First Mech Advice (after quirks)

I only have the -9S at the moment (I believe it was the gift one), it's the one I have no clue to make it work.
My plan was to buy the -9SE as third variant and use 4 LPLas (like this), I glad to hear it's working great for you, maybe it will only be the -9S I'll struggle with (maybe just GXP it and basta).

Nope.
It's my premium choice for an heavy LRM boat (2 LRM20+A, 3 MLas, TAG)(though I'm considering switching to LRM15s for the quirks). And I think that Catapults are great for beginners. But maybe I'm just old fashioned.

 

Yeah, I could never get my 9S to work (same as the 5S until I turned it into a LRM boat), so I sold it off to make room for Clan mechs.

 

<D

Dann schreibs auf Deutsch und ich übersetzte....

 

Das wäre ja zu einfach

 

I play mine aswell, it's a good mech but for starters there are mechs with more variation and less vulnerabilities, IMHO.

 

Don't forget about the free day (maybe just 2 hours now?) of PT that you can get when you first sign up, too! That thing is gold when you're a beginner. After you download the client a picture appears to click through to get some free PT. A lot of us missed it at first since it's kinda subtle. http://mwomercs.com/game/download

Also, to reiterate: I think the hunchback is a super choice for a first mech. The quirks make it competitive now and between the variants you can play with ballistics, missiles, and energy weapons. Plus they take standard engines so they are fabulously cheap. If your friend really wants to invest in the game, seriously consider the Karma Koin deals they have going on right now. If you spend $100 you get the hunchback mastery pack along with it. A great way to start since you also get a hero mech, a bunch of useful mechs, mech bays, and some PT.

To rogue a little bit, he can also consider vindicators. Something like this is very noob friendly and it also comes with JJs and a standard engine. The chassis is not as diverse as the hunchbacks, but that mech plus the VND-1AA are solid mechs.

I started with Cataphracts, myself. Also a solid mech but you'll be kicking around for a while to save up for the two other variants plus XL engine to make them shine.

 

Interesting - i never considered the Thunderbolt as a beginners-friendly Mech, because it is best for Laserboating. And Laserboats are difficult to handle for Beginners imo. Dakkas and LRMs are much more easy to go if you want quick n dirty C-Bills/XPs. For both the Shawks & Jagers have better hardpoints.

I'd suggest to explain him at least the difference of the four weight classes (Tonnage for weapons/armor VS Mobility) and the Weapon Type Systems, before asking what he wants to focus on.

But In the end nothing helps if he falls in eternal love with a specific Chassis.

@PyckenZot
No you are not the only one. But Mad Cats made them almost obsolete for me.

 

He played some games today, accidentally bought a jenner and had 1 kill in 17 games so he decided to make a new account and get some driving lessons first . The trial hunch works fine for him so far....so that might already be decided.

 

4P 4G and 4SP then, solid, cheap, and can use lasers, dakka, and missiles having the 3 of them.

 

I would prefer newbies to be building freely. So a mech without quirk reliance would be good. Still voting ShadowHawks.
Also, tey to keep it IS, clan mech is a whole can of worms, and I don't think it is a good starting point for newbies, seriously.

 

redeemed after 9 months, thanks

 

Can't believe the TBR is mentioned here. You really want a Beginner to grind 45 Million C-Bills for the first Chassis??? lol

btw. you'd never get 15 Millions together from the Cadet Bonus. Not in your wettest dreams as a Newb.

 

SHD-5M, you can afford that with cadet, only 8 mil and comes with XL275. Comes stock with DHS and Endo also. Good start.
You just need to swap some weapons, which cost basically no cbills at all.

 

The problem I found as a new player and I think others have found as well is that this is a brutal game for newcomers. You die a lot and don't do much damage for awhile and even a good mech with a good loadout doesn't always help. Recommending a first mech is always hard because things like positioning are so much more important. Which is why I agree that price should be paramount. I second the hunchie since it's cheap.

 

Supposed he is not the worst Newb Player, i assume he will get average 80,000 C-Bills/Match.

The first 25 Games has additional Cadet Bonus of ~8,000,000 C-Bills to the regular 2,000,000 C-Bills (=25 x 80,000) = ~ 10,000,000 C-Bills

Enough to buy a fully upgraded Medium IS Mech (Endo-Steel & Double Heatsinks included!).

So if he wants to Master a Mech (pls explain him the Skill Trees, Speed Tweak, Double Efficiencies etc.) he needs three Variants of a chosen Chassis. Supposed he doesn't want to pay real Cash for MWO for the first Mechs, he can calculate with these numbers:

1 hrs Playing every day ~ 8 Matches (incl. Waiting Time etc.) = ~640,000 C-Bills/hr

1hrs each Day/7 days a week = ~4,480,000 C-Bills/week

... in a month = ~17,920,000 C-Bills/month


CONGRATULATIONS! You have enough Money for the most expensive Mech ingame - the Dire Wolf DWF-B (17,838,493 C-Bills)


Wanna grind faster? -> Play more each day. Let's say 3 hrs every evening after work, then you have ~53,760,000 C-Bills in one Month. Enough for up to 7-9 Medium Variants = 3 Chassis, or 4-6 Heavy Variants (incl. XL Engines) = 2 Chassis, or 4-6 Assault Variants (STD Engines) = 2 Chassis... or all the Dire Wolves. Maths is your best friend to plan your investments effectively/efficiently.

Other tips for him:
- Buy PT for the WE
- Open a mechspecs-Account: Ask Questions whenever, whereever, whatever here personally!
- Play Group Queue and observe/learn quickly from veteran players -> push your C-Bills/Match
- Join the WE Challenges (C-Bills Bonus Rewards, Premium Time Rewards etc.)
- Use effective Builds for your Mechs instead using crap loads like other beginners do -> these deserve to be killed within the first 3 minutes - no Mercy:



Best Luck & Good Games!

 

The other nice thing about the hunchback is that with that standard engine in there you can go relatively fast. That speed can be VERY handy when you're a new player. Get out of a bad situation and survive with half your mech. At least you'll see more of the battle instead of having a high powered mech like the shadowhawk that will die when it loses a torso. Speed + Survivability + firepower = a great way to learn the game. The longer you're in a match, the shorter your learning curve will be.

 

I'd like to echo this. I crushed it with the CN9-AH

 

You forgot the group of good players so you can farm assists and get occasional kills while learning from them.

 

CN9... maybe it is a decent choice.