Support NeoGAF

[Woorloog]

Don't waste money on an XL for a Hunch if you're expecting to last more than 5 seconds in a close range brawl. Every Atlas, Awesome, Cataphract, K2 and Cent that sees you will be trying to hit your right torso.

Indeed. XL engines are good for snipers and other long range mechs, and weakly armored mechs (won't matter where you get hit, you die anyway if you get hit).
But absolute no no for brawlers. Unless you're a glass cannon brawler who gets the first shot...

 

[Lime]

I wish they would release more and some more Shadowrun stuff too.

I know this isn't Catalyst Game Labs or classic fiction, but did you see the newest screenshots from the Kickstarter? It looks amazing.

 

[BattleMonkey]

:lol

It's very common in my experience to see one Hunch or one Cent each match. They don't pose that big of a threat, but damn they can be annoying in terms of speed and medium damage.

A well-coordinated group of 2-3 Hunchs can carry an entire team. At least from what I've sometimes seen.

Past couple days, I've never seen more than 2 medium mechs in a match. lights galore, tons of assaults, and then heavies. Mediums are supposed to be the mainline fighters in the universe and they are the least used in this game. They are masters of nothing and with how heavy handed the matches tend to lean with heavy/assaults, they just seem too weak to compete.

 

[Llyranor]

That's because mediums seem pretty weak on paper in the hands of an unskilled pilot. But medium pilots love them. They're a good balance of firepower/speed/armor. They won't excel at any of those, but they can be very versatile mechs. It can hunt down lights (or chase them off your heavier mechs), it can move fast enough (pro-tip: ditch the default 64kph engines) to assist multiple fronts on the battlefield, it can brawl if required, and it can extremely effective close-range support (as a fast hit-and-run strike, or a flanker/skirmisher) for your heavier mechs.

Yes, a light can do some of those roles, but they won't have the same firepower or armor to deal or receive as much damage. Since lagshield has been improved, there have been a lot fewer lights for a reason. Once collisions are back in, reckless bad light players will be even more vulnerable in the harassing role.

A heavy (which seems to be the most popular at the moment) can pack a good punch and have better armor, and can still run at decent speeds. It can be devastating as a brawler or close-range support, but it won't maneuver or move as well as the medium. I used to also think that mediums might not be that useful. After all, I can put an AC20 and 2 SRM6 and a few medium lasers on a 'Phract, and still move at 64kph+speed tweak. Meanwhile, a default AC20 *OR* 2SRM6 hunch ALSO moves at only that speed. However, I can push the hunch to 80+ kph+speed tweak while still packing those weapons, and the role becomes very different. Suddenly that fast AC20 mech can run down lights if they get too close (and lagshield makes the shots actually hit now), and heavies/assaults will have a hard time tracking it down while it's flanking them. I can consistently deal more damage than Atlases on my team when I run a hunch. I also do similar amounts of damage as in my 'phract despite *on paper* having much less firepower.

Admittedly, I don't use mediums that much because I mostly use dragons (my fav mech in the game) for a similar role (they're really more heavy mediums than they are heavies). But, you rarely see dragons on the battlefield for similar reasons.

 

[dionysus]

Don't waste money on an XL for a Hunch if you're expecting to last more than 5 seconds in a close range brawl. Every Atlas, Awesome, Cataphract, K2 and Cent that sees you will be trying to hit your right torso.

I run the variant with 2 missile hardpoints, one on each torso. But yea you are probably right about no XL engine.

I just want some more speed damnit! I can get it in other ways I think.

 

[Nickiepoo]

I run the variant with 2 missile hardpoints, one on each torso. But yea you are probably right about no XL engine.

I just want some more speed damnit! I can get it in other ways I think.

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=22&l=162978ff08381f331a9e7813010c8dbd80770b6e

An XL wouldn't help that. I use a 245 on mine, the lost 4kph is meh.

 

[dionysus]

Had my first game with what appeared to be a farming bot. Mech just went in circles.

 

[Erdem]

I wrote this huge Awesome 9M guide if anyone is interested.

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/98616-awesome-9m-a-complete-guide-to-a-brawling-build/

 

[No_Style]

Had my first game with what appeared to be a farming bot. Mech just went in circles.

Could it be that the player disconnected with the D key pressed?

Speaking of "farming". I'm trying to unlock Elite skills within the day because I activated my Premium time. 3 Hunchbacks.

I hope they implement some kind of playlist system like the more recent CoD games. Give me a playlist with teams and one without.

 

[dionysus]

Anyone got a good loudout for the AS7-D? I am annoyed that I don't use any of my founders mechs. I've upgraded the engine, dropped a bunch of the useless leg armor, gone to double heat sinks, and yea that is pretty much it, switched one of the medium lasers to a large laser. Base weapons loadout seems pretty decent to me but I don't claim to be good at building mechs right now.

 

[Llyranor]

My founder atlas has iirc

300std 19?dhs no other upgrades

Gauss(AND case) ?4ton ammo
2srm6 ?3ton ammo
2 LL 1 per arm
2medlas CT

So, good longrange potential, but still deadly at close range. Gauss is considered a liability, but given that i filled all the space in my mech, couldn't fit extra dhs, so the low heat profile really helps. And it helps for sniping on top of my 2LL. I add CASE to prevent the gauss rifle from exploding. Yes, once armor is gone, it has 3hp instead of the 10hp an AC would have, but i consider the tradeoff worth it because it really helps out the build range/heat wise. And yes, I do always aim for the gauss when i see it on an atlas, and yes it often blows up and cripples them. CASE fixes the main drawback

2srm6&2medlas add the extra brawling punch i need

I don't have heat problems unless I alpha for an extended period of time

I love my founder jenner and hunch. I like my atlas, but i'm generally not a huge fan of assaults. I like my cata well enough, but i'm not a huge fan of the cat either; but, its existence means i have at least one LRM boat (if you consider 1 LRM15 a boat, hehehe)

 

[dionysus]

I don't like assaults either. I do less damage and die quicker than when I play a heavy or medium. I play the founder hunchback some but I own a 4SP and that is just so much better for me. I haven't tried the Jenner because it can't have an ECM right? I pretty much only see lights with ECMs so I figured that was almost a prerequisite. I already deck out most of my mech's with SRMs so I am starting to feel like an SRM noob so I don't play the catapult.

To play around I put a BAP on the atlas. I really haven't noticed it doing much but seeing as I am the slowest mech on the battlefield the enemy mechs are already spotted by the time I get there.

 

[No_Style]

Genuinely excited to see some of the new changes tonight. Not sure if I'll invest in the new mech though. Was never a fan of it.

 

[Llyranor]

I'll probably grab a trebuchet

I like the hardpoint setups of the 2 JJ ones and of the ballistic ones. I'll pick them up. I like being able to field faster mediums.

I haven't tried the Jenner because it can't have an ECM right? I pretty much only see lights with ECMs so I figured that was almost a prerequisite.

Jenners are still a force to be reckoned with even without ecm (before ecm, they were the de facto top tier light mech). Great firepower for a light, good speed and armor, and jumpjets zooooooooom. With the latest patch, JJs are much better now. Ecm mechs don't have that advantage (except for the useless spider, who pays the price in lack of firepower)

 

[Woorloog]

So, wait, does NARC still last just 20 seconds but can also be disable with enough damage? Or just with enough damage?

 

[Llyranor]

I think it still lasts 20 (wasn't it 25 or 30?). The difference is that there is no line of sight requirement (the whole point of NARC - finally).

Quick thoughts on patch:
- Liking the trebuchet. I bought the 7M first. Sporting a 3medlas/2srm6/5JJ build. 3 srm6 doesn't work because the left torso only fires ONE missile at a time. For fun, I tried putting a LRM20 there, and it was hilariously useless. I'm testing it with a LRM5 now for harassing purposes.
- New Alpine map is huuuuge. It's awesome. Had some fun mountain-JJing skirmishing going on. This basically just nerfed all those dumb one-trick pony builds (streak cats, SRM cats, AC20 cats)
- I love that Betty tells you when you're being targeted. Extremely useful info.

 

[Zod the Bear]

What's the best way to get into this? Tried it out early on, but it didn't seem like there was any reasonable way to acquire a non-trial while staying F2P.

 

[Giolon]

What's the best way to get into this? Tried it out early on, but it didn't seem like there was any reasonable way to acquire a non-trial while staying F2P.

They relatively recently changed the noob game. For your first 25 matches, you earn a ton of bonus money so you can buy your own non-trial mech sooner. They also gave everyone already playing like 8 mil c-bills. If you played before that, give it another shot.

 

[Llyranor]

Yeah, you can pretty much buy an assault mech after 25 matches, so it's much more beginner-friendly than it used to be.

 

[Zod the Bear]

Cool, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Nickiepoo]

Yeah, new map is bloody awesome. This + 12v12 is really going to take the game to the next level.

Also, while I was thinking of getting a Raven (since I like the skin and it's kind of overdue) Treb is really tempting me now. I mean, one of those varients has a default speed of almost 100, jeez.

 

[Llyranor]

Alpine map is really fun. This game really needed a larger map.

Treb is amazing. Love it. Fast medium with JJ = so much fun. That is all. This may end up being my favorite medium.

 

[Zocano]

Hi folks,

I've been playing this for a while now and I'm greatly enjoying it (though I have the same issues I have with it as I do most f2ps). I wasn't aware of the newbie cbills bonus so at first I thought the 'f2p'ness was actually really fair and now it has slowed down to a crawl and I've grown quite irritated with playing the game.

I picked the Cat-A1 (the one with the 6 missle hardpoints) as the first mech and now I'm pretty much stuck with a missle only mech since I thought I'd be able to move to a new mech pretty quickly. It's grown frustrating play as a missle boat and it's hard to balance a decent loadout since going full LRMs renders me useless at close range and full SRMs isn't very fun at all to play at 50 kmph (I don't have the money to afford an XL engine to move quickly and keep myself light enough for all the necessary weapons and ammo). It wouldn't be so bad if I was at least winning often enough or doing well but I find myself averaging about 30-40,000 cbills a match (though I'm not sure if that is average) so I'm still quite some time away from buying a mech that isn't solely a missle boat. I'm at 2.6 mill after a few nights of consistent playing (I guess about 10 hours?) and I've still got a decent way to go and I'm still not sure which mech I'd like to buy next. I'd be more than willing to drop some cash on teh game because I am still enjoying it immensely but at $15 for a decent mech (the neat ones that come with an XL engine) it's a bit hard to swallow. Yes, I know there are the trial mechs but they all feel a bit trashy and I ultimately fair off a little better playing the missle boat over any of the other mechs.

Given that, I still am having a blast. I just wish the cbills were coming in a bit closer to how they were at the start. But I suppose I'll stop trashing on how the f2p is in this game.

I'd like to ask where I should move on to next. I've been wanting a faster close up mech to counterpoint my longer range slow fatty however I'm not sure if I should grab a light or medium. It's hard to really base any opinions since I can't really test the ones I'm thinking over. Namely, the Raven, Hunchback, Cicada or Trebuchet. I would really like a fast mech simply for the speed and since I've read the spider (the one I was initially eyeing) is kind of butt, I'm sort of down to just the Raven as fast the lights go. But at the same time I'd like a med to at least have a bit more resistance and firepower rather than feeling like I'm tissue paper. On top of that I've been wanting to get a Cat-K2 for sweet Quad PPC action (or just any energy weapon fire, really) and the Cat is the only heavy mech I enjoy aesthetically. I'm not a big fan of the mechs with arms. Given that, I'm really only considering the Hunch and Trench, as far as meds go, since you guys seem to rave about them in here (I would personally probably enjoy the cicada the most).

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated since I'm a bit lost as to what to buy next since I've learned my mistake of hopping on the A1 blindly.

Oh and in general I'm not a fan of assault mechs even though I did have a few favorites in the table top games. My favorite was always an Anubis, though. Yah he's got arms but those legs, man. Those legsssss. So good.

 

[Nickiepoo]

Cicada is very valid as a light mech, otherwise, yeah, Raven. Jenner is a great light, but lack of ECM has made it less relevent recently.

Be warned that getting a light fully optimised will probably cost you about 12 million or so due to the reliance on XLs and structure upgrades.

A hunchie, is a very valid choice for a good brawler that won't break the bank. I'd be suprised if it ran you over about 5 million fully upgraded. It doesn't have great armour, sure, but it's a medium, it was never going to. You learn quickly to make yourself a low priority and start brawling just after the fight has started when people are more interested in the Atlas/Cataphract/SRM Cat that's right in front of them. You can do stupid damage with an AC20 or double SRM6s and move at up to 90kph if you get the engine size up. Very solid choice for an early mech.

Otherwise I'll recommend the 2X Cataphract to anyone who wants a brawler. It can hold almost the same firepower as an Atlas but can move at around 75. For a non-cheese build I'd call it the best brawler in the game.

 

[Llyranor]

Cicada is really a light mech with slightly more tonnage and potential ballistic slots. It's the fastest mech that can sport ballistics competently. My fav is the 3M, for 1 balli and 4 energy slots. It can also carry ECM, which makes it the de facto optimal cica variant, but I loved it before ECM was in. I feel it needs ab XL to be optimized

Treb is the fast med with potential JJ's. mostly lasers and missiles, though one variant has ballistics. I feel the XL brings out the best out of the mech, since speed (we're talking 95-105-ish) and JJ make it a lot of fun. That being said, it can definitely get sidetorsoed, so there is an argument in sporting a standard engine

Raven 3L is probably the go-to light at the moment because of ecm and streaks, but I still prefer the jenner-D for the good firepower (for a light) and JJs.

Hunch is a good mech. You can have good armor and firepower, and decent speed. But, you will find it slow compared to the other choices. Probably the cheapest good solid medium you can get. My optimized ac20 hunch has maybe 2.5mill in upgrades minus the cost of the mech itself. It has a standard 250 engine (which had to be bought, since default is 200)

Honestly, if you really have buyer's remorse with the cat (and with good reason, the missile only variant is boooring, even if people like to cheese it), just make a new account and get the bonus again. Alternatively, sell your cat.

If you want to spend MC, I find it probably a better idea to invest in premium time. You can get a month of +50% cbill/xp for 10bucks, which i find a fair price if you plan on playing a good amount, probably the most cost-effective way of spending MC too. Buying mechs outright is pricey

 

[Zaptruder]

If your cicada doesn't have ECM, it's useless now.

Thanks Treb!

Treb 3C build w/ 4ML, 2SRM6, 350XL, 14DHS... 125kph w/ speed tweak. Amazing fun.

 

[dionysus]

If your cicada doesn't have ECM, it's useless now.

Thanks Treb!

Treb 3C build w/ 4ML, 2SRM6, 350XL, 14DHS... 125kph w/ speed tweak. Amazing fun.

What is speed tweak?

Also Zocano, are you willing to use real money because it sounds like that is the solution for your problems. I find a well balanced f2p game is enjoyable for me if I spend about $20-30 per 50 hours of play time, which is a pretty good deal compared to most video games.

 

[Woorloog]

Repeating: So, wait, does NARC still last just 20 seconds but can also be disable with enough damage? Or just with enough damage?

 

[ColonelSkills]

What is speed tweak?

Mech XP Upgrade. Increases top end speed by a small percentage, but usually is enough to make up a difference between an engine size and one immediately bigger than it. In some cases you'll gain an up to 5 KM/H boost, which can make a difference when chasing after some assholes.

 

[Nickiepoo]

10% bonus, so 5kph would be the minimum bonus you'd realistically be getting on the slowest (non-stupid) mechs.

It's actually really significant.

 

[Zaptruder]

Hi folks,

I've been playing this for a while now and I'm greatly enjoying it (though I have the same issues I have with it as I do most f2ps). I wasn't aware of the newbie cbills bonus so at first I thought the 'f2p'ness was actually really fair and now it has slowed down to a crawl and I've grown quite irritated with playing the game.

I picked the Cat-A1 (the one with the 6 missle hardpoints) as the first mech and now I'm pretty much stuck with a missle only mech since I thought I'd be able to move to a new mech pretty quickly. It's grown frustrating play as a missle boat and it's hard to balance a decent loadout since going full LRMs renders me useless at close range and full SRMs isn't very fun at all to play at 50 kmph (I don't have the money to afford an XL engine to move quickly and keep myself light enough for all the necessary weapons and ammo). It wouldn't be so bad if I was at least winning often enough or doing well but I find myself averaging about 30-40,000 cbills a match (though I'm not sure if that is average) so I'm still quite some time away from buying a mech that isn't solely a missle boat. I'm at 2.6 mill after a few nights of consistent playing (I guess about 10 hours?) and I've still got a decent way to go and I'm still not sure which mech I'd like to buy next. I'd be more than willing to drop some cash on teh game because I am still enjoying it immensely but at $15 for a decent mech (the neat ones that come with an XL engine) it's a bit hard to swallow. Yes, I know there are the trial mechs but they all feel a bit trashy and I ultimately fair off a little better playing the missle boat over any of the other mechs.

Given that, I still am having a blast. I just wish the cbills were coming in a bit closer to how they were at the start. But I suppose I'll stop trashing on how the f2p is in this game.

I'd like to ask where I should move on to next. I've been wanting a faster close up mech to counterpoint my longer range slow fatty however I'm not sure if I should grab a light or medium. It's hard to really base any opinions since I can't really test the ones I'm thinking over. Namely, the Raven, Hunchback, Cicada or Trebuchet. I would really like a fast mech simply for the speed and since I've read the spider (the one I was initially eyeing) is kind of butt, I'm sort of down to just the Raven as fast the lights go. But at the same time I'd like a med to at least have a bit more resistance and firepower rather than feeling like I'm tissue paper. On top of that I've been wanting to get a Cat-K2 for sweet Quad PPC action (or just any energy weapon fire, really) and the Cat is the only heavy mech I enjoy aesthetically. I'm not a big fan of the mechs with arms. Given that, I'm really only considering the Hunch and Trench, as far as meds go, since you guys seem to rave about them in here (I would personally probably enjoy the cicada the most).

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated since I'm a bit lost as to what to buy next since I've learned my mistake of hopping on the A1 blindly.

Oh and in general I'm not a fan of assault mechs even though I did have a few favorites in the table top games. My favorite was always an Anubis, though. Yah he's got arms but those legs, man. Those legsssss. So good.

It's worth your while to buy yourself a month of premium time. 50% additional cbills makes the grind very tolerable.

First buy should be a 300XL. Versatile engine that can be used again and again and again for many mech builds across many mech chassis and variants.

A1 is a great catapult... but if you want a little versatility, try either 2LRM15, 4SRM4... or 2LRM10 and 4SRM6.

Also, the ear flaps that the catapult has reduce damage taken to the ears by 10%... but also add a 350ms or so delay to firing your missles. For LRMs, that's no problems. For SRMs, that's a critical failure.

Press / on the keyboard to rectify this problem. You'll see the yellow lights on the cockpit struts turn green to confirm that they're open.

 

[dionysus]

Mech XP Upgrade. Increases top end speed by a small percentage, but usually is enough to make up a difference between an engine size and one immediately bigger than it. In some cases you'll gain an up to 5 KM/H boost, which can make a difference when chasing after some assholes.

I find the 3 variant requirement to unlock tier 2 and 3 skills to be done purely to make the game more grindy and encourage monetization. To me this is the most annoying single thing in the game.

I refused to buy 3 variants of the same mech, so I am stuck waiting on trial mechs that don't suck to appear.

 

[No_Style]

I find the 3 variant requirement to unlock tier 2 and 3 skills to be done purely to make the game more grindy and encourage monetization. To me this is the most annoying single thing in the game.

I refused to buy 3 variants of the same mech, so I am stuck waiting on trial mechs that don't suck to appear.

I used to be like that. Then I bought 3 Hunchbacks during the free Premium time and now I have two Elites. I just swap engines and armaments. The "upgrades" kill you though. Paying for Double Heat Sinks & Endo Steel upgrades makes it really grindy.

For certain mech types buying different variants isn't too bad. I tried buying 2 non-ECM Ravens but I found Ravens w/o ECM far too weak so I sold them off for a loss. :/

I want to get into "heavy" mechs but I still don't know which mech to choose. I want to find something that resembles a Timber Wolf/Mad Cat but nothing jumps out at me.

 

[Nickiepoo]

I want to get into "heavy" mechs but I still don't know which mech to choose. I want to find something that resembles a Timber Wolf/Mad Cat but nothing jumps out at me.

Cataphract and Dragon are both heavies that can be pressed into Madcat-like roles. Both with shortcomings, sure, but put that down to lack of clan tech.

If you mean mechs that look like a Madcat then you'll probably have to wait for the Madcat.

 

[Zaptruder]

I want to get into "heavy" mechs but I still don't know which mech to choose. I want to find something that resembles a Timber Wolf/Mad Cat but nothing jumps out at me.

Catapult C1.

It has missles, it has ears, it has lasers... It doesn't get more mad-catty than that! Ok, you could have arms on it. But it's really the design antecedent to the Mad Cat both in reality and in lore.


Seriously though, it's a very versatile mech... and I think you'd quite enjoy the jumpjets.

LRM15x2 w/ artemis, 3ML, 1 TAG, 300XL is a rather excellent mobile missle boat.

But I've also seen 2LL, 2ML, 2SRM6 work excellently as a mixed range brawler.

Or you could try a sniping build; 2PPC, 2streaks, 2ML and plenty of heatsinks.

It's a very versatile mech, not quite as 1 trick pony as the A1 (although you can configure it for a bit of mixed range as well).

 

[No_Style]

Cataphract and Dragon are both heavies that can be pressed into Madcat-like roles. Both with shortcomings, sure, but put that down to lack of clan tech.

If you mean mechs that look like a Madcat then you'll probably have to wait for the Madcat.

Not looks, more like hardpoints. 2-4 missile hard points at the torso, 2-4 laser hardpoints at the arms and a couple of ballastic hardpoints at the torso as well.

I considered getting a Catapult but nearly every single one that I encounter is a frail machine. I don't know if it's just the pilots or what but Cats seem to fall apart rather quickly.

 

[Woorloog]

Not looks, more like hardpoints. 2-4 missile hard points at the torso, 2-4 laser hardpoints at the arms and a couple of ballastic hardpoints at the torso as well.

I considered getting a Catapult but nearly every single one that I encounter is a frail machine. I don't know if it's just the pilots or what but Cats seem to fall apart rather quickly.

Catapult is weak due to its immense center torso and head. Equip it with LONG range weapons, heavy armor and XL engine (because no one is going to destroy your side torsos before CT) and enough speed to keep range.
Twin large lasers and twin LRM20s would be rather close to Timber Wolf Prime, at least replicating its main weapons, though you have to ditch the others probably.

 

[Nickiepoo]

Not looks, more like hardpoints. 2-4 missile hard points at the torso, 2-4 laser hardpoints at the arms and a couple of ballastic hardpoints at the torso as well.

I considered getting a Catapult but nearly every single one that I encounter is a frail machine. I don't know if it's just the pilots or what but Cats seem to fall apart rather quickly.

Cataphract 2X has all of that unless you really want to complain about the missles being in the arm and not the ears.

Otherwise wait for the Orion if you want a heavy mech with a missle/ballistic/laser mix.

 

[Zocano]

Sorry for the (way) late response, I've been busy/distracted/etc. (mid terms!)

First, thanks for the all the suggestions. I think I'm leaning on the hunchback the most right now since it would cost the least to get to an optimal state and I'd have to be stuck grinding with a missle boat less.

Also Zocano, are you willing to use real money

Secondly, I'm perfectly willing to spend a few dollars for the game seeing as how I'm enjoying it quite well, but shoveling out $15 for a Mech seems a bit too silly (out-right idiotic, rather). Thank you to those that recommended getting premium time, that sounds like a good way to give them some cash while not feeling like I'm getting screwed (I did the same for Planetside 2-- dropped a good amount of money during their triple SC sale so that I could actually get some good credit per $).

I am excited equally for both Planetside 2 and MWO's updates but I know they are going to come in slowly and I'm impatient. I want my Anubis that I'll never get ):

 

[BattleMonkey]

Damnit been playing for hours these past 2 days and have yet once gotten into a match on the new map

Catapult C1.

It has missles, it has ears, it has lasers... It doesn't get more mad-catty than that! Ok, you could have arms on it. But it's really the design antecedent to the Mad Cat both in reality and in lore.


Seriously though, it's a very versatile mech... and I think you'd quite enjoy the jumpjets.

LRM15x2 w/ artemis, 3ML, 1 TAG, 300XL is a rather excellent mobile missle boat.

But I've also seen 2LL, 2ML, 2SRM6 work excellently as a mixed range brawler.

Or you could try a sniping build; 2PPC, 2streaks, 2ML and plenty of heatsinks.

It's a very versatile mech, not quite as 1 trick pony as the A1 (although you can configure it for a bit of mixed range as well).

Yea I hated my founders C1, but I switched to 2 LL and 2 LRM15's with ton of ammo and my performance has really increased. The initial load out of ML's to me wasn't working out as the mech is definitely not a brawler and any time you attempted it, you would get headshotted so easy. But the LL/LRM combo of just long range support is now getting my high scores each map now. Feel like I can contribute with either weapon at range instead of waiting for the perfect LRM situation.

 

[dionysus]

What are people's thoughts about streak srms vs. regular srms in light mechs without an ECM? ECM's are really common right now on light mechs, so if you don't have one there is a good chance you can't use your streak SRMs.

I put a TAG on my jenner and it seems like it would just be much easier to aim regular SRMs than hold TAG on the target until lock.

 

[Nickiepoo]

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with steaks on a Jenner with the game as it is now. They're a minority sport for Ravens and Commandos.

 

[dionysus]

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with steaks on a Jenner with the game as it is now. They're a minority sport for Ravens and Commandos.

I am not a fan of demanding things be nerfed just because one strategy is very effective. But I think ECMs are a good candidate for nerfing. The main reasons I see are

- ECMs have really good benefits but they are skilless benefits. Whereas the only non-ECM counters to ECMs require a ton of skill to employ or are very short lasting.
- The only perfect counter to ECMs is another ECM. To me this breaks the rock paper scissors game design (which I am not a fan of) that the rest of the game takes to heart.
- Usefullness of other 1.5t equipment is drastically lower, BAP or AMS (.5 + 1t of ammo)for example.

My main concern is point 1, skilless benefits should not be so game changing.

I'd like to see a much reduced area of effect on current skills, and targettable within a certain range that is increased out to semi-LRM ranges by an enemy mech having BAP. To counteract the nerf, have the ECM have an additional skill based line of sight ability much like TAG but in reverse. Perhaps the current haywire it plays with mechs inside its 200m bubble (untargettable mech at any range, no friendly mech data, etc.) would now be in effect only if you were being "lased" by the ECM.

 

[Nickiepoo]

Yeah, it's pretty much a straight upgrade for any mech it's placed on and makes all other variants of the Raven, Commando, Cicada and Atlas completely sub-par.

In a perfect world I'd say take it off the Atlas (command mech equipment my arse) and raise its tonnage to 5 so that you really had to cut back on the lights to fit it in.

Problem with that is that since MWO is using canon variants, changing the weight or space of any equipment is impossible.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I really haven't had issue with streaks and ecm. ECM mainly screws with LRM usage, but if your within LOS for streaks, you often will not have a lock on problem. SRMs still require more accuracy to use and often lot of wasted rockets while with Streaks you just are generally more accurate.

 

[dionysus]

I really haven't had issue with streaks and ecm. ECM mainly screws with LRM usage, but if your within LOS for streaks, you often will not have a lock on problem. SRMs still require more accuracy to use and often lot of wasted rockets while with Streaks you just are generally more accurate.

As far as I know the only way to lock on streaks on an ECM mech is if you have another friendly ECM mech in jamming mode, or they are being continuously lased with a TAG (almost impossible to do vs. a fast light, easy to do vs. an Atlas.)

 

[Ingueferroque]

My in-cockpit monitors all read that they are not connected (paraphrasing), is this me not being able to work out how to install my Mech? Or is this just not supported yet.

 

[Giolon]

I really haven't had issue with streaks and ecm. ECM mainly screws with LRM usage, but if your within LOS for streaks, you often will not have a lock on problem. SRMs still require more accuracy to use and often lot of wasted rockets while with Streaks you just are generally more accurate.

As far as I know the only way to lock on streaks on an ECM mech is if you have another friendly ECM mech in jamming mode, or they are being continuously lased with a TAG (almost impossible to do vs. a fast light, easy to do vs. an Atlas.)

Yep, ECM blocks streaks from even firing inside it's 180m jamming Radius. But, if you're at 181m to 200m (250m w/ fully upgraded Sensor Module), you can lock on and fire your Streaks (or LRMs) on an ECM'd mech.

 

[SUBZERO-08]

My in-cockpit monitors all read that they are not connected (paraphrasing), is this me not being able to work out how to install my Mech? Or is this just not supported yet.

Most of the cockpit monitors aren't working currently. Just a few of them show your ammo and weapons loadout information. Not sure what the devs eventually plan to put on the rest of them.

 

[Nickiepoo]

It would be nice if BAP (or another electronics package) was a bit more of a personal ECM counter, maybe negating some of the debuffs while you're inside the radius (for you alone) but doing nothing about the long range sensor blocking for which TAG is a soft counter.