20 replies to this topic

[Vorlon Antares]

As the title says...

I am trying to figure out the cheapest route, to qualifying for the annual Top Tier Inner Sphere Reward?

https://mwomercs.com...rewards-program

I noticed Hero purchases from the current Drop Ship Deals can count towards qualifying, and I already own a Hero Crab, wondering if that too would count, if say I purchased more Inner Sphere Hero's from the Drop Ship deals? Presuming that did, which ones would be recommended?

Or would it just be cheaper to say pick up a pair of cheap collector packs, and if so which ones?

Edited by Vorlon Antares, 17 October 2018 - 04:12 AM.

[Ruccus]

Heroes purchased through the dropship deals do not count towards the top tier reward; buying a dropship deal qualifies you for the Javelin JVN-11F from the 'MechWarrior Credits Reward'. The cheapest way for you to qualify for the Inner Sphere Top Tier Reward would be to buy two collector packs from either the Javelin, Flea, or Osiris. Those are $30 each because they're light mechs, so you'd be spending $60.

Personally though, unless you like light mechs I'd suggest getting the two collector packs you like most rather than the two that are the cheapest. Two medium or heavier collector packs are $80 but you will get more useable mechs if you're better at playing heavier mechs. Mech packs like the Marauder, Bushwacker, and Champion have really nice base pack mechs and a solid 'S' variant for the collector pack that would probably be worth the extra $20 over a pair of light mech packs.

I like the Javelin (I got its collector pack to qualify for last year's reward), but it and the other lights may or may not fit your play style. Mechs like the Marauder, Bushwacker, and Champion fit a more standard play style so they'll be a better fit for the average player. Just don't confuse the Marauder (an Inner Sphere mech) with the Marauder IIC (a clan mech). If you buy the Marauder IIC it doesn't qualify for the Inner Sphere reward.

[Vorlon Antares]

Yeah I am not as much a fan of the Light Mechs... as basically their primary role is to run fast, and shoot while running fast...

I don't do well with my aiming, while moving fast.

I am more preferential towards Heavy's, and some Medium builds. Absolutely love my Catapult K2 wielding dual UAC-10's, and my Jager JM6-A loaded up with extra LRM ammo.

Haven't tried any assaults yet though.

I had a feeling picking up a couple collector packs would be the way to go but trying to understand the various qualifications printed on the annual rewards page is a bit confusing.

I can afford to purchase at least one collector pack costing as much as $40, this week, and a second one within the next two weeks, so I guess if I go that route, it will still qualify.

So I guess all I gotta do now is try out a few mechs in the testing grounds, to see how I like them...

Edited by Vorlon Antares, 17 October 2018 - 05:11 AM.

[Ruccus]

No worries. If I were to suggest a pair of mech packs so that you'd get a varied stable of useful mechs, I'd first suggest to choose between the Marauder and Champion for the first mech pack (the reason I got my Champion was precisely because my Marauder builds could be ported over to them and so far they've worked for me).

Between the two I'd suggest the Marauder just because of the extra tonnage you get, the more standard visual appearance, and the ability to jump for two of the mechs, but the Champion has worked well for me today so far so if you like its unique appearance it might appeal to you more. I should also mention the Warhammer here. It's a good mech but I've never really gotten my Black Widow (Warhammer hero) to work as well as my Bounty Hunter II (Marauder hero) so I'm not as fond of it; the Warhammer WHM-6R(S) can mount ballistic in its torsos so it offers some powerful build options.

For the second mech pack you'd want to choose probably between the Bushwacker, Assassin, Javelin, and the Vulcan. The Bushwacker plays closer to the Marauder and Champion play style and is ground-bound, but it can offer some good missile based loadouts too. The Assassin is a really nice quick medium missile and energy mech, and the Javelin is a nice light that offers two missile based mechs and one energy mech in its base pack. I put the Vulcan in because even though I think most veteran players would agree the Assassin is a better mech because of its ability to mount missiles, the Vulcan is a quick jumping medium like the Assassin. If you don't like missiles but want an agile, jumping medium the Vulcan is a nice option.

So in summary you'd want to consider the Marauder, Warhammer, or Champion for your first pack to give you some heavy hitting mechs with some staying power.

For your second mech pack it depends on what you want. The Javelin is a nice agile light (and $10 cheaper than the others) with two variants mounting missiles and one with energy weapons (base pack mechs have all their hardpoints in their torsos so the arms can be stripped of armour), and it has some structure quirks so it is a bit more durable than the average light mech. The Assassin and Vulcan are quick jumping mediums good for a faster play style while not being as fragile as a light mech, and the Bushwacker is solid ground pounder that's a staple of Inner Sphere scouting and all of the Bushwackers come with 275XL engines which can then be sold (if need be; I don't like to sell engines but you'd be getting four of them with the collector pack so you could sell a couple) to raise c-bills for other changes.

One thing to mention is the difference between banked and active premium time. Most of the mechs I've listed have 60 days banked premium time for their collector packs; only the Vulcan and Champion have 60 days active premium time. This means when you log on your premium time will start. For banked premium time you'd want to go into your profile page on this website and click on "Activate 30 Days of Premium Time" to use 30 days of whatever banked premium time you have.

Also, if there are any other mechs that interest you just ask about them; there are mechs that I haven't mentioned that I enjoy playing but I'm trying to play it safe in choosing mechs that should offer solid build options and varied play styles. The Roughneck might be worth a look, but I only have the one they gave out last year and I haven't played it all that often. Someone with more experience playing the Roughneck might want to post about its strengths and weaknesses.

[Vorlon Antares]

Yeah, I am eyeballing the Marauder pack... particularly liking the 3R though I might modify it a bit to try to squeeze in another ton or 2 of AC/5 ammo... just cause, these base builds never seem to include enough ammo.

I also found the Archer to be rather fun with its LRM20's, though again I would probably modify it to add more ammo. I find its fairly similar to my JM6-A with its LRM 15's, though with that one I sacrificed both its lasers and swapped to Endo Steel, so I could squeeze in more ammo for the LRM's and AC2's... I would probably do the same with the Archer.

At the moment, its a tough debate between those two.

The specs on the Champion DO look promising, though I don't buy any Mechs until I've had a chance to try them out in the Testing Grounds.... and at the moment, the Champion isn't available in the in-game store, so can't test pilot it yet.

The Bushwacker is certainly an interesting one too, though personally I wouldn't sell those engines. You see... 275 is sort of one of my lucky numbers, and I've got a 275 XL in my Catapult K2!

Oh yeah, and you're right about the Roughneck too, looking at it, and its looks rather promising.

Edited by Vorlon Antares, 17 October 2018 - 07:45 AM.

[Khalcruth]

It sounds like you might be new to the game - If so, you might also consider buying the "Wrath" level of the Resistance pack for $80 (https://mwomercs.com/resistance) or the "Mauler" level of the Resistance 2 pack for $80 (https://mwomercs.com/resistancetwo). If you buy one of those two packs at the $80 level, you'll qualify for the top-tier level of the rewards. Also, you end up getting

12 mechs (plus mech bays)
6 faction packs (basically a bunch of free colors, faction specific camos for those mechs, and faction specific cockpit items)
60 days premium time
4 titles and badges

Note - the factions packs for resistance two comes with twice as many colors as the resistance pack for some reason. It also includes a special camo and colors

One of these two options might be worthwhile to you - you'll end up with more mechs overall, and a whole bunch of other free content.

[Vorlon Antares]

@Khalcruth

Only problem though being that I can't afford to spend $80; hence why I was looking for a cheaper, more economical route.

I can only afford to spend at the most, around $40 right now... with the possibility that I might be able to afford another $30 - 40 within the next few weeks... so I am probably going to, today, pick up either the $40 Collector's Pack for the Maurader or the Archer. Then another collector pack later on when I can afford it.

Also, I'm not... entirely new...

I've been following the game off and on for a few years but never got around to investing much time into actually playing it, until just recently.

Edited by Vorlon Antares, 17 October 2018 - 08:31 AM.

[BumbaCLot]

Vorlon Antares, on 17 October 2018 - 08:28 AM, said:

@Khalcruth

Only problem though being that I can't afford to spend $80; hence why I was looking for a cheaper, more economical route.

I can only afford to spend at the most, around $40 right now... with the possibility that I might be able to afford another $30 - 40 within the next few weeks... so I am probably going to, today, pick up either the $40 Collector's Pack for the Maurader or the Archer. Then another collector pack later on when I can afford it.

Also, I'm not... entirely new...

I've been following the game off and on for a few years but never got around to investing much time into actually playing it, until just recently.

Unless you really like LRMs I wouldn't spend real money on Archers. But I don't buy any mechpacks. If you can spend 40 now and 40 in 2 weeks, save your money and do what the other guy suggested.
As far as mechs go, if you look at each mech see what it's Solaris rating is in the store.
The higher the division, chances are the more powerful it is overall.

[MechaBattler]

If I upgrade two packs I already purchased to Collectors, will that count for the top tier reward?

Edited by MechaBattler, 17 October 2018 - 11:39 AM.

[BrunoSSace]

MechaBattler, on 17 October 2018 - 11:39 AM, said:

If I upgrade two packs I already purchased to Collectors, will that count for the top tier reward?

YES
It is exactly what I did.

[Spheroid]

Why on Earth do you want the 4L? ECM is less useful now and stealth is outright useless on energy boats. ECM variants also get fewer quirks.

The are many better options for the money spent on the top tier requirement. I don't regret skipping the 3Fb(L) last year. I simply picked up it for c-bills later.

There is nothing particularly must have about this year's offerings. Help me understand your thinking here.

[Vorlon Antares]

BumbaCLot, on 17 October 2018 - 11:37 AM, said:

Unless you really like LRMs

I like LRM's.

BumbaCLot, on 17 October 2018 - 11:37 AM, said:

As far as mechs go, if you look at each mech see what it's Solaris rating is in the store.
The higher the division, chances are the more powerful it is overall.

Where do I find a mech's solaris rating?
This is not listed on any of the store pages for any of the collector packs I've been looking at.

Spheroid, on 17 October 2018 - 01:22 PM, said:

Why on Earth do you want the 4L?

Well thats one of the reasons why I was asking about the best financial route to go here.

I am also still debating on whether or not it would actually be worth doing, financially....

ie: do I really want that one particular "free" Mech... thats not really free after all, after you go and spend $80 on an ultimate pack, or two $40 collector packs.. just to acquire it, etc... would I actually use it, would I regret it after acquiring it... would I really enjoy ALL the mechs included in whatever pack(s) I chose to acquire it? Do I really want to dump all that money into a game that I only play casually, doing a few quick match rounds every few days or so; etc, etc...

Or would I be better off just spending $35 on the current drop ship deal, to pick up 4 hero mechs that I might enjoy using more.

ie: I do like the Maurader, but would I really get some use out of all 4 variants in the marauder collector pack? Or would I be happy with just the Bounty Hunter from the drop ship deals?

So, yeah... I am starting to second guess whether or not I really want either of the Top Tier rewards... I mean, I've already got the Javelin, Rifleman and Night Gyr rewards... do I really need another free mech?

[BumbaCLot]

Vorlon Antares, on 17 October 2018 - 04:01 PM, said:

I like LRM's.




Where do I find a mech's solaris rating?
This is not listed on any of the store pages for any of the collector packs I've been looking at.




Well thats one of the reasons why I was asking about the best financial route to go here.

I am also still debating on whether or not it would actually be worth doing, financially....

ie: do I really want that one particular "free" Mech... thats not really free after all, after you go and spend $80 on an ultimate pack, or two $40 collector packs.. just to acquire it, etc... would I actually use it, would I regret it after acquiring it... would I really enjoy ALL the mechs included in whatever pack(s) I chose to acquire it? Do I really want to dump all that money into a game that I only play casually, doing a few quick match rounds every few days or so; etc, etc...

Or would I be better off just spending $35 on the current drop ship deal, to pick up 4 hero mechs that I might enjoy using more.

ie: I do like the Maurader, but would I really get some use out of all 4 variants in the marauder collector pack? Or would I be happy with just the Bounty Hunter from the drop ship deals?

So, yeah... I am starting to second guess whether or not I really want either of the Top Tier rewards... I mean, I've already got the Javelin, Rifleman and Night Gyr rewards... do I really need another free mech?

So personally I only buy mechs for MC or for Cbills. I try to buy MC when I get 30% extra, and heroes only, and when they are 30-50% off. I won a Virago on RJBass stream so that gets me the clan base mech. I bought the k9 online to get the IS reward, and all of my MC / TSP stuff gets me the javelin.

If you go to the ingame store you can see the Solaris rating of each mech and you can also filter by Solaris divisions.
I quit for 5 years and came back to 3 loyalty mechs and the GDPR Nova (which you don't get free anymore I don't think, just created an alt Saturday but maybe I need to go to forums first). I wanted a meta mech so I used denairwalkers Google doc and found the warhawk. It and my Atlas-S got me through T4/5. I sold about 25-30 of my 2013 mechs based on whether they were low Solaris divisions or came with an XL. I've since made 300M+ playing and spent maybe $200+ between Solaris pack, 100+30 MC, and some other MC stuff.
You just get so much for your money that way. I think I have 36 heroes now and had the first 8 or so up until the boars Head.
At 116 mechs now too.

[BumbaCLot]

I'd also try to find den's list or check Reddit outreach hpg to see what heroes are good if you are looking to buy good heroes. Most comp players are over there so you will probably get the best advice on heroes from the best players.

[Spheroid]

Since you have a budget I recommend you get the Marauder standard pack + 1250 MC. For $27 you get three meta heavies, a free hero light, a free hero heavy and 30 days of premium time. Just play the Rifleman hero with premium to amass c-bills quickly.

If you want another hero just wait until they individually go on sale for 30-50% which is apparently very frequent now.

Mech packages or MC may go on sale prior to the loyalty cutoff so don't feel rushed to buy immediately.

Edited by Spheroid, 17 October 2018 - 04:41 PM.

[Ruccus]

Vorlon Antares, on 17 October 2018 - 04:01 PM, said:

So, yeah... I am starting to second guess whether or not I really want either of the Top Tier rewards... I mean, I've already got the Javelin, Rifleman and Night Gyr rewards... do I really need another free mech?

If it's a financial hardship to do then definitely no, don't bother with the top tier rewards. If you can keep around $30 in disposable income for when sales happen you can get better value out of your money than paying full price to try and get a 'free mech' thrown in.

Also you have until November 13th; there may be a few inner sphere mech packs that go on sale between now and then. It's easier justifying $28 on a collector edition that you want but might not need than $40 for the same pack.

[Vorlon Antares]

@Ruccus
Its not really a financial hardship, as I have the disposable income.
But as you said, its easier to justify waiting on a pack that I would want/actually use... as opposed to throwing money at the screen now, on random pack A, just to get a free mech that I don't know whether I would actually use.
As at first I was just thinking... "Oh hey, I can afford this, and it'll get me another free mech! Awesome!" - then I started wondering whether I would actually have a use for that particular free mech.

[L1f3H4ck]

https://youtu.be/0My2bXdg2dE

He broke it down a while ago, spreadsheet and all.

[Kalleballe]

2 hardpoints in eace arm mean that hammer can be neither hill nor a cornerpoker, 6 meds + 1mrm 40 also dont work well together.
Would not buy.

[Pain G0D]

The cheapest and most economical way for you to be the proud owner of 30 percent cbill boost javelin , rifleman and Warhammer ?

BUY 3 hero mechs , Hi There , legend killer and black widow on 50 percent discount day.

Get your free loyalty javelin . XD .

Edited by Pain G0D, 19 October 2018 - 02:44 AM.