Keep telling your friend that he should keep trying - and also to watch out for what his lancemates do. Ideally, even a PUG will attempt to come up with a basic strategy before everybody moves out. All it takes is someone to take charge and say something like "let's move right" or "stay here, let 'em come".
Deathshead420 wrote:I have a question, when you buy a mech you can resell it right?
Do you take a bit c-bill hit when you do?
Yes to both - same for equipment. Don't have the numbers in my head, but you do notice the difference and it is considerable.
Still, if you're thinking about slowly working your way up, go for it, provided you actually have fun in the 'mech you are looking at, rather than just seeing it as a temporary stopgap. Especially if you're in a Trial ... I have seen many people go for a cheap Commando only to finally become able to customise their loadout and start earning XP and (potentially, depending on the match outcome) more c-bills.
Im thinking i wanna try for the 7 mil cicada. Every time I'm one on one vs a cicada in a trial I lose, and I have been playing for a while. They seem really tough and really fast for a medium mech.
As far as the pug communication it seems like I am the only one that ever talks, "there at the base" " there in the tunnel" "cap for more loot"
The Cicada is an attractive choice - pretty much the most mobile Medium BattleMech right now, so much so that one could regard them as a sort of hybrid between Lights and Mediums. Of course this is chiefly because the transition between weight categories is fluent, but still I see a number of players having called it a "Jenner+1".
I would wish for more communication as well, but every now and then you get a fun PUG where people exchange silly remarks, wish each other a good game, or propose tactics and relay information.
The main problem is, of course, that once battle is joined, people generally have no time for text-chat anymore. That's the inherent advantage of premade groups using VoIP.
I really hope that PGI would include C3 into the client directly at some point in the future, rather than just "advertising" it for external use.
PS: Garth hinted at today's patch also bringing us the winter version of Forest Colony... Fingers crossed!
I still do not have the faintest idea how to run C3 in game or set up a group utilising it.. maybe someone with more knowledge could send me an idiots guide via PM???
Haven't played in a while either as I'm busy trying to buy my first house at the moment and the paperwork seems to be never ending with lawyers, insurance and morgage companies all trying to outdo each other with who can send me the most useless paperwork.... Not sure if they're scoring by volume or uselessness or a combination of both.
As for C3, I made an account and installed/configured it, but never actually got around to try it out as just about everybody uses TeamSpeak...
The interface seems to be fairly similar, though. Just keep in mind that C3 is, as of yet, not actually a part of the game but exists apart as a separate piece of software you need to run in the background. Just like TS.
They do need to tone them down a bit. I dont think I have died all day from anything else. Maybe not tone down the damage but the ammount of ammo you can get. Tfg with over a 1000 rounds and nothing else get annoying.
They also need to add some more heavy or assault mechs. Really not much to choose from in those classes.
On a positive note I did get my buddy to try it again and he is now hooked.
As for LRMs, it seems that for whatever reason they have modified flightpath trajectories yet again, making cover useless and causing projectiles to smash right on the head in an almost 90° angle now, rather than the ~45° angle they used before. To make matters worse, the Artemis system, whilst making ammunition extremely expensive, also allows for a much tighter missile spread, resulting in more hits on the target. So whilst LRMs were already very powerful before, there are now few possibilities to counter them; cover does not work anymore due to the new trajectory (unless you are inside the cave on Forest Colony, or under the loading bay "balcony" in River City), and Artemis-adjusted spread results in running away at 100+ kph barely having all missiles hit your rear armour rather than your head.
I do not believe this will last long, given the outrage on the forums - even players who pilot LRM boats are complaining now, posting screenshots on how they make way over 1k damage per round and killing 6-7 enemy 'mechs in a single round. This steep trajectory was already in the game during Closed Beta and got changed to what we had before this new patch, so I'm thinking that maybe it "sneaked" back into the game together with the hitbox rollback, as the latter implies they took code from an older version.
Deathshead420 wrote:Maybe not tone down the damage but the ammount of ammo you can get.
What, so you can "only" instakill 3-4 enemies rather than 6-7? Not sure that would be a good solution.
Glad to hear you got your buddy playing again, tho. I managed to do the same with one of my friends.
(omg, does the 4X have a three-barreled AC/5-minigun? <3)
That, unfortunately, is an Ultra-A/C5. Worthless piece of garbage. Jams constantly.
As for the LRM's: I do understand it's still in beta, and tweaks need to happen so I'm not overly upset, just decreases my desire to play. As for something coming: ECM isn't implemented yet, and I assume that will help greatly against LRM boats.
Oh and had to get drivers because PC died and I managed to cobble it back together for now. Nvidia site makes some mention to a free bobble head there for MWO.
Have to add and remove the UAC5 from every weapon group. The way to stop it from jamming is to not fire as fast, let it finish its cool down before shooting again and it'll be fine, and still faster than the normal ones.
Yeah - according to Garth Erlam, they are looking at an alternative way to simulate the Unjam process. Though I have to say, the current method sounds fairly cool, considering the interface limitations. It's almost like a minigame!
Shrike325 wrote: As for something coming: ECM isn't implemented yet, and I assume that will help greatly against LRM boats.
It should, but needless to say the 1.5 ton ECM also should not be regarded as a mandatory item for every 'mech on the battlefield. It's something that should give its user an advantage rather than evening the odds - just like Artemis, TAG or Narc beacons provide an advantage for the LRM user (and his or her scout/s).
I really haven't noticed any benefit to them. I see people use them all the time, and the only thing that I can see that it does is put a little hash mark next to the target.
It improves lock-on time, and also narrows the spread of the salvo - thereby essentially causing fewer missiles to miss the target.
Before the Open Beta Wipe, I had a Jenner-F that carried a TAG in addition to its 4 lasers. One of my friends then took a Catapult. Nice teamwork.
It is somewhat difficult to keep the TAG on target, but it really does help with missile "efficiency".
Narc, I think, needs to last longer than just a couple seconds. Of course it would suck if a single beacon would act as a "debuff" for its target for the entire match, but perhaps it could be destroyed by weapon damage rather than having an "expiry timer". More realistic and more fun for both sides, I think. For the Narc user because they would not have to fear about the beacon only being useful for a dozen seconds, and for the target because the increase in damage would only last for a few salvos until the beacon is destroyed.
I tried it out back when it was the CN9-AH. It's decent enough, but relies a lot on being in a more urban environment. To force them in close. Sad part is the lack of the lower aculator prevents the cent from doing it's "shield walk" technique.
Generally you'll be better off taking one of the more normal variants and trying out the Yen-Lo-Wang configuration from 3050. But, up to you the bonus CB can be nice I suppose.
n0t_u wrote: I tried it out back when it was the CN9-AH. It's decent enough, but relies a lot on being in a more urban environment. To force them in close. Sad part is the lack of the lower aculator prevents the cent from doing it's "shield walk" technique.
Generally you'll be better off taking one of the more normal variants and trying out the Yen-Lo-Wang configuration from 3050. But, up to you the bonus CB can be nice I suppose.
That's cool. I'm not a huge fan of the Centurion to begin with. To be honest, I probably won't buy a regular Centurion even with C-Bills, but I thought the Yen-Lo-Wang looked cool, and I like the AC/20 in the arm (makes for a bit faster aiming than the torso-mounted AC/20 on the Hunchback, I'd think). The C-Bill bonus was what I figured might really be worth it. I doubt I'd use it as my primary mech, but I thought it might be nice to have it around if I wanted to switch things up a bit. With that in mind, and considering I can't buy one with C-Bills, is it worth the MC?
Also, does anyone know, are the hero mechs going to be limited edition sorts of things, or is the plant to make the Yen-Lo-Wang and any other hero mechs available indefinitely?
Has anyone heard any rumblings or have any guesses as to what some of the other Hero Mechs might be?
The only one that I could think of, is if they ever come out with a Marauder, they could do a Bounty Hunter Marauder, but other than that, I'm not really up on a lot of the in-universe hero/custom mechs.
Assuming they do the Clan Invasion in a year or two, do you think the "hero mech" format might be the way they start to introduce Clan tech to the playerbase?
Jenner: JR7-K "Cat" - specialised artillery spotter
Commando: COM-7S2 "Freyr" - Jump-jets, hardened armour, Streak-SRMs and ER Medium Lasers
Trebuchet: TBT-5K - custom-built variant of the 7K with AC/5, SRMs and PPC
Hunchback: HBK-4H "Shakir" - advanced version of the original 4H with prototype Medium Pulse Lasers
Centurion: CN9-A "Yen Lo Wang" - we know this one
Cataphract: CTF-2X "George" - equipped with experimental Mk3 ER large Laser and corrosive coolant DHS Catapult: CPLT-C1 "Butterbee" - equipped with a quartet of SRM6 instead of LRMs
Dragon: DRG-2Y "Yorioshi" - no AC/5, no LRMs, just all kinds of Lasers, an SRM4 and a Flamer
Atlas: AS7-D "Samsonov" - a PPC in each arm, plus the remaining AC/20
Highlander: HGN-732 "Colleen" - ER PPC, Streak-SRM6, Medium Pulse Lasers and LRM-15s
Stalker: STK-3F "Jagawen" - close-combat variant trading the LRMs for more SRM6s
Awesome: AWS-9Ma "Adam" - CnC model with advanced communications equipment and ECM
Didn't find anything special for the Raven, Spider, Cicada and Trebuchet - but then again, they could perhaps simply sell one of the other chassis not available in the standard selection. Battletech has many, many stories and many, many heroes - so it should not be too hard to find a famous pilot to advertise it with. Or they will simply not offer a Hero variant for each.
A big problem could be that many of the aforementioned variants can already be built just using the normal MechLab, but I suppose people could still buy it for the unique skin and the c-bill bonus that comes with it.
As for the Clan-Tech ... I would be tempted to say yes, but then again the devs seem adamant not to introduce a "pay to win" factor to the game, and Clan-Tech is superior to Inner Sphere stuff.
What might be possible is that perhaps they sell the Clan 'Mechs for MC (using the Hero Mech thingie they've got going on), but what's inside them would be available for c-bills as well.
Alternatively - they mentioned a sort of "reputation system" once where you would have to accumulate a certain standing first before being allowed to buy something special. Perhaps with MC you can bypass this restriction and buy this equipment d irectly, or you buy the necessary rank to unlock them in the MechLab.
Prometheus- Victor Davion's Dire Wolf - We probably won't see it for awhile - Clan tech
Rhonda's Highlander - Rhonda Snord's Highlander - possible to see with current tech/timeline
Widowmaker - Natasha Kerensky's Dire Wolf - Won't see it for awhile - Clan tech
Grinner - Phelan Kell's Clan tech Wolfhound. Won't see it for awhile - not only is it Clan tech, but the Wolfhound chassis isn't around
Yen-Lo-Wang - Kai Allard-Lio's Centurion - Already in game
PXH-3M Masters - Paul Master's Phoenix Hawk - Unlikely (not impossible). Phoenix Hawk's are an "Unseen" with no news on if they will be in the game.
Those are the only ones off the top of my head that have actual changes to the Mech's loadout. If they open things up to just "famous" mechs/pilots, then there's a whole list of mechs that need to get added.
There's a lot of famous pilots listed in the era sourcebooks, usually a small entry for mechs of someone famous using them so they could get a fair few mechs in.
I forgot about the Widowmaker, that'd be a good one if they ever get to Clan tech.
I've been looking at the Yen-Lo-Wang "Zombie Wang" build on the MWO forums. Anyone tried that? It's a Yen-Lo-Wang with two medium pulse lasers in the center torso and no other weapons. It's supposed to be good for grinding C-Bills with the 30% bonus, because it's a mech that can lose both its arms and side torso without losing any weapons, and still can fight well enough that it isn't a total waste to the rest of your team. I'm thinking about getting one now, to try out that build if nothing else.
How do you guys feel about that? Would you be pissed if you dropped with a mech like that on your team, or do you think two MPLs in a medium mech that can take a beating is good enough?
^ Have to agree with Mr. Deathshead420. I feel as if a 'Mech like that is not actually doing much for the team. Yes, you have slightly better chances at survival if you use the spare tonnage for additional armour, AMS and a good engine - but in the end, the damage output will be smaller than a Light, whilst not shining in any other role either.
The only way I would see such a setup remotely useful might be as a sort of bait or distraction, drawing enemy fire onto a 'Mech that can better handle it than any other in order to increase the survivability of your teammates - in the hopes that their damage will somehow balance the lack of yours.
Yet given that you would probably still go down very fast as soon as the opponents focus on you ... still does not sound like a viable build.
Yes, it is probably good for "farming" if you do not intend to win and would not even want to try, but at that point you may as well strip all armour from the legs, power down at the start of the match and ask enemies to please shoot your legs as that will be cheaper to repair than the torso engine.
Fight to win. Victories bring more c-bills and XP anyways.
Hordini wrote: I forgot about the Widowmaker, that'd be a good one if they ever get to Clan tech.
I've been looking at the Yen-Lo-Wang "Zombie Wang" build on the MWO forums. Anyone tried that? It's a Yen-Lo-Wang with two medium pulse lasers in the center torso and no other weapons. It's supposed to be good for grinding C-Bills with the 30% bonus, because it's a mech that can lose both its arms and side torso without losing any weapons, and still can fight well enough that it isn't a total waste to the rest of your team. I'm thinking about getting one now, to try out that build if nothing else.
How do you guys feel about that? Would you be pissed if you dropped with a mech like that on your team, or do you think two MPLs in a medium mech that can take a beating is good enough?
I tried the Zombie Wang. Was horrible to play. The Wang is a very tough medium to being with. It will take a pounding and keep ticking. With a little CBill investment you can easily get a 2 MPL Wang with 28 AC/20 Rounds. THe torso twist and speed on the mech is good for a medium so I find I don't miss the fully articulated arm. The CN 9-A and 9-AH are very good anti-light mech and general "jack of all trades" mechs. The Wang is better at taking on heavy/assault mechs as an escort for other heavies/assaults. You're fast enough in that situation that you can basically pick your shots (right torse for Atlases etc.) with that AC/20 while still tough enough that you can take a couple full alphas.
One thing i hate lately is the missile boats with the lrm5 's that have them chainfire. they need to do something about that. No cat should be able to shoot a nonstop stream of missiles through the whole match. I have had three games tonight where there where two or three of them just sitting in the same spot firing the entire match.
One guy on our team was bragging about how he gets 3 or 4 kills a game with it, that game he got 4. Really grinds my gears.
Deathshead420 wrote: One thing i hate lately is the missile boats with the lrm5 's that have them chainfire. they need to do something about that. No cat should be able to shoot a nonstop stream of missiles through the whole match. I have had three games tonight where there where two or three of them just sitting in the same spot firing the entire match.
One guy on our team was bragging about how he gets 3 or 4 kills a game with it, that game he got 4. Really grinds my gears.
I don't find it that bad. the guy is only putting out as many shots as a standard 2x LRM15 C1 without any backup weapons. get in close and he's toast. Sure, in Caustic Valley he'll have some success and maybe more if he's working with buddies to cover his weakness (basically anything within 200 meters)
Played that configuration myself a couple times, simply because I love the "katyusha" style of these launchers. Looks so much more awesome (and realistic) than the single "swoosh"-cloud.
But it has its drawbacks. As Scruffy mentioned, it also means he will be completely defenseless once you go in close and undercut his arming range for the missiles (160m iirc). At that moment, it all depends on how well his team plays together and if anyone will come to help.
He also cannot fire constantly, as the LRM5s will build up quite a lot of heat. They just won't give him an instant peak, meaning he will be able to launch one or two salvos much sooner than he could with an LRM20, but in the end he will still require some cooldown, even if it's just a dozen seconds or so.
At least LRMs no longer have the cockpit killer angle and "only" do 1.7 damage per hit now, down from 2.0 after being buffed from 1.0. It's actually fun to play again. <3
What are you piloting, though? Taking out artillery is a job for fast, light 'Mechs like my Jenner. Don't bother trying to waltz over to him in an Atlas; you'll just present a huge target. Stay on the big ones.
Sidenote: Seen someone chainfire 6 small lasers once; you can actually create a constant beam. Looked like a TAG that did some damage. Pretty useless, unless your aim really is that lousy.
When i say a constant stream i mean constant. There was no overheating. He must have had nothing but double heatsinks on in every slot. My friend and I couldn't get over it. Two games in a row the same two guys sat on the same hill and fired the entire match.
Humm, come to think of it, when I tried it back then there were no DHS available. Maybe it really is possible. But how much ammunition would that beast use per game? Missiles are expensive, yo! Aside from adding to the tonnage.
And he couldn't compensate with Endo-Steel or Ferro-Fibrous either, as this would lock out critical space he'd need for ammo and heat sinks.
My guess now: he would have had really, really thin armour and/or a very slow engine.
I'm real curious how ECM will work out... Big patch coming tomorrow! I wonder what will be included.
I ended up getting a Yen-Lo-Wang and was able to try it out last weekend. It was alright. I don't think it's as bad as some people have been saying it is, but it is definitely not a "pay to win" mech. I thought have the AC/20 on the arm would help with aiming, but I didn't realize when I bought the thing that it's missing an actuator on the right arm, so there really isn't much of an advantage over the Hunchback's shoulder mounted cannon.
And man, most people definitely know to go for the right arm first! It was funny watching other players fire across my front arc trying to hit the right arm, I just kept trying to fire my AC/20 and then present my left side to my opponent as quick as I could. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. I haven't tried the "Zombie" configuration yet, but I probably will at some point. I also want to try swapping out the AC/20 with two AC/2s or two AC/5s, with MPLs in the torso. It sounds like some people have had some luck with this configuration.
I think it can work as a mech, but it will definitely take a bit of skill to use well, as the arm-mounted weapons are quite vulnerable. I don't know if it's worth the MC, but the 30% C-Bill increase is very nice and I like the custom skin. I guess time will tell if the extra C-Bills pay off, but it's not like I had anything else to spend my Founder's MC on right now anyway. I'm looking forward to future hero mechs. I don't want MWO to go to a pay to win model at all, but I do hope that future hero mechs are at least a little bit better value for the MC.
What do you guys think? Is the Yen-Lo-Want too expensive? I think if it came with a garage slot included it would be about right, but as it is I think it's a touch too expensive. Although, it will probably be easier to compare when we have a few more MC-only mechs available.
Hordini wrote:It was funny watching other players fire across my front arc trying to hit the right arm, I just kept trying to fire my AC/20 and then present my left side to my opponent as quick as I could.
Sounds like a cool tactic, actually. If only its shield would be a little larger - would really pay off to maximise armour on that location then.
Also: new patch is out! Sadly not as large as I had hoped. Couple improvements, one new 'mech, bunch of modules and Beagle Active Probe. Meh.
Also, Streak-SRMs were buffed. On one hand, I'll profit from this as I have a launcher mounted in my Jenner - but on the other hand, I really don't think this was a smart move, considering what effect those dreaded "Streak Cats" already had during the last couple weeks. Also disagree with the unrealistic "100% hit" accuracy. I can only assume this was a reaction to all the whining that light 'mechs are OP because some people have gakky internets and/or aim. The funny thing is that latency will apparently still result in misses.
The Cataphract hasn't been out for a day yet and people are already loading it up with AC/5s or AC/2s.
It is quite annoying, but then, just wait my pretties until I save up enough C-Bills for my 'microsun' Hunchback.
So, it appears the newest patch was just rolled out. Will start downloading as soon as I get home coz' this one sounds juicy. Literally:
added
+ "Bitchin' Betty" onboard computer voice (fan-favourite Carole Ruggier, already known from MechWarrior 2)
+ new map variant: "Frozen City Night" (clear air, no fog, but also little light; thermo- and night vision may become popular here)
+ paintjob- and cockpit customisation (select camo schemes, colour patterns and cockpit decoration, including items such as the famous Hula Girl!)
Sooo anyone up for a little co-oporative play in about 6 hours 20 minutes? thats around 10:00 in the morning British time? I should have been able to update things and played with a few skins by then???
Has anyone been getting cheated lately or just me? What I am referring to is the match starts and less then 30-40 seconds the entire team is in the base. I have been at this game a while and you can tell that something funky in tuna town. For example on caustic valley, starting by the factory area in the time it took me and the team to make it to the first berm, the whole team Atlases an all were in our base. I was in an atlas so I know there is no way they could have made it that far that quick. Some people think its caused by lag but when ever it has happened there is all ways a 4 player team of vets and founders among the hoard.
I'm on nights again but you could help me stay up on wednesday if your about? or in the afternoon/evening I usualy get a few games in each night, well I try to.
I have a semi serious question... Have my fellow Dakka Corps mechwarriors joined other merc groups aswell? Maybe it's just me but I am giving serious consideration to joining another group aswell in a casual sort of way so that I can get used to team play....?
Why would you need a merc group to practice teamplay? Have you considered just joining MWO's public TeamSpeak server and see if people want to do a couple drops?
Other than that ... I'm sure you could do some fights as a guest with most units, if you want. Most pilots and their units are fairly relaxed and open-minded. Been fighting an evening with one of the Ghost regiments as well, and it was pretty fun. Then again, we are Kuritans, which makes us stick together more than you dirty gaijin mercenaries whose only duty is to their bank account!
By the way, have you guys seen the new x-mas decoration you can put inside your cockpits? The holiday lights arranged around the front window are hilarious.
Think I'll wait for the bonsai tree, though, and otherwise be content with the Kurita banner hanging on my right.
Also, I <3 my 'Mech even more now that paintjobs are in.
Kodeneta banzai!
[edit] Okay, just tried a first match with the new patch. Still saddened that I am not allowed to slot a Guardian ECM suite myself, but one of our Commandos had it and I just followed him around. Nice teamplay.
Lynata wrote: Why would you need a merc group to practice teamplay? Have you considered just joining MWO's public TeamSpeak server and see if people want to do a couple drops?
[edit] Okay, just tried a first match with the new patch. Still saddened that I am not allowed to slot a Guardian ECM suite myself, but one of our Commandos had it and I just followed him around. Nice teamplay.
I would gladly join the public teamspeak server BUT I don't know much about teamspeak and can't seem to find the public server, any clues as to the name of such a server?
Very much so, I joined an AU clan and have been playing this and War Thunder just about every day. The AU clan is perfect for me since i'm such a night owl.
The crashing to desktop might have been fixed by now. You never know. Lost of bugs that are still being ironed out. I know I only had 1 bug in the past few days.
Still active, although I'm just playing 3-4 matches per evening on average. Fits perfectly into my daily schedule by not taking too much time, prevents me from getting bored of it by playing too much, and keeps my skills up.
Ledabot wrote: The crashing to desktop might have been fixed by now. You never know. Lost of bugs that are still being ironed out. I know I only had 1 bug in the past few days.
As Sol said, it only happened two days ago and only after I'd installed and played MW:O, although the second BSOD (not CTD) happened whilst I was trying to update my graphics drivers.
I've left MW:O well enough alone and everything seems to have stabilised again, but still reluctant to try and update my drivers again until I have some spare RAM sticks to try in case it brings up another BSOD, since the first one I got was pretty clearly to do with RAM, and any others are usually also to do with RAM.
we also have one of the clan that has the same problem after the new patch. We also have one that cannot see on the night map at all no matter what he does.
Territory Control / Community Warfare isn't in yet, so mercenary corps cannot actually "do" much besides fighting random enemies in random matches yet.
That being said, of course combat between BattleMechs is and will always remain the main part of the game, so any Dakkanaut playing MWO may just as well team up with each other and form a lance or two.
Oh yeah, new patch is out - apparently with some FPS improvements, too. People who had trouble before should probably try again.
The dying part happens less often given enough practice. Also, buying and customising your own 'Mech really helps. The Trials are not actually bad, but they are simply not optimised and geared towards a specific playstyle. Thankfully, with the Cadet Bonus, you should have enough c-bills for the purchase within 20 or so games.
Lynata wrote: Oh yeah, new patch is out - apparently with some FPS improvements, too. People who had trouble before should probably try again.
The dying part happens less often given enough practice. Also, buying and customising your own 'Mech really helps. The Trials are not actually bad, but they are simply not optimised and geared towards a specific playstyle. Thankfully, with the Cadet Bonus, you should have enough c-bills for the purchase within 20 or so games.
Whatcha "driving"?
I was piloting a Hunchback laserboat, but recently scratched together enough credits for a Centurion w/ an AC/2, 3 SRM6s and 2 medium lasers. Next thing to do is scrape together cash for double heatsinks, then endo-steel.
The Centurion is a really under rated mech. People crap on it because it's not fast and not that heavily armed, but it. just. keeps. going. I had a blast with the Centurion before I ended up going all goggly-eyed for the newer mechs like the cicada and cataphract.
I've been piloting a Spider for a while now. Currently rocking 10/12 jump jets and the 2 medium lasers (because nothing else fits), but am probably going to be seeing if I can't squeeze a slightly larger engine into the same slots if I switch to using double heatsinks.
Great mech for those who love to pounce on targets of opportunity, as it's got the speed to literally run circles around heavies and assaults, and the insane amount of jump jets let it get in and out without being turned to scrap. Could use a little bit heavier armament, but I was rocking a ML and a LL on my Raven anyhow, so I haven't lost that much firepower.
Cataphract, moving at 82kp/h? Check
AC/20? Check
3 medium lasers? Check
2 SSRM? Check
Armor? Max except for legs
STD engine so you don't instantly die? Check
As for next mech.. probably going to stockpile for a while till the Highlander or trebuchet comes out.
Smurfynet is famous in the MWO community now. I am liking the new layout too. I honestly thought that the new map was coming this patch though. Never mind.
My current stalker build is kinda spamy though. 5 large lasers, 3 streak2s and a TAG. Can't get much more spamy than that.
Ledabot wrote: Smurfynet is famous in the MWO community now. I am liking the new layout too. I honestly thought that the new map was coming this patch though. Never mind.
My current stalker build is kinda spamy though. 5 large lasers, 3 streak2s and a TAG. Can't get much more spamy than that.
I'm eyeing up an AC Cataphract 4X build at the moment. Either 2x UAC/5, 1x AC/5, 1x SRM6/LRM5 and 2x ML, or 2x UAC/5, 2x AC/2, and AMS. There's also the quad AC/2 build, but it doesn't really appeal to me much.
It's either that or wait and see what the new mechs bring with them.
Ledabot wrote: Smurfynet is famous in the MWO community now. I am liking the new layout too. I honestly thought that the new map was coming this patch though. Never mind.
My current stalker build is kinda spamy though. 5 large lasers, 3 streak2s and a TAG. Can't get much more spamy than that.
You easily can.
I've made a 6ppc stalker once.
I did the math, the thing is really unstable and overheats way to easy. That's not to mention the difficulty of using ppcs. I think I like lasers better.
Given the limited variables of mech construction it's impossible to make a completely unique build, this is even exacerbated by the fact that combat efficiency will limit your use of components even more... now your team-mate/opponent clearly thought he/she/it had a unique build and was annoyed to see someone with a similar build... not much you can do about it really...
it's not like you have time in a match to type the logical progression of your build.
Ledabot wrote: Smurfynet is famous in the MWO community now. I am liking the new layout too. I honestly thought that the new map was coming this patch though. Never mind.
My current stalker build is kinda spamy though. 5 large lasers, 3 streak2s and a TAG. Can't get much more spamy than that.
You easily can.
I've made a 6ppc stalker once.
I did the math, the thing is really unstable and overheats way to easy. That's not to mention the difficulty of using ppcs. I think I like lasers better.
Yep, it's hilarious to core heavies in a single alpha though.
Also, Avatar, might want to hold off on the 4X. It's slower then all the other phracts and it's only real use is direct fire support. The best I've done with it is. 4xAC5 build (chainfire for maximum shake) and my current 2x gauss 2xML 1xLRM5(will be changing that piece of crap, can't even go through AMS with it).
Problem is though, the biggest engine you can fit in it is a 255, giving it a top speed of 65 (WITH speed tweak, 59 without). This makes it slower then an Atlas. And knowing that phracts have horrible side torso hitboxes, putting an XL engine in it is a death sentence. The 4x is very much a one trick pony.
Soladrin wrote:Also, Avatar, might want to hold off on the 4X. It's slower then all the other phracts and it's only real use is direct fire support. The best I've done with it is. 4xAC5 build (chainfire for maximum shake) and my current 2x gauss 2xML 1xLRM5(will be changing that piece of crap, can't even go through AMS with it).
Don't you mean 4xAC2, or 2xUAC5? The arms would need one additional crit slot each to offer enough space, I think.
I'm currently toying around with an AC-stuffed 4X as well, just to take a bit of vacation from being roflpwned by ECM-Streakmandos and 3L cRavens. Only did three games last night, but I have to say having all that "ooomph" in the arms certainly was a nice feeling.
I've slotted a 250 Engine, TAG and LRM5 with Ferro-Fibrous and DHS (without actually using any heat sinks outside the engine). Seems like a good brawler so far, and the TAG might come in handy against ECM carriers. The LRM5 is, of course, more or less for the lulz - but hurling a bunch of missiles as you casually stomp towards the enemy has style, and damage is damage, even if it isn't much. Just have to be careful not to waste it on AMS, or only launch it when others in the team use LRMs as well.
By the way, anybody else seen the trailer for the Danielle Peterson Hero Mech? I still think it's goddamn ugly, but the music is truly "awesome", and I give bonus points for the dramatic eye zoom.
How could you call the pretty baby ugly! It's called the pretty baby for a reason
Its got some really good builds that thing. Was dropping the other day when it came out. The hardest part is saving for a 400XL so you can chase down poor slow ravens.
Splat cats aren't all that scary. faced a team with 6 splat cats and 2 ravens and we got taken down 3 times in brawls. Even working as a team, the build is beaten easy if you can take a range of mechs.
I fear nothing but steal rain. I have 5 med pulse and 2 srm 6+artemis and go 65 in my 5M and I know how to use it. Only getting caught out in the open and getting rained on will kill me quickly. I also have a 6 pulse and 4 streak F thats nasty as well if my guys take D-DC's.
I love my stalker build, a lot of my clan like it too as I'm a great support unit for atlas and the like.
About the only thing I really fear are Streak Missiles with their 100% to-hit chance, silly flight mechanics (making u-turns in close combat) and torso splash damage. Catapults boating them as well as COM-2D and RVN-3L using them in combination with ECM can shred me within seconds.
Back in CB, my nemesis was a properly piloted Hunchback or another Jenner on skirmish duty - now it's the Raven Scout.
Also, they've released a new map - Alpine Peak. 4 kilometers between base points. I believe it's a twelve player per team map. huge sight lines - this is where the scouts and LRM boats will shine.
Also, Machine Guns have gotten quite a boost as crit seeking weapons on non-armored areas
MGs were already good against unarmoured targets. The keyword there, however, is unarmoured, and pretty much any weapon is good against an unarmoured target.
Why take a weapon that you have to save until the late stage of the match when you can take another weapon you can use throughout? The bonus to crits hardly seems worth the effort of spending precious tonnage on a machine gun and ammo you might not even get to use.
Sgt_Scruffy wrote:Alpine Peak. 4 kilometers between base points. I believe it's a twelve player per team map.
Must ... get ... home ...
As for the MGs, it probably does not make them any more useful for small 'Mechs, but I could imagine there are a few Heavy or Assault builds who might have 1-2 Ballistics Hard Points and a few tons to spare. For them, it might be a neat addition to trigger towards the end of a duel.
I have also seen a number of Spiders with Dual MGs run (or rather: jump) around, though. I kinda doubt they were really effective, but their agility would surely enable them to get behind their target fast!
Kinda thinking that 50% of the people who field MGs just take them for the cool sound they make.
The Trebuchet is cool, but I'm excited for the Highlander too. How much you wanna bet that Rhonda Snord's pink Highlander is one of the hero mechs? I'd probably get one of those actually.
As long as collisions don't get abused again as it happened in the days shortly before it was taken out ...
It was just silly. Half the games you played in a Light you couldn't fight because some other Light would knock you over the moment they saw you. Being catapulted out of an exciting battle into forced inactivity as you watch your 'Mech slowly being ripped apart in 3rd person mode is not entertaining at all.
I'd like to see tonnage-dependent collisions, though. Have 'Mechs only get knocked down if they collide with a 'Mech of a heavier weight class, or maybe if someone jumps on top of you. Otherwise, both 'Mechs should just receive some collision damage and stumble a few meters into a random direction whilst retaining their original velocity, before the pilot is able to regain control over his machine.
By the way, just played Alpine for the first time.
Soooo good. You actually have to use some strategy here, and are almost tempted into splitting your team into lances just to cover more area.
True dat, but there's hills to hide behind if you advance carefully. At least I didn't catch too many hits in that first game. PPC-snipers in both teams had a field day, tho.
This is actually a map that rewards a balanced loadout (some short, some medium and some long range weapons) for once, like the 'Mechs have in the books and in their standard configuration.
I'm still limited to 270m in my Jenner, but I can move fast enough to flank or harass as needed. Or to prevent the enemy Scout from trying to cap. Pfshhh ... I'm almost tempted to suggest capping should not be possible on a map this large to allow for longer games with more planning and dispersal - but on the other hand, defending one's base is just another strategic challenge, and there's the possibility that the game could take too long if there's just one guy left and you cannot find him on this 4km² map.
Greetings Bros and/or Brahs, with Brahs being the feminine of Bros,
I finally starting playing this over the weekend. I joined the founders club in September and got a Catapult. I then played the game precisely once, for about 3 minutes, got killed, and said eh, I'll try this again later. Well, I guess now it's later. I got in about 4 hours.
It's really fun! It was not very fun the first time, but I had a blast over the weekend. I tried a few different builds - capping points in a Cicada, trying electronic warfare in a Raven - but I'm only really good at being a LRM boat in a Catapult (with Artemis, alternate weapons are medium lasers). My best game was 389 damage, 2 kills, and first place, but that was pretty unusual - I usually end a game in the middle of the board with around 150 damage done.
My other go-to build is a Catapult with 2x Gauss Cannons, Endo skeleton, and maxed armor (and a pair of medium lasers as a backup I think).
I just finished using up my Cadet bonus, but I haven't yet activated my premium time. Not 100% sure what premium gets you.
Good times.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, reading back over the last page - What's a splat cat? What's Steel Rain?
Nice to hear you got to have fun after all, Ouze. It's about time you joined in!
Also good that you picked a LRM-Catapult - I used to pilot one from time to time, and artillery support can be rather fun as well as productive, though it often depends on the map (cover) as well as the teams (escorts and TAG on your side, ECM on the other).
Don't worry about the damage numbers, they will go up in time.
For the time being, I've switched to a Centurion AL, with a PPC, two MedLas and 2xLRM5. It's a neat allrounder, and it can zombie thanks to the standard engine. Whilst I really dreaded those damn SSRM/ECM-Ravens in my Jenner, I feel safe and confident in the Cent. Larger components and more armour make a world of difference, not to mention that I'm not an automatic priority target for the enemy's Lights anymore.
And yeah, I can't wait to play again, maybe tonight after work. You're right about lights, I had a commando chase me down and circle-strafe me to death the other day. Even that was sort of enjoyable because although he got me, I felt like I had a chance the whole way, but in the end I just wasn't fast enough.
"Zombie" is an old BT term for a 'Mech that can take tremendous punishment but continue to function on the battlefield even without half its components. Losing both your arms? Not a problem. Somebody blew up your right/left torsos? Only makes you angrier.
In essence, a zombie is a BattleMech that will keep fighting until you blow off its head or center torso. Since the Centurion has two energy hardpoints in the center torso (I'm using two medium lasers here), it can continue to deal damage even in this reduced state.
Using a standard engine rather than XL means I had to sacrifice tonnage, but it has paid off in that I've been in several matches so far where I was essentially reduced to two walking lasers. And in one of these fights, I only had one leg!
It's mostly something done with Heavies or Assaults, I think, as the XL-Engine is such a neat tonnage-saver, but not as necessary in the higher weight categories where the increased risk (the larger engine expands into the left/right torso, so losing either means your 'Mech is out of action) outweighs its advantages. I've grown very attached to it on my Jenner, as it's almost a must-have for Lights.
Another term you'll probably hear a lot is "cored", referring to killing the enemy by blowing up his center torso. Similar to how "legged" refers to blowing off someone's leg.
Thanks for the explanations and the links, I've played the previous MW games but quite a bit of this is new to me, or at least in how it's been implemented.
Aye - from what I understand, MWO is the game "most true" to the Battletech TT rules so far, but there are a lot of things where it deviates from both the tabletop as well as earlier MechWarrior titles. Myself, I've only played MechCommander 1&2 so far. I think the only actual Mech game I ever played was ... uhh ... oh, yeah, Earthsiege. Wow, long time ago.
My new 'Mech, by the way. I really love the PPC sound. K-POW!
Ah yeah, I meant in terms of FPS. MegaMek is (from what I've heard) kind of like Vassal, isn't it?
I actually think about giving it a try - the tabletop sounds pretty fun; so much that I almost feel bad for not getting to know the franchise earlier. Once I started to delve into the material (which I only did due to MWO, as I always read up on the background for a faction I may join in an online game), I realised that the whole setting is kinda amazing. And oldschool. I like oldschool.
I also like how the Battletech owners actually lend a small bit of support and recognition to MegaMek, even if it's just granting it a dedicated section in their forum. A certain other company could take a leaf outta that book. *ahem*
Lynata wrote: Ah yeah, I meant in terms of FPS. MegaMek is (from what I've heard) kind of like Vassal, isn't it?
I actually think about giving it a try - the tabletop sounds pretty fun; so much that I almost feel bad for not getting to know the franchise earlier. Once I started to delve into the material (which I only did due to MWO, as I always read up on the background for a faction I may join in an online game), I realised that the whole setting is kinda amazing. And oldschool. I like oldschool.
Yes, megamek is much like Vassal. It's fairly complicated for first-time play so you'll want to find someone else to walk you through it. Not me, I barely know how to play it - I have a co-worker who is super into it.
I found the setting amazing, but the gameplay to be very, very dry.
Back to MWO - I had an awesome night. I played with my friend and we got up on vent, and went around tag teaming stuff. I went with my Ultra AC 5 Catapult, and he was rocking a Hunchback. I scored 3 kills, 587 damage - my best game ever. I was super excited.
Soladrin wrote: Had 7 kill 1476 dmg game with my stalker yesterday, it was glorious. 4 Large lasers, 2 medium lasers and 4 streak SRM2's is very effective.
It helped that for some reason people weren't targeting me that much.I was on one leg and one side torso by the end of it though.
Once every few weeks, when the stars are right, you may just have a ton of luck and an epic game. Oh, and Streaks are hilariously OP.
I had an awesome one last night as well. 720 damage with 3 kills and 4 assists. I'm still in my first week as a Medium, which is what makes it stand out even more in regards to my average performance (usually I do about 200-300 damage with 0-2 kills and 3-6 assists).
The map was Frozen City, and it started fairly normal. First kill was a Commando who tried to blast away at our formation. Shot him in the back with my Lord's Light PPC as he attempted to run back over the hills to his buddies. The second one was purely due to LRMs, where I was hanging back and opening up from my two Thunderstroke LRM-5 launchers in support of three teammates engaging an enemy Cataphract. Half his sections were already down on armour, so that was child's play and it was pure coincidence that I got the kill. The last one, however ...
It was a 2-on-2, with a Hunchback and an Atlas against my Centurion and an allied Raven. We took down the Hunchback first, as we managed to draw him away from the slow Atlas who tried to walk around the crashed Gazelle Dropship in the middle of the battlefield. The fight with the Atlas was long and bloody, as the two of us had a hard time knocking down its armour even with our numerical superiority. The fight slowly shifted towards the buildings near the enemy base, where we tried to circle the AS7-RS in an attempt to have him shift his attention back and forth between both of us, preventing him from focusing. Unfortunately, a bad hit separated the little Raven from its lasers. As he tried to pull back beyond 180m LRM range, the Atlas finished him off. Now only the two of us were left.
His right arm was already destroyed, and a quick glimpse to my display notified me of his left arm being damaged and lacking armour, so I took aim from behind a low building, only the upper half sticking out from cover. The large laser in his right arm swiveled severed my PPC, and I had already exhausted my low amount of LRMs earlier, leaving me with nothing but the two medium pulse lasers in the center torso. Determined to force the decision, I pulled the trigger. Yata! The twin spears of light zapped twice, thrice, four times, with the final blast burning a gaping hole into where the upper arm actuator was located. Something exploded, and the massive metal limb came off, leaving a smoking stump of wasted myomer and large cables hanging loose from the Atlas' shoulder. So much for the large laser. I began to move before I noticed that my Matabushi Sentinel targeting system listing all of the enemy's weapons in the red. The opponent was effectively disabled, having no operational armaments left. The patient blade strikes truest, indeed.
Moving closer for the kill, manoeuvering the Centurion around the building which had provided partial cover, I switched to an open channel and advised the enemy to eject. The Atlas turned to face me, its pilot apparently not having realised his situation. Another staccato of laser pulses followed, this time to his chest, causing some of its remaining armour to melt down in great steaming drops. Slowly, the behemoth turned to lumber away, leaving me with a slight grin as I had to imagine the other pilot desperately pulling the trigger without evoking any reaction from his machine's many weapon systems, now nothing but slag and salvage. By sheer mass alone, the Atlas managed to move about 200 meters, all the while having its rear torso slowly ripped apart by a continuous assault of my two Diverse Optics Type 20P pulse lasers, until the helpless giant could not take it anymore. Deadly spears of energy punching through its back and causing massive damage to its internals. Finally, the reactor containment failed and the engine blew out. Like one of the mighty trees in the forests surrounding Imperial City, the 100 ton Atlas seemed to take its time, only tilting slowly to the front before finally and with great sound crashing into the snow. The battle was won, and great honour was earned this day.
Spoiler:
... man, I almost pitied the other player. Took me about half a minute to put that poor Atlas down, all the while he could do nothing but slowly shuffle away with his 30, 40 kph.
IE I could run a Guass Cat and 1-2 hit kill people with Duel Guass. And could tank an Atlas and kill him before he got me down.
The only thing I've been able to 1-hit has been a light (Raven or Jenner, can't remember which) that ran around a corner in the middle of River City and took two direct Gauss Rifle shots to the cockpit. I suppose I've managed to 1-hit a mech on my other team, too, but he was probably heavily damaged, and decided that reversing into the line of fire of two Gauss Rifles was the best plan of escape.
The most prominent balance issue right now is Streak-SRMs, who wreak absolute havoc on Lights. Has to do with a patch at the end of November, which gave them a 100% hit chance and a damage increase.
In MWO, all missiles do splash damage - meaning they spread their damage across all components affected by the blast (3.5 meters for SRM and SSRM). Since all Lights have fairly small torso sections, this means it doesn't actually matter much whether it hits, say, your left torso or your right arm. You'll have about 4-5 components light up with every salvo that hits you, and it's a matter of mere seconds until one of your torso components blows up. Since 99% of all Lights use XL engines, this means sudden death.
ECM has made this a bit worse by basically limiting Streaks to the few chassis currently allowed to equip the Guardian-suite, as contrary to Battletech TT rules and tech canon, ECM jams missile lock in MWO.
Which is why the Light category is currently dominated by 3L Ravens - whose popularity was the reason I switched to a Centurion last weekend. I feel so much safer now.
Aside from that ... well, there's some people who complain about the 6xSRM6 Splatcat, but I think that's about it. Gauss rifles feel fairly balanced, at least I never had much of an issue with them so far. Might be worse for Heavies and Mediums who are a bit easier to hit, though.
But yeah, PGI is constantly tweaking things on the game. A recent patch made PPCs a bit better, for example, and they are currently trying to make MGs and Flamers a bit more viable by making them crit-seekers. The only thing where I feel they kinda dropped the ball is ECM/SSRM, given that the forum is being flooded with complaints from numerous players since weeks and it has become very obvious that the 3L has started to push other Lights into obscurity, and for what reason. Three months ago, they posted that they wanted to investigate Streak efficiency - no update so far.
Yeah, streaks are beasts. At the butt-end of a game a few days ago, it was a single beat-up commando packing streaks against a beat up Atlas(?) and a fully-functional Centurion.
Commando pulled our team's win out of his arse when he smacked-down the Atlas in a few salvos, and ran rings around the Centurion, with the streaks blasting him apart.
Gauss Rifles feel well balanced. They have a distinct sound, long reload, minimal ammo, and the weapons themselves deal the damage upon explosion, and are usually only able to be housed in unCASEable parts of the mech, like arms. The weapons are also hilariously brittle; once your armour goes, your rifle shouldn't be too far behind.
Unless the enemy mech ignores you and gives you unblocked LoS to his centre torso for about half a minute, you'reeither going to be left waiting for the chance to snipe his torso out, or hitting all manner of different parts of mech before being able to score hits on already damaged parts.
Gauss Rifles really come into their own against already engaged and/or damaged mechs, but against fresh ones, they're not really all that great; even Lights can shrug off several direct hits if they don't manage to land in the same places.
No, really - sadly the screenshot function, whilst part of the engine, is not enabled yet. Pressing Print will just shovel black nothingness into your cache.
But do not fear! Just download the MSI Afterburner - a free GPU utility that is primarily intended to allow graphics card management, but that also comes with a screenshot function you can bind to any key you like. Personally, I've put it to F12. Works like a charm. You just need to remember running it in the background if you want to capture images in any game or movie (or just set it to auto-start with your OS).
I have a 5S with 2 medium laser 4x LRM 20 still goes 50kp/h.
MY 4X can probably circle strafe it, and that's really saying something considering it goes just shy of 49kp/h.
Anywho, managed to scrape together enough for my 2nd Cata, and splashed out on the 1X. Currently running with AC/5 and 2 PPCs until I can afford Endo-Steel and Double Heatsinks, when I can probably drop the AC/5 for a Gauss Rifle.
I'd honestly say that it's a pretty bad design. It has zero versatility, is completely defenseless, is easily shut down by any ECM and is just plain boring. All you are going to be doing is sitting behind cover, waiting for the red circle and beep, listen to some launchy sounds, rince and repeat untill you win or get caught.
I'd honestly say that it's a pretty bad design. It has zero versatility, is completely defenseless, is easily shut down by any ECM and is just plain boring. All you are going to be doing is sitting behind cover, waiting for the red circle and beep, listen to some launchy sounds, rince and repeat untill you win or get caught.
I thought it, you said it.
1200 dmg is great but not as great as doing it brawling.
For me 600 dmg in a treb is much much more rewarding then 1200 in a lrm boat. It takes little to no skill to do high numbers with lrms, and is really boring.
We have a guy in our clan that has a stalker that goes 19 mph, and is constantly calling for back up and it seems to me that he is doing it wrong. 1 out of 10 he does really good with it. 9 out of 10 he screws us all by calling for back up and changing the flow of the battle. He is also the same guy that has a 10 flamer hunchie that takes it because flamers are cool......and does pretty much nothing every match.
Having run my 1X a few times, I can say I'm quite unimpressed. It might be better when I can replace the AC/5 with a Gauss Rifle, but right now I'm not really able to do enough.
I'm crap at using hotkeys, so as a consequence I've had to bind both PPCs to my RMB, and the AC/5 to my LMB, which means every time I fire the PPCs I get a ton of heat coming my way, but even trying to fire the PPCs seperately to keep the heat low, I'm reaching dangerous levels of it whenever I actually want to cause damage.
random matchmaking is starting to tick me off. constantly have lights go PUGing into the entire formation of enemies because they think possessing a Raven 3L makes them invincible.
I guess I need to get a microphone and figure out how to use teamspeak.
Sgt_Scruffy wrote: random matchmaking is starting to tick me off. constantly have lights go PUGing into the entire formation of enemies because they think possessing a Raven 3L makes them invincible.
I guess I need to get a microphone and figure out how to use teamspeak.
Mhm, random matchmaking feels more like Catapults, the game. All 50% of almost every game is K2's and A1's.
Sgt_Scruffy wrote: random matchmaking is starting to tick me off. constantly have lights go PUGing into the entire formation of enemies because they think possessing a Raven 3L makes them invincible.
I guess I need to get a microphone and figure out how to use teamspeak.
Mhm, random matchmaking feels more like Catapults, the game. All 50% of almost every game is K2's and A1's.
Oh I agree. I'm going to start dropping with a team soon. Never done that.
It's the Flavour-of-the-Month players. Some people just aren't comfortable if they do not pilot the most cheesy, effective and if possible broken build MWO has to offer, it seems.
The last couple weeks it used to be 3L's with ECM+Streak roflpwning any other Light. Now that the majority of non-3L Lights have either switched to playing 3L's themselves, or to another weight class, it may not be as "fun" anymore. SSRMs are way less effective against Mediums upwards than they are against Lights.
I guess the A1-Catapult is the next best things because you can boat SRMs like no other 'Mech in the game, and a full salvo of those can take down even an Atlas in a few seconds. So don't get too close to one of these or they'll rip you apart!
On the plus side, I find nothing more enjoyable than hunting down these buggers and picking off their launchers from afar. A Splatcat that has lost both its "ears" and helplessly tries to get away from the fight evokes eerily sadistic feelings in my gut.
That's their one weakness - all their weapon hardpoints are in the big boxes on either side of their head. They take quite a bit of damage to blow off, but once they're gone, he has nothing left. Not even a small laser. Nada. Nichts. Rien.
Also, team drops ftw. If any of you fight for one of the Successor Houses, go check on the MWO forums if they have a community hub and a public Teamspeak server where people can join in for ad-hoc games. Had some nice games in the past two days with a lance of fellow samurai from House Kurita.
Although I agree that the Stalker that I've been using has some flaws (god it's slow), it actually performs quite well. The major flaw is a group with ECM that stays within ECM.
Otherwise, most things die before they get to me (part of that is because I'm so far behind the lines even at max speed).
Another fun one I've been running:
Flame with 3x ER-PPC and a 300XL
i did build that stalker. I did OK with it, but god, it's so slow. I do very poorly on city maps with it. it seems that commandos have a sixth sense about where I am and they come and get me.
I swapped out the medium lasers for TAG and Streak SRM's, but they don't seem to do enough damage to be effective.
I'll probably go back to my founder catapult. It felt more like a good all-arounder. I also enjoy the Gauss Cat quite a bit.
I've been trudging through the Catapult tree for a while now after my foray into assault mechs and I've got to say that I think the hype of splatapults is pretty overrated. Alpine has done a lot to cut their popularity and I regularly do more damage or get more kills with a more sane C1/C4.
Right now I've been using A Cat C1 with 4 MPLAS and two LRM15+Artemis. Having a great time with it although I may go back to two large lasers and a tag instead.
The A1 SplatCat is situationally deadly, no doubt. The C1/C4 though is just so damn consistent.
The C1 is just a magnificent machine. Toss in some endo for the Artemis and some spare ammo, and you have a mech that is comfortable engaging in a long duel with anyone. Add dbl heat sinks, and it will never overheat
Sgt_Scruffy wrote:The A1 SplatCat is situationally deadly, no doubt. The C1/C4 though is just so damn consistent.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think the rage is the result of situations where people were surprised, for under such circumstances the Splatcat generally does not offer any chance to rectify the mistake, which is very different from the normal combat situations where you can still try to get away as they last longer than a second. With 6xSRM6, it's literally you going around the corner and BOOM, destroyed - at least in a Light or Medium.
Catch it in a different situation, say, on long range like in Alpine, and it's very different. It's a one trick pony, so to say, but I can understand the frustration it evokes. It's like having a single card in a card game that automatically declares whoever gets it the winner, and calling it fair because it's just one card in the deck and it may not be drawn. Whilst being true, it still sucks for the losers when it happens, as they were expecting "more" from the game.
Just finished the elite portion of the my three catapults. I was dreading slogging through the A1, but surprisingly, if you think outside the box, it's A TON of fun.
I finally decided to go with 3 LRM10s and 3 SRM6s all with artemis. The "sweet spot" for this mech is in the 250-300 meter range. It's too far away to get quickly whittled down by the MLAS boats, but too close for them to find cover. the trick when being chased is to use your insane torso twist to keep the lock on.
Versatile and useful at all ranges. just pray a 3L doesn't find you. It helps that you can do just over 70 kph and run for team mates.
I find that most LRM mechs tend to stay too far away from the action. Not only are lots of their missile wasted due to losing lock or cover, but they are isolated and get picked off by jenners/ravens/trebs.
Sgt_Scruffy wrote:The A1 SplatCat is situationally deadly, no doubt. The C1/C4 though is just so damn consistent.
Oh yeah, absolutely. I think the rage is the result of situations where people were surprised, for under such circumstances the Splatcat generally does not offer any chance to rectify the mistake, which is very different from the normal combat situations where you can still try to get away as they last longer than a second. With 6xSRM6, it's literally you going around the corner and BOOM, destroyed - at least in a Light or Medium.
Catch it in a different situation, say, on long range like in Alpine, and it's very different. It's a one trick pony, so to say, but I can understand the frustration it evokes. It's like having a single card in a card game that automatically declares whoever gets it the winner, and calling it fair because it's just one card in the deck and it may not be drawn. Whilst being true, it still sucks for the losers when it happens, as they were expecting "more" from the game.
Yeah, running into a splatpult in a back alley will ruin your day. it is a good ambusher no doubt. Thank god, it doesn't have ECM.
The Cat has insane torso twist for sure - it can almost look right behind it!
Fortunately, this also means that they have to take more time to turn the other way around when you manage to slip past the point of no return. Skilled Light pilots can exploit this, though it's hard to to, especially against skilled Cat pilots who are adept at using their BattleMech's feet in reaction manoeuvers.
By the way, currently watching the old Battletech cartoon. Classy stuff. Did you know that all episodes are available on youtube?
No doubt! From the rumours I've heard, the series was ultimately shut down because they could not afford a second series as the CGI was too expensive.
Bummer. :(
Somebody should revitalise it. Still, it was a surprise when I found out they got even this, given that 40k barely managed to put out a short direct-to-DVD movie.
Current Battletech canon actually gives a respectful nod to this old series by rendering the entire cartoon an in-universe holovid show and FedCom propaganda. A rather clever solution to address some continuity issues, I must say.
"The legend of Adam Steiner - serialized for FedCom citizens in a holo adventure series soon after the Tukkayyid victory - tells that then-Kommandant Adam Steiner formed an ad hoc independent force called the First Somerset Strikers upon learning of Somerset's fall to strange invaders from beyond the Periphery. The legend goes on to describe how, world by world, Kommandant Steiner and his Strikers battled the forces of Clan Jade Falcon, eventually liberating Somerset after a private duel against his nemesis, Star Colonel Nikolai Malthus of the Falcon Guards Cluster.
While many of the basic events of the legend did happen in reality, their impact was massively overstated in the public media. [...]" - BT Era Report : 3052
I managed to scrape together enough CBills for endo-steel, DHS and Ferro-Fibrous (because I could), and I quite like the Gauss + Dual PPC build I've got going in my 1X right now.
It's got a higher alpha than my Gaussphract, the DHS and lack of Gauss heat means I get a good number of PPC shots off before I even begin to start heating up, I don't have to feed the PPCs ammo, and I can even CASE the Gauss Rifle, so no more blowing myself up.
The only downside is that I've found the best way to have the weapons is the Gauss Rifle in the only ballistic slot (right torso) and the dual PPCs in the right arm, because it's the only place with 2 energy hardpoints. It means that my right side gets targeted a lot more, but it gives me a greater chance of all 3 shots landing on the same facing, whereas before, at least one of the PPC shots had a goodly chance of hitting a different facing or even firing just wide.
But aside from that, she's a powerful thing. I've got far more kills and damage done in the matches I've used her in than I did with my 4X, and she's a lot faster than my 4X, too.
Until I get get hold of some ERPPCs I will still be wary of fighting up close, but it's a risk I have to take, really.
EDIT: It's also quite boring playing it alone. I need someone else to blame for when it all goes wrong.
Hmmm, the consumables could come close to making it P2W unless the MC costs are as inflated as they currently are. I'm not exactly sure how much an air/artillery strike could do, or if the teams get a warning about an inbound strike, but all it needs is someone in a light mech to run up to the enemy team early on and let loose a strike.
Coolant injectors I'm not sure about; they make sense, but I'm not convinced that allowing that 6 PPC stalker to ignore (or at least offset) his heat penalty will be a good way of going about things.
Public stats I'm not fussed about so long as they make it opt-in as opposed to opt-out or permanent.
Releasing yet another large map when Alpine Peaks is already too big is just silly imho.
Everything else seems alright, especially the training ground. Letting newbies learn things at their own pace is a better way than throwing them in at the deep end; I know that when I first started we might as well have been a man down for all the good I was doing, so it should help balance matches slightly.
Coolant has been in mech games for a long time. That I know. You don;t have to worry too much about stalkers, they only have 1 mod before master. The other big map was in development before alpine was. If anything, it should be in game and alpine removed.
I welcome any new content. These guys do a good job and see the advantages of a happy fanbase. I don't see them stuffing things up too much.
Still, not sure if want. Yeah, we can buy them for c-bills too, but I have a general aversion against "consumables" of any kind, and without doubt the Coolant Flush in particular will greatly increase a 'Mech's performance for a short amount of time - potentially the time it is engaging you - and nudges the balance of the encounter slightly away from skill and towards preparation/resources. I guess we'll see how it works out.
Can't wait to see the new map, however. I really love Alpine especially because it is so huge, so another large map is exactly what I'm hoping for to see more of.
The Training Grounds sound interesting, too, although I would wish you could enter them with another pilot in a team to train stuff together or act as instructor for someone new. Or even just to make silly videos like you occasionally see on youtube, without the requirement of synch drops.
Lastly, I'm also curious about the new cockpit items and camo schemes. I'm hoping that the latter will include at least one "traditional" stripe pattern rather than a true camo paintjob or some weird art. Right now, when it comes to "classic heraldry", all we have is the default pattern and the still-exclusive-and-thus-unavailable-to-most-players PC Gamer skin.
1.) My favorite build is probably my founder mech, and it's got nothing to do with the c-bill boost: it's got 2x LRM13's and 4x medium lasers. I found this is ideal for almost anything other then dueling Commadoes, and in a pinch I can fend them off.
2.) AMS is godly. I have a few builds without it but I definitely feel the lack of it.
3.) Capturing points is horribly broken. I went out as a Raven and capped points all game once. I must have capped 8 points. My reward for that was being dead last on the leaderboard. Lame.
4.) I tried building a Splatcat as well, and it's kind of harder then I expected from what I read on the forums. I haven't finish the build, so I have 6x SRMs, Endo-Steel, and double heat sinks. I haven't yet gotten a larger engine (and I'm not sure which to get, XL315? What's the benefit?). It seems I consistently get Alpine Peaks when I'm in this chassis, sigh. Also, a single volley takes me to like 45% heat. I must be doing something wrong.
Why would you get an XL-Engine? Sure, you'll be a bit faster and have more free tonnage, but the true limiter is crit space - plus, you don't really need to be that fast as a Splatcat (given that they're pretty much ambushers rather than pursuers). The XL will only make you more vulnerable, as your side torsos will catch a lot of attention from those people who try to shoot off your ears.
I shouldn't actually support this, but it's still better than the 3L. Plus, maybe the devs will fix boating some day the more rage such builds produce on MWO's forums.
Ouze wrote:it's got 2x LRM13's
Dude, you got cheated by the sales rep!
But yeah, your fav sounds good. No cheese and nice support potential. Personally, I really like having some artillery at my back - if it's my own team, that is.
I wasn't sure about the engine at all. If it's a bad idea, I'll skip it.
I know the splat cat is lame, but I need to max out basics on 3 cats anyway, as that's my preferred chassis. I picked it back in September 12, before all these build shenanigans started - I just like the way it looks.
I'm not an expert when it comes to heavies, but I think the general opinion is that XLs are only really worth it if you drive a fast 'Mech that will catch fewer shots. I am using a standard engine in my relatively fast (90 kph) Centurion and I have survived a lot longer - there were several games where my 'Mech was nothing but legs, center torso and head. And I still managed to dish out kills thanks to CT pulse lasers!
Maybe give it a try and take note of how often your right/left torsos blow up right now - that's the point where it would be game over for you if you'd use an XL engine. Then, keep in mind what you still managed to achieve that. This way you should get a good idea of how much an XL would really help.
You could also try to do 6xLRM5, just for the "katyusha" style launch sequence. It looks really cool. Or mix it up with 4 LRM10/15 and 2xSRM6/SSRM2, just so you have some close quarters defense.
The Splatcat is about pure efficiency - if you really care about K/D ratio and/or want to troll other pilots instead of "just" having some normal fun in a challenging game. You don't need 6xSRM just to level the chassis, 's all I'm saying.
I only see your link to the Creative Director Update (which did not include as much detail as the recent posts) and an assumption that Coolant Flush will be fine. What did I miss?
I must say, I love the new stats they offer. It really lets me know how accurate I am- I'm shocked at how bad I am with LRMS. I need to switch to a good PPC boat, at least according to the stats. I like that trial Commando too.
A jenner and I knocked out a stalker and a cat in Alpine when they got too far behind their force, then capped their base. Everyone else on our team died, but we still won because they couldn't reach us in time. Kills feel so much more epic when your opponent is 4 times your size.
Soladrin wrote: Kills also feel really epic when it's 3 lights in the span of a minute. (happened yesterday now that I finished my light hunter cataphract)
What weapons does it take to hunt lights? My hunchback absolutely despises the little things. I upped the engine, but still can't seem to stick enough damage on them to stop them. I've been thinking of trying to ram 2 LB-10xs in and just blasting their general area... but I am prone to brute force solutions.
Essentialy I'm a walking shotgun with some lasers, the LBX-10 while obviously not as accurate as an AC 10 due to firing a spread of pellets is extremely effective against lights because well.. You don't need to hit them that much. Same story with the SRM6's. Having the SRM's on an arm makes them extremely versatile too when you're in a circle strafing battle. And with the improved laser hit detection those work really well too now.
I don't know what happened exactly, but I'm doing way better in the last few games. Last few rounds with my stalker, I just was dropping mechs like crazy in the middle distance. I had like 755 damage, which is super high for me.
Not sure if it's a patch difference,or if it's because I've been playing so much I just got better.
Also, that awkward feeling when you saved up enough for Artemis, join a match, get excited because it's Alpine Peaks and you're in a missle boat, and then realize that you neglected to buy Artemis-enabled ammunition, so your only weapon is a single SRM2.
Soladrin wrote:If they don't have ECM, streaks will do it.
Which unfortunately means they're wasted tonnage 50% of the time.
As far as missiles go, I'd recommend SRM6 and relying on the spread. As long as just 1/3 of the payload hits, you've got equal damage. The downside is higher ammunition consumption, but on the upside it also means you can do much more damage against slower/bigger targets. Hunchies can also be dangerous laserboats tho.
Paint_To_Redemption wrote:LOL... that should have been Pater Mors haha.
Better.
Ouze wrote:Not sure if it's a patch difference,or if it's because I've been playing so much I just got better.
Prolly a bit of both? I noticed some people QQ'ing about higher damage from LRMs, but I'm not sure yet whether there's something to it or if it's just the usual tinfoil conspiracies.
Ouze wrote:Also, that awkward feeling when you saved up enough for Artemis, join a match, get excited because it's Alpine Peaks and you're in a missle boat, and then realize that you neglected to buy Artemis-enabled ammunition, so your only weapon is a single SRM2.
How did it work out the other times? I've heard Artemis missiles now have that unique "helix" flight pattern they've been teasing on youtube.
I've heard artemis more effectively targets center torso. If you've been having a good time with LRMs and you have Artemis, that may be it. Also, I've noticed ALOT more TAG in game as the player base matures.
Talk on the forums has it that it's less a matter of where the missiles lock on, but that the new flight pattern has tightened the spreading so much that they pretty much hit all now - one-shotting Lights and stuff.
Too early for me to confirm anything myself tho - the one thing that keeps bugging me is the ECM/Streak controversy.
Something from the new patch I really don't like are those horrible new laser recharge sounds, though - and the huge CAPTURE FIELD HERE markers that keep boxing my immersion in the gut.
Lrms definitely feel more beefy. I've quite enjoyed altering my Hunchback into a Quad large laser machine. I was inspired by the deadly ridiculous XLswayback- which packs 7 LL into the chassis, and can manage maybe one alpha before overheating.
I'm doing mine with the J and SP, with twin LL in each arm at the expense of secondary weaponry. It makes for very exciting matches!
I am truly excited to welcome you to this patch for 5 good reasons:
#1 - The Jagermech: Ballistics fans, this is your BattleMech! BOOM! BOOM! DAKKA! DAKKA! It’s seriously fun. I’m going to buy them all and paint them Desert Tan for reason #2.
#2 - Tourmaline Desert: You're going to love this map. It looks amazing and plays even better! It’s perfect for the Jagermech I just bought.
#3 - New Controls: Gas pedal? Check! Arm Lock? Check! Centre Legs to Torso? Check! Improved joystick controls? Check. Changing all these options in game? Priceless! (Test them out in the Testing Grounds!)
#4 - Consumables System and Cool Shot: Do you ever find yourself running hot? Is override not going to get the job done without BBQing your internals? Try using the brand new Cool Shot on your BattleMech and you just might survive to fight another day.
#5 - New Customizations: We’ve added the Vagabond pattern and some new BattleMech statues for your cockpit. What better way to show the Jagermech you just bought that you love it than a new paint job and some decorations?
Did I mention that we also increased the server count for the new map we just added? See you in the desert, my friends.
Matt Newman.
Content
JagerMech
JagerMech JM6-DD
- Tonnage: 65
- Engine: 260 XL
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 315
- Armor: 232 (Ferro-Fibrous)
- Torso Movement:
- 110 degrees to each side
- 20 degrees up and down
- Arm Movement:
- 0 degrees to each side
- 35 degrees up and down
- Weapons & Equipment:
- Left Arm: Ultra AC/5, AC/2
- Left Torso: Medium Pulse Laser, CASE
- Right Torso: Medium Pulse Laser, CASE
- Right Arm: Ultra AC/5, AC/2
- Internal Structure: Standard
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 3 Ballistic
- Left Torso: 1 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 1 Energy
- Right Arm: 3 Ballistic
- Heat Sinks: 10 Single
- Jump Jets: n/a
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
JagerMech JM6-A
- Tonnage: 65
- Engine: 260
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 315
- Armor: 256 (Standard)
- Torso Movement:
- 90 degrees to each side
- 20 degrees up and down
- Arm Movement:
- 0 degrees to each side
- 35 degrees up and down
- Weapons & Equipment:
- Left Arm: LRM 15, AC/2
- Left Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Arm: LRM 15, AC/2
- Internal Structure: Standard
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 1 Ballistic, 2 Missile
- Left Torso: 1 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 1 Energy
- Right Arm: 1 Ballistic, 2 Missile
- Heat Sinks: 10 Single
- Jump Jets: n/a
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
JagerMech JM6-S
- Tonnage: 65
- Engine: 260
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 315
- Torso Movement:
- 110 degrees to each side
- 20 degrees up and down
- Armor: 192 (Standard)
- Arm Movement:
- 0 degrees to each side
- 35 degrees up and down
- Weapons & Equipment:
- Left Arm: AC/5, AC/2
- Left Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Arm: AC/5, AC/2
- Internal Structure: Standard
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 2 Ballistic
- Left Torso: 2 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 2 Energy
- Right Arm: 2 Ballistic
- Heat Sinks: 10 Single
- Jump Jets: n/a
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
Tourmaline Desert
The Tourmaline Desert is found on a small sun-baked planetoid in a binary star system. The bedrock is largely granite covered, with a thin layer of schist and sporadic veins of liquid sodium. The most striking features, however, are the endless, towering outcrops of massive tourmaline crystals that reach up against a scarlet nebula. The mean temperature is ~97°C, with an atmosphere comprised mainly of carbon dioxide with trace amounts of methane, ammonia, sodium and water vapour.
The planetoid is located along a strategic corridor, and has therefore seen many battles over the past centuries. In some circles it is known as ‘The Boneyard’ as its surface is littered with the carcasses of abandoned BattleMechs and wrecked dropships. A derelict 52000 ton Mammoth class cargo carrier dropship can be found half-buried in the middle of the desert with its bones jutting out into the sky. Slowly being consumed by the desert’s blowing sand, the last two centuries have left it sand-blasted and corroded.
BattleMech warriors will have a challenging fight ahead of them. Heat management will be a huge priority, and steep walled craters may pen them in for easy pickings. The giant tourmaline crystals will offer some protection from missile barrages, but the long corridors and accessible peaks will make any BattleMech vulnerable to sniper fire.
New Consumables Modules
- General Notes:
- Consumable modules cannot be sold back to the store.
- Cool Shot is activated by pressing Delete (when a cool shot module is equipped).
- If more than one type of cool shot module is equipped, the first press of Delete will activate the Cool Shot 6.
- The second press will activate Cool Shot 9 or Cool Shot 9 by 9 or Cool Shot 18 (whichever is equipped).
- If the player shuts down while coolant flushing, the flush pauses and any remaining flush automatically resumes after powering up.
- If a consumable module is not used during a match, it is not consumed and remains on the BattleMech
- Cool Shot 6
- Only one of these can be equipped on a BattleMech at a time.
- Consumed upon use.
- Costs 10,000 CBills.
- When used, it removes 6 heat per second, for 1 second, from your BattleMech(in addition to the standard heat loss from your heat sinks).
- This is equivalent to the cooling provided by 60 single heat sinks.
- Cool Shot 9
- Only one of these can be equipped on a BattleMech at a time.
- Cannot be equipped on a BattleMech that has a Cool Shot 18 equipped.
- Consumed upon use.
- Costs 40,000 CBills.
- When used, it removes 9 heat per second, for 1 second, from your BattleMech(in addition to the standard heat loss from your heat sinks).
- This is equivalent to the cooling provided by 90 single heat sinks.
- Cool Shot 18
- Only one of these can be equipped on a BattleMech at a time.
- Cannot be equipped on a BattleMech that has a Cool Shot 9 equipped.
- Consumed upon use.
- Costs 15 MC.
- When used, it removes 18 heat per second, for 1 second, from your BattleMech(in addition to the standard heat loss from your heat sinks).
- This is equivalent to the cooling provided by 180 single heat sinks.
New Modules
- Cool Boost
- Costs 15,000 GXP.
- When bought, automatically increases the cooling provided by every cool shot by 20%.
- Does not need to be equipped to a BattleMech.
- Cool Shot 9 by 9
- Costs 15,000 GXP.
- When bought, automatically upgrades all Cool Shot 9 modules into Cool Shot 9 by 9 modules.
- Cool Shot 9 by 9 modules removed 18 heat per second for 1 second.
- All other stats/costs/restrictions are the same as Cool Shot 9.
- Added Arm Lock gameplay option (ON by default):
- When Arm Lock is enabled, the arm reticule is fixed to the torso crosshairs and moves at the same rate as the torso.
- Added Throttle Decay gameplay option (ON by default). When Throttle Decay is enabled:
- Gameplay options can be enabled/disabled on the fly from the new in-game Options Screen.
- Pressing the ‘W’ key will sets the throttle to 100%.
- Pressing the ‘S’ key will sets the throttle to -100%.
- Releasing the ‘W’ and ‘S’ key sets the throttle to 0.
- Keyboard users can now use the NumPad to directly control throttle (using the 0-9, +, -, and . keys).
- New Bind: “F" - centers Feet to Torso.
- New Bind: “Shift” - toggles Arm Lock while held.
- Analog turn support for joysticks.
In-game Options
- The Video, Game, and Control settings are accessible via the in-game pause menu.
Catapult Variant Quirks
- The CPLT-A1, CPLT-C1, and CPLT-C4 have had their torso twist angle reduced from 140 to 120.
- The CPLT-A1, CPLT-C1, and CPLT-C4 have had their arm pitch angle reduced from 45 to 35.
- The CPLT-K2 has had its torso twist angle reduced from 140 to 110.
Raven Hitbox Adjustment
- The hitbox complexity of the Raven has been reduced.
- This will result in the Raven being hit much easier and brings it on par with it's light counterparts.
Bug Fixes
Gameplay
- When a user is killed with jump jets on, the jump jets will now turn off properly.
- SRMs will no longer set off the "INCOMING MISSILES" warning.
- Fixed an issue where firing SRMs at close range at an enemy BattleMech's leg does little to no damage.
Mech
- Added in the laser caps that were missing from the CPLT-K2's center torso.
- The machine guns on the CPLT-K2's side torsos will disappear when the user removes them.
- Autocannons and Gauss Rifles are now represented with the appropriate meshes on the CPLT-K2.
Options
- Fixed a key binding corruption issue that could occur when switching between user accounts.
- Resolved an issue where the native resolution of the user’s current desktop was not available in the in-game list.
- Fixed the Invert Throttle bind so it actually flips the current throttle value.
- Improved the Action Map binding mechanics.
- Ensured that the user’s custom key bindings are always preserved when controls with new defaults are added.
- The default system specifications are now properly restored when they are reset.
Mechlab
- Disable scene lighting when the user is viewing the cockpit during customization to reduce saturation.
We thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!
I'm quite enjoying this patch. I'm hunting Jagermechs in my Hunches. No kills yet, but I did shoot a Jager's guns off with my 4g. I love AC20 w/ paired MGs.
Aww and here was I thinking... Now the time has come to reunite with my dakka brethran now that out dakka mech has come! and here you guys are talking about shooting our mesiahmech... the holy dakka... the pope on a pair of AC20's.. ETC
It looks like damage has been vastly increased all across the board. I think they broke armor in the patch.
The Jagermech is a deathtrap, my friend says (he plays MWO constantly, has a few of every mech, etc). The hitbox for the cockpit is both enormous, and dead center in the middle of the chest. He thinks it's likely to have the hitbox substantially reduced in some future patch, as the Atlas was.
Also, the new map is a got-damn sniper's dee-light, as Lt. Aldo Raine would say. Lots of cover that's only about 25 feet high, just enough to hide you from gauss but you can shoot missiles indirect over it. If you thought LRM's were OP before, man this map will convince you they are outright broken.
Turning on arm lock and acceleration decay by default is awful wtf of them, I must say.
LoL, well in all fairness, if the Jager's the Pope, then the 4g is a servant of the Anti-pope, that spider with 4 ballistic slots. The 4g's the lightest thing that can rock 3 autocannons, though I much prefer the AC20 and sidecar MGs for crit work.
The Jager is just like it's tabletop version- it brings a ton of pain if it can remain unmolested. I just happen to hate it and it's paper thin armor, and will charge past Cataphracts trying to brawl me to get at it.
The cockpit looks awesome though, it feels like you're squatting in a bunker gunning down mechs running at you.
Includes a dev response and a planned hotfix. As per this thread it may be that LRMs are affected as well - which would make sense, as all missiles use splash damage.
Explains a lot about the trouble I had when facing 3L Streak-Ravens in my Jenner ... which I suppose I will pull out of the garage once again once the April 2nd patch hits. Together with the Raven's recently adjusted hitboxes, other Lights may just become viable again now.
Let's see how you fare after the April patch, Mars.
But in all honesty, I like the new patch as well. The stuff that is broken was already broken before, so there's nothing that is worse than before, only better (such as the Raven hitbox fix). And the new map is looking goooood.
Bit sceptical about the consumables tho. I dislike consumables on principle, regardless of the game... although I'll likely play around a bit with bombing runs once they get implemented.
I'll be substantially less godly, I imagine. Although I have a laser stalker build I like as well - it's harder to score on it, but it feels more satisfying when I do.
I also like the new map a great deal. It's got something for everyone imo.
Also, I killed a Raven last game - I think for the first time.
I recon the only way I won't have a problem with third party views is if doing so lost you your radar and other Hud features, you wanna see what is behind you... You should lose something to balance that...... but I would like to be able to see my beautiful mechs
Yeah, we absolutely needed the nerf... my HBK-4J was knocking out one or two assaults every match just with 2x LRM 10s. I am not good enough to deserve those results.
It seemed much better after the patch. I feel like LRMs act as armor reduction now, which I can absolutely work with.
Automatically Appended Next Post: According to the PAX video, there can be only one!
Highlander hero, apparently styled after Rhonda Snord's pink, Elvis blasting Highlander is coming.
Let them cry. It wont change the world. I find that accuracy is much harder in third person, but when just walking, its nice to be able to see around you.
Yesterday was April Fool's day but these patch notes are no joke!
First is our Hero BattleMech Heavy Metal! Yes this 'Mech is pink and does really play music when you get a kill! This is the first time we have released the Hero Mech before the base variants (coming April 16th). Don't let the color stop you from buying it, though, we will eventually add changing Hero 'Mech colors.
Next we have added air-strike and artillery consumables. I think Conquest mode just got more interesting! Here is a pro tip: Use them for when a light is capping your base on Alpine and save yourself a walk back to your spawn!
New Thermal and Night Vision modes are in! They look amazing and are balanced for game play! No more BlueWarrior for you!
We also have cool new digital camo patterns for your 'Mech and more 'Mech Statues for your cockpit! Keep reading for other fixes and tweaks!
See you on the battlefield!
Matt Newman
Important Known Issue
During testing we ran into a crash issue that only occurred using Nvidia 311.xx drivers, drivers before 311 tested fine as did drivers after 311. The 311 drivers have since been removed from the Nvidia website. If you are using 311.xx drivers YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR DRIVERS failure to do so will likely result in a low frequency (3 out of 10 games from our tests) crash when playing the game.
Content
New Hero Mech
“Heavy Metal” HGN-HM
Highlander HGN-HM
Tonnage: 90
Engine: 275 XL Top Speed: 49.5 kph
Max Engine Rating: 330
Torso Movement:
90 degrees to each side
20 degrees up and down
Arm Movement:
20 degrees to each side
30 degrees up and down
Armor: 544 (Standard)
Weapons & Equipment:
Left Arm: 3 Medium Lasers
Left Torso: LRM 20, SRM 6
Right Arm: Gauss Rifle
Internal Structure: Standard
Hardpoints:
Left Arm: 3 Energy
Left Torso: 2 Missile, 1 AMS
Right Arm: 2 Ballistic
New Consumable Modules:
Each team has a separate global cooldown timer governing their use of artillery and air strikes
No one can activate an artillery or air strike while their team's cooldown timer is counting down
At the start of the match, each team's cooldown timer counts down 60 seconds
When a player activates an artillery or air strike, his team's cooldown timer starts to count down for 10 seconds
Artillery Strike
Automatically unlocked
40,000 C-Bills
Calls in a barrage of long range artillery.
Press [Home] to target the area under your crosshairs with an artillery strike.
After a 5 second delay, 6 shells drop into a 50 m radius around the targeted area. Each shell does 10 points of damage.
Consumed on use.
Cannot be equipped to a Mech that already contains an Artillery Strike, Improved Artillery Strike, or Priority Artillery Strike module.
Upgradable to Improved Artillery Strike.
Priority Artillery Strike
Automatically unlocked
15 MC Calls in a barrage of long range artillery.
Press [Home] to target the area under your crosshairs with an artillery strike.
After a 4 second delay, 10 shells drop into a 50 m radius around the targeted area. Each shell does 10 points of damage.
Consumed on use.
Cannot be equipped to a Mech that already contains an Artillery Strike, Improved Artillery Strike, or Priority Artillery Strike module.
Air Strike
Automatically unlocked
40,000 C-Bills
Calls in a fighter air strike on a targeted zone.
Press [End] to target the area under your crosshairs with an air strike.
After a 5 second delay, 6 bombs drop along a 100 m strip, starting at the targeted area and moving away from your location when you activated the strike. Each bomb does 10 points of damage.
Consumed on use.
Cannot be equipped to a Mech that already contains an Air Strike, Improved Air Strike, or Priority Air Strike module.
Upgradable to Improved Air Strike
Priority Air Strike
Automatically unlocked
15 MC Calls in a fighter air strike on a targeted zone.
Press [End] to target the area under your crosshairs with an air strike.
After a 4 second delay, 10 bombs drop along a 100 m strip, starting at the targeted area and moving away from your location when you activated the strike. Each bomb does 10 points of damage.
Consumed on use.
Cannot be equipped to a Mech that already contains an Air Strike, Improved Air Strike, or Priority Air Strike module.
New Support Modules:
Air Strike Accuracy
5,000 GXP to unlock
4,000,000 C-Bills
Decreases the radius of the targeted area by 20%.
Artillery Accuracy
5,000 GXP to unlock
4,000,000 C-Bills
Decreases the length of the bombardment zone by 20%.
New Consumable Module Upgrades:
Improved Artillery Strike
15,000 GXP to unlock
Upgrades the Artillery Strike module.
Increases artillery shell count by 4, and decreases flight time by 1 second.
Does not need to be equipped to a BattleMech.
Improved Air Strike
15,000 GXP to unlock
Upgrades the Air Strike module.
Increases air strike bomb count by 4, and decreases flight time by 1 second.
Does not need to be equipped to a BattleMech.
Notable Enviornment Changes:
Changed HDR eye adpatation numbers to reduce amount of HDR blooming, and speed the recovery rate.
Tweaked lighting in all levels to minimize lighting differences due to HDR eyeadaptation changes.
Extended LOD distances in River City on many large buildings.
Reduced strength of parallax occlusion mapping on some snow terrain textures to help reduce "crawling" terrain textures.
Gameplay
New Night and Thermal vision modes
Thermal vision is now "white hot" and is restricted to normal view distances. i.e. Players can no longer use thermal to view long distances.
Night Vision is now monochrome green and shows greater detail in the surroundings.
Players will notice that Night Vision is more useful for navigation and Thermal Vision is more useful for seeking out Mechs.
More tuning will be done but these vision modes are on target for final implementation.
Bug Fixes
Artemis Line-of-sight check is now more accurate
EMP will now turn off ECM in Counter Mode
Mech damage glow now fades away after they die
We thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!
The MechWarrior® Online™ Team
Kinda stoked about artillery, super amused by Heavy Metal.
Yeah, I have a pile of GXP - like 11k at this point - I haven't really used. I have mastered 3 different stalker chassis but I haven't decided what to do for modules on even one of them.
So, I have an Atlas I was trying to roll since we always can use ECM for the group. Either I'm doing something wrong (possible) or I'm just awful at it.
My Atlas is a D-DC. I tried various loadouts but my current one is a Gauss cannon paired a UAC5, SRM4x3, and ummm. Maybe 2x large lasers. I don't use those as much .
I can consistently make the top, or second to the top, slot in damage with any of my stalkers, but the Atlas really struggles. It takes forever to get into the fight, and then I do, it just seem like the damage output isn't there. Are these guys supposed to be primarily damage-takers, rather than makers?
Ouze wrote: I think the new night vision is pretty sweet.
Heat vision, eh.
So, I have an Atlas I was trying to roll since we always can use ECM for the group. Either I'm doing something wrong (possible) or I'm just awful at it.
My Atlas is a D-DC. I tried various loadouts but my current one is a Gauss cannon paired a UAC5, SRM4x3, and ummm. Maybe 2x large lasers. I don't use those as much .
I can consistently make the top, or second to the top, slot in damage with any of my stalkers, but the Atlas really struggles. It takes forever to get into the fight, and then I do, it just seem like the damage output isn't there. Are these guys supposed to be primarily damage-takers, rather than makers?
I've had the D-DC for a while now, and I find it to be the closest thing to the 'tank' archetype in the Mechwarrior game. I've certainly seen people excel at hanging back and sniping or being engaged in a general melee with them, but for me, the D-DC is your line-breaker. I usually run with two ML, 1 AC20 with 28 rounds, and 3 SRM6s with 400 rounds. Once the fight has been well and truly entered, the D-DC plows in and brawls it up. You can take a hideous amount of damage while dishing it out. Unlike the Stalkers that I have observed, you almost never alpha strike. I alternate between the ac20 and srms and just dish out the damage.
So yes, for my play style, the D-DC is the "door kicker." The first guy to really commit to the brawl. On that note, I run my D-DC with a Standard 350 engine that will allows him to go 62.4 kph with the speed tweak. Keep in mind that you are not as invincible as other Atlases may seem when you are trying to kill them. The standard tropes of don't be caught alone, stick to cover when being sniped and LRMed, and try to engage the enemy on your terms still apply.
The D-DC has the moxie to fight just about any other mech one-on-one. I feel confident going into any 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 brawl if we have a D-DC and they do not.
Right. I know I'm late to the party, but I started with this last week.
I have a Hunchback at the mo, with an AC/10 and 4 mid-lasers.
Is it worth upgrading the armour and/or heat sinks?
I don't see that the lasers are doing much, but pile on the heat anyway. Should I stop using them, and take short range energy weapons instead, to make room for an AMS?
I'd definitely keep the lasers. I assume this is the Hunchback 4H? In that case, the difference you're feeling from the lasers is the shift from a duration weapon to a pinpoint weapon- AC10 hits for 10 in one spot, or cleanly misses. The medium lasers are quite the opposite- each one pumps out 5 points of dmg but it will take the whole beam to deliver that 5 dmg, so it will often splash all over the target. Still, if you can keep them on target they'll do twice as much dmg as your AC. The tighter you can maintian the lock, the better the lasers will serve you.
Double Heat sinks are one of the best upgrades in the game. DHS will undoubtedly increase the number of times you can fire your lasers before shutting down. Ferro-Fibrous is one of the worst, just because it won't save you many tons compared to Endo Steel, and is still very expensive.
it's such a fun build but I don't like that guy.... he whined sooo much about ecm destroying the game and appears to only like his uber builds like lrm spam and such...
I'd definitely keep the lasers. I assume this is the Hunchback 4H?....
Double Heat sinks are one of the best upgrades in the game. DHS will undoubtedly increase the number of times you can fire your lasers before shutting down. Ferro-Fibrous is one of the worst, just because it won't save you many tons compared to Endo Steel, and is still very expensive.
This is the 4H, so I've upgraded to 2x HS.
Making room for the new big heatsinks is a pain, but I managed.
Sgt_Scruffy wrote:So yes, for my play style, the D-DC is the "door kicker." The first guy to really commit to the brawl.
Good Guy Atlas. Goes in first.
This is how I think the Assault should be played, actually, or at least most of them. The rest of the team forms up behind it and fans out once the battle starts. The Atlas, whilst slow and ponderous, can take a beating much better than any of the Mediums or Heavies (or Lights, but they pretty much live from not getting hit at all, their primary defense being the small profile and high speed), so in an ideal situation the enemy will "waste" their first few shots on the Atlas, and in the seconds that follow the lancemates advance and close the distance. Any other 'Mech will be able to inflict much more damage if the opponent is firing on an Assault teammate rather than them.
When piloting my Jenner, I work best when attacking an enemy who is already busy with "the tank", as I know it means I can casually snipe his components (thus helping the Assault as I minimise the damage they take) because that Atlas won't be going down easy.
mullet_steve wrote:well there are 10 of the things in your fusion engine core so it's always worth it as they don't take up any room at all.
Depending on the engine you take. There's a sort of nominal value where an engine has exactly 10 heat sinks permanently integrated. However, when you take a much lower-graded engine, it may happen that you get one that has only 9 or 8 heat sinks in the core, forcing you to place the unassigned ones in unused critical slots. Similarly, if you go much higher, you get "free space" in the engine allowing you to slot more heat sinks without consuming slots (they still count towards the weight limit).
But yes, Double Heat Sinks are still as close a no-brainer as it gets when it comes to upgrades! The bonus for heat dissipation for submerged leg-slotted heat sinks (DHS need 3 critical slots, which is too large for the 2 slots per leg) sadly isn't big enough to warrant sticking to SHS ... not when the chance to fight in water is relatively slim.
That said, I suppose there might be some very specific Heavy or Assault builds where SHSmight be preferrable, where crit space is of more concern than weight and where you need more heat sinks than the ones you get from the engine. It'd take some math to figure this out, though.
A LRM boat stalker build wants SHS. Critical space is more important than weight. And, you only get 1.4 heat per DHS, able to fit 3 SHS in the same space... etc. etc.
DHS in the engine do count for the full x2 cooling, though - hence the math.
It's not even just a concern of weight in that case but crit spaces as well, for when DHS get you enough cooling out of the engine and maybe two additional heat sinks (for a total of 22.8 for 6 crit slots - compared to 10+6 SHS with 16 cooling for the same amount of crits) then it could pay off using Double Heat Sinks not just because of saving weight, but because you save crits by not having to slot a dozen additional Single Heat Sinks.
I really wish they'd just treat heat sinks in and out of the engine the same - it'd make planning so much easier. Imho, all DHS should give x2 cooling; it could be compensated with the max heat being equal to SHS, maybe?
I can't really think of anything that isn't at least ok. Ravens aren't as crazy op as they were before, catapults now compete with jaggermechs and catapraths. jaggermechs are a little more delicate than the cats though, but they have a ton of ballistic slots on some variants.
With the newer maps and the buffs to projectile speed, engagement range has increased considerably. LRMs aren't terribly effective at the moment, so anticipate needing to bring some sort of long range direct fire weapon, like a PPC or light AC. Otherwise, you may end up playing bodyguard for a gunline. Also, disturbingly Pink mechs represent over 30 bucks of investment, and should be targeted first.
In-universe, Mediums and Heavies are cheaper than Assault mechs, and more common. They can also be faster. If players played in 'military' style, with proper lance formations, the Assaults are meant as the 'linebreakers'- one or 2 at the front of the formation to tank the alpha damage and let the rest approach- then the Heavies come in behind to 'mop up', while Mediums and Lights do flanking maneuvers or capture objectives/scout.
Had a few games with all heavies.. We just sat at our base and tore their team apart as they came to us.
The only issue is all assaults on Conquest, but there is usually at least 1-2 that aren't heavies to go cap.
My assault goes 57, and I can get it to 62 most likely, so its not to slow.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Anvildude wrote: In-universe, Mediums and Heavies are cheaper than Assault mechs, and more common. They can also be faster. If players played in 'military' style, with proper lance formations, the Assaults are meant as the 'linebreakers'- one or 2 at the front of the formation to tank the alpha damage and let the rest approach- then the Heavies come in behind to 'mop up', while Mediums and Lights do flanking maneuvers or capture objectives/scout.
Yea I get it is supposed to work that way.. but Assaults in most cases have more firepower then the heavies.. so you don't need a "Mop up"
Mediums are somewhat at a disadvantage right now. They aren't fast enough to cause targeting problems for assaults, and can't really carry heavy enough weapons to make up for their lack of endurance.
That being said, A flanker, be it light or medium, flying behind a set gunline at the right moment is worth 300 tons of assaults in the front. If only 2 guys turn to engage you, the enemy is down way more firepower than you could have brought to bear from the front. If none do, you can keep shaking cockpits and picking through back armor. The trick is to time your flanking maneuver at just the point your forces commit.
Used in this context, a medium is better than a heavy or a light. A light (other than a 6ML Jenner) usually needs 2 or 3 passes to cause a credible threat to an assault. A Swayback running back there will usually set off the Critical Damage light after one shot. Time it wrong, and you are toast- but time it right, and victory can be your teams, even if you quickly explode.
Heavies just don't have the speed necessary and don't cause as much hesitation- because you know that everyone will turn to engage the Splat cat or the JAgerbomb prancing through their backfield. They have to think twice about the mediums- and that hesitation is worth more than the larger weapons of an undeniable threat.
Mediums are right now finicky finesse machines. Well played, they can punch way above their weight, but you need to know how to create those circumstances.
The trick is a lack of organization. An assault should beat a heavy or medium, a heavy should beat a medium and some lights, mediums should beat lights and some mediums should beat assault, lights should beat assault.
The issue is a mix of a lack of full mech selection (hunchback and centurion are slow and can't perform light hunting well as an example) and people not really getting their roles. You see it all the time. Some 60-70 kph heavy see's a light and goes "oooohhhh! Shiney" and chases for the rest of the game.
Even the cicada(minus the X-5, bless it) has trouble with the lights. A raven, jenner or 3streak commando outgun them a lot of the time meaning the cicada really is just a bulky, slightly more heavily armoured Jenner without the streaks.
Spyder68 wrote: After finally fine tuning a mech that I like.
I pulled a 1,150 dmg game with 5 kills.
I'll be honest.. I'm not seeing the balance of mechs..
Whats the point of Mediums and most heavies ?
It seems Go Assault Mechs and win.
New mech I built for this weekend.
I1 shot Alpa Struck a Catapult from behind from full health.
1 shot a light mech from full 4-5 times.
Consistant 400+ Dmg per game.
Still amusing at least.
I think it just depends on your playstyle. I'm far more successful with Mediums and Heavies than I am with Assaults. A dual AC/20 Jager will take down an Atlas without much trouble if played right, for example.
Bordered by a metropolis on one side and a drop ship base on the other, the Canyon Network is essentially a rare green space in an otherwise arid landscape that doubles as a landfill. The maglev route that bisects the canyon is the most efficient means to transport supplies and personnel across the expanse and is therefore more valuable captured than destroyed. Likened to large scale foxhole warfare, the network is primed for snipers, surprise attacks and quick getaways. One MechWarrior, when asked, said the maglev was fought over so frequently as it was ‘the only way out of the garbage dump.’
New Battlemechs
Blackjack BJ-1
- Tonnage: 45
- Engine: 180
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 235
- Torso Movement:
- 110 degrees to each side.
- 20 degrees up and down.
- Arm Movement:Armor: 272 (Standard)
- 0 degrees to each side.
- 30 degrees up and down.
- Weapons & Equipment: Internal Structure: Standard
- Left Arm: Medium Laser, AC/2
- Left Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Arm: Medium Laser, AC/2
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 1 Ballistic, 1 Energy
- Left Torso: 1 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 1 Energy
- Right Arm: 1 Ballistic, 1 Energy
- Heat Sinks: 11 Single
- Jump Jets: 4 (4 Max)
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
- Quirks: +15% torso twist speed
Blackjack BJ-1DC
- Tonnage: 45
- Engine: 180
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 235
- Torso Movement:
- 90 degrees to each side.
- 20 degrees up and down.
- Arm Movement:Armor: 272 (Standard)
- 0 degrees to each side.
- 30 degrees up and down.
- Weapons & Equipment: Internal Structure: Standard
- Left Arm: Medium Laser, AC/2
- Left Torso: Medium Laser, Small Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser, Small Laser
- Right Arm: Medium Laser, AC/2
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 1 Ballistic, 1 Energy
- Left Torso: 2 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 2 Energy
- Right Arm: 1 Ballistic, 1 Energy
- Heat Sinks: 12 Single
- Jump Jets: n/a
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
Blackjack BJ-1X
- Tonnage: 45
- Engine: 225
- Top Speed: 81 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 295
- Torso Movement:
- 80 degrees to each side.
- 20 degrees up and down.
- Arm Movement:Armor: 272 (Standard)
- 0 degrees to each side.
- 30 degrees up and down.
- Weapons & Equipment: Internal Structure: Standard
- Left Arm: Medium Laser, 2x Flamer
- Left Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Arm: Medium Laser, 2x Flamer
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 3 Energy
- Left Torso: 1 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 1 Energy
- Right Arm: 3 Energy
- Heat Sinks: 18 Single
- Jump Jets: n/a
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
Blackjack BJ-3
- Tonnage: 45
- Engine: 180
- Top Speed: 64.8 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 235
- Torso Movement:
- 110 degrees to each side.
- 20 degrees up and down.
- Arm Movement:Armor: 272 (Standard)
- 0 degrees to each side.
- 30 degrees up and down.
- Weapons & Equipment:Internal Structure: Standard
- Left Arm: Medium Laser, PPC
- Left Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Torso: Medium Laser
- Right Arm: Medium Laser, PPC
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 2 Energy
- Left Torso: 1 Energy, 1 AMS
- Right Torso: 1 Energy
- Right Arm: 2 Energy
- Heat Sinks: 10 Double
- Jump Jets: 4 (4 Max)
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 2
- Quirks: +15% torso twist speed
New Champion Mech: Jenner JR7-F(C)
- Tonnage: 35
- Engine: 300 XL
- Top Speed: 138.86 kph
- Max Engine Rating: 300
- Torso Movement:
- 120 degrees to each side
- 20 degrees up and down
- Arm Movement:Armor: 238 (Ferro-Fibrous)
- 0 degrees to each side
- 30 degrees up and down
- Weapons & Equipment:Internal Structure: Endo-Steel
- Left Arm: 3 Medium Lasers
- Left Torso: Jump Jet
- Right Torso: Jump Jet
- Right Arm: 3 Small Lasers
- Hardpoints:
- Left Arm: 3 Energy
- Left Torso: 1 AMS
- Right Arm: 3 Energy
- Heat Sinks: 15 Double
- Jump Jets: 2 Max: 5
- ECM Capable?: No
- Module Slots: 1
- 10% XP Bonus.
- 7,500 GXP
- 200 m range
- Detects enemy Mechs as they impact the ground during movement or falling
- Enemy Mechs that move or fall within the module's range leave behind "blips" on the minimap and battlegrid
- The heavier the Mech and/or the faster its speed, the larger and faster the blip
Advanced Seismic Sensor:
- 10,000 GXP
- Automatically upgrades all Seismic Sensors
- Increases the sensors' detection range to 400 m
New Consumable Modules:
UAVs - General Info:
- With a UAV module equipped, you can press Insert to launch a UAV into the air, 150 m directly above you. The UAV will automatically target all enemy Mechs that come within its sensor radius; this information will be shared to your team
- A UAV will not launch if there is insufficient clearance above you
- The UAV can target Mechs that are shielded by ECM and will share this with your team
- Like other shared enemy information, friendly Mechs blocked by ECM will not be able to receive this
- A UAV will be destroyed after taking a cumulative 10 damage. The UAV will self-destruct after being in the air for a certain length of time
- Destroying an enemy UAV is worth 50 XP
Consumable Module: UAV
- Automatically unlocked
- 40,000 C-Bills
- Hovers for 45 seconds before self-destructing
- Detects enemies up to 240 m away
- Can be detected and targeted by enemies within 180 m
- Consumed upon use
Consumable Module: Advanced UAV
- Automatically unlocked
- 15 MC - Hovers for 60 seconds before self-destructing
- Detects enemies up to 240 m away
- Can be detected and targeted by enemies within 180 m
- Consumed upon use
Upgrade Module: Improved UAV
- 15,000 GXP to unlock
- Upgrades the UAV module
- Increases the UAV's hover time by 15 seconds (60 seconds total)
- Does not need to be equipped to a BattleMech
Upgrade Module: UAV Upgrade
- 15,000 GXP to unlock
- Increases the sensor range of all your UAVs by 25%
- Does not need to be equipped to a BattleMech
Gameplay
ECM Hardpoint Restriction
- ECM must be equipped on a designated hardpoint for all ECM Capable Mechs. (Similar to AMS)
- All Mechs equipped with an ECM will have their ECM unequipped after this patch
Mech Movement Speed Changes
- When a Mech takes damage after losing a leg, its maximum movement speed is capped at 15 kph for 5 seconds
- This 5 second timer resets each time the Mech takes damage
- When a Mech has lost a leg, its maximum movement speed is capped at 50% of its normal max speed, or 40 kph, whichever is lower
- When a Mech has lost a leg, its maximum reverse speed is 2/3rds of its maximum forward speed.
- When its forward speed is capped at 40 kph, the max reverse speed is 2/3rds of 40 kph (or 26.667 kph)
Match Making Update
- All new players starting the game will have 2 Elo scores assigned to them.
- New Player Elo = 1100 (N-Elo)
- Standard Player Elo = 1300 (S-Elo)
- Any new player (has 25 games or less in their history) will be using their N-Elo score to be matched with other players.
- The outcome of the game will affect both their N-Elo score and their S-Elo score.
- When the player has completed their 25th game, the N-Elo score is eliminated and the player from that point on will use their S-Elo score for match making.
- This change makes the initial experiences of a new player much easier and prevents the player from playing players with numerous matches under their belts.
Weapon Tuning
LRMs
- Speed 120 (up from 100)
- Damage 0.9 (up from 0.7)
AMS
- Damage per bullet 3.5 (up from 2.0)
NARC
- Range 450 (up from 270)
- Duration 30 sec (up from 20 sec)
- Ammo per ton 12 (up from 6)
LB 10-X
- Spread 2.25 (down from 3.0)
PPC/ERPPC
- Cooldown 4.0 (up from 3.0)
Machine Gun
- Damage 0.08 (up from 0.04)
- Range 120-240 (up from 90-200)
- Crit Chance 0.11,0.06, 0.02 (down from 0.14,0.08,0.03)
Autocannon 5
- Range 620-1700 (up from 540-1620)
- Cooldown 1.5 (down from 1.7)
Beagle Active Probe
- Now counters ECM within 150m.
- BAP will only counter 1 enemy ECM 'Mech within its range
- A Mech that equips both ECM and BAP will only receive the sensor range bonus and the ability to detect powered down Mechs from BAP. Other BAP features gets overridden by the active ECM.
Flamer
- Target Flamer heat will not exceed 90%
- Heat % will no longer jump when using flamer or being flamed
- Target heat will increase exponentially due to Heat Retention
LRM and SRM flight paths have been re-engineered. Missiles now fall in a manner that aligns with our vision of their operation.
- Streak SRM flight paths remain the same
The bonuses from TAG, Narc, and Artemis to gain and lose a missile lock have been corrected and now properly stack together.
- TAG decreases the time it takes to get a lock to 50% of the normal time, and increases the time it takes to lose a lock to 150% of the normal time.
- Narc decreases the time it takes to get a lock to 75% of the normal time, and increases the time it takes to lose a lock to 125% of the normal time.
- Artemis decreases the time it takes to get a lock to 50% of the normal time size when the Mech has line of sight to its target.
- Known Issue: Artemis equipped Mechs will always receive these bonuses, even without line of sight.
- Bonuses from TAG stack with those from Narc or Artemis, but an Artemis equipped Mech receives no bonuses from Narc Beacons
- e.g. TAG and Narc together reduce the time to achieve a missile lock to 37.5% of the normal time (50% of 75%).
TAG, Narc, and Artemis now reduce the size of the overall size and spread of the missile formations.
- TAG reduces the spread of missile formations to 75% of their normal size.
- Narc reduces the spread of missile formations to 75% of their normal size.
- Artemis reduces the spread of missile formations to 67% of their normal size when the Mech has line of sight to its target.
- Bonuses from TAG stack with those from Narc or Artemis, but an Artemis equipped Mech receives no bonuses from Narc Beacons.
- e.g. TAG and Narc together reduce the spread of missile formations to 56.3% of the normal size (75% of 75%).
- Known Issue: Mechs with Artemis will currently receive the spread reduction bonus from Narc beacons.
Enemy disruption ECM will no longer mask the positions of your teammates
Air and Artillery strikes have had their splash damage radius increased to 25m (up from 10m). Mechs will start taking fairly substantial damage if caught in one of the two strikes. The radius remains the same no matter what level the strike is (including priority air/artillery strikes)
Front End
- Added Mouse sensitivity options
Lance Improvements
- Added local player and put him first on the list
- Now displaying Alpha Lance instead of just Alpha, etc.
- Added Mech type to player entries in both in HUD element and Battlegrid Lance Panel
- All three lances now always show on Battlegrid
- All lances show all four spots even if empty (empty spots have a different look than filled spots)
- Team commander can move any player to any spot (dragging to a filled spot will still swap players)
- Added drag icon to entries that did not already have an icon (only shows if you are team commander)
Performance
- Gameplay bandwidth costs should be reduced
Bug Fixes
- PPC's should now do appropriate damage within Min Range
- Small amounts of packet loss should no longer cause extreme amounts of lag to the server
- Players should be much less likely to get disconnected from a game due to poor network conditions
- In-game chat messages should now be much more reliable
- ECM & BAP will no longer function when the Mech they are in is powered down.
We thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!
IKR. I'm dying to give the stuff a spin but I have to wait till after lectures are done today. I'm a little worryed about my CDA 3M, but my X-5 is gona love this patch.
As an almost stock C4 Catapult jock, this patch more than tripled my dmg and kills per match. LRMS are no longer LOS- they fall from the heavens like the wrath of the gods. It is neat.
Honestly, if they leave the flight path and speed intact, I'm far less concerned about the dmg. This is the first time I've really felt LRMS were satisfying, even more so than the outright cheating they were capable of in the infamous splash patch.
Yea. Its not like were getting 800 damage each match running lrms. Their now viable and in many situations, ballistics and ppcs still outclass them. All we need now for perfect balance is srms to be able to pull weight in cc.
Have you guys seen the new Project Phoenix packages? What are your thoughts? Nice to see that the Battlemaster and other re-seen mechs will be available in the game.
I'm curious what the loyalty bonus will do once Community Warfare is released.
I adore the Thunderbolt! It is ugly in the best possible way. I will definitely be picking it up on release, though I won't be buying the package because I don't want the Shadowhawk or Locust.
Sadly, the packages definitely indicate that the marketers know that Assaults are still the most desirable mech, and lights don't really have a useful role yet. On the plus side, including mechbays with the package was a very classy move. I hope that is going to become a courtesy for Hero, Champion, and future premium mechs.
The slope patch may alter that dramatically, but for now, they seem to be admitting that role warfare is kaput. There is a much better post to this effect over on the MWO forums.
Gitzbitah wrote: I adore the Thunderbolt! It is ugly in the best possible way. I will definitely be picking it up on release, though I won't be buying the package because I don't want the Shadowhawk or Locust.
Sadly, the packages definitely indicate that the marketers know that Assaults are still the most desirable mech, and lights don't really have a useful role yet. On the plus side, including mechbays with the package was a very classy move. I hope that is going to become a courtesy for Hero, Champion, and future premium mechs.
The slope patch may alter that dramatically, but for now, they seem to be admitting that role warfare is kaput. There is a much better post to this effect over on the MWO forums.
In some ways, the Project Phoenix packages are an even better deal than the Founders packages, especially considering they come with mechbays. I think I'll probably get one of the packages. I don't love all four of the mechs, but I do really like the Battlemaster and the Thunderbolt (like you said, ugly in the best possible way!) and I really want MWO to succeed.
Do you think that role warfare might come back into play once Community Warfare is released? It seems like the roles start to become more nebulous simply because most matches now pretty much boil down to team deathmatch, but if Community Warfare starts to offer some more objective based missions and such, different roles might be more viable.
I fell for the Phoenix Pack as well. Just had to have that Battlemaster, given that it's one of the 'Mechs I have been hoping for would be in the game. Its visual design, the battlefield role, as well as the historical background - this 'Mech has been piloted by Theodore Kurita as well as Katana Tormark, both characters I've grown fond of - make it one of the very, very few Assaults I could see myself piloting. The weapons loadout looks promising as well. I think I will switch the PPC for an ER-PPC, though, just for some more long range punch, and keep the Medium Lasers and SRM for the close range brawl.
Hordini wrote:Do you think that role warfare might come back into play once Community Warfare is released? It seems like the roles start to become more nebulous simply because most matches now pretty much boil down to team deathmatch, but if Community Warfare starts to offer some more objective based missions and such, different roles might be more viable.
Community Warfare doesn't really have to do anything with the battles themselves, I think. It's just a metagame with a map of the Inner Sphere, some strategic elements, and faction social stuff.
They did talk about more game modes in the future, however, as a feature separate from Community Warfare. Maybe some day we'll get something more interesting there. The next thing on the horizon on this regard seems to be "Dropship Mutator" where you pick 4 'Mechs to deploy in, and you spawn in the next one once your current 'Mech is destroyed. This would allow some more thinking as the outcome of a match won't be decided in a single encounter. Instead, tactics such as hit&run or tactical withdrawals become a (much more) valid strategy, and with this, proper recon and artillery support become more important as well.
Aside from the (imho still messed-up) Electronic Warfare and special match objectives, I think role warfare is promoted best by large maps where it takes minutes until you even get into weapons range. Also, the upcoming expansion of team sizes to 12v12 may support this as well, as splitting up into lances is rendered a much less risky option.
Also, the new UI 2.0 will supposedly allow you to see what kind of 'Mechs your team will bring and adjust your own selection, so you can actually coordinate and assign roles pre-deployment.
Exalt, Lynata! I also really hope that role-warfare comes back into play- and as they tighten up matchmaking, that may very well happen. But when you're pugging and you wind up across from 6 Atlai in a light... there just isn't much you can do. Add to that, the C-Bill rewards are not well developed. In my opinion, those should be differentiated by weight class. Lights should earn less for damage, and more for capturing, spotting and TAGing or Narcing their targets.
Gitzbitah wrote:In my opinion, those should be differentiated by weight class. Lights should earn less for damage, and more for capturing, spotting and TAGing or Narcing their targets.
This idea does have some merit ... though I think it's a bit tricky as one's role often does not depend on weight class alone, but the exact chassis and loadout you use. For example, my Jenner is a dedicated Skirmisher, and even in its Tech-ReadOut background it is presented as a fighter rather than a scout, with a favourite DCMS tactic being the use of a lance of Jenners in hit&run attacks to take down much heavier opponents. Just like not every Heavy is a brawler (-> Catapult), not every Light is a scout. Each chassis does lend itself more or less towards a specific role, though, so there is a limit to how much you can change a Mech's purpose with customisation.
It would be cool if you as a pilot could select a "preferred role" somewhere, and would get different rewards for this - rather than essentially everyone behaving like a Jack-of-all-Trades on the battlefield. But at least rewards for capping, tagging, spotting, etc are already in the game. I'd agree that some of them could be tweaked a bit, though.
Does anybody even use NARC at all? At least they doubled the ammo for it now, but I still think it should not time out at all, instead just get destroyed when the component it is attached to gets hit for X damage.
Gitzbitah wrote:In my opinion, those should be differentiated by weight class. Lights should earn less for damage, and more for capturing, spotting and TAGing or Narcing their targets.
This idea does have some merit ... though I think it's a bit tricky as one's role often does not depend on weight class alone, but the exact chassis and loadout you use. For example, my Jenner is a dedicated Skirmisher, and even in its Tech-ReadOut background it is presented as a fighter rather than a scout, with a favourite DCMS tactic being the use of a lance of Jenners in hit&run attacks to take down much heavier opponents. Just like not every Heavy is a brawler (-> Catapult), not every Light is a scout. Each chassis does lend itself more or less towards a specific role, though, so there is a limit to how much you can change a Mech's purpose with customisation.
It would be cool if you as a pilot could select a "preferred role" somewhere, and would get different rewards for this - rather than essentially everyone behaving like a Jack-of-all-Trades on the battlefield. But at least rewards for capping, tagging, spotting, etc are already in the game. I'd agree that some of them could be tweaked a bit, though.
Does anybody even use NARC at all? At least they doubled the ammo for it now, but I still think it should not time out at all, instead just get destroyed when the component it is attached to gets hit for X damage.
That sounds like an awesome set of 'quirks' which would make the mechs far more distinctive than just a few extra degrees of torso twist. Give the fighters of each class their due, and reward the dedicated light-hunters, harassers, and others their due. Perhaps Dragons get a bonus to their Kill Assist, since they are supposed to be bouncing in and out of combat, while Hunchbacks gain more for Savior Kills than anything else. I absolutely agree that there are exceptions. For that matter, They could add these in as modules for your pilot skill tree to unlock. Spotter grants bonus exp and c-bills for spotting, Defender for attacking a mech that is attacking an ally, etc, etc
I wouldn't be too worried about that, as I expect the new Heat Penalty System to be implemented way before October. And whilst I suspect that the Battlemaster won't have a problem alpha'ing with 6 Medium Lasers, its internal coolant system is designed to cope with only a single PPC, so anyone foolish enough to put 7 of them into their 'Mech will very likely trigger engine damage as outlined in the post above, and simply blow themselves up.
And the best thing, this gameplay mechanic is totally in line with the canon.
"When they start realizing that trying to make their custom PPC boat in 3039 carries with it the risk of costing millions of C-bills in ruined structure AND PPCs (to say nothing for the potential of then driving a glitchy, unbalanced, heat-spiking death trap they made for themselves), they might think twice about tinkering." - the BT line developer on the subject of customisation
Oooh, also, did you read about the upcoming movement changes for traversing difficult terrain? This seems to be fairly interesting. Canyon Network in particular is a map that will be heavily affected by 'Mechs no longer being able to just change their altitude level on a whim.
[edit] Unless you use jump-jets, of course. Which might just become a tad more useful/important now.
I ended up going with the Overlord package. I couldn't resist getting in on the Phoenix mechs, and I really want MWO to succeed. And, to be honest, this is the first thing since the Founders packages and a couple of the hero mechs that I was actually interested in spending money on.
I picked up the "Heavy Metal" Highlander since I still have plenty of Founders MC left and I thought the reference to Rhonda Snord's mech was too good to resist. It's on sale until tomorrow too, which helped finalize my decision.
Eh, they really don't. The one who does rant about PPC boating quickly gets told that the last matches they played didn't have any PPC boats at all. Just goes to show how even some of PGI's employees are susceptible to tunnel vision and hyperbole, exactly like the average gamer. If they'd play as often as their opponents, they'd probably show a better performance instead of making "beginner's mistakes" in their tactics.
Still, t' was a fun video. I should probably hang out in 8-man-queue more often. In PUG, I've only met one of them in a single match so far.
Also, I think I recently had my best match ever. My team still lost, but I honestly didn't think I'd manage to take down three of the four remaining enemy 'Mechs on my own. It was quite the adrenaline rush!
I'm still going strong. Loving the 2x xp per day. So useful for leveling. Its sad that they dropped the cbill gain to 90% of before though. Guess they want more people to consider the other currency.
They dropped the cbill gain to 90% because in 12v12 there is still the potential to earn more because you can get more kills, assists, components, saviour kills etc.
Ran a few 12v12s this past week.... Fun but I need to get better at control. Also thinking of dumping my modded Hunchback. Taking way too many shoulder shots which seriously affects damage potential...... not to mention survivability.
If you see a Black Mech with yellow highlights, It's most likely me.
Sad to tell you, but two really big merc factions are black with gold. ARMD and The Templars.
Sadly, the hunchys hunch can attract way to much fire. Its a good idea to really lay the armor on the front instead of the back for that shoulder. 4 points on the back or something. \
Took my lance into 12v12 PUG last weekend, had a blast.
Contrary to my earlier beliefs, battles still turn out to be rather one-sided on average - but not because of numerical differences. I had hoped that, with 12v12, the first casualty to enemy fire or a disconnect would make less of an impact to the overall game as it represents a larger fraction of the unit than it was in 8v8. However, I now find that teamplay has become even more important. All too often, a PUG splits up into several directions at once because nobody knows where to go (also leading to disadvantages in tactical positioning due to hesitation), then gets ripped apart by an enemy force with superior organisation.
Things improved considerably once we had one of our pilots assume company command. Most pilots followed his orders without question, and although not all battles after taking this step were won, the results were generally much, much closer.
So far, I'm loving this update. As promised in the promotional video, there really is a lot "more dakka" going on - plus, company versus company just feels a bit more "canon". The only thing I'd wish for would be that individual lances become more important as semi-independent elements rather than just 1/3 of a horde, but I have a feeling this may only be possible in fully pre-grouped teams, where lance composition and pilot assignments can be pre-planned between Alpha, Beta and Charlie.
I've actually been playing for a little while now and I've discovered how painfully annoying it is to drop solo. I run a Centurion built specifically around a support role so I try to stick with my lance, or an assault or two.
I assume that this game get's to be more fun with lance/company mates? Because as it stands, MWO is more like every other FPS game I've played, without the added bonus of being able to carry the team if you're good.
Don't have any friends that play and the guys I drop with are usually about as social as a wet-blanket and are prone to berating someone rather than offering assistance. Again, reminding me of every other FPS/Team based games I've ever played.
On a happier note, MWO has rekindled my love for the Battle Tech universe and it's associated video games. I'll keep plugging away at MWO, if only to see how the PvE elements turn out in the later releases. I did get a friend interested in playing, so while he's acclimating himself with the game system, I'll be eating laser blasts and missiles with my Centurion.
Also, if anyone drops with an under-strength lance, platoon, or company, let me know. I'm a decent pilot and I can follow orders.
Definitely takes some practice.
