Which FIRST MECH should I buy? New player looking for advices from veterans.

[Kalynor]

Hi there!

I have starded playing MWO a couple of days ago mainly for some strange nostalgia. I played A LOT of mechwarrior games in my childhood (I loved so much Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries!) and I decided to give a chance to MWO.

First of all, let me say that I felt quite overwhelmed from the apparent complexity that the game shows to newbies. The menu UI (and Mechlab) feels a bit rough and confusing, at least from a new player perspective. I hope that's the case and that I will be able to get used to it.

After completing the tutorial and a few matches, I have now about 18 millions C-Bills.

Considering that I would like to avoid wasting my precious C-Bills buying some "wrong" Mech I thought that it was definitely better to hope for some answers from veterans. I will put down some thoughts and question I have.


1) After reading a few guides, I decided that probably my first Mech should be a heavy one. Good armor, decent mobility, good arsenal. The assault Mechs seems to be more fitted to experienced players, while I do not like at all the idea of a light mech (at least for now).

2) I tend to like the ballistic weapons a lot, but love some laser support too (and maybe some short range missiles). I also like to be in the middle of the fight where I can vomit my arsenal on the enemy to kill it relatively fast.

3) I also would like a versatile Mech that could allow me to try different builds, like short range combat or medium to long range combat (but I don't know if that's possible).

4) I read something about buying THREE DIFFERENT VARIANTS of the same Mech, to unlock skills for it. How does that exactly work?

5)) On a sidenote, I noticed that there are cheap Mechs and very expensive ones (I learned something about IS and CLAN Mechs, but I am still quite confused on that matter). Is it ok to buy a cheap Mech as my first mech, or is it there some big difference between them? I was

So, after this (I hope not too long) premise, which Mech should I buy in your opinion?


Thanks in advance to whoever will have the time to share opinions and advices.

[A Velociraptor]

I would recommend waiting until you have completed all 25 cadet bonus matches which should get you around 25 - 30 million in total. Then and only then should you buy your first mech and as you said you would like a heavy mech i will try and suggest a few that fit your criteria.

My first suggestion is the Jaegermech/Rifleman I put them both together since the only real difference 5 tons more for the jaeger. Both are great ballistics platforms with high mounts and decent speed, neither have JJ's however but are pretty cheap options.

My second suggestion would be the Night Gyr for clans, while I hate to say it this mech is a good choice simply because you can do pretty much any ballistics with it. wanna do dual UAC 20's you can do that, 4 UAC 5's can do that too 6 UAC 2's enitrely possible. This one is 75 tons with JJ's.

My third and final suggestion for you would be the Shadowhawk and Hunchback again I put these two together since the differences are really only tonnage and the fact the Shadowhawk gets JJ's. I know you said you want a heavy but these are 55 and 50 ton mediums respectively, which means they are pretty tanky. Again you can do pretty much anything with these mechs anything from AC/20 builds down to multiple AC/2's or 5's.

And you do not need to buy three different variants any more they changed the skill system so you only need one variant to "master" it now.

[Deckire]

For 1) 2) and 3) I have Two Recommendations. Marauder MAD-3R, Triple Ballistic Hard Points and devistating, I ussually Run a 2 LBX-10 with Lasers, can go Meta Cheese with a Guass PPC and such . Second Warhammers, mainly the WHM-6R can be a strong Balistic mech as well, It can run a double AC/20, or you can switch to the AC/10s or AC/5s and add in lasers to it. If I could give you a third, the Roughneck, while it is still only cash only mech, and are less versitile being mainly a Ballistic Missile Mech, but it but what it has is Tankiness and power Completely matching assault mechs. But again Roughnecks are cash only and not C-Bill yet.

4) This is irrelevant now, The new SKill Tree allows you to have a Single Mech and can master it without having 3 Mechs.

5) Clan Mechs are in most cases superior to the Inner Sphere. Clans have lighter and smaller weaponry, that Shoot Farther but with the drawback on Increased Heat. Also their XL Engines makes it that they can outrun most IS Mechs, without being in fear of Losing a Side Torso (IS Mechs get destroyed if a Side Torso is Destroyed when equpped a XL)

They are also a lot of Omnimechs, which are incredibly expensive ones, due to the fact that you can buy 1 Mech and it unlocks every other Variant. They may lose a bit of bonuses, and a lot of things like Engines, Heat Sinks, and Thrusters, are Locked onto the mechs but they are still powerful.

[Dakota]

Really with how many different players have different playstyles and mesh with certain weapons more than others its rather hard to give an answer as to what mech you'd want first. It would be a good idea to use the trial mechs and see out of those which you like and why you like it, then buy a mech that can do what it does but better, that or just buy that mech then customize it and skill it up to make it your own.

In general I'd recommend the Hellbringer for clans as they are very versatile due to the omnipod system. They can't run IS tech however, so if you want to use IS stuff I'd recommend a Warhammer, there is a variant that focuses on ballistics mixed with energy, one focused on missiles mixed with energy, and one that goes full energy, so pick based on which weapon types you prefer, I favor the ballistic one running 2 AC10s with 4 medium lasers myself.

[majik]

Imo you should definitely learn the differences between IS and Clan first, their weaponry is different and your first couple of mechs should ideally be of the same faction to be able to play community warfare later on (you'll have to choose a side). Keep playing a bit with the trial mechs, each class has 2 IS and 2 Clan mechs.
I'd say Clan mechs are probably more versatile thanks to the omnipods, but if you like IS just go for it. To the suggestions above, I'd add the Timberwolf and Ebon Jaguar (it's in the trial mech rotation, with a Gauss vomit build) in Clan, and the Warhammer (also a trial, but with a laser vomit build) in IS.
IS mechs look cheaper, but to fully equip them with a decent build they'll cost you just as much as an equivalent Clan, so be careful with the "cheap" mechs.

[The Soul Hunter]

If he wants to be able to try out various build on a mech then he's gonna want to go omni since it'll be cheaper to switch pods vs buy another mech and upgrade it. The Marauder 2c is a battlemech but it's pretty awesome and has great hitboxes since anything with a marauders shape has great hitboxes. Also a maurauder IIC with speed tweak and an almost max engine will go almost as fast as an non speed tweaked heavy and it's an 85 ton assault.

Omnimech wise I would recommend the timber wolf, ebon jaguar, hellbringer, or night gyr. I've always found the summoner to be strangely tanky but that might just be me. With the hellbringer you're going to want to make sure you have the pod that has ECM since that's really the main advantage it has over the other heavy omnimechs I listed. IS mechs are a trap in a way since there's only a handful of good ones that can stand up to clan mechs in faction warfare or clan meta cheese builds.

The IS mech will end up costing you the same amount as a clan mech when you finish with all the upgrades it'll need including double heat sinks which clan mechs come with. If you want an IS mech I would say get either a marauder, warhammer, or battlemaster (1G and 2C are the best variants). Actually with the event going on now if you completely 5 challenges during the 4th week you'll get a battlemaster 1G for free so don't buy that one if you're planning on doing the event.

[JC]

Hellbringer Prime is a very good first mech. So is the stormcrow, and timberwolf. All have good speed, and deent hitboxes. Can run lots of different load outs. Your bonus C-bills will get your mech set up, and some left over to use on skills.

[ACrispyTaco]

Timberwolves are 100% worth every Cbill you spend on them. I own them all and they are nearly impossible to replace. Can fill nearly every role and can pack a huge punch.

[Dakota]

If you do buy a Timberwolf just make sure to account for the really easy to pick apart hitboxes it has. Torso twisting won't save a damaged component on that thing. Its a pretty good generalist though master of none.

[fat4eyes]

Here's a good video on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3IvYbEfxg8

TL;DW: Pick a heavy or medium. Enforcer, Huntsman or Shadowhawk for mediums; Hellbringer, Thunderbolt or Timberwolf for heavies.

[Dipperly]

I would recommend to master IS mechs first and then buy Clan mech if you want.

This is not what you want to hear but do not buy any mech for now, when new weapons and engines arrive there may be some changes in the Mech "tier ranking", or just how useful they are compared to others.

[JC]

new tech won't suddenly make a bunch of the clanners bad. Before a lot of folks would say master IS first, as you could buy 3 and master to see how it is cheaply and learn the game. Now there are some clans that will let you do that cheaper. The stormcrow for mediums and Timber for heavy are pefect examples because they can run energy, missile, ballistics, or mixed loads very well. They are both kinda jack of all trade mechs that the player can really get into the game and learn.

New tech is in july so over a month away anyway. A newbie should easily be able to grab a mech and master it and learn the game by then. Save all those wonderful C-bills for a while. Buy some weapons, open some supply crates (boost your weapon inventory) and just have fun.

Not a bad way to spend the next month right? :)

[Dipperly]

I do think new tech will indeed downtier several clan mechs, just my humble opinion.

Clan mechs are (most of them) more restricted when it comes to how you build them, except very few ones, you can`t even change the engine so you are indeed restricted to same speed and free ton. Because of how the game mechanics work and the clan mechs highly brawling capability I do think as well that playing an IS mech for new players will help them start aiming at part with less armor faster.

Yes there is a long way for new tech still but those new engines and weapons will be expensive.

[Maj_Cyric]

It's the player that really makes the mech.. not the mech used nor the weapons it has.. Those last two points do help though... But mainly it comes down to how those last two points are used by the player... Mechs don't drive themselves nor does its weapon fire and hit targets on their own...

But i've found that this mech (5 LPLs XL350) is able to carry and pwn quite well
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=941108241
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=941108980
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=941108990

It just rips STs off targets with surgical precision (hence the name)


Also the BLR Hellslinger can carry as well
It uses STD340 eng with 4 LPLs (Thinking of naming it "Hot Tamale")
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=941109158
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=946801919
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=946801935

But of the BLR's the 2C retained the best quirks (Structure, with all the Structure nodes it has tons of it, making it super tanky)

And the 3M and 1G still suffer from being unable to 90* torso twist to 90* (even with all the twist yaw* nodes taken) and mastery of reverse pivot skill a must to last in any brawl...

[Kalynor]

First of all, HUGE THANKS for all those nice and very detailed answers. I am already loving this friendly, newbies welcoming community.

I am carefully thinking about my first Mech. After having quite understood the difference between Clan and IS Mechs, and after having tried almost every heavy and assault trial Mech, I have to say that the single-shot ballistic weapons are just feeling so damn satisfying to me for some reason!

But of course, I'm taking into consideration every Mech you kindly adviced me on this post.

Especially, I am considering Hellbringer, Timberwolf, Rifleman, Warhammer, Night Gyr.

Bonus consideration, assault version of the Marauder as suggested on the thread (feels actually very interesting).

After playing more and more matches, I am still convinced to have some ballistic weapons, supported by lasers or other, so a ballistic-oriented Mech is definitely confirmed as my first choice (aside from the "shot satisfaction" ballistic weapons provide me, I feel more comfortable not having to think too much about overheating).

I'd also have a quick bonus question about the rifleman: would it be a difficult Mech to play with, considering his main weapons are on the arms (which tend to be easily destroyed)?

EDIT: also this question...is the Catapult a bad idea? Always liked it's aesthetic since Mechcommander

[Empyrrean]

Catapult is garbage, there are mechs that do its job better. I'm not familiar with the Rifleman, I always assumed the Jager was better in every way. Personally, if you like ballistics, I recommend the Hunchback-4G for AC20 spam, or the Jager-DD for triple UAC5s. The Ebon Jaguar is also a fantastic mech that can do just about anything. I personally like to use 2 UAC10s and 5 small lasers.