18 replies to this topic

[Dakkonn]

That feeling when your an essential worker that over worked so they sent you home for a week to rest so you decide that you finally have time to play MWO again. So you check the game out again only to realize you missed not only the STAY_AT_HOME2020 code window but also the double EXP weekend.

FML. Hope another round for essential workers comes later

But in all seriousness, Not actually looking for anything, (I am joking about doing another free code it was awesome to see they did that) just wanted to vent a little frustration, works been rough so please forgive me a little complaining.

Been a while since I could play MWO. Anyone got a list of which mechs/builds to pick up/look into first these days as a good starting place? (played the beta and a little after but have not been able to get the free time since)

Still have a CN9-A, DRG-1C, TDR-9S and a STK-5M from when I was able to play the beta. (I am absolutely sure these mechs builds are completely out of date with whats currently viable. But I'll make them work for now.

Been watching twitch streams and checking out old guide on youtube. Any advice is welcome just looking to play some casual games. (which I'm sure will be disastrous given how bad I most likely am at the game now lol)

[Weeny Machine]

Thanks that you do that service to society. Your work is so important and most likely like in my country badly paid (like all social jobs...which doesn't bode well for society in general).

But anyway...here is a link with builds for all mechs. Maybe it helps you to find something which you like

https://mechspecs.com/

[Nearly Dead]

Don't know what you do, but thank you for doing it.

Would love to help but most of my mechs are bought for fun and are considered sub par. I like my Jagermech, Hellbringer Arctic Wolf and Wolverine Quarantine. AC2s + ERLL, laser vomit, ATMs + MLs, LRMs + ERLL respectively. The two mediums are extra fun. You can run around and pop off a couple of shots and reposition almost before you cool off. Good in the Bog, not so hot on Polar or Arctic where the enemy has long LOS.


If you want to be competitive, grimmechs has the most popular builds. If I had limited time to play I would pick one from the current meta list and just get down to it. Just pay attention to the whole mech including speed, I bought an Annihilator that they recommended and it was like piloting a glacier. I sold it after a month to free up the mech bay. Just could not learn to like it.

https://grimmechs.isengrim.org/

Note that the group queue is now part of the solo QP queue so the culture is a little different. You may want to get in a unit to have the most fun.

[Dakkonn]

Thank you. That actually is insanely helpful.

For me its less about being super competitive and more about the actually build process (loving spending hours in the mech lab making a build then seeing how it works) BUT winning earns you more rewards which means more parts/mechs to build with so there is that.

Mostly I just don't want my team to be basically a man down. (I wanna carry my own weight ya know) So trying to at least get some meta builds (or at least ideas of meta builds) less to be optimal and more to build at lease 1-2 mechs that I can use to help out more.

I'll assume basic game play habits will carry more than what laser or missile I am using. (I E stay with your team and focus fire ect ect)

Also forgot to ask whats the best time to play these days? I am central USA can't stay up late these days but i might be able to get up early if that is the best option.

Edited by Dakkonn, 13 May 2020 - 11:18 AM.

[Nearly Dead]

It is a real mixed bag right now with premade groups dropping in with the solo queue. One match may be all solo players, the next might be a 4 man premade unit on either side, or both. Or one or two 2 mans, again on one side or both sides. And mech weights are all over the place. Had 5 Stalkers on our team the other week.

I play US EST and have very mixed matches. Based on just a few days recently I like morning until noon local, (5 pm for Europe) when suddenly the game play changes for several hours. I like matches with someone calling positions, tactics and focus fire, I don't see that much during mid day. It comes back to an extent in the evening but that comes with other problems because some of the units who play US evenings are ultra aggressive and use offline comms that the rest of the team can't hear.

Some matches are very conventional, peek and poke to get up a kill or two followed by a push, but the very next match might be a buzz saw of mediums and lights who are on you almost before you are off the DZ. Happens a lot on Frozen City for example because of the battle in a teacup design.

Note please, I am Joe Average, 1400 hours in the game, solo pug player You hopefully will get better advice from some of the top players soon on meta mechs and game play. I think your Stalker is still highly thought of although the skill tree may be completely different now than when you last played. Of the dozen or so mechs I have bought I feel the most flexible is my Hellbringer with 2 HLL and 4 HML. Fast enough, hard hitting enough, enough range most of the time and I am not taking up an assault slot.

I also get a lot of enjoyment building up mechs that I like and that work for me. I tend to suffer from target fixation so I allow for it by picking mechs that either do indirect damage like AMS or LRMs and force me to move and hunt locks, or mechs that benefit from focusing down a single mech like my Jagermech with 1 ERLL and 4 AC2s where I can just hammer till he or I goes down.

Hope to see you in game.

[Dakkonn]

Nearly Dead, on 13 May 2020 - 03:24 PM, said:

the skill tree may be completely different now than when you last played.

LOL Last time I played there wasn't even a skill tree. (at least not like what it is now) Thank you for the info. I'm gonna set my gaming PC back up an most likely start playing this weekend. I am home for the rest of the week but I still have paper work and some other things that I can do from home.

Finishing a few other games on my PS4 that I had been putting off till recently due to a lack of time but looking forward to playing a Mechwarrior again this weekend (after I finish reading various "new players start here" guides I found) when I can have some true alone time. Family heard I had the week off and thought "O hey since your free why not come out and do all these home improvement projects for us"

My Stalker was my Assault LRM boat back in the day not sure how well it fills that role now. (its all pre clan tech too so no double heatsinks or fancy armor) I don't think even TAG was a thing yet.

Rest of my mechs were various ranges of Brawlers. I remember I was originally working on buying a new engine to test but couldn't afford it cause back in the day you needed to buy at least 3 variants of a mech to unlock its skills and I didn't have enough Mech bays to even do that without selling a mech so I took an break and didn't come back. (Battletech and playing older MW games kept my interests but now I really want to play vs other players again)

Edited by Dakkonn, 13 May 2020 - 03:50 PM.

[Davegt27]

try e-mailing support
they are really top notch say because your essential you missed the free mech.

way back when I first started back 2014 I played and played but did not qualify for some free stuff

I wrote them said i provide a useful service as a target
and they gave me that free item

HTHs

[VonBruinwald]

Davegt27, on 13 May 2020 - 07:20 PM, said:

try e-mailing support
they are really top notch say because your essential you missed the free mech.

way back when I first started back 2014 I played and played but did not qualify for some free stuff

I wrote them said i provide a useful service as a target
and they gave me that free item

HTHs

...And now they're gonna get flooded...

Well done.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

I don't think they will go along with any of these requests. Anyone can claim he/she's an essential and support has no way to verify that. So OP, maybe you'll want to subscribe to the MWO Newsletter so you don't miss the next promotion, even if you don't log on for longer periods of time.

[Dakkonn]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 14 May 2020 - 02:40 AM, said:

I don't think they will go along with any of these requests. Anyone can claim he/she's an essential and support has no way to verify that. So OP, maybe you'll want to subscribe to the MWO Newsletter so you don't miss the next promotion, even if you don't log on for longer periods of time.

Sadly I was subscribed but it apparently ended up in my spam folder. An yeah I thought the same thing, seemed like people would just abuse the system by claiming to be a essential workers for free stuff so didn't asked. (which is why I said I was joking about doing a code for people still working in my original post) Tho I can actually prove it if they asked for a photo (have a badge and everything lol)

I'm just looking to get a starting point with this post not free stuff. Only reason I even mentioned it was partly as a "sigh just my luck" type joke and maybe a little venting of stress. Just looking to get some casual games in but the game has changed quite a lot in the last 8 years so just doing some research before I dive in this weekend. (Just finished FF7 Remake platinum now I just have a few other games on my PS4 to finish and I'll be ready to commit to MWO)

[VonBruinwald]

Do you like Urbies?

Edited by VonBruinwald, 14 May 2020 - 08:47 AM.

[LordNothing]

events come and go, but theres usually always another around the corner. the one you really missed out on was the one where you could win over 1000 mc that was around last month or so.

[norus]

I've been gone quite a while too, only hop on occasionally... But may i tell you of the glory that is the purifier kitfox? Mount 2 erppcs on the shoulders, insanely high mounts and ecm. You can spot, flank, and harass as long as you play to your strengths. You're not a brawler, you flank and snipe while providing ecm cover and use the high mounted ppcs to avoid taking hits.

If not your style arctic cheetah is solid. Small lasers for close range, 5 mpl for a less specialized role and ecm with both.

Want to be a 100% support laser boat? Adder. Lpl and 5 ml i think is what mine is set to. Let others take the hits, pop out unexpectedly and show them the power of a clan laserboat in a tiny package. Stick with others, be aware, strike when it's safe.

I may have a love affair with lights

[Dakkonn]

Whelp reinstalling now and... (hard drive full...) ok NOW I am reinstalling... (2 hours of patching still to do...) See ya'll tomorrow I guess LOL (small tear)

[FRAGTAST1C]

Since Group Queue is merged with Solo Queue, I suggest teaming up with a few people.

[Leadpaintchips]

norus, on 14 May 2020 - 01:00 PM, said:

I've been gone quite a while too, only hop on occasionally... But may i tell you of the glory that is the purifier kitfox? Mount 2 erppcs on the shoulders, insanely high mounts and ecm. You can spot, flank, and harass as long as you play to your strengths. You're not a brawler, you flank and snipe while providing ecm cover and use the high mounted ppcs to avoid taking hits.

Artic Cheetah can pull off the PPC build also (their shoulder mounts are high also). Currently have mine with a tag and ppc high up on different shoulders just to run it purely as support with a pair of smalls to pretend I can defend myself.

[Horseman]

Dakkonn, on 13 May 2020 - 09:44 AM, said:

Been a while since I could play MWO. Anyone got a list of which mechs/builds to pick up/look into first these days as a good starting place? (played the beta and a little after but have not been able to get the free time since)

Stick with Grimmechs, it's ran by competitive players. Mechspecs is mostly user-contributed stuff and the quality of that is very hit and miss.

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Still have a CN9-A, DRG-1C, TDR-9S and a STK-5M from when I was able to play the beta. (I am absolutely sure these mechs builds are completely out of date with whats currently viable. But I'll make them work for now.

Centurion got outpaced by other mechs a bit. You can make the -A work as a brawler (AC10, 3xSRM4 with LFE250 or 3xSRM6 with LFE200) but it won't wow anyone with performance.
On the Dragon you can pack a UAC10 and four Medium Lasers or Medium Pulse Lasers (I went with mediums). Not great but serviceable.
The Thunderbolt can probably function OK as a MRM + laser platform - load it up with a MRM40 and four or five Medium Lasers and you've got yourself a workable mech (admittedly, the same loadout can fit on a HBK-4J)
The Stalker is kinda nowhere (at least that variant) but since it has missile and energy hardpoints you can do more or less the same as with the Thunderbolt , just adding another MRM40 to the loadout.

Quote

Been watching twitch streams and checking out old guide on youtube. Any advice is welcome just looking to play some casual games. (which I'm sure will be disastrous given how bad I most likely am at the game now lol)

Everyone was bad at some point and had to learn. Or, as it may be, re-learn

[Dakkonn]

Horseman, on 14 May 2020 - 11:57 PM, said:

Stick with Grimmechs, it's ran by competitive players. Mechspecs is mostly user-contributed stuff and the quality of that is very hit and miss.


Centurion got outpaced by other mechs a bit. You can make the -A work as a brawler (AC10, 3xSRM4 with LFE250 or 3xSRM6 with LFE200) but it won't wow anyone with performance.
On the Dragon you can pack a UAC10 and four Medium Lasers or Medium Pulse Lasers (I went with mediums). Not great but serviceable.
The Thunderbolt can probably function OK as a MRM + laser platform - load it up with a MRM40 and four or five Medium Lasers and you've got yourself a workable mech (admittedly, the same loadout can fit on a HBK-4J)
The Stalker is kinda nowhere (at least that variant) but since it has missile and energy hardpoints you can do more or less the same as with the Thunderbolt , just adding another MRM40 to the loadout.

Everyone was bad at some point and had to learn. Or, as it may be, re-learn

Thank you. Lot of good info there. I got MWO laoded and working again so I'll most likely dive in later tonight (after I relearn the controls in practice) I'm sure its gonna be rough for a while but I'll stick it out till I earn enough C-Bills to buy a fresh mech/edit the ones I have to a better place.

Any recommendations on skill tree allocation? I'll most likely have to run a few days without any points in it till I earn EXP towards it.

[Horseman]

Dakkonn, on 15 May 2020 - 11:05 AM, said:

I'm sure its gonna be rough for a while but I'll stick it out till I earn enough C-Bills to buy a fresh mech/edit the ones I have to a better place.

Mad Cat MK II B is a pretty solid earner - it's an assault, but relatively mobile (Clan XL engine plus jump jets) and well-armed with primary weapons in arms (snap shots can save your *** many times over, switch the arm lock keybind to arm lock toggle and play with your arms unlocked by default). Stick 2xUAC10 and 2xUAC5 on it and it will shred any opposition - as long as you remember to not double-tap too fast, because otherwise the heat penalty will eat you alive.

Also, pay attention to events. For last two years PGI has been running them almost every week and one good event can get you a very nice padding of C-Bills and MC.

Quote

Any recommendations on skill tree allocation? I'll most likely have to run a few days without any points in it till I earn EXP towards it.

Crash course one-size-fits-all pointers:

• Mobility tree is multiplicative with your base mobility (which is now entirely determined by the chassis, engine only affects top speed), so you only want to put it on mechs that are already fast - ie lights and fast mediums - and even then probably not always.
  
• Jump jets tree is nope, no matter what you're running.
  
• Sensors tree has value if you're building a laser/gauss/ac2 sniper (Enhanced Zoom), use ECM (Enhanced ECM nodes MANDATORY) or run a LRM boat (Target Decay). Radar Deprivation is somewhat down to personal playstyle and while it may seem tempting I do not recommend defaulting to it. A good piece of cover between you and the enemy lurmer is just as effective and better yet - free.
  
• Double strikes and double coolshots in the consumables tree are pretty much standard.
  
• Operations tree gains value the more heat sinks you run, but on most mechs you'll gain more mileage out of Heat Gen in the Firepower tree than of Cool Run.
  
• With the Survival tree it's standard to take the armor nodes along the left side. How much more to take will depend on your build. The AMS Overload nodes are great for AMS boats like the 4xAMS Piranha, 3xAMS Nova or 4xAMS Corsair.
  
• The Firepower tree will vary most depending on your build. Identify the nodes you want for your loadout and minmax around that. FYI, the High Explosive nodes for missile weapons are garbage and you should not be taking them (unless you're minmaxing to get the left side Heat Gen nodes for one node cheaper than going through the Cooldown nodes)

You'll probably want to examine Tarogato's guide. I may not agree on some details, but he mostly talks sense: https://mwomercs.com...ryhard-edition/

Edited by Horseman, 15 May 2020 - 01:09 PM.