24 replies to this topic

[GODLY MASSACRE]

Hey everyone,

I'm a newer player who started my first game back in January of this year. Since then, I’ve put in about 100 hours and spent a good amount of time in the MechLab tinkering with different builds. I also purchased two mechs from an older bundle to support the game.

That said, I’ve hit a bit of a roadblock—my friends keep talking about past grab bag or loot events, but as a new player, I don’t have access to those. The lack of Mech Bays is starting to be a real struggle. I know I can get some through Faction Play, but finding enough people online for it has been tough.

Lately, I’ve been logging in hoping to work toward something, but with no events happening and only 10 bays, I feel like I’m stuck playing the same mechs over and over. It would really help if there was a clearer schedule or if the “Future Events” tab was updated regularly so I’d know what to expect moving forward.

I love the game and want to keep playing, but I don’t want to burn out just grinding with the same mechs every day. Any chance we could get more transparency on upcoming events or ways for new players to earn Mech Bays more consistently?

Thanks!

[Spheroid]

Traditionally March has featured loot bag events associated with St. Patrick's Day. Sufficient MC is given out to buy more mechbays.

[caravann]

Technically you don't have to own the mech forever.
The mechbays were made for faction play.
But locking content out of players is why nobody play faction unless if you already pay to win.
Since you buy with cash is why these comes in the package.

Once you play the game you can count on one hand every mech you going to play.
You may try the mech but you never going to continue using them.

The future problem of the world society is going to be the rejection of human lives as greed takes over and flooding the places of escapism into a real nightmare. These microtransactions is an example that you pay to keep this dream going but it doesn't preserve the dream, as soon content isn't created, that is how we know it's no longer a dream.

These mechbays , they're an illusion. Since if you create a new account you already have mechbays.

[Eidoloth]

Sometimes in the holiday events a mechbay is one of the rewards, sometimes more than once. I've never payed for a mechbay, but I have 57 accumulated. They came from somewhere lol

[LordNothing]

they usually give out a free mech every month, so you just have to be around for those. if you dont like the mech it comes with, sell it and keep the bay. spring lootbag event should be coming soon. so just keep an eye on the news.

Edited by LordNothing, 01 March 2025 - 03:58 PM.

[Meep Meep]

Over time you will be overflowing with free mechs and mech bays and cbills and mc and such. But as a brand new player you do have a bit of a hill to climb to get there. The best times to start this game are when a loot bag event is running as you can quickly gain enough mc to buy additional mech bays and usually there is a general sale not long after the event so you can save even more. But until then there are plenty of trial mechs to use and after the recent refresh all of them are good performers.

[kalashnikity]

Meep Meep, on 01 March 2025 - 04:50 PM, said:

Over time you will be overflowing with free mechs and mech bays and cbills and mc and such. But as a brand new player you do have a bit of a hill to climb to get there. The best times to start this game are when a loot bag event is running as you can quickly gain enough mc to buy additional mech bays and usually there is a general sale not long after the event so you can save even more. But until then there are plenty of trial mechs to use and after the recent refresh all of them are good performers.

Mech bays go on sale several times per year, so save up MC from the soon to be announced Special_Event, and wait until bays go on sale for 150MC, you get plenty to keep up with excess c-bill.

I've got ~400 mechs and have never paid real money for empty mech bays.

[1453 R]

Remember to also keep an eye on the "Dropship Deals" section of the store. Many holidays come with special bundles of things like paint colors, cockpit swag, and often at least one bundle with a large number of 'Mech bays for a modest price. This can be a great shot in the arm for newer players especially; 13 'Mech bays or thereabouts for ~$7 is a decent price.

[GODLY MASSACRE]

Thank you all for your valuable insights and suggestions. I'm encouraged to hear about the potential for upcoming events in March that might offer opportunities to earn additional Mech Bays. I'll keep an eye out for any announcements and participate actively. It's also reassuring to know that accumulating Mech Bays through event participation is a viable path, as some of you have experienced. I'll make sure to engage in future events to expand my collection.

As a veteran in other game franchises, I understand the importance of new player feedback, especially in older games. I wanted to share my experience as someone coming in for the first time, and overall, I feel that the introduction and new player experience in MechWarrior Online is actually not too bad. That said, this particular aspect has been one of the more challenging hurdles. The fact that the original limit is only 8 Mech Bays makes it a tough bottleneck, especially when you're still figuring out which mechs fit your playstyle.

On top of that, I’m not exactly swimming in C-Bills since I don’t have a back stock of engines to swap around freely. That means I have to be really careful with my decisions, and sometimes I find myself debating whether I should sell one of my mechs just to free up space, which isn’t an ideal situation.

I also appreciate the perspective that most players tend to focus on a handful of mechs, but as a newer player, I’m still experimenting and learning what works best for me. Variety is important at this stage, and being bottlenecked too early can make things feel a bit restrictive. I hope the dev team continues looking at ways to support new players in this area, whether through more event transparency or other options. To be clear, I had my hopes up that there would be an event for February based on reports of valentines day events in the past and was let down that this was not the case for 2025. However I am aware that this is a reflection of when I entered the game which has net me a Blood Asp - Prime that I do very much enjoy.

Thanks again for all the advice and discussion—I really appreciate it!

[CAPITAL LETTERS]

I know not everyone digs Faction Play but when I started playing I was dropping faction a lot and ranking up through the various houses is a good way to get bays. I think you get one every 2-3 ranks, per house. It takes a bit of playtime but if you 'swear loyalty' to whichever houses are fighting in FP that day you get a decent rate boost. You will usually find more games NA evenings during the week and weekends. Also, drop deck games are pretty fun.Edit - Just checked its actually every 4 ranks after the first 2, but you can get to rank 2 of each house pretty easily, and that is 20 bays right there.

Edited by CAPITAL LETTERS, 02 March 2025 - 04:56 PM.

[CFC Conky]

GODLY MASSACRE, on 02 March 2025 - 12:59 PM, said:

...


On top of that, I’m not exactly swimming in C-Bills since I don’t have a back stock of engines to swap around freely. That means I have to be really careful with my decisions, and sometimes I find myself debating whether I should sell one of my mechs just to free up space, which isn’t an ideal situation.

...

The trial mechs are quite good now and can be a good way of earning space bucks when you are just starting out.

I have a couple of alternate accounts with 100+ mechs in each without putting up any real money. You'll get there in time.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

[Swamp Ass MkII]

I for one do spend a fair amount of money on this here game. If I see a package I like, complete collections of packages, more so when on sale. I buy the package, keep the mechs I like, sell the ones I do not. And I fill the ones I sold with other mechs. Just remember, DO NOT SELL any mech with (s), (c), or any other letter in ( ), as these will not be reaquireable. Oh and do not sell the hero or special mechs. Occassionaly there are bundle deals and especially around halloween for a 14 mechbay bundle for some 9 bucks. Yeah, I took advantge of this!

I have 196 mechs, and 198 slots so far. Believe it or not I tend to play on them all. Sometimes, it's a light day, medium day, heavy day, and assault day. Sometimes, it's a matter of starting at the top of the list and working my way down. Other times, it's a mood thing!

If you not into spending money, it will be a grind. Faction play ranks. Rank 4? gets you a mech bay in every faction.Playing the events to the fullest ability as some require a mech you may not have, or at least a weapon type if you will. When you aquire MC's from an event, save them as mech bays go on sale from time to time.

[Tarl Cabot]

Prime Time Weekends for Faction Play, and occasionally there will be a Faction Event that draws the crowds. But as others mentioned, Event that will award Mechbay and/or MC then only buy mechbays when they go on sale for $150, that way for the regular price of one bay, you can get two.

[kalashnikity]

GODLY MASSACRE, on 02 March 2025 - 12:59 PM, said:

Thank you all for your valuable insights and suggestions. I'm encouraged to hear about the potential for upcoming events in March that might offer opportunities to earn additional Mech Bays. I'll keep an eye out for any announcements and participate actively. It's also reassuring to know that accumulating Mech Bays through event participation is a viable path, as some of you have experienced. I'll make sure to engage in future events to expand my collection.

As a veteran in other game franchises, I understand the importance of new player feedback, especially in older games. I wanted to share my experience as someone coming in for the first time, and overall, I feel that the introduction and new player experience in MechWarrior Online is actually not too bad. That said, this particular aspect has been one of the more challenging hurdles. The fact that the original limit is only 8 Mech Bays makes it a tough bottleneck, especially when you're still figuring out which mechs fit your playstyle.

On top of that, I’m not exactly swimming in C-Bills since I don’t have a back stock of engines to swap around freely. That means I have to be really careful with my decisions, and sometimes I find myself debating whether I should sell one of my mechs just to free up space, which isn’t an ideal situation.

I also appreciate the perspective that most players tend to focus on a handful of mechs, but as a newer player, I’m still experimenting and learning what works best for me. Variety is important at this stage, and being bottlenecked too early can make things feel a bit restrictive. I hope the dev team continues looking at ways to support new players in this area, whether through more event transparency or other options. To be clear, I had my hopes up that there would be an event for February based on reports of valentines day events in the past and was let down that this was not the case for 2025. However I am aware that this is a reflection of when I entered the game which has net me a Blood Asp - Prime that I do very much enjoy.

Thanks again for all the advice and discussion—I really appreciate it!

The trail mechs are great for testing out different styles of play, they are (generally) very well build and not too sensitive to heat management issues, and I just notice they are skilled, as some of them have siesmic.

p.s. Be sure to check out the skill tree, to upgrade each mech, I played for a year without knowing about it. Talk about hard mode....

[VeeOt Dragon]

i don't know if i would bother with FP, i abandoned it a very long time ago. the only times i play it now is when there is an event and even then its only if there is something i want from it (C-bills and even MC not being enough). it tends to be more of a pain in the *** than anything else. i will say its not as toxic as it used to be though but thats mostly because its been pretty much abandoned. many of those that made it a shithole have moved on to other games (not saying that the toxic try hards aren't still around just that they have become fewer, not as many 12 man comps dropping against pure solos just because they like clubbing seals.)

as for getting mech bays or even new mechs i suggest looking at mechs that you can do multiple builds on that way you can experiment without breaking the bank. mechs that only work with one build just aren't worth it for new players. mediums and heavies being the best bets. as others have said there should be a loot bag event coming this month. just hold on to any MC you get till the bays come on sale and you will be fine. you mentioned having 10 mech bays, thats good start. don't forget that you can fiddle around with mechs in the Mechlab from the in game store page. just click the little "View in Mechlab" tab. you can experiment for FREE and even take them to the testing grounds to make sure things are working how you want. its a great way to make sure your idea for a mech will fit or even work. (if an event lets you pick from a selection of free mechs this is a great way to select the one you want.)

as much as many of us old timers gripe and complain its because we love the game or the setting, or both and we want it to be good and keep going. its new players like you OP that keep this game alive.while buying things with real cash does help the game i find their mech pack prices WAY overpriced. many of us have played for years without spending a dime. its even better the last couple years since they have been doing pretty regular free mech events.

Edited by VeeOt Dragon, 04 March 2025 - 08:39 AM.

[LordNothing]

the problem with fp is if you are not playing all the time the grind is really slow. and given that the mode is really only active a couple days a week so you can only get in so many games. i was playing fp pretty much every day from phase 1 onward until it got really dead. i only maxed out the merc tree, and im pretty far in steiner. i got all the level 6 bays and most of the level 10 bays. doing that in fp today is probibly impossible. i played almost every day in the last fp event and didnt pick up so much as one level.

i want to say the grind rate of that needs to be increased to match the current intermittent level of play. even a 5x multiplier might take a couple events to gain a level. you still need to do events because that wont bring people to the mode on its own. unfortunately they decided to solve the pug problem by getting rid of the pugs. i wouldnt mind seeing qp mm rules be used instead, but with expanded group sizes (groups maxing at 8 or up to 10 players in multiple groups) that leave slots for pugs in every drop. cue the fp purist rage.

Edited by LordNothing, 04 March 2025 - 09:06 AM.

[Stonefalcon]

Easter, St Patty's day, Halloween and Christmas are the lootbag events you can snag goodies from. You can pick up a decent amount of MC from these. Then wait for the half price sales to grab a bunch of Mechbays on the cheap. There's also monthly mech giveaways with the in game events to get free mechs which include mechbays.

Happy hunting.

[LordNothing]

i stacked like 11k mc over two lootbags and smaller events. thats worth 73 mechbays on sale. of course id buy fewer bays and get a couple of the more meta bonused mechs (heroes, specials, etc) and use those to grind cbills, because you will need them to fill the bays.

id also consider legends because the battlepass gives you about 3k mc and an extra mechbay. the legend has a bonus for grinding cbills. the hanging item has an extra 5% bonus (and you can transfer that to other mechs, i think they give you 3 of them), and 2 weeks of banked premium time. the mc can buy 20 bays on sale. and the battlepass can be completed in a day or two. and thats only $15. every now and again you can find a 13 mechbay bundle in the gift store for like $6. either is a good way to bootstrap a new account.

Edited by LordNothing, 05 March 2025 - 04:59 AM.

[Swamp Ass MkII]

Oh and some of the Monthly free mech events include MC awards as well.

[kalashnikity]

Swamp *** MkII, on 05 March 2025 - 04:47 PM, said:

Oh and some of the Monthly free mech events include MC awards as well.

500MC seems to be a fairly common reward during the free mech events, and if you wait for mech bays to go on sale for 150MC, you can get 3.

As for colors, PC Gamer black/red/grey are free (you ahve to equip them and save teh mech paint job before they show up in your "owned" selection but they are free, and the basic colors of blue/green/orange/red/purple cost (1,000,000 C-Bills IIRC), I highly recommend spending MC for (at minimum) a few certain colors, such as obsidian black and a neutral grey, for camouflage purposes, the standard "basic" green and "basic" orange with obsidian black is a great looking camo combo using several different camo patterns. If you want to get flashy with hot pink on your Fle-15, that's your prerogative. BTDT

I'll never forget looking at a King Crab (with nearby ECM) for about 20 seconds trying to figure out if it was a mech or not, it had grey scale phraken camo pattern and it completely blended into the terrain on Grim Plexus, when it finally moved I almost fell out of my chair, LOL.

At longer distances everything goes grey scale, but closer range, there are occasional circumstances where your paint job can either help or hurt your game play. That's why I painted one of my Firemoths red, so it would go faster.