EDIT: I am putting builds I like and found effective or those I have from friends.
MY BUILDS
JAGERMECH
STD Builds
STD 300, 394/422 armor, 2 x AC5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 8 tons ammo
VAR: Swap in MG (3 tons total) -- like this 2 x AC/5, 4 x MG, 2 x MLas.
STD 300, 376/422 armor, 2 x AC5, 4 x MLas, 6 tons ammo
XL Builds
XL 255, 384/422 armor, 2 x Gauss, 7 tons ammo
VAR: tweak in a small laser
XL 300, 368/422 armor, 3 x AC/5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 7 tons ammo
XL 255, 400/422 armor, 3 x AC/5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 9 tons ammo
XL 300, 352/422 armor, 2 x AC/20, 7 tons ammo (82.2kph with speed tweak)
VAR: Swap some ammo for MLas. Swap in AMS
XL 255, 384/422 armor, 2 x AC/20, 9 tons ammo
XL 300, 400/422 armor, 1 x AC/20 (6 tons ammo), 1 x AC/2 (4 tons), 2 x MLas, AMS
XL 340, 400/422 armor, 1 x AC/20, 4 x MLas, AMS, 9 tons ammo (93.2khp with speed tweak)
I tried 4xAC/5 and 4xAC/2 rigs. The former was a paper mech. The later generates 8 heat per second and overheats in 5 seconds.
BACKJACK
STD 245, 272/306 armor, 8 x MLAS, 9 x DHS
VAR: Tweak with TAG, AMS (the two torso MLas are mainly for alpha)
XL 295, 272/306 armor, 2 x ER LLas, 4 x MLas, 5 DHS
CATAPULT
XL 255, 400/422 armor, 2 x LRM20, 2 x MLas, AMS, 1 x JJ, 9 tons ammo
VAR: Swap in TAG; Swap in XL 250 and add 3 more tons LRM ammo and a DHS
SPIDER
XL 255, 192/210 armor, 1 x ER LLas, 2 x MLas, 3 x JJ, ECM
VAR: Swap MLas for TAG; Swap ECM for AMS
JENNER
XL 300, 232/238 armor, 6 x MLas, 4 x DHS, 2 x JJ
VAR: Swap in AMS; Swap in TAG
XL 255, 215/238 armor, 2 x ER PPC, 1 x JJ
CENTERION
XL 300, 318/338 armor, 1 x AC/20, 2 x MLas (106.9kph with spead tweak)
VAR: I like getting more AC/20 ammo so lose a laser; AMS as needed; this is a light killer and capitalized on softened enemies in the end game
AWESOME
STD 250, 384/494 armor, 1 x ER LLas, 4 x LRM15+A, AMS, 7 tons ammo
Victor-9k
Gauss 3xER LLAS
Mechwarrior is back!
I have been enjoying the game so far (~35 rounds in) and have about 11M Cbills--almost enough to spec out an Assault class mech. While the game is incomplete it remains a lot of fun.
The biggest thing I have liked so far is the "Free to Play" seems really solid. This is what I wrote on Ars:
RE: MWO Free to Play model.
Good job PGI!
I am not a target consumer for paid MMOs (I cannot stand the concept). I tend to play the games I like a lot and as a matter of personal choice don't like the concept of $10-$20 month to play a $50 game. If have friends and family who pay every month for games they go months without playing in fear of losing their loot. It isn't enough they paid for the game up front and then a monthly service fee even when not playing but also are tied to paying in fear they will lose what they earned/paid for. I was also spoiled with Quake, Battlefields, CoDs, Halos, etc.
The Free-to-Play games have been, in general, a big turn off. Play-to-Win is more like it.
MWO seems to strike a good balance. Existing gamers know all of this but for noobs like myself who may reading I thought I would express my pleasant surprise at MWO's model. As it stands the following are things you can buy with real money and why you may want to buy them:
- "Bays" for mechs. You start with 4 empty bays/slots to hold purchased mechs. If you want to have more than 4 mechs without selling an existing mech you have to buy more slots with real money.
- "Premium" time. 50% increase in post match payout of ingame fake money (Cbills)
- "Hero" Mechs. Cool variants, none appear "instant win" or even "better" but many have a 10% payout bonus
- Visual Customization. Cockpit items, paint jobs, etc.
You can buy normal mechs and weapons with real money, but it is not required. The fact is you gain Cbills (ingame money) at 66% of the speed of those paying for Premium time, which is not an abusive difference.
Further your first 25 matches (~4-5 hours) nets about 10M Cbills (enough to trick out a Light or Medium mech). It seems the game is balances where 10-20 hours of gameplay acrues enough Cbills to buy another mech. This is about the amount of time to master the mech (if not a tad slow, to compell the impatient to spend real money but not so abusive as to feel like a very, very, very long grind).
One thumb up for not being Play-to-Win.
Another thumb up for no abusive grinding (BF3 had worse grinding IMO!).
PGI has a pretty balanced model. For like $15 you can get 6 more bays--so 10 custom mechs and 4 trial mechs. Not a bad payout to get a nice garage. Premium time at $15/mo seems steep to me at a mere 50% gain, but then again wasn't WoW $15 forever? And while 50% is low I couldn't imaging it being much higher without tilting the table toward paying players too much.
The "Pay Only" mechs are quite expensive. But again, not required, and the game has a long list of free models with a handful of variants of each. The pay models are a good carrot for those invested in the game and have cash to burn. Again, not required to have fun or to do well.
Basically cheap gamers can play for free and experience all of the core game and explore almost all the content. Maps, weapons, gameplay modes, and all classes and most models of mechs are absolutely FREE. Once you "drop" into a battle all the "Real Money" items become irrelevant.
On the flip side as long as PGI makes a good game, a good game people want to play, and continue to roll out content that core users want to pay for, MWO sets up to actually make more than the $50 a Battlefield or CoD would make from a flat fee'd user. If MWO hooks me like BF'42 (which I bought multiple copies + all 3 expansions + DC) and I play it 1000+ hours I could easily see spending $100+ on the game. It has the potential to offer the value 6 months down the road that instead of $50 for a new game I could see a MWO fan spending $50 on a title they already "own" to expand an experience the gamer already likes and wants more of. Many, many, many times I wished I had more content of my favorite games instead of some other new lesser title.
I hope MWO works for PGI. I think the model is solid, but it really comes down to is MWO a good game and does it have appeal (enough tactical mech gamers out there?) / large enough potential userbase (I have 2x PCs that cannot play it--one an i7 laptop purchased last year) to succeed? If they can do BOTH they have an opportunity to be very, very successful.
That said I want to be able to start my own match with friends 2v2 or the like
Can I pay for that game mode?
----
The game looks good but is not refined yet performance wise (Crysis runs better). That said I run 13x7 with Medium settings (Particles, Environ, and Models Very High) with a 2GB GTX 600m and i7-3630qm laptop and get 35-55fps depending on the map (Canynon is in the 50s, maps with active snow are in the 30s, jump to higher 30s if Environment is switched to Medium).
I will post some good links soon as the games learning curve is crazy steep.
MY BUILDS
JAGERMECH
STD Builds
STD 300, 394/422 armor, 2 x AC5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 8 tons ammo
VAR: Swap in MG (3 tons total) -- like this 2 x AC/5, 4 x MG, 2 x MLas.
STD 300, 376/422 armor, 2 x AC5, 4 x MLas, 6 tons ammo
XL Builds
XL 255, 384/422 armor, 2 x Gauss, 7 tons ammo
VAR: tweak in a small laser
XL 300, 368/422 armor, 3 x AC/5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 7 tons ammo
XL 255, 400/422 armor, 3 x AC/5, 2 x MLas, AMS, 9 tons ammo
XL 300, 352/422 armor, 2 x AC/20, 7 tons ammo (82.2kph with speed tweak)
VAR: Swap some ammo for MLas. Swap in AMS
XL 255, 384/422 armor, 2 x AC/20, 9 tons ammo
XL 300, 400/422 armor, 1 x AC/20 (6 tons ammo), 1 x AC/2 (4 tons), 2 x MLas, AMS
XL 340, 400/422 armor, 1 x AC/20, 4 x MLas, AMS, 9 tons ammo (93.2khp with speed tweak)
I tried 4xAC/5 and 4xAC/2 rigs. The former was a paper mech. The later generates 8 heat per second and overheats in 5 seconds.
BACKJACK
STD 245, 272/306 armor, 8 x MLAS, 9 x DHS
VAR: Tweak with TAG, AMS (the two torso MLas are mainly for alpha)
XL 295, 272/306 armor, 2 x ER LLas, 4 x MLas, 5 DHS
CATAPULT
XL 255, 400/422 armor, 2 x LRM20, 2 x MLas, AMS, 1 x JJ, 9 tons ammo
VAR: Swap in TAG; Swap in XL 250 and add 3 more tons LRM ammo and a DHS
SPIDER
XL 255, 192/210 armor, 1 x ER LLas, 2 x MLas, 3 x JJ, ECM
VAR: Swap MLas for TAG; Swap ECM for AMS
JENNER
XL 300, 232/238 armor, 6 x MLas, 4 x DHS, 2 x JJ
VAR: Swap in AMS; Swap in TAG
XL 255, 215/238 armor, 2 x ER PPC, 1 x JJ
CENTERION
XL 300, 318/338 armor, 1 x AC/20, 2 x MLas (106.9kph with spead tweak)
VAR: I like getting more AC/20 ammo so lose a laser; AMS as needed; this is a light killer and capitalized on softened enemies in the end game
AWESOME
STD 250, 384/494 armor, 1 x ER LLas, 4 x LRM15+A, AMS, 7 tons ammo
Victor-9k
Gauss 3xER LLAS
Mechwarrior is back!
I have been enjoying the game so far (~35 rounds in) and have about 11M Cbills--almost enough to spec out an Assault class mech. While the game is incomplete it remains a lot of fun.
The biggest thing I have liked so far is the "Free to Play" seems really solid. This is what I wrote on Ars:
RE: MWO Free to Play model.
Good job PGI!
I am not a target consumer for paid MMOs (I cannot stand the concept). I tend to play the games I like a lot and as a matter of personal choice don't like the concept of $10-$20 month to play a $50 game. If have friends and family who pay every month for games they go months without playing in fear of losing their loot. It isn't enough they paid for the game up front and then a monthly service fee even when not playing but also are tied to paying in fear they will lose what they earned/paid for. I was also spoiled with Quake, Battlefields, CoDs, Halos, etc.
The Free-to-Play games have been, in general, a big turn off. Play-to-Win is more like it.
MWO seems to strike a good balance. Existing gamers know all of this but for noobs like myself who may reading I thought I would express my pleasant surprise at MWO's model. As it stands the following are things you can buy with real money and why you may want to buy them:
- "Bays" for mechs. You start with 4 empty bays/slots to hold purchased mechs. If you want to have more than 4 mechs without selling an existing mech you have to buy more slots with real money.
- "Premium" time. 50% increase in post match payout of ingame fake money (Cbills)
- "Hero" Mechs. Cool variants, none appear "instant win" or even "better" but many have a 10% payout bonus
- Visual Customization. Cockpit items, paint jobs, etc.
You can buy normal mechs and weapons with real money, but it is not required. The fact is you gain Cbills (ingame money) at 66% of the speed of those paying for Premium time, which is not an abusive difference.
Further your first 25 matches (~4-5 hours) nets about 10M Cbills (enough to trick out a Light or Medium mech). It seems the game is balances where 10-20 hours of gameplay acrues enough Cbills to buy another mech. This is about the amount of time to master the mech (if not a tad slow, to compell the impatient to spend real money but not so abusive as to feel like a very, very, very long grind).
One thumb up for not being Play-to-Win.
Another thumb up for no abusive grinding (BF3 had worse grinding IMO!).
PGI has a pretty balanced model. For like $15 you can get 6 more bays--so 10 custom mechs and 4 trial mechs. Not a bad payout to get a nice garage. Premium time at $15/mo seems steep to me at a mere 50% gain, but then again wasn't WoW $15 forever? And while 50% is low I couldn't imaging it being much higher without tilting the table toward paying players too much.
The "Pay Only" mechs are quite expensive. But again, not required, and the game has a long list of free models with a handful of variants of each. The pay models are a good carrot for those invested in the game and have cash to burn. Again, not required to have fun or to do well.
Basically cheap gamers can play for free and experience all of the core game and explore almost all the content. Maps, weapons, gameplay modes, and all classes and most models of mechs are absolutely FREE. Once you "drop" into a battle all the "Real Money" items become irrelevant.
On the flip side as long as PGI makes a good game, a good game people want to play, and continue to roll out content that core users want to pay for, MWO sets up to actually make more than the $50 a Battlefield or CoD would make from a flat fee'd user. If MWO hooks me like BF'42 (which I bought multiple copies + all 3 expansions + DC) and I play it 1000+ hours I could easily see spending $100+ on the game. It has the potential to offer the value 6 months down the road that instead of $50 for a new game I could see a MWO fan spending $50 on a title they already "own" to expand an experience the gamer already likes and wants more of. Many, many, many times I wished I had more content of my favorite games instead of some other new lesser title.
I hope MWO works for PGI. I think the model is solid, but it really comes down to is MWO a good game and does it have appeal (enough tactical mech gamers out there?) / large enough potential userbase (I have 2x PCs that cannot play it--one an i7 laptop purchased last year) to succeed? If they can do BOTH they have an opportunity to be very, very successful.
That said I want to be able to start my own match with friends 2v2 or the like
Can I pay for that game mode? ----
The game looks good but is not refined yet performance wise (Crysis runs better). That said I run 13x7 with Medium settings (Particles, Environ, and Models Very High) with a 2GB GTX 600m and i7-3630qm laptop and get 35-55fps depending on the map (Canynon is in the 50s, maps with active snow are in the 30s, jump to higher 30s if Environment is switched to Medium).
I will post some good links soon as the games learning curve is crazy steep.
