114 replies to this topic

[Rosh87]

JC Daxion, on 18 April 2019 - 10:06 AM, said:

I'll have to disagree about premium time. I personally like to grab Day passes when i have a lot of time to game. Just 250MC, gets you 24 hours of gametime. (10 for the price of a month, which typically can help me more. Often i just play for a few hours or take breaks which can sneak up on me, Buy a month play for 3 days then not play for 2 weeks is kinda a waste) If on the other hand you buy a day pass at the right time like say early one evening, you can game late into the night, sleep a bit and wake up and game again. You can easily level up 2-3 mechs and bank 8-10m+ from a single day pass. that is a very good value of time and money.


that said, if you pre-order mech 5 you get 12kMC. so a ton of day passes and some heroes Or hold onto it like me, and hope they give us a 50% off a year of premium sometime soon (costs 24k normally).. That is what i'm waiting for.


a good hero is well worth the MC, especially on sale. My Favorite are the Topdog, and Jester. both are energy boats.


So 50 bucks on the pre-order will get you a couple of hero type mechs, 12k MC, a few months premium and some other goodies. More than worth it if you are enjoying this game. Also if eventually you think you would grab mech 5 even at 50%.. this would be a far better deal if you are playing MWO.


another trick to getting cheaper month's of premium is to buy the Light mech packs. they cost around 14 bucks, you get a month of premium, 3 bays, and 3 mechs. You can often sell 1 or 2 of the mechs if you don't like um and still come out ahead over the cost of strait up buying a month. But still 50% off a year is the way to go.. it's basically 50 bucks for a full year of premium but you need to wait for sales for that


PS stock up on mechbays when they have 50% off sales.


Your stats, take them with a grain of salt, they are decent for sure, but you have to take into account that you are in t5, either playing against other new players, or players that are just not that good and have been in t5 for years. Some will say tiers are just an EXP bar, but that is only for people that perform above a certain level. There are many that don't hit that threshhold. You are above that for sure.

Basically the stats tell me your fairly decent, and have a decent grasp of a shooter.. So keep on gaming, and having fun and maybe you will be a top player someday

Thanks for your kind words - but...actually, I'm in Tier-3 already ! I have half my Tier-3 bar filled up currently. This is part of the reason I was asking about a gauge of my progress / stats, relative to my playtime, because it seems like I shot up from having played the basic 25-Cadet matches...over the course of end of Jan to mid-Feb (playing like a game or two a week, if that).

Then...(I just double-checked my phone to figure out the specific date I went nuts and played a ton, and then texted my buddy who introduced me to the game, and happily told him of my crazy results !).... on April 7th...literally 12-days ago...I started playing insanely well, and actually playing multiple games each day, etc - basically "truly playing the game" - beyond just the 25 cadet missions I snails-pace proceeded through, earlier...

In those 12 days, I went from "1/4 of the Tier-5 bar filled up" - to "now Halfway through the Tier-3 bar". That's what I was confused / curious about - relative to my "rate of progress" - and such ? Is that normal ? / a good pace ?

============

* minor additional question...I bought a Crab (think I mentioned this above), as my first Medium ever- and have had some good games in it (just came off a 581 damage, 1-KB, 6-Assists, 1-KMDD, bunch of components, etc - match). However, I still have no Light Mechs in my garage, and am curious about that class...because I'm much more the Heavy type player, but I want to at least have one of each "Type" - so I can get that Award for doing x-damage / wins etc in each Mech Class.

Given that...what is considered a relatively punch / damage-capable Light, at this point in the game ? I know there are crazy build that have chewed up my Assaults before, with what looks like 10, 12 Machinegun mounts, but I've heard of other ones that can run LB-5's, or even RAC-2's, etc... I generally do better with Ballistics then Energy weapons - so are there some Lights that prioritize that side of things over the burn damage aspect ? (Lasers)

- I'm also assuming the ECM is mandatory for these (or else why not just play a Medium, I'd think ?) - so what Light Mechs are ECM capable (and maybe you can guide me from that basic restriction / consideration) ?



* off to do more glorious battle - will check back and reply more tomorrow after work - thanks for all your great info, guys !

Edited by Rosh87, 19 April 2019 - 05:35 AM.

[Horseman]

Rosh87, on 19 April 2019 - 05:35 AM, said:

Given that...what is considered a relatively punch / damage-capable Light, at this point in the game ? I know there are crazy build that have chewed up my Assaults before, with what looks like 10, 12 Machinegun mounts, but I've heard of other ones that can run LB-5's, or even RAC-2's, etc... I generally do better with Ballistics then Energy weapons - so are there some Lights that prioritize that side of things over the burn damage aspect ? (Lasers)

- I'm also assuming the ECM is mandatory for these (or else why not just play a Medium, I'd think ?) - so what Light Mechs are ECM capable (and maybe you can guide me from that basic restriction / consideration) ?

Light mechs and ballistics generally don't mix (except Piranha with its' ungodly number of hardpoints). It's mostly lasers or missiles there.

I've recently discovered the Kit Fox can be built as a competent SRM brawler using the -D variant. Since it's an omnimech, you have the option of giving up some of the quirks for different omnipods - which include jump jet legs and ECM arms - at will (you'll have to pair them with KFX-G side torsos then, since the -D's missile hardpoints are in arms). It does OK in QP - I mean, the damn thing punches like a Kintaro after all - and pretty well in Solaris.

Edited by Horseman, 19 April 2019 - 06:05 AM.

[JC Daxion]

You sound like your a pretty decent player, good players move up to t3 very fast, if you did that you are doing something right.



as for the crab, they are great medium mechs, I personally have 4, 3 LPL's+JJ, 3 ERLL's+heatsinks, 6 ERMLs, and a 5MPL build. all are lots of fun. (i lean towards the quirks for which one to use) For a different style mech though perhaps grab a bushwacker P1 with 4SRM4's+2 rocket 20's, OR a 4 SRM4 ASN 21, or the ASN -23 for 3SRM6's with aretmis. there is also the Pheonix hawk-2 with 6 MPL's and ECM which is a very solid/fast light hunter/striker.



For lights, machine guns are are really your only decent option for ballistics outside of the joke AC builds on urbies, which run ac10, or a rotary, but really are just for fun.


I love IS more than clan so i lean that way, But a wolfhound with 5 or 6 ERML's is one of the top lights in the game. The other mech i love is a commando 1D with a pair of SRM4's and a flamer. Fast, mobile and does crazy damage, along with screwing with peoples heat is very solid. Another option is the Javelin. I can also be fun as a light hunter with 4 SRM's or streaks.


Clan side, the PIR 1 is one of the goto mechs with it's many machine guns, but lots like the 2 or 3 which can boat SL's or Micros. Personally i fear the laser ones more as the 60 point alpha's (with a 1 sec delay between the 2 groups of weapons, can basically melt a leg in 2 seconds on smaller mechs).. but in QP the machine gun versions do well.

The Mist lynx is another solid mech, but i have a soft spot for the Arctic cheeta, it is still a good mech and can out dual a PIR.

For fun it is hard to beat an adder, they are hard mode. The Boom adder with a UAC20+3ERSL, or dual ERPPCs are both solid in the right hands. They do play totally different than the faster lights though.

[Rosh87]

JC Daxion, on 19 April 2019 - 01:13 PM, said:

You sound like your a pretty decent player, good players move up to t3 very fast, if you did that you are doing something right.



as for the crab, they are great medium mechs, I personally have 4, 3 LPL's+JJ, 3 ERLL's+heatsinks, 6 ERMLs, and a 5MPL build. all are lots of fun. (i lean towards the quirks for which one to use) For a different style mech though perhaps grab a bushwacker P1 with 4SRM4's+2 rocket 20's, OR a 4 SRM4 ASN 21, or the ASN -23 for 3SRM6's with aretmis. there is also the Pheonix hawk-2 with 6 MPL's and ECM which is a very solid/fast light hunter/striker.



For lights, machine guns are are really your only decent option for ballistics outside of the joke AC builds on urbies, which run ac10, or a rotary, but really are just for fun.


I love IS more than clan so i lean that way, But a wolfhound with 5 or 6 ERML's is one of the top lights in the game. The other mech i love is a commando 1D with a pair of SRM4's and a flamer. Fast, mobile and does crazy damage, along with screwing with peoples heat is very solid. Another option is the Javelin. I can also be fun as a light hunter with 4 SRM's or streaks.


Clan side, the PIR 1 is one of the goto mechs with it's many machine guns, but lots like the 2 or 3 which can boat SL's or Micros. Personally i fear the laser ones more as the 60 point alpha's (with a 1 sec delay between the 2 groups of weapons, can basically melt a leg in 2 seconds on smaller mechs).. but in QP the machine gun versions do well.

The Mist lynx is another solid mech, but i have a soft spot for the Arctic cheeta, it is still a good mech and can out dual a PIR.

For fun it is hard to beat an adder, they are hard mode. The Boom adder with a UAC20+3ERSL, or dual ERPPCs are both solid in the right hands. They do play totally different than the faster lights though.

Update * - thanks for the great suggestions on the Lights. I watched several videos by the famous Baradul on the Piranha, and it seems like a perfect Light for me, as it is very annoying and powerful in terms of weaponry options, against the rear of assaults and heavies. That's mostly what I was looking for - a Light that has enough offensive punch to be effective in the fight, as opposed to 'merely' a Scouting type role. Though, if ECM / hidden / stealth considerations are important too, which Light offers the best package in that regard ? Locust / Raven ? I think one of them has ECM, options ?

=====

Secondly - I wanted to share this INSANE result with you guys, as I was so excited after seeing it, I took a screenshot with my phone, lol - to remember the match. Basically, the setup is I played one game after getting home from work today, and it was on Frozen City, in my Annihilator 2a (the heavy Ballistic one, and the 1st Mech I actually 'bought' with my initial Cadet Bonus cash, so I have a natural liking for it, sentimentally, etc)


...anyways, it was the Skirmish or Assault version (I forget, but basically we sat on either side of the valley and just sniped for ages, to begin)... and after about 5 minutes (literally), I proclaimed that this was boring, and as an Annihilator, the 'urge to destroy' was too strong, and I announced I was going to push D-4 at the lower part of the valley, and attack up the hill at the enemy flank. This seemed to galvanize my team, and a Fafnir and several other heavies moved to join my impromptu push, while the Sniper / Missile mechs stayed up on the hill and kept the enemy occupied / focused on them.

We surged up the hill, and into the enemy flank - and I started by savaging an enemy Marauder, with all 6 of my guns ! (I had recently tweaked the build, based on some posts I'd read here in the forums, and gone with a setup that someone claimed could regularly decimate an enemy Assault in like 10 seconds of focused CT targeting. The basics were 4-AC 2 rapid-fire autocannons in the upper torso/chest, and two RAC-5's with plenty of ammo, in the arms).

We pushed up and just laid into everything in our way, taking down several enemies, and breaking their flank. As they shifted forces to counter our move, the guys on our original spawn / hill must have noticed this, and taken the initiative to charge in, and up their slope too, catching the last enemies in a massive Pincer move ! It was glorious to behold. In the end, I saw the end-of-battle report screen...and my jaw dropped, as I had produced my greatest game ever:

Killing Blow: 2
Kill Assist: 10
Solo Kill: 1
Kill Most Damage Dealt: 6
DAMAGE DONE: 1826 !?

Spotting Assist: 4
Component Destroyed: 10
Scouting: 4
Flanking: 1

-------------

Crazy, I think ?

Anyways - still loving the game ! Awesome mech action !


Two quick additional questions:

- Is there a point to playing what I think is this games "Clan Wars" equivalent (organized play) if you aren't formally in a "Unit" (Clan) ? What does it mean when I get these popups in the garage about "Inner Sphere Reinforcement requested" or such... and what is a "Drop Deck", that I hear some people mention in MWO videos, or iN-game sometimes they'll say "yeah, I run 3 of those in m 'drop deck'" ?

What mechs are needed for "Drop Decks", and must you buy multiples or something ? Was a little confused about all that part of the game. Thanks for any clarity you can offer

[Koniving]

Rosh87, on 20 April 2019 - 08:41 PM, said:

Two quick additional questions:

- Is there a point to playing what I think is this games "Clan Wars" equivalent (organized play) if you aren't formally in a "Unit" (Clan) ? What does it mean when I get these popups in the garage about "Inner Sphere Reinforcement requested" or such... and what is a "Drop Deck", that I hear some people mention in MWO videos, or iN-game sometimes they'll say "yeah, I run 3 of those in m 'drop deck'" ?

What mechs are needed for "Drop Decks", and must you buy multiples or something ? Was a little confused about all that part of the game. Thanks for any clarity you can offer

1) If you want a change in pace, maybe? It does have some unique modes. The "scouting" missions may actually be more fun for solo players than the main 96 mech (24 at any given time) cluster-fest.

2) If doing the scout mission, any mech 55 tons or less. Just one.
For the main stuff, you need 4 mechs, any size, so long as the total weight is above a minimum tonnage and below a maximum tonnage. (Its been a while so this is not exact, but lets say 145 and 265.) Weight permitted also varies between IS and Clan, Clans get slightly less.

[Void Angel]

Rosh87, on 19 April 2019 - 05:35 AM, said:

Thanks for your kind words - but...actually, I'm in Tier-3 already ! I have half my Tier-3 bar filled up currently. This is part of the reason I was asking about a gauge of my progress / stats, relative to my playtime, because it seems like I shot up from having played the basic 25-Cadet matches...over the course of end of Jan to mid-Feb (playing like a game or two a week, if that.)

Heheh. Remember that Annihilator build you half-stumbled onto? Player rating systems (whether Elo, Player Skill Rating, or whatever else) will often start new players out with a high delta factor to their rating changes. So a game might give a player much bigger rating changes - up or down - for the first twenty, thirty, or whatever matches, in order to seed them into the general neighborhood of their neighboring skill level. Then they just let the rating system take it from there.

I think MWO does this, though I was seeded based on my statistical match history because I had already been playing for years when PSR was implemented. But even if it isn't, higher match scores will bump you up faster than low match scores - and you can even go up on a loss if you do well enough - so that brutal shotgun brawler you built will push you up fast until you start running into people with the builds and skillset to fight you effectively.

[Rosh87]

Koniving, on 21 April 2019 - 08:55 AM, said:

1) If you want a change in pace, maybe? It does have some unique modes. The "scouting" missions may actually be more fun for solo players than the main 96 mech (24 at any given time) cluster-fest.

2) If doing the scout mission, any mech 55 tons or less. Just one.
For the main stuff, you need 4 mechs, any size, so long as the total weight is above a minimum tonnage and below a maximum tonnage. (Its been a while so this is not exact, but lets say 145 and 265.) Weight permitted also varies between IS and Clan, Clans get slightly less.

Thanks for that explanation. ... Do I still have to select a faction ? I have mostly Inner Sphere Mechs (my only Clan ones so far are a newly purchased Piranha, so I get those Light Mech challenges done finally, my Ebon Jaguar Heavy, and my Deathstrike Clan Assault mech). Everything else is some version of IS. So I guess that would influence what you pick - though if it's the Scouting thing, you say I only need a medium mech....Bushwhacker maybe ? I've heard that's a solid medium ?

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Void Angel, on 21 April 2019 - 12:06 PM, said:

Heheh. Remember that Annihilator build you half-stumbled onto? Player rating systems (whether Elo, Player Skill Rating, or whatever else) will often start new players out with a high delta factor to their rating changes. So a game might give a player much bigger rating changes - up or down - for the first twenty, thirty, or whatever matches, in order to seed them into the general neighborhood of their neighboring skill level. Then they just let the rating system take it from there.

I think MWO does this, though I was seeded based on my statistical match history because I had already been playing for years when PSR was implemented. But even if it isn't, higher match scores will bump you up faster than low match scores - and you can even go up on a loss if you do well enough - so that brutal shotgun brawler you built will push you up fast until you start running into people with the builds and skillset to fight you effectively.

Interesting. It's quite possible, Void Angel, as my ascent from Tier-5 to Tier-3 seemed crazy fast (like I said, I was Tier-5 with barely 1/4 of that 'bar' filled up on April-7th. Now, on April-21st, my Tier-3 bar is 'half filled up' (on the way to Tier-2), which just felt "weirdly fast", which is why I inquired here, with you Veterans of the game / system.

Lately, I'm finding that I'm able to still do respectable even in Tier-3 match "losses" - such that my rating at the end gets an "Equals Sign", instead of a "red Down Arrow". Like, I had several 900 damage Defeats last night, and one of them actually had me go "up" (green arrow), even in the loss, which seemed rare (I think I had like 5 KMDD, and 10+ components destroyed, or some such, so maybe that helped). There's still a bunch of games that end horribly - like 12-2, 11-1, and those I can't really do much about (when people get KO'd so fast, and do so little damage to the enemy forces).

But that's true of all Multiplayer games - I have lived the same thing in years past, through my World of Tanks experiences, lol (Teams just getting vaporized, match after match). I guess it's the ebb and flow of combat.

----

- I'm debating eventually getting a Scorch (Marauder II-Clan modified version) at some point, not only cause it looks so beautiful (shape and color pattern), but also cause I heard it has a very fun brawling LB-20x setup people utilize. When considering single Mech purchases, as opposed to the "Packages" - is that Drop Deck consideration a reason why people sometimes get the 5, 6, or 7 mechs in the pack ? (beyond the other bonuses)

Like, if you setup the Drop Deck thing, are you required to bring 4 of all the same Mech, so you'd "need" the extra ones ? (I know the game site has them called 'Reinforcement add-ons', so I wasn't sure if that referred to the special Faction modes (as in, you need these bonus mechs to be able to Reinforce in those Drop Deck battles ?)

- OR can you have a mix of mechs, and still be fine ? Like, if I ever selected the Inner Sphere pop-up in the Garage, and went into one of those matches, could I simply bring my Annihilator 2a, my Mauler MX-90, my Marauder-2 Alpha, and my Crab or (eventual) Bushwhacker, and that would be acceptable ? Can you mix-n'-match, or must all four or your selected Mechs be "the same mode", in order to be accepted in battles there ?

=====

Lastly, how is that entire side of the game different from "normal quick-play" ? Like, it seems like it's not necessarily "clan wars" as I'm thinking of it from World of Tanks experience, or such. You seem to be able to be a solo player, not actually 'in a Unit', and yet play Faction Wars battles ? True / False ?

So, as I understand it, there's:

1.) Quick Play / Solo Q (the main game mode I've played so far)

2.) Quick Play / Group Q (this is what we get into when I play with my buddy who introduced me to the game - it seems much more likely we face other teams with multiple people from the same "Unit" / icon - in their names, when you check the Match Scoreboard, at the start or end of battle - Team Stats.)

3.) Faction Wars - the mode I'm asking most of these confused questions about - lol - as I'm not sure if it's the same as traditional Clan wars fights, where someone would call out the battle plan verbally, over comms, and people generally play much more structured / organized...OR if there's a '4th mode' - which is a variant of this, that actually is that "must be in a Unit" / "verbal commands given", etc ?

[Koniving]

Yes. Still have to select a faction. For mwo's purpose all a faction represents is an EXP bar to fill for free MC mechbays and trinkets. Once it's full try another bar and another til there is nothing left.

[Void Angel]

Rosh87, on 21 April 2019 - 02:27 PM, said:

-When considering single Mech purchases, as opposed to the "Packages" - is that Drop Deck consideration a reason why people sometimes get the 5, 6, or 7 mechs in the pack ? (beyond the other bonuses)

Like, if you setup the Drop Deck thing, are you required to bring 4 of all the same Mech, so you'd "need" the extra ones ? (I know the game site has them called 'Reinforcement add-ons', so I wasn't sure if that referred to the special Faction modes (as in, you need these bonus mechs to be able to Reinforce in those Drop Deck battles ?)

- OR can you have a mix of mechs, and still be fine ? Like, if I ever selected the Inner Sphere pop-up in the Garage, and went into one of those matches, could I simply bring my Annihilator 2a, my Mauler MX-90, my Marauder-2 Alpha, and my Crab or (eventual) Bushwhacker, and that would be acceptable ? Can you mix-n'-match, or must all four or your selected Mechs be "the same mode", in order to be accepted in battles there ?

=====

Lastly, how is that entire side of the game different from "normal quick-play" ? Like, it seems like it's not necessarily "clan wars" as I'm thinking of it from World of Tanks experience, or such. You seem to be able to be a solo player, not actually 'in a Unit', and yet play Faction Wars battles ? True / False ?

So, as I understand it, there's:

1.) Quick Play / Solo Q (the main game mode I've played so far)

2.) Quick Play / Group Q (this is what we get into when I play with my buddy who introduced me to the game - it seems much more likely we face other teams with multiple people from the same "Unit" / icon - in their names, when you check the Match Scoreboard, at the start or end of battle - Team Stats.)

3.) Faction Wars - the mode I'm asking most of these confused questions about - lol - as I'm not sure if it's the same as traditional Clan wars fights, where someone would call out the battle plan verbally, over comms, and people generally play much more structured / organized...OR if there's a '4th mode' - which is a variant of this, that actually is that "must be in a Unit" / "verbal commands given", etc ?

Roughly in order:
-No, the reason people will buy 'Mech Packs (and recommend that over individual 'mechs) is twofold: early access to that Omni- or Battlemech; and extra goodies like premium time, cockpit items, and paint colors - all at a cost-effective price. There is no underlying requirement to field the same chassis of 'mech in Faction play, and the "reinforcements" add-on is a purely thematic name. This brings up the question, "why do you want seven variants of the same chassis?" The answer to that is hardpoints. Each chassis has different hardpoints and quirks, supporting different builds. The Thunderbolt 5SS, for example, is a laser boat extraordinaire, while the 5S supports a more balanced loadout, and the 5SE is the only Thunderbolt capable of mounting Jump Jets. As a historical aside, there was a time (when quirks were first added) when the TDR-5SS was an overquirked monster with Pulse Lasers, to the point that people would sometimes run 4 identical Thunderbolts 5SS's as their deck - thankfully (though it's still one of my favorite chassis,) it's been nerfed down into sanity long since, but it illustrates the flexibility of drop decks.

-As for the general differences in Faction Play, it's designed to be a kind of top-tier gameplay mode. More complex and more difficult, with a higher instance of premade teams and more complex victory objectives than Quickplay. Players drop with a deck of 4 'mechs, and there's a layer of strategy there where you pick your next 'mech based on what the enemy is doing, or what you plan to do. There are maps in this mode that only appear there, and a fortress 'mechanic where teams need to beat down base defenses, open doors by destroying generators, and then bash down the main generators to disable the orbital defenses in the base. Straight tactics are a little different, and the new gameplay environment opens up a bit more variety in how you can play the match.

Unfortunately, the game mode hasn't held the attention of a lot of units - mine included - for a variety of reasons that are partly subjective and vary by player (and so are hard to define.) The game mode itself is still fun, last I played - it's just that the amount of time and effort needed to play it competitively as a unit didn't end up being worthwhile to a lot of us. So you'll hear people be salty about it if you cruise around the forums a bit, but you shouldn't let that (or this) scare you away from trying the mode - that's game politics, and you're asking about gameplay. Faction Play is definitely at least worth trying, and can get you a lot of Cbills per time spent once you get used to it. Just make sure you bring some long-range, pinpoint damage 'mechs, and stay away from LRMs at first.

-Finally, you've basically got the gist of the three queues. Solo is just that - the quickplay option you've been going with for casual fun. Group Queue is where you go if you queue up as a full or partial 'mech company: people are more likely to group up with a regular team and communicate (if you don't have a mic yet, you should get one,) and people will play a bit differently because of the difference that makes in the tactical environment. Then there's Faction Play, where the overall tactical landscape is significantly different - but people can both queue up as Randos, or drop with a full or partial group.

(PS: I strongly recommend using a microphone when you play. You don't have to try and tell people what to do; just tell them - briefly - what you see. Terse, informational messages like, "Heavies at G4," "Spotter to the Rear," or Sniper at G7" can really help people decide what they should be doing, and all get pointed in the right direction - or react to threats that would be crippling to the team if no one warns them. Even if you don't have a mic, hammering out a semi-legible spot report from cover can help your team out a lot.)

[Rosh87]

Void Angel, on 22 April 2019 - 01:36 PM, said:

Roughly in order:
-No, the reason people will buy 'Mech Packs (and recommend that over individual 'mechs) is twofold: early access to that Omni- or Battlemech; and extra goodies like premium time, cockpit items, and paint colors - all at a cost-effective price.

Ah, I see your point there. I was curious (and actually this is timely for me to ask, since you mentioned the Cockpit items, etc) - about the Civil War packs, from the past...apparently (was doing some random searches on C-Bills and XP bonuses and such, plus watched the famous Bardul's video where he uses a Crab and talks about ways you can play in a battle that help earn lots of C-Bills, due to your actions, etc during the fight - and some commenter there also mentioned this...).... but apparently if you owned both of the Ultimate Packs of either Inner Sphere (Uziel and Annihilator) or Clan (Cougar and Mad Cat-II), you would get these special Hanging and Standing items that would give +5% C-Bill and +5% XP gains, per battle.

The way it is worded in the Store is "if you own the Collectors Edition of both the Uziel and Annihilator, you get the Hanging +5% C-Bill item and +5% XP item"...and "if you own the Ultimate Edition of both, you get the Standing +5% C-Bill / +5% XP one". That's the approximate wording. Basically, am I right to imagine if you buy the Ultimate ones, surely they "count as" also buying the 'lesser' Collector's ones, and PGI will give you both the Standing and Hanging versions of these booster items ?

---

Related to that, while I'm leaning strongly to doing the Inner Sphere version of this, as most of my mechs are IS type, and it's something that basically benefits me forever, for the duration I'm playing the game (permanent boosting items).. the Clan one I'm less certain of, mostly because I (perhaps foolishly) bought the Deathstrike Hero Madcat "individually" through the in-game Store, using MC. This means I already have one of them in my garage, and recently finished getting 91/91 for the Skill Nodes unlocked.

From minor research I've done today, it seems that if you buy an Ultimate Pack (or any pack really) that has mechs in it that you 'already have in your garage', the game just gives you Duplicates of them. The problem is...with the special Hero Mechs, or others that have the +30% C-Bill Bonus on their chassis, the game will NOT allow you to sell them back for C-Bills, for some reason. This poses a problem for me... I would find the visual image of two identical Mad Cats sitting in the garage to be ...annoying. Also, I'm assuming one would keep the 91/91 full Skill Node unlocks, and the other would have 0 unlocked, so there's literally no reason I'd ever play 'Deathstrike #2".

Is there any solution to this ? Maybe the posts I read mentioning this happening to people in the past, were outdated - and PGI has some new software coding that checks and sees you already have the Mech, and will give you some kind of compensation or such ? Just curious what your Veteran experiences are with this unusual potential situation ?

=======

- I actually played my first Faction War battle thingy last night - got one of those "Reinforcement requests" pop-ups, and decided to give it a shot. Made my first "Drop Deck" on the spot there - Mauler MX90, Marauder (heavy), Crab, Hunchback, and dropped in. We had a mission on a unique Sulfury map to defend a giant orbital cannon, from the attacking Clan hordes. The enemy attacked two Gates, and blew through them, but our 'leader' directed us to what Gate they were at, and we moved as a force to defend those locations. In the end, I had the Crab left, as my final / active mech, but had lost the other 3 over the course of the battle. I seem to think I did like 2 or 3 KO's and 1600 damage or some such, and we Won - holding them off and destroying all enemy Mechs - so they said I did good

* a few minor questions were left in my mind - first off, there were a few times the Leader guy said something like "if you're still outside the Walls, please Eject and reform at Gate-B" or something like that... Why would he say that, first of all ? - secondly, how do you "Eject from your Mech" (I didn't even know this was a keyboard command I could DO ? -lol)

* Secondly - there is a thing when you are in the Map of the Galaxy screen there, where it has 3 choices for the Faction Wars stuff. One is "play un-aligned / merc type" - the second is "play as a specific Faction, must be in a UNIT" ... and the third is like "Pledge Exclusive Loyalty to one faction" - which I assume is either Inner Sphere or the Clans.

There were several listed bonuses that you got from the 2nd and 3rd option, that were not listed in the first "Freelancer" version. Thus, I'm assuming that to get the most bang for your buck from this mode, they want you in an actual Unit (clan / organized team, as I understand it)... and then that Unit can choose to further pledge to one specific faction, or be a Mercenary Unit of sorts, that can fight for either of the two major sides in the conflict ? Am I sort of getting it correct there ?

=======

- * I have my mic - don't worry. I typically don't like to wear it for random matches because I find it kind of clunky on my head for long hours of gaming (and I often listen to YouTube or something in the background, while I play - but I agree the tactical benefits it offers are large - so I'll grin and bear it more often, haha)

[Void Angel]

I haven't actually bought any large packs since the Overlord pack from Project Phoenix - still have some hanging cockpit items I could redeem from that. So I'm not quite sure how it all works in regard to getting those bonus-granting cockpit items. I'd be surprised if a higher tier wouldn't count as the Collector's edition, but to be sure, email support and ask them direct. Someone else in the thread might know as well.

In other news, yes, your performance in a PuG was quite acceptable. And if you track the cbills you get from matches like that compared to quickplay matches for the same amount of time played, I do believe your rewards will be higher for faction play. As for Ejecting, there's a key you hold down - it'll be on your keybindings - in order to destroy your current 'mech. This works just like death, and you can drop back in. What your drop lead was trying to do is get people whose 'mechs were too damaged to get back quickly to abandon their metal and drop back where the fighting was - it's not something that's done too often, but there are times when you need to. An example is when you run out of ammo for your ballistic-oriented 'mech, and want to have your new 'mech before the next wave of fighting (as opposed to dying during the push and then re-dropping.)

What you're describing in the Faction Warfare main screen is your participation type selection. You can either join a unit that can pick contracts with the various factions, or pledge permanently to the inner sphere or clans. They made some changes a while back, but since my unit had mostly stopped playing at that time, I didn't pay much attention. I'd just go freelancer. You can also make your own unit (of One!) and get in on the contracts, though you'll still be essentially a solo freelancer.

[Koniving]

On your civil war question.
Collector gets you one.
Ultimate gets you a second one.

In theory you could get more by getting additional collector/ultimate... But won't comment further til I can look at it. At work and doing some quick on the break reading.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Rosh87, on 22 April 2019 - 02:05 PM, said:

From minor research I've done today, it seems that if you buy an Ultimate Pack (or any pack really) that has mechs in it that you 'already have in your garage', the game just gives you Duplicates of them. The problem is...with the special Hero Mechs, or others that have the +30% C-Bill Bonus on their chassis, the game will NOT allow you to sell them back for C-Bills, for some reason. This poses a problem for me... I would find the visual image of two identical Mad Cats sitting in the garage to be ...annoying. Also, I'm assuming one would keep the 91/91 full Skill Node unlocks, and the other would have 0 unlocked, so there's literally no reason I'd ever play 'Deathstrike #2".

Is there any solution to this ? Maybe the posts I read mentioning this happening to people in the past, were outdated - and PGI has some new software coding that checks and sees you already have the Mech, and will give you some kind of compensation or such ? Just curious what your Veteran experiences are with this unusual potential situation ?

You can, if you really want, email support and they can manually remove the duplicate. Make sure you rename it in the mechlab first (there's a pencil icon to give a nickname to a mech), that way you can differentiate them correctly to support and they can delete the duplicate. However, I do not believe you get compensated for it in any way. Since it is a hero mech with a 30% cbill boost there are some good reasons not to do this:
1. If you drop in a match and die early, you can exit but not play that mech again until the match is over. If grinding, you could hop in the duplicate (whatever loadout you put on it, same or different) and hop in another match immediately.
2. If it fits well, you can put this into your FP dropdeck in the same one or...
3. You can load it out differently (brawler vs sniper) and put into 2 DIFFERENT dropdecks that you can swap on the fly depending on the match map and objectives in FP.
4. Generally, you don't want to sell mechs, even ones that suck because you may want to buy them back later. Of course this is up to you. Especially true for heroes that you pay real money for and can't get real money back.

The default key to eject is K and you have to hold it down. It will show a timer on your screen. This only exists in FP. The reason to do this is to prepare for the next wave with all mechs at full strength or at least in position. Usually, only the defenders do this, and/or if the team is clearly ahead in mechs.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 22 April 2019 - 06:08 PM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

On an unrelated side note, Support lets you do one corrective "Oops" for free. Like if you buy a mech for MC and you meant to buy it for cbills. They won't fix things that you just need to grind for like using GXP when you meant to use Mech XP.

[Horseman]

Rosh87, on 20 April 2019 - 08:41 PM, said:

Update * - thanks for the great suggestions on the Lights. I watched several videos by the famous Baradul on the Piranha, and it seems like a perfect Light for me, as it is very annoying and powerful in terms of weaponry options, against the rear of assaults and heavies. That's mostly what I was looking for - a Light that has enough offensive punch to be effective in the fight, as opposed to 'merely' a Scouting type role. Though, if ECM / hidden / stealth considerations are important too, which Light offers the best package in that regard ? Locust / Raven ? I think one of them has ECM, options ?

Depends on what you want. The Kit Fox can actually be geared for a combination of offense and support, as one of its' omnipods offers an ECM and a triple AMS mount.

Quote

In the end, I saw the end-of-battle report screen...and my jaw dropped, as I had produced my greatest game ever:
Killing Blow: 2
Kill Assist: 10
Solo Kill: 1
Kill Most Damage Dealt: 6
DAMAGE DONE: 1826 !?

Spotting Assist: 4
Component Destroyed: 10
Scouting: 4
Flanking: 1
-------------
Crazy, I think ?

Whoa, yes, that's a good result.

Quote

- Is there a point to playing what I think is this games "Clan Wars" equivalent (organized play) if you aren't formally in a "Unit" (Clan) ? What does it mean when I get these popups in the garage about "Inner Sphere Reinforcement requested" or such...

Yes and no. You don't need to be formally in a unit (this game's equivelent of "guild" or "clan", not to be confused with the lore term "Clan"), but responding to those Call To Action prompts is dropping solo, which is not recommended either - you should be dropping as part of a coordinated group. There's a bunch of Teamspeak and Discord hubs with open-door policies that will take you on without difficulties.

Quote

and what is a "Drop Deck", that I hear some people mention in MWO videos, or iN-game sometimes they'll say "yeah, I run 3 of those in m 'drop deck'" ?

What mechs are needed for "Drop Decks", and must you buy multiples or something ? Was a little confused about all that part of the game. Thanks for any clarity you can offer

When you drop in Invasion, you need to choose four mechs within a specific tonnage limit. Those four mechs constitute the drop deck. If your mech is destroyed (or you eject), you can switch to one of the remaining mechs in the drop deck.
Each mech you own can only be used once in the same drop deck - so if you have two MAD-3Rs you can use both, but not one of them twice (if that makes sense).

Rosh87, on 21 April 2019 - 02:27 PM, said:

Lately, I'm finding that I'm able to still do respectable even in Tier-3 match "losses" - such that my rating at the end gets an "Equals Sign", instead of a "red Down Arrow". Like, I had several 900 damage Defeats last night, and one of them actually had me go "up" (green arrow), even in the loss, which seemed rare (I think I had like 5 KMDD, and 10+ components destroyed, or some such, so maybe that helped). There's still a bunch of games that end horribly - like 12-2, 11-1, and those I can't really do much about (when people get KO'd so fast, and do so little damage to the enemy forces).

You're doing well, although I would advise that you try to stay on targets until they go down so that your KMDDs are converted into solo kills more often. Sometimes it's worth dealing less overall damage if said damage removes a chunk of enemy firepower from the board.

Quote

- I'm debating eventually getting a Scorch (Marauder II-Clan modified version) at some point, not only cause it looks so beautiful (shape and color pattern), but also cause I heard it has a very fun brawling LB-20x setup people utilize.

There's a Mad Cat MK II variant that can do the same build now, just FYI.

Quote

- OR can you have a mix of mechs, and still be fine ? Like, if I ever selected the Inner Sphere pop-up in the Garage, and went into one of those matches, could I simply bring my Annihilator 2a, my Mauler MX-90, my Marauder-2 Alpha, and my Crab or (eventual) Bushwhacker, and that would be acceptable ? Can you mix-n'-match, or must all four or your selected Mechs be "the same mode", in order to be accepted in battles there ?

They must fit within a specific tonnage cap - for Inner Sphere I think this is 265t, so you can't really run three assaults unless two are 80 tonners and the third is 80-85t, leaving you with 20-25t for the last mech in the deck.
The other restriction is that the mechs must come from the same tech base (so if you're dropping for Inner Sphere, they must be Inner Sphere mechs whereas for Clans they must be Clan mechs)

Quote

Lastly, how is that entire side of the game different from "normal quick-play" ? Like, it seems like it's not necessarily "clan wars" as I'm thinking of it from World of Tanks experience, or such. You seem to be able to be a solo player, not actually 'in a Unit', and yet play Faction Wars battles ? True / False ?

In two words, attrition matters. You may see teams trying to force their way into enemy drop zones to destroy enemy mechs as they come in and leave the opposing force at a permanent disadvantage. You may also see newbies rushing in with all of their four mechs, leaving the team undermanned in later waves (this tends to be a major handicap when it happens).

Quote

So, as I understand it, there's:
1.) Quick Play / Solo Q (the main game mode I've played so far)
2.) Quick Play / Group Q (this is what we get into when I play with my buddy who introduced me to the game - it seems much more likely we face other teams with multiple people from the same "Unit" / icon - in their names, when you check the Match Scoreboard, at the start or end of battle - Team Stats.)
3.) Faction Wars - the mode I'm asking most of these confused questions about - lol - as I'm not sure if it's the same as traditional Clan wars fights, where someone would call out the battle plan verbally, over comms, and people generally play much more structured / organized...OR if there's a '4th mode' - which is a variant of this, that actually is that "must be in a Unit" / "verbal commands given", etc ?

Faction Play is a mixed queue of groups and solos. Solo pugs in FP tend to do poorly, which is why it's recommended that you seek a group to drop with.
This is not the end-all of MWO, as there's also Solaris (1v1 or 2v2 gladiator fights, builds tend to be slightly different than in QP/FP), player-run competitive leagues such as MRBC and PGI's official competitive mode leading to MWO World Championship tournament.
Competitive teams are more tightly organized, which can be seen as both an upside and a downside depending on the person you ask (for me - HUGE upside)

Rosh87, on 22 April 2019 - 02:05 PM, said:

* a few minor questions were left in my mind - first off, there were a few times the Leader guy said something like "if you're still outside the Walls, please Eject and reform at Gate-B" or something like that... Why would he say that, first of all ? - secondly, how do you "Eject from your Mech" (I didn't even know this was a keyboard command I could DO ? -lol)

More effective to discard the mech and get to the defensive position from your drop zone rather than trek all the way on foot. To eject, hold down K. There will be a countdown.

Quote

There were several listed bonuses that you got from the 2nd and 3rd option, that were not listed in the first "Freelancer" version. Thus, I'm assuming that to get the most bang for your buck from this mode, they want you in an actual Unit (clan / organized team, as I understand it)... and then that Unit can choose to further pledge to one specific faction, or be a Mercenary Unit of sorts, that can fight for either of the two major sides in the conflict ? Am I sort of getting it correct there ?

Yep, you're getting it right.

[Koniving]

Koniving, on 22 April 2019 - 06:02 PM, said:

On your civil war question.
Collector gets you one.
Ultimate gets you a second one.

In theory you could get more by getting additional collector/ultimate... But won't comment further til I can look at it. At work and doing some quick on the break reading.

Okay so now that I can read it...

You could get a total of 4 of each type of trinket (4 cbill boosters, 4 XP boosters, 2 of each type...standing and hanging).

But you'd need to own both the collector edition of 2 different mechs, and they'd have to be on the same side (IS or Clan) to snag your first set.


So yes, to follow the logic if you got the ultimate editions of a pair of Civil War mechs, yes, you would have the collector edition of each in the process, but we're talking about 70-ish dollars for each ultimate collection... It isn't worth it.

Granted, putting in the 5% standing with the 5% hanging in a +30% mech (hero or collector/special) getting you 40% more cbills (+ another 50% with premium time can net you almost 90% more, or 190% cbill earnings)... but it really isn't worth spending so much.

------------

Quote

a few minor questions were left in my mind - first off, there were a few times the Leader guy said something like "if you're still outside the Walls, please Eject and reform at Gate-B" or something like that... Why would he say that, first of all ? - secondly, how do you "Eject from your Mech" (I didn't even know this was a keyboard command I could DO ? -lol)

The key is K if I recall correctly, only works in faction play.

The concept is (I'm assuming as a defender), if you're on the wrong side of the gate, then if you eject and form up, you can collect as a murderball to mow through the enemy in a deathtrain. Such is usually more of an attacking tactic, but not sure why they'd say that about being outside the walls, unless some people were really far off at Gate A or C, on a map where it takes about 5 minutes to go from Gate C/A to Gate B due to an insane amount of mountains separating them.

Personally, I am not a fan of that as it throws a life away and that life could be spent creating a diversion and luring some of the enemy away from a defensive position.

[Rosh87]

* just wanted to chime in again this morning and thank you ALL for your series of excellent and detailed follow-up posts to my Faction Wars and other related recent questions !! Very comprehensive and helpful :-)

---

* I had several more excellent matches this morning - two 1000-dmg games in the Direwolf, followed by a (just-completed) 938 damage result (also a win). This thing earns me so many credits, as I tend to destroy a ton of enemy Components, which I think rewards more cash, at the end of the match. I love it so much (though it handles like a lumbering hippo, lol).

As a minor point of pride (cause I have learned this is considered kind of a cheap / disliked way of playing), I have never once equipped or launched a Long-Range Missile in any mech, since I've started playing. So all my results thus far have been with actual direct-fire weaponry (I only fired my first Missiles-period, in fact, with the new Marauder2-HP version, which is the hyped up one with 9 missile rack points, and I was running variations of Baradul and TTB's SRM / Streak SRM launcher loadouts, with admittedly mixed results).

---

* thank you, Koniving, for that follow-up too on that Civil War Ultimate / Collectors thingy.

Like you say, just getting the Uziel and Annihilator Ultimate Packs would cost $140 !! To then say you must also spend 40 + 40 and buy both of their "Collector Packs" - which would get you doubles of every mech, basically... to get the full special items seems really crazy. $140 is already a big cost. Asking for $80 more seems....well, really cruel, if that's how they set it up, lol

I was only leaning towards the IS one because the only duplicate I would get is the ANH-2a, and I can just sell the duplicate as its not a special variant. I never got the Hero, so that would be nice to have - and then I've never played any Uziels, so they might be decent in some roles too. Plus you get Premium time and a bunch of other goodies. So it seemed like an overall useful deal.. but you are right about the big (real world) cost.

Edited by Rosh87, 23 April 2019 - 09:30 AM.

[Koniving]

Rosh87, on 23 April 2019 - 09:27 AM, said:

* thank you, Koniving, for that follow-up too on that Civil War Ultimate / Collectors thingy.

Like you say, just getting the Uziel and Annihilator Ultimate Packs would cost $140 !! To then say you must also spend 40 + 40 and buy both of their "Collector Packs" - which would get you doubles of every mech, basically... to get the full special items seems really crazy. $140 is already a big cost. Asking for $80 more seems....well, really cruel, if that's how they set it up, lol

I was only leaning towards the IS one because the only duplicate I would get is the ANH-2a, and I can just sell the duplicate as its not a special variant. I never got the Hero, so that would be nice to have - and then I've never played any Uziels, so they might be decent in some roles too. Plus you get Premium time and a bunch of other goodies. So it seemed like an overall useful deal.. but you are right about the big (real world) cost.

You're welcome
140 would be the high end of what you'd need to spend for a complete set (ultimate includes the collector and its two ultimates, so with them you get the collector tidbits too).

While the hero is unique, the special version that just comes with a collector would more than suffice the needs for additional/faster income while using it. Personally own the collector edition for Annihilator, it makes a decent if somewhat slow moving cash cow.

On Civil War Escalation, got the Nightstar and the Nova Cat; Nova Cat's also a favorite little cash cow as well as the Arctic Wolf. Comically I stopped short of the collector versions, I was shopping specifically for fun-sounding mechs and to cash in on the loyalty rewards that happen annually around October.

[Renzor the Red]

Rosh87, on 09 April 2019 - 10:58 AM, said:

1.) Premium Time: Is this worth it if I play 3-5 days a week, going forwards ?
2.) Is there a point to having more than one "type" of a Mech?There's no real point in unlocking "every single Skill Tree node", if you already have the 91 you are happy with, correct ?
3.) Going off the above question, are there many cases where a particular mech (either normal variant, Hero, or Champion config) is considered "notably better" than the other possible purchases ?
4.) Is there an easy link / list to an excel doc or such, that lays out all of these unique traits, so I could consider them for possible future pickups ?
5.) Lastly, is there a clear benefit to some of the largest mech weapon types, like LB-20, or AC-20, or the like ?

A lot of people hate on spending money in the game. And a lot of people spend tons of money on this game, no doubt. When I started playing, I told myself that I wouldn't spend any money on a F2P game, as I generally frown on those kinds of games gradually sapping money out of players. However, a few months in, I find that I've been more excited about MWO and been playing this game more than just about any other game I've played before. I'm freaking obsessed, always watching YouTube videos by TTB, Baradul, BlackhawkSC, Kanajashi, FuzzyNova, Brios, theB33f, and others to learn about the game, the mechs, builds, theory, and tactics. It's so awesome. Ultimately, I decided to start putting money into this because I really enjoy it and figure that I'll be playing for a long time. Lots of guys have been playing regularly for years. I've bought several heroes (only when they're on great sales) and, since it takes forever to grind up C-Bills to fund build tinkering normally, I bought a whole year of Premium Time for $100. I figure that if the game's important enough to you, it's worth it. Otherwise, grinding up 6-7 million for another engine and other stuff to outfit your new mech takes forever. True, it might be a little bit of an exploit on players, but PGI is also very involved with the community, always providing events and free swag. I'm happy.

I know what you mean about the 'type' of mech. Since my Ultraviolet with 8 AC2's is fully skilled up, is there really any point to buying another mech with the same build? I generally choose my mechs carefully to avoid wasting MC/c-bills on something that I basically already have and will likely never use, but there are special cases. For instance, you might want to have four of the same laser Hellbringers for a Faction Warfare drop deck. Or, you might buy a mech that you can mostly duplicate with a mech that you already have if it can do something a little differently (ECM instead of Jump Jets etc), especially if it's got a lot of build options so you can change it around later, like Omnimechs.

It's pointless to literally buy every skill node. But, when I skill up a particular build on a mech to 91/91, if I want to change the loadout (and hence the skills) later, I'll just 'save' the skill tree, plan the new one--which will likely be very similar except for up to a dozen nodes or so that are different--then modify it bit by bit to the new tree as needed. I just did this with my HBR Virago recently that I had specialized for all WUBs and mastered. I took out some lasers and added a UAC10, so had to change my old tree a little to include the ballistic stuff. I saved the old tree so that I could go back again later.

A hero is better if it does exactly what you want a c-bill variant to do but also provides the c-bill bonus. Especially with Clan omnimechs. Like, some of the first c-bill mechs I ever bought were an ACH-Prime and a shadowcat prime. When I discovered that I could remake the exact same build with the heroes, I bought a Shard and a Mishepu (sp?)--both part of a sale--then remade my old mechs with those. I named them 'Mark II's and started skilling them up. I still have both shadowcats, btw. I'll use them both in a FW drop deck.

Champions aren't really worth getting unless you're getting one as a reward of a loot bag event or something, i.e. free. You'll skill it up to 91 eventually anyway, so the bonus is kind of pointless. The only slight benefit, perhaps, is that it'll continue earning a tiny bit more general XP than usual in matches.

I use this website to look up quirks if I don't feel like navigating through the game's store:
http://snafets.de/mwo/quirks.htm
However, I've noticed that it's not always up to date.

Big weapons are great. They do larger pinpoint damage. They do require you to be closer, generally. It's hard for me to be patient enough to wait to brawl in the early poking times of the games, but if you can mitigate the weaknesses of a short-range build, it's pretty awesome blowing mechs away. An AC20 will give you a since, accurate delivery of 20 damage to one component, where if you're using an AC10 (for instance), you won't necessarily land both shots in the same place to accomplish the same damage.

Edited by renzor51, 24 April 2019 - 03:10 PM.

[Koniving]

Random note

Other things of interest if you are really wanting to get into the universe beyond just battling mechs...

MW5 has some quirks in mwo if you act soon. It's likely to be faithful to mwo's mechanics for the most part aside from lore-restrictive customization (mods will fix that if it is an issue). Should be able to get a bunch of mc and the Marauder II and maybe one of the four mechs on the front page if you are quick.

HBS's (now Paradox's) Battletech... Is basically MechWarrior plus vehicles in XCOM style gameplay with awesome music and a reasonably decent story. It's releasing its second dlc soon.

Edited by Koniving, 24 April 2019 - 03:15 PM.