people shouldn't complain about $240. Your buying 24 mechs with that money, not to mention the crazy amount of extras. They shouldn't get mad about $500 mechs ether. If nobody buys them, they wont try that stupid cash grab again. Teach them economics the hard way.
Soladrin wrote:Really no, you can't. MWO is a game with a publisher, not a kickstarted game that's being crowdsourced entirely. Star Citizen clearly has everything shown as pledges.
MWO is "sort of" publishing itself, actually - IGP was founded in 2011 specifically for MechWarrior Online and Mechwarrior Tactics.
And, just like MWO, Star Citizen too is not entirely crowdsourced.
So, I don't see the difference. And if you think that Star Citizen "needs" to sell spaceships for $1250 to stay in development even though it has already raised several dozen millions, then why are we complaining about $500 'mechs with a gold paint job? At least MWO was already released.
MWO's problems have little to do with its pricing model but rather the sluggish rate of development for features that really need to come out. Ongoing problems that don't get fixed and the lack of game modes will killed MWO long before charging $50 for a mech.
Ledabot wrote: As far as I know, world of tanks has one game mode. Nobody gives a dam.
It also has a long progression track to grind through (like five of them now or something). Right now, MWO has a critical lack of content and the devs struggle to make more. Maps and mechs are one thing, but they need to either revamp the skill trees or add more game modes (they express intent to do the former and ware working on the later). They just take their jolly sweet time.
Ledabot wrote: As far as I know, world of tanks has one game mode. Nobody gives a dam.
It also has a long progression track to grind through (like five of them now or something). Right now, MWO has a critical lack of content and the devs struggle to make more. Maps and mechs are one thing, but they need to either revamp the skill trees or add more game modes (they express intent to do the former and ware working on the later). They just take their jolly sweet time.
This. There needs to be different trees, each that gives different bonuses, like a scouts tree, with speed and acceleration boosts, and increased sensor range, and an LRM boat tree with decreased lock on times, and increased lock holding.
Sadly, this concept is beyond PGI.
And now having seen what they are doing to the clans.... I remember MW2, with its slow PPCs and lag-aiming-and it was still better. Non of this ghost heat nonsense.
I think that they need to overhaul the whole system, and drop ghost heat. As for the clans V IS balance? 5 Clanners V 12 IS is a fair match, given that 5 Clanners are meant to be equivalent too a company of IS Mechs.
5 v 12 would be hilariously stupid - already, I predict more than half of MWO's players to go Clan simply because they get better toys. I see no reason to further boost their ego by rendering any IS 'Mech a trashmob for them.
What I would have preferred would be 10 versus 12 - not only would this enable a "softer balancing", but it also fits to the background by pitting a Binary against a Company. According to sarna, a Binary is the equivalent of a light IS company and, again like a company to the IS, the most common formation employed by the Clan military.
I kinda agree on MWO's sluggish development speed, by the way, and would have wished that Community Warfare had been implemented way, way sooner. The studio seems to still suffer from a manpower shortage, so perhaps it's just that even though they are willing (they're still looking for new people for their team) they are unable to better balance the workload. It's a small, new company, after all, and from what I've heard a whole lot of the "tech demo" which Closed Beta was had to be reworked, including the upcoming UI 2.0 deployment.
The good thing is that the basic match - the slugfest of Mech versus Mech, the simple brawl - has always been and will always be fun, regardless of any other features tacked on top of it. Which is why I'm still able to enjoy it even after several years.
I do not play it all the time, however, but very irregularly (a couple matches every few evenings), which is probably why it's still "feeling fresh", so to say.
I think MWO left Beta too soon. This is an issue, I think, that a lot of Free to Play titles have- they think that "Launch day!" or being "Out of Alpha" will help draw in more sales. But really, if you're doing something that's got the proposed scope of a Galaxy-wide mercenary persistent world player driven system...
What they should have done was go into Open Beta when they went to "Launch". Allow everyone to play, to buy MC- and guarantee an MC refund or buyback option(not cash, just game currency) any time they significantly change something bought with MC or do heavy resets. Then they can take their time developing the systems- they can put out early versions of Clan tech, or Community Warfare projects- if it flops, or is too unbalanced, then they can retcon or redact it without too much trouble, 'cause it's Beta.
But as they're "Launched" now, they're afraid of implementing something that has too many bugs, or is unbalanced- because backpedaling in that case has a much heavier implied 'failure' state to it.
A lot of issues need to be covered before July. Content as mentioned is severely lacking with character development. The skills in my opinion are largely transparent. They have no noticeable effect in game. The skills need to have a more visible effect and need to be aligned in the originally planned class system. Specialize as a scout and you have more scouty stuff, go with fire support and you boost your long range stuff, command gets command type skills. I was really disappointed by the release and the lack of classes and played throughout beta expecting them to have it in place by release date. As we know that didn't happen.
Faction warfare needs to come out long before the Clans. It will make the clan onslaught so much better and feel like an onslaught. Plus it gives purpose to pointless fight after pointless fight. I rarely play more than a couple rounds in the mechs I am powering up before I go find something else to do.
Lastly and most importantly, PGI had better not fail us on the Clans. By that I mean it needs to feel like you are a clan warrior. Battles should be pointed differently, no assist exp, only the initial shooter gets exp off a mech, bonus exp and honor for claiming and killing larger mech chassis. Life should be difficult and not the standard grind like IS. They have already went in the right direction I think on the Clan infrastructure parts and wished they would have done something similar on the IS mechs, I mean really, I understand changing heat sinks and armor, not a big deal, but changing your internal structure is like switching the metals of the frame on your car. It should be cheaper just to buy a custom built mech.
What I do not want to see is cross tech. IS took years before they were able to use salvaged clan tech. It is like trying to use a telegraph on a fiber optics system. That's the difference in tech levels. And certainly no clanner would EVER stoop to using IS technology. Therefore you should have to have a separate character for clans and not be allowed to have both mech types in the hanger.
The used to be- you could get MW4 Mercs from mechTech- but with PGI's aquisition of the franchise for video games use, they had to take it down or face legal action.
Anvildude wrote: The used to be- you could get MW4 Mercs from mechTech- but with PGI's aquisition of the franchise for video games use, they had to take it down or face legal action.
Frack, was really in the mood for a single player mech game, well done PGI piss me off again!
You could check out M.A.V.- if you were a fan of Chromehounds, you'd probably like it. It's in Alpha Funding right now- Minecraft style. $10 buys the current game and all future iterations.
Anvildude wrote:The used to be- you could get MW4 Mercs from mechTech- but with PGI's aquisition of the franchise for video games use, they had to take it down or face legal action.
Frack, was really in the mood for a single player mech game, well done PGI piss me off again!
So pretty much everything about the implementation of clan tech and mechs pisses me off... Sigh. So much for that hope I had that PGI was actually going to be smart about it.
I love how they were saying that UI 2.0 was going to be dropped before the new year and now it's suddenly two months away.
The clan prices are insane, the original MW Mercs had a 'mech library three times the size of MWO for fifty bucks. AND it came with competitive online play that didn't force you to spend money in order to advance.
All that being said, MWO is still fun, I think that PGI half-asses most of their stuff (why, I don't know). If the game survives long enough we could see it end up being a pretty impressive setup.
*Edit: Clan tech implementation will be done badly, I'm sure. Clan tech is supposed to be LEAGUES ahead of anything the Inner Sphere can deploy, but PGI won't do it that way because it'll be deemed unfair. Anyone who knows the lore knows this, and since community warfare is coming out BEFORE the invasion, anyone who runs for Rasalhague SHOULD lose almost all of their territory. Of course if PGI does what I think they'll do, they'll leave just ignore that and NOT stick to the story because of the collective butthurt that'd deploy because of the sudden loss of Rasalhague and DC territory.
Frankenberry wrote:The clan prices are insane, the original MW Mercs had a 'mech library three times the size of MWO for fifty bucks. AND it came with competitive online play that didn't force you to spend money in order to advance.
Sorry, but I just can't get such comments. There isn't a single 'Mech you cannot get for in-game currency - all you can purchase for money are customisation options, stuff you can buy for c-bills anyways (with early access for 'Mechs), and "Hero" variants with a c-bill reward bonus. What exactly are you "forced" to spend a single buck on to advance? Anything you can buy is either decoration or just a way to shave off some time from the grind (if you really think it's a grind rather than fun).
Frankenberry wrote:Of course if PGI does what I think they'll do, they'll leave just ignore that and NOT stick to the story because of the collective butthurt that'd deploy because of the sudden loss of Rasalhague and DC territory.
Just like the collective butthurt from Clan players if PGI were to restrict their numbers to the canon pilot ratio?
Please, let's not forget that this game is supposed to be fun for everyone, not just for the guys jumping on the Clan bandwagon.
I've criticised the devs myself in the past for some controversial ideas (such as the way they implemented ECM, which I still think sucks), but I have zero understanding for rants like the above, as popular as they may seem. -_-
From my perusal of the changes, it does seem that PGI is attempting to stick to that idea of high alpha strike with higher heat. At least, that's what I was taking away from their ERLL example.
I'm less than excited with their 'solution' to the LRM quandary, but think the Streak system is actually going to make them more powerful- after all, most Streak users are using them as blinders already. Imagine getting the same effect from one Missile slot with a Streak 6!
The Omni solution is strange. At first blush, it seems quite counterintuitive. I feel like limb swapping is one of those things that desperate freebirth mercs do on long campaigns, not the height of vatbirth warriors. It could be very interesting.
Lynata wrote: Sorry, but I just can't get such comments. There isn't a single 'Mech you cannot get for in-game currency - all you can purchase for money are customisation options, stuff you can buy for c-bills anyways (with early access for 'Mechs), and "Hero" variants with a c-bill reward bonus. What exactly are you "forced" to spend a single buck on to advance? Anything you can buy is either decoration or just a way to shave off some time from the grind (if you really think it's a grind rather than fun).
Compare the Phoenix Pack to the Invasion Pack. In Phoenix you got 16 mechs for $80, in Invasion you get 12 for $90. They're justification is that they tie real dollar values to CBill costs but that's always been stupid. It costs around 13,000,000 CBills to make a Raven combat effective (buy it, XL engine, DHS, Ferro etc) and it costs about the same to make an Atlas D-DC combat effective. In terms of CBills the mechs in MWO always work out to beteen 10 and 14 million depending to make them effective fighters making their base CBill costs in the store meaningless.
To then translate that into real dollars and gouge the players has long been ignored because they weren't being gratitous about it but now they are. Also note that you can almost rank the Clans in order of popularity based on their costs. Anyone really shocked that a Madcat costs $240?
The pricing is ridiculous. I want a Madcat and I'd like a Ryouken but I'm never paying those prices and getting a boat load of mechs I don't want in the process. I hope there's enough rage to get them to offer bundle packs and lower the prices.
Just like the collective butthurt from Clan players if PGI were to restrict their numbers to the canon pilot ratio?
Please, let's not forget that this game is supposed to be fun for everyone, not just for the guys jumping on the Clan bandwagon.
I've criticised the devs myself in the past for some controversial ideas (such as the way they implemented ECM, which I still think sucks), but I have zero understanding for rants like the above, as popular as they may seem. -_-
Does that include completely cutting customization from Clan mechs? Don't give me that crap about how I can swap an arm from one version for another. I can't change the base armor, heat sinks, or engine from what they say which means customization is going to be near non-existant (not to mention being stuck with whatever engine PGI puts in the thing and PGI makes stupid decisions on their standard builds 24/7 so expect them to be gimped from the get go). Half the fun of the game is customizing but they're pretty much stated there will be near none on Clan mechs. They've completely cut the ability to wiggle weight by taking less armor, or a lighter engine etc etc. Not to mention the apparent decision that Ferro will be standard and will be set to specific crit slots by default.
Expect no one to ever use the SSRM6 either. YOu'd get better DPS off packing 3 SSRM 2's anyway and have fewer missiles shot down by AMS so there's a worthless weapon that will never see the light of day.
I've said it before. Blindly adhering to lore from a table top game in a real time shooter has always been a stupid decision. PGI has broken from that but in the process they've stumbied into a very dumb translation that results in several pointless weapons and gimped mechs. As it stands I'm unlikely to ever use a single Clan mech because of the dumbness behind the implementation.
hopefully clan mechs get laser AMSs that give them a big advantage in terms of having spare weight for sneaking in another laser or MG and defensive bonuses
That's not really the point. Engine, armor, heat sinks make up between 1/3 and 2/5's of a mech's weight (more if using a standard engine). Not being able to fiddle with those at all locks a mech into only having a fixed amount of weight to play with which means there will be few viable builds resulting in unwasted weight. Throw in that PGI is setting those values and you're setting up for failure not to mention they seem to say that they will pick what crit slots are used by ferro armor and they won't move which further restricts the player because they can't move the armor slots around.
It basically means that out of the box clan mechs won't be very customizable. No toying with weights and space to optimize the build, no twisting around crit slots to squeeze in an extra heat sink, etc. It's basically the removal of what makes Mechwarrior Mechwarrior. Playing Clan mechs will be more like Mech Assault.
LordofHats wrote: That's not really the point. Engine, armor, heat sinks make up between 1/3 and 2/5's of a mech's weight (more if using a standard engine). Not being able to fiddle with those at all locks a mech into only having a fixed amount of weight to play with which means there will be few viable builds resulting in unwasted weight. Throw in that PGI is setting those values and you're setting up for failure not to mention they seem to say that they will pick what crit slots are used by ferro armor and they won't move which further restricts the player because they can't move the armor slots around.
It basically means that out of the box clan mechs won't be very customizable. No toying with weights and space to optimize the build, no twisting around crit slots to squeeze in an extra heat sink, etc. It's basically the removal of what makes Mechwarrior Mechwarrior. Playing Clan mechs will be more like Mech Assault.
I know, I'm not disagreeing, just hoping for some positive things, personally I like my 'mechs being large hulking and carrying a massive punch so even having a few tons left for additions makes me smile, having the AMS really gives me a nice thought as its a massive turret and even still only is used for missile defence, gives a bit of weight to my larger guns!
It's basically the removal of what makes Mechwarrior Mechwarrior
customisation makes MWMW for you? for me its the size, weight and strength you have piloting battlemechs.
Gitzbitah wrote:The Omni solution is strange. At first blush, it seems quite counterintuitive. I feel like limb swapping is one of those things that desperate freebirth mercs do on long campaigns, not the height of vatbirth warriors. It could be very interesting.
"Limb swapping" is how the Omnis are supposed to work in the background, actually. Normally, a 'Mech is very much hardlocked into its configuration, with very few techs daring to so much as swap out anything. The customisation in MWO is very atypical for the fluff, but it's been a staple of most Battletech video games so far. What PGI did here was to use the Clans' unique weapon pod technology to allow swapping hardpoints - balanced by closer adherence to the canon when it comes to the CT and most upgrades.
Will have to see how it works out, but it sounds like a clever way of tackling the issue, which is that the Clans get tons of "+1" advantages over the IS, yet ultimately you want a game where both teams have the same chance in a single individual match.
Agreed about the LRM criticism, though. I don't like it both from a mechanical as well as a realism PoV.
LordofHats wrote:Compare the Phoenix Pack to the Invasion Pack. In Phoenix you got 16 mechs for $80, in Invasion you get 12 for $90. They're justification is that they tie real dollar values to CBill costs but that's always been stupid.
You are also forgetting or ignoring that the Invasion Pack you referenced includes 30 days of Premium Time, worth about ~12 dollars (if you buy the 6.500 MC pack - more if you go for one of the smaller options).
LordofHats wrote:Also note that you can almost rank the Clans in order of popularity based on their costs. Anyone really shocked that a Madcat costs $240?
No. Are you shocked that a company providing an F2P game wants (needs) to make money?
Again, none of this ties in to the above comment that somehow PGI would "force" people to spend cash. That's BS. You can perfectly play the game and have fun not spending a single cent on it (in fact some of my friends do just that), it only means it takes you longer to get where you want, and that you'll miss out on some cool customisation. There needs to be some incentive for people to actually spend money on this game. We're not living in Communism.
LordofHats wrote:Does that include completely cutting customization from Clan mechs? Don't give me that crap about how I can swap an arm from one version for another. I can't change the base armor, heat sinks, or engine from what they say which means customization is going to be near non-existant (not to mention being stuck with whatever engine PGI puts in the thing and PGI makes stupid decisions on their standard builds 24/7 so expect them to be gimped from the get go).
They are swapping one type of customisation for another. You get to customise your hardpoints and thus have greater control over the weapons loadout you bring into battle. On the downside, you'll be locked into a specific CT with engine and armour specs. That's called balancing. Again: MWO is not supposed to be fun only for Clanners.
Canonically, armour and engine swapping should be nearly impossible for anyone, Clan or IS. Is it perhaps that people are "jaded" as to what was possible in previous single player games that didn't have to pay too attention to balance between players?
LordofHats wrote:Expect no one to ever use the SSRM6 either. YOu'd get better DPS off packing 3 SSRM 2's anyway and have fewer missiles shot down by AMS so there's a worthless weapon that will never see the light of day.
Except of course on those 'Mechs who only have 1-2 missile hardpoints in their pods, or want to throw in a couple LRMs.
LordofHats wrote:I've said it before. Blindly adhering to lore from a table top game in a real time shooter has always been a stupid decision. PGI has broken from that but in the process they've stumbied into a very dumb translation that results in several pointless weapons and gimped mechs.
How would you have done it? I have a feeling I'd be able to point out glaring flaws just as fast, but maybe you can surprise me.
Yeah, customization is really what makes the game for me (and the lack of it is why I didn't like Mech Assault, even though otherwise there really wasn't much wrong with the game). Being able to build my mech is a big reason why I play MWO.
I hoped that the introduction of Clan Mechs, which don't have variants configuration be damned, would finally get them off their butts to fix the pilot trees. Apparently not. Instead they'll leave them as is and create this bizarre system where switching an arm for another will somehow make up for the gimped weight restrictions.
How would you have done it? I have a feeling I'd be able to point out glaring flaws just as fast, but maybe you can surprise me.
I honestly would have just cut out configurations, fixed the pilot trees and made Clan mechs no different from IS mechs save they have omni slots on them. PGI goes on a speel about how in past Mechwarrior titles CLan tech was alway better than IS (which is true) and that that works for a single player game but not multi-player and that's complete bullgak. It works just as well in a multiplayer game as a single player. Just treat clan weapons as a higher teir of weapons for players to grind for. No one would ever use IS weapons sure, but it's not like the game isn't already filled with variant mechs and weapons no one ever uses anyway so who really cares?
LordofHats wrote:I've said it before. Blindly adhering to lore from a table top game in a real time shooter has always been a stupid decision. PGI has broken from that but in the process they've stumbied into a very dumb translation that results in several pointless weapons and gimped mechs.
How would you have done it? I have a feeling I'd be able to point out glaring flaws just as fast, but maybe you can surprise me.
personally, even though this was not addressed to me was having them OP and a star VS a company
They are swapping one type of customisation for another. You get to customise your hardpoints and thus have greater control over the weapons loadout you bring into battle.
Which is essentially meaningless. Assume a Madcat is like an Orion. It'll probably have about 30-40 tons soaked into its engine, armor, and heat sinks. That means only 35-45 tons to play with and no ability to get more or less by tweaking sinks, armor, and the engine. Not to mention PGI might screw the mech by giving it a very unoptimal engine. Then throw in that the player can't move crit slots for ferro. How many builds will realistically come out as viable for the mech? Under all the restrictions, probably just 1 or 2. Being able to swap an arm for another is just a silly feature that doesn't actually balance those restrictions at all. it's only even in the game because PGI is apparently refusing to fix the problem with the pilot trees otherwise the slots would just be omni.
Except of course on those 'Mechs who only have 1-2 missile hardpoints in their pods
You'd be better off not using the hard point and putting weight elsewhere. Firing 2 missiles at a time, the SSRM6 will have 2-3 missiles shot down by AMS... It's DPS is negligable and will lose a huge chunk of it to defensive fire, and even then half the maps have enough cover that you're unlikely to hit a mech will all 6 anyway firing that slow (EDIT: Not even mentioning how easy itll be to Torso twist that). The weapon has been gimped. They could have just balanced it with heat and cooldown, but apparently that's too difficult. Instead we a need a completely arbitrary fire rate that makes the weapon pointless.
The Dark Apostle wrote:personally, even though this was not addressed to me was having them OP and a star VS a company
I would have liked this because it's "fluffy", and it seems like a clever way to address the power balance between the individual weapons.
However, I'm not sure if the additional customisation - swapping hardpoints - would not break the system, considering the room for optimisation. Consider the possibilities: Clan Assault 'Mech with the slowest engine and no back armour, just to load up on 8 Gauss Rifles for that 120 Damage Alpha or similarly ridiculous ideas. "Forcing" players to carry a real engine is the only way to prevent the worst abominations, I fear.
LordofHats wrote:Just treat clan weapons as a higher teir of weapons for players to grind for. No one would ever use IS weapons sure, but it's not like the game isn't already filled with variant mechs and weapons no one ever uses anyway so who really cares?
So your solution is that Clan players just start with better weapons than IS pilots, who have to spend additional time grinding up to them? Or would you have Clan players start with IS gear?
And I can't think of any 'Mech or weapon that "no one ever uses", tbh.
Lynata wrote: "Forcing" players to carry a real engine is the only way to prevent the worst abominations, I fear.
No mech in the game can carry that many weapons, and who says every slot needs to be omni? There are ways to balance the mechs outside of gutting customization.
So your solution is that Clan players just start with better weapons than IS pilots, who have to spend additional time grinding up to them? Or would you have Clan players start with IS gear?
I'd just have all mechs come stock in IS gear (conversely we could have just screwed the whole Clan tech concept as ultimately pointless and completely left it out of the game). As much as people whine about grinding, they like grinding. it gives them something to do, a goal to achieve. here have a cookie is one of the best rewards a dev can give to keep people playing. So long as the grind is balanced with proper reward people don't mind despite whatever whining might appear.
And reall, there are no Clan players or IS players. Just players. The arbitrary factionalism is coming from the lore and holds no relevance in this game. PGI has made it clear there will be no 'only CLan mech' accounts/players or 'only IS mech' accounts/players. That anyone ever wanted that baffles me, who wants to operate 2 accounts for one game (be quiet EVE players those guys are ripping you off anyway ) Even in community warfare we're not going to see a restriction like "IS alighned players may only use X mechs." Not to mention we still ahve no due date for community warfare.
And I can't think of any 'Mech or weapon that "no one ever uses", tbh.
I'll list them for you; No one in their right mind uses Orions. No one uses a Raven that isn't a 3L unless grinding the trees. You hardly ever see Commandos, Trebs, or Cicadas that arn't the X5 or the ECM cada. You rarely see Highlanders that aren't the HM, 733c or 732 and the only stalkers that get used are the Misery and one other. Anyone using an Atlas that isn't the D-DC is either grinding trees or wasting CBIlls. We hardly see any Locusts at all because its that bad, and the Shadowhawk puts all the other mediums ave the Centurion to shame.
Most of the variants in game see no use because inevitably one or two stand out as just plain better. Hardly anyone uses LRM20's because few mechs have the tubes for them, and the only use for LRM5's is on one Catapult variant that boats them as a pseudo-dual LRM15. No one uses small lasers, and the AC10 is rarely used either. Flamers are lol weapons and the NARC gets shunned because the tag is better anyway.
Lots of things in MWO don't get used much. This only increases as more mechs come out in particular (the Highlander is completely eclipsed by the Victor as a brawler and by the Stalker as a fire support mech). Such a thing is probably inevitable in a free to play game.
LordofHats wrote:No mech in the game can carry that many weapons, and who says every slot needs to be omni? There are ways to balance the mechs outside of gutting customization.
Make it 4 Gauss, then. Still more than enough. Or 6 PPCs. Or 8 LRM20. Or 8 SRM6. The list goes on. Hardpoint swapping is a Pandora's box, so I consider some drawbacks just being a necessity. Yes, it sucks for someone who loves tinkering with their 'Mech a lot, but personally I'd rather have that than seeing some ridiculous monster in a live match.
"Ghost Heat" and JJ shake are both proof that even with normal 'Mechs there will be some players creating seriously broken builds that need adressing to keep the game fun for everyone else, and I'd only expect it to get worse once you allow them to swap hardpoints around.
LordofHats wrote:I'd just have all mechs come stock in IS gear (conversely we could have just screwed the whole Clan tech concept as ultimately pointless and completely left it out of the game). As much as people whine about grinding, they like grinding. it gives them something to do, a goal to achieve. here have a cookie is one of the best rewards a dev can give to keep people playing. So long as the grind is balanced with proper reward people don't mind despite whatever whining might appear.
Okay, this would be something I could live with, even though it would sadden me to see the stylistic differences sacrificed.
Also note that Clan fans would whine anyways because they'd expect to get better stuff just because they're playing Clans, and because of the background. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where it's just impossible to please everyone, which is why I kind of feel for PGI. Regardless of what option they'd have chosen, they would get flamed. So I consider the current limitations to be the best possible solution, just because anything else (from the ideas I've seen so far) wouldn't work out as well.
LordofHats wrote:And reall, there are no Clan players or IS players. Just players. The arbitrary factionalism is coming from the lore and holds no relevance in this game.
Not sure I can agree here... Yes, the factionalism is a matter of the background, but a large part of the playerbase, especially the tabletop veterans, has subscribed to it simply because a bit of immersion and identification makes the game more fun. You can witness this on the forums in a fairly regular fashion, or sometimes even in a match. Entire units of players are built around this part of the meta, and it's one of the main reasons for why people are so hyped for Community Warfare.
In a basic way, this phenomenon is present even on dakka if you look at the 40k Background Forums, though it is much more established in Battletech due to how the franchise supported such close association and deliberately stimulated a sort of "friendly rivalry" between the players of the different Houses.
LordofHats wrote:PGI has made it clear there will be no 'only CLan mech' accounts/players or 'only IS mech' accounts/players.
Did they state this somewhere recently? Do you have a link?
I actually feared as much, but I haven't seen anything official yet.
LordofHats wrote:Not to mention we still ahve no due date for community warfare.
Well, we do have an estimate now at least.
LordofHats wrote:I'll list them for you; No one in their right mind uses Orions. No one uses a Raven that isn't a 3L unless grinding the trees. You hardly ever see Commandos, Trebs, or Cicadas that arn't the X5 or the ECM cada. You rarely see Highlanders that aren't the HM, 733c or 732 and the only stalkers that get used are the Misery and one other. Anyone using an Atlas that isn't the D-DC is either grinding trees or wasting CBIlls. Most of the variants in game see no use because inevitably one or two stand out as just plain better. Hardly anyone uses LRM20's because few mechs have the tubes for them, and the only use for LRM5's is on one Catapult variant that boats them as a pseudo-dual LRM15. No one uses small lasers, and the AC10 is rarely used either. Flamers are lol weapons and the NARC gets shunned because the tag is better anyway.
Not true - at least not reflecting my own experiences and the knowledge of what my buddies are piloting. Whilst there is a clear trend towards some very specific models (as you have in any game), I think it would be biased to just assume that any other 'Mechs are just used to grind proficiencies rather than simply because they enjoy a particular loadout (AC20 Raven anyone?), or because they do not subscribe to a "must win" mentality and thus do not gravitate towards efficiency alone.
Guess what, I myself am using a Jenner-K to great success, my Centurion has 2 LRM5s, my Catapult has Small Pulse Lasers, and my Dragon-5N has a Flamer (which once even allowed me to outbrawl an Atlas in CC by causing him to shut down). The Dragon even had an AC10 for a rather long time until I switched to the LBX, and on average I even made more damage with the AC10 on the CN9-A than on my PPC-carrying CN9-AL, though I prefer the latter for its style.
Yeah, yeah. Maybe I'm just not the most efficient player - yet I cannot be the only one who plays MWO this way, and both my Win/Loss as well as Kill/Death ratios are still positive so apparently I don't suffer too much from my choices. All I can say is I'm having fun the way I play this game. Maybe if others wouldn't be so focused on optimisation they would too.
Frankenberry wrote:The clan prices are insane, the original MW Mercs had a 'mech library three times the size of MWO for fifty bucks. AND it came with competitive online play that didn't force you to spend money in order to advance.
Sorry, but I just can't get such comments. There isn't a single 'Mech you cannot get for in-game currency - all you can purchase for money are customisation options, stuff you can buy for c-bills anyways (with early access for 'Mechs), and "Hero" variants with a c-bill reward bonus. What exactly are you "forced" to spend a single buck on to advance? Anything you can buy is either decoration or just a way to shave off some time from the grind (if you really think it's a grind rather than fun).
Frankenberry wrote:Of course if PGI does what I think they'll do, they'll leave just ignore that and NOT stick to the story because of the collective butthurt that'd deploy because of the sudden loss of Rasalhague and DC territory.
Just like the collective butthurt from Clan players if PGI were to restrict their numbers to the canon pilot ratio?
Please, let's not forget that this game is supposed to be fun for everyone, not just for the guys jumping on the Clan bandwagon.
I've criticised the devs myself in the past for some controversial ideas (such as the way they implemented ECM, which I still think sucks), but I have zero understanding for rants like the above, as popular as they may seem. -_-
[deadpan]No one is forcing anyone to do anything.[/deadpan] I havent spent a dime on this game and I own two 'mechs, of the same chassis. Unless you're running a consistent four-twelve man drop or somehow lucked out and spent credits on a decent heavy, you can't make cash at the rate you need it to be in order to get the mech you want in anything short of a month. You 'need' to get a hero mech and premium time to grind through matches just to even see about piloting something else, and you also 'need' MC in order to own more than 4 mechs.
They're going on an on about community warfare, why not force people who want to go the overpowered route to suffer the consequences? Pretty sure Inner Sphere mechs beat Clanners on a regular basis in the fluff, it's hard, but they do it. I also didn't rant, I pointed out the truth. PGI has categorically refused to take the route of intelligent responses for uncomplicated issues. Hit box issues? Constant bugs? They didn't even release a complete game! Free to play or no, they received an ENORMOUS amount of support via kickstarter and the untold thousands of people who preorder and buy MC. The way they treat releases and various other updates is just...I can't get it.
Wow, really? Trying to buy your own players out of being angry?
my thoughts exactly
also, wants everyone's plans after all this gak has died down, we have clans and we've got (metaphorically know, cant get too far ahead of ourselves ) CW, almost like where you see yourself in 1 year in MWO, I hope to be rolling a Uller F(I wish I had the money for a gold one love the idea of it being a khan mech! hell I got the money but seriously 500? hell no) and Clan jade falcon as my faction
Soladrin wrote: Kitfox is the only clan mech so far I even have an inkling of interest in. I'm a star adder man. I probably won't be happy till I get a blood asp.
Soladrin wrote: Kitfox is the only clan mech so far I even have an inkling of interest in. I'm a star adder man. I probably won't be happy till I get a blood asp.
Soladrin wrote: Kitfox is the only clan mech so far I even have an inkling of interest in. I'm a star adder man. I probably won't be happy till I get a blood asp.
Soladrin wrote: Kitfox is the only clan mech so far I even have an inkling of interest in. I'm a star adder man. I probably won't be happy till I get a blood asp.
ehhhh, the adder?
Never liked it.
hehe
And don't forget, since clan mechs will use a fixed engine, you probably expect them to carry the ones listed on in the official rules, looking at Sarna, adder comes with a 210XL. This means your in a 35ton light with only 97km/h. That's simply a walking target.
Soladrin wrote: Kitfox is the only clan mech so far I even have an inkling of interest in. I'm a star adder man. I probably won't be happy till I get a blood asp.
ehhhh, the adder?
Never liked it.
hehe
And don't forget, since clan mechs will use a fixed engine, you probably expect them to carry the ones listed on in the official rules, looking at Sarna, adder comes with a 210XL. This means your in a 35ton light with only 97km/h. That's simply a walking target.
but according to pgi and saran itll carry a heavy mech load of weapons!
Frankenberry wrote:Unless you're running a consistent four-twelve man drop or somehow lucked out and spent credits on a decent heavy, you can't make cash at the rate you need it to be in order to get the mech you want in anything short of a month.
And that is a problem .. why?
If you want it faster, play more than two matches per day.
Or simpy do as I do and ... just play and have fun. Don't go at it with a "I NEED DIS" mentality - unless you're willing to pay for it and actually support the game which you apparently enjoy well enough to have you "need" something.
Frankenberry wrote:You 'need' to get a hero mech and premium time to grind through matches just to even see about piloting something else
That you put the "need" into paranthesis at least signifies that you yourself don't buy that argument.
Frankenberry wrote:and you also 'need' MC in order to own more than 4 mechs.
Because you "need" to own more than 4 'Mechs? And because you "need" to keep any 'Mech you already have, even though you are apparently in dire need of c-bills, which you could get from selling them?
Frankenberry wrote:They're going on an on about community warfare, why not force people who want to go the overpowered route to suffer the consequences? Pretty sure Inner Sphere mechs beat Clanners on a regular basis in the fluff, it's hard, but they do it.
Multiplayer games tend to not feature plot armour the likes of which is at times granted to the protagonists of a novel. The Inner Sphere eventually won out over the Clans due to sheer attrition, because the Clans had zero experience with the total war they kicked off, and because the Clans were sabotaged from within - both due to internecine rivalries as well as their honour-bound duel rules (which to a lesser degree also hampered the DCMS).
Also, I don't quite get what exactly you are proposing here. You say Clan players should "suffer the consequences for going the overpowered route", immediately followed by placing the entire burden on individual IS pilots to just play better than the opponent because "it's hard, but they can do it"?
Frankenberry wrote:Unless you're running a consistent four-twelve man drop or somehow lucked out and spent credits on a decent heavy, you can't make cash at the rate you need it to be in order to get the mech you want in anything short of a month.
And that is a problem .. why?
If you want it faster, play more than two matches per day.
Or simpy do as I do and ... just play and have fun. Don't go at it with a "I NEED DIS" mentality - unless you're willing to pay for it and actually support the game which you apparently enjoy well enough to have you "need" something.
Frankenberry wrote:You 'need' to get a hero mech and premium time to grind through matches just to even see about piloting something else
That you put the "need" into paranthesis at least signifies that you yourself don't buy that argument.
Frankenberry wrote:and you also 'need' MC in order to own more than 4 mechs.
Because you "need" to own more than 4 'Mechs? And because you "need" to keep any 'Mech you already have, even though you are apparently in dire need of c-bills, which you could get from selling them?
Frankenberry wrote:They're going on an on about community warfare, why not force people who want to go the overpowered route to suffer the consequences? Pretty sure Inner Sphere mechs beat Clanners on a regular basis in the fluff, it's hard, but they do it.
Multiplayer games tend to not feature plot armour the likes of which is at times granted to the protagonists of a novel. The Inner Sphere eventually won out over the Clans due to sheer attrition, because the Clans had zero experience with the total war they kicked off, and because the Clans were sabotaged from within - both due to internecine rivalries as well as their honour-bound duel rules (which to a lesser degree also hampered the DCMS).
Also, I don't quite get what exactly you are proposing here. You say Clan players should "suffer the consequences for going the overpowered route", immediately followed by placing the entire burden on individual IS pilots to just play better than the opponent because "it's hard, but they can do it"?
Awesome! An English lesson.
1. No one is saying you have to buy a hero mech, I merely pointed out that unless you want to wait, that's the only route left to you. You have to grind the c-bills to get the mech and if you want to do anything with it you have to grind almost the same amount as the mech to upgrade it. In comparison to EVERY OTHER MECHWARRIOR GAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE FRANCHISE this is a new thing.
2. I don't buy that argument. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars, I just want to be able to compete with the rest of the players I drop against. Grinding while using trial mechs is not an effective way of helping my team, or my regiment.
3. Again, no one is saying that you need to own four mechs. I pointed out that in order to own more than four, you need to spend real-world cash, which no matter which way you look at it, is lame.
4. This isn't some random FPS that doesn't have a backstory or history to consider, true that doesn't mean they can adhere to everything. But when you involve something as big as the Clans are, I think extra effort is required to truly bring out a complete experience. The consequences of being overpowered is in reference to the different unit sizes when compared to IS unit breakdowns; better equipment, smaller units. The Inner Sphere units would have the numbers, and I don't care who you are, three heavy/assault lances against one to two stars is an even fight.
The point I think you're missing is that while PGI has laid the groundwork for a potentially awesome game, they haven't bothered to actually completely fix anything. Issues that plagued beta are still in effect, and people's responses of "It's free to play, give the dev's a break!" is just crap. Again, they've received how much money from Kickstarter? How much money from MC purchases and mech pre-orders? A free to play game that makes an asston of money while still in Beta only to release it's final product with game-breaking issues is just sad.
Lynata wrote: ]Did they state this somewhere recently? Do you have a link?
I actually feared as much, but I haven't seen anything official yet.
It's made obvious by the fact that the mechs from the Invasion pack are stated to be added to your account. no make a new account to be a clanner or anything.
And again, why would anyone want 2 accounts for one game?
EDIT: Also, there's a reason why you'll see between 4-6 Jeagermechs in almost every match you play and hardly ever see a Quickdraw.
Something about the clan splash page makes me feel ill. Every time I start the game I see that pic of the madcat and know that they wont be here till june makes me sic. I don't think i can look at that screen anymore. I think i'm going to take a break from mech for a few months. Don't want to really but I feel like i have played the same match over and over for two years now. I know they added skirmish but it feels just like assault to me. Back to the Elite beta i go.
Yes, I'm beginning to think we are having a miscommunication here, too. Because it sounds as if you just want everything without paying a cent, yet surely everyone agrees that this is not the way F2P works, and indeed cannot work.
Everything you have listed is convenience. Faster c-bill gain, faster 'Mech purchase, more than 4 garage slots, ... it's all convenience. Every dollar you put into the game gets you nothing but convenience. You don't "need" convenience.
And because this goes for every single player out there, you remain competitive even when not spending a buck. No, the matchmaker does not put players with "cheaper" 'Mechs all in one team and players with high-end 'Mechs into the other to enforce an unfair game. The matchmaker looks at your statistics, regardless of how much money you spent, and then puts together a team that ideally has a fifty-fifty chance at winning, though communication and tactics will quickly change these odds in one way or the other.
Actually, the matchmaker even puts new players into a separate queue for a while so that they can grind their Cadet Bonus for their first own 'Mech with other new players rather than being thrown into a match where both sides may also have a number of veterans with completely tweaked-out 'Mechs.
But here's another idea: If you dislike the concept of F2P, you could alternatively try to think of it like any game you pay for once, and just purchase MC for a value equal to that of a contemporary game to get exactly the 'Mech you want to pilot. For 40-50 bucks, I'm sure you could get any Hero 'Mech. With camo, paints and cockpit items, even.
Frankenberry wrote:This isn't some random FPS that doesn't have a backstory or history to consider, true that doesn't mean they can adhere to everything. But when you involve something as big as the Clans are, I think extra effort is required to truly bring out a complete experience.
Exactly, which is why I'm not really fond of LordofHats' idea to just give everyone the same stuff.
On the flipside, however, I would also consider a 5:12 with even chances of victory a ridiculously unfun game, because communication would give the smaller unit further advantage, and IS 'Mechs dying faster would lower their fighting strength quicker than it would be possible in the reverse.
10:12 on the other hand, here you'd have my vote, and as I said before I think this would have sufficed to balance the equipment disparity - together with minor tweaks such as PGI's idea of giving Clan lasers more heat or a higher cooldown in exchange for the damage and range buff.
It'd be a hell of a job to balance this, but I think it would have been worth the effort, and I'm sad this is apparently not what we'll eventually end up with.
Frankenberry wrote:The point I think you're missing is that while PGI has laid the groundwork for a potentially awesome game, they haven't bothered to actually completely fix anything.
I'm not "missing" it, I just don't feel the same way. As I said, I start the game with a different mentality - maybe that's why I seem to have so much more fun, in spite of occasionally nagging about some very few things I'll likely never change to detest.
LordofHats wrote:It's made obvious by the fact that the mechs from the Invasion pack are stated to be added to your account. no make a new account to be a clanner or anything.
And again, why would anyone want 2 accounts for one game?
Sure, no new account, but I would have hoped that Clan/IS faction choice - once it becomes available - basically locks you into the appropriate selection of 'Mechs for as long as you're a member of that faction. I don't like the idea of seeing both types of 'Mechs on both sides - not in the 3050s at least - and would much prefer the lesser evil of seeing Clanners joining an IS faction, or IS pilots joining a Clan, for at least this you can justify with a bit of background (Wolves Dragoons being a premiere example, or the Clan practice of taking enemy pilots as Bondsmen, or offering themselves as Bondsmen if captured).
This would also completely circumvent the need for 2 accounts. Unless you really want to play for 2 factions simultaneously.
But I guess we'll have to live with the idea that IS/Clan 'Mechs on the other side are battle salvage. Still possible, though way too early in the timeline, and hence not my preferred choice. Not to mention that this lowers the distinguishing appearance of each faction.
(I also don't see Jagers that often - there's one or two in every match, but I can safely say I've not seen the numbers you seem to have encountered)
@Lynata: If you're content with less, that's fine. I don't see how my complaints are invalidated just because you disagree.
On topic however, has anyone been running a Thunderbolt? I've been looking them over for awhile now and I'm wondering if they're a worthwhile heavy. I tend to be in favor of the laser boats, and I've heard that the SS variant is something to consider.
To shift gears, I adore the way the Thunderbolt handles and fights! The S seems to be possess, nay, flaunt, that most precious of qualities in a mech- scrappiness. I feel able to attack constantly in some fashion and suck up obscene amounts of damage. I can't wait until I get it mastered.
(I also don't see Jagers that often - there's one or two in every match, but I can safely say I've not seen the numbers you seem to have encountered)
One of them may or may not be mine
I definitely see them more often than any other 65 Ton heavy (usually the DD and FB variants too). Only Heavy I see as often is the Cataphract and occasional Dragons and Catapults.
On topic however, has anyone been running a Thunderbolt? I've been looking them over for awhile now and I'm wondering if they're a worthwhile heavy. I tend to be in favor of the laser boats, and I've heard that the SS variant is something to consider.
TBolt it a solid mech. Good hit boxes, good hard point lay out, room for several builds.
I haven't used mine in awhile but I run 2 AC5 (or it might be an LBXAC), 2 SRM4, and 3 MLasers. Great torso twister with solid speed.
@ Soladrin that is awesome. When I'm in a sniping mood, I will definitely give it a shot. The triple ER LL seems really nasty. I'm really enjoying the tri ML now.
@Lordo'Hats I am totally using that build. It is performing like a champion. I love the double shotgun/ double laser mix. I feel like a surgeon that also brought a mallet into the OR.
Regardless of configuration, I have never lost my limbs so consistently and lived through it before. I seem to end most matches with only 2 weapon systems up, though those vary wildly. High point of the night was going after a Heavy Metal with the team with one torso and both arms gone. I only had the 2 SRM 4 and 28 rockets. My last 4 snagged the kill.
It is everything the Hunchback wishes it could be when it grows up- ugly and sassy.
I've never been too keen on running a strictly missile boat simply because of the fights that last longer than your ammo does; you have no backup weapons. Also, Catapaults were never built to be scrappy SRM boats, their CT and arms are too easy to primary and because of the amount of SRM ammo required to really use this build you run the risk of an arm detonating and killing you in the opening exchanges.
It's LRM heavy (they're better than SRM's currently), has a decent top speed with an XL engine, great cooling, great damage, missile defense, and you keep the jump jets (another very important mobility aspect of Catapults). The XL is expensive though, so if you'd rather not pay that much (which is understandable), drop it in favor of a standard engine (255 was with 2 less tons of LRM ammo, up to you). Ideally this is what you should aim for with a missile boat, you're not built to stand front line fighting, but need to remain mobile in order to re-position to help the team.
Then again, other players might have better ideas.
P.S. I took a stab at it with SRMs and I still can't justify running a Catapult with them, sorry.
P.P.S. It's also worth noting that the LRM 15s coupled with 5s allow you to take advantage of all 20 tubes in each arm; launch a solid volley every time instead of a staggered one.
The Dark Apostle wrote: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/145756-clans-a-la-carte-new-purchase-options/
wheres PGI and what have you done with them?
I correct myself, this is utter garbage! 55 for 3 variants, decreasing by 5 for each mech added, its an illusion of choice, the uller package gives 3 variants for 30!
Yep. On the one hand I'm happy they offer the ability to pick the mechs I want but that pricing is still complete garbage.
Would it really kill them to offer a four pack with buyers choice of 1 mech from each weight class? They didn't even bother to tie weight to price in their silly 'ala carte' so I guess we can point to that when calling their pricing method dumber than hell.
Oh come now, this is exactly what we were requesting. You can get a Timberwolf for 105 dollars less than you could yesterday.
Sure, buying the Uller this way would be incredibly stupid- but a fool and his money are easily parted, and if the Uller wasn't an option people would be angry about that. A clever buyer can work the system, or take a passing glance and see if the mech in the package form is cheaper than the a la carte option.
Or, you could maximize your value and get 6 assault variants for 100 bucks.
That's 25,000 MC on standard pricing.
The Boar's Head, an equivalent to the Clan Primes with the C-Bill boost, is 7500. So that's 15000 gone right there. 6 mechbays are 1800, bringing us to 16800.
That leaves us with buying 4 assaults at roughly "Buying a New Mech: ≈ 400MC / $1.84 per 1,000,000 C-Bill cost of 'Mech" according to http://mwo.gamepedia.com/C-Bill.
A Daishi is 29,350,000 C-bills, according to Sarna. So 11,740 MC per Daishi variant, giving us 23,440.
That puts us at 40,240 MC- nearly 200 dollars of MC purchase, and we haven't even touched the Masakari variants.
It may be less of a deal for the others, but this one is an excellent deal in line with their pricing.
That being said, I'm still very unlikely to buy it- I just can't see paying 55 bucks to unlock part of a game. Heck, I only bought 20 bucks of MC back when I first started to get some extra bays open. But if one were so inclined, it is a good value.
I've never been a fan of pulse myself. Med lasers are just so useful in so many situations and only weigh 1 ton. I'd consider an XL on a ranged TBolt though. Save the weight and get a pair of AC2 instead of the ERPPC would be more my style;
There's another ton there to play around with. A lot of the time, 150 rounds is all the AC2 I need but you might need more. on the other hand only 3 tons of LRM probably wouldn't be enough for me.
I actually really like that build 'Hats, probably going to be my second Thunderbolt!
Running a SE right now, two medium lasers, three large lasers, and two streak twos. AMS to round things out, stock engine and I can safely say the thing is a BEAST of a mech. You can't brawl in it with it's stock engine but as a backup for mediums or assaults, you'll do just fine. Bought mine last night, don't think I was under 500 damage a game.
LordofHats wrote: I've never been a fan of pulse myself. Med lasers are just so useful in so many situations and only weigh 1 ton. I'd consider an XL on a ranged TBolt though. Save the weight and get a pair of AC2 instead of the ERPPC would be more my style;
There's another ton there to play around with. A lot of the time, 150 rounds is all the AC2 I need but you might need more. on the other hand only 3 tons of LRM probably wouldn't be enough for me.
That is quite nice, but I was hesitant to put an XL on the Tbolt at first since I'm not sure how chunky its ST hitboxes are, are the similar to the Shadow Hawk with its game breakingly small ones?
TBolt sides aren't tiny but they're not huge. The Bolt has a very similar hitbox layout to the Victor and the Catphract. It's all about torso twisting to spread the damage evenly accross the mech.
Im intereted in what this "specialist and contraversial light mech" is going to be. Personally, im hopping for an Urbie-i do love my Urbies
But sadly, my little brother has once agin fethed up my internet speed. And then he and my mum complain that im a control freak for not letting him on my computer :/
It could also be an Ostscout, but given the public demand and the many threads on the forums, I am really, really hoping for an Urbie myself. Many of the cool variants like the MRM-based DCMS model or the EW version won't come out until late in the 3050s, but the models already in existence should make for some interesting options (R60L with AC/20 anyone?) ... I would expect most pilots to fail horribly, whilst some may manage to pull off extraordinary feats when making full use of the terrain and playing this 'Mech like a trap rather than an assaulter, Splatcat-style.
I just really, really hope they decide to modify their engine/heat sink policy before the Urbanmech arises- right now it would need about 10 extra tons of heat sinks to waddle around with.
Who am I kidding, I'd still pilot the little such and such, and cackle like a madman every time I got a kill.
Lynata wrote: It could also be an Ostscout, but given the public demand and the many threads on the forums, I am really, really hoping for an Urbie myself. Many of the cool variants like the MRM-based DCMS model or the EW version won't come out until late in the 3050s, but the models already in existence should make for some interesting options (R60L with AC/20 anyone?) ... I would expect most pilots to fail horribly, whilst some may manage to pull off extraordinary feats when making full use of the terrain and playing this 'Mech like a trap rather than an assaulter, Splatcat-style.
I doubt that they7 would give us an Ostscout, that mech is just horrible given how the game works. 1 ML is just not heavy enough arment for a 35 tonner, and given how small the maps are, with very limited attack options, dedicated scouts such as this have no actual place within the current meta. That, and I think that there would be a huge exodus if PGI unleashed that scrap-their already losing player confidence by the bucket load.
Lagfest wrote: As it sits now, I am going to hold off spending any money untill they actualy get UI 2.0 and CW in game.
Too much chance of them taking the money and never delivering the content.
I decided that around June of last year. I do/did like the base game but, imo, MWO is failing, and PGI is trying to get as much money as they can on the way out.
Hero hunchback seems intent on making abstaining from new purchases the easy choice- what a disappointing variant. I can't think of any reason to mount SRMs rather than a bigger gun.
But you can still mount the big gun. And the Grid Iron has 35% increased torso twist speed and can mount a large engine- a lot easier targeting with the hunch.
Also, circumstances - or fighting style. The AC/20 has its drawbacks, chief amongst them the comparatively low range and projectile velocity. Something the gauss does not suffer from, whilst having its own, different drawbacks.
On a hunch (hah!), I'd say the classic version is better at close range brawling, but Grid Iron could be superior when it comes to mid-range firefights.
A lot of players tend to optimise their machines for a single range bracket, but traditionally, most Battletech 'Mechs (at least above the Light class) mount weapons with different and partially overlapping ranges so that they can switch from one to another as they close in on the target.
People tend to mock the 2x5 LRM packs on my Centurion, but they have proven to be very reliable at "preparing" a target until I'm close enough for the Medium Pulse Lasers, or even just when pursuing a fleeing enemy, or supporting from afar (together with the ER-PPC). I'd see Grid Iron intended to work in much the same way, opening up with the gauss, and then when/if he gets closer triggering first the lasers and then the SRMs, ultimately ending up just pounding its target with all weapons for as much as the heat allows.
Hello! I'll (probably) be joining the mechwarrior online revolution ! And I was wondering if I could get a link or some help to starting it up (Controls, Mech design, that sorta thing) I've played Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries and LOVED it. SO hope to see you out there in the coming month or so! If anyone has a idea of what ot use for my callsign I'd be thankful!
Check out MechSpechs.com. It's kinda the premier MWO community right now, I think. Tons of builds, a few fluff threads, feedback galore... And utilize Smurfy's Mechbuilder as well to experiment with mech construction before buying any variants- also, your first 50 matches have boosted C-bill gain, but you don't start with any mechs- use the 4 Trial mechs to get a feel for the different weight classes and save your C-bills until you've decided what to run.
I'd also recommend lurking on the official MWO forums as you should find some more discussions about various game features and little tricks there. MWO has lots of stuff that isn't exactly needed to know but nice to know, such as the button that opens the missile bay doors on the Catapult or Stalker, or that you can press Ctrl to look around in your cockpit (which also controls your arms independently from the slower-turning torso).
Found any faction yet, or are you staying merc? Either way, welcome to the fray.
Also, the difference between 1st and 3rd person views (the key to switch is F4- not Alt+f4, just f4, and you look like a doink running around with a little blinking camera floating behind you in 3rd person) and Arm Lock and Throttle Decay.
Yeah, I hate when someone thinks it's funny to give that advice in a match ..
But, good input. Personally, I would recommend disabling 3PV, Arm Lock and Throttle Decay in the options. In my opinion, it wasn't a good addition to the game, and it's wrong that it was made the default setting. But, at least you can disable it.
Explanation:
Arm Lock makes it so that your arms are locked to your torso, meaning that you essentially only have one crosshair instead of two. It takes a bit of time to get used to both, but ultimately you end up being more effective in battle, for the arms do move considerably faster than the torso, meaning you will be able to bring your guns onto the target much faster (or at all) than if you'd restrict them to your torso movement.
Throttle Decay forces you to hold the throttle key, causing your 'Mech to lose speed until it stops unless you keep your finger on the button, similar to how you control soldiers or cars in other games. Getting used to manual velocity setting not only keeps a finger free, it also allows you to match speed with your teammates when moving in formation. Keep in mind that without Throttle Decay, you can always simply press "X" to set your speed to 0.
Okay... I'm gonna be coming back and reading all the stuff once I eventually get started. I'm still waiting on a quote for a new PC. Thanks everyone! The one thing I'm finding difficult to understand right now, from the links you gave me, I find the mech building thing quite confusing. I'm very much attuned to mechwarrior 4 Mercs mech building, In which you mech had set speeds and not adding in a engine on top of weapons stuff. Also, I know everyone always targets the Atlas first and that makes Atlases useless, Is that true? More importantly is that true for all other assault mechs?
It's rather, being targetted first is the Atlas's use. It can mount more armour than anything else in the game, which also means its unarmoured 'health' is higher than anything else. It's incredibly slow, can mount an arsenal of weaponry, and can take a beating.
I'd suggest starting off with a Medium or Heavy, though- Lights require a good familiarity of piloting and weapons management, and Assaults need knowledge of the maps and routes as well as battlefield awareness and opportunity judging due to their slow speed. Mediums are pretty fast but can mount enough weapons and armour that they can take a hit or two, and Heavies can mount some really nice weapons and armour but are fast enough to skedaddle if need be.
Check Mechspecs, though, for better analysis of the uses of different Mechs.
Indeed. Atlases, or Assaults in general but Atlases in particular, are basically the "tanks" on the battlefield. It's their job to go over that hill first and draw enemy attacks, so that smaller, less heavily armoured machines can advance in their wake or pull off a successful flanking manoeuvre without being picked off by half the enemy team's focus fire one by one.
For a good Medium, I would suggest a Centurion - it can be reasonably fast and it has 2 energy slots in the center torso, meaning you can run him as a "zombie"*, provided you use a standard rather than an XL engine.
*: The term "zombie" refers to BattleMechs that just keep moving on in spite of having several components shot off. With a standard engine and two lasers in the CT, a Centurion can still be a threat even if all that's left of it are the middle torso, the head, and a single leg.
But, do try out every single weight class to see what's more to your liking / general playstyle!
If you are ever in a position to worry about the plural of Atlases/Atlai, you are either a Lyran or having a very bad day.
It is a great time to join, the trial mechs are all excellent Champion variants, which will give you a feel for fully upgraded machines.
Test each weight class, and see which one feels right to you, then choose your preferred weapons, and find a chassis that is in the right bracket of durability and speed that uses the weapons you love. Your cadet bonus should allow you to pick one up when you're ready to move off of the trials.
For those interested and holding out for it, the UI 2.0 beta beta test is today. I don't think I'll be participating, but it should be interesting to see what it looks like. Also, cockpit glass effect is in- which should be very interesting. I'm curious to see if the effect of certain weapons will make them worth including as blinders- flamer Locust puts a fat black streak all over an Atlas's face!
Just noticed I lost the match, so maybe not the best, but I did quick reflex kill a few lights that round. I do believe I have the vid on my hdd, maybe Ill upload it.
It's not the damage that really bothers me (I run an Atlas atm, so), it's the lack of time you get to avoid it, coupled with how much it disorients you.
Like, playing last night, I was on Frozen City advancing from cover to cover toward cowards ridge with my lance following behind when that little red smoke came down right in front of me. Literally the moment I saw it touch down I threw my mech into full-reverse, but because Atlas acceleration is kind of slow, I had only just started backing up when the artillery strike came.
Staggered out of the explosion with my body full yellow and my screen jerking to hell right into a flanking Cataphract and a Jaegermech who promptly shredded me with their AC's. The entire incident took about 8 seconds from the moment the red smoke popped up to my death.
So like, I'm not the best player, I'm mediocre in fact, but it's bs that you can react to something near-instantly and still be too slow to avoid getting hit by it. Artillery strikes as I see them aren't supposed to be a DPS feature (though the damage is fine), but area-denial. With that being the case, it should give you enough time to get the hell out when you notice the smoke, and punishing anyone who remains in the blast-radius.
Frankly, I think an additional 5 seconds or so should be added to the countdown before the strike touches down.
Remember that a lot of people running arty are probably also running it with the Improved Artillery module- which does in fact speed up the drop time, I think. Unless I'm thinking of accuracy, though that I think is only from the real-money version.
I think that you backing up was actually the reason you got hit- like you said, Atlaii don't have the best acceleration, so the time to slow to a stop and start reversing probably cost you- I bet if you just kept going straight, you'd have gotten out ahead of the strike.
Anyone given the new hero Hunchback Grid Iron a spin? What do you think? I'm still getting the hang of it, but I think it's an interesting take on the chassis.
Kind of lost as to why you should get any warning at all, its artillery, not like the enemy wants to advertise where it is going to hit. I think the strike should last longer, alloweing you time to run out of it while its coming down but there should not be any initial warning. No one firing the artillery can see the smoke anyway.
Preferebly it should hit somewhere in the area the targeter is trying to hit and the Improvement mod should let it be more accurate. Still no silly smoke in advance.
The air strike, however, makes perfect sense to use smoke for. Thing for that is that, since it's in a line, you can't know which way it'll go and might not be able to escape.
Just started customizing my Cicada. First step was to replace the Ultra AC5 with a standard AC5, I then removed the Small Pulse Laser which I don't use anyway for an AMS, using the ton saved switching from Ultra to Standard to give it a ton of ammo. I also got to upgrade my armour a bit so I hopefully won't die as quickly.
Most mechs can be acquired with in game cash. The only ones that can't are the Hero mechs, and special promotion mechs like the Phoenix mechs and the upcoming Clan packages.
Deathshead420 wrote: Might want to grab a Snickers bar , because the madcats not going to be out for a long time.
Oh, I don't know. If you start earning money now, you may have enough C-Bills when it is released to get one. 24,233,124 C-bills would take a very long time to harvest.
24,233,124 C-bills would take a very long time to harvest
See I'm sure it will be the last one to be released out of the clan pack, If they do it just like they did the last pack you will have to wait more then enough time to save for one.
24,233,124 C-bills would take a very long time to harvest
See I'm sure it will be the last one to be released out of the clan pack, If they do it just like they did the last pack you will have to wait more then enough time to save for one.
I'm wondering if they will do an add-on pack (like they did the Saber pack with the Griffin and Wolverine), with the Mad Dog and another Clan mech (maybe the Hellbringer or Gargoyle or something...personally I'd hope for the former).
Well spent a bit more time on it yesterday and having a blast
I take it they are still working with the graphics engine as it does seem a little basic for the cry3 engine (when you compare it to the likes of crysis, star citizen etc)
Also you battletech fans will know much more than I do (my knowledge really only comes from the MW games).
Why was the Timberwolf changed to Madcat? Are they different chassis or was it a Licence thing?
Daston wrote: Well spent a bit more time on it yesterday and having a blast
I take it they are still working with the graphics engine as it does seem a little basic for the cry3 engine (when you compare it to the likes of crysis, star citizen etc)
Also you battletech fans will know much more than I do (my knowledge really only comes from the MW games).
Why was the Timberwolf changed to Madcat? Are they different chassis or was it a Licence thing?
It's actually just a fluff thing. The Timber Wolf is the Clan name for the mech, and the Madcat is what the Inner Sphere called it when the Clans first invaded. Most of the Clan invasion-era mechs have two names, a Clan name and an Inner Sphere name. So for example, the Mad Dog is called the Vulture by the Inner Sphere, and the Kit Fox is called the Uller.
Actually, a fun thing is that the reason the Inner Sphere called it the Mad Cat was because, as the first Clan mech their computers ever saw, they couldn't grok what it was and tried matching it to the known Mechs in the database- And the body/legs and arms were clearly the Marauders (MAD), yet the shoulder mounted missile boxes were clearly the Catapults (CAT)- and so the targeting system kept flashing back and forth between MAD and CAT.
And I, too, continue to be disappointed by the graphics. I got a 3d capable computer setup, and there's an option for 3d right there in the menues, but it's not enabled yet! Come On!
I don't think the graphics are that bad. It enables people with lower end computers to play thus widening the player base. The only thing I wished as far as appearance goes was that camo actually worked instead of only really being noticeable when you get close.
So, how does everyone like the new cockpit glass so far?
Another Big Patch tomorrow:
UI 2.0 Release is finally upon us. I still don't like the colours and still think the loadout and camo spec screens are a mess, but at least the new frontend is supposed to remove a lot of design limitations, plus they promised they'll keep working on it to make it better in the future. We shall see. On the upside, the 'Mechs do look way better in the new Mechbay, judging from the previews.
Weapon Modules for Range Adjustment Tiers 1 and 2 out of a projected 5 tiers total. These are "sidegrades" that will come with some sort of drawback (likely increased heat or cooldowns).
Perimeter Defense Turrets added to River City and Crimson Strait Assault. This first turret release includes a dual MedLas emplacement and an automated LRM10 launcher.
Having just downloaded and installed the UI2.0 update, I notice several things...
First, a lot of 'oh, this doesn't work' style stuff, (on something they've been working on for a LONG time).
Second - You can no longer see the loudout, equipment or stats of mechs in the store...
Was considering getting the half price X-5, but being I can't look at it, no chance.
Edit - you can view the stats of mechs in the store, by going to your mechlab, switching the organisation to 'Purchasable', and select them through that...
There is no way to see how many points of armour you have left, and the interface is FAR less intuitive than it was before.
Pretty though.
Edit 2 - Sure would be nice if you could see any weapon stats.
Edit 3 - WHY ARE MY LRM20's WITH ARTEMIS IV NOW JUST LRM 20's!?!?!?!? It's 1.2million to buy 2 launchers I'd already bought! O_o
Incredibly counter-intuitive I know, but it fits with the rest of it -_-;
Honestly, the only things I like about UI2.0 are the shiny full mech model, and the Inventory window, because I like seeing lists of everything I own to help me decide what to buy next. (Though not listing how many points of armour you have irritates me.)
Otherwise, it seems to be an unmitigated failiure.
I was going to get the X-5 after I finally figured out how to look at it. 1500MC for a hero isn't that bad (about £4.50), and I could live with that. But being it lost my Artemis IV, everything is gltichy, and there's tons of complaints about things not working, I daren't do anything at the moment for fear of losing it... and now the half price X-5 offer is over.
Ah well, that's £4.50 saved.
I mean, for a 'released' game (it not in beta now folks!), it's so unpolished. And of course the amount they charge for things!
The Clan Pack is US$240 / GB£150! Of the last £150 I've spent on video games, I've got around 25-30 full titles, and an entire wireless Rock Band kit for Xbox360...
/Rant Just mildly irritated I've had no reply about my Artemis launchers.
It's a shame, because I love Mechwarrior / Battletech. Even got a second Joystick for playing MWO with, and taking the keyboard entirely out of the equation is great fun.
Ovion wrote:I mean, for a 'released' game (it not in beta now folks!), it's so unpolished.
UI 1.5 was polished.
Ovion wrote:Just mildly irritated I've had no reply about my Artemis launchers.
Be sure to check all your owned items in the Mechlab. Missile launchers are now split between the normal and the Artemis version rather than adapting automatically to an upgrade applied to the 'Mech.
I've read on the forums that this confused a lot of people.
On the plus side, I suppose this means you can now mix your launchers and thus save crit space if you just want to have, say, Artemis LRMs but normal SRM?
Ovion wrote:Even got a second Joystick for playing MWO with, and taking the keyboard entirely out of the equation is great fun.
Hmmh. I'm considering getting a HOTAS setup both for MWO and Elite Dangerous. For MWO, I would also have to get pedals for the full Battletech experience (and because steering the 'Mech left/right with either the throttle controller or the torso-linked joystick sounds like a hassle).
How accurate are your shots with a joystick in MWO, actually?
Anvildude wrote:And that's why I'm putting my money towards M.A.V.
Seriously. Check it out.
Hmmh... I doubt the battles would be as smooth and fancy as the ones in MWO and I've become enamoured with the setting, but the extreme level of Lego-like customisation in that game looks fun. May have to keep an eye on it.
Ovion wrote:I mean, for a 'released' game (it not in beta now folks!), it's so unpolished.
UI 1.5 was polished.
Ovion wrote:Just mildly irritated I've had no reply about my Artemis launchers.
Be sure to check all your owned items in the Mechlab. Missile launchers are now split between the normal and the Artemis version rather than adapting automatically to an upgrade applied to the 'Mech. I've read on the forums that this confused a lot of people.
On the plus side, I suppose this means you can now mix your launchers and thus save crit space if you just want to have, say, Artemis LRMs but normal SRM?
Ovion wrote:Even got a second Joystick for playing MWO with, and taking the keyboard entirely out of the equation is great fun.
Hmmh. I'm considering getting a HOTAS setup both for MWO and Elite Dangerous. For MWO, I would also have to get pedals for the full Battletech experience (and because steering the 'Mech left/right with either the throttle controller or the torso-linked joystick sounds like a hassle). How accurate are your shots with a joystick in MWO, actually?
Anvildude wrote:And that's why I'm putting my money towards M.A.V. Seriously. Check it out.
Hmmh... I doubt the battles would be as smooth and fancy as the ones in MWO and I've become enamoured with the setting, but the extreme level of Lego-like customisation in that game looks fun. May have to keep an eye on it.
If you have an Artemis IV mech, you cannot mount non-Artemis IV Launchers to it. (Apart from Streaks, which are incompatible). I have checked all of them. I was messing with my C4 when the update hit, so they weren't sat on the mech when the update hit. :(
I suppose I could mount my 2 Streak SRM2s to it.... but... just no. :(
I'm honestly not fussed about about foot pedals.
I already had a Saitek Cyborg Evo, which is a fine stick, and has XYZ axis, and I was going to get a Throttle. Throttles are expensive. A second Ambidextrous/Left Handed Joystick was £5 including postage. (Vs £30-50 cheapest for a throttle) I mean, my second stick isn't anything special it's some unknown brand 'PC Line Tournament Pro Stick', but it moves smoothly and the all of 2 buttons are sound.
I have my Throttle (forward/back), Jump Jets (Button2) and Weapons Group 2 (Trigger) keyed in to the Pro Stick. Then Torso Pitch (for/back), Leg Turn (left/right), Torso Twist (stick twist), plus all the various other gubbins (trigger, 5 thumb buttons, POV Switch, 6 base buttons) keyed in to the Cyborg.
It works pretty well, though accuracy does suffer a little, I'm getting better the more practice I have with the twin sticks. It's also perfectly fine with a Missile boat, being that doesn't require any pinpoint accuracy.
MAV looks like Chromehounds. Chromehounds was bad.
Anvildude wrote:And that's why I'm putting my money towards M.A.V.
Seriously. Check it out.
Hmmh... I doubt the battles would be as smooth and fancy as the ones in MWO and I've become enamoured with the setting, but the extreme level of Lego-like customisation in that game looks fun. May have to keep an eye on it.
MAV looks like Chromehounds.
Chromehounds was bad.
Boo! I knew I shouldn't have posted about it in a MW fanboi forum!
But yeah. It's heavily Chromehounds inspired, and it's a style of play that a lot of people prefer. Plus, in this sort of game, there's actually a reason for Scouts other than "Fast Harrassers".
It's not that I'm A Mechwarrior fanboy, I like lots of mech based game series (Front Mission, Armoured Core, etc - I know there's more just I can't think of them right now!), as well as tabletop stuff (where Scout mechs had a use!).
Just when I played Chromehounds, the gameplay was not very good in singleplayer, and being in an area with poor internet at the time, I couldn't try out online much (and what I did was subpar).
But at the end of the day, it didn't stand on its own merits as a single player game.
And to expand on my previous post, when I'm saying "smooth" and "fancy" I'm referring solely to the visual experience.
MAV looks like it has some very cool ideas, many of whom I'd like to see in MWO some day, but it also is a "garage-born" indie game that (judging from the video) unsurprisingly just doesn't have the budget for AAA-title looks. Don't get me wrong; I like indie games, I'm playing Starbound and GhostControl, Mount & Blade and Shadowrun Returns, and have backed half a dozen more projects on kickstarter ... but as far as 'Mech combat is concerned, I just can't deny that (aside from the established setting, which I've quickly grown to love over the past 3 years) MWO's looks do a lot for atmosphere and immersion, which directly affects my enjoyment of the game.
tl;dr: I think I'd play MAV less for the Mech feeling, and more because of the crazy customization, as this is where this game will seem to truly stand out. At the same time, I don't think this is enough to pull me away from MWO.
Once the game is actually playable I'd happily check out a couple Let's Plays on YouTube and then see if I can scrounge up 20-30 bux to join the fun for in-between my MWO battles, though.
PS: Had an awesome match with my Jenner-K last night. Over 900 damage and 5 kills, even though I had swapped my SRM pack for Narc.
Throwing out the Capture Accelerator in favour of Seismic Sensor really paid off for the last two enemies - a Cicada and a Dragon, both already heavily damaged (though I had lost all armour on my left torso at that point too). The Cicada made the mistake of advancing on our base alone, as I was hiding behind a hill, using Seismic to decide when to strike and thus being able to flank him as he passed me. Legging him (he had zero armour left on both legs), I withdrew behind the same hill as before and waited for the Dragon whose CT was already orange. Rinse, repeat. I had been the last one alive and the chat basically exploded in expressions of disbelief and cheers. These are the kind of moments I'm playing that game for. So rare and hard to achieve, but all the more gratifying when it happens.
Oh, yeah. Everyone (including the people who loved Chromehounds) knew that the singleplayer was terrible. It was a glorified tutorial, and precursor to the actual game, which was the online multiplayer. That's one of the things MAV's gonna try to fix, actually.
And for those who (rightfully so, granted) think it doesn't look polished enough- that's exactly what the Kickstarter is for. Chad Maudlin knows he's not the best artist, so he's raising the money primarily to pay for actual artists to do the assets properly, and so he can focus on getting the coding up to snuff- Unity currently doesn't like a lot of what's happening (We managed to create/find a bug within the Unity coding that the Unity guys never knew about!) and so a lot can still be improved. The game is in a semi-playable state, though. Honestly, it's as playable as Mechwarrior Online, if not as pretty, and without a sizeable enough community for constant matches. But if you know someone's gonna be hosting a server, you and a bunch of buddies can get on and have a deathmatch or a base rush game- which is all that MWO is right now, isn't it?
Is UI 2.0 really as terrible as people say? I haven't played in a while (doing Loadout and MAV and Minecraft instead).
Lets just say somehow I'm not shocked UI 2.0 isn't all it was promised XD
I gave PGI a lot of benefit, but at this point, I think they just don't care anymore. At least when STO prioritizes money over playability (to the point playability starts to really suffer), they're upfront with me about it.
Anvildude wrote: Is UI 2.0 really as terrible as people say? I haven't played in a while (doing Loadout and MAV and Minecraft instead).
It has doubled, to tripled the number of clicks to do anything.
You have to click 4 times, and move the mouse at least halfway across the screen between each click.
Furthermore, it's so bad that engines are hard to find, and modules are damn near unusable.
Yes, it's all very pretty but it's basically the worst layout for a mechlab I've ever seen.
UI1.5 was at least functional. (I actually had no problem with it overall).
Actually. for giggles, I will screenshot between every page, from logging in, to taking the SRM2's off of my C4 (it did better than I thought it would actually, but still really, really badly), to logging out, to back to desktop.
BRB!
For some reason.
The screen shots of UI2.0 keep crashing Drawplus....
After 2 attempts I give up.
It was however, 36 clicks with the mouse, with at least half of those requiring you to travel at least half way across the screen, and 14 different pages, to:
Log in
select mech
remove 2 Streak SRM2s, 1 Ton of Ammo, 1 NARC, 1 Ton of Ammo, 6 Heat Sinks, a Flamer and a TAG laser
save
log out
It'd be +16-18 clicks (again, with quite a bit of travel) to mount 2 LRM20’s, 7 Tons of ammo
Hordini wrote: I haven't seen UI 2.0 yet, but I really didn't see what the problem with UI 1.5 was.
1.5 was functional, but there were a lot of convenience and functionality abilities that could have been implemented. UI 2.0 was supposed to achieve that but while it looks pretty, it's also not very functional.
I even disagree on it being "pretty", unless you mean that it now has more colours and shiny glow effects. UI 1.5 looked spartan, military, which fits the setting a whole lot better than htis new Vegas look. Which happens to be something I already disliked on MechWarrior Tactics.
Ovion: Wow, somehow that Catapult really fits your avatar.
Soladrin wrote: Yeah, I've been pretty much done with this game since the whole clan thing happened. UI 2.0 shows me I was right to leave.
Quoted for truth, my man (although I bailed earlier).
I have monitored this thread because I really liked this game at one point and hoped to read ITT they've turned it around. Sorry (but vaguely unsurprised) to read what you guys have posted about UI 2.0.
Well, it's just the frontend - it is a nuisance, especially if you want to customise a 'mech or even just change your modules ... but the battles themselves are still fun.
In fact, the addition of automated defense turrets to Crimson Strait and River City turned out to be a rather awesome feature. Depending on how the players on both teams deal with this addition, they can be a real gamechanger.
I'm assuming it's the whole US$240 / GB£150 Clan Pack, with the US$500 / GB£310 for 1 Gold painted Mech (and while that's now been changed to include the Masaraki pack, it didn't initially).
That was released directly after the Phoenix Pack, when they were meant to be releasing something else.
What were they meant to release, exactly? I don't think they made any announcements or promises.
The Clan packages were opened for pre-order at December, and the Phoenix Pack was released to any who had preordered that in October.
And, I'm sorry, but I just cannot grasp what's so horrible about people paying for what is essentially early access and vanity items. All the Clan 'Mechs will be available for c-bills just like all the IS 'Mechs have been so far.
I mean, isn't this just like the higher tiers of some kickstarter campaign? Someone explain why this is bad please!
The business model, the constant backtracking and breaking of promises. The constant patchwork fixes on balance that only break more stuff. Tons of stuff really.
Lynata wrote: I mean, isn't this just like the higher tiers of some kickstarter campaign? Someone explain why this is bad please!
I have no problem with their business model. I am more than happy to pay for the game via hero mechs, and have in fact paid for some, like Misery. I also am a Founder and greatly enjoyed my Founder's Catapult, for a while.
Unfortunately they steadily eroded my goodwill over time by doing things... you know, there is actually a pretty good article here that sums it up quite well. One other thing that annoyed me that was not mentioned was that I feel they have done too much tinkering with basic game mechanics that should be left alone. One week, LRM's are super overpowered. The next, LRM's do almost no damage, and gauss rifles can one shot people. So on, and so forth, bungled "balance fix" after bungled balance fix. I do not know if it remains that way, and hope it doesn't, but that is how it was when I gave up on it.
I still have a decent amount of goodwill towards the game as it runs quite well technically, looks pretty solid, and so on. Unfortunately I am also deeply concerned with the possibility that the overt green PGI has displayed with this constant revenue generation is them taking what they can before the game sinks.
For a F2P game, the business model is extremely forgiving. No idea what people are expecting there. Though I have to say, I believe they could actually make more money if they'd lower the prices on some things.
On the article, I don't find myself agreeing. Call me a fan (though I too have been very vocal about some stuff I dislike, such as ECM), but it sounds like one of those typical exaggerated rants from people who are angry that their exact expectations were not met, and how dare the developer not create the game exactly how this one player wants! Ghost Heat, for example, is something I feel has improved the game considerably. Gone are the days where you'd get roflpwned by 50 dmg alphas, in favour of a traditional "brawling" experience where an encounter between two or more opposing 'Mechs actually takes longer than 5 seconds. So as far as I'm concerned, all the people who were complaining about that can suck it and learn how to play the game in a way that's fun for everyone involved - it certainly increased the viability of countless 'Mech builds that just used to be less impressive due to their reliance on damage over time compared to pinpoint high damage attacks. And whilst I feel that 3PV should get its own queue or whatever, it's accepted by now that it really didn't change the game. Likewise, next to no-one is using Cool Shot because other modules are just flat-out more useful.
There have been phases when I flat-out refused to play the game due to the balancing changes you mentioned, but all I can say here is that my last break was a very long time ago and it feels quite "right" at the present state.
Ovion wrote:Dunno, I'm just going by what I've heard.
I think the price for the mechs is pretty outrageous.
Maybe, but ... so what? Just don't buy one?
This is really just like complaining that Alpha access for Elite Dangerous costs 200 bucks. How dare they!
The vitriol is, in my opinion, for the most part extremely unjustified, and actually something you can witness in just about every other online game out there. Check the WoW forums or CoD or whatever and you'll see that the problem here are not the devs, but rather entitled gamers.
The latter is a development I have witnessed for the past 10 years or so. Things did not use to be this bad, but I guess it's a reflection of our cultural values and an increase in personal pressure from the "elbow society" causing people to just pass on their frustration to their surrounding environment. Also, it's the internets.
You're really dismissing out of hand their track record of broken promises a little too easily I think. I mean, I personally don't care at all about 3rd party camera, but I had a friend who was utterly livid and and I understood how he felt to a degree since they promised they would not implement that many times. And so on.
It's a (mostly) free game ( though if the prices of the paid things were 1/10th it is, I'd have probably bought all the things, rather than the bare minimum needed to get a few Mech Bays and some half price paint, and I'm sure I'm not the only one ) and it generally works.
But you do sort of question what they've actually been doing in the last 9+ months, and why (from what I've been told) they made no changes between the last UI2.0 beta 2 months ago.
In that time, they've put out many of these expensive vanity mechs, and have not delivered on the role warfare or territory battles which were so pivotal to their design at the time.
I still very much enjoy it, but I'm a casual player.
Ouze wrote:You're really dismissing out of hand their track record of broken promises a little too easily I think.
Well - I'm dismissing it because it doesn't actually affect the game. I can understand if someone boycotts PGI based on personal principles, but that doesn't really change anything about the product itself - and at the end of the day, it's a fact that Cool Shot and 3PV are so useless that they could just as well remove them again.
I still don't like both of these features myself, but why should I get angry about something that doesn't change my game?
Gitzbitah wrote:Well, Community Warfare was promised over 2 years ago.
Back in Beta they said it would be ready for release, and when the game 'released' they said six months. Granted broken promises mean dip to me and its not why I stopped playing.
Lynata wrote: I still don't like both of these features myself, but why should I get angry about something that doesn't change my game?
You shouldn't, just as I'm not. But I'm also not extrapolating out my stance and dismissing those issues as meaningless non-problems no one really cares about. When combined with the other issues, I find it reasonable for people to be unhappy.
The lack of CW does, in fact, affect my game personally, because it also was getting quite boring at the end there. Deatchmatch after deathmatch with no variety of any kind got tedious, whereas with CW it would feel less meaningless.
Ouze wrote:You shouldn't, just as I'm not. But I'm also not extrapolating out my stance and dismissing those issues as meaningless non-problems no one really cares about.
I didn't, either. All I am saying is that disappointment with a company's communication does not somehow make the game itself "worse" overnight - this is a psychological thing where people apply their feelings from one issue to another and allow it to warp their perception. You can witness the same behaviour in politics. Yes, it's human nature, but I think it's bad habit, considering the effects.
With the lack of Community Warfare you make a much better case, but this is a matter of the game becoming boring/stale, and again, not "worse".
What I find helps on this end is just not playing as much - needless to say, this isn't a true solution, but in my case it has kept the game "fresh" for almost 3 years (with a 3-months-break during those ECM cRaven shenanigans).
Ok, let's take a few design decisions that did make the game worse.
Removing repair and rearm cost removed much of the mercenary aspect of immersion.
Default setting arm lock and throttle decay made sure new players would not get a mech simulator but a slow FPS game.
The Clans I can excuse, their development will hugely improve the variety in the game. But choosing to market, research and create the Phoenix and Sabre Packs while neither CW or role warfare is in the game in any meaningful fashion was a very bad choice. That product was aimed squarely at the old tabletop players, the ones who are most in it for Houses, Merc units, and the background that community warfare would have unlocked. Instead, they got more mechs.Even just allowing loyalty points to accumulate and posting a leaderboard for each faction would have added an element of long term competition.
It feels as though when presented with long term value and short term, this team always chooses short.This lack of perspective is an issue that will limit the game to casual players and new players unless it is corrected.
Well, the people who are making the 'Mechs are in no-way affiliated with the engineers tasked with crafting Community Warfare and other systems, so neither the Phoenix packs, nor the Clan stuff, nor all the other 'Mechs that were or will be released would have any effect on how fast or slowly CW is deployed. The largest of their programming team seems to have been working on the total UI revamp, as it was supposedly what kept other systems from being implemented, with UI 1.5 being described as a bottleneck.
Personally, I do have a feeling that they messed up a lot on their timetable - I'm not sure why, maybe they've got trouble finding more employees to fill up their team, or they had to backtrack and waste a lot of already existing work because earlier development moved them into some sort of corner. At least this is what I recall from their thread regarding the reasons behind all those delays.
Whilst I liked Repair and Rearm, the vocal majority hated it. PGI removing this feature is simply following the players' wishes.
The one thing I agree on is making Arm Lock, Throttle Decay and 3PV the default setting being a mistake, but the devs seem adamant about this being good for new players. I have no idea what sort of metrics they are using, though from watching other people play I don't think that nearly as many people are using these features as PGI believes, or says they believe. I don't have a problem with those "features" myself, but they really should not be the default setting. They end up gimping the user, and given how unintuitive the game can be at times, it might even turn people off simply because they don't know how to disable it (you see someone asking how to switch into 1PV again and again, for example).
All in all, the problem with MWO seems to be that they had to scrap a whole lot of work they put into the game during the first 1 to 2 years and start from scratch on a number of systems. We'll see if things will go faster now.
I haven't played any of the earlier MechWarrior games and came to Battletech only after playing MWO - but I liked R&R simply because it added a layer of immersion. Seeing a battle-damaged 'Mech in the garage, having to manually arrange rearmament and the repair of damaged parts ... I feel it added to the atmosphere.
Plus, it led to the interesting development that people would have "Grind 'Mechs" (cheap to fix) and "Fancy 'Mechs" (with Artemis etc), using the former for the majority of battles, but the latter when their c-bill account would enable them to afford deployment of a fully kitted-out BattleMech, especially during guild matches and events or on weekends. As a side effect, you'd see less of these high-tier 'Mechs on the battlefield, closing the gap to the Trials and new players.
So sad it's gone.
Then again, I recall one of the reasons for it being taken out that a lot of people would abuse it, such as people dropping into a match with 40% armour, or even just joining and then going afk because they just wanted to farm...
I'd much rather they would have found some way to stop and deal with those people instead of taking this feature away from all the "honest" players.
See, I payed like 10 bucks at the beginning for mechbays and the occasional impulse purchase (got the Death's Knell when it was on %50 a bit ago) and haven't spent a cent since. I just hop on once in a while when I wanna stomp around in a big death machine and shoot pew pew lazers at people. I don't grind towards things- I just play the options that happen to work towards unlocks- like the Awesomes, for example. And I haven't gotten tired of it.
This is why I like Free To Play games- I don't feel obligated to play all the time, every day, or even each week. Whereas with a game like, say ESO (which will be my first subscription MMO, because Elder Scrolls) I'll feel like I'm wasting my money if I don't do a little playing all the time.
You're plodding along in walking tanks, with lots of guns.
Even the fastest lights only hit about 150-160kp/h in MWO (and I think about 200 in tabletop/others).
Your average 'mechs speed isn't going to break 100kph. (I remember my light in ACFA hitting speeds of 4-5000kph)
But, you get fantastic shots of these behemoths striding across the battlefield in unison, missiles arc overhead, then lasers and cannons open fire.
Then it devolves into a big mess of hiding and dying, but for at least 20-30 seconds it looks awesome. xD
It's much, much Bigger than pretty much any other Mech game, except perhaps ChromeHounds.
BattleMechs range from about 20 Tons at lightest, to 100 Tons and up for the heaviest Assaults.
Thing is, it's very much from the 80s, and wears its anime influences on its sleeve, in a way. There's a lot of similarity to some of the original Giant Robot genre, like Gunbuster and Tetsujin- but it was significantly 'slowed down' for Western audiences (I think). It's an odd combination of plodding robots and speed of light weapons- lots of pew pew.
One of the things that sets it apart the most is the sheer amount of tankyness everything has. Even the lightest of mechs can last most single hits- there's maybe two or three "One Hit Kill" builds, and those are incredibly specialized (slow, cumbersome, less armour than optimal). In normal firefights even the humble Locust (lightest current option) can take a beating, and an Atlas can last almost a minute of sustained fire, depending on the types of weapons being shot.
But currently, it's just essentially deathmatch, with the occasional addon like cap the base or collect resources as optional alternative ways to win.
I must say that the new weapon modules are a great improvement to the game. I hope they release damage or rate of fire modules next! The MG especially is a no-brainer if you have the module room for it. Free range and no drawbacks.
Gitzbitah wrote: I must say that the new weapon modules are a great improvement to the game. I hope they release damage or rate of fire modules next! The MG especially is a no-brainer if you have the module room for it. Free range and no drawbacks.
You are the only one I've seen to say that.
At 3mil, I don't think I would bother.
At 1, maybe, but not 3.
Ovion wrote:You're plodding along in walking tanks, with lots of guns. Even the fastest lights only hit about 150-160kp/h in MWO (and I think about 200 in tabletop/others). Your average 'mechs speed isn't going to break 100kph. (I remember my light in ACFA hitting speeds of 4-5000kph)
But, you get fantastic shots of these behemoths striding across the battlefield in unison, missiles arc overhead, then lasers and cannons open fire.
Then it devolves into a big mess of hiding and dying, but for at least 20-30 seconds it looks awesome. xD
I really like this description.
Allow me to add some visual inspiration:
Anvildude wrote:Thing is, it's very much from the 80s, and wears its anime influences on its sleeve, in a way. There's a lot of similarity to some of the original Giant Robot genre, like Gunbuster and Tetsujin- but it was significantly 'slowed down' for Western audiences (I think). It's an odd combination of plodding robots and speed of light weapons- lots of pew pew.
I actually think that the preservation of this "80s sci-fi" visual style (obviously brought up to contemporary quality standards), in combination with a setting that's all about human hubris, political intrigue, technological recession and an almost purist absence of usually common factors such as sentient aliens or artificial gravity etc, Battletech becomes a refreshingly unique world in a sea of bland generic science-fiction worlds. Yes, I'm wearing my fan glasses here, but the more I read about Battletech after having started to play MWO ...
Ovion wrote:
Gitzbitah wrote:I must say that the new weapon modules are a great improvement to the game. I hope they release damage or rate of fire modules next! The MG especially is a no-brainer if you have the module room for it. Free range and no drawbacks.
You are the only one I've seen to say that.
At 3mil, I don't think I would bother. At 1, maybe, but not 3.
Maybe he has loads of c-bills, but no general xp? The first tier is fairly cheap at only 500 gxp. Otherwise, I would not bother with them not because of how much they cost in terms of c-bills, but because there's many more useful modules to be found compared to these sidegrades (for the most part - a few like the MG or AMS ones do not actually have drawbacks, aside from the comparatively high cost factor).
Once they start to add weapon module slots to the 'Mechs, however, I'll probably get one for my BattleMaster's ER PPC.
That's me, Lynata. High on cbills, low on gxp. I only run 7 mechbays, and they've all been occupied for some time. I also adore MGs as free dmg and decent anti-light side arm weapons.
Most of the range increases are pretty marginal, but the MG gets over 10% of a range boost with no heat deterrent.
Makes perfect sense. And I even run MGs on my Battlemaster - though I keep joking I want a flip-switch for them.
I'd still recommend getting a better module once you've gathered a couple thousand gxp. What sort of 'Mech are you running, again? There's loads of useful stuff available!
I got this module for my Hunchback 4g. It is pretty standards, AC20, 2MGs, 3 MLs. I tend to use LRMS for range, so my GXP has been used to get the Sensor Range and Target Lock Modules for my Catapults.
I haven't seen any brawling modules that really appealed to me besides the weapons tweaks.
Uh, not bad. Definitively a viable brawler build. Never piloted a Hunchie myself, but I do appreciate their design.
Useful modules that spring to mind here might be the Improved Gyro (depending on how fast you are / how often you get hit with ballistic weaponry) and maybe Seismic Sensors - but Artillery and Air Strikes (one use, 40,000 c-bills each) are always useful. You can equip them without spending gxp, but they are upgradeable to make them equal to the MC version.
I can see the value in both- but generally, when I'm getting rocked by fire it is at a range I can't respond effectively to. The build is a total knife-fighter. Mid-range snipers, or Dragon style cavalry mechs see more benefit from that module in my experience.
The Seismic Sensor would be very useful if I was a more cautious or deliberate pilot. As it is, I'm going around that corner, and once I get my sights on the enemy, he's going down or I am. Disengaging in a Hunchback almost always leads to getting pasted in the back with the long range weapons I lack.
I'll still try them out at some point, once the GXP builds back up. I've never tried the strike modules. They might just be fun to throw out as I closed with my foe.
Cockpit shake is really bad for knife fighters as well as it (obviously) reduces your chance to hit anything. It can be caused by Autocannons, SRMs, and LRMs from enemy ranged support units - the latter is frustrating if you are already in a brawl with another enemy at close range. The AC/2 in particular can be tedious due to its high rate of fire. The same goes for Streakboats that use chainfire to maximise your screenshake.
That being said, if you did not yet have any problems with this, then perhaps it really is not as bad for you. Medium 'Mechs rarely get as much attention as Lights and Assaults, anyways.
Seismic Sensor is perhaps more of a gimmick with situational use, as you may sometimes find yourself waiting at the entrance to the cave on Forest Colony, or behind a building in Frozen City, etc. Recently I even found it useful on my Jenner, if only at some very few moments in a game. If your 'Mech has few module slots, it is perhaps not the best choice.
Air and Artillery Strikes are just good fun, and if you don't know what else to pack, then these should be your choice. They are a bit costly to just use them all the time, but from time to time you will see the enemy cluster at a single spot, or close in as a group formation, which would make an ideal opportunity for this consumable. They are also useful to provoke a reaction in stalemates, when neither side wants to move out of their cover.
Also, UAVs. Not very useful for your own 'Mech, but your team will love you. Also, you get some bonus points for using them correctly.
Medium 'Mechs rarely get as much attention as Lights and Assaults
I love my trebuchet 7M, every time I use it I have a blast win or lose. There has been plenty of times my friends will use a steel wall (multiple atlas) and I will rock the treb and i will hold my own with them.
800 dmg 4kills isn't too hard for atlas or cheeselanders, but when you do it in a treb and there isn't any other TbT's in the match, you know you had a great round.
I'm a fan of the AL (what can I say, I'm a Kuritan), but I'm still going to participate. Free 'mechs are free 'mechs, and I did have fun with the autocannon too.
Those Cents make excellent skirmishing mechs. I recall using one to great effect way back when, mounting streaks to take down those annoying light mechs that are always buzzing around the Assaults' ankles. This one comes with Artemis built in, which makes it great for that. No, you won't be one-shotting Atlases, but you might rack up a surprising kill count.
The Artemis doesn't do any extra for streaks, but it does speed up your lock-on time in general, which in turn will help you streak some of those little lights to death.
Drop that engine down to a standard 260, replace the pulse lasers with regular medium lasers, and upgrade your SRMs to SRM6+Artemis and you've got a nasty shotgun. I ran around with a couple lance mates and we tore up Assault mechs all night.
That sounds like fun tbh.
But, while I do have a spare STD260, I have no SRM6+Art's, and don't have a mil to drop on that loadout.
Hell, only have 1 SRM6 and I'm not actually sure where that came from. xD
I have been having a great time with mine too...
Ive actually used it to make a FedCom Civil war era variant, the CN-9Da.
I kept the engine, dropped the SRM4's for an LRM10 with Artemis, dropped the pulse lasers for regular lasers and mounted an AC5. 2 tons of ammo for the cannon and one for the LRM keep me well fed and 10 DHS allow me to keep my cider and Mead chilled
Anyway, has anyone heard? They've announced the banshee!
Got a victor the other week and running it with 2x ac5s and an ac2 plus 2 MPLs and a lot of armour. Had some good fights managed to flank a whole team and unload all my ax ammo in thier backs.
I wish the did a battle report splash screen like WoTs at least then you can see what damage you did and to whome etc
M.A.V. (<-that's a link!) is in it's last stretch on the Kickstarter! Just a day or two to go- pledge at the $30 level and you get a copy of the soundtrack if we reach $30,000 (already funded, just stretch goals now!)
Swing by and support us if you enjoyed ChromeHounds or are a fan of fully-customizable Mech combat. Also, tell your friends!
Ok.. I am planning probably the craziest build ever.. just to do it.
I am taking a Raven 4X, stripping it down and dropping a much larger engine (245 or 255) and an AC20, and as much armor as I can get. Endo, Ferro, DH....
helgrenze wrote: Ok.. I am planning probably the craziest build ever.. just to do it. I am taking a Raven 4X, stripping it down and dropping a much larger engine (245 or 255) and an AC20, and as much armor as I can get. Endo, Ferro, DH....
I'll see what I can build in smurfy.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ok, so you aren't getting Double Heat sinks in it regardless. There just aren't enough slots between FF, ES the engine, AC20 and heat sinks.
That said, you can still make it run at 90 to 100kph. But hey, this is what I got AC20 Raven
helgrenze wrote: Ok.. I am planning probably the craziest build ever.. just to do it.
I am taking a Raven 4X, stripping it down and dropping a much larger engine (245 or 255) and an AC20, and as much armor as I can get. Endo, Ferro, DH....
I'll see what I can build in smurfy.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ok, so you aren't getting Double Heat sinks in it regardless.
There just aren't enough slots between FF, ES the engine, AC20 and heat sinks.
That said, you can still make it run at 90 to 100kph.
But hey, this is what I got AC20 Raven
The idea is a FAST AC20 mech.
A 255xl comes with enough HS, and by dropping all but the AC20 it can still be equipped. Will have to sacrifice some armor (down to @197) to hold more than a ton of ammo. Speed with Tweak is 129kph.
Dropping down to the 245xl, allows one DHS and @215 armor. Speed with Tweak is 124kph.
Thinking it may not live long enough to fire more than 7 shots in the first build.
I could be wrong of course.
Yeah but you would be running 1 HS short. Even with that you can load the DHS into the engine with no loss of slots... and get a better cooling efficiency.
So more... this thing then?.
It has almost no armour...
I suppose you could drop the 2 Light Lasers, but then.. it's going to die do anything even with an extra 32pts of armour, and is that worth the loss of the point defence?
It's interesting, but Mechtech's been shifting the idea of backup lasers about- basically, if you can fit a ton or two of extra laser, you could instead fit an extra ton or two of missile or Dakka, and be better off.
I think that's a choice between upfront dmg and dmg over time. For this particular theme, stripped down AC20 speed Raven, it is very unlikely it will survive contact long enough to go through 2 tons of AC 20 ammo.
Now if you can, helgrenze, then more power to you! You are a mighty sneaky light pilot.
Otherwise sacrificing that ton of ammo gives you an extra 6 dmg alpha, adding 30% dmg while the ammo lasts.
Gitzbitah wrote: I think that's a choice between upfront dmg and dmg over time. For this particular theme, stripped down AC20 speed Raven, it is very unlikely it will survive contact long enough to go through 2 tons of AC 20 ammo.
Now if you can, helgrenze, then more power to you! You are a mighty sneaky light pilot.
Otherwise sacrificing that ton of ammo gives you an extra 6 dmg alpha, adding 30% dmg while the ammo lasts.
Hmm sound like we have met in battle.
I may drop a ton of armor to add extra ammo..... still working on getting that speed tweak.
Gitzbitah wrote: I think that's a choice between upfront dmg and dmg over time. For this particular theme, stripped down AC20 speed Raven, it is very unlikely it will survive contact long enough to go through 2 tons of AC 20 ammo.
Now if you can, helgrenze, then more power to you! You are a mighty sneaky light pilot.
Otherwise sacrificing that ton of ammo gives you an extra 6 dmg alpha, adding 30% dmg while the ammo lasts.
Hmm sound like we have met in battle.
I may drop a ton of armor to add extra ammo..... still working on getting that speed tweak.
Totally possible! I'm usually a Hunchback in tartan, blazing wildly away with the biggest gun I can get my hands on. They know me as Cairbre in MWO.
Deathshead420 wrote: Man that timberwolf doesn't look right, something really off about it, too much leg not enough blimp.
I thought the same thing- it must have to do with the hitboxes. A classic Timberwolf would almost be able to use its legs to shield its side torsos though.
As to the MadCat, the earlier pictures looked really odd - as Deathshead said, "too much leg, not enough blimp". But the newer ones look as if they've tweaked it a bit? Definitely better. Or is it just the perspective?
The pictures are mostly perspective.
I honestly like this latest redesign.
I'd have like a few bits to be a little smoother, but it certainly fits with the 'modernised' aesthetic of the rest of it.
Est C-Bill costs for Primes (prices will likely be within +/-10%):
Kit Fox (Uller) - 30T - 5.4 million C-Bills.
Adder (Puma) - 35T - 7 million C-Bills.
Nova (Black Hawk) - 50T - 11.5 million C-Bills.
Stormcrow (Ryoken) - 55T - 14.8 million C-Bills.
Summoner (Thor) - 70T - 21.3 million C-Bills.
Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) - 75T - 24.2 million C-Bills.
Warhawk (Masakari) - 85T - 26.4 million C-Bills.
Dire Wolf (Daishi) - 100T - 29.4 million C-Bills.
Looks to be 2-3 times the cost of the equivalent IS mech in the weight range, paying Heavy prices for Lights, and Assault prices for Mediums.
"This weekend you can win a free unreleased Phoenix Mech! Win 5 matches anytime between April 18 at 10am PDT and April 22 at 10am PDT, and get the Thunderbolt TDR-9S with a MechBay for Free!"
So I'm brand new to MWO and looking at the mechs, I can't see one that can be purchased for C-Bills I also have played several games, and have yet to survive longer than 4 minutes. Given my skill at MW4 I expected more from myself...
First: Check out the new player help and guides section of the MWOMercs forum.
Second: Go to Mechlab, select Purchasable for mechs to buy.
Third: MW4 wasn't an especially amazing or balanced game, plus the learning curve for MWO is pretty steep.
Fifth: Win 5 matches this weekend for a free Thunderbolt! Switch it out to max Medium Lasers, twin Machine Guns, max armour, and an LRM with twin AMS and go nuts!
Ovion wrote: First: Check out the new player help and guides section of the MWOMercs forum.
Second: Go to Mechlab, select Purchasable for mechs to buy.
Third: MW4 wasn't an especially amazing or balanced game, plus the learning curve for MWO is pretty steep.
Fifth: Win 5 matches this weekend for a free Thunderbolt!
Switch it out to max Medium Lasers, twin Machine Guns, max armour, and an LRM with twin AMS and go nuts!
Regular Large Lasers have better range, generate less heat and have a better overall sustained DPS.
I keep meaning to try 1-2 Large Lasers on my Thunderbolt though, but I've been having such great fun (and success) brawling with 6 ML, 2MG and an LRM15 (I think with a STD300 in there), that I haven't bothered yet. xD
Especially being I normally run support mechs, it's a pleasant change - up to 13 mechs now!
Ovion wrote: Pulse anything just isn't worth it imo.
Regular Large Lasers have better range, generate less heat and have a better overall sustained DPS.
I keep meaning to try 1-2 Large Lasers on my Thunderbolt though, but I've been having such great fun (and success) brawling with 6 ML, 2MG and an LRM15 (I think with a STD300 in there), that I haven't bothered yet. xD
Especially being I normally run support mechs, it's a pleasant change - up to 13 mechs now!
Spoiler:
How often have you used LPL's? I know that on paper they look bad. But in practice, they are my best weapon.
+1.6 damage, +1 Heat, -100/-200M range, +2T, +150k seems... 'ok' on paper, but my experience with MPLs was terrible , far less accurate and less damage for me, and I sold the MPLs I had, so didn't want to bother spending precious C-Bills on LPLs to try.
But then, each to their own isn't it. Do need to get some LLs though!
Ovion wrote: +1.6 damage, +1 Heat, -100/-200M range, +2T, +150k seems... 'ok' on paper, but my experience with MPLs was terrible , far less accurate and less damage for me, and I sold the MPLs I had, so didn't want to bother spending precious C-Bills on LPLs to try.
But then, each to their own isn't it. Do need to get some LLs though!
I have no premium time, hero mechs or assaults, and I put little realworld money in, so it only goes on vitals, like Mech Bays (and 4 half-price paints).
Plus, running mostly lights / supports I feel good when I break 100K a match.
Throw in I only get 1-2 hours to play it a day and C-Bills are precious.
For example, 15,000,000C-Bills pugging will likely take me 190-200 matches, which is about 30-32 hours of playtime.
Well I don't think I'll playing a whole lot of Mechwarrior online. Personally, despite my love of MW4 I still prefer playing Torchight and and League over MWO. Thanks for the help though guys!
Just played a game as the Ilya with 3 ultra AC5. Over 500 damage, 5 kills and 6 assists, and not only that I survived the match (a first!), I like this mech.
Just a heads up for you guys, Atlas' aren't easy to use. They are considered one of the harder assaults to do right because they are such a huge target and sluggish as hell.
Out of all the trial Assaults I have tried, the Atlas (and to some degree the Stalker... but not really) is the only one I've really got on with.
Sporting my highest K/D ratio, and one of my higher W/L ratios.
So I may go for an AS7-RS first to be honest, as it'll start with 11,000 experience, then earn a D-DC off that, I'm a little undecided there, but I have at least 1-200 matches before I have to decide really.
Has anyone here played Hawken? I'm curious as to how you
think the two games compare community wise and gameplay
wise. I know only the slightest of things about each game.
It's far more like a generic shooter, just with robot skins, than a'real' mech game imo.
It's not a bad game persay, but it's just not a mech sim.
Everything moves too fast for what it is, and not especially like a robot.
It's a lot 'smaller' too, because even the largest Hawken mechs are sub-Light mech sized.
MWO is very much, stompy robots.
Giant lumbering things of metal, you feel like you're in a walking tank.
And with only 1 life, you have to be more careful and think tactically, as charging in is game over.
The mechs in hawken are akin to the battlearmour in the mechwarrior universe. Dam impossible to hit and they swarm around your mech in 3 dementions latching on to the top of mechs and drilling into them etc. elementals are the famous example. Like trying to hit flies with chopsticks.
I played it way back, but I didn't really like it. It felt like I couldn't hit anything and yet I was constantly being taken out. Not a good feeling when you don't have anyone to play with. UI was dam confusing back then too.
Honestly, any group is probably going to be hit or miss until proper Community Warfare. I'm signed up with 71st Nostradamus because 1: they're okay with 'casuals', and 2: I was invited by their leader and he seemed like a cool guy.
Right now, unless you're running with one of the super-serious groups that essentially organize their own inter-group tournaments, there's nothing different between dropping with some buddies and dropping with a special group, aside from maybe outside organization and having to listen to other people giving orders.
Who found the public test really really bad? Who even tried?
The waiting times were crazy. I don't know how many people were taking assaults, but dam, I was taking mediums the whole time and got 2 matches per hour. I ended up giving up and just playing in the normal game.
That said, you have almost as many games in just your Atlas D-DC as I have played all together.
Ledabot wrote: Who found the public test really really bad? Who even tried?
The waiting times were crazy. I don't know how many people were taking assaults, but dam, I was taking mediums the whole time and got 2 matches per hour. I ended up giving up and just playing in the normal game.
Not long.
You have up to a minute in the ready screen, and I don't think it's ever taken more than a minute max to find a match, usually a lot less than that.
I find people are generally pretty easy going.
You're used to the constant idiocy of PUGs (even when you're a PUG yourself), so you just kinda, take it in stride and move on to the next match.
Thanks to my handy-dandy Excel document: Total Matches Played 603 Total C-Bills Earned 41,144,862 Total XP Earned 254,807 Win / Loss Ratio 0.75 Time Played 46:27:37
Atlas D-DC: 7,032,842 C-Bills remaining, 103 matches to go.
) Even in community warfare we're not going to see a restriction like "IS alighned players may only use X mechs." Not to mention we still ahve no due date for community warfare.
Yeah, I hate when someone thinks it's funny to give that advice in a match ..
Love this^^^ 
