59 replies to this topic

[Jackal Noble]

Jay Leon Hart, on 04 October 2017 - 12:45 PM, said:

Fixed by removing the bitterness.

I just find it very funny that the HBR was elevated to stardom from the Skilltree. Literally 90% of this is Hellbringer, when there are plenty of good if not better mechs in the game.

C-XL really isn't that nice after the series of changes it's gone over plus with the heat penalty incurred after ST loss, same for the IS light engine. Sure, once in a while its the difference maker, but more often than not, at that point you are more or less dead; Either your opponent finishes off your likely cherry red CT (clan schnozzle syndrome) or maybe able to alpha/fire weapons once (even with a moderate weapon loadout) before overheating because of penalty. At which point the carrion crows pick you to bones.

Edited by JackalBeast, 04 October 2017 - 12:55 PM.

[Jay Leon Hart]

JackalBeast, on 04 October 2017 - 12:53 PM, said:

I just find it very funny that the HBR was elevated to stardom from the Skilltree. Literally 90% of this is Hellbringer, when there are plenty of good if not better mechs in the game.

C-XL really isn't that nice after the series of changes it's gone over plus with the heat penalty incurred after ST loss, same for the IS light engine.

I don't personally perform that well in mine, but I still use arm weapons. I've set up a 2x HLL 4x ERML build, but I can't bring myself to use it without arm weapons. Enough new players have reported back to the forums, saying how well they did in Hellbringers, that even I have to concede that it may be that good of a 'mech to start with.

As for the C-XL, it's still the best engine, no doubting that.

[FireStoat]

Ten Penny, on 03 October 2017 - 06:33 PM, said:

Need advice on a beginner mech that performs well despite limitations of team. Or maybe just best beginner weapons.

I learned the game after watching several series of guide videos from Youtube with a general theme being repeated by players ranging from Kanajashi, Snuggles Time, and Baradul as well as others. Starting players pretty much can't go wrong by selecting a heavier light mech, medium mech, or lighter heavy mech and escorting your quick drop's Charlie Lance.

I picked the Adder for this initially, then moved onto the Huntsman when it was released. This honestly worked well for me in learning the dynamics of the game of teamwork with mechs and the importance of Assault firepower balanced versus the importance of defending your flanks while instantly being able to focus fire with the rest of your team on targets.

My vote is for the huntsman still.

[TheWarhammer]

I think you're missing something important. If a team wipes, ONE pilot and ONE mech isn't going to save the team. It takes a coordinated effort by everyone. That is independent on which mech people are bringing to the fight.

As someone new to this game, I have some nights where I didn't get a single win. Game after game was a loss (Not a 0-12 wipe), but I don't take it personally. I learn from each game. Even in a loss there are learning points. Heck, ESPECIALLY in a loss.

Jumping right into this game is NOT forgiving. People don't look at a mech and say "Oh hai, welcome to MWO, we'll take it easy on you." It's more like "Oh Hai, eat PPC." I think the thing your friend has to realize is to not take it personally. He and he alone isn't going to save a match. Best to realize it for what it is, a game.

You could get your friend in a 1v1 duel and practice basic concepts and help them master some fundamentals. That's prob going to be more important than which mech to get. This will help them get up to speed and will help you solidify your friendship with them. Give them the opportunity to use the trial mechs and try different things. Some people will like the slow and methodical assault class. Some will like the twitchy, fast mechs. Everyone has a diff preference. If you help them figure out what they like, they will get into a groove faster and get up to speed faster and thereby enjoy the game more.

Just my 2 c-bills.

[MadRover]

Lykaon, on 03 October 2017 - 09:53 PM, said:

Another Marauder to look at is the 5D

heavy PPC
2 MRM 10
4 medium pulse
2 jumpjets
17 DHS
Endo steel
305 LFE
Strip a smidge of armor from head and legs

The advantages is it can engage over several range brackets meaning it can be relevant in more circumstances

Teaches trigger dicipline because it's fairly cool but can over heat from indiscriminate spamming.

Teaches target leading with missiles (MRM) and projectile (Hvy PPC)

Has a durable frame that keeps you in the fight long enough to recover from an error

Teaches weapon group juggling with three distinctive weapons on three groups (not super complex but complex enough)

Remains in the fight even after losing a side torso (unlike the 3R if it's right side is blown off the 5D still has those MRMs) allowing a new player to continue to perform dispite and early mistake that could have cost them most of the firepower on a more "one sided" build.

Has jumpjets


My take is if the mech is so simple a monkey can pilot it then a new player will quickly adapt to playing with the easy one or two button masher build and not really develope meaningful piloting skills.

But the MADIIc medium pulse boat does have it's merits as a button mashing easy to use starter mech.

I’ll have to take a second look into the 5D although I’ll probably drop the MPLs for ERMLs (MPLs don’t sit right with me) for a bigger engine though.

[Stonefalcon]

Ten Penny, on 03 October 2017 - 06:33 PM, said:

Tried to convince a friend to play this game, only to run into 4 consecutive wipes (0-12) matches. Needless to say, he was not impressed.

Need advice on a beginner mech that performs well despite limitations of team. Or maybe just best beginner weapons.

I have never really cared about consecutive wipes - however, it does convince some players that the general skill level of the community may be beyond their ability to catch up.

If you and your friend ran Annihilators and had each other's backs, there isn't much the enemy can do to you.

[Jun Watarase]

I think for a new player certain clan mechs might be forgiving in lower tiers but once he gets higher up in tiers he will find that the bad hitboxes and lack of durability quirks will start to become more and more of a problem. Not many viable builds either unlike IS mechs.

Playing a cataphract in QP where you have to prepare for every situation is much more forgiving than playing laser vomit EBJ/Hellbringer.

[Lightfoot]

Marauder 3R

Hellbringer Prime

Locust

These are mechs that can survive on there own for a while. However you really need to stay formed up as a team to survive in MWO. That's not always possible at early levels I know, but as you advance it will become the normal tactic.

[totgeboren]

I think the most important thing is to not play in groups with your newb friends. Sadly.
They really need to play at least 25 games in the solo queue, probably much more to have a fun time in the group queue.

Me and a friend tried to introduce another friend to the game, and the newb was not having a good time at all in group play. What were we supposed to tell him? "Hide behind us and try not to be seen?". The difference in player skill behind a vet and a newb is so extreme in this game that the newb dies/cries basically every time. Just the heat system kills new players most games, not to mention how extremely important timing, positioning torso-twisting is.

Other than that, mediums are pretty good all-round mechs to learn the game in and who are also kinda affordable from a c-bills perspective.
Show him smurfy too, so he can build his mech without wasting c-bills.

[Lykaon]

MadRover, on 04 October 2017 - 03:46 PM, said:

I’ll have to take a second look into the 5D although I’ll probably drop the MPLs for ERMLs (MPLs don’t sit right with me) for a bigger engine though.

I started with mediums (before I.S. had er meds) and a larger engine (330 std) The hvy PPC replaced an ER-PPC and the MRM10s replaced SRM6s.

This is the "newtech iteration of an older designed I used from time to time and the new Civil War tech 5D performed better for me.

I opted for the medium pulse lasers because of how I tend to go brawling in the latter stages of a match and liked the quick deployment of damage granted by the pulse lasers.

But if you see yourself more of a long term poker the ER-Mediums are probably a good option.

I think a 325 LFE and 18 DHS will fit when you swap the pulse lasers for ER-mediums.

[Dogstar]

Yeonne Greene, on 04 October 2017 - 12:04 PM, said:

Night Gyr doesn't have the slots to do big laser vomit well, so it is best to stick with some combination of Gauss and energy. I didn't put mixed builds in there because there are mechanical differences that require some custom equations to properly account for and I had already spent considerable time on it. I'll get around to it eventually.

and thanks for doing it, it was a very interesting read

[numb_nuts]

Wow . . .
get your mate to buy a raven x4 .
buy a 255 xl engine
endo and ff
2x mpl + 2x lmgs linked at group 1 . . . and a mrm x 10 and an ams
max out the mobility quirks and then the range and cooling . . .

run something youll have fun in

[Honeybadgers]

Huntsman, hellbringer, timber wolf, ebon jag, arctic cheetah, adder, shadow cat, all these mechs can be used off on their own without requiring a team to be effective.

Assaults wise, the only one that can stand on its own from the clanners is the marauder II


IS side, warhammer, bushwacker, marauder, and weirdly I'd argue the urbanmech.

First mech I recommend to everyone is the huntsman. it is possibly the most versatile chassis in the game. I stupidly bought the nova. Great mech, but HARD to use properly.

Edited by Honeybadgers, 05 October 2017 - 12:30 AM.

[Cloves]

1. sadly, you do need to avoid group drops with a newbie, if you have to play together, make a smurf and sync drop with him.
2. A great starter pack for a new player in my mind would be the more recent medium steam pack. Cbill bonus champion build Crab and Shadowcat. Large pulse lasers will give you reach and are easy to aim. They have enough speed to get out of trouble. The crab is tanky and the Shadowcat is fast, jumpy and invisible. Comes with premium time, colors, cammo and cash. If you don't wish to spend money, you can easily copy those builds.

[JediPanther]

If you really want to go as solo as possible go raven 3l stealth armor with max ecm and mobility.

[Lightfoot]

I would avoid the Shadow Cat as a first mech. I see it mentioned here a lot and it is good, but not a starter mech for someone who is unhappy with MWO's mech fragility. The Shadow Cat is only good when not being focus-fired on and you don't see the focus-fire traps at first. In fact a lot of players who claim to be T-2 can't see them.


Marauder 3R (3R has boosted armor) or Hellbringer Prime for a heavy. Heavies are easy to pilot.

I'd agree with the Raven 3L stealth spec mech.

Edited by Lightfoot, 05 October 2017 - 09:58 AM.

[panzer1b]

The single best mech for starter players that dont want to be insanely team reliant is the hellbringer (get the prime as it comes with teh most useful pods and can even be run with the set-8). It has ECM so you wont immediately put a giant bullseye on yourself if you are on the flanks or even alone, and it severely cuts down on the amount of incoming fire you recieve since people are alot less likely to shoot a HBR rather then the guy 200m away from you with a giant red marker above their head. It can carry some decent and competitive loadouts, even with its lack of endo/ferro (better at heatsink spam, cant really do ballistics well though besides gauss vomit).

Anyways, the best beginner build for starters will probably be 1HLL/ERLL and 6ERML, with 26 heatsinks (strip 22 points of armor off legs/arms total). It has good heat efficiency, so unless you have 0 patience it wont overheat too much, it has versatility (still deadly up close with good aim, and more then capable of sitting at 500m and doing boatloads of damage), and just murders things so fast with good aim. If you want to try something more complex to play, try 1GR with 5ERML or 4ERML+1HLL. It provides better sustained DPS, but has a much higher skill floor since you are juggling between 2 separate weapon systems that cant just be alfad at anything thats moving (gauss needs to be led, lasers need to be looked right at target).

[Ensaine]

We can suggest mech's all day long, but one underlying issue is this: new players need more time to learn how to pilot a mech in real conflicts, but not in a regular QP drop.

IMO, if you are bringing a friend in to this game, he should spend some time with you in a private match, where you teach him how to move the mech, with the options available with legs and torso not having to face the same direction. (This is an issue for many FPS people who play run-n-gun shooters.)

Slowly, you begin live fire exercises, still in private matches, where you begin by taking it easy on him, and gradually pump up the pain as you see him 'get the hang' of things.

Show him about heat and thermal vision, and when to NOT use them.

Teach him about the mini map, and that arrow thingy on it, as well as his HUD, and what the little icons mean.

Please teach him to zoom OUT when in close melee. Too many times I spectate people on full zoom, where they cannot find the light mech buried deep in their a$$ wasting his CT and legs with 88 machine guns. Zoom is great, but terrible to have on in close combat.

PLEASE, teach him also how to target what he shoots (Default key R). I cannot stress how important it is to have your target actually targeted: LRM's can now target him, and the player gets to see the paper doll, knowing where to focus fire, and you can see the enemy mech's loadout.

Basically, all the important stuff we SHOULD have in our new player tutorials.

THEN, drop into some QP matches. Mech, IMO, is a secondary issue, and really, have him go through some trial mechs first, to see what his 'speed' is.......

Edited by Ensaine, 06 October 2017 - 03:13 AM.

[TWIAFU]

JediPanther, on 05 October 2017 - 09:45 AM, said:

If you really want to go as solo as possible go raven 3l stealth armor with max ecm and mobility.

Yes, please be "that guy" we all see in QP off doing his own thing while the rest of his/her "side", not team for these people, are getting rolled. Be "that guy" left alive all alone with 100% armor with 12 people hunting him only to suicide, run out of bounds, or die in a couple shots because, you know, they do not know what to do other then panic when shot at.

QP needs more of 'those guys'.

lol

[JediPanther]

TWIAFU, on 06 October 2017 - 03:18 AM, said:

Yes, please be "that guy" we all see in QP off doing his own thing while the rest of his/her "side", not team for these people, are getting rolled. Be "that guy" left alive all alone with 100% armor with 12 people hunting him only to suicide, run out of bounds, or die in a couple shots because, you know, they do not know what to do other then panic when shot at.

QP needs more of 'those guys'.

lol

Extremely funny you claim i'm "that guy" as if i'm the only one to ever do that in a match. Pretty sure when we all get bored of loosing streaks we do stupid things to make the game a bit more interesting before logging off for better games. The op wanted mechs to run solo and that type of mech is one of the best at it for just going hell with it in solo q.

Learn to play the game for fun and you might like it. I'll play as a team when the mood suits me or when I'm in a match with my unit mates. Solo q is puglandia and any thing goes.