13 replies to this topic

[Reginald Rawlins]

Hey everyone, I'm back to the game since, uh, based on my ledger, 2015. Wow. That was almost a decade. People were still unironically playing Macklemore on the radio. Weird times.

Anyhow, I recently got on a mech kick after the release of MW:5 Clans and came back to the game. I've noticed the meta and overall gameplay has changed a ton with how much has been added in terms of advanced tech, chasses, and weaponry. I've got a bunch of old 'mechs with old gear, been trying to make them work in quick play and sort of can. But I keep feeling like my old 3025-vintage IS stuff is a little behind the curve for the most part.

Anyhow, I digress. I've been trying to read some up on new mechanics and learning a lot but had a kind of esoteric question: is it generally better to try and use my c-bills to gradually upgrade my own chasses with new weapons (broadly speaking, I have a stable of Jenners, Ravens, Hunchies, Centurions, Shadowhawks, Thunderbolts, Catapults, Battlemasters, and Atlases, for the most part 3 of each due to the defunct mastery system), or should I focus on trying to save up to get some newer hardware from the ground up and go for newer chasses? I know this may be a personal preference question, but that's OK, I'd love to hear anyone's personal thoughts/experiences on the matter to help inform my own.

[kei000]

Welcome back

If you like your classic mechs, then by all means try out the new weapons etc and see how they feel.

The older mechs with limited missile tubes, sometimes low hanging arms can be a drawback, but they are generally quirked to keep up with newer designs.

Personally I like MRM's for IS, more range than SRM's and options for heavier launchers.

If you are looking at some new mechs, there is a 50% off sale on certain chassis at the moment (including hero's). Mech bays also 50% off.

There is also a loot bag event currently running, try to grind this for MC, and you can get some classic clan mechs too.

To answer your question, maybe upgrade your current mechs with new gear, so you are don't need to learn a new mech at the same time as trying our new system.

[Void Angel]

Best way to jumpstart your c-bills and learn the new meta is to head over to GrimMechs and pick out a meta build for the 'mechs you already have. Find one that works for you in your Tier and playing times (that does make a difference,) then use that to fund income for upgrading and experimenting on your other 'mechs.

Avoid selling chassis off to pay for new upgrades, until you have a feel for the lay of theland - and as always never sell an engine unless you have at least two more of the same type and rating.

Don't try to upgrade all of your 'mechs before experimenting with new things; just find a 'mech you can succeed and have fun with, then use it to save up money while you do the loot bag events and learn how the newer stuff works.

And of course feel free to link any builds you're working on for advice and fine-tuning - that's what these forums are for!

Welcome back.

[Mad Porthos]

Hey Reginald Rawlins.
Good to see another old timer here. I been playing since 2012. Back in the day all those Chassis were my stable. I exclusively bought cbill earned mechs in that era and bought no mech packs until like 2015 or 2016 era, so all those classic chassis were my gravy. I too spent time away from about 2017 until late 2023 or early 2024. When I came back I found builds that for each of those chassis lines made them viable with newer tech as it came into style. Some of them are possessing serious quirks that help them be more effective with old style weaponry, others are just limited by some of the old standards, like limited hard points. Back then it might be impressive to give a variant 4 ballistic hardpoints, even as a light mech - because that would allow it to "boat" machine guns, however nowadays there has been "hard point inflation" and you can find both innersphere and clan mechs with 8, 10, 12 even 16 ballistic hard points. As such, it's hard sometimes to really find the niches for the old chassis with the new weapons - and as they said, Grimmechs may help, also playing around with things like MechDB builder... where you can see roughly how builds might perform in terms of dps and heat metrics after building them in their mech lab and seeing what special QUIRKS the specific chassis you were building has. That place/link is https://mwo.nav-alpha.com. Check it out.

[w0qj]

A warm welcome back to MWO!

There's a related thread about MWO game in general (chassis/weapons/map/etc.) here:
https://mwomercs.com...769-been-awhile

- - - - - - - - - -
As for your valid question, how to grind with which mech for ingame currencies (CBills + MC):

0. So you have the Founders mechs, and some (all?) Phoenix mechs, pls two other standard variants for each chassis:
JR7-D(F)
HBK-4G(F)
CPLT-C1(F)
AS7-D(F)
Locust LCT-1V(P)
Griffin GRF-1N(P)
Shadow Hawk SHD-2H(P)
Wolverine WVR-6R(P)
Thunderbolt TDR-5S(P)
BattleMaster BLR-1G(P)

1. Use your existing mechs to have a feel for what you like to play, Light/Heavy/Assault. Try Medium mechs last.
And what weapons do you like? Laser? PPC? Ballistic? Missiles?

2. Try to earn as many loot bag as you can; Loot Bag Event about to end:
https://mwomercs.com/tournaments
~Suggest you get that "200 loot bag" reward of ADR-W ("Warthog"), the most powerful Light mech right now.

3. There's nothing wrong with using "older" mechs and "older" weapons. It's very viable!
I'm currently using Dire Wolf with LBX/UAC/AC weapons (albeit with DWF-UV hero arms).

Do feel free to ask more questions here, or in the General Discussion forum!

[Reginald Rawlins]

Thank you both. It's worked out smoother than I thought it would, as you both mentioned, there was a LOT of stuff in the loot bags. Has helped me tune up a lot of things and pick up a variety of new 'mechs.

[w0qj]

Heads up; yet another loot bag event would be up just before Christmas!
Good times

https://mwomercs.com/events/569
https://mwomercs.com/events/570

As the Christmas loot bag rewards...
https://mwomercs.com...=202412stocking

-------------------------------------
Also:
Free Special Mech!
https://mwomercs.com/events/571

More Christmas / New Year Events!
https://mwomercs.com...rfest-continues

Edited by w0qj, 12 December 2024 - 03:22 AM.

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

the game basically will give you a free mech a month, see how it goes try different weapon loadouts

[Dynamite Joe]

I'm piggybacking on this thread instead of opening a new one since it's not too old and it's pretty much the same topic.
I've been playing HBS BattleTech and I got the mech stomping itch so I'm downloading the game now after a loooong time of not playing. I was a Founder but last time I played was around-ish Clans release, all I know is the last thing I did was getting the Resistance 2 pack. And even back then I don't consider I was particularly good so I might as well be a new player now. But with a big pile of mechs.

So, I already got a few tips from this thread and some others but I got a couple of questions.

1. Are there any mechs universally considered to be just bad no matter what? Just in case I have them so I know not to waste time on them and get frustrated.

2. I'm not sure I understand how to find a build on GrimmMechs for my tier (it seems they removed the tier lists quite a long time ago) or how to know which builds are meta. Are all builds posted there considered meta?

Well, also a bonus question. I've been watching some videos from youtubers suggested around here, like TTB, but the ones going in-depth about beginners tips and builds are like 5 years old and newer videos seem to be mostly showcasing specific builds. So, are those videos from that long time ago still relevant?

Thanks for all feedback on my way back to stomp-stomping (even if I don't manage to get particularly good but at least not get frustrated and have some fun with it )

Edited by Dynamite Joe, 16 February 2025 - 07:37 AM.

[w0qj]

A warm welcome back to MWO!

Don't worry... any mech has its role in MWO.
It really boils down to your own playing style (laser? ballistic? missiles?) and what mechs (Light? Heavy? Assault?) do you prefer...
Hit-and-run, sniper, or brawling?
You get idea...

==>In short, there really isn't a mech that is "avoid this mech at all costs" in MWO...
(Others please feel free to correct me!)

1. Any mech/build mentioned in GrimMechs should be seriously considered for your playing style!
https://grimmechs.is...im.org/Database
http://grimmechs.ise...ts?list=general
http://grimmechs.isengrim.org

[Dynamite Joe]

Well, the thing is I really do like to play most styles, hence why I kept buying the full packs back then . But if I had to say the one I like the most, it probably would be Heavy, not sure what kind of weapons though. That's why I figured I'd start testing things out until I found the one I felt most comfortable with so I have at least one money maker but wondered if there are any "avoid at all costs" mechs, save some time and frustration xD.

Good to know that doesn't seem to be the case unless others correct you as you say, heh. Anyway, thanks!

[Void Angel]

GrimMechs removed the tier list in response to a significant rework of game balance, which invalidated many 'mechs' tier rating. I'm not really coming up with a 'mech I'd avoid like the plague, but go the opposite way - if there are a ton of builds for a 'mech on GrimMechs, there's likely good reason to play it. That's not a guarantee; some great 'mechs are very specialized, but it's a starting point.

As for which 'mechs are good, in the Heavy class, the Crusader-6T, Timber Wolf, and Hellbringer are some very strong chassis - I personally enjoy my Thunderbolts, bot the SE 3xPPC and the 9M 2xHPPC builds. The Night Gyr is another exceptional Clan heavy; one of a relative few Clan OmniMechs that trades engine rating for pod tonnage - it's known for heavy-hitting long-range firepower, for the most part (one of the smallest effective GaussVomit builds, for example.)

Edited by Void Angel, 17 February 2025 - 01:32 AM.

[Dynamite Joe]

Ah, good, got those except the Crusader and Night Gyr, and yeah, I'd say Thunderbolts were among the ones I played the most back then. I got to play a bit and did consider the Hellbringer for the ECM but in the end I tried out the Black Knight because it was in the pack I got before I stopped playing and never had the chance to play with them. I went for LaserVomit and was glad my build was not far from the one I found on GrimmMechs though I did find interesting it only had like 2 builds and I modified the build a little to follow TTB's advice for newbs and stick to standard engines, which makes sense, not gonna learn much if I die too quickly.

On that note, after playing for a bit I didn't dislike the Black Knight but felt I should reconsider the Hellbringer with the ECM while I'm learning.

Thanks for the advice!

[Void Angel]

Oh, the Black Knight is also an excellent laser boat, I understand. There's a lot of good 'mechs, and I'm sure I've missed several. Anyhow, glad I could be helpful! Feel free to come back and ask us more questions any time.