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Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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.
  1. Play the Academy – this is the basic tutorial, and in addition to imparting knowledge, it also nets a decent chunk of C-Bills. Pay special attention to the Piloting Challenge, which pays out 500k per rank achieved. Reaching gold is a bit tricky for new players, but the Academy is replayable at any time and the money will always be there waiting.

  2. Complete the Cadet Bonus – the first 25 games played offer sizable C-Bill and XP bonuses. No wins required, just play the game. This is a great chance to experiment with different weight classes using the trial mechs. I recommend the Wolfhound, Stormcrow, Hellbringer, and King Crab as the standouts in each weight bracket.

    Warning: the final cadet bonus grants a hefty 48,000 GXP. Spend this general experience with care, as it accrues much slower in regular play. Like, 100-250 per match.

  3. Buy A Mech – the Academy and Cadet Bonus together yield around 15–20 million C-Bills. Take that money to the store and buy a Hellbringer Prime (HBR-PRIME) for 13.5m C-Bills. The HBR is a flexible, competitive mech that’s stayed relevant for more than three years. There is no safer place to invest the new player bonus.

  4. Customize the HBR – enter the MechLab and re-tool that shiny new mech until it looks like this: HBR-PRIME. Take note of both the armor values and the need to swap out the weapon pods on the right torso and head. Double check all changes before saving the build, as locking it in will deduct the C-Bill cost from the account’s total.

  5. Go Forth and Vomit Lasers – all told, the mech and modifications clock in at ~15.5m C-Bills. Expensive, but well worth it for a mech that can solo carry games, is dead simple to pilot, and will likely remain viable for years to come.

  6. Flesh Out the Skill Tree – as XP builds up on the HBR, spend it on filling out this Skill Tree. The full skill build costs about 4.1 million C-Bills and 73,000 XP.

  7. Enjoy the Game – backed by a solid meta build, the kills and C-Bills should flow in at a steady pace. When the time comes to buy a new mech, do some research or ask this thread for advice to help dodge buyers remorse.


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.

  • Kanajashi’s Video Tutorials – an excellent series that provides a concise rundown of MWO’s various systems.
  • Tactics 101 Comics – a straightforward, simple rendering of many concepts central to the basic gameplay. A lot of it seems obvious, but it’s amazing how often people screw up in precisely the ways outlined in these comics. Don’t be one of those people.


CURRENCIES

Like any good FTP game, MWO loves itself some esoteric fun-bucks. The primary five are listed below.
  • C-Bills – the basic currency, earned through play and used to purchase most mechs, equipment, and skill points.
  • MC – the premium currency usable for all mechs. Mainly bought with real money, small quantities are also doled out during special events.
  • XP – experienced gained on individual mechs during play. XP is used in conjunction with C-Bills to buy SP for that specific mech’s skill tree.
  • GXP – a universal pool of experience usable on any mech, GXP accrues much slower than the regular mech-specific kind. XP can be converted to GXP, though it costs a hefty amount of MC to do so.
  • SP – purchased with some combination of XP, GXP, and C-Bills and used exclusively to unlock nodes on a mech’s skill tree.

    Warning: Spend all currencies wisely! Earning more can be tough early on, and it’s easy to blow a full bank of C-Bills on frivolous customization or every last scrap of GXP skilling up a single mech that never sees play.


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
  • Premium Time – far and away the best value-per-dollar, even with only a modest amount of playtime. This is the single best place to spend money.
  • MC – used to buy most other premium items, MC is flexible, and it’s worth having some around. Just remember that every 200-250 MC is equal to roughly $1 and try to keep that conversion in mind when eyeballing prices in the store.
  • Mech Bays – every mech needs a home, and Mech Bays are it. Unfortunately, they’re only available for MC. Fortunately, they often go on sale and even occasionally show up as event rewards.

Don’t Buy
  • Non-hero Mechs – buying mechs with MC is costly and should be avoided whenever possible.
  • Champion Mechs – a special mech variant, tagged with (C) in the store. Champions are MC only and grant a 30% bonus to XP gain. This applies to GXP earned as well, but even with the bonus, they’re not worth.
  • C-Bills – even worse than the MC conversion on mechs. Never buy C-Bills; better to buy premium time and play the game a bit more.
  • Mech Pre-orders – offered on PGI’s website, these mech packs are a universally terrible value. There’s no guarantee that the final product will be any good and even if it is, only one or two of the half dozen variants sold are likely to see play. If you absolutely must own the cool new robot before all the other kids on the playground, then fine, do it. Just be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, i.e., $40–70 for a couple of mechs that might be complete garbage.

Maybe Buy
  • Hero Mechs – after premium time, heroes are the best place to spend MC. However, there are a lot of awful heroes and it’s sometimes hard to tell the wheat from the chaff. Before buying, either check the “Worthwhile Hero Mechs” section of this post or ask in the thread.
  • Steam Packs – sold through Steam’s DLC store these packs offer a pair of mechs, along with some premium time, MC, and a few other goodies. They’re a decent buy if, and only if, both mechs in the pack are good. The only one I’d recommend without reservation is the Heavy Mech Pack II.




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.

  • Laser Vomit – high alpha, high heat builds that focus on mid-range trading. Potent and easy to play, all a Vomit mech need do is hold their technicolor dream beam on target and hide behind a building whenever their heat starts to pile up.
    Weapons – various classes of Medium and Large Laser
    Example – HBR

  • Gauss Vomit – same as above, but with the addition of Gauss Rifles. This stands out as a separate role because the rifles have a relatively high learning curve and take some practice to use effectively.
    Weapons – various classes of Medium and Large Laser, Gauss Rifles
    Example – MCII-DS

  • Ballistics – so-called “dakka” builds shred targets with a steady stream of slugs. They have high sustained damage, but with below average burst, ammo limitations, and the chance for (most) weapons to jam. Be mindful of that CT armor when staring too long at the enemy team.
    Weapons – most kinds of UACs, some regular ACs
    Example – ANH-1A

  • Brawler – mechs built with an eye towards close-range combat. Playing a brawler requires a degree of patience as they’ll often spend a decent portion of a game outside weapons range. But if they choose the right moment to commit, brawlers can wade in and swing the course of a match.
    Weapons – large ACs, LBXs, and SRMs
    Example – BSW-P1

  • Scout – a pseudo role filled by fleet light and medium mechs, scouts are usually subdivided into brawling and poking depending on the range and heat generation of their weapons. This role focuses on finding the enemy team and relaying their position, after which they either transition into flanking or joining the fray to dish out damage while the bigger mechs soak up aggro.
    Weapons – Small and Medium Lasers, SRMs
    Example – LCT-PB

  • Sniper – maximum range at the expense of all else. Snipers are somewhat map dependent, but in the right situation they offer the chance to do gobs of damage while sustaining little to no return fire.
    Weapons – ER Large Lasers, PPCs, Gauss Rifles
    Example – HBK-IIC-A

  • LRM Carrier – I’m not going to help anyone build or play an LRM boat.
    Weapons – ignorance, suffering,
    Example – piss off!




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.

  • Firepower – focuses on mech weapon systems. Every mech will put at least a handful of points in this tree.
    Goal Nodes – Heat Gen, Laser Duration, Missile Spread, Missile Rack, Magazine Capacity, Enhanced UAC/RAC

  • Survival – improves mech survivability through crit reduction and percentage based bonuses to armor and structure. Essential on nearly all mechs.
    Goal Nodes – Armor Hardening, Skeletal Density

  • Mobility – buffs overall mech handling. Useful for agile light and medium mechs that live or die based on their ability to maneuver.
    Goal Nodes – Speed Tweak, Kinetic Burst, Torso Speed, Anchor Turn

  • Jump Jets – designated joke tree. Don’t waste points here, even on mechs with jump jets.
    Goal Nodes – n/a

  • Operations – general utility tree. Mostly useless, but with a single high-quality node type.
    Goal Nodes – Cool Run

  • Sensors – nodes dealing with sensor and contact management
    Goal Nodes – Enhanced ECM, Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensor

  • Auxiliary – focuses on the game’s various consumable items.
    Goal Nodes – Enhanced Coolshot, Consumable Slot

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

  • IS (55 ton limit)
    Bushwhacker – BSW-P1
    Griffin – GRF-3M

  • Clans (55 ton limit)
    Vapor Eagle – VGL-1
    Nova – NVA




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.

  • Divisions – mechs come in all shapes and size in MWO and some are flat out better than others. In an attempt to compensate for this imbalance Solaris splits all mech variants into one of seven different divisions. Most still end up with one or two different builds dominating the bracket, but at least there is some forced variance between the different tiers.

    Mech Divisions as of Season 5 (Apr. 2019)

  • Builds – each division’s leaderboard displays the build for a player’s most used mechs so copy and paste the top contenders and go wild.

  • Seasons and Rewards – seasons in Solaris last three months, and at the end of each rewards are dolled out to the top-ranked players in each division. As an example, the Season 4 rewards are listed Here


RESOURCE LINKS

  • Previous SA Thread – the older, less hip version of this thread. There’s probably some useful information in there, but who wants to dig through 600 pages?
  • Mech DB – the first of two essential tools for workshopping builds; Mech DB provides a quick and easy way to reference specs and plan mech loadouts.
  • mwoSkill – the other must-have tool, this one is for mapping out skill trees.
  • Smurfy – an alternate to Mech DB, Smurfy is older and has some unique functionality but doesn’t update as often.
  • PGI's New Player Forum – while everything on the official forums should be taken with a grain of salt, it’s worth perusing this forum and its Guides & Strategies sub-forum. There’s a decent amount of useful information buried within, especially in the pinned threads.
  • Mech Hitboxes – a collection of color-coded graphics that provide a clear breakdown of every mech’s hitboxes. Mechs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and knowing where one component ends and another begins is very useful, especially for landing head-shots.
  • Mech Mobility Spreadsheet – none of the wikis or databases have a reference for mobility stats, so here’s a google doc. Sadly it doesn’t list hero mechs, but it’s better than nothing.
  • The Jarl’s List – a season by season breakdown of player stats, scraped from MWO’s official leaderboard. It’s useful for tracking progress or lording it over other forum posters.


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.

  • Mad Cat MK II (Deathstrike)
  • Thunderbolt (Top Dog)
  • Cyclops (Sleipnir)
  • Quickdraw (IV4)
  • Warhammer (Black Widow)
  • Urbanmech (K-9)
  • Locust (Pirate’s Bane)
  • Kit Fox (Purifier)
  • Night Gyr (Jade Kite)
  • Huntsman (Pakhet)
  • Dire Wolf (Ultraviolet)
  • Viper (Medusa)
  • Griffin (Sparky)




MISCELLANEOUS TIPS

Random stuff that’s useful to know.

  • Arm Lock – it exists. Some people like to lock their arms when the feature isn’t needed, and that’s fine, but don’t forget about it! Hotkey it and remember that it’s there so you don’t get tooled by an Urbanmech standing on top of a rock.
  • Throttle Decay – turn it on, leave it on, get used to it. Turning off throttle decay inflicts a noticeable penalty on a mech’s handling. For more details, read this article.
  • Spotting – use the enemy spotted feature in the game’s comms wheel. In addition to helping the team by communicating, spotting this way will also bracket target on the mini-map for about six seconds, even after losing sensor contact.
  • All Chat – it’s disabled by default. Turn it on to hear the enemy team accuse everyone of hacking.

Skippy McPants fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Jan 2, 2021

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Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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

Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

That left justified title image haunts me. It haunts me!

Skoll
Jul 26, 2013

Oh You'll Love My Toxic Love
Grimey Drawer
A good op.

Polka_Rapper
Jan 22, 2011
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. :shrug:

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.

STD 250 WORKING BUILD LINK HERE: This build uses the stock engine. Doing so saves a huge chunk of c-bills at the cost of a slightly lower top speed and a single less heatsink. It's also quite a bit tankier.
XL 300: This build uses an XL 300 because I had a spare. The higher speed and ability to run AMS are quite useful and my survivability does not seem to have dropped by much. Admittedly, I'm still working off four years of rust and I generally die fairly quickly no matter what. An XL 305 would also work at the cost of losing AMS. However, either engine nearly doubles the cost of the ENTIRE build.
Edit 3-21-2018: I do not recommend the XL 300 anymore. Instead, I suggest using the LE 285 posted by Crazyeyes24 below.
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:

  • Throttle Decay - turn it on, leave it on, get used to it. Turning off throttle decay inflicts a noticeable penalty on a mech’s handling. For more details, read this article.

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

Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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: Also, if you love me, you'll edit that quote to fix the and/a typo. I'm still filtering through the OP to fix all my mistakes and seeing one enshrined forever on the first page will eat away at my immortal soul. I love you.

Skippy McPants fucked around with this message at 16:22 on Jan 14, 2018

Polka_Rapper
Jan 22, 2011

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.

Edit: Also, if you love me, you'll edit that quote to fix the and/a typo. I'm still filtering through the OP to fix all my mistakes and seeing one enshrined forever on the first page will eat away at my immortal soul.

I got rid of that and also edited my Crab post in.

EoRaptor
Sep 13, 2003



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.

Commoners
Apr 25, 2007

Sometimes you reach a stalemate. Sometimes you get magic horses.
Allowing normal throttle seems like it was a concession for the people who also want to use joysticks for MWO.

Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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.

EoRaptor
Sep 13, 2003



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'.

Rysithusiku
Nov 10, 2013

Witness the assless man and despair!
All futures point to a world of filled holes.

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)

TheParadigm
Dec 10, 2009

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.

Crazyeyes24
Sep 14, 2014

Your good vision is your fatal weakness!
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 :pgi:

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.



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

a dmc delorean
Jul 2, 2006

Live the dream
New year, new thread :hellyeah:

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 :v:

a dmc delorean fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Jan 14, 2018

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!
"If there’s one thing Clans do well, it’s vomit lasers, and the Marauder IIC is a panicle of the archetype."

Pinnacle?

Crazyeyes24
Sep 14, 2014

Your good vision is your fatal weakness!
Panicle: That which invokes the maximum amount of panic in a pubbie.

DancingShade
Jul 26, 2007

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 26 days!)

I might have to play this again briefly when the piranha get released and break out some streak missiles.

TjyvTompa
Jun 1, 2001

im gay

Angelwolf posted:

New year, new thread :hellyeah:

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 :v:

Yeah I pre-ordered that poo poo, 12 machineguns is going to be amazing.

aniviron
Sep 11, 2014

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.

Pattonesque
Jul 15, 2004
johnny jesus and the infield fly rule
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.

Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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.

Polka_Rapper
Jan 22, 2011

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.

aniviron
Sep 11, 2014

Polka_Rapper posted:

Anyway, I had previously saved my Crab tree as an image

Oh, is it this one?

free hubcaps
Oct 12, 2009

all of this crab talk inspired me in a really terrible, half assed way

Yardbomb
Jul 11, 2011

What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

Shoot robits get bills.

aniviron
Sep 11, 2014

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.

Thor-Stryker
Nov 11, 2005
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?

Pattonesque
Jul 15, 2004
johnny jesus and the infield fly rule

Thor-Stryker posted:

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?

1. eh
2-4. No :(

Pattonesque
Jul 15, 2004
johnny jesus and the infield fly rule
I don't know that this is practical but it sure looks fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIsGedujcEg

Skippy McPants
Mar 19, 2009

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.

Polka_Rapper
Jan 22, 2011

It's more like this one.

The Repo Man
Jul 31, 2013

I Remember...

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.

Axetrain
Sep 14, 2007

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

Weissritter
Jun 14, 2012

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?

Orv
May 4, 2011

Weissritter posted:

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?

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.

TjyvTompa
Jun 1, 2001

im gay

Weissritter posted:

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?

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.

TjyvTompa
Jun 1, 2001

im gay

Axetrain posted:


Yo what's your Supernova build.

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.

Orv
May 4, 2011
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.

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TjyvTompa
Jun 1, 2001

im gay

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?

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