24 replies to this topic

[Remington1911]

I had an account I guess about a decade ago, and came back in to give it a go again.....and am enjoying it far over other online games I have grown very tired of, some I have been with from closed Beta. The people here seem a bit geeky (good thing) and I have not noticed much childish actions, could be I don't know what to look for. I understand the lore behind the game, played it years ago on table top and read the books.....currently listening to the audible books (recommended).

That said.

Good grief does this thing need some sort of tutorial.....I bet I have been playing a month or so, bought some "gold" or whatever your currency is called, and bought the clan mech pack currently offered....so I have a small $100 ish investment in the game.

I just found out last night how to get double heat sinks....and wow there are the other armor types....and these "stealth" mechs, ok that is how those little jerks do it, zippy little bastages they are....got it. Still trying to wrap my head around the clan ECM settings....zero clue and I have read a few different posts on it.

Now the questions, some of the posts with info I am reading go back 10 years, is that info still valid? If some is and some is not how do I know?

Overall I am enjoying the game quite a bit, and I am guessing there are many new people coming with the 40K drama going on.

Bottom line you are always going to have people not liking how you play, park a dire wolf with a bunch of PPC's and take pot shots at players far away and someone is not going to like it even if you do 700 damage (i think that is good, my personal best) if not for those darn LRM's it would be better.

Fun game it is taking me much longer to get it figured out, my damage is slowly going up, but there are times I just get smoked out of the gate....oops where did those 4 Atlas come from, my Jenner is toast.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

The best tutorial you can get is to get in touch with seasoned players to get you started.

[Ludo22]

I had been playing for a few months before I learned there was a skill tree, you could swap engine sizes, and to do a heat/shutdown override. Most of this was from listening to other people chat, buying a headset, and asking a couple questions while I was waiting for the game to start.

The info you are seeing will be a mix of valid and invalid. They have been doing weapon and balance changes for the last few months. I played for a few months in 2019 and came back earlier this year and not much had changed. The tactics are still the same but the meta is ever changing.

For your mech getting swamped with LRMs, I find it is essential to get a mech with ECM with get both skill upgrades for it. The warden pack has a Dire Wolf with ECM on it that is alot of fun to play. It's actually my chosen mech at the moment.

[Remington1911]

Yes I do need a headset, again have an old one but no joy with getting it working. Sitting here playing tonight, the map/mode voting thing.....sometimes x4 sometimes x1. How does that bonus work? It does not seem related to popularity on the vote.

Also back to comms for a second, I have notice that communication is key, it seems if you have someone on your team communicating or calling the shots if you will your team is going to do better, you might not win, but it is unlikely to be a blow out. Even knowing nothing about the game I can see errors made and would love to yell out 8 mechs D4 moving to D5 mix of heavy and meds, one warhammer in the group.

[EyeSavant]

The map bonus is related to whether the map you picked last time was the one selected. You get an extra vote for every time the one you pick is not used. This then goes away when the one you pick is used. If you do not vote then it carries on to the next one.

ECMs have got two modes.

Mode one : Hide your mech and other mechs close to you
Mode two : counter enemy ECM, at short range.

If you have an ECM you really need the ECM skill nodes in the sensors tree or the ECM is not very effective.

But yeah ECM is the best answer to LRMs, or get a corsair I guess and have 4 Anti Missile Systems (AMS).

[VeeOt Dragon]

also the second mode prevents locking weapons from functioning if they are within your ECM bubble. (they cause your targeting to sort of glitch in and out.)

as far as LRM, before you get to bent out of shape on them try using them a bit. they can be a challenging weapon to use well. to counter them just pack an AMS/ECM and keep an eye on the terrain and us it to your advantage. also get in close as LRM have a min range where they either do Zero or very little (in the case of clan LRM) damage.

i do agree though that the game needs a much more in depth tutorial. might be something for them to work on with the latest updates.

[Horseman]

Remington1911, on 11 August 2021 - 09:27 AM, said:

Good grief does this thing need some sort of tutorial.....

That it does. PGI doesn't seem very inclined to build one, though.

Quote

and these "stealth" mechs, ok that is how those little jerks do it, zippy little bastages they are....got it.

Mind you, Stealth Armor is only available on Inner Sphere mechs that have ECM equipped.

Quote

Still trying to wrap my head around the clan ECM settings....zero clue and I have read a few different posts on it.

ECM has two modes of operation: Disrupt (which is the default) and Counter. If you switch it to Counter (default keybind J), you will lose the sensor disruption but will cancel one enemy ECM in your range.
Keep in mind that for your ECM's sensor disruption to be fully effective, you need to get both Enhanced ECM nodes in the skill tree. Without them, you can still be detected around 560 meters (IIRC), with them that drops to 200 meters.

Quote

Now the questions, some of the posts with info I am reading go back 10 years, is that info still valid? If some is and some is not how do I know?

Anything that pertains to mechs or their builds and predates July of 2017 is likely out of date. That's when the Civil war tech was released, shortly after we got the current skill tree, the rule of three was removed, engine desync introduced and mech quirks received a massive global nerf.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

VeeOt Dragon, on 11 August 2021 - 05:46 PM, said:

also the second mode prevents locking weapons from functioning if they are within your ECM bubble. (they cause your targeting to sort of glitch in and out.)

Just to quickly jump in, this is wrong.
ECM has two operation modes:
1. Disrupt (default)
2. Counter

Disrupt mode lowers the enemies sensor range against you and friendlies within your "ECM bubble" of 120m radius by 30% (this can be enhanced by skills from the sensors skill-tree upt to 75%). Disrupt mode also scrambles enemy electronics ("low signal" state) when inside your "ECM bubble":

• unable to share target information
  
• unable to missile lock
  
• TAG doesn't work
  
• Artemis IV doesn't work
  
• NARC beacons stop transmitting (only on friendlies, not on your own mech)

Counter mode disables the nearest enemy ECM suite within 360m (like an Active Probe) that is not used in stealth mode (when combined with stealth armor, IS only)

Edited by Aidan Crenshaw, 11 August 2021 - 09:50 PM.

[w0qj]

A warm welcome back to MWO!
In your exact situation last summer 2020, returned back after a (very) long absence.
I reckon that it took me 9 months (and countless millions of CBills) to fully master MechLab and Skill Tree build.
Also PSR Tier takes time to empirically understand, from anecdotal observations (Kill/Kill_Asist/Damage/etc.)

1st thing: perhaps the single most useful for getting back up to speed is to watch Baradul's YouTube MWO videos from 2018 to 2020.
He explains what he wants to do with his mech, mech MechLab layout, and how to do Skill Tree to fit this playstyle.
2018 to 2020 because it's post Civil War timeline technology and Skill Tree.
Starting 2021, Baradul used more cookie-cutter build Skill Trees, so it's much less informative.

The 2nd most useful thing is to actively ask questions on this MWO Forum.
(Reading older posts 2018-2019 also helps; the forum posts 2020 and onwards users like to complain/moan extensively).
==>We would be more than obliged to answer your specific questions!

3rd useful thing: here are the relevant recent "Cauldron" MWO patches for the latest major changes:
====================
Preamble: MWO roadmap Jan 2021
http://mwomercs.com/...ne-2021-roadmap

====================
20-April-2021 Weapons/Equipment Pass #1
http://mwomercs.com/...400-20april2021

18-May-2021 Agility/Mobility Pass #1, & Weapons Pass #2
http://mwomercs.com/...42410-18may2021

22-June-2021 Agility/Mobility Pass #2, & Minor Weapons Adjustments
http://mwomercs.com/...2420-22june2021
http://mwomercs.com/...obility-changes

20-July-2021 JumpJet Pass #1, & Weapons Pass #3
http://mwomercs.com/...2440-20july2021

====================
Major weapon changes:
http://mwomercs.com/...eat-limit-now-4

IS Large Lasers ghost heat limit increased to firing 4x without ghost heat penalty!

IS PPC ghost heat limit increased to firing 3x without ghost heat penalty!
IS PPC now has slight (exponential decay) damage below minimum range (similar to Clan LRM).

IS Light PPC has no minimum range anymore.

IS Snub Nose PPC ghost heat limit increased to firing 3x without ghost heat penalty!

Clan AC20 ghost heat limit increased to firing 2x without ghost heat penalty!

Remington1911, on 11 August 2021 - 09:27 AM, said:

I had an account I guess about a decade ago, and came back in to give it a go again.....and am enjoying it far over other online games I have grown very tired of, some I have been with from closed Beta. The people here seem a bit geeky (good thing) and I have not noticed much childish actions, could be I don't know what to look for. I understand the lore behind the game, played it years ago on table top and read the books.....currently listening to the audible books (recommended).

...Good grief does this thing need some sort of tutorial.....I bet I have been playing a month or so, bought some "gold" or whatever your currency is called, and bought the clan mech pack currently offered....so I have a small $100 ish investment in the game.

I just found out last night how to get double heat sinks....and wow there are the other armor types....and these "stealth" mechs, ok that is how those little jerks do it, zippy little bastages they are....got it. Still trying to wrap my head around the clan ECM settings....zero clue and I have read a few different posts on it.

Now the questions, some of the posts with info I am reading go back 10 years, is that info still valid? If some is and some is not how do I know?

Overall I am enjoying the game quite a bit, and I am guessing there are many new people coming with the 40K drama going on.

Bottom line you are always going to have people not liking how you play, park a dire wolf with a bunch of PPC's and take pot shots at players far away and someone is not going to like it even if you do 700 damage (i think that is good, my personal best) if not for those darn LRM's it would be better.

Fun game it is taking me much longer to get it figured out, my damage is slowly going up, but there are times I just get smoked out of the gate....oops where did those 4 Atlas come from, my Jenner is toast.

Edited by w0qj, 12 August 2021 - 07:48 AM.

[Remington1911]

EyeSavant, on 11 August 2021 - 04:31 PM, said:

.....or get a corsair I guess and have 4 Anti Missile Systems (AMS).

Hmm. Now another question, is there a place where I can look and see what mechs can carry what.
Example.

Not really a Flea kind of guy but I do enjoy being a pain in the butt and running around the battlefield taking pot shots or zipping in behind a heave while he is busy with someone big and just shooting his legs......yea I am that kind of jerk. But in looking for a mech that mounted a BUNCH of MG's I finally got frustrated and just got a flea I found. Generally like a little more armor but with FF armor and such it can usually live to run away to cause pain another day.

Is there a list or chart with in game mechs and models with their allowed loadouts X# laser, Y# ballistic....

One more and sorry for so many questions,

Omni pods....Zero clue, flying right over my head.....a 101 thread would be great if you could point me in that direction.

Edited by Remington1911, 13 August 2021 - 06:52 AM.

[Half Ear]

1. Store - Mechlab - equip as you like (no need to purchase anything - click on Testing Grounds.
2. Each mech will list the hardpoints, if you do not go into the mech lab, click on the double box next to the Mech Stats at the bottom to view hardpoint locations.
3. Clan Omnimechs only (not Clan Battlemechs)- Most Arms, Legs, Side Torsos for a specific line of Omnimech (ie Timberwolf line) can be purchased to utilize on a specific main core, allowing a player to switch up the available hardpoints.

Edited by Half Ear, 13 August 2021 - 07:22 AM.

[Ignatius Audene]

https://mech.nav-alpha.com/

here u can set filters for weapons, tonnage, etc

[w0qj]

The IS Locust, Flea, and Clan Piranha might be the mech chassis you are looking for!

If you are looking for a fast light with lots of MG (machine guns) zipping around, you will look no further the Piranha PIR-1, with its twelve (12) ballistic hardpoints, and with backup energy hardpoints too! There is a premium PIR-1(S) with +30% CBills bonus too!
https://mwomercs.com/piranha

And the PIR-2 is infamous (or obnoxious--depending on your view) for being the energy variant of PIR-1, with no ammo constraints.

- - - - - - - - - -
Personally I feel that MWO/PGI had sacrificed game balance for the sake of sales, and the Piranha chassis is one prime example of this weapons hardpoint bloat. Even the Cauldron patches April-July 2021 is having trouble balancing weapons in the Piranha chassis, especially PIR-2.

But let's not open that can of worms.

[w0qj]

As for swapping out Clan OmniMech arms/torso: select a Clan OmniMech mech that you currently own (Timber Wolf TBR-A for example):

[MechLab]>>[Loadout]>>[Warehouse_on_right_hand_side]>>[OmniPods]>>[Right_Torso]
~Left-Mouse button to Select for the right torso of variant TBR-S, then drag-and-drop this into the [Right_Torso_Title_Bar] of your mech. Your TBR-A now has TBR-S right torso swapped in! Voila!
(TBR-S left/right torso has JumpJets also!)

Who said Title_Bar only exists in Windows? It's also in MWO

- - - - - - - - - -
As an aside, you can actually go into the MWO ingame [Store], select the Clan OmniMech of your choice (BAS-A for example), [View_in_MechLab] and try out above customisation--and this is before you buy your mech!

Edited by w0qj, 13 August 2021 - 07:35 PM.

[muskrat]

I am also coming back after a bit of a Hiatus (got tired of trying to fight at 4-7 fps)

so with that said: some questions for right now

I have a saitek cyborg 30 gold joy
a. plugged in my mouse wont work, so unplugged the joystick
b. I temp use a seenda wgjp038 kybd/mouse set up
1. I cant bind new keys in keyboard ( I can unbind but not bind new keys) example I like S to be full stop X to be back up

kybd seen in training grounds, but not in academy ? mouse ok in both
I tend to be relucktant to drop into battle and be a burden to my team if my kybd is not recognized

I cant modify my profile to show HK affiliation (as proved by my HK cockpit STUFF)
I cant modify my profile to show "founding member"
i think this is probably because I have not fought a battle since returning?

I still remember how to fight but my reflex's arent what they used to be, mind works body tends to be sluggish (haha)
i have aged a bit.

only real question for now is about the kybd, is there a way to fix not being seen in the academy?

Thanks

Edited by muskrat, 27 August 2021 - 11:17 AM.

[Horseman]

muskrat, on 27 August 2021 - 11:16 AM, said:

I cant modify my profile to show HK affiliation (as proved by my HK cockpit STUFF)

Your avatar is set by the Faction you've sworn loyalty to in Faction Play. Go to that part of the user interface and sign up as Kurita Loyalist, then it should display a HK avatar for you in the forums.

Quote

I cant modify my profile to show "founding member"

Check the "Titles and Badges" panel in-game, that's where you set it.

muskrat, on 27 August 2021 - 11:16 AM, said:

kybd seen in training grounds, but not in academy ? mouse ok in both
I tend to be relucktant to drop into battle and be a burden to my team if my kybd is not recognized

Describe exactly what's happening.
I'd suggest trying to drop once and seeing if things work correctly then.

[muskrat]

Konnichi-wa Horseman,

I will do all that you have suggested

The kybd in academy will do nothing the Capt says press f1 and hold, I do that but nothing shows up
and the capt says im not very good at following orders (G)

I tried to move around or fire wpns and zero

guess ill have to drop in a game see if the kybd works

update: dropped into quick, wow did I suck, my frickin old brain cant remember all them keys
will have to get headset with mic, i can hear but not talk, and waaaaay to slow to try to type if in a fight.

Edited by muskrat, 27 August 2021 - 02:49 PM.

[VeeOt Dragon]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 11 August 2021 - 09:48 PM, said:

Just to quickly jump in, this is wrong.
ECM has two operation modes:
1. Disrupt (default)
2. Counter

Disrupt mode lowers the enemies sensor range against you and friendlies within your "ECM bubble" of 120m radius by 30% (this can be enhanced by skills from the sensors skill-tree upt to 75%). Disrupt mode also scrambles enemy electronics ("low signal" state) when inside your "ECM bubble":

• unable to share target information
  
• unable to missile lock
  
• TAG doesn't work
  
• Artemis IV doesn't work
  
• NARC beacons stop transmitting (only on friendlies, not on your own mech)

Counter mode disables the nearest enemy ECM suite within 360m (like an Active Probe) that is not used in stealth mode (when combined with stealth armor, IS only)

thanks for the correction, my brain gets mixed up sometimes (been to close to one to many explosions).

ECM also got a big change in the August patch making it more effective before skill nodes while keeping the same max effectiveness with them.

Edited by VeeOt Dragon, 27 August 2021 - 09:30 PM.

[Remington1911]

All I have played so far is the "quick battles". Once and a while I see a red reinforcements needed popup in the bottom left.

I have come so close to clicking on that, but not sure what that mode is. I was going to check out the solaris game mode but it looks like it is going away so I see little point in investing in that.

How are the reinforcement battles different. I assume that if I pick IS I need to stick with IS mechs, and if I pick clan I stick with clan.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

Remington1911, on 31 August 2021 - 03:59 AM, said:

How are the reinforcement battles different. I assume that if I pick IS I need to stick with IS mechs, and if I pick clan I stick with clan.

Yes and these "Call to Arms"s lead you to Faction Play, where you use your dropdecks. But this is an entire can of worms on itself. https://mwomercs.com...ion-play-guide/