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MechWarrior Online - News and Information Thread

Jrs3000

Member
Is it wrong to buy Mechs for what they look like over their actual functionality?

I really want a Cataphract because i just like the way it looks and moves when i could probably do the same design with a Jager.

Nope I did that when I bought my Spider over the Jenner. I like the way mechs look when they have arms.
 

Discobird

Member
Is it wrong to buy Mechs for what they look like over their actual functionality?

I really want a Cataphract because i just like the way it looks and moves when i could probably do the same design with a Jager.

No problem with that as long as you're informed, but I wouldn't buy a new mech until we see how tomorrow's patch affects balance.

Cataphracts are excellent though and if you can fit the same build on both a Jager and a Cataphract 3D then I would pick the 3D for the jumpjets and ability to protect your torsos with those nice big arms.
 

Lime

Member
More seriously though, this is the status of the various future features of the game:

Late stage design – feature has been approved, conditions of satisfaction are being worked on. Early engineering, artist, designers are scoping and building frameworks.
In development – Engineers, artists, designers are working on building the feature.
Ready for test – Feature is deemed complete and ready for internal QA.
In public test – Feature has been approved for public testing, this is stage is designed to test major features that have a large impact on the stability or meta game.
Early design – An idea has been presented and the team is brainstorming ways to make it.

Some features are so large that they are broken into phases and can inherit multiple stages as seen by CW being in both late stage design and in development.

UI 2.0 – in development.
CW – late stage design, in development.
DX11 – ready for test.
12v12 – in public test.
Tutorial (movement only) – ready for test.
3PV – in development, nearing ready for test.
Achievements – late stage design, in development.
New Store – in development.
Private Matches – early design
Tonnage Limits – late stage design
Lobby – late state design, in development
Collision – on hold until launch.
Passive Sensors – early design
Decals – ready for development
Gifting – in development
Urbanmech – no eta
Clan Tags – See CW
 
Also:

Update July 15/2013:

We were able to sneak the SRM damage buff into the build for tomorrow's patch. As of tomorrow, SRM damage will be set temporarily to 2.0 (until the hit detection issue is addressed) taking into account the overwhelming response in the buff poll.

Investigation started: For the 30th patch, we are looking at possibly bumping PPC and ERPPC base heat generation. If we do bump the base heat, the heat scale for these weapons will be lowered. This is just an update and not a guarantee that this change will be added to the game.

Glad to see SRM's are getting their much-needed damage buff early.
 

Discobird

Member
SRM damage buff should be good. I hope they are not buffing SSRM damage at the same time because those don't need to get any stronger (unless they're simultaneously fixing them so they don't home on the CT).

I'm disappointed that community warfare, tonnage limits, private matches and lobby aren't further in development :/
 

Nickiepoo

Member
The aesthetics of a mech is the sole motivation for my purchasing decisions in Mechwarrior: Online (or Battletech in general).

Looks > functionality all day for me.

Regarding the Cataphract, Nickiepoo, Zaptruder and Llyranor suggested the 4X to me a couple of pages back.

2X. The 4X is terrible (I know you meant the 2X, but just to confirm).

The 1X and 3D are probably better these days thanks to bad SRMs and a general lack of brawling, but I'm sure the 2X is still fine.

But don't touch the 4X, it's just too slow, a Jager would be a better option.
 

Lime

Member
Patch notes:

Number 10. Visual bug Fixes – Bye Bye Flickering terrain! #thatisbetter

Number 9. Performance Improvements! We’ve been hard at work optimizing the code so 12 v 12 won’t hurt your frames as much. #cantwaitfor12vs12

Number 8. The Victor is available for C-bills now! Those with mech bays and fat C-bill accounts are recommended to purchase this ‘Mech immediately. #greatmech

Number 7. Victor Customization – Now that you own a Victor, it’s time to customize your mech. I recommend Buccaneer! #lookinggood

Number 6. The Atlas Champion is on sale. Stacking XP boosts from a Champion ‘Mech and a Premium Account can get you all the XP you need to Elite this mech. #getthosemodules

Number 5. Jump jet crosshair shake frequency has been reduced. #nomotionsick

Number 4. Testing Ground Map Selection - Finally you can pick which map you're testing your mech in! #choices

Number 3. Streak SRM Targeting – This is pretty in depth so you may want to Read how it works in the patch notes #hitallthethings

Number 2. SRM Damage buff – I can figuratively hear you cheering! #brawlingahoy

And the Number 1 awesome thing in this patch.

Heat Scaling – I’m not going to spoil this but go you should read up how it works in the patch notes. #gamechanger

2X. The 4X is terrible (I know you meant the 2X, but just to confirm).

The 1X and 3D are probably better these days thanks to bad SRMs and a general lack of brawling, but I'm sure the 2X is still fine.

But don't touch the 4X, it's just too slow, a Jager would be a better option.

Thanks for the correction, Nickiepoo! All those X'es make me dizzy :p
 

TransTrender

Gold Member
So how is everyone reacting to the patch?

I played a few rounds last night with my 4SP, DDC, and Jenners and things seem to be pretty good so far.

Maybe my ELO was reset but most of the matches were pretty fair. Maybe one or two LRM or PPC boats per side. Definitely not likebefore. Also, there was a fair amount of brawling.

I did see some of the stuff I expected to see. People cascading PCCs and then clicking through to get a damn near Alpha attack. Neato builds with two PPCs and then AC/20 or Gauss on Alpha.
 

Llyranor

Member
SRMs are effective. I can't attest to whether they're where they should be right now, but they do good brawling damage.

AC20 x 2 builds are gone. They've been replaced by AC20-gauss hybrids or other variants.

I still see PPC stalkers, but they seem to boat 4 or less PPCs.

The heat changes shouldn't really affect the phracts or highlanders that much.
 

Lime

Member
How about letting me copy/paste my Keepass'd password into the stupid launcher? Still in development?

Everytime I type in my self-created password in the launcher window, I give a thought to poor epmode that you aren't able to play because of a lack of Remember Password feature. It's both funny and sad at the same time.

More seriously though, if you really want to play it, you can always just use a completely new and easy to type password. I mean, it's just a F2P game with not much of value in your account.
 

Discobird

Member
Played a bunch of games in a 4x ML+ 2x SRM4 Jenner D last night. SRMs are WAY better since the patch, more than the 33% damage buff would suggest. I can see why the devs were hesitant to raise their damage to 2.5. I think the Jenner D now competes with the Jenner F for best giant-slaying light mech (36 point alpha is real nice).

Everyone is playing Cents and 4SPs now. I had three games last night with at least 8 Cents on the field (I think they were two premade lances trying to sync drop, but still). My friend in his Atlas D-DC was also very happy with the SRM buff. Things will probably settle down since everyone's in an experimental phase right now, but so far I like the greater mech diversity. I have not seen any Stalkers with more than 4 PPCs, although there were a bunch with 2x PPC + 2x ERPPC since those two weapons don't share a ghost heat penalty until the 7/30 patch.

Haven't tried my 3x LL Cent AL or 3x PPC Cataphract 3D yet to see how the changes affect them.

Also, streaks are total babyshit now--I fought a Streakcat in my Jenner and I have no fear of them anymore. They pretty much just splatter a tiny amount of damage across your entire mech.
 

TransTrender

Gold Member
Is there some sort of informal agreement with the player base that everyone will Brawl and not be lame?

Had a bunch of matches without much/any sniping.
 
Is there some sort of informal agreement with the player base that everyone will Brawl and not be lame?

Had a bunch of matches without much/any sniping.

Certainly seems that most people are taking the honorable route even though 2 PPC + 2 ER PPC is still possible until next patch. I've only encountered a few since the patch. Still seeing lots of Gauss + PPC's though.
 

Nickiepoo

Member
It's totally killed boomcats/jagers, which I can't say I really have a problem with if only because fighting glass cannons speeds up the fights more than I really enjoy.
 

dionysus

Yaldog
So, should I make another big founders investment. Are the GAF regulars in for the long haul? I might be prudent with my money and wait till october to buy the pack, and sacrifice the 30 day premium time.
 

Lime

Member
So, should I make another big founders investment. Are the GAF regulars in for the long haul? I might be prudent with my money and wait till october to buy the pack, and sacrifice the 30 day premium time.

I'm on and off between doing a $40 Founder thing or not. On one hand, I love Battletech so much and I would hate for this Mechwarrior endeavour to not fulfil its potential (and I think the Locust looks pretty cool), but on the other hand I've already spent $60 on the original Founder package and it's not like I am getting an equivalent single-player game with campaign and lots of mechs and maps.

So it basically boils down to potential vs. actuality for me. I don't know if PGI is ever going to be able to make this game cool enough to play, because right now it's just more like a round of death matches with inventory and economy elements. It needs bigger and more vast mechanics that go beyond the deathmatches and I am uncertain that CW will be nothing more than an arbitrary plaster to what I am needing.

But my love for Battletech and Mechwarrior might overshadow the above concerns I have.
 
After a few games i can't tell much difference yet, hopefully it's good.

What's the long term goal for this game does anyone know? Is it always going to be Free 2 play?
 

teepo

Member
So, should I make another big founders investment. Are the GAF regulars in for the long haul? I might be prudent with my money and wait till october to buy the pack, and sacrifice the 30 day premium time.

i'm certain i'll buy it sometime between now and october but i'm rather hesitant since i rarely touch any of my founder mechs.
 

Discobird

Member
I went in for the $120 Phoenix pack because I'm a giant robot loving sucker with no other mouths to feed

Honestly, as long as the game doesn't get too imbalanced I will keep playing it even if they don't do much in the way of new gamemodes
 
Is there going to be a full release at some point with more mechs and gametypes?

This is also in the cards, but features are being added constantly and the dates for specifics is often in flux.

They have plans for a variety of modes and there will be Clan tech and other mechs introduced as time goes along. That's what they've said, at least.
 

Discobird

Member
From what I gather "launch" just means that the game has enough features/polish for them to feel comfortable marketing the game more broadly instead of relying mainly on word of mouth
 
I'm finding more success with regular SRM4s than a pair of streaks now with the SRM buff in place on my Jenner.

Starting to like the D more, again.
 

Discobird

Member
Streaks are real bad now, like flamer/NARC tier. I haven't seen much complaining about them since they're such a low skill weapon though.

The D is a lot more fun now and it's better at killing big mechs. Not quite as good as the F since it's hard to focus all on your damage on a smaller component (side torso / ass) but probably #2 among the lights.
 
Maybe I'm just having more success with them, but I'm finding that players react to the SRM threat in a different manner than the MLs, and it's improving both my brawling and my team play.

Probably a mental/behaviour thing, but it's noticeable.
 
The community in this game is pretty sad. Watching a bunch of Stalkers on your team who can't hit shit complain about the Jenner not throwing himself out to die and then start telling the enemy team your location in main chat because you wouldn't sacrifice yourself is pretty ridiculous and toxic.
 

Lime

Member
That's sad to hear - there'll always be some rotten apples among a community, especially PvP. Hopefully your experience isn't indicative of a larger trend.

I haven't personally met anyone who've revealed the position of teammates yet, but I do have encountered the more bitchy players. I usually just shrug them off as the usual people who are in a bad mood.

Oh, and here's another art from the good ol' Battletech books:

btcompsoft3dfp86.png
 
There's a guy who keeps getting matchmade with me, and is consistently doing it tonight. Like 4 times in the last 5 matches. As soon as he sees it's me he just starts broadcasting.

Consistently does the worst on the team, but blames me regardless. It's a shame MM isn't more robust so you could actively avoid players and only get placed in rooms with either mute idiots or just people who overheat and kill themselves.

I wouldn't call it a trend, per say. The community around this game is well and truly God awful. It's been that way for quite a while and it's the reason I took a few weeks hiatus earlier this year.
 

No_Style

Member
Hey Mechwarriors, want to do something good and get something out of it?

http://mwomercs.com/sarah

For ten bucks that shall go to a good cause you can get Sarah's mech. Do it. All money goes directly to help fighting cancer.

Made it my first mech purchase earlier.

There's a guy who keeps getting matchmade with me, and is consistently doing it tonight. Like 4 times in the last 5 matches. As soon as he sees it's me he just starts broadcasting.

Consistently does the worst on the team, but blames me regardless. It's a shame MM isn't more robust so you could actively avoid players and only get placed in rooms with either mute idiots or just people who overheat and kill themselves.

I wouldn't call it a trend, per say. The community around this game is well and truly God awful. It's been that way for quite a while and it's the reason I took a few weeks hiatus earlier this year.

When this happens, I just wait a few minutes and hope I get a new batch of people.
 

Savitar

Member
There's a guy who keeps getting matchmade with me, and is consistently doing it tonight. Like 4 times in the last 5 matches. As soon as he sees it's me he just starts broadcasting.

Consistently does the worst on the team, but blames me regardless. It's a shame MM isn't more robust so you could actively avoid players and only get placed in rooms with either mute idiots or just people who overheat and kill themselves.

I wouldn't call it a trend, per say. The community around this game is well and truly God awful. It's been that way for quite a while and it's the reason I took a few weeks hiatus earlier this year.

There is suppose to be a place on the forums you report him I think, they will take care of it at some point. Also if you get paired up with him, just wait a bit, some times can change who you get paired up with.
 
Yeah, I even went back to the Mech bay and got paired with him again. I just chalk it up to awful luck, but I have a way of attracting those with single digit IQs.

Thankfully (I am still playing), he seems to have stopped getting paired with me tonight. Haven't seen him in the last three games.
 

Giolon

Member
you can block him so you dont get matched with him again, its in the social part of the ui

How do you Block someone? I've never been able to figure out how to add someone into that list.

In other news, I have a new love affair mech. The Hunchback 4SP. I was buying new variants so I could take my 4G up to master so I bought a 4P and a 4SP. While the 4P is amusing for it's LAZERS EVERYWHERE-ness, it's the 4SP that is the real effective monster.

I'm still working with 2 different builds, one with Artemis and one w/o. I haven't been able to decide if its worth it. Tighter spread, but worse heat.

Anyway here are my builds:

HBK-4SP w/ Artemis: 5xML, 2xSRM6-Artemis, 260Std Eng., FerroFibrous, EndoSteel

HBK-4SP: 5xML, 2xSRM6, 260Std Eng., EndoSteel
 

Discobird

Member
How do you Block someone? I've never been able to figure out how to add someone into that list.

In other news, I have a new love affair mech. The Hunchback 4SP. I was buying new variants so I could take my 4G up to master so I bought a 4P and a 4SP. While the 4P is amusing for it's LAZERS EVERYWHERE-ness, it's the 4SP that is the real effective monster.

I'm still working with 2 different builds, one with Artemis and one w/o. I haven't been able to decide if its worth it. Tighter spread, but worse heat.

Anyway here are my builds:

HBK-4SP w/ Artemis: 5xML, 2xSRM6-Artemis, 260Std Eng., FerroFibrous, EndoSteel

HBK-4SP: 5xML, 2xSRM6, 260Std Eng., EndoSteel

200 ammo doesn't seem like enough to feed 2x SRM6, that's only 17 shots. I'd try to fit at least one more ton of ammo there (25 shots total).

-e- I'd probably also move one DHS to each of the arms to absorb critical hits and protect your lasers. Also noticed that you shaved two points of armor off the CT, I would remove that from the head instead (you want CT to be max armor pretty much always in every mech).

Looks good otherwise
 

Giolon

Member
200 ammo doesn't seem like enough to feed 2x SRM6, that's only 17 shots. I'd try to fit at least one more ton of ammo there (25 shots total).

-e- I'd probably also move one DHS to each of the arms to absorb critical hits and protect your lasers. Also noticed that you shaved two points of armor off the CT, I would remove that from the head instead (you want CT to be max armor pretty much always in every mech).

Looks good otherwise

Oops those armor points were a mistake I made on the web Mechlab.

I thought about adding more SRM ammo, but in practice 200 has been enough for all but the longest matches. By being judicious, and only taking the shots I'm sure will hit, I've easily taken out 3-4 mechs on the opposing team. Since it's a med-short range build, I've got to wait and hang back until the enemy team closes into my engagement range, and usually several of them are softened up by that point.

But you're right, I may yet end up w/ more ammo on the build.

As for the DHS positioning, I tend to lose an arm sooner than a side torso, and when the side torso goes the arm is generally gone anyway. Still, another thing I'll have to try out in practice and see if it's an improvement.

Thanks for the critiques!
 

teepo

Member
here's the latest creative developer update:

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/12...ummer-edition-with-special-guest-paul-inouye/


the tl;dr (stolen from reddit):

New volcanic map Terra Therma launches on next Tuesday's patch
3PV on test servers next week
Tutorials, DX11 sometime in August
PPCs to get +1 base heat
L/M Pulse lasers to get some sort of buff
Looking into weight balancing matches
Medium mechs to get agility (?) buffs
Other CB/XP bonuses for medium/light playstyles
 

Giolon

Member
here's the latest creative developer update:

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/12...ummer-edition-with-special-guest-paul-inouye/


the tl;dr (stolen from reddit):

New volcanic map Terra Therma launches on next Tuesday's patch
3PV on test servers next week
Tutorials, DX11 sometime in August
PPCs and ERPPCs to get +1 base heat
L/M Pulse lasers to get some sort of buff
Looking into weight balancing matches
Medium mechs to get agility (?) buffs
Other CB/XP bonuses for medium/light playstyles

ER PPCs getting +1 heat too. This update was disappointingly light on content and specifics given that it's almost a month late. Now to wait until tomorrow to see if they dodge all of the tough questions that were voted up in Ask the Devs.
 

Discobird

Member
Pretty good list of changes in that update. I hope they raise the ghost heat threshold for LLs and LPLs so you can fire 3 without penalty.

A tertiary sub-objective for us, is to increase the kinds of rewards that are given for various types of gameplay, meaning, pilots will get more CB/XP for performing specific tasks that are ideal for the Medium and Light Mechs. Capturing a base can earn players more rewards the more frequently they do it in a given match.

If they want to emphasize non-combat roles like capping and scouting then they need to make these things more fun and more important to winning a match, not just raise the CB/XP rewards. Otherwise the people who want to win still aren't going to do them and the people who just want CB/XP rewards are either going to ignore them (because winning presumably gives you more rewards than scouting and losing) or they will be incentivized to do things that hurt the team as compared to fighting.

Capping can be important to winning a match but right now it's very all-or-nothing because of how the game modes work. Either you carry single-handedly or you're useless to your team.
 
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