I got invited to play in a 4v4 "Stock Mode" lobby with some fine gents on the MWLL TS2 server yesterday and I had a ball. I didn't know that this was possible but a lobby got set up that disabled custom loadouts, quirks and modules. I think this is only available to certain people but I must say I wish that is was generally available, it would be a great reason to have Premium time. I didn't need to build the stock mech at all, I just had to choose the mech from my mechlab and when it appeared in game it has the stock loadout and only the paint scheme and cockpit items remain. Anyway my point is that it took me a lot of time to go through the stock loadouts and work out which ones I would be happy to play with. So I thought perhaps we could discuss what are the "best" stock mechs in MWO. My choices for IS are (from the mechs I current have in my mechlab): Light Medium Heavy Assault Clan Light Medium Heavy Assault
Stock mode IS generally available for private matches since last patch or the patch before. I also think that it's great to be implemented. On the IS side there are many stock heros that are powerfull and on clan side you can play nearly everything with cooling rate of 15-20% and above
Thanks for the heads up. I played with friends on the Comstar NA Australian channel last night and we had some good fun 4v4 or 3v3 or 2v2. The most fun was had when we all ran the same chassis but not necessarily the same type. I enjoyed the following: Centurion (AC20 is fun but make that ammo count) Stalker (we had two sticks vs 1 at the end) IS Hunchback (not enough ammo!) Hunchback IIC-Prime (can you say glass cannon) Funny drops were: Spiders (the winning team only did 100 damage total 3v3) Stock mode also made us consider IS v Clan in a different light because we turned off all efficiencies and quirks which makes the IS double heatsink issue more profound. We tried making it even by giving the IS team 1xlight 2xmedium 1xheavy 1xassault versus 1x1x1x1. But it still seemed pilot skill, positioning, and teamwork was the deciding factor. I certainly recommend this game mode for people who want to try something different. 5 stars!
I'd like to point you to Stock Mech Mayhem. There is a group of guys who have been doing stock mech battles for a very long time. These new lobby tools have made it very accessible for others to join in and have some fun! Typically NA timezone is on Wednesdays and EU timezone is on Saturdays They run tech levels which help balance the matches and there is an easy to follow picture chart showing what mechs are considered what tech level. Typically clans vs IS result in uneven numbers on each side AND a weight disadvantage for the clans. Lately they have been trying to incorporate a BattleValue system that one of the player created. They have been adjusting those values based on actual game performance during these stock mech fights, that way there will be a better list of tech/tier levels for balancing purposes. Anyway, here is the main thread for Stock Mech Mayhem! http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/236961-stock-mech-mayhem/ Drop by and have some fun!
Thanks for the info, the times don't suit Australian players at all, but I will utilise some of the tech level and team skill levelling ideas when I next have a Stock Mode event. Another idea one of my Comstar NA Aussie channel friends had was for each team to have a "budget" of c-bills that their mechs had to fit within. I'll have to run the numbers but that could potentially be a good way to manage a handicap system.
