|
LAST UPDATE: APRIL 2019 Welcome! MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play online FPS released in 2013. It’s one-half arena shooter, one-half sim-lite, and about seven-sixths wallet sucking nostalgia bait. Based on the classic MechWarrior series, it’s a game all about getting drunk and stomping around in big shooty robots. If you’ve never played before and are interested, read on. This post serves mostly as a primer and basic reference for new players. If you’ve played MWO in the past and are thinking about returning, give it a shot. Several of the worst balance and systems issues have received some much-needed attention in the last year or so. Oh, and yes, PGI is the same company responsible for that train wreck of a crowdfunding attempt known as Transverse. They’ve since refocused their efforts on MechWarrior and would please like everyone to forget and never talk about their attempt to copy Star Citizen’s rousing “success.” OBLIGATORY LORE BUMPER MechWarrior Online takes place in the BattleTech universe, a setting with more than thirty years worth of legacy. If you’re unfamiliar and care about why giant robots are fighting, then please enjoy this summary. Want more? Take a look at the unofficial wiki, Sarna.net and gorge until satisfied. GOON UNITS To join either unit, post a request in this thread and someone should get around to sending an invite sooner or later. [WoL] (Word of Lbake) – primary unit, usually contracted with the Inner Sphere under House Liao. [GIRL] – technically the Clan unit, but pretty dead these days. COMMS We’re mostly on discord. I think the mumble is still active, but don’t expect to find anyone in there. https://discord.gg/Nw59stN mumble.goonrathi.com pw: melon RECENT CHANGES Solaris 7 Update – this long-requested competitive arena mode rolled out in April ’18, along with special cosmetic rewards and a set of mode-specific maps. Since its induction, the mode has gone the way of Faction Play and become a ghost town, serving as yet another example of PGI’s ongoing struggle to implement interesting new features. Heat System Overhaul – after several scuttled attempts to tune Clan alpha damage, this was the solution that eventually went live in October ’18, and it’s proved to be a considerable boost to the overall health of the game. The short version is that mechs both heat up and cool down faster than before. Overall, DPS is higher, but it's offset by massive alpha strikes being weaker. QUICK START GUIDE (Current as of Apr. 2019) Just starting out? Don’t want to spend hours watching videos and reading tutorials before actually playing the game? Okay! Here’s a truncated list that’ll get you into a top-tier mech ASAP.
SUGGESTED TUTORIALS MWO has a pretty steep learning curve, and finding quality resources is often a challenge. The links below are some of the more concise guides out there.
CURRENCIES Like any good FTP game, MWO loves itself some esoteric fun-bucks. The primary five are listed below.
SPENDING REAL MONEY The glib answer is “don’t do it,” but impulse buying is a hell of a drug, and we all understand the urge to waste money on this stupid robot game. That said, PGI holds semiannual blowout sales, so it’s best to wait for one of those if at all possible. Aside from that, there are good and bad places to throw money around. Do Buy
Don’t Buy
Maybe Buy
MECH ROLES Most mechs in MWO fall into one of several loose groups that denote different roles based on their weight class and weapons loadout.
SKILL TREE PRIMER The skill tree is a massive webwork of nodes that serve as MWO’s leveling system. Each one is mech specific, and the whole thing looks confusing as hell at first. However, the basic methodology is pretty simple, with each tree having a certain number of high value “goal nodes." Some are loadout specific; others are almost universally good. The general idea of any skill build is to hit as many of these good nodes as possible while avoiding lower value chaff.
Skill Tree Examples FACTIONS MWO has two main factions, the Inner Sphere and the Clans. In gameplay terms, there are only a few differences. The big one is that Faction Play only allows a player to use mechs of their chosen faction. IS mechs tend to have quirks granting them higher durability, while Clan mechs are usually faster, with longer range and better firepower. Clans also have most (currently all) of the Omni-Mechs, a special class of mech that can swap out component pods to customize its hard points at the cost of having some of its critical slots and equipment locked. Traditionally Clans were the more powerful faction, both in the fluff and in the game proper, but the last few major updates have closed their lead considerably. FACTION PLAY BASICS Initially billed as an epic game mode with galaxy spanning persistence, FP has mostly disappointed and is currently little more than a longer version of quick match. It can be decent fun, but unlike QM the queue isn’t separated into groups and solos, so expect long wait times coupled with the occasional joy of getting gang stomped by a full premade. FP is broken out into two game modes. Invasion: consisting of one unique attack/defend map interspersed with regular QM maps, and rather than one mech the player rotates through a Drop Deck of four mechs during a match. Scouting: a CTF style mode with a weight limit, wherein one team attempts to grab “Intel” flags and reach an extraction zone while the other team tries to stop them. Engaging in FP requires two things, a Drop Deck and a faction contract. Obtaining the former only takes having enough mechs (4) to fill a Drop Deck. The latter requires joining a unit and/or declaring loyalty for a given faction. Far and away the most common questions related to FP are “what’s a good Drop Deck?” and “what should I take into Scouting?” so here are a couple of examples for both game modes, Example Drop Decks
Example Scout Mechs
SOLARIS 7 Solaris 7 is the latest, if not greatest, game mode added to MWO. It consists of 1v1 and 2v2 ranked arena play set on a handful of self-contained maps. Long requested by fans and largely functional, it quickly fell into disuse. That said, it’s still possible to find a match in some brackets and it this style of play sounds appealing there’s fun to be found inside the arena.
RESOURCE LINKS
WORTHWHILE HERO MECHS A question always at the forefront of every sale, these are the heroes worth snapping up when an opportunity arises. The list is ordered by how good/valuable I think the hero is, rather than by faction or weight class. Also, keep in mind that with one exception, the Deathstrike, all the Clan mechs listed are Omnis so buying them is more about getting the unique omni-pods than owning the whole robot.
MISCELLANEOUS TIPS Random stuff that’s useful to know.
Skippy McPants fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Jan 2, 2021 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 14:11 |
|
|
# ? Apr 24, 2024 12:06 |
|
MECH RECOMMENDATIONS (Current as of Apr. 2019) With nearly a hundred different mechs and hundreds of variants to choose from, figuring out what to buy is a hell of a challenge. To help with that, here’s a list of reliably good purchases. I’ve picked two of each weight class from both factions, and have tried to provide a decent sampling of roles. INNER SPHERE – Lights Osiris (OSR-4D) Boasting outstanding mobility, backed by reasonable speed and solid hotbox, this is the quintessential light mech. Play it like a proper light—poking from cover and picking at flanks—and it’ll give the enemy team conniptions. Build – OSR-4D Skills – mwoSkill Wolfhound (WLF-2) The Wolfhound is exceptionally durable, while still being fast and nimble enough to do its job. The strong armor quirks make it a lot more forgiving of mistakes than other lights, so it’s a perfect choice for anyone new to the weight class. Build – WLF-2 Skills – mwoSkill INNER SPHERE – MEDIUMS Assassin (ASN-21) A strong balance of speed and firepower make the Assassin a vicious opportunist that excels at preying on damaged mechs. Many close games turn into blowouts when one of these mechs sweeps in on cleanup duty. Build – ASN-21 Skills – mwoSkill Bushwhacker (BSW-X1) A durable workhorse, the Bushwhacker can find success with a variety of builds and play styles. Strong defensive quirks and some of the best hitboxes in the game let this mech live longer than anything else in its weightclass. Build – BSW-X1 Skills – mwoSkill INNER SPHERE – HEAVIES Roughneck (RGH-3A) Uncomplicated and stupidly tanky, there’s not much more to say. It’s point-and-click Laser Vomit paired with some of the best defensive quirks available. Seriously, this thing's quirks almost total more health than a whole Locust. Build – RGH-3A Skills – mwoSkill Warhammer (WHM-6R) The Warhammer’s high, tightly grouped weapon mounts make it one of the most popular IS heavies around. Decent structure quirks and a good selection of weapon hardpoints don’t hurt either. Build – WHM-6R Skills – mwoSkill INNER SPHERE – ASSAULTS Victor (VTR-9S) The Victor is secretly the best brawling mech in the game. Older and oft overlooked, the VTR-9S won big in both the quirk and engine rebalance. It now sits as one of MWO’s brooding terrors, a mech with performance that far outstrips its popularity. Build – VTR-9S Skills – mwoSkill Fafnir (FNR-5B) Quirk nerfs may have cast the Anni from its throne, but as one falls another must rise. Enter the FNR-5B: big, slow, and clumsy, but packing enough gun to vaporize any mech that dares enter a stare-down. Build – FNR-5B Skills – mwoSkill CLAN – LIGHTS Piranha (PIR-1) A glass cannon through and through, the Piranha mounts a staggering twelve machine guns, giving DPS to rival most assault mechs. However, all that damage comes at the cost of survivability, of which the Piranha has none. A single good hit from any heavy weapon is enough to knock off one of its legs or torsos. This low margin for error makes the Piranha a difficult but rewarding mech to pilot. Build – PIR-1 Skills – mwoSkill Arctic Cheetah (ACH-Prime) Once renowned as the most broken OP piece of poo poo on two legs, numerous nerfs have knocked the Cheetah all the way down to being merely very good. It has below average mobility for a light mech, but it is fast. It’s also hilariously over-gunned compared its IS counterparts, which is something of a theme for Clan mechs. Build – ACH-PRIME Skills – mwoSkill CLAN – MEDIUMS Hunchback IIC (HBK-IIC-A) It has insanely high mounts, which is often all it takes to put a mech on top of the meta heap. It also doesn’t hurt that the Hunchback IIC is one of the few Clan Battlemechs (i.e., a non-Omni) allowing a high degree of fine-tuning for the various builds. Build – HBK-IIC-A Skills – mwoSkill Vapor Eagle (VGL-1) There’s an axiom in MWO that all Clan Battlemechs are good Battlemechs and the Vapor Eagle does nothing to dispel this notion. With Clan tech and full control over the internals, this mech can mount a patently unfair number of guns for its size. Build – VGL-1 Skills – mwoSkill CLAN – HEAVIES Hellbringer (HBR-Prime) This mech is in the quick start guide for a reason. It’s simple. It’s effective. It’s drat good. Build – HBR-PRIME Skills – mwoSkill Orion IIC (ON1-IIC-A) The Orion IIC has everything a brawler needs and lots of it. It’s even got armor quirks, something rarely seen on a Clan mech. Build – ON1-IIC-A Skills – mwoSkill CLAN – ASSAULTS Marauder IIC (MAD-IIC) If there’s one thing Clans do well, it’s vomit lasers, and the Marauder IIC is a pinnacle of the archetype. Build – MAD-IIC Skills – mwoSkill Mad Cat MK II (MCII-B) On the day of its inception, the MCII leapt straight to the head of the assault class, and it’s likely to stay there for some time. With high marks in every single category, it takes a genuine effort to underperform in this mech. Build – MCII-B Skills – mwoSkill Skippy McPants fucked around with this message at 14:59 on May 28, 2019 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 14:12 |
|
That left justified title image haunts me. It haunts me!
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 14:35 |
|
A good op.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 15:01 |
|
2021 edit 2: So at the time of this edit, Smurfy is down. I edited in nav.alpha links for the Grimmechs STD 250 build and my LE 285 build that I stole from Crazyeyes24. 2021 edit: I updated the suggested skill tree a bit. I removed a cooldown and range node from Weapons and added two points of Heat Containment. I have no idea if it's an optimal tree but it's not garbage. The STD 250 build is currently ranked S tier on GrimMechs but I'm still running the LE 285. Edit: I'm going to repost my Crab build because I have fun playing it. Alright, I have no idea how good it actually is, or if it has a decent place in the current meta, but I've been running a Crab 27B to good effect[1]. If you like cheap builds, spewing out lots of pulse lasers, surviving tons of damage, and clacking your claws menacingly at teammates[2] this one might do the trick. I first found the Crab because it was on sale. That, and I was looking for a medium mech that was up to date. I had fond memories of playing a Centurion 9-A, the nearly unkillable brawler that could keep fighting without 3/4 of its limbs. I was sad to hear that after four years of being away, the 9A was no longer the beast it had been. I only had a Raven 3L, Catapult A1 and K2, and Atlas D-DC on my account so I must have sold the 9A beforehand. In any case, the Crab has turned out to be a fun and tough little mech for me. The low price tag was a bonus (~5.7 million for a complete build without it being on sale and not counting skills). There are two different versions of the Medium Pulse Laser build that I went through. The main difference is the engine and AMS. Both versions run a little hot, but are perfectly playable even without a skill tree or consumables. There are probably many ways to tweak the builds (light engine instead of an XL perhaps, armor balancing) and skill tree since I'm sure they are not optimized. Edit 3-21-2018: I do not recommend the XL 300 anymore. Instead, I suggest using the Edit 4-5-2021: New link for the LE 285 build. Skill tree - Image of skill tree: Get the 15 points in Mech Operations ASAP. After that, fill out Armor Structure and Weapons. I've found that playing this build as an assassin works the best. 81-97 KPH means you can move fairly quickly and flank around to shoot butts. If the target turns around before you managed to core them, you're probably capable of brawling with them if needed. You can survive a good amount of damage but that doesn't mean you should be engaging in straight-up fights all the time. For teamfights, just remember to think like a crab. To be like a crab. Scuttle sideways around the edges and swoop in to pinch toes. aniviron posted:I have been an evangelist for the CRB-27B for years, it's great. Pretty much all I take to IS scouting. I run something very very close to your STD250 build and it's quite good. You won't always end up with the highest damage numbers but you can concentrate the damage very well thanks to the very short burn duration. The one thing I would add to your story is that the you know a dangerous enemy immediately by whether or not they target your legs. If they go for your buttery crab legs back off immediately and come at them a different way when you have the opportunity. Everyone else is going to spread their damage all over your upper body and they are not nearly as much of a threat as people who actually know what to do against a Crab. I'm not sure if I would recommend this as a starter mech, but I enjoy playing it and it seems somewhat forgiving. 1. A total fluke of a game where people ignored the Crab scooting around and shooting them. 2. Press the / key to open your claws. Press again to close them. There are little lights in your cockpit that are green when the claws are open and red when they are closed. Keep them closed most of the time. Skippy McPants posted:
Shoot, I thought it was supposed to be disabled. I'll flip it back on. Polka_Rapper fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Apr 6, 2021 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:00 |
|
Polka_Rapper posted:Shoot, I thought it was supposed to be disabled. I'll flip it back on. The old OP recommended disabling it, probably due to pilot preference. Some people like it, others don't. Personally, I'm not fond of it but there's no question that turning it off handicaps a mech's accel/decel so it goes on and stays on so far as I'm concerned. Edit: Skippy McPants fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Jan 14, 2018 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:06 |
|
Skippy McPants posted:The old OP recommended disabling it, probably due to pilot preference. Some people like it, others don't. Personally, I'm not fond of it but there's no question that turning it off handicaps a mech's accel/decel so it goes on and stays on so far as I'm concerned. I got rid of that and also edited my Crab post in.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:10 |
|
Skippy McPants posted:The old OP recommended disabling it, probably due to pilot preference. Some people like it, others don't. Personally, I'm not fond of it but there's no question that turning it off handicaps a mech's accel/decel so it goes on and stays on so far as I'm concerned. I wonder if the set throttle % controls (numpad keys) are similarly affected. I hate it when what control scheme you use directly affects the gameplay, it's a huge red flag of how little the impact of a change is tested, which means features get added/removed based on 'instinct' not any sort of actual evaluation.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:41 |
|
Allowing normal throttle seems like it was a concession for the people who also want to use joysticks for MWO.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:43 |
|
EoRaptor posted:I wonder if the set throttle % controls (numpad keys) are similarly affected. I hate it when what control scheme you use directly affects the gameplay, it's a huge red flag of how little the impact of a change is tested, which means features get added/removed based on 'instinct' not any sort of actual evaluation. The stepped % controls aren't affected, but they have a separate issue where they'll overshoot the mech's acceleration creating a fractional amount of lag if you invert at anything less than full throttle. It's infuriating that the game has three different mechanisms for controlling throttle and they're all gimmicky or broken in different ways. I ranted for like a page and a half in the old thread when I first discovered this insanity.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:52 |
|
Commoners posted:Allowing normal throttle seems like it was a concession for the people who also want to use joysticks for MWO. Constantly holding down the throttle button murders my wrist (carpel tunnel issues) so being able to hit W and then take my finger off it while still moving is a huge benefit to me. I can then tap between S and W to adjust my speed. I'm hoping that I can turn on throttle decay and bind W to 100% throttle and have it 'stick'.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 16:53 |
|
EoRaptor posted:Constantly holding down the throttle button murders my wrist (carpel tunnel issues) so being able to hit W and then take my finger off it while still moving is a huge benefit to me. I can then tap between S and W to adjust my speed. I'm hoping that I can turn on throttle decay and bind W to 100% throttle and have it 'stick'. Keep throttle decay on still. If you don't want to hold down W, just tap 0 on the numpad. That sets throttle to 100% until another throttle action is taken (including tapping W)
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 17:31 |
|
Nice OP, the locust mastery pack should definitely go under the 'maybe buys'. IF you're going to spend money, its basically the best deal. Also needs a a lil blurb about why Champion mechs are bad.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 18:15 |
|
Very solid OP. I also learned a couple new things that I hadn't heard during my time away (most importantly the throttle decay bit). I had always thought they would modify the acceleration of the throttle to match the mech's acceleration... but again that would require work. so Is anyone else having trouble loading skill tree links? Every time I go to open on I get an error saying it can't retrieve data. Tried a couple browsers and PCs still getting the same issue. Polka_Rapper posted:Crab Post I just purchased the 27B after much internal debate of it vs the 27. I like the extra damage and speed I can get out of it, though I think the 27 can be a bit tankier if you go full zombie build. 27: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=330&l=bcc63669877a5722976cb46d55fc2e08fec19c7a 27B: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=332&l=2fdec4cb6722ff38ae44995a0c70fe5bab329683 Crazyeyes24 fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jan 14, 2018 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 20:28 |
|
New year, new thread Anyone pre-ordered the Piranha? e; Also might want to add to the op that buying mech bays is a good thing, especially when they're on sale a dmc delorean fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jan 14, 2018 |
# ? Jan 14, 2018 20:29 |
|
"If there’s one thing Clans do well, it’s vomit lasers, and the Marauder IIC is a panicle of the archetype." Pinnacle?
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 21:12 |
|
Panicle: That which invokes the maximum amount of panic in a pubbie.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 21:22 |
|
I might have to play this again briefly when the piranha get released and break out some streak missiles.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 21:23 |
|
Angelwolf posted:New year, new thread Yeah I pre-ordered that poo poo, 12 machineguns is going to be amazing.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 22:15 |
|
I mean, they did preemptively nerf MGs twice, and I'm sure they will get nerfed again before the thing comes out for CB. There's a long track record of this dating back to the first clan mechs, so I'm sure PGI will keep doing it.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 23:14 |
|
8 MGs to some assault's back is p. good right no, so 12 is like 50% better imagine coming up behind a dual-HG Annihilator with your Pirahna buddy and each opening up on a torso.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2018 23:18 |
|
Crazyeyes24 posted:Is anyone else having trouble loading skill tree links? Every time I go to open on I get an error saying it can't retrieve data. Tried a couple browsers and PCs still getting the same issue. It hasn't worked the last couple of days. I'm assuming it'll get fixed so I went ahead with doing up all the skill trees because mwoSkill is the best skill tree planner around. If it stays dead I'll switch everything over to one of the others at some point.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 00:17 |
|
Skippy McPants posted:It hasn't worked the last couple of days. I'm assuming it'll get fixed so I went ahead with doing up all the skill trees because mwoSkill is the best skill tree planner around. If it stays dead I'll switch everything over to one of the others at some point. I was having problems but I thought it was browser related since I opened the skill trees on a different computer. Anyway, I had previously saved my Crab tree as an image so I'll be editing that into the post.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 00:36 |
|
Polka_Rapper posted:Anyway, I had previously saved my Crab tree as an image Oh, is it this one?
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 01:01 |
|
all of this crab talk inspired me in a really terrible, half assed way
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 01:56 |
|
Shoot robits get bills.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 02:15 |
|
I have to admit I was hoping for pincers instead of hands, but at least the image is accurate; I find myself legging enemies a lot in the Crab, the lasers combined with duration reductions makes it a lot easier.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 02:16 |
|
Ive been gone for a while, did PGI ever learn how to code after all these years? Did we get tripping back? DFA? Melee Weapons?
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 02:50 |
|
Thor-Stryker posted:Ive been gone for a while, did PGI ever learn how to code after all these years? 1. eh 2-4. No
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 02:53 |
|
I don't know that this is practical but it sure looks fun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIsGedujcEg
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 04:02 |
|
It's a lot of trouble to go to when the MCII-1 or DS can do similar alphas without juggling ghost heat. Gauss Rifles are really good, yo.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 04:11 |
|
aniviron posted:Oh, is it this one? It's more like this one.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 04:17 |
|
Skippy McPants posted:It's a lot of trouble to go to when the MCII-1 or DS can do similar alphas without juggling ghost heat. Gauss Rifles are really good, yo. Sometimes people like to pilot different mechs. I love my Supernova far more than my Deathstrike.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 04:26 |
|
Sweet new thread. Even though I don't think it's workable anymore the Beef's Direstar video should still be required viewing for any player old or new. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTlXw2qGB2w Also I've grown too attached to my Deathstrike and Hellbringer. I wind up playing them over anything else like 75% of the time and I need some more variety in my life. The Repo Man posted:Sometimes people like to pilot different mechs. I love my Supernova far more than my Deathstrike. Yo what's your Supernova build. E: Oh snap I forgot Annihilators are cbill available now I should grab one. Axetrain fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Jan 15, 2018 |
# ? Jan 15, 2018 07:19 |
|
So with all the changes, LRMs are still worthless? Also, what makes the Mad Cat II so good? The recommendation section mentioned it has high marks in all category - so good armor, weapons, mobility all in one package?
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:34 |
|
Weissritter posted:So with all the changes, LRMs are still worthless? Imagine if the Timberwolf, back when it was God King of gently caress Mountain, were an assault. You'd be only a little bit off.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:38 |
|
Weissritter posted:So with all the changes, LRMs are still worthless? LRMs will always suck, it is in the nature of that type of weapon. If you have to do long range missiles I would suggest an ATM SNV-A. The MCII is good because it is a 90 ton clan battlemech with good hitboxes and good hardpoints. MCII-2 LBX20's/SRM6's, MCII-B 2xUAC5,2xUAC10, MCII-DS 2xGauss... powerful builds.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:40 |
|
Axetrain posted:
Here's THE Supernova build: SNV-1 There's also a really good ATM build for the SNV-A but I'm not gonna encourage that.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:46 |
|
So for no apparent reason, literally from one functional match to the next, I'm now getting a black screen and unresponsive client on the second loading screen when entering a match. Anyone know what this might be? Already tried deleting the profile, restarting and reconnecting doesn't do it.
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:48 |
|
|
# ? Apr 24, 2024 12:06 |
|
Orv posted:So for no apparent reason, literally from one functional match to the next, I'm now getting a black screen and unresponsive client on the second loading screen when entering a match. Anyone know what this might be? Already tried deleting the profile, restarting and reconnecting doesn't do it. Does the training grounds still work for you?
|
# ? Jan 15, 2018 08:54 |