Buying Mechs with Real Money - for the new people

The core purpose of this guide is to help players who are new to MechWarrior Online and want to spend some real money to buy mechs. The fact of the matter is that there is very little explanation on what is available to players, regardless of whether or not they are on Steam and even less information on the value of some of these things (that is, why should someone purchase something a-la-carte instead of just getting one of the pack levels).

If you are reading this guide, then it is assumed that you have made the decision to spend over some of your hard-earned money on some giant stompy robots. This said, I am not trying to encourage people to spend money on this game, but I do want people to have a good idea of what is available, where they can find it and what value it has.

With regard to scope, I do not go into any specifics, nor do I examine every pack or offering by PGI or Steam. There is just too much there to go through in any reasonable amount of time…and things seem to stick around the same price anyway. I also try to focus on things that have actual value in the game. That is, things that cost real money that have some functional purpose. This means that for the purposes of this guide things like Premium Time, MC and C-Bills are things that are considered to have value. And while I mention things like Cockpit Items (Standing, Mounted/Warhorns or Hanging), Colors, Camo Patterns, they have no purpose other than looks and appearances and are thus just lumped together as ‘swag’.

Edit:
I am editing/updating this guide because there are some things that are well out of date in comparison to my initial posting and, more importantly, the changes that are taking place on 13 December 2016 with the complete reworking of the Experience Point system and the things that that entails.

Preamble

Whether by design or by accident, I do not think that PGI has done a very good job of explaining to new players what all is available to them via the online stores and such. I say this because I have lost count of how many times I’ve explained to different people in different threads about how the different options available and where I think their hard-earned money will benefit them the most.

To be clear, I understand that all of this information is not going to easily find itself on the game’s Steam page, because I have a feeling Steam only gets a cut from what is sold on Steam…which are the Performance Packs. So anyway, here is what I hope to be a reasonably comprehensive way for people to purchase mechs with real money.

Performance Steam Packs

Performance Packs are, in my opinion, a bit of a mixed bag. The cost is based entirely on the mechs in the pack (the Assault Pack is more expensive than Light Pack) and the extra stuff that is thrown in. Now, for your money, you *do* get some really nice things, such as the Pattern and Color unlocks, Mech Bays, MC and C-Bills. Beyond this baseline, things start to not look quite as good, at least in my opinion.

The Good:

• You get 2 mechs of the appropriate Class; 1 Clan, 1 Inner Sphere.
  
• Both mechs are considered ‘Special’ (and thus have a [S] after their designator) and so grant a 30% C-Bill bonus
  
• 30 Days of Premium time is added on, which is nice, as that provides a 50% boost to C-Bills and EXP earned in a match. Note – these bonuses stack, so if you are using your Special variant with Premium Time, you get an 80% boost to your C-Bill earnings
  
  The Bad:
  
• You only get 2 mechs for the price you pay and, despite some of the nifty stuff (the swag/cosmetic stuff you get), you can find equivalent or better deals with Mech Packs or Mastery Bundles.
  
• The mechs that are available at the time of this writing can be acquired for the same price or cheaper from PGI by looking at Clan Invasion 1 (Warhawk), Clan Invasion Wave II (Mist Lynx), Clan Invasion Wave III (Shadow Cat and Ebon Jaguar), Resistance (Panther, Grasshopper and Zeus) and Resistance II (Crab). See my thoughts on Mech Pack – Collections below for more on this.
  
  The Middle:
  
• The prices on Steam are entirely region-based. So in some countries (especially those that may not have strong economies), you get all of this stuff at a major bargain.
  
• Colors are unlocked Account-Wide. So any colors that are given as part of the pack can be used on any mechs at any time.
  
• Camo Patterns are unlocked on a per-chassis basis. For example, the Hot Rod Pattern unlocked for the Shadow Cat can be used on any other Shadow Cat you acquire later, but could not be used on Vindicators.
  
  My assessment:
  While not terrible, I honestly feel that most people can do better for themselves in the long run if they got a Mastery Bundle or a Mech Pack. To me, I think that these work the best for people that are in a region where converting their currency to dollars would be painful financially speaking.
  
  Store Links:
  Light Performance Pack
  Medium Performance Pack
  Heavy Performance Pack
  Assault Performance Pack
  

Mastery Bundles

Mastery Bundles are fairly basic mech packs that are straight up and easy to understand with what you get and are rather reasonably priced, again, for what you get. Yes, price increases as the mechs get heavier and there is even some disparity even within the same weight class (the Raven pack is the most expensive out of all of the Light Mastery packs, despite being 35 tons just like every other Light mech in the pack), this is entirely due to the costs being based off the mechs’ MC price, and that, in turn, is based on what the mech comes equipped with (a mech that has Double Heat Sinks already equipped will cost more than one that does not, for example, and this price is reflected in the MC value).

The Good:

• You get exactly what is on the tin. That is, you get 3 different mechs of the same chassis. While the 3-Mech thing was a big deal and major selling point before the 13 December 2016 patch, it’s still 3 mechs with Mech Bays.
  
• One of the mechs is a Hero Mech. Hero Mechs are a variant of a particular chassis that has unique geometry, hardpoint location, camo pattern and colors. In addition, these Hero Mechs all have a 30% C-Bill bonus.
  
• 30 Days of Premium Time, which as outlined above, is always a nice thing to have.
  
  The Bad:
  
• For the most part, Hero Mechs aren’t all that good. There are ways to outfit them to make them very worthwhile, but at the most basic level, a standard variant is going to be better than the Hero.
  
  The Middle:
  
• The only additional swag you get is a single cockpit standing item, which is of the mech chassis for the pack. It looks nice, but really isn’t something worth writing home about.
  
• One of the included mechs is a Champion, which have a long history of having bad loadouts…but it gives a 30% XP bonus which will help getting through that particular variant faster as well as generating some (though very little) extra GXP. While all of this extra XP is (in my opinion) useless, I do not know how the new system is going to work in its entirety. However, offsetting the XP bonus is the fact that most (if not all) Champion Mechs have loadouts (good or bad) that take certain upgrades (Double Heat Sinks and Endo Steel Structure) and equipment (XL-Engines) that are painfully expensive by default.
  
• Not all mechs have a Mastery Pack and there are no Mastery Packs for Clan mechs yet (as of this writing, Clan Heroes have been a part of the game for a while with the chassis from Invasion Wave 1 just being included).
  
  My Assessment:
  I think you get some serious bang for your buck here. Even though the Mastery thing is going away, thus removing the need for 3 mechs of a given chassis, you’re still getting the extra equipment that these mechs come with, should you decide to sell* any of them off later…not to mention the Mech Bay and additional C-Bills
  Also, while you don’t get as much extra stuff for these packs as you do for the Performance Packs, they are *significantly* cheaper.
  
  * I would advise strongly against this unless you’re really hard up for Mech Bays because PGI is always tweaking and reworking mechs, so what is weak now could end up being pretty nice later on.
  
  Store Links:
  Light Mastery Bundles[mwomercs.com]
  Medium Mastery Bundles[mwomercs.com]
  Heavy Mastery Bundles[mwomercs.com]
  Assault Mastery Bundles[mwomercs.com]
  

Mech Packs - Premium

Premium Packs consist of a single mech chassis and they start out at $20 with several options to upgrade. As of the writing editing of this guide, there are a fair number of mechs that are available both for preorder and for immediate delivery with some of these chassis being available for C-Bills or MC.

The standard Premium Pack, regardless of cost consists of 3 mechs with mech bays, 30 Days of Banked Premium Time and some swag. Upgrading from ‘Standard’ to ‘Collectors’ will add a ‘Special’ variant which has its own colors camo pattern and has a 30% C-Bill boost. This special variant is the exact same as one of the variants that you get at the ‘Standard’ level, so this means you have two copies of the same mech. In addition to the fourth mech with a bay, you get another 30 days of Banked Premium Time (for a total of 60 Days) and more swag. In addition, all of these packs (except the Urbanmech) have the option of adding a Hero variant on top of you already purchased.

The Good:

• Very reasonably priced for what you get. The base price is $20, which is cheaper than almost all of the Mastery Bundles. Even going so far as to get the ‘Collectors’ level and adding the Hero mech (a total of $55), there is quite a bit of value here.
  
• Premium Time that is acquired from these packs is ‘Banked’. That is, you activate it when you want to activate it. Also, you can activate this banked time in 30-day increments. While I consider *any* Premium Time an added bonus, Banked Time is the best, as you can manage when you activate it.
  
• While there will be no requirement to have several mechs for Mastery after 13 December 2016, if you find you only like 1 of the mechs offered, you can strip and sell variants you don’t like and gain the parts (engine, weapons, etc.) and Mech Bays*.
  
  * I would advise strongly against this unless you’re really hard up for Mech Bays because PGI is always tweaking and reworking mechs, so what is weak now could end up being pretty nice later on.
  
  The Bad:
  
• Some of these packs are on a pre-order basis only, meaning that even if you bought them today, you’re going to have to wait for them to show up.
  
• The Urbanmech is the only Light mech. I have heard noise about a Light being offered at some point, but as it stands right now, you’re primarily looking at Heavy and Assault mechs with a few Mediums thrown in.
  
  The Middle:
  
• There isn’t really a lot I can say that is middle-ground here other than just to point out that most of the swag that you can end up getting is pretty neat, but pretty much just amounts to vanity items that doesn’t do anything except help your mechs look cool.
  
• There is no Hero Urbanmech. I can’t say if this is a good thing or not, but it is the only Light mech as well as the only one without a Hero.
  
• The extra swag (vanity items such as camo patterns, decals and cockpit items) and extra C-Bills are only available to Early Adopters…of which most of these have expired so your only option is to look at what you missed out on. Sorry.
  
  My Assessment:
  I feel that these packs are probably the best bet, just on a sheer dollar-value thing. I personally feel that the Collector’s packs are the next best thing regarding value, and what they lack in some areas, they make up with in variety and options.
  
  Store Links:
  MWO: Store[mwomercs.com]
  (sorry, I'm not linking to each and every Pack.)

Mech Packs - Collections

Collection Packs are mech packs that contain one mech from each class bundled together as part of a singular collection either as part of the Inner Sphere (Resistance I and Resistance II) or Clans (Invasion Wave I, Invasion Wave II, Invasion Wave III and Origins IIc). The available mechs are organized into a fairly straightforward Tier System that goes from Light (the cheapest) to Assault (the most expensive).

Each tier contains 1 ‘Collection’ Mech (a mech with the colors, camo pattern and specialized geometry associated with that collection and grants a 30% C-Bill bonus), 2 varaints, mech bays for the mechs and some swag. A higher tier will contain everything from the lower tiers as well as some added swag (getting the Heavy level will include all of the Lights and all of the Mediums, for example).

The Good:

• Very reasonably priced for what you get. Even though you don’t start picking up Banked Premium Time until you get to the Medium tier, the additional swag is a nice touch.
  
• Premium Time that is acquired from these packs is ‘Banked’. That is, you activate it when you want to activate it. Also, you can activate this banked time in 30-day increments. While I consider *any* Premium Time an added bonus, Banked Time is the best, as you can manage when you activate it.
  
• Regardless of the tier you get, you will get 3 mechs of each chassis, Mech Bays for those mechs and one of those mechs will be a “Special” variant that has unique geometry, colors and camo pattern. Further, these Special variants get a 30% C-Bill bonus.
  Note – this is just like the Premium Pack at the Collector level, but with 3 mechs instead of 4
  
  The Bad:
  
• These packs can almost be prohibitively expensive, especially on the Clan side of things.
  
• More to the point, every single one of these mechs is available for C-Bills and because you no longer need 3 variants of the same chassis to work on mastery anymore, it’s hard trying to make a case for these.
  
• Getting any of the packs a-la-carte makes them a little more affordable (especially if you just want one mech and not bother with the others), but you forfeit all of the extra swag, meaning you only get the 3 mechs and mech bays.
  
• Pricing for a-la-carte only makes sense if you are getting only the Heavy or Assault mech and nothing else. Seriously, getting 2 mechs a la carte costs $10 more than the Heavy Level and $10 less than the Assault Level.
  
• The only exception to the above is the Clan Wave I set. This set contains 8 mechs total (2 from each class), but to get the best/most competitive mechs, you are either going to have to go a-la-carte (and thus give up swag) or spend a LOT of money.
  
  The Middle:
  
• There isn’t really a lot I can say that is middle-ground here other than just to point out that most of the swag that you can end up getting is pretty neat, but pretty much just amounts to vanity items that doesn’t do anything except help your mechs look cool.
  
  My Assessment:
  I used to feel that these packs were the best way to go all around because you get a lot of extra bennies thrown in. However, if one does want to go this route, then I would say get the maximum level of your collection of choice. Yes, it will cost between $80-$120, but you are getting 12 mechs (3 of which give a 30% C-Bill bonus), the mech bays, 60 days of Banked Premium Time, all of the extra swag that comes along with that collection. If there are mechs in that collection that you don’t want, you can strip them out (seriously, save *all* of your engines and OmniPods!) and sell them. Doing so will grant you a bunch of extra C-Bills and will open up some mech bays.
  
  However, because of the changes to the XP/Mastery System and the fact that one does not need 3 mechs to master any given chassis *and* the addition of Hero Mechs for Clan Wave 1 (which contain some of the best/most competitive mechs in the game) at very reasonable prices (Wave 1 Assault Heroes cost $25 each, for example), I am finding it harder to argue in favor of putting money in for this.
  
  The fact of the matter is that unless you REALLY want a lot of mechs and you just don’t have the C-Bills, patience and/or Mech Bays to pull it off, you can get every one of these mechs for free. Yes, the 30% C-Bill boost from the Special variant is nice and there are quite a few chassis that don’t have anything that offers this, but there really is no point unless you really like a particular chassis and don’t mind shelling out the real money to have that special variant.
  
  Store Links:
  Clan Invasion Wave I[mwomercs.com]
  Clan Invasion Wave II[mwomercs.com]
  Clan Invasion Wave III[mwomercs.com]
  Origins IIc[mwomercs.com]
  Resistance[mwomercs.com]
  Resistance II[mwomercs.com]

Hero and Champion Mechs

This section touches on two of the mech types that have been mentioned in passing at various points up until now. Since these mechs are available for real money on their own, I feel that I would be remiss if I did not at least touch on them in the same manner that I have discussed the various mech packs.

Hero Mechs
Hero Mechs are generally mechs that have appeared in the game’s lore at some point in time. Some are more well-known than others, and PGI has done their best to get them to where they match the hardpoints and such from the source material. Not all of these mechs appear and the lore and more than a few of them were made up specifically by PGI as a Hero Mech for a particular chassis.

The Good:

• Hero Mechs provide a 30% C-Bill bonus
  
• Have things in their loadout and/or quirks that no other mech in that chassis can have that make them special (the Hellslinger has special heat management quirks, the Misery is the only Stalker with a Ballistic Hardpoint, the Boar’s Head is the only Atlas that can have a 400 engine and the Pirate’s Bane is the only Locust that has ECM)
  
  The Bad:
  
• For the most part, Hero Mechs are generally seen as inferior to any given Standard Variant. By ‘inferior’, I am talking about quirks, weapon loadouts, options, hardpoints, etc.
  
• Only way to get them is by spending real money.
  
  The Middle:
  
• You will need to have an open/available Mech Bay if you are buying the mech on its own. Mech bays are included if buying via a Mastery Pack, Premium Pack or getting one of the Clan Wave 1 Heroes however.
  
  My Assessment:
  Hero Mechs generally sit in the ‘really average’ department. Even though they have something that makes them special or sets them apart (above and beyond their geometry, pattern and colors) in actual gameplay this amounts little more than just a gimmick. This doesn’t make them bad by any means, but pretty much anything a Hero mech can do, a standard variant can do just as well or better. This was done on purpose by PGI because they are very keen on making sure that this is NOT a Pay-To-Win game. Pay to avoid grind/get stuff early/for gimmicks, sure. But none of those things are winning.
  
  This all being said, don’t go buying a Hero mech unless you are getting a Mastery Pack, Premium Pack or unless you really like the gimmick the variant offers.
  
  Champion Mechs
  Champion Mechs are a Standard Variant that has a [C] designator as part of its nomenclature. For example, the FS9-S[C] is the Champion Firestarter and is exactly like the FS9-S with regards to hardpoints, layout, etc.
  
  The Good:
  
• Champion Mechs have a 30% Experience Point (XP) bonus to them. This bonus stacks with any other bonuses that are in place (such as Premium Time).
  
• Champion Mechs often come with XL engines and some upgrades (such as Double Heat Sinks) already equipped, most of which are rather expensive.
  
  The Bad:
  
• Only way to get them is by spending real money.
  
• Are exactly like their standard counterpart.
  
  The Middle:
  
• You will need to have an open/available Mech Bay if you are buying the mech on its own. Mech bays are included if buying via a Mastery Pack.
  
  My Assessment:
  At one point, I would adamantly argue that there is absolutely no reason to ever spend any sort of money on a Champion mech. The only reason why they should end up in your inventory at all is if they were part of a Mastery Pack or a contest reward. This view *may* change depending on how the experience point system works after the 13 December 2016 patch.
  
  I say this because the fact that players will no longer need 3 mechs of any given chassis to Master it (you will only ever be required to get one mech), generating XP may be still required to make the most out of the whole thing. To be quite clear, I don’t know exactly how this new system is going to work but my understanding is that to configure your mech, you’re going to need about as much XP as what would normally be needed, but there is apparently the added effect you can unlock and use different things to tailor your mech’s capabilities and swap them about to a configuration that you like best, but you need to have XP to unlock them all (with the implication that unlocking them keeps them unlocked, but you may need XP/GXP/C-Bills to reconfigure stuff later…again, I don’t know for certain). If this is the case, then the +30% XP bonus should help a LOT with that aspect of the game and thus make Champion mechs something worth acquiring.
  
  …well, worth more than they are at the time of this writing at any rate…
  

[Flight Of The Dragon]

each quarter (jan-mar, apr-june, july-sep, oct-dec) the company releasea a promoted mech pack, usually a new mech variant or entirely new chassis (like this upcoming Crusader pack). just buy those to start as they often come with bonus ingame events (prizes) that can only be unlocked with those mechs. simple decision making, easy on the wallet, and solid mechs as well.

[RevenantCrow]

ive bought a few hero mechs the blood asp RA, pirhana variant, and Kodiaks are somewhat worth it as they have decent hardpoints.
the cool thing about mwo is there is no need to actually buy anything to be potentially amazing at it.

[LimeyPolo]

This is all way too complex for newbies - no wonder the playerbase is dying. Consumables, loadouts, skills, DLC packs...

[Rosminn]

TL;DR: Don't

[i got ea play]

bump

[AnimeFreak40K]

Okay, made updates based on Tuesday's (13 December) patch that completely changes XP, number of mechs required and such. I felt that these changes to the game warranted re-assessment and changes to the guide.

[Nobody]

Whatever works for ya.

[AnimeFreak40K]

@Shar Wolf
I am aware that the specific information is out of date, but I feel that the underlying concepts are still sound. I *may* come back and make edits...but don't hold your breath.

[Nobody]

Needs some updating, some of the pre-order packs are not heavies (OTHER than the Urbie :P )

[SuperValhalla]

A well written and informative guide.