill them out without worrying that the new equipment is going to entirely change the way the mech needs to be skilled.

[Mystere]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 03:09 AM, said:

The kdk-3 got nerfed with super truck twisting now even mobility tree fully locked, the timberwolf got a XL375 which dont do me much good now, my match score cant maintain even T4 (up and down between t4 and t5), have played half year, 2k+ games and watched hundreds of video about piloting a mech, but didnt improve much....definitely need suggestion for noob friendly. (ie. forgiving and OP) mech and loadouts that can do decent match score without being too hard/luck dependent. Suggestion is appreciated.

Get an LRM boat and use it until people stop skimping on AMS, radar deprivation, and related skills.

I have a Mad Dog for that: 3xLRM10s + NARC + TAG + CBAP + 2xUAVs + max range + max sensors + max ammo + MLs for backup.

Edited by Mystere, 23 May 2017 - 01:33 PM.

[DrnkJawa]

Just buy some Hunchback 4's and you will be happy man. Noob Friendly? Yep. Good hitboxes? sort of, you can get away with it. Can have a seizure with it? You betcha!

But honestly right now with these new skill systems until we get properly used to it Some days will be good, some days will be bad....and some days you will be like the only dog in a llama orgy(google for pictures).

[Pixel Hunter]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 03:23 AM, said:

the torso of tbr is too hard to protect, no matter how hard i twist, it seems any half decent foes can get the one they want, and the situation became worse with the decoupling, it now twist no better than a warhammer, if not worse....

well before the across the board IS firepower nerf i'm sure it was worse, but I suppose now with IS losing most of it's gun perks and the skill tree giving the timber survival perks that probably won't be an issue

[ingramli]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 07:52 AM, said:

Sounds like a good idea, put a XL on it, and you got speed and range, sounds good, isnt it?

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1fa20e354aa1420

Quite ideal (at least on paper), almost 70kph after full speed tweaks for a 100 toner, LRM and long range lasers/PPC make the slow twisting not a problem.....

[darqsyde]

ingramli, on 23 May 2017 - 04:28 PM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1fa20e354aa1420

Quite ideal (at least on paper), almost 70kph after full speed tweaks for a 100 toner, LRM and long range lasers/PPC make the slow twisting not a problem.....

Can't tell if serious...

[sycocys]

Here is a recalling my my "noob-noob" mech recommendation order -

1. Commando - This mech will teach you the value of positioning and spreading out incoming damage as well as fire control/aiming (every shot counts with this mech). Recommended variant for free - 1B, xl240, 3 MPL, Ferro, Endo, DHS
-- I like most all the Commandos for early training, low cost even with the xl (just swap it) and you get to work on nailing down your skills and ammo control.

2. Hunchback-4SP - STD250 - 5ML, 2SRM6, 2 Tons ammo, Bap, Endo, DHS. Next step up from the Commando is this guy, and this loadout until you get really comfortable with the slower pace and requirement for better positioning and heat control.
--When you get ballsy - XL275 - and 5 MPL swapped in. Lose some heat control, but this mech will teach you to really protect your torsos and make sure your shots and positions are on point.
-edit/extra- some people will probably not like the 2 tons of ammo thing, but that's all I run even for FW. I've played this mech a lot, and a LOT of srms overall, for me I find the sweet spot for ammo to life/match is 1 ton per srm6 (actually slightly less unless its a really drug out match). Bring what you'll actually use and hit with, not your dream potential damage. -- forces you to aim/regulate your distance.
3. Timberwolf - despite is agility reductions this mech will still probably give you the best options to really start to understand more of the weapons systems when mixed together and put it into a tight chassis. Only "drawback" is clan autocannons, but they will really help you dial in the notion of leading your target with weapons of different speeds if combined with srms.
- Cheap alternative would probably be a Thunderbolt or 3, they run fine on standard engines for the most part (until you get into some LPL setups) and are mechs that are still very good at spreading damage and keeping you on the move.
--Runner up - Catapault-k2 for trying out IS ballistics without heavy investment.

4. You should be pretty well into developing your skill by the time you hit assaults if you follow this path. Slower, less forgiving of mistakes, but pack more punch.

I don't really care for assaults, but Hellbringers are probably the best middleground place to start on the IS side.
--
Mostly for noob players the big thing I'd recommend is to stay away from the chickenoid mechs at the start and really learn how to manage your position, fire and damage spreading first - the only outlier might be the Stalkers if you want to give them a go when you get up to assaults, tons of leg armor and pretty forgiving design to learn assault movement on.

Edited by sycocys, 23 May 2017 - 06:54 PM.

[ingramli]

darqsyde, on 23 May 2017 - 06:24 PM, said:

Can't tell if serious...

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1243a19c324af77

The real deal, sweep XL400 for XL395 for extra DHSs, replace the PPCs with ERPPCs, great support mech.

[MechWarrior5152251]

Grasshopper. You can stay way in the back with 3 ER LL and jump snipe.

Has enough speed to get you out of trouble if brawlers start to encroach on your safe spaces....

NVM, any LRM boat is noob friendly to the 1th power...

Obviously those of you posting Atlas have never actually played an Atlas....