MechWarrior Online

[Clay Pigeon]

I'm looking forward to the elmo. I might buy one if the MC price isn't too high.

[Larry]

I like robots, acronyoms, and blowing stuff up. I've heard this game has all three. Is it easy to start?

[crimsonshootingstar]

I like robots, acronyoms, and blowing stuff up. I've heard this game has all three. Is it easy to start?

Its not too hard to get into but you should probably get someone like me, medic, clay, or cheese to show you the ropes so you can get into it easier.

[Larry]

I tried to play Dota 2 with out doing my homework or reading the getting started guides. That was different.

[crimsonshootingstar]

I tried to play Dota 2 with out doing my homework or reading the getting started guides. That was different.

Its a bit simpler than that I would think. Its basically at the core an fps in that you have a first person view and you shoot things. But then you have to take into acount the simulation aspects you arent used to. Acceleration and deceleration, turn speed torso twist, jump jets, weapon groupings etc. When you get it installed and updated If i am around message me and I will join you for a while and help you out as much as I can.

[Flaming Cheese Wheel]

Yeah, it's basically a cross between an FPS and a sim.

[frostdillicus]

Well, the game is completely and utterly borked for me. No clue why. Had a normal crash to desktop earlier today. When I tried to log back in, it said the servers were down for maintenance. I know for a fact that they are not as others can log in. Been that way for the last 10 hours. Tried multiple times to uninstall and reinstall to no avail. Can't even re-download the client because...the servers are down for maintenance, or at least my computer claims they are.

Really frustrated right now as I was planning on spending today grinding for my first mech. Really really mad right now.

[Flaming Cheese Wheel]

On a general practical note for those who are just getting started: The cheesiest builds for victory will be the Catapult CPLT-A1, usually loaded for six Streak SRM-2s and any 'Mech with a ballistic slot, fitted with as many AC/2s as it can load.

The first one is easy because aside from putting the targeting crosshairs into the box around the current target and waiting for the circle to turn red, you don't have to do a whole lot of aiming. The second one requires aim, but does a crapton of DPS and shakes the target's cockpit view like being inside a rock tumbler.

If you coordinate drops with others over TeamSpeak and have a multiple Streak Cat unit, people will hate you.

Both of those builds will require a fair amount of ammunition to keep happy, but the game is currently bugged to always give you 75% ammo back for free. If you take this into account you can live for free on very expensive missile reloads.

If you want to save money and feel like you're earning your keep, go with all lasers.

[Clay Pigeon]

Right now in the 8v8 queue, it seems to be that the team with the most ECM wins. I'm not sure why PGI gave ECM all of the null signature system's positive attributes with none of the Null sig system's drawbacks.

[crimsonshootingstar]

Yeah by TT rules an ecm has no effect on LRMs or streaks and though it counters BAPs it has no other effect on spotting mechs. I have no idea how they thought a balanced translation of that would be magical invisibility shield. I wish they had just gone with the more MW4 translation of decreased spotting distance and increased lock on times which would be much more fair.

[frostdillicus]

ECM is pretty bad right now. Ravens and Commandos with streaks are pretty much the best Mechs in the game now. I ended up in a pug game that had 4 ECM using "lights", 1 COM, 2 RVN, 1 Cicada. They just ran around as a pack and were pretty much unstoppable. They just SSRM volleyed you to death before you could do anything. I'm pretty sure streaks STILL only aim for center torso, so they didn't fix that.

In 8v8 I heard it's pretty much a joke. Dropping 8 Atlas D-DC, getting a single kill, then hiding in base until time runs out. Anyone who says ECM is perfectly balanced at this point is someone who enjoys abusing it's current form and contrary to what the forums would say anyone who thinks it's unbalanced at the moment is not a LRM/Streak boater who is whining cause they now have to use skill. Game's community isn't quite SMNC levels yet, but it sure as hell is getting there.

[Clay Pigeon]

It is possible to launch MWO through steam in order to use the steam overlay to take screenshots. However, you must run steam as administrator to do so.

[frostdillicus]

So, after dropping with actual competent players I will say that ECM isn't as bad as my initial impressions. Is it still unbalanced in its current form? Yes. Is it game changing? Yes. Can it be defeated without ECM? Yes, with good teamwork.

TAG needs to be a better counter for it. If they are going to keep it as it is, then NARC needs to be buffed as it is now almost entirely useless. BAP is now completely useless now as are any efficiencies or modules that deal with radar range or spotting. One piece of equipment should not be a hard counter to so many other things, especially things that take so long to unlock like master level efficiencies and modules.

[Clay Pigeon]

I'd rather they removed The null signature system's effects from ECM. It should be separate. NSS should take up crit slots, and have a heat penalty.

[Flaming Cheese Wheel]

PGI's testing method seems to be to throw the ball at the players and see how many pieces of it come back at them, and what substances are on the pieces.

ECM definitely seems to have gotten caught up in the Streak SRM backlash, since Streaks still aren't really happily resolved. It does force teamwork for your Streak boats since they'll have to have at least one allied ECM unit running ECCM duty, but yep, then it just turns into a game of which side is running more EW, so it's still easier to just go direct fire.

Some days I really miss 3030 MUX.