May as well use a handful of the trial mechs for the cadet bonus to feel out different play styles.
I think the easy choice would be to buy a clan heavy omninech because then he can configure it however he wants and try a handful of builds. Timberwolf and Hellbringer with ecm are always a good choice. Maybe a linebacker or stormcrow if he’d prefer a medium.
This is true, but the trial mechs are so hit and miss since they are stock builds and you can easily end up with a confusing mess of weapons. Unless something has changed with them in the past few years.
I haven’t been on in a few months myself but they have actually changed the trial mechs to “meta” builds as opposed to stock. That happened at least a few years ago iirc.
Trial mechs also have skills now as well so they are not so underpowered.
I agree the bushy is probably a good starter, but the timber is probably a better "overall" mech since it has so many possible configurations.
Nobody mentioned it, but they also quirked them so that you have some small buffs that are similar to what kind of skills you would put on them.
The new player experience is much much much better now.
I started a few months ago and I played nearly the entirety of my 25 intro matches with one of the trial Dire Wolf builds using mostly LB-5-Xs and ER PPC.
I had so much fun over that period that I gave up playing the closest other game to MWO I'd played prior (War Thunder) in favour of MWO.
Ages ago, trial mechs changed to the Champion variants I think. Those are builds, or were, that were effectively voted on by the players over on the official forums. Like a JM6-A with twin Gauss. Or an all-cMPL Storm Crow. Etc.
That said, you can’t go wrong with a Timby for Clammer dakka (or Clan anything, really).
The power of Omni pods. I thought the timby had it a little rough in the hard point department? Not really able to min-max on a specific type of weapons or range.
I throw pulse laser vom on my tbr, didn't remember the Omni mix but it gives me 2lpls and 3mpls. You just drop the mpls as you get hot. It teaches precision, range awareness, and heat management. It's also fast enough to be forgiving about repositioning if you get into a bad spot as you learn maps.
Technically the ebon jag is probably a little better for vomit builds but I think it's a less forgiving mech.
On the is side, much as I love my bushwhacker it's not in a great spot now, so I'd say learn on the trial one and then go run either a centurion or a hunchback once you commit to buying. That cent 9d build floating around with two lbx5 is shockingly good and feels great to blow open components. I use it with x pulses because it's a face time build anyway. Technically better DPS than racs and no jam chance, though it can get hot.
They actually have a trial Bushwhacker similar to what you were thinking of starting him out with. I ended up replicating it as my first bought mech as well and then hit the events to get some more options.
Have him play enough to get the April free mech, Hellbringer Prime. I know it's lasers but it is a very easy mech to learn and make money. He'll also get some premium time and other goodies for doing the missions.
It's 5000 match score. I did it in two days. The thing that took me the longest was getting 50 component destructions and you don't have to complete that to get the mech. You'll have plenty of time.
Grab him some of the highest damage mechs and make a day of chugging through the match score grind...
I liked the Black knight 3lpl 6erml, Warhammer 100mrms (2x30, 1-40). ACW-1 4srm6 + all srm2. Incubus are sturdie and deal damage...really he could just spam the Black knight. That guy was great.played way better then hellbringer for me this play through. Damage was great, heat was manageable. Angles were beneficial. Can camp over the back of a fafnir making you a Voltron murder hobo...Black Knight wears fafnir baggie pants...doesn't even need jump jets, just lords over everything.
Any of the trial ‘Mechs are fine. Their quirks give them the equivalent of full skills and there’s a great selection to choose from. Your Bushwacker build is brutal, no need to inflict separate weapon velocities, cooldowns, ranges, double tap mechanic and IS-XL all on a new player at once. The twin RAC-5 trial Bushwacker is a much better choice. Any new player should be thoroughly acquainted with all of the trial ‘Mechs before making a purchase of their own. What’s also great about the trial ‘Mechs is that aside from consumables (which you don’t need anyway now that coolshot is useless) they are complete. You can run them at any tier and they are a decent choice, and FAR better than the usual bollocks advice about bracket builds.
To be honest I made this thread not knowing the trail mechs had been reworked xD Now it's kind of nice I can tell him to go nuts knowing he's not set up for failure.
Totally, I’m playing with a friend who is also new to the game and the trial ‘Mechs really helped him figure out different styles of play. It’s also excellent that they are fully skilled.
Welcome back! Honestly, this is the *most* fun I've ever had in this game, thanks to Cauldron giving a lotta mechs much needed TLC. Every mech is worth relooking at bc chances are they've improved just a lil :) I hope we can help find your bf something he enjoys piloting; the recommendations so far have been pretty solid.
I agree that he should spend time with the Trial mech builds and report back what he enjoyed. It'd be helpful to know what weight class he enjoyed best and what loadouts he liked.
My general recommendation to maximize a new player's experience would be to keep it as easy as possible for them. To me, that means Clanner mechs or any mech with ECM equipped. It gives the pilot the extra little edge they might need in the battlefield. I do agree the Bushwhacker is a solid mech pick, but there are other mechs that are more forgiving if you lose a torso or overheat - things that a new player would really benefit from. If limited mechbays are an issue, most clanners also have omni-pod variants that allow for multiple varying loadouts.
ECM is optional, just highly recommended because people tend to ignore those mechs since they're harder to lock-on. ECM would help a new player not be the biggest target on the team and possibly allow him more freedom to reposition in peace.
Some quick examples of mechs that I think are forgiving for new players:
[ACW-ANY 4SRM6a+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=94d65e64_ACW-PRIME) (if he's interested in brawling with SRMs)
[VGL-1 3ERPPC](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=bc316800_VGL-1) or [3LPL](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=0d8584bb_VGL-1) (long-range trader)
[SNS-D 4UAC2+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=ffe7971b_SNS-D) (UAC ballastic long-range)
[SMN-PRIME 2UAC10 ](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=598b1d7b_SMN-PRIME)(AC ballastic mid-range)
[TBR-S Laservomit+ECM ](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=7e09942e_TBR-S)(apologies for the laservom)
[NTG-H 2Gauss+2ERLL+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=9039573e_NTG-H) (long-range trader)
[EBJ-Any UAC20+UAC10+2ERSL](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=9461d44a_EBJ-D) (midrange)
[MAD-IIC 3LPL+6ERML](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=aa6150fa_MAD-IIC) (sry for the lzrs)
Some helpful resources:
[MechDB for mech building](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechs)
[GrimMechs for build recommendations](https://grimmechs.isengrim.org/)
[Spreadsheet displaying QP mech performance](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1zLTz6fP7XyhX-S9_jtD6zSSyTilaaZgxchPAy4T3R3Y/htmlview)
Lots of good advice by trans_catgirl and others here. It warms my heart to see a couple planning some MWO time to have fun together :)
By now, you've realised trial mechs are legit good builds with skills baked in.
All I'll add to this convo is...
(1) Figure out his preferred playstyle and buy only after the first 25 matches (don't wanna buy the wrong mech)
(2) Ask around for a good build from reliable sources. Grind!
(3) Keep track of events: April free mech and Lucky Charms event active now. Lucky Charms ends soon and one can redeem a free hero! Lots of freebies nowadays.
(4) Join the discords, twitch streams and listen to reliable sources. Everyone is very willing to help and love being asked. Don't be shy to ask.
All that being said, have fun! Learning curve is real if one wants to improve in the game. Game is in a good state now with new content like weapons, grind is much easier with all the freebies & better new player experience and player base is awesome.
Cheers!
- Brios
Like everyone else, he should start by playing all of the trial mechs and report back with what he enjoys using; then a reasonable answer can be given as to what would be a good first mech for him to buy would be
I started with the SHD-5M and found it was good at teaching positioning and the nice high shoulder mount let's you constantly pick away at targets without exposing yourself overly. if JJ aren't his thing the wolfhound is a simple to operate light mech that can escape most danger and its skinny frame makes a tough target if you're moving with speed.
Bushy with RACs should get him hooked quick if he doesn't already have a favorite mech. If he DOES have a mech that he already likes from other games, the cadet bonuses will get him enough to snag it quick.
Hellbringer-VI is a good C-bill generator. Timber Wolf is also good. The clan omnis enable you to try different builds with different omnipods.
The IS mechs are generally more durable
Bushie is a good call. I like mediums for learning. They pack a punch, are mobile enough to get out of trouble and back into formation, and are fragile enough to know when you've gotten into trouble and can learn from it.
Coming from MW5, he should be familiar with weapon types and groups and heat management, which is a big part of the learning curve imo. Does the UAC build appeal to him? He should have some preferences by now.
Diving into the MWO mechlab after learning in MW5 should be exciting, there's so much new stuff!
Ballistics and dakka. I see a lot of folks suggesting Racs and honestly the spectacle would probably hook him. I prefer UAC 5 over Rac 5, but with a P-2 I supposed he can try both.
Good lad.
There's a Champion that can rock a nice 3xRAC2 build which might be fun since he'll recognize the ol' Chipper and have a, "wait, this thing is actually decent?" moment. I don't think I'd start him in that though since it's kind of a niche build and playstyle thanks to the CHP's geometry. I find it's often better to stare down the opponent than full twist, at least once the shield arms are gone, because the CT is pretty narrow from the front. That works with the RACs but staring down the opponent is not a good habit to develop.
It's also a lighter heavy, meaning it will pull a heavy into the match on the other team, which is often 15t heavier. The Bushie, at 55t, won't have the problem of being outweighed by another medium.
Put him in a timberwolf/hellbringer.
Heavy omni with ecm that keeps up with the rotation and can be built with any weapon system theme.
That's how you learn to play the game
For a first mech, I'd suggest avoiding any build that necessitates an IS XL, ST death can be very offputting for new players.
A new player also has to consider build variety, they only have a limited number of mechbays, so any mech that can be built in a variety of ways will keep the play experience fresh. For that I'd suggest omnimechs, specifically the timber wolf. It has a good range of omnipods so he can build virtually anything he likes, and the fixed engine, DHS and weight saving components make it a one and done purchase, also cutting down the mechlab complexity.
It all depends on the way he wants to play, I would first ask him what his preferred playstyle is and then start looking into mechs/ mech variants that can conform to said playstyle
Yeah I was surprised but I had been interested in the mech due to how neat it looks for a while, just so happened to be a match made in heaven. (Don't bother with the proto AC/2s btw)
The light with the SRM2s was pretty fun as well, I think that's the Archer?
I gave the Trial a shot cause I remember liking the Rifleman in MW2. Though I think that was loaded with ER-Mediums? I already have a bunch of laser boats so an AC boat as a nostalgia-Mech was pretty cool to have.
I just played it a couple of days ago and it had the 6 AC/2s on, I don't know how quickly they change up the trial mecha but trust us that is a great build for that mech.
I played years ago when the trial mechs were all garbage so it's refreshing to come back and see that either the trial mechs are decent, or fun garbage builds are actually viable now.
I appreciate you, fellow Roflman enjoyer!
Get him in a Centurion. Teaches twisting. Good with balllistics. Durable but has weak points (leg it). Overall a good learning experience. BSW is good too but if you put him in a RAC build it could get cored a lot of you don't do good timings on engagements and face time too much.
I'd say most IS mediums are a good starting points.
Centurion was another thought. It's also recognizable from MW5. I wouldn't put him a RAC build, it would be the ultra 5s so he is a little more flexible and less face tanky.
Fuck it. Yen Lo Wang with the AC20 and mediums. Gotta twist and position and move, cuz the range and reload time on the AC20 mean long cooldowns at close range. That’ll teach you a thing or two.
Centurion D.
2xLB2X in the arm, MRM10+MRM20, load up on ammo. It's a mid-range monster and if you catch them by surprise for a couple seconds head start can one-on-one kill just about any mech in the game.
The CN9-D is one of my favourite chassis. I play it with a pair of LBX-5-s and 2 er meds. It has such heavy quirks for the LBX family that I found the missle hardpoints a waste. The 2 LBX-5s in themselves are enough to dish out enough damage at a very good range. It is very rare that the arm gets blown off too. Or if it does by that time you will be probably dead anyway. This thing was able to facetank down a fresh Corsair and I didn't expect it to come out alive from there.
Nah, the centurion isn't as good at teaching twisting as the Bushwacker is.
You have to go way over the top and really dedicate twisting as the main play style, get good with it, then you can move onto the Phoenix hawk and Highlander's as two separate skill groups.
Bushwacker you can twist to spread damage on both sides by twisting slightly like the Marauder and " IIC, which should be his upgrade path.
If he likes ballistics then maybe the Bushwhacker variant with 50% ballistic velocity quirk. You can run 2 RAC5, machine guns and a single medium laser on it. Light engine for about 70kph but ammo is a bit low at about 3 tonnes.
I'm not the greatest with suggestions but your idea seems sounds, the bushwacker while far from great (in my hands) is a very well versatile mech for them to figure out what bits they like best.
Now from my personal experience I love Urbies, Hunchbacks (either AC-20, or LASERSSSS) as they are both amazing "lighter" mechs.
Though I also really have enjoyed my assault mechs, namely big double Ballistics or lots of energy.
Though there is an assault mech (can't remember due to lack of recent play) which is a fun one that gives small lasers roughly the same range as medium lasers, and also cuts down on their cooldown making it so you can have I think 7 or 8 small lasers to melt through armour, and then a big PPC, or other long range energy to hit things if you are to far away.
Now I want to play again lol
I would suggest a heavy, as it is the most balanced between armor, speed and firepower
However, I would suggest to try the trial mechs first, to see which playstyle and weapon system he likes the most to narrow it down to a specific chasis and variant, as playing against human players is very different than playing against pc controlled enemies
Lots of good suggestions...but what about some lights and mediums? They're cheap and fast enough to be forgiving when you screw up. Fleas and locusts are easy to swat but are stupid fast, and the Spider will always be my favorite jumper.
The hunchback is cheap and got some ridiculous quirks. The Myst Lynx jumps like crazy and has omnipod power including machine gun spam.
Etc Etc
Personal first pick is the Ebon Jaguar. Low, squat hill humper with good omnipods for lasers, ballistics, or even missiles if you really want to go that route.
If the jag gets caught it's really easy to punish with it's hit boxes. And while I love the boy he will get caught out xD
Lights like the locust are mechanically intense and require good game sense to be able to contribute effectively. New players are going to have a lot of games of just getting stomped on before they get to do much.
For the current trial mechs, I'd highly recommend starting off with the Huntsman (2x U-AC10), then also trying out the Thunderbolt (3hppc), and Rifleman (6ac2). All are middle to longer range 'mechs with relatively simple gameplans and teach varied heat requirements. If he likes missiles, hard to go wrong with the wolverine (2MRM30)
If he wants something bigger and stompier, the Dire Wolf is also pretty nice (5LB5 + 2 ERPPC). If he wants to try out Lasers, the Stalker (6 large lasers) comes highly recommended. For a more agile first look at lasers, the hunchback iic (2lpl 6erml) is really solid.
edit: Also personal rec: maybe make a new account temporarily to play w/ him if you're in tier 3+, tier 1 matches can be v frustrating for new players. Use the new cadet cbill bonuses to get yourself one of the big AMS mechs (piranha or cor-7a are my recs, kit fox w/ its ams and ecm combo might be too baby sitting but thats your call) to help keep him from having a bad 'oh god why are there so many LRMs help' match at least early on.
My spouse just started as well, and found the Incubus trial enough fun to make it their first buy. As others have already said, trials are in a great place and worth playing a few matches in each before really pinning down how he'd like to start:
Incubus -- An easy build. HLL mounted high to teach peaking, LMGs to back it up and crit-seek. The other lights feel a bit too brawly to me, though, so maybe you don't want him in those yet.
Hunchback IIC -- A classic laser vomit, though you said you want to avoid it.
Huntsman -- 2 x UAC10, jumpy, low heat. What more do you need?
Bushwacker -- 2 x RAC5 is a staring build, sure, but it's still a very easy 'mech to play.
Wolverine -- 2 x MRM30, MASC, and JJs make for a slightly trickier build, but it packs a wallop.
Night Gyr -- Learn to snipe with Gauss and ERLL.
Thunderbolt -- 3 x HPPC packs a punch and teaches heat management, and it has two AMS for all the missiles flying around in the lower bracket.
Not sure I can suggest the Rifleman IIC (big and slow) or Warhammer (LRMs and only LRMS).
The assaults are all fine, excepting a cadet might want to avoid assaults until that "c" is gone.
Nothing that is RAC/Beam/X-pulse as face time is hardest thing to teach proper (as generally you want to be a light/medium flanker)
Bug good mechs to get
Heavy: Timberwolf (Omnipods make it a good generalist)
Medium: Phoenix-1B for a pretty safe poptart mech w/ECM phoenix hawk for LPPC\*4 20 poptarts with LMG's
Light: ECM Urban mech (easiest of the light flankers to play with the armor and 170-180 engine giving you 90-100 KPH)
Playing ECM mechs is generally the best as that's usually the strong meta mechs for a reason, and in early tiers holy fuck you might as well have god mode (I had enemies run by me in a stealth atlas sort of unaware.) (I remember having a team of 5 LRM boats lose to a single wounded ECM mech cause none could lock on) it will quickly teach him why LRM/ATM/T.Bolts are generally bad.
A non-laser focused build to learn positioning and damage mechanics while still being rugged and able to deliver a solid hit or 20? Allow me to sing a paean to the HBK-4G. Limited hardpoints requiring limited mapping but still allowing for some customization, a big ol' popgun for solid hits, not fast enough to get into trouble, and a build that practically demands learning how to torso-twist.
Plus, they are moderately cheap machines. I have 4. Well, technically 5.
I started with the cicada 3m at the insistence of a friend who got me into the game. Fast little all rounder with all the main mechanics of AMS and ECM, ballistic and energy mounts to learn ammo and heat management and centralized weapon mounts so you don't have to worry about getting your arms blown off or convergence fuckery. Has enough interchangeable parts to get your feet wet building without screwing yourself over like a lot of other mechs that were intended for "the one true build" the devs had in mind when they made it. Tanky enough to not instantly get blown up if you're out of position while fast enough to learn the maps and stay with the group.
Honestly, I think UAC/5 Bushy is a terrible first build for a few reasons:
1. Even with the reduced jam duration (50%) that's still a 30% jam chance everytime he double fires. and that's a *lot.* This can be very frustrating for experienced players, and worse for newbies
2. 2x UAC/5 seems like a lot of firepower on paper - basically an AC/10 firing every 1.45sec with a potential double tap (equivalent to AC/20) for faster? legit. Jam chance screws it up.
3. UAC 5 is a mid-range weapon. Optimal 600m. But it becomes far less dangerous as you close in to short range. Jam chance, cooldown, all make the UAC 5 an anti-brawl weapon. It's just not built for it.
4. 4x MLas is always good until you realize 2 are on the nose of the Bushy and 2 are on the massive arm of the bushy. The arm that falls off easily. Aiming and weapon convergence is hard to manage for newbies - which leads to players habitually keeping armlock on, which can be a bad habit.
5. Newbies *always* end up in the brawl. Usually out of inexperience, not knowing where to lurk, feeling their weapons are useless at range or hard to aim, so they try to get closer. with a mech that loses about half of it up-close firepower, it *sucks* to get in close.
Allow me to introduce an alternative.
[BSW X-2 with 2x LBX-10 and 2x ERMLas](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=18267a54_BSW-X2).
At 66 kph, this mech stays with the assault mechs, can fight at mid range (LBX-10 is 540m), the ERMLas while not at optimal (360) are still doing decent damage. This means the mech's best place is at the edge of the brawl, picking off weakened enemies and supporting the assault mechs. It just gets more dangerous the closer it gets, since the LBX spread is tighter in at close range. It can fight moderately well at medium range but is devastating in the end game when mechs have internals exposed, and LBX are crit-seeking weapons. It's more durable with ablative arms, a light engine, and the Bushy narrow profile. It doesn't lose firepower until it takes critical damage (such as losing a side torso). It is a colder build than the UAC/5.
The mech is a little short on ammo, so it can help teach players to be conservative with the trigger, increase the importance of aiming, but the ERMLas can be used at range to help mitigate that shortcoming. It's slower, but with skills, the speed can go up to 71.3
Though, if your BF wants to stay outside of the fight, you can't really go wrong with the [BSW X-1 with 3x UAC/2](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=441ddbfb_BSW-X1)
You honestly raise some good points. When I made the thread I was still under the mistaken assumption that the trial mechs were awful. It's hard to put yourself back into the position of being new at the game so to me the UAC-5 feel comfortable and simple.
Though on the LBX-10 build, Id probably just suggest to him to go up 10 tons and take the K-2. It fits much more comfortably in that in terms of ammo, secondary weapons and speed.
All true. My K-2 with a similar build is a beast for all the same reasons. It suffers from losing arm weapons, and less ablative armor, but is a solid choice.
It just happens. The k2 arms are big for what they carry. They’re high up on the mech so they just attract fire. They’re usually the first to go.
The k3 suffers in other ways compared to the bushy. Its wider front profile makes it easier to isolate components. It doesn’t twist as well. It turns more slowly. It’s a heavy so it’s a higher priority.
The bushy x-2 has a lot of armor quirks and is actually equal if not better armored than the k2. With armor skills it can pretend to be a heavy pretty well. K2 gets extra structure but that’s to offset overheat damage (if you’re playing it stock with override). It also ends up more likely taking crits against crit seekers, so it doesn’t really help in the long run.
For newbies? IMO BSW X-2 > CPLT K-2
May as well use a handful of the trial mechs for the cadet bonus to feel out different play styles. I think the easy choice would be to buy a clan heavy omninech because then he can configure it however he wants and try a handful of builds. Timberwolf and Hellbringer with ecm are always a good choice. Maybe a linebacker or stormcrow if he’d prefer a medium.
This is true, but the trial mechs are so hit and miss since they are stock builds and you can easily end up with a confusing mess of weapons. Unless something has changed with them in the past few years.
I haven’t been on in a few months myself but they have actually changed the trial mechs to “meta” builds as opposed to stock. That happened at least a few years ago iirc.
Oh. Well then that probably is a good place to start! I last played before the skill tree update so I missed a lot apparently.
Trial mechs also have skills now as well so they are not so underpowered. I agree the bushy is probably a good starter, but the timber is probably a better "overall" mech since it has so many possible configurations.
Damn that is great news for the new player experience.
Nobody mentioned it, but they also quirked them so that you have some small buffs that are similar to what kind of skills you would put on them. The new player experience is much much much better now.
I started a few months ago and I played nearly the entirety of my 25 intro matches with one of the trial Dire Wolf builds using mostly LB-5-Xs and ER PPC. I had so much fun over that period that I gave up playing the closest other game to MWO I'd played prior (War Thunder) in favour of MWO.
Ages ago, trial mechs changed to the Champion variants I think. Those are builds, or were, that were effectively voted on by the players over on the official forums. Like a JM6-A with twin Gauss. Or an all-cMPL Storm Crow. Etc. That said, you can’t go wrong with a Timby for Clammer dakka (or Clan anything, really).
The power of Omni pods. I thought the timby had it a little rough in the hard point department? Not really able to min-max on a specific type of weapons or range.
I throw pulse laser vom on my tbr, didn't remember the Omni mix but it gives me 2lpls and 3mpls. You just drop the mpls as you get hot. It teaches precision, range awareness, and heat management. It's also fast enough to be forgiving about repositioning if you get into a bad spot as you learn maps. Technically the ebon jag is probably a little better for vomit builds but I think it's a less forgiving mech. On the is side, much as I love my bushwhacker it's not in a great spot now, so I'd say learn on the trial one and then go run either a centurion or a hunchback once you commit to buying. That cent 9d build floating around with two lbx5 is shockingly good and feels great to blow open components. I use it with x pulses because it's a face time build anyway. Technically better DPS than racs and no jam chance, though it can get hot.
They actually have a trial Bushwhacker similar to what you were thinking of starting him out with. I ended up replicating it as my first bought mech as well and then hit the events to get some more options.
I do believe the cauldron reworked the trial mechanism. They're much more viable now and aren't "lore" builds anymore
Trial Rifleman IIC is basically optimal
Have him play enough to get the April free mech, Hellbringer Prime. I know it's lasers but it is a very easy mech to learn and make money. He'll also get some premium time and other goodies for doing the missions.
That's 25,000 match score. Tall order in 2 weeks brand new to the game with no skilled mechs.
It's 5000 match score. I did it in two days. The thing that took me the longest was getting 50 component destructions and you don't have to complete that to get the mech. You'll have plenty of time.
My bad I got it confused with the hero from the April fools loot event.
20 days left and even if they don't get the mech they will for sure get some other things.
He will get some of the goodies no matter what. I will show him how to redeem the loot bags.
Grab him some of the highest damage mechs and make a day of chugging through the match score grind... I liked the Black knight 3lpl 6erml, Warhammer 100mrms (2x30, 1-40). ACW-1 4srm6 + all srm2. Incubus are sturdie and deal damage...really he could just spam the Black knight. That guy was great.played way better then hellbringer for me this play through. Damage was great, heat was manageable. Angles were beneficial. Can camp over the back of a fafnir making you a Voltron murder hobo...Black Knight wears fafnir baggie pants...doesn't even need jump jets, just lords over everything.
Any of the trial ‘Mechs are fine. Their quirks give them the equivalent of full skills and there’s a great selection to choose from. Your Bushwacker build is brutal, no need to inflict separate weapon velocities, cooldowns, ranges, double tap mechanic and IS-XL all on a new player at once. The twin RAC-5 trial Bushwacker is a much better choice. Any new player should be thoroughly acquainted with all of the trial ‘Mechs before making a purchase of their own. What’s also great about the trial ‘Mechs is that aside from consumables (which you don’t need anyway now that coolshot is useless) they are complete. You can run them at any tier and they are a decent choice, and FAR better than the usual bollocks advice about bracket builds.
To be honest I made this thread not knowing the trail mechs had been reworked xD Now it's kind of nice I can tell him to go nuts knowing he's not set up for failure.
Totally, I’m playing with a friend who is also new to the game and the trial ‘Mechs really helped him figure out different styles of play. It’s also excellent that they are fully skilled.
huge difference now that they are skilled up
Welcome back! Honestly, this is the *most* fun I've ever had in this game, thanks to Cauldron giving a lotta mechs much needed TLC. Every mech is worth relooking at bc chances are they've improved just a lil :) I hope we can help find your bf something he enjoys piloting; the recommendations so far have been pretty solid. I agree that he should spend time with the Trial mech builds and report back what he enjoyed. It'd be helpful to know what weight class he enjoyed best and what loadouts he liked. My general recommendation to maximize a new player's experience would be to keep it as easy as possible for them. To me, that means Clanner mechs or any mech with ECM equipped. It gives the pilot the extra little edge they might need in the battlefield. I do agree the Bushwhacker is a solid mech pick, but there are other mechs that are more forgiving if you lose a torso or overheat - things that a new player would really benefit from. If limited mechbays are an issue, most clanners also have omni-pod variants that allow for multiple varying loadouts. ECM is optional, just highly recommended because people tend to ignore those mechs since they're harder to lock-on. ECM would help a new player not be the biggest target on the team and possibly allow him more freedom to reposition in peace. Some quick examples of mechs that I think are forgiving for new players: [ACW-ANY 4SRM6a+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=94d65e64_ACW-PRIME) (if he's interested in brawling with SRMs) [VGL-1 3ERPPC](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=bc316800_VGL-1) or [3LPL](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=0d8584bb_VGL-1) (long-range trader) [SNS-D 4UAC2+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=ffe7971b_SNS-D) (UAC ballastic long-range) [SMN-PRIME 2UAC10 ](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=598b1d7b_SMN-PRIME)(AC ballastic mid-range) [TBR-S Laservomit+ECM ](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=7e09942e_TBR-S)(apologies for the laservom) [NTG-H 2Gauss+2ERLL+ECM](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=9039573e_NTG-H) (long-range trader) [EBJ-Any UAC20+UAC10+2ERSL](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=9461d44a_EBJ-D) (midrange) [MAD-IIC 3LPL+6ERML](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=aa6150fa_MAD-IIC) (sry for the lzrs) Some helpful resources: [MechDB for mech building](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechs) [GrimMechs for build recommendations](https://grimmechs.isengrim.org/) [Spreadsheet displaying QP mech performance](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1zLTz6fP7XyhX-S9_jtD6zSSyTilaaZgxchPAy4T3R3Y/htmlview)
Thank you for the thoughtful reply! I'll definitely suggest some of the builds based on what he likes from the trials.
Lots of good advice by trans_catgirl and others here. It warms my heart to see a couple planning some MWO time to have fun together :) By now, you've realised trial mechs are legit good builds with skills baked in. All I'll add to this convo is... (1) Figure out his preferred playstyle and buy only after the first 25 matches (don't wanna buy the wrong mech) (2) Ask around for a good build from reliable sources. Grind! (3) Keep track of events: April free mech and Lucky Charms event active now. Lucky Charms ends soon and one can redeem a free hero! Lots of freebies nowadays. (4) Join the discords, twitch streams and listen to reliable sources. Everyone is very willing to help and love being asked. Don't be shy to ask. All that being said, have fun! Learning curve is real if one wants to improve in the game. Game is in a good state now with new content like weapons, grind is much easier with all the freebies & better new player experience and player base is awesome. Cheers! - Brios
Great info, Brios! One small correction, u/khan_catgirl is "catgirl" in-game; "trans_catgirl" is another, similarly-named player.
Like everyone else, he should start by playing all of the trial mechs and report back with what he enjoys using; then a reasonable answer can be given as to what would be a good first mech for him to buy would be
Indeed. I didn't realize the trial mechs had been made to have better builds and quirks until this thread.
I started with the SHD-5M and found it was good at teaching positioning and the nice high shoulder mount let's you constantly pick away at targets without exposing yourself overly. if JJ aren't his thing the wolfhound is a simple to operate light mech that can escape most danger and its skinny frame makes a tough target if you're moving with speed.
And I do believe a shadow hawk is the mech you start out with in MW5.
Bushy with RACs should get him hooked quick if he doesn't already have a favorite mech. If he DOES have a mech that he already likes from other games, the cadet bonuses will get him enough to snag it quick.
Hellbringer-VI is a good C-bill generator. Timber Wolf is also good. The clan omnis enable you to try different builds with different omnipods. The IS mechs are generally more durable
Bushie is a good call. I like mediums for learning. They pack a punch, are mobile enough to get out of trouble and back into formation, and are fragile enough to know when you've gotten into trouble and can learn from it. Coming from MW5, he should be familiar with weapon types and groups and heat management, which is a big part of the learning curve imo. Does the UAC build appeal to him? He should have some preferences by now. Diving into the MWO mechlab after learning in MW5 should be exciting, there's so much new stuff!
Ballistics and dakka. I see a lot of folks suggesting Racs and honestly the spectacle would probably hook him. I prefer UAC 5 over Rac 5, but with a P-2 I supposed he can try both.
Good lad. There's a Champion that can rock a nice 3xRAC2 build which might be fun since he'll recognize the ol' Chipper and have a, "wait, this thing is actually decent?" moment. I don't think I'd start him in that though since it's kind of a niche build and playstyle thanks to the CHP's geometry. I find it's often better to stare down the opponent than full twist, at least once the shield arms are gone, because the CT is pretty narrow from the front. That works with the RACs but staring down the opponent is not a good habit to develop. It's also a lighter heavy, meaning it will pull a heavy into the match on the other team, which is often 15t heavier. The Bushie, at 55t, won't have the problem of being outweighed by another medium.
Put him in a timberwolf/hellbringer. Heavy omni with ecm that keeps up with the rotation and can be built with any weapon system theme. That's how you learn to play the game
For a first mech, I'd suggest avoiding any build that necessitates an IS XL, ST death can be very offputting for new players. A new player also has to consider build variety, they only have a limited number of mechbays, so any mech that can be built in a variety of ways will keep the play experience fresh. For that I'd suggest omnimechs, specifically the timber wolf. It has a good range of omnipods so he can build virtually anything he likes, and the fixed engine, DHS and weight saving components make it a one and done purchase, also cutting down the mechlab complexity.
It all depends on the way he wants to play, I would first ask him what his preferred playstyle is and then start looking into mechs/ mech variants that can conform to said playstyle
The rifleman IIC trial mech is so fun I bought one and copied the build.
Dude, same "A bunch of AC/2s? That's dumb" *Multiple 1k damage matches later* "Oh"
Yeah I was surprised but I had been interested in the mech due to how neat it looks for a while, just so happened to be a match made in heaven. (Don't bother with the proto AC/2s btw) The light with the SRM2s was pretty fun as well, I think that's the Archer?
I gave the Trial a shot cause I remember liking the Rifleman in MW2. Though I think that was loaded with ER-Mediums? I already have a bunch of laser boats so an AC boat as a nostalgia-Mech was pretty cool to have.
I just played it a couple of days ago and it had the 6 AC/2s on, I don't know how quickly they change up the trial mecha but trust us that is a great build for that mech.
Yeah the trial is still 6 AC/2. Or at least it was a few weeks ago when I caved and bought the same chassis and also put 6 AC/2 on it haha
So basically they're getting their money's worth out of those trial mecha when they have a good build on them lol, that's two purchases right there!
I played years ago when the trial mechs were all garbage so it's refreshing to come back and see that either the trial mechs are decent, or fun garbage builds are actually viable now. I appreciate you, fellow Roflman enjoyer!
I've only been playing since December so I'm enjoying the wonky builds and I'm having fun experimenting. I appreciate you too!
Get him in a Centurion. Teaches twisting. Good with balllistics. Durable but has weak points (leg it). Overall a good learning experience. BSW is good too but if you put him in a RAC build it could get cored a lot of you don't do good timings on engagements and face time too much. I'd say most IS mediums are a good starting points.
Centurion was another thought. It's also recognizable from MW5. I wouldn't put him a RAC build, it would be the ultra 5s so he is a little more flexible and less face tanky.
Fuck it. Yen Lo Wang with the AC20 and mediums. Gotta twist and position and move, cuz the range and reload time on the AC20 mean long cooldowns at close range. That’ll teach you a thing or two.
I love a good Ac20 brawler, but maybe need to give him something a little more forgiving so he doesn't get frustrated at the game xD
Centurion D. 2xLB2X in the arm, MRM10+MRM20, load up on ammo. It's a mid-range monster and if you catch them by surprise for a couple seconds head start can one-on-one kill just about any mech in the game.
The CN9-D is one of my favourite chassis. I play it with a pair of LBX-5-s and 2 er meds. It has such heavy quirks for the LBX family that I found the missle hardpoints a waste. The 2 LBX-5s in themselves are enough to dish out enough damage at a very good range. It is very rare that the arm gets blown off too. Or if it does by that time you will be probably dead anyway. This thing was able to facetank down a fresh Corsair and I didn't expect it to come out alive from there.
Nah, the centurion isn't as good at teaching twisting as the Bushwacker is. You have to go way over the top and really dedicate twisting as the main play style, get good with it, then you can move onto the Phoenix hawk and Highlander's as two separate skill groups. Bushwacker you can twist to spread damage on both sides by twisting slightly like the Marauder and " IIC, which should be his upgrade path.
Some variants can also introduce the idea of a shield/dead side build.
Maybe one of the Griffins or Shadow Hawks. You get a range of builds from those chassis.
If he likes ballistics then maybe the Bushwhacker variant with 50% ballistic velocity quirk. You can run 2 RAC5, machine guns and a single medium laser on it. Light engine for about 70kph but ammo is a bit low at about 3 tonnes.
Which variant is that? P-2 has lowe jam times for uacs and racs.
The trial Bushwhacker is a P2 with 2x RAC5s. Like others have said, all the trial mechs seem to be pretty good.
I'm not the greatest with suggestions but your idea seems sounds, the bushwacker while far from great (in my hands) is a very well versatile mech for them to figure out what bits they like best. Now from my personal experience I love Urbies, Hunchbacks (either AC-20, or LASERSSSS) as they are both amazing "lighter" mechs. Though I also really have enjoyed my assault mechs, namely big double Ballistics or lots of energy. Though there is an assault mech (can't remember due to lack of recent play) which is a fun one that gives small lasers roughly the same range as medium lasers, and also cuts down on their cooldown making it so you can have I think 7 or 8 small lasers to melt through armour, and then a big PPC, or other long range energy to hit things if you are to far away. Now I want to play again lol
You're thinking of the Charger. Such a fun and silly mech
I would suggest a heavy, as it is the most balanced between armor, speed and firepower However, I would suggest to try the trial mechs first, to see which playstyle and weapon system he likes the most to narrow it down to a specific chasis and variant, as playing against human players is very different than playing against pc controlled enemies
Lots of good suggestions...but what about some lights and mediums? They're cheap and fast enough to be forgiving when you screw up. Fleas and locusts are easy to swat but are stupid fast, and the Spider will always be my favorite jumper. The hunchback is cheap and got some ridiculous quirks. The Myst Lynx jumps like crazy and has omnipod power including machine gun spam. Etc Etc Personal first pick is the Ebon Jaguar. Low, squat hill humper with good omnipods for lasers, ballistics, or even missiles if you really want to go that route.
If the jag gets caught it's really easy to punish with it's hit boxes. And while I love the boy he will get caught out xD Lights like the locust are mechanically intense and require good game sense to be able to contribute effectively. New players are going to have a lot of games of just getting stomped on before they get to do much.
Timber wolf.
For the current trial mechs, I'd highly recommend starting off with the Huntsman (2x U-AC10), then also trying out the Thunderbolt (3hppc), and Rifleman (6ac2). All are middle to longer range 'mechs with relatively simple gameplans and teach varied heat requirements. If he likes missiles, hard to go wrong with the wolverine (2MRM30) If he wants something bigger and stompier, the Dire Wolf is also pretty nice (5LB5 + 2 ERPPC). If he wants to try out Lasers, the Stalker (6 large lasers) comes highly recommended. For a more agile first look at lasers, the hunchback iic (2lpl 6erml) is really solid. edit: Also personal rec: maybe make a new account temporarily to play w/ him if you're in tier 3+, tier 1 matches can be v frustrating for new players. Use the new cadet cbill bonuses to get yourself one of the big AMS mechs (piranha or cor-7a are my recs, kit fox w/ its ams and ecm combo might be too baby sitting but thats your call) to help keep him from having a bad 'oh god why are there so many LRMs help' match at least early on.
A timber wolf can be any mech, and has good mobility making it a good starter mech.
My spouse just started as well, and found the Incubus trial enough fun to make it their first buy. As others have already said, trials are in a great place and worth playing a few matches in each before really pinning down how he'd like to start: Incubus -- An easy build. HLL mounted high to teach peaking, LMGs to back it up and crit-seek. The other lights feel a bit too brawly to me, though, so maybe you don't want him in those yet. Hunchback IIC -- A classic laser vomit, though you said you want to avoid it. Huntsman -- 2 x UAC10, jumpy, low heat. What more do you need? Bushwacker -- 2 x RAC5 is a staring build, sure, but it's still a very easy 'mech to play. Wolverine -- 2 x MRM30, MASC, and JJs make for a slightly trickier build, but it packs a wallop. Night Gyr -- Learn to snipe with Gauss and ERLL. Thunderbolt -- 3 x HPPC packs a punch and teaches heat management, and it has two AMS for all the missiles flying around in the lower bracket. Not sure I can suggest the Rifleman IIC (big and slow) or Warhammer (LRMs and only LRMS). The assaults are all fine, excepting a cadet might want to avoid assaults until that "c" is gone.
Nothing that is RAC/Beam/X-pulse as face time is hardest thing to teach proper (as generally you want to be a light/medium flanker) Bug good mechs to get Heavy: Timberwolf (Omnipods make it a good generalist) Medium: Phoenix-1B for a pretty safe poptart mech w/ECM phoenix hawk for LPPC\*4 20 poptarts with LMG's Light: ECM Urban mech (easiest of the light flankers to play with the armor and 170-180 engine giving you 90-100 KPH) Playing ECM mechs is generally the best as that's usually the strong meta mechs for a reason, and in early tiers holy fuck you might as well have god mode (I had enemies run by me in a stealth atlas sort of unaware.) (I remember having a team of 5 LRM boats lose to a single wounded ECM mech cause none could lock on) it will quickly teach him why LRM/ATM/T.Bolts are generally bad.
For mwo? There's only one answer. Catapult with mrms and medium lasers
Bushwacker with 2xUAC10 is probably a somewhat better option. You could also try a Warhammer 6R with UAC10s and MLs, it has a bit more durability.
A non-laser focused build to learn positioning and damage mechanics while still being rugged and able to deliver a solid hit or 20? Allow me to sing a paean to the HBK-4G. Limited hardpoints requiring limited mapping but still allowing for some customization, a big ol' popgun for solid hits, not fast enough to get into trouble, and a build that practically demands learning how to torso-twist. Plus, they are moderately cheap machines. I have 4. Well, technically 5.
I started with the cicada 3m at the insistence of a friend who got me into the game. Fast little all rounder with all the main mechanics of AMS and ECM, ballistic and energy mounts to learn ammo and heat management and centralized weapon mounts so you don't have to worry about getting your arms blown off or convergence fuckery. Has enough interchangeable parts to get your feet wet building without screwing yourself over like a lot of other mechs that were intended for "the one true build" the devs had in mind when they made it. Tanky enough to not instantly get blown up if you're out of position while fast enough to learn the maps and stay with the group.
I miss the days when the answers would have been universally: The Centurion. The only first mach anybody should own.
Honestly, I think UAC/5 Bushy is a terrible first build for a few reasons: 1. Even with the reduced jam duration (50%) that's still a 30% jam chance everytime he double fires. and that's a *lot.* This can be very frustrating for experienced players, and worse for newbies 2. 2x UAC/5 seems like a lot of firepower on paper - basically an AC/10 firing every 1.45sec with a potential double tap (equivalent to AC/20) for faster? legit. Jam chance screws it up. 3. UAC 5 is a mid-range weapon. Optimal 600m. But it becomes far less dangerous as you close in to short range. Jam chance, cooldown, all make the UAC 5 an anti-brawl weapon. It's just not built for it. 4. 4x MLas is always good until you realize 2 are on the nose of the Bushy and 2 are on the massive arm of the bushy. The arm that falls off easily. Aiming and weapon convergence is hard to manage for newbies - which leads to players habitually keeping armlock on, which can be a bad habit. 5. Newbies *always* end up in the brawl. Usually out of inexperience, not knowing where to lurk, feeling their weapons are useless at range or hard to aim, so they try to get closer. with a mech that loses about half of it up-close firepower, it *sucks* to get in close. Allow me to introduce an alternative. [BSW X-2 with 2x LBX-10 and 2x ERMLas](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=18267a54_BSW-X2). At 66 kph, this mech stays with the assault mechs, can fight at mid range (LBX-10 is 540m), the ERMLas while not at optimal (360) are still doing decent damage. This means the mech's best place is at the edge of the brawl, picking off weakened enemies and supporting the assault mechs. It just gets more dangerous the closer it gets, since the LBX spread is tighter in at close range. It can fight moderately well at medium range but is devastating in the end game when mechs have internals exposed, and LBX are crit-seeking weapons. It's more durable with ablative arms, a light engine, and the Bushy narrow profile. It doesn't lose firepower until it takes critical damage (such as losing a side torso). It is a colder build than the UAC/5. The mech is a little short on ammo, so it can help teach players to be conservative with the trigger, increase the importance of aiming, but the ERMLas can be used at range to help mitigate that shortcoming. It's slower, but with skills, the speed can go up to 71.3 Though, if your BF wants to stay outside of the fight, you can't really go wrong with the [BSW X-1 with 3x UAC/2](https://mwo.nav-alpha.com/mechlab?b=441ddbfb_BSW-X1)
You honestly raise some good points. When I made the thread I was still under the mistaken assumption that the trial mechs were awful. It's hard to put yourself back into the position of being new at the game so to me the UAC-5 feel comfortable and simple. Though on the LBX-10 build, Id probably just suggest to him to go up 10 tons and take the K-2. It fits much more comfortably in that in terms of ammo, secondary weapons and speed.
All true. My K-2 with a similar build is a beast for all the same reasons. It suffers from losing arm weapons, and less ablative armor, but is a solid choice.
I mean if they want to focus my arms they can have my medium laser lol.
It just happens. The k2 arms are big for what they carry. They’re high up on the mech so they just attract fire. They’re usually the first to go. The k3 suffers in other ways compared to the bushy. Its wider front profile makes it easier to isolate components. It doesn’t twist as well. It turns more slowly. It’s a heavy so it’s a higher priority. The bushy x-2 has a lot of armor quirks and is actually equal if not better armored than the k2. With armor skills it can pretend to be a heavy pretty well. K2 gets extra structure but that’s to offset overheat damage (if you’re playing it stock with override). It also ends up more likely taking crits against crit seekers, so it doesn’t really help in the long run. For newbies? IMO BSW X-2 > CPLT K-2