13 replies to this topic

[Grey Black]

Hi all! Right now, I am trying to get my centurion variants at least to elite and have gotten 2 of my variants there so far. HOWEVER... I purchased a CN9-AL thinking it would be a good change of pace. So far, I'm hating it, but don't want to grind out the cbills for a CN9-D. Can anyone recommend a goodbuild to just grind it out? I love my other 2 cents and just want to get it done. Thanks!

[MadPanda]

Steps to skip grinding exp on a mech you dislike:

#1: Play the mech you like.
#2: Convert mech exp to GXP (Also known as General XP)
#3: Buy all the pilot upgrades with GXP for the variant you don't want to play.

This is what I did to instantly get my favorite mech to elite status. I got 2 mechs sitting in my mech bay that I have played 0 times.

[Wrenchfarm]

MadPanda, on 16 November 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

Steps to skip grinding exp on a mech you dislike:

#1: Play the mech you like.
#2: Convert mech exp to GXP (Also known as General XP)
#3: Buy all the pilot upgrades with GXP for the variant you don't want to play.

This is what I did to instantly get my favorite mech to elite status. I got 2 mechs sitting in my mech bay that I have played 0 times.

That is a great plan if you don't mind dropping the money. For those that can't afford it though, not so helpful.

I got a Cent-AL the other day and am still tweaking it to find something I like. Right now with DHS, Endo, 4 MLAS and 2 SSRM2, it performs decently. Not the best mech I've ever rode, but respectable - lights hate it.

I had another build where I squeezed 2 LLAS in the right arm and 2MLAS in the torso. Also fun. The extra range let me cook things from a distance. But it lacked some punch, had to really mind my distance. Usual problems with the Cent design though, that big arm is just begging to be shot off. Once it's gone, that build lost most of its power. Advantage going to the torso mounted Streakers, more staying power.

[Elyam]

Favorite AL build is 2 medium beams in CT (user's choice) and 1 heavy beam in RA (user's choice) plus 2 SRMs in LT (again, user's choice). People have their own opinions on the options in parenthesis above, but in the end I think they're all viable. If it fits your style, just use 1 or 2 medium beams in RA instead. While partly dependent on style and engine size (speed), I tend to favor builds that don't get really aggressive on the heat scale since damage per minute can really drop if you're constantly fighting shutdown. Then again, some people really like high-burn alphas as a norm. Anyway, the AL is a great machine.

[Volts]

Try the AL Sniper:

http://mwomercs.com/...ion-ppc-sniper/

[SquareSphere]

depends on how you want to grind. if you're grinding xp the way i do it on my Jenner is to try to run out in front of the team and "spot" as many enemies as i can. It's one of the easiest ways to pad your xp. At which point if you're going to fight, try to take out limbs. Sure it'll reduce your salvage bonus but you get more xp this way. Other wise, (this is frowned upon), keep a very cheap load out and go kamikaze yourself, load up your other mech, don't repair and repeat for fast results.

[Tenri]

Standard 260
Endo
RA - LL
CT - ML or MPL
max armor
Fit as much double or single HS as possible
optional AMS
You got yourself an awesome zombie brawler that people ignore in favor of that HB mounting 23123 lasers
Endgame you see your self getting that kill because that HB died first, and your damage over 200 (unless you got stomped / fast cap game)

[Elizander]

I don't have one to try out but I think ERPPC (x1) Medium Laser (x3) SSRM2 (x2) will do you some good along with some speed and DHS. The PPC is a balistic weapon and moves as fast as a Gauss Rifle so it might bring some familiarity to you with the way you aim with the arm.

[ScrapIron Prime]

I use mine as a high performance striker. PPC, 2 ML, TAG, 2 SRM racks. If you remember never to fire the PPC in a brawl, it has little problem with heat and enjoys the medium range punch of the energy weapons and the long range option of sustained PPC fire.

[michaelius]

MadPanda, on 16 November 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

Steps to skip grinding exp on a mech you dislike:

#1: Play the mech you like.
#2: Convert mech exp to GXP (Also known as General XP)
#3: Buy all the pilot upgrades with GXP for the variant you don't want to play.

This is what I did to instantly get my favorite mech to elite status. I got 2 mechs sitting in my mech bay that I have played 0 times.

That's also huge waste of mc - you are nearly better buying premium time and grinding gxp that way than converting mech exp to gxp.

[MacabreDerek]

My fav Centy is the AL. I placed with with 2 Large Lasers in the sword-arm, 2 LRM-5s in the left torso, and 2 medium lasers, and primarily use it for support and defending the missile-boats. Chain fire makes the 2 Large Lasers (after Double Heat Sinks) fairly managable, and since you are using alot of weapons at different ranges, you dont require as much heat-sinks.

You can pretty much support anything with this mech that doesnt run faster than 80 KpH, and if you're at least smart enough to not get into a circling competition with a close quarters mech you can do fine. If you're good at using the shield arm you can take a good chunk of damage before going down, but the AL in this config is not a lone-wolf player. It is however able to rain down LRM and LLaser fire with few heat issues, and I've found it to be most enjoyable.

[MadPanda]

michaelius, on 17 November 2012 - 08:15 AM, said:

That's also huge waste of mc - you are nearly better buying premium time and grinding gxp that way than converting mech exp to gxp.

I wouldn't call it "huge". You get about 13k GXP for about 500 MC. It's not a trade I would do regularly, but if you really don't want to grind with the other variants, I think it's an okay payment for once. If I'm translating correctly here, that's like 3-5$ and it will save you hours and hours of play time with unpleasant mechs. I think its an Ok deal. I value my hours more than few bucks.

[MagicHamsta]

MadPanda, on 16 November 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

Steps to skip grinding exp on a mech you dislike:

Steps to skip grinding exp on a mech you dislike F2P edition:

1) Play the mech you like for hundreds of matches.
2) Use GXP to buy a few/all pilot upgrades for the variant you don't want to play.

This be what me did to avoid playing the D variant as much as possible.

[Rejarial Galatan]

easiest way to skip the grind? Take your best centurion, and play with it. period. Play that mech long enough, and BAM, you have the GXP to buy all the basic/elite stuff you want. I myself am not going to spend a single MC of my 20k on a bloody thing until Clan Faction play becomes possible. I am just gonna use my AS7-D FOUNDERS atlas to grind the Cbills for the chassis's and then, keep fighting with my Founders Atlas to grind out the GXP. This can work on any mech in the game, founders mech or no founders mech, only diff will be speed of grind.

side note: this is what happens when 2 pilots think the same way, see the post directly above me? didnt see it until AFTER i posted mine, because I replied from the top of the page XD

Edited by Rejarial Galatan, 17 November 2012 - 09:27 PM.