228 replies to this topic

[50 50]

BLOODWOLF333, on 04 January 2020 - 11:52 AM, said:

I've read on a few other forum posts that others have 1M+ gxp they wish they could load into an AC and just fire off so, if the players cant effectively use a resource does that not indicate a broken mechanic?

Just wanted to comment on this bit as I didn't see it mentioned in the replies.
You might come across these sort of comments from players who were playing before the skill tree change. There was a huge refund of c-bills and xp to playes based on what they had purchased before and the xp also got multiplied if you had multiples of the same mech variant so some of us did end up with more than we will ever need...... unless they do something like introduce another 400 mechs into the game.

Magpi mentioned it in the initial reply about the events.
They do come around pretty regularly and PGI is pretty generous in literally throwing c-bills, MC, gxp and various other things at the player base so if it doesn't stress you out too much to be chasing the rewards they can be a nice little boost to help you level up those mechs.

While there hasn't been a new mech or mech pack released for a while, these were also a quick way to get some cash and mechs as the pre-orders threw in a bunch of c-bills and other things. You also have the option to get a mech or mech pack from the store right now if you didn't mind spending the money. Gives you a bit of a head start.
Otherwise you can earn everything available in the game now just by playing and grinding your way along.

Edited by 50 50, 05 January 2020 - 03:49 PM.

[CFC Conky]

Welcome to a MWO Bloodwolf333!

Unless your goal is to become a comp-level player like Vx or Ash, try not to overthink the game at this stage. Find a mech/build you are comfortable with and just play. Time spent in the game is imo more important at first. Once you get better at moving/shooting/managing heat your earnings will increase and some of the advice here will make more sense.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

[FRAGTAST1C]

Have you used this site...?

https://grimmechs.is...im.org/Database

Have a look there and see how the mechs are built, how the armour is distributed, how much of it is sacrificed to accommodate certain loadouts, what kind of heat efficiency is aimed for specific builds, etc., For e.g., one of the top performing Assault mechs is the Cyclops Sleipnir. It can do a variety of ballistic builds, the common ones being 4x LBx10 and 4x UAC5. There are others like 2x RAC2 + 2x UAC10s. For the LBx10 and RAC+UAC10 builds, you'll be shaving armour like crazy on the arms. It basically leaves the arms (sometimes both) without any armour but the STs and CT is always maxed, like, 3-5 in the back and the rest to the front.

[Vxheous]

BLOODWOLF333, on 05 January 2020 - 08:26 PM, said:

Well I decreased my rear armor, that makes sense so am doing 75%/25% F/R. I still get shot in the back now and then when Im zooming around the enemy's rear in the Wolfhound Im not ready to risk <5. I've got 7/8 of the new events completed and seen all the c-bills they give away so yeah that is nice. I think im starting to do better now that I know i can run my mechs super hot compared to classic battletech construction rules.

Do this experiment, for every time you die from getting shot in the front, move one armor from back to front. For every time you die from getting shot in the back, move one armor from the front to the back. See where your armour values will end up, i'm guessing 98% front, 2% back.

Edited by Vxheous, 06 January 2020 - 03:53 AM.

[thievingmagpi]

BLOODWOLF333, on 05 January 2020 - 08:26 PM, said:

Well I decreased my rear armor, that makes sense so am doing 75%/25% F/R. I still get shot in the back now and then when Im zooming around the enemy's rear in the Wolfhound Im not ready to risk <5. I've got 7/8 of the new events completed and seen all the c-bills they give away so yeah that is nice. I think im starting to do better now that I know i can run my mechs super hot compared to classic battletech construction rules.

"coaching away" training wheels can be a hard thing to do that's for sure. in a case like this it's really just about diving into the deep end.

I didn't start dropping back armour down really low until relatively recently. I remember when someone first suggested I run 0 head armour on my light. Impossible! I just kept thinking that one little tickle is gonna kill me.

Well, don't get tickled.

I know it seems about unnatural sometimes, but in MWO you need to be building for optimal situations. You shouldn't be building for when things go wrong. You're sacrificing a lot for those oh-**** backups. The important part of course, is you need to avoid those situations. You need to put yourself in optimal situations as much as possible.

What that means is the same example as earlier with weapons. Don't stick a small laser on a long range build. Maximize everything you can for your given range/position etc. Get yourself into the right place, read the map etc so you can capitalize on this. That single small weapon isn't going to do anything- and if you *do* get jumped by a light, it's not gonna be much help their either. What you need to do is avoid getting into that situation.

And with respect to armour it works the same way. You spend most of the game facing the enemy. Slapping a few extra armour on your butt isn't gonna do much for those few times your back is exposed.

[Leone]

BLOODWOLF333, on 04 January 2020 - 11:52 AM, said:

Just things I have been seeing and opinions, still playing everyday and trying to get gud reading everything and watching YT videos (learned about the bonuses recently and how staying with the group is beneficial).

I've got some old advice floating about, if'n you want to peruse it. Just take note, I don't use or make meta builds, and my mechloadouts are put in for completions sake, rather'n as recommendations.
https://mwomercs.com...ting-thy-enemy/
https://mwomercs.com...g-like-a-light/
https://mwomercs.com...rimer-by-leone/

I've not been playing much recently though, so for specifics, I'd take other advice. The big takeaway I feel from those threads is more tactics rather'n build considerations.

~Leone, of Kell's Commandos, Once Raid Leader of the Crimson Hand.

[Vellron2005]

BLOODWOLF333, on 04 January 2020 - 11:52 AM, said:

Been playing for just a week now and had some questions/is this mechanic broken?

1. So you get almost 50k worth of GXP after your first 25 matches and completing all the tutorials but, with it costing 45k to use every 800 for a skill point....I don't find this resource very practical and would rather have c-bills which are the much harder to come-by resource. Gettin' gud is not an instantaneous process so, c-bills seem to be the rarest and most useful resource for me. I've read on a few other forum posts that others have 1M+ gxp they wish they could load into an AC and just fire off so, if the players cant effectively use a resource does that not indicate a broken mechanic?

2. Also after the first 25 matches the game and monetary progression seems to take a nose dive off a cliff and you begin the slow grind. Grinding to get XP for your mech makes sense and many other games do this as well for your character so that is not a problem. But, Im not happy with the monetary pay-out. Many times people are sitting in their heavy and assaults waiting for usually lights or mediums to round out the company so the match can begin so, your funneled into playing as lighter mechs and serving in the scout role if you want to participate. But, your not going to be getting the most kills or the team MVP so <150k per match. If players are not rewarded for playing roles that most players dont want to play as(from what I have observed rarely is a qp game waiting for heavy or assault players to join) then why should anyone ever play as a light or medium?

3. I dont think a team payout pool would be better, nobody likes sharing and people will resent freeloaders who died right off the bat so, idk maybe weight class payment multipliers to reward the player a little more for fielding lighter mechs? Or bump the payout across the board. IMO c-bills should be the more common and easy to generate resource with the high c-bill cost of everything in the game. GXP I would have no problem with it being a rare resource with it being able to be used on any mech and having to grind for it. Or maybe let us covert GXP to c-bills at 1GXP : 56.25 c-bills and that would make my life easier I think.

Just things I have been seeing and opinions, still playing everyday and trying to get gud reading everything and watching YT videos (learned about the bonuses recently and how staying with the group is beneficial).

Wait.. There are actual NEW players in MWO?

What happened? Did you loose a bet or something?

[Horseman]

BLOODWOLF333, on 05 January 2020 - 08:26 PM, said:

Well I decreased my rear armor, that makes sense so am doing 75%/25% F/R. I still get shot in the back now and then when Im zooming around the enemy's rear in the Wolfhound Im not ready to risk <5. I've got 7/8 of the new events completed and seen all the c-bills they give away so yeah that is nice. I think im starting to do better now that I know i can run my mechs super hot compared to classic battletech construction rules.

Wolfhounds are typically ran as MPL boats. Yours is very, very under-armored - torso locations should be at max armor possible, and on a light so should be your legs since they're what people will target.

50 50, on 05 January 2020 - 03:47 PM, said:

Just wanted to comment on this bit as I didn't see it mentioned in the replies.
You might come across these sort of comments from players who were playing before the skill tree change. There was a huge refund of c-bills and xp to playes based on what they had purchased before and the xp also got multiplied if you had multiples of the same mech variant so some of us did end up with more than we will ever need...... unless they do something like introduce another 400 mechs into the game.

Or from those of us who play Solaris enough to get the end of season rewards. Just getting in the top 500 in a division gets you 65K (increased to 100K if you hit top 100) - multiply by seven divisions and you're looking at 455k GXP each 3-month season even if you don't play 2v2s.

[LordNothing]

unlike other mechwarrior games lights and mediums can be very strong. lights are less scouts and more assault hunters most of the time and can do a lot of damage. mediums can be fat lights or pocket heavies depending on chassis/build, but generally carry enough firepower to be a nasty threat with the ability to get around. i think the strongest class is the heavies rather than the assaults. the assaults can be strong in the right hands, but the slower assaults are especially disadvantaged due to the team's typical nascar tendency and relatively strong lights. faction play really lets assaults be assaults though and i find them more fun to run there.

[O L L O]

BLOODWOLF333, on 07 January 2020 - 05:28 PM, said:

And this Wolfhound I technically don't need any armor on my left arm either since it doesnt have any hardpoints.

Correct, though that thin arm works surprisingly well for shielding. If you have some weight over consider spendning it on the arm, especially if you run XL.

Edited by O L L O, 08 January 2020 - 03:02 AM.

[_Magno_]

Greetings Bloodwolf. Here are my observations after a month.

So many players seem to want to play heavies and assaults because you find a lot of players wanting to hang back and wait till others soften stuff up, then they move in and clean up to get high kill count, i.e. get more C-Bills.
But most players, like when my two boys play, are naturally drawn to the big stuff. So there are a lot of people trying to pack in the high tonnage.

So I too felt "pushed" into the lights and mediums. And that was a good thing. Because I learned the game better. I gave me time to get comfortable with the maps, general mech patterns inside the maps and generally not jam up fire lines etc..

If good comms are active, and the team calls for a push and you are NOT up for the task in a heavy or an assault, the team is gonna have a bad time.

Watch the team stats. You'll also find a LOT of lights and mediums with high damage, kills and scores. So you learn the roles of your mechs.

As an example, your Wolfhound-2R and -2Fs aren't great for scouting and fast moving, but they can be fabulous 2nd line damage amplifiers. Break off and flank, but not run around solo.

MOney does drop off after 25 matches. But its nice that the game gives you plenty of money and GSPs up front. You should have gotten enough money to buy 2-3 mechs or Clan heavy/assault. You don't need to drop money on XL Engines to max out mechs, engines will burn through money the fastest. But playing patiently and supporting your team with decent damage and NOT dying by kamakazi runs will net you decent money, and you can stack games (jump back in with a different mech while your other game is going on). You can earn a good 2Million in an hour of play even using consumables. MOney accumulates easily enough buy a new mech and upgrade it decently.

[Vxheous]

Its 75mc for a single shot camo, and then you can change the colors to that pattern to your hearts content

[justcallme A S H]

Thats cause the build isn't that good on the sparky, not is having 5JJ really useful.

The Griffin simply isn't a brawl mech in terms of it cannot tank/take too much damage. Especially the sparky as it is all arm mounted and generally needs to be XL to be any good.

If you wanna run that build, change to this SPARKY - 2LPL/MPL

Or something that might be a bit harder to use, but still decent. Will take some skill to make it effective however SPARKY - HPPC


Dont bother unlocked paint or anything extra for MC, it is a waste / sink to get you to purchase stuff. Over time you will get free colour via events etc.

[CFC Conky]

PGI sometimes gives away colours/patterns during events, and you'll see them on sale from time to time. I wouldn't worry about colours/patterns right now and if you play long enough you'll soon earn more than enough cb/mc to decorate your mechs.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

[justcallme A S H]

BLOODWOLF333, on 08 January 2020 - 07:40 PM, said:

That x2 LPLaser Sparky is almost what I have built but, I get excited sometimes in a fight and forget to turn my MPLasers to chainfire and shut myself down a little bit too often which screws me.

Never chainfire. It's a bad, bad habit.

If you do not have the heat to drop a full alpha - stay in cover. This means you are dealing maximum damage for exposure time. Standing in the open chainfiring lasers means you're doing minimal damage for maximum incoming damage - quite literally the opposite of how to play the game.

So you stop doing it early or you'll forever be in a super sheet habit.

BLOODWOLF333, on 08 January 2020 - 07:40 PM, said:

What is the logic behind everyone saying you only need two jump jets? Is jump-MP it calculated different in MWO? Every other game 1 JJ = 30 meters of jumping distance. I did notice its more like 10 meters already but, why only two and not close to a mech's walking MP?

Because they are diminishing returns and you should never really be in a situation where you need to full burn 5JJs on a Med.

1JJ is far better than 2JJ. 5JJ is just a waste of 1.5T for a IS Med. At the max you need 3. I have no more than 3 on any mech that I can control, omni clan mechs obviously have locked JJs on some.

Edited by justcallme A S H, 08 January 2020 - 08:47 PM.

[FRAGTAST1C]

You could drop the MPLs and go with ERMLs to get the range synergy, stuff in more DHS and one more JJ at the cost of 4 damage from the alpha strike. But you do get better cooling. Mind you, this isn't a brawler. If you want to brawl, stay with 1 LPL and 5 MPL or all MPL. But again, the problem with the Sparky is that your weapons are mainly in the arms and you can't shield since you'll lose your arms and your damage.

Good brawling comes from SRMs, MRMs or just fast burning lasers like the MPLs. If you're putting in large version of the lasers, consider being ahead of the NASCAR and shooting enemies when your teammates shoot. Don't shoot the reds alone. 88KPH is decently fast and 3 JJs allows you to relocate quickly or leap over big obstacles. But do not brawl as you can't keep the heat down to take out mechs.

LPLs can be fired together until your ERMLs are ready to fire again and you can alpha a couple more times before needing to conserve again. This will help you keep firing often instead of needing to chainfire. Chainfiring is just bad. Don't do it. Set your weapon groups in a way where you can fire some weapons to be heat neutral and then alpha strike again when it allows for it.

[justcallme A S H]

ERML burn duration too long for a Griffin and how it needs to be played. I would stay away from that personally.

Or just run SPARKY - 3LPL. Alpha is lower overall but you gain a little range and good DPS/cooling. You can fire a LOT with that.

[FRAGTAST1C]

justcallme A S H, on 08 January 2020 - 09:01 PM, said:

ERML burn duration too long for a Griffin and how it needs to be played. I would stay away from that personally.

Yep, but I was just suggesting it to get some range synergy while alpha striking from within your teammates or from the flanks whilst not being the focus of enemy fire. 40 damage from ~350m is pretty good as a means to amplify the damage of your teammates. I'd personally use the Ares instead to rack up more damage in a brawl.

[Horseman]

BLOODWOLF333, on 08 January 2020 - 05:32 PM, said:

And on a side note the costs to change 1/3 of your paint on a mech is ridiculous IMO. 1.25M or 500-1000 MCs to not unlock but just change 1/3 of your paint scheme even when each 3rd is the same color seems like a real ripoff to me. Cost is too high for the limited one-time use value we get from changing our color. If this was Path of Exile and that was just how players could support the developers and nothing gave you any advantage over anyone else then it would be fine but, I can see how MWO can be slightly pay-to-win at least win faster so, this was a real "wow" to me when I looked into how to change my mech's paint.

Purchasing colors (not patterns) is a permanent unlock.
Purchasing unlock patterns is permanent for the given chassis - if someone owns several, they can then switch back and forth at no further cost.
Purchased one-shot patterns can be recolored for no extra cost (unless you need to pay for the color itself)
There are typically several events that award colors and / or patterns each year.

[n00biwan]

I bought at least one full camo unlock before I realised what I should be doing.

To bring back an earlier question, I've dabbled in lots of MMOs and grind is the most offputting thing in most of them. MWO isn't so bad. Right out of the gate you can buy the best, most meta FOTM mech and start learning/developing it. Takes months to grind through stuff like WoT/WS, war thunder, warframe, Eve or whatever to get to the top gear and/or be as effective as top level players. In MWO you can buy a top tier mech, fit it well and be (technically) as capable on the battlefield as literally anyone else. The premium vehicles offer few advangtages (other than a few outliers that due to stuff like weapon developments have ended up super effective, like the IV4). There's no combat benefits to premium time or ways to spend cash to do anything other than skip grind or make your mech worthy of a "Who painted that thing?" with cosmetics, which is nice, even MC airstirkes/arty were normalised yonks ago.

I don't use consumables very much on my alt account (got about 20 mechs, all bought with CBills or free from events) as the cbill sink is real, but maybe don't not equip them; use sparingly, with judgement.

Also, the best advice can be got in real time, find some TS/discords to hang out on or check out some MWO streamers, many run groups in FP that (almost)anyone can join and nearly all are helpful.