576 replies to this topic

[Sandpit]

Leetskeet, on 06 November 2012 - 08:55 PM, said:

Win game

Only right torso armor is breached

Internals darkish yellow, mostly fine

Game wants 60k for "Items"

Yeah, oh-****ing-kay

I honestly think this might be attributed to a bug I read about that states once a crit is done it destroys everything in that area which might be what you're experiencing. I haven't had time to test this one out yet though

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 08:56 PM, said:

No, we are not merc unit commanders. We are lone wolves. Merc units are not in the game currently and when they are implemented into the game every pilot in a merc unit will count as one, not your fuzzy math. I have a merc unit commander and his name is coRpSE.

Of course you don't lose money when you repair or rearm because you have a premium bonus when outside of your founder's mech. If you are then you have double the bonus. That is part of your disconnect with what happens with free players every day. Bluten, a founder, sees the problem as do many other founders. I'll trust their assessment over yours any day of the week since they will listen to reason and logic.

I don't have a founder's mech. SO much for fuzzy math eh?
You simply don't want to agree with me because you see it as broken. Oh, and jsut for the record? I was F2P before being a founder
A lone wolf merc pilot has ONE mech. That's it. That's not fuzzy math. That's what one pilot has. How many mechs do you have at your disposal? At the VERY least it's 4 (trial mechs) and more than likely 5+ at this point. You choose which mechs hit the battlefield so you control more than one mech.

[James The Fox Dixon]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 08:59 PM, said:

I don't have a founder's mech. SO much for fuzzy math eh?
You simply don't want to agree with me because you see it as broken. Oh, and jsut for the record? I was F2P before being a founder
A lone wolf merc pilot has ONE mech. That's it. That's not fuzzy math. That's what one pilot has. How many mechs do you have at your disposal? At the VERY least it's 4 (trial mechs) and more than likely 5+ at this point. You choose which mechs hit the battlefield so you control more than one mech.

Again, the Field Manual: Mercenaries (Revised) disagrees with you. A lone wolf is a single pilot not affiliated with a House or part of a mercenary unit. There is no limit to the amount of mechs they can own. You can buy multiple mechs and not hire pilots for them. You still have to hire techs for each one though.

Again, you are off topic and I will report you for being off topic.

Edited by James The Fox Dixon, 06 November 2012 - 09:02 PM.

[FunkyFritter]

Kinilan, on 06 November 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

You kids ever stop and think that maybe the progression time is graded against premium time users and not free players?

Free players can progress and maintain their mechs. Not as quickly and easily as PT users but free players aren't the focus of consideration and rightfully so.

Most f2p communities are made up of roughly 80% free users, and those that do pay generally don't do so until they've played the game long enough to be invested in it. A bad free user experience is the death knell of most f2p games, so I hope for all our sakes that isn't the model PGI are planning to use in the long term.

[multiplesanta34]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 08:04 PM, said:

The problem here is that we aren't "mercs" yet. There are no factions, merch corps., planetary contracts, etc.

I did read your post. I'm asking specifically what you wanted scaled.
The merc handbook is for TT. I've run campaigns for merc units using the guidelines and setting up contracts. This isn't going to translate well for the "campaign" they are using here. Not all mechs are going to be viable as a singular payday. Each player doesn't represent a single pilot. Each player represents however many mechs they own personally plus the free trial mechs.
A merc unit will have expensive units that aren't cheap to use and wouldn't pull them out unless it was a mejor conflict. So mech using L2 or even L3 tech wouldn't be pushed out for a minor mission because the repairs wouldn't be cost beneficial over an extended period. It's the same thing here. Each player is essentially their own merc corps. They have to pick and choose when they take those expensive shiny mechs out into battle and know that it isn't cost efficient to run those mechs into the ground repeteadly

But not everyone looks at the game or roleplays all that stuff the way you do. Many, maybe even most just want to pick a mech, click launch, and have fun for awhile. Not download voice coms, find a group, schedule your playing time around other people, deal with a bunch of vulgarity, limit the mechs and weapons they can try because of some campaign-style repair bill in a game that is nothing but a simple deathmatch. I don't want to pretend i'm this or that or read TT rulebooks, I just want to play like in past MW games. To do that I either play in trials which isn't really all that fun after awhile or make substantially less by picking my own mech. If I do that then I can't try the other options the game has to offer that might convince me that premium is worth it. I played Champions online a year ago as a free player. Bought a few little things in their store and decided, hey i'm having fun, this game has a pretty good amount of content, and their pricing is reasonable, so i'll just subscribe. They got 10 or so months out of me because the game was a good experience right out of the box. If it was like MWO I wouldn't have played past the first couple days. If all I and people like me do is buy a single 20 dollar mech and don't pay another dime the developers should be happy with that. It shouldn't be either get a subscription and play this way or struggle every game. Most people will purchase that subscription when the game is finished, not for a content thin beta.

[Sandpit]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

Again, the Field Manual: Mercenaries (Revised) disagrees with you. A lone wolf is a single pilot not affiliated with a House or part of a mercenary unit. There is no limit to the amount of mechs they can own. You can buy multiple mechs and not hire pilots for them. You still have to hire techs for each one though.

Again, you are off topic and I will report you for being off topic.

Again, you're taking it out of context. Sicne you want to go canon and lore route
Show me how many pilots merc or otherwise that owned multiple mechs?
They didnt'. They didnt' because of the cost and expense. You can't pick and choose what parts of lore and canon to follow if you're basing your argument on that. Again in TT you have a GM who makes decisions for the entire campaign and dictates the balance of the game for both player enjoyment and challenge.
I'm taking it that you have played TT if your have the manuals which means you have to have taken part in some campaigns where you lost. You lost mchs, you lost resources, you lost money, you lost. That's part of the challenge of a game. Trying to manage resources to win AND come out ahead if you're doing anything outside of a stand-alone one shot campaign.

[LogicSol]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 08:56 PM, said:

Of course you don't lose money when you repair or rearm because you have a premium bonus when outside of your founder's mech. If you are then you have double the bonus. That is part of your disconnect with what happens with free players every day. Bluten, a founder, sees the problem as do many other founders. I'll trust their assessment over yours any day of the week since they will listen to reason and logic.

Stay on topic of how the economy for free players is borked or leave.

I've run trial mechs to see how "bad" they are.
I've not used MC for entire patch cylces to get a feel of how long things take,
I've calculated money game rates for Premium and non-premium rates with both trials and customs to get a good idea of how players in both camps economy works.

I see the same "problems" with the economy that others talk about. Instead of seeing the economy at fault, I see people that don't want to play the game.

i see people that think they shouldn't have to try at all to succeed, that their choices both on and off the battlefield shouldn't matter and should be able to play however they want.

That's not how the game works.
Want to run something expensive? earn it. Run cheaper customs, run trial mechs and manage your money. You can skip rearms and even repair.
Join a premade group and use cheaper ballistics and energy weapons.
There are so many things that you can do to run any mech you want, even with a free account everything is reachable.

Is that too much effort for you? Then buy premium.time. You aren't supposed to have an easy time on free, even so the right choices will make it much much easier.

[Sandpit]

multiplesanta34, on 06 November 2012 - 09:02 PM, said:

But not everyone looks at the game or roleplays all that stuff the way you do. Many, maybe even most just want to pick a mech, click launch, and have fun for awhile. Not download voice coms, find a group, schedule your playing time around other people, deal with a bunch of vulgarity, limit the mechs and weapons they can try because of some campaign-style repair bill in a game that is nothing but a simple deathmatch. I don't want to pretend i'm this or that or read TT rulebooks, I just want to play like in past MW games. To do that I either play in trials which isn't really all that fun after awhile or make substantially less by picking my own mech. If I do that then I can't try the other options the game has to offer that might convince me that premium is worth it. I played Champions online a year ago as a free player. Bought a few little things in their store and decided, hey i'm having fun, this game has a pretty good amount of content, and their pricing is reasonable, so i'll just subscribe. They got 10 or so months out of me because the game was a good experience right out of the box. If it was like MWO I wouldn't have played past the first couple days. If all I and people like me do is buy a single 20 dollar mech and don't pay another dime the developers should be happy with that. It shouldn't be either get a subscription and play this way or struggle every game. Most people will purchase that subscription when the game is finished, not for a content thin beta.

They are free to pick a mech and click launch and play however they want. I never said ANYTHING about TS, pugs, premades, grouping, or otherwise.
You can click on any trial mech (which in rotation now is actually really nice) and away you go. Never alk to anyone just run around shoot things. If that's your way of having fun with the game I honestly encourage you to do that. There's nothing wrong with it. You aren't, however, promised that you can play like that and maintain every expensive goody in the game without being smart about it. You have to learn to manage your resources and be smart with what you have sometimes.
Struggling in the game has nothing to do with the economy. I'm not going to make suggestions on how you should play but you can't expect to play against the grain and come out on top every time. I'd love to drop with you and and play some time.
I pug, i premie, I win, I lose.
That still doesn't change my views on teh economy though. I don't think it should be "easy" to run all the hottest and coolest equipment. You SHOULD have to earn it and work at it if that's what you're wanting to run. Running XLs, FF, ES, DHS, etc. SHOULD be expensive and should be a bit of a deterrent for several reasons, the least of which is to keep them at least somewhat limited on the battlefield to help out with balance

[James The Fox Dixon]

multiplesanta34, on 06 November 2012 - 09:02 PM, said:

But not everyone looks at the game or roleplays all that stuff the way you do. Many, maybe even most just want to pick a mech, click launch, and have fun for awhile. Not download voice coms, find a group, schedule your playing time around other people, deal with a bunch of vulgarity, limit the mechs and weapons they can try because of some campaign-style repair bill in a game that is nothing but a simple deathmatch. I don't want to pretend i'm this or that or read TT rulebooks, I just want to play like in past MW games. To do that I either play in trials which isn't really all that fun after awhile or make substantially less by picking my own mech. If I do that then I can't try the other options the game has to offer that might convince me that premium is worth it. I played Champions online a year ago as a free player. Bought a few little things in their store and decided, hey i'm having fun, this game has a pretty good amount of content, and their pricing is reasonable, so i'll just subscribe. They got 10 or so months out of me because the game was a good experience right out of the box. If it was like MWO I wouldn't have played past the first couple days. If all I and people like me do is buy a single 20 dollar mech and don't pay another dime the developers should be happy with that. It shouldn't be either get a subscription and play this way or struggle every game. Most people will purchase that subscription when the game is finished, not for a content thin beta.

The current economic model does the exact opposite right now. People are not getting invested and are leaving because of the economic issues. Those players will never spend a dime and right now I'd advise against anyone spending money on this game until the economy is fixed. The more the economy is ignored the less people will test out the game and play it. Their experience will color them against MW:O and they will tell their friends not to play it. I've worked over 20 years in customer service and know this one simple fact of business, "For every one dissatisfied customer they will tell ten of their friends to avoid said "thing". For every satisfied customer you will gain one new customer due to word of mouth."

[Asmosis]

I stopped repairing ammo/items a while ago and havent looked back. afaik the 25% ammo thing is a myth/successful troll so aside from gauss cat im happy with 75% ammo.

20-40k repair for armor (gauss ammo) and getting 100-150k per match works well for me. This is across various Jenner/cat builds.

I dont repair my XL engine regardless, but when i used to i can say a destroyed section does not automatically destroy (or even disable) all components in it. You can have RT/LT/CT all blown out completely and not have to repair your XL engine after the match if you were lucky enough to have it survive without getting crits (heatsinks/weapons absorbing the crits).

Edited by Asmosis, 06 November 2012 - 09:15 PM.

[Sandpit]

Let me ask you something James

Do you think it would be better if new players were put into Solaris Training Company. Only dropped against other new players for say...... 10 matches or so? and only used trial mechs. At the end of the 10 missions they were given 3 million c-bills and dropped into the ocean so to speak?

[Devils Advocate]

I think survival should afford you a discount on repairs but trial mech rewards are fine. They don't come very close to the rewards I make with my awesome (with or without premium), but if I really wanted to run an atlas or something, I should have a relatively stress free way to hop into games and make money. I think trials should be viable as money-making-mechs for every player at every level, provided that they adjust them slightly so as to make them more useful in combat, and heavier mechs should still be riskier to bring into combat. If they ever scale up performance rewards in the deathmatch mode it'll start to make more sense to bring in your big guns, but until that time we'll have Conquest mode to reward your ability to tank damage while protecting a capture point.

[James The Fox Dixon]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 09:14 PM, said:

snip

This is off topic and does not pertain remotely to the economic problems of MW:O as presented in the first post. I have reported it as such.

Edited by James The Fox Dixon, 06 November 2012 - 09:22 PM.

[LogicSol]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 09:22 PM, said:

This is off topic and does not pertain remotely to the economic problems of MW:O as presented in the first post. I have reported it as such.

It's more on topic that your TT manuals rants. So you are really just reporting yourself.

[Sandpit]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 09:22 PM, said:

This is off topic and does not pertain remotely to the economic problems of MW:O as presented in the first post. I have reported it as such.

lol It's entirely on-topic

That's actually MY idea that i've pitched several times. It allows new players to earn some c-bills right out of the gate. Keeps them from getting involved in stomps and helps garner interest in the game. If they choose to leave early they migh have the option but with a lesser reward.
Thanks for reporting it though careful though because reporting it as a means to "be mean" or "i don't like this guy" is an abuse of the tool

With the infusion of C-bills when they start it also puts them ahead of the curve and allows them to have a good solid starting base of funds which directly impacts the economy (which is what I thought this topic was about. Economy and free players unless I misread your topic sir)

[James The Fox Dixon]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 09:30 PM, said:

lol It's entirely on-topic

That's actually MY idea that i've pitched several times. It allows new players to earn some c-bills right out of the gate. Keeps them from getting involved in stomps and helps garner interest in the game. If they choose to leave early they migh have the option but with a lesser reward.
Thanks for reporting it though careful though because reporting it as a means to "be mean" or "i don't like this guy" is an abuse of the tool

With the infusion of C-bills when they start it also puts them ahead of the curve and allows them to have a good solid starting base of funds which directly impacts the economy (which is what I thought this topic was about. Economy and free players unless I misread your topic sir)

The problem with your suggestion is that it does not fix the economy nor does it address the long term problems for maintaining a mech. You are merely prolonging when they will experience what is in my first post. It does nothing to help the economy since they are unable to sell anything to another player. Currently, the economy consists of two parts: earnings and prices. When one of those two values is out of sync with the other there will be problems. Problems that I documented in my first post. Free players are not earning enough c-bills to keep up with the costs for repairs and rearms. The solution to the problem is to increase the amount of earnings to where the player will consistently begin running in the black or cut the price of every item to match the earnings. PGI has stated that they have no intention of adjusting prices, so the solution is with the earnings. I presented a solution that rewards players for playing their role as per role warfare and for their actual performance in the game. This solution punishes afkers and suiciders as well, so it's a three for one special.

In short, your solution is a used bandaid and my solution is comprehensive surgery to get to the root of the problem.

Edited by James The Fox Dixon, 06 November 2012 - 09:43 PM.

[Sandpit]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 09:37 PM, said:

The problem with your suggestion is that it does not fix the economy nor does it address the long term problems for maintaining a mech. You are merely prolonging when they will experience what is in my first post. It does nothing to help the economy since they are unable to sell anything to another player. Currently, the economy consists of two parts: earnings and prices. When one of those two values is out of sync with the other there will be problems. Problems that I documented in my first post. Free players are not earning enough c-bills to keep up with the costs for repairs and rearms. The solution to the problem is to increase the amount of earnings to where the player will consistently begin running in the black or cut the price of every item to match the earnings. PGI has stated that they have no intention of adjusting prices, so the solution is with the earnings. I presented a solution that rewards players for playing their role as per role warfare and for their actual performance in the game.

In short, your solution is a used bandaid and my solution is comprehensive surgery to get to the root of the problem.

My suggestion doesn't "fix" the economy because I don't see it as "broken"
Sustaining the economy doesn't mean every player wins money every match with every high priced upgrade available on a single expensive mech.
If new players were sent to Solaris first they wouldn't have as hard of a time sustaining themselves with the current economy because
A.)They would have some good experience learning how to use a mech
B.) Wouldn't immediately be thrown in with experienced players and lose more often
C.) Have a "cushion" of C-Bills to get them accustomed to the economy as is

I understand the basis of your argument. Wanting to help new players and help MWO be a success. I want the exact same thing. I don't see the economy as the basis for helping that along. A FEW items are a bit pricey but overall the economy is where it needs to be. New players coming in and having fun competitive matches from day 1 and enjoying the game will (or at least should) get them hoked enough to want to grind a little here and there. Sustainability still doesn't mean running the most expensive stuff all the time and expecting to make money every match.

[multiplesanta34]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 09:11 PM, said:

They are free to pick a mech and click launch and play however they want. I never said ANYTHING about TS, pugs, premades, grouping, or otherwise.
You can click on any trial mech (which in rotation now is actually really nice) and away you go. Never alk to anyone just run around shoot things. If that's your way of having fun with the game I honestly encourage you to do that. There's nothing wrong with it. You aren't, however, promised that you can play like that and maintain every expensive goody in the game without being smart about it. You have to learn to manage your resources and be smart with what you have sometimes.
Struggling in the game has nothing to do with the economy. I'm not going to make suggestions on how you should play but you can't expect to play against the grain and come out on top every time. I'd love to drop with you and and play some time.
I pug, i premie, I win, I lose.
That still doesn't change my views on teh economy though. I don't think it should be "easy" to run all the hottest and coolest equipment. You SHOULD have to earn it and work at it if that's what you're wanting to run. Running XLs, FF, ES, DHS, etc. SHOULD be expensive and should be a bit of a deterrent for several reasons, the least of which is to keep them at least somewhat limited on the battlefield to help out with balance

I brought up TS because it's sort of rolled into this freeplay experience. My first post on this forum was asking people for advice because I was thinking of a catapult C1 as my first mech but wanted to try others. I also asked if I could make the same amount of C-Bills (roughly 70,000) per game in a mech that I had to repair and re-arm as I did in the trial mechs. Most said I could if I got on TS. Well that's fine, if I wanted to play that way. The reality is that no, i'd make substantially less, and i'd be slowing down my progression in trying other mechs if I bought the C-1 as opposed to staying in the gimped trials. To be fair, they improved the trials today, but now I don't see much reason to get out of them, not yet anyway. If I had the same C-Bill progression in a owned mech as I do in a trial i'd have no issues.
And when I say struggle in the game, I don't mean the gameplay itself. I accept that my wins and losses as a lone wolf are my responsibility and the games are still mostly fun for me. I mean the C-Bill struggle. If you're not part of a premade and thus aren't winning most of your matches, you will struggle to make any money as a free player and will either be forced back into the trials or hovering around zero C-bills. You say pilot a light, but I don't like lights in MW, never have. I just think it's strange that in a game that is asking for you to pay that I have to play in a very linear, specific way. I'm not talking about some super expensive build either, just anything with ammo that needs to be repaired, really. Running a trial is more profitable win or lose. Without community warfare or some other sort of persistent gameplay I don't see the need for repair and rearm bills at all to be honest. When you click launch everyone should have an undamaged mech, full ammo, and the possibility of progressing through the game at a reasonable rate.

Edited by multiplesanta34, 06 November 2012 - 09:52 PM.

[James The Fox Dixon]

Sandpit, on 06 November 2012 - 09:48 PM, said:

My suggestion doesn't "fix" the economy because I don't see it as "broken"
Sustaining the economy doesn't mean every player wins money every match with every high priced upgrade available on a single expensive mech.
If new players were sent to Solaris first they wouldn't have as hard of a time sustaining themselves with the current economy because
A.)They would have some good experience learning how to use a mech
B.) Wouldn't immediately be thrown in with experienced players and lose more often
C.) Have a "cushion" of C-Bills to get them accustomed to the economy as is

I understand the basis of your argument. Wanting to help new players and help MWO be a success. I want the exact same thing. I don't see the economy as the basis for helping that along. A FEW items are a bit pricey but overall the economy is where it needs to be. New players coming in and having fun competitive matches from day 1 and enjoying the game will (or at least should) get them hoked enough to want to grind a little here and there. Sustainability still doesn't mean running the most expensive stuff all the time and expecting to make money every match.

Finally, we get to the crux of the matter. You do not want free players to have a competitive mech nor experience the level 2 equipment. The only mech options then are Commandos and Jenners with zero upgrades and ammunition costs. Thanks for that confirmation.

So you think losing money on a win is where economy needs to be?

multiplesanta34, on 06 November 2012 - 09:51 PM, said:

I brought up TS because it's sort of rolled into this freeplay experience. My first post on this forum was asking people for advice because I was thinking of a catapult C1 as my first mech but wanted to try others. I also asked if I could make the same amount of C-Bills (roughly 70,000) per game in a mech that I had to repair and re-arm as I did in the trial mechs. Most said I could if I got on TS. Well that's fine, if I wanted to play that way. The reality is that no, i'd make substantially less, and i'd be slowing down my progression in trying other mechs if I bought the C-1 as opposed to staying in the gimped trials. To be fair, they improved the trials today, but now I don't see much reason to get out of them, not yet anyway. If I had the same C-Bill progression in a owned mech as I do in a trial i'd have no issues.
And when I say struggle in the game, I don't mean the gameplay itself. I accept that my wins and losses as a lone wolf are my responsibility and the games are still mostly fun for me. I mean the C-Bill struggle. If you're not part of a premade and thus aren't winning most of your matches, you will struggle to make any money as a free player and will either be forced back into the trials or hovering around zero C-bills. You say pilot a light, but I don't like lights in MW, never have. I just think it's strange that in a game that is asking for you to pay that I have to play in a very linear, specific way. I'm not talking about some super expensive build either, just anything with ammo that needs to be repaired, really. Running a trial is more profitable win or lose. Without community warfare or some other sort of persistent gameplay I don't see the need for repair and rearm bills at all to be honest. When you click launch everyone should have an undamaged mech, full ammo, and the possibility of progressing through the game at a reasonable rate.

Even being in a premade still doesn't guarantee you to earn money. There have been matches I've won, but I lost money on due to repair and rearm costs.

Edited by James The Fox Dixon, 06 November 2012 - 09:52 PM.

[Sandpit]

James The Fox Dixon, on 06 November 2012 - 09:53 PM, said:

Finally, we get to the crux of the matter. You do not want free players to have a competitive mech nor experience the level 2 equipment. The only mech options then are Commandos and Jenners with zero upgrades and ammunition costs. Thanks for that confirmation.

So you think losing money on a win is where economy needs to be?



Even being in a premade still doesn't guarantee you to earn money. There have been matches I've won, but I lost money on due to repair and rearm costs.

??? rofl That one made me chuckle
I champion helping free players in all areas. Handing them money doesn't help them get better at the game or get involved in the game. Letting them learn how to play without getting stomped does especially when they're still getting their feet wet.
Should they have to run those Jenners once in a while to help pay the bills? Absolutely. Should I? Of course. I fail to see how that limits them from buying more expensive stuff also.
I'm a bit disappointed in the way you disregard an entire post but to each their own.

The economy is fine where it's at. Giving more money isn't going to change new player experience. Lowering costs of items isn't going to solve it either. Changin the entire new player experience is what will change how free players enter the game. As far as "founders bonuses" free players are welcome to purchase some premium time and get the ONLY advantage I, as a founder, get. That's kinda the whole point behind it.

[Sandpit]

multiplesanta34, on 06 November 2012 - 09:51 PM, said:

I brought up TS because it's sort of rolled into this freeplay experience. My first post on this forum was asking people for advice because I was thinking of a catapult C1 as my first mech but wanted to try others. I also asked if I could make the same amount of C-Bills (roughly 70,000) per game in a mech that I had to repair and re-arm as I did in the trial mechs. Most said I could if I got on TS. Well that's fine, if I wanted to play that way. The reality is that no, i'd make substantially less, and i'd be slowing down my progression in trying other mechs if I bought the C-1 as opposed to staying in the gimped trials. To be fair, they improved the trials today, but now I don't see much reason to get out of them, not yet anyway. If I had the same C-Bill progression in a owned mech as I do in a trial i'd have no issues.
And when I say struggle in the game, I don't mean the gameplay itself. I accept that my wins and losses as a lone wolf are my responsibility and the games are still mostly fun for me. I mean the C-Bill struggle. If you're not part of a premade and thus aren't winning most of your matches, you will struggle to make any money as a free player and will either be forced back into the trials or hovering around zero C-bills. You say pilot a light, but I don't like lights in MW, never have. I just think it's strange that in a game that is asking for you to pay that I have to play in a very linear, specific way. I'm not talking about some super expensive build either, just anything with ammo that needs to be repaired, really. Running a trial is more profitable win or lose. Without community warfare or some other sort of persistent gameplay I don't see the need for repair and rearm bills at all to be honest. When you click launch everyone should have an undamaged mech, full ammo, and the possibility of progressing through the game at a reasonable rate.

Hmmm......

Ok, I'm not saying there isn't a struggle. I'm saying the struggle is there for a reason and justified in my opinion. I'm a founder but I get no bonus other than the free premium time I have. I run mechs that are expensive but I also run mechs that aren't to help sustain those expensive repair bills. TS, C3, premies, etc. is a completely different subject. You can win as a lone wolf style player with a little teamwork just as easily as a premie on TS.
Placing you in games against people with similar skill and experience would drastically help new players win more and thus earn more.