27 replies to this topic

[FaTaLLiMiT]

Ok, so originally me and a friend where going to play this game together and stuff, having come from world of tanks, we leveled through the tiers in that game, and it was way more fun having someone there to back you up and stuff.

Wanted to try doing that in this but from what iv searched, its really punishing due to no matchmaking for group play, ontop of that, we couldnt figure out how the start the game anyway, no ready button, no launch button, nothing.

Most likely answer is that im blind as hell really, and it's something really basic and simple that I've missed.

The other thing is, Iv been playing quickplay only (got through first 25 games, got 2 mechs im fairly confidant in) and I'm just wondering when is the "right" time to try out faction play? I'll be honest, I know absolutely NOTHING about it, but when I click on it, it looks really fun and cool, and I can't wait to get into it, but I dont know if/when I should take that step. QP is just getting....a tad repetative for me, as in, theres no sense of progression or impact on the game (i know, credits, xp etc etc, meant things like, once the game is over, thats it, its over. I like knowing my wins/losses are contributing to something, if that makes sense)

I used to play Chromehounds waaaaaaaay back when it was still a thing (RIP you beautiful ******* of a game!) and the way your games influenced your factions territory control was one of the best things about it I feel. I wanna do something similar to that, but not make people hate me for trying it to early aha XD

[Koniving]

I confess playing with just a single friend was a lot more fun back when they would allow up to 2 groups of 2 players into a match with pugs, provided the other side had either 2 groups of 2, a group of 3 plus someone of a stronger than normal tier or a group of 4. But that stopped somewhere between 2014 and 2015, and a large part of the issue was that the group would make half the team (8 player limits at the time).

Perhaps we'll see that return. I think it'd be a lot more fair within the realm of 12 versus 12 to have up to 4 grouped players. Though if they do go back to 8 vs 8 we might not see such a thing come to be.

So until such a day comes...

When playing in the group queue as just two players, the obvious goto is to use as much tonnage as possible. But 100 ton mechs are slow, cumbersome, and do not function well without support. Instead, I recommend utilizing either 65, 75, or 85 ton mechs. Preferably 75 and 85.

For example, the Battlemaster are fast, agile weapons platforms for their weight with mostly high mounted weaponry. Stalkers may not be agile but they tank far more than one might believe without knowing some underlying game mechanics (they have giant side torsos with narrow strips for center torsos, any destroyed body part that still has a hitbox reduces all damage by 60% before transferring it inward). Warhawks are pretty solid, they are also omnimechs so you can mix and match body parts to put together the hardpoints you want. Though any say the Marauder IIC is the superior Clan option despite being a Battlemech.


The launch button while starting a group. Need everyone to ready first or it'll be faded out.
Shown in the background is a Battlemaster.

Faction play requires that you have at least four mechs. Last I checked it was something like 265 tons or less for the Inner Sphere factions and a little less for the four Clan factions. You can get away with just one mech in the Scouting game mode under Faction Play, there the limit is 55 tons (IS) and 50 tons (Clan).

Just as an example, in regular faction play my Drop Deck 1 has a King Crab (100 tons), Urbanmech (30 tons), Roughneck (65 tons) and a Archer (70 tons).
My second drop deck has a Commando (25 tons), Stalker (85 tons), Archer (70 tons) and another Stalker (85 tons).
When you die, you are delivered onto the battlefield again from another dropship in another mech. Each battle has 96 mechs in total.

[Koniving]

FaTaLLiMiT, on 23 December 2017 - 03:37 PM, said:

I wanted to follow up:

Given the current sale... If you want to go with IS mechs...

Good mechs to use in group and faction play include: Archer (70 tons). Marauder (75 tons). Riflemen (60 tons). Warhammer (75 tons).
Phoenix Hawks are good if supporting a larger mech such as the Annihilator.

Samples: Archer trollbuild. (Note you can easily rig Archers for close range combat, I just chose not to.)


The Archer is basically intended as a long range artillery mech. Many convert it to a medium or short range bombardier (MRM or SRM missile boat). I confess I do load some Streak SRMs on a few of my Archers but I keep LRMs, too, and the only one that isn't sporting LRMs... also isn't sporting any missiles what-so-ever and is instead loaded with particle projectile cannons. Because why not?

Rifleman.

Pay close attention to the variants you choose. They are extremely different from each other. There's a variant with no ballistics, so be sure to look at how many hardpoints each one has of what before committing to your decision. Shown in the video is a 3C with only 3 skill nodes unlocked to get advanced zoom. Think of the Rifleman as a sniper tank from World of Tanks, or a suppression/direct-fire support mech. Try to avoid the front line, but don't be afraid to come up to people from the side or behind.

Marauder and Warhammer are both front line battlemechs. Think of them like heavy tanks in WoT. They can take and deal punishment. Between them, the Marauder is a bit better at rushing enemy positions and attacking head on. It also handles damage better, just avoid XL engines. The Warhammer is a bit more capable as an overall weapons platform and typically handles the delivery of damage better with a wide mix of potential weapons to keep DPS and alpha damage high while keeping heat and down time low.

For Clans:
Orion IIC. Hunchback IIC. Jenner IIC. Of interest but not necessarily good as a pair include Kodiak and Highlander IIC as well as Mad Cat MK II. Those mechs are good but it is best to mix and match them with a completely different mech as support, such as a Hunchback IIC backing up a Kodiak or an Orion IIC backing up a Highlander IIC.

This is actually an IS Orion. There really isn't much difference aside from the weapon options.

Skip to 3 minutes, nothing really happens before that point.

I have plenty of Highlander and Hunchback videos, but not of their IIC counterparts.

Jenner IICs are pests. Deadly pests. Hunchback IIC is a glass cannon with exceptional firepower and handling with subpar armor potential. Orion IIC -- a cross between a Marauder or Warhammer... basically just like an Orion. Highlander IIC, basically a Highlander.

Kodiak is a mix between a King Crab (weapons platform) and an Atlas (armored shell) with a crank n speed and a wide center torso as well as nearly impossible heat management if you use all the weapon hardpoints. Kodiak gameplay short. First 1:50 is getting into position and then the rest is the slaughter. Long Kodiak gameplay. My most successful match beginning after 13 minutes.

Mad Cat MK II is like a Stalker...but not as armored with much more weapon capacity and a bit more agile.

[FaTaLLiMiT]

Wow, again, amazed by the responses! Thanks a bunch! I think the issue was that I couldnt see the ready button, my friend could ready up but I couldn't, didnt see where the ready thing was, tbh I didnt even show up in the group play thing, regardless of if I started the group or joined him, he isn't really bothered anymore anyway, hes kinda into World of Warships lol.

I saw the drop decks but had no real idea what they where about, thought they where garage slots at first lol.

I currently do enjoy the stalker, and I did watch a video on the whole, body parts reduce damage, I tend to get side shot ALOT in stalker when im caught out, so I've been using that as practise with the whole, torso twisting thing, shoot then twist, shoot then twist. I need to find the software for my mouse due to the DPI setting being way to high an a preset, I need to change it down for when Im zoomed in at extreme range (from what I read, even if the damage is low due to 1000m+ Heavy PPC's interupt missile lock or ECM right? Il still target the enemy my team are focused on, concerntrated damage and all that, but if theres an LRM boat on a hill, a few shots usually makes em back off a bit)

Ideally, since my friend doesnt play, i wanna find others to play the game with, factions/clans/guilds or however this game calls it lol, its why im still in QP, learning maps and weapons and stuff. I havent touched balistics as of yet cos i dont wanna get ammo explosions all the time lol, so iv stuck with energy weapons (unlimited ammo <3) I did watch a super long video on what medium mechs where worth the buy (fairly recent video aswell) and it wasnt about "meta" but just, "good mechs" or "good quirks" type of things, one of the ones it said was good that looked interesting was the Centurion (i think its called) with an AC20 or something in the arm and 2 backup med lasers. Sounded like something I could try out at some point. Not looking for "meta" mechs or anything, im still figuring out my personal playstyle, stalker appeals to my long/medium range pokey thing (2 heavy PPC's 2 Heavy Lasers, heat sinks enough to fire 3 double shots before risk of overheating) and the Pheonix Hawk is just my jam XD I tried the trial version and I had soo much fun, the jump jets got me around the map and in spots the other team wouldn't check, the lasers racked up alota damage and stuff. I dont think id like the Light Mech playstyle but maybe some slightly, heavier hitting mediums would be my thing. I still need to grab a heavy mech to try that role out also (for now im staying away for the varients, im looking at the different quirks on the mechs and the hardpoints, working out what build I want and going that that one. Id rather have a broader knowledge of more mechs that just know 1 or 2 super well through varients.

[Horseman]

FaTaLLiMiT, on 23 December 2017 - 03:37 PM, said:

The other thing is, Iv been playing quickplay only (got through first 25 games, got 2 mechs im fairly confidant in) and I'm just wondering when is the "right" time to try out faction play? I'll be honest, I know absolutely NOTHING about it, but when I click on it, it looks really fun and cool, and I can't wait to get into it, but I dont know if/when I should take that step.

Get a medium mech that can run the scouting mode and start building a drop deck for the invasion mode. You should be competent enough to carry your own weight in QP before you start dipping into Faction Warfare - the matchmaking there is on the "first come first served" basis and groups are mixed with random PUGs at will.

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Ideally, since my friend doesnt play, i wanna find others to play the game with, factions/clans/guilds or however this game calls it lol,

"Unit". There's a section for recruitment on these forums.

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one of the ones it said was good that looked interesting was the Centurion (i think its called) with an AC20 or something in the arm and 2 backup med lasers. Sounded like something I could try out at some point.

There are several other mechs that can do the same build, such as the Enforcer.

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I saw the drop decks but had no real idea what they where about, thought they where garage slots at first lol.

Literally a "team" of mechs you're bringing in to an Invasion match.

Before you go into Faction Warfare, you have to pick whether you're going to play Clan or Inner Sphere. This limits mechs you can use in FW matches to ones available to the corresponding tech base (you can still do whatever you like in Quick Play).

If going Inner Sphere, pick up either a Kintaro KTO-18 or Buswacker BSW-P1. The Bushwacker is more versatile, but the Kintaro does missile boating slightly better.

If going Clan, you'll probably want a Huntsman.

[Koniving]

All PPCs disrupt ECM. None of them affect missile locks. Short of "Radar deprivation" (sensor skill tree) and slipping out of sight, the other best defense is to slip out of sight, power off (your signal will be instantly lost) and then power on. -- keep in mind that missiles will continue to the destination they were last course corrected to once the target is lost, so do move out of the way asap to avoid the missiles already in the air.

AC/20 Centurion with lasers -- that's a Yen Lo Wang. Hero mech. There's an alternative, the Centurion CN9-AH can also carry an AC/20 but has no energy hardpoints. AC/10s (or UAC/10s) can be used on any model except the CN9-AL.. but only due to the AL not having any ballistic capabilities. (That's a good model to shove PPCs on though).

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I don't recommend the Phoenix Hawk as a "new" mech, but if you already enjoy it, I will admit its one of my favorites. There's a learning curve as the Phoenix Hawk only shines its best once you learn to control the arms separate from the torso but once you do you will find it among the most capable light-mediums in the game. Especially in regards to being up high or down low...or standing directly on top of your enemies. Expanding the field of view in the options to something like 75 degrees will give you an extra thrill, you'll know what I mean. Especially when you accompany it with left CTRL and moving the mouse (while armlock is off).

[FaTaLLiMiT]

Koniving - Ahh right, i couldnt remember what they did but I knew it was something ontop of dealing damage, well thats good atleast lol , guess most missile boats just duck and cover due to the damage then aha. I knew you could power down but never thought of doing that to break missile lock, but I know people do it on assault mode (I think its assault, the one with just 1 base to cap at each team, they cap a bit then hide an power down). I learned missiles lose lock an goto the last place they had lock just from watching them coming in, I rush to break LOS as soon as I hear the incoming warning because I know how much lighter/softer the Pheonix Hawk is. The vid I watched said AC10's just aint that good in terms of damage/ammo/cost or something. It was more a personal dislike but I stayed away due to that. An yeah, I know its going to be harder to play "properly" but im just having a load of fun in it. I think out of 10 games with it, 5-7 have been wins, with damage dealt being fairly high compared to others in the team, comparable to some assaults. I know to keep lasers trained on torso's thought if I see a mech with no armour I aim for whats damaged (I dont know mech profiles off by heart yet, but if I see a fat assault with a broken arm il try finishing it off to stop him shooting. I actually always play with arm lock off on Pheonix XD (Its entirely pointless on Stalker, no arms) so I swicth it on/off in settings based on the mech. I wanted to get the hang of arm lock early on, and it feels soooo much better, the range of upward/downward fire is awesome, combined with jump jets I can often fire away without worry due to them not being able to hit me back. Practising using jump jets to pop out of cover an pock enemys like on the valley map, though lasers props not the best for that aha XD

Horseman - Il look into what scouting mode is then Urm, well id say i have good games and bad games, i still have trouble taking down a light mech, but they seem to be hit or miss players, some of them are super good, hug my arse an chew through armour, some run into walls XD I try to aim for legs cos I just cant comfortably track them well enough. Usually im following the frontline push, or atleast within 100-150m of another mech an try get help with it. An great! Il check out that recruitment part see if anyone is recruiting newish players lol. True, alot of builds aint just limited to a single mech chasis, but il be honest...Im kinda vain as **** XD There are some mechs *cough uzial cough* that to me, just look plain butt ugly lol XD I know its a bad way to think bout it, but end of day, its a game and im not playing "the meta". When I was deciding what mech to play, I looked through every mech model for all weights, noted down the names of ones I thought that looked awesome, then checked hardpoints and looked at which ones I wanted, Centurion was one of them so yeah, as a intro to ballistic weapons I thought would be good choice is all. And I didnt think about the IS vs Clan mechs....**** XD I knew of them of course, just not that I had to have a drop deck of the same factions mechs....that will be different, I think iv used omnimechs only (stalker and Pheonix Hawk) I know you can swap out parts for others to change up your hard points, but honestly....I havent bothered yet cos it seemed pretty complex, and the only benefit I could see of it was to get different quirks with different hard points maybe? Probably wrong though lol

[Horseman]

Koniving, on 24 December 2017 - 02:06 PM, said:

AC/20 Centurion with lasers -- that's a Yen Lo Wang. Hero mech. There's an alternative, the Centurion CN9-AH can also carry an AC/20 but has no energy hardpoints. AC/10s (or UAC/10s) can be used on any model except the CN9-AL.. but only due to the AL not having any ballistic capabilities. (That's a good model to shove PPCs on though).

Enforcer 4P is similar (arm AC/20 and four energy hardpoints)

FaTaLLiMiT, on 24 December 2017 - 11:42 PM, said:

.that will be different, I think iv used omnimechs only (stalker and Pheonix Hawk)

Neither of those is an omni.

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I know you can swap out parts for others to change up your hard points, but honestly....I havent bothered yet cos it seemed pretty complex,

Not really, you just pull out another part of matching type from the tray into place, same as you do with weapons.

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and the only benefit I could see of it was to get different quirks with different hard points maybe? Probably wrong though lol

Some pods carry their own quirks, but mostly it's done to change your hardpoints. Note that omnimechs have "set of 8" quirks that only work if you're running the mech's original pod configuration.

[justcallme A S H]

Until you average match score in QP is above 250 and have at least 4 mechs built for:

1. Brawling
2. Skirmish
3. Long Range

(so a total of 12 mechs).

Don't attempt Faction Play.

[FaTaLLiMiT]

So brawling I kinda get, its the whole, on the front line, shooting and being shot, taking the hits and stuff right?
Longrange, again is fairly self explanatory, I imagine PPC's LRM's, maybe ER lasers?
Skirmish im not clear on, is that like, hit and run lighter mechs or something?

If I need to stay away from faction play till 12 mechs then thats fine of course, just wondering is all lol

[Koniving]

FaTaLLiMiT, on 25 December 2017 - 03:20 AM, said:

So brawling I kinda get, its the whole, on the front line, shooting and being shot, taking the hits and stuff right?
Longrange, again is fairly self explanatory, I imagine PPC's LRM's, maybe ER lasers?
Skirmish im not clear on, is that like, hit and run lighter mechs or something?

If I need to stay away from faction play till 12 mechs then thats fine of course, just wondering is all lol

Skirmish is sort of an "Engage, pull away, engage pull away."

Exactly how depends. Some can be frontal skirmishers (basically brawl until you get hot then pull away), some are more harassers (get in, annoy somebody, get out and repeat).
By technicality Kill Securer builds (kill stealers) can be classified as skirmishers too, what they do is rush in when an enemy is almost dead and "secure" the kill before rushing out.

There's plenty more roles depending on how broad or narrow one categorizes them. For example light snipers can also be spotters; just keep a target or even better place a TAG on (it benefits you by being able to tell if the beam actually reaches the target before firing, see picture included) as well as the team (as it increases their lock on speed and the accuracy of their lock on missiles [ATM, LRM, Streak; well technically it doesn't enhance streak accuracy (100% can't get more accurate) but it does improve the lock speed for them].

Tag kinda helps you aim, too, by letting you know if there are unintentional invisible walls that could obscure your aim, such as these oversized 'pillars' (obstacles on the server side that are not on the client side, since the server doesn't use 3D rendering, PGI isn't able to see how accurate it is to the actual environment and sometimes they overestimate the size of obstacles when creating the server version of the map).

(The game is server authoritative which significantly reduces potential cheating functionality, but as you can imagine combined with the Crysis Engine which isn't made for it, there's some issues between it and Host State Rewind [lag compensation which calculates the difference in what you see versus what actually is and estimates whether you'd hit despite the fact that X target is probably 16 meters ahead of where you shot due to lag], ... and those problems come out in the form of little things like water not slowing you down. Which I wish PGI would do something about; it already reduces damage done to parts under water by half.)
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I dunno about the waiting for 12 mechs though I could see the reason -- by then you'd have plenty of experience because a 96 mech marathon with dropships, turrets, gates, power stations, etc. can be a difficult thing to endure.

Here's an interesting thing to consider in the future. You have two crosshairs and can easily hit two separate targets at once with a little practice. One is the + crosshair which the three sets of torso weapons will fire upon. The other is the o crosshair which the arm weapons fire upon.

It is actually possible to engage and fire upon 3 entirely separate targets at the same time but how to do that little secret is something I guard and challenge people to figure out on their own, as apparently even the "world champion" doesn't know that one yet and I like to keep what little edges I can. (Or if he does, he doesn't use it, which is just as well, ideally you want to dispatch a single enemy as quickly as possible but being able to suppress multiple enemies is handy when you are otherwise overwhelmed).

[Koniving]

My personal advice is to not go into faction play alone. Its a terrible experience by yourself.
(Somewhere on youtube you can see my first experience, to put it mildly it was a **** show of humiliation.)

This video is from before the game had in game VOIP and it is a bit dated, but it gives you a little idea of what you might see as a defender in Invasion. This was an IS versus IS battle. This is perhaps my third or fourth match ever. I die for the first time at 16:53 (with a big fight just prior) and then pull out my second mech shortly after.) I get through the whole invasion using only two out of four mechs, with all 48 enemies defeated.

Now, for an idea of some of the organization you may come up against, there's this video. Pwnzer is the commander.

This was just 8 versus 8, but imagine this with 12 versus 12, with reinforcements coming in no more than 30 seconds after anyone dies.)

Edited by Koniving, 25 December 2017 - 06:30 AM.

[FaTaLLiMiT]

Ahh i see, I guess I skirmish alot then kinda, I mean I play both mechs very similar to each other. I peak with them both, but stalker I always push with other assaults and heavy's, whereas Pheonix il still push but il try to avoid direct engagements with heavier mechs. So il blast a mech 2-3 times from the side an go back into cover, then repeat once attention is back on someone else, very rarely do I 1v1, an if it comes down to it i try to use mobility against em, such as circling, using unlocked arms, jump jets, higher/lower ground etc etc.

Just watched them vids an holy hell, first off faction warfare looks epic and complicated XD It looks (or atleast that map/mode looked similar to incursion, which I still dont fully understand an il probably google at some point) and then the 8v8 was so organised and well played, smooth working unit

[Koniving]

Incursion has two bases. Yours and theirs. Then there are three installations. Radar, Jamming and Air Traffic Control.
In the map are three power stations that hold a Dr. Mario style 'pill' that if you linger around will somehow magically transfer 'power' to you, which you then bring home and like a Super Heavy Duty battery its good for about 30 seconds and then dead. Unlike SHD batteries, there's only three in the world at a time and whomever "has it" is then marked. Think of it like an arbitrary form of capture the flag. This is just a side mechanic to power things.
Radar gives a short period of time where all enemies are shown on the map regardless of where they are.
Jamming will keep the enemies from knowing where your guys are, but for some reason it only extends a certain range beyond the base limiting its actual use. Said jamming also makes you unable to lock, so it can completely shut down Streak weapons (which can't fire without a lock) and severely impair LRMs and ATMs (which will dumb fire).
Finally, Air Traffic Control will allow a periodical harassment of dropships (for some reason sending Aerotech fighters/bombers didn't dawn on PGI, nevermind the precious issues behind why you wouldn't send dropships for this, let alone how poorly armed MWO's dropships are compared to Battletech's canonical dropships; that's like sending a battleship over to do a PT boat's job and only letting it use some handheld 50 caliber machine guns because nobody gave it ammo for the cannons. Worse they only hover above the enemy base and linger there to attack players -- this is not useful in Quickplay unless you do it RIGHT AWAY, but it is very useful when playing this mode in faction play as it will harass and damage newly spawned mechs.)

In the video is the Invasion gameplay mode (exclusive to faction play) where there is a single base on the defensive, trying to protect a planetary Gauss cannon. The cannon has a door over its power source that for some reason opens when you blast 3 generators (a very gamey mechanic).

(which I won't get into much of why that makes me sigh but this might help [note the planetary cannon shown there and what's really different about it?] so instead we'll just say the source material could give MWO FAR beyond Star Citizen level depth provided a budget, time, and manpower [which I know PGI doesn't have much of the three] and even with a fraction of those it'd be amazing what MWO could have been if they had a more decisive direction and experience from the get-go. MWO is extremely loose on using source material, sadly. On the bright side we can get tastes of at least some of it in the upcoming PGI-made MW:5 Mercs and Battletech PC game (Vid 1) (Vid 2) by Harebrained Schemes [which is run by the original creator of BT and cofounder of the original company that made BT happen].)

Also if you're into tabletop games, perhaps you'd like to play the real deal with me sometime? But one thing at a time. Are you in game now?

Edited by Koniving, 25 December 2017 - 11:15 AM.

[FaTaLLiMiT]

Dude your slowly (or quickly XD) turning into my senpai XD I feel really bad that so many replied just to help out my noobly self but Im super appriciative for it! I really was going to youtube it, wasnt being lazy aha, been spending the xmas with family is all, I tried playing earliar (me and the friend actually got group play to work, think was just a bug or something, we ran 2 medium mechs a few games and did fairly well) though matchmaking slowed all the way down.

And right I see now! It was the mode I was unsure about cos there was usually someone saying, right, scouts rush "insert objective here" and bring it back please. I was always unsure what they meant but did my best to atleast provide cover for them, seemed important lol.

And yeah, Invasion looks really fun, but I will hold off atleast a little while longer to get more mechs, I still need to try out a ballistic mech (looking at Centurion or Enforcer as recommended, I dont want to be super lightweight/speedy, so maybe a slightly..lighter heavy or a heavy medium...that makes no sense but I just mean in terms of armament lol. I enjoy being able to be at least a little bit mobile.

For me, the mech obsession came from...oh god...I must of been somewhere between 7-10. My mom got our first family PC and it came with a bunch of games, like Age of Empires, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and Mechwarrior 3 (if you recall, PC games came in those MASSIVE cardboard box things, similar to amazon delivery boxes XD) From there, Iv always liked mech based games and thought there just wasnt enough of them. Chromehounds came out on the 360 and by god, it was all I played for soooo long XD Iv never got into the table top side of things though, for starters, I could never afford that sort of thing, and I didnt know anyone who was into it/had the stuff, for any table top games. I did have a super old Dungeon Quest board game but that was it XD Old fashion classic DnD style. Recently iv been getting heavily into board games mind, now that I know some others who enjoy them also locally, but nothing ever table top.

Im about to hop in again now and see if I can find any games, fingers crossed lol XD I think im nearly at my limit for daily forum posts mind (think cos im a new account maybe?) so if you want add me in game, pilot name is FaTaLLiMiT like on here

[Koniving]

You're welcome. See the "Welcoming committee" tag? Only two players in MWO have it and its earned through helping players via unsolicited recommendations from players helped. At least until the paid moderator MiSs moved on. She was awesome and sorely missed. So your feelings have been shared by many since 2012.

Anyway. Enforcer's a good suggestion for such a rig. But... Since speed is not a concern...

"Why not a Hunchback?"
Part of a four part series (the first one isn't impressive but the stuff said might help) meant to help a new player that was having some trouble with the Hunchback.
Runs through the skill tree, shows the loadout (from the first two vids which was based on the new player's build) and builds a new loadout after another quickly shown excerpt of a match showing the most unfair exchange you can possibly encounter as any slow mech... and then showcases a perfect battle where everything works out). (There's some Battletech discussion within, while commenting on how the Hunchback is one of the most armored mediums to even exist... which is why PGI has quirked its armor so high).

Episode 4's highly recommended, too, although it has no commentary as it gives an idea of how I fight when I feel like a soloist.


7 kills, 711 damage, and way too cocky. (Chase cam by Lordred.) That's using an LB-10x on a 4G.
(For more with that rig, look up Kon 4G LB-10 and Kon fighting like a Clan mech.)

An AC/20 rig.

(HBK 4P is pretty sweet but its energy only; here's an AC/20-like rig using PPCs backed up by 6 medium lasers and aim-supported by a TAG, with how I made it from an original triple PPC rig.)

But before I completely talk you out of Centurions (which a CN9-D is what I was driving in the faction play video), here's a Yen Lo Wang with an AC/20.


and the Wang Squad (using an AC/5 AC/2 and 2 MPL as a skirmisher), where the two of us go from trying to support an Atlas against a Victor to being 2 versus 6 (piling on over time in a single long battle) against heavies and assaults, in a straight out open area brawl against enemy skirmishers and lesser brawlers (I say lesser brawlers as they weren't dedicated brawling builds and a bit of their issue) as well as one guy totally out of place (who brings LRMs point blank?) before moving on to fight the final defenses and take the base (assault, when it had turrets...does it still have turrets?)

Edit: Wang despite adding it twice, the Wang Squad didn't post.

Edited by Koniving, 25 December 2017 - 03:19 PM.

[Koniving]

(Yen Lo Wang is the Centurion Heromech. The CN9-AH may not have any energy capabilities, but some SRMs or MRMs can work just as well. Backing up the AC/20 with 2 MGs, HMGs, or LMGs can be just as effective as an energy-based secondary weapon. (Can't be done while AC/20 is mounted on the arm.) They are also mechanically identical as hit-scan weapons.)

I just don't have any CN9-AH videos from when it re-released. My only video is from closed beta which is a terrible representation. But that vid is here; back then the lag issues meant we had to shoot the air and intentionally miss to hit mechs... but there was knockdowns!)

This is by someone else. He uses a tactic that I rarely use called "Twisting." I do not use it much because I build my machines to tank, and I only twist when truly necessary so that my accuracy will be high. I also do not twist much because I prefer DPS-oriented builds which are useless if you twist under enemy fire.


My Hunchbacks, Enforcers and Centurions. Image had to be edited to fit the Hunchbacks in.



Stats shown is from accidentally lingering too long over my Enforcer 5P.
Mech in the background is a 30 ton Urbie.
(Edit, some issues fixed.)

While its rarely recommended due to an old reputation, Trebuchets are pretty good. There's only a single Treb that can carry ballistics. You can see it in action here though I'm using a twin MG, single LPL, TAG, and some Streak missiles in a skirmisher/harasser rig. Its chase cam footage that starts with me reading some lore about Hunchbacks while I was waiting for the game to load. three players in group combat (with a fourth in discussion).

Edited by Koniving, 25 December 2017 - 03:52 PM.

[Koniving]

(A quick final note: You're not expected to watch all at once; play some. I'm in game and shortly after I do some cleaning I'd be available to join you if you like. Also: Proud of my paintjobs so if you want a closeup of any of 'em I'm always happy to provide.)

Be sure to check https://mwomercs.com...=201712stocking and grab your stocking stuffers.
Also: check the events in game and browse through the daily events to make sure you got 'em. The weird looking E on the bottom center left.

Edited by Koniving, 25 December 2017 - 04:07 PM.

[FaTaLLiMiT]

I was just watching my friend open some late xmas present lol XD I ended up watching em all just to see, plus got this thread saved so I can watch em again if need be. Il be honest, I never bothered with hunchback, because I always thought it looked wierd XD Vain and stupid I know, but since Im not playing the "meta" im just, ok, First whats fun, then what looks good, then what works, if I worried too much over working mechs then id get bogged down and not want to play, so I passed over hunchback. PLUS, once I figured the big hardpoint where all the weapons are would just be a giant target for other team.

I stayed away from ballistics due to it requiring space/tonnage for ammo. So far my 2 mechs have been entirely energy and no ammo, so I can dump more into Heat Sinks and armour and Engine. Saving space for ammo, then working out where to put it to avoid it going boom on you, it was alot to work out when really I just wanted to play XD Iv had a few games in the Kintaro 18(c) as its on trial right now, just to try out LRM's a bit on a light, wasnt the best of games, got rushed by assaults so missiles where realtively useless, could of just been bad games though of course.

Im not sure how I feel about hero mechs really. I mean, the only thing I can compare them to would be the Premium Tanks/Ships from the World of Tanks/Warships games, they are paid for vehicles that you cant really...edit. I could be wrong of course, but thats how it was in WoT. You get what your given, an they are there pretty much to farm xp/credits with (in WoT I mean, i dont know if the same applies here) That an theres champion mechs too which sound like the same thing, I dunno lol.

I am on now for a bit, though I dont know your time zone, its 12:40 in morning here now lmfao XD

[Koniving]

Its 7:52 here. I'll pop back on in a few seconds.

Champion mechs are just cash-paid for versions of regular mechs with a pre-enhanced non-canon loadout. (Stock loadouts are canonical and while they work good in the source material, PGI's "translation" does not work well with them, mainly because we can do damage at 3 to 19 times the rate of source material, generate heat at 3 to 19 times faster, and have mechs with more than twice as much armor and structure and equipment with health pools of more than instantly disabled when hit.)

Hunchback isn't meta or anything. He's just recommended often due to a myriad of reasons (high mounted torso based weapons with some arm weapons so that you can have it expand its capabilities as you learn how to use the arms separately. Dirt cheap to get, make practical for MWO and roll with. Among the smallest MWO mediums for 50 tons, [even though it's still over 4 meters taller than its canonical size, but won't get into that can of worms, most of the mechs in MWO are too big since the tallest BT mech is 14.4 meters, about Catapult height up to the ears...so yeah.).

That one section is more armored than the center torso of many 60 and 65 ton heavy mechs, provided you funnel the armor forward. (The "rear" right torso is barely bigger than the Hunchback's fist in terms of hitbox, so 2 armor usually lasts plenty of time even after exposing your back, its like trying to land a shot under the turret and above the engine of a tank.) Its actually more practical to just aim for a Hunchback's belly. Or the head, as that's bigger than the right rear torso, too. (Usually the weakest spot is the drum if they're fast [which inevitably means its using an XL engine].

But its okay. No love for the Hunch.

Hero mechs are basically either lore based builds (Butterbee, Catapult) or a Combination of two or more variants that PGI slapped together because, uh, why not? (Jester, Catapult is a K2 C1 FrankenMech), or in some cases, to provide something minor on a chassis not normally there (Black Knight, Stalker and Grasshopper heroes are all given a ballistic or two, despite none of the canonical versions having them). (Misery is a canonical mech build, however. The actual mech did not have a name, but the pilot was most known for the Battle of Misery, and his Stalker was easily identifiable by permanent damage from frequent battles [he couldn't afford to keep it in top shape] and the presence of his Gauss Rifle, which his Stalker went under extensive modifications to fit, sacrificing most of its missile capabilities in the process. J. Elliot Jamison of the Wolf's Dragoons Zeta Battalion, from the Historical Turning Points: Battle of Misery sourcebook.