Mechwarrior Online

[Lantyssa]

Dragons.  'cause there's not a Unicorn in B'Tech.

[Ghambit]

I used to be strictly a Jenner pilot but I'm finding a Cicada with an XL320 to be quite better simply due to the tonnage boost.  Speedwise it's the same (though you cant run JJs) since it didnt see the engine nerf the Hunchies did...  so essentially if you want to run your "Swayback" you can just rock a Cicada instead.  You get 130kph with the XL.  They come with energy and ballistic variants.  No missiles.  I set my M-variant as a fully armoured laser boat, though that tactic isnt working out as well with the knockdown nerf.

[Arthur_Parker]

In order for me.

1. Jenner, a game by itself.

2. Catapult K2 with dual gauss, or dual ac20 (which should be more popular once double heat sinks are fixed). Atlas, RS, K, DC & DDC all have various builds I like.

3. Catapult C1, 4 medium pulse with 1 or 2 streaks.  Catapult A1, 6 x lrm5 on chain fire.  Any Awesome though the new 9M seems like the best.  Any Raven.

4. Centurions & Hunchbacks, outclassed by pretty much everything else.  Best builds seem to be standard engines for zombie survival, too slow with not enough armour/firepower for me.

5. Commandos.

Not sure about the Cicada yet.  Dragons I haven't played since the speed change.

[satael]

I like Atlas and an almost pure LRM-boat (2*lrm15) at that (just add 2 large lasers for pewpew and it's good to go).
Yes, it's not the most original choice and I might find something more interesting to like if I ever manage to play enough (and well enough) to get the credits needed (so far 5 wins and 7 losses)

[Goreschach]

I was actually surprisingly effective using a gimmicky 3 lrm 5 commando with a 170 standard engine.

As for real builds, I find the RS atlai the best. Lasers in the arms are like a whole new class of weapons. You can run 2 lrm 15/20 with 4 mlas for a good all-purpose mech, and I had great success running 4 large lasers in the arms combined with 40+ heatsinks. PPC's, unfortunately, have remained worthless.

[Falconeer]

I enjoy Hunchbacks and Catapults a lot.

My favourite weird 'mech is the Dragon, but only the 5N variant equipped with 2 AC2, AMS and an XL360. Nothing else. I play it as a very long range harasser, capable to get the better positioning to rain AC2 shells on everyone every half second and literally non-stop. It's not gonna deal too much damage but it's gonna make very hard for the target to aim at anything. It's fantastic to support brawlers as it provides almost complete blindness to their opponents. The big engine is good to provide amazing repositioning, to get out of trouble and to make sure to stay at about 900m from anything to prevent them from fighting back. Its biggest flaw is its weakness to lights as you won't ever hit them with the AC2 in brawl range, nor will you be able to shake them off.

[Ghambit]

My premade group is like 40-2 now.      I think I died once the other day.

Anyways, so now I'm onto the A-variant Cicada.  4SL, 2SPL (as usual, the SPL cycles differently than the SL - so more heat efficient and more disruptive).  Max armor. Endosteel. 130kph. AMS.  Faceraper laser spam.  I use it as a light-mech hunterkiller and heavy harraser.  The dps is way higher than the M-variant, which jams the AC way too much to be more useful than a sniping harraser.

If I could tackle I'd consider going back to the Jenner.

[Falconeer]

Can't wait for the announced nerf to Streak Missiles to be patched in.

[satael]

My premade group is like 40-2 now.      I think I died once the other day.

Pre-mades are hilariously overpowered vs most pugs. Trying to get a group of random players to move as a group let alone focus their fire on one target is pretty frustrating and mostly it's just better to pick off enemies that are concentrating on the easy targets provided by your team-mates charging alone into the waiting enemy line (the only reason my k/d is still 2.71 despite having more losses than wins...well, using a 100-ton assault mech might have something to do with it too)

[Amaron]

I thought they changed the MM so you're guaranteed to only go up against other premades?

[Merusk]

In a game with only 8 to a side a 3 man team vs a pug is still a premade.

3 mans make sense in WOT because it's 15 tanks to a side.  Your 3 man group is only only 20% of the force.  Even then, given the right comp and coordination a 3 man platoon can wipe the floor with a disorganized group of opfor.

In an 8 man team you're 37.5% of the force.  It doesn't sound like a lot but it's nearly double the influence you have vs being on a larger team. Given the increased efficacy of concentrated fire and the lack of tiering, I don't think MWO should be allowing more than groups of 2 with the match sizes they're using.

[Shannow]

My first 3 pieces of advice for a new MWO player:

Join a squad
Join a squad
Join a squad.

[Slayerik]

Oh come on, then you'd miss the fun of charging the middle out in the open.

I just finished my Gaussapult. 2 Gauss rifles, 6 ammo boxes, and downgraded to like a 210 engine to make it fit (as well as stripping all arm armor and a lot of leg armor. No CASE.    Something tells me this isn't going to end well.

[Arthur_Parker]

Grouping isn't fun sometimes, it's way too easy.

Open Beta Trailer release today.

[Falconeer]

THAT VOICE!

[Arthur_Parker]

Yeah, safe bet that's the lady who will be speaking a lot in game.

[Falconeer]

Rumor is Carole Ruggier did it, you know, this woman  .

[Amaron]

In a game with only 8 to a side a 3 man team vs a pug is still a premade.

Yea but didn't they turn off 8 man premades?

[Lantyssa]

I soloed an Atlas with my Commando last night.

The match-up favored me, but it was still a huge victory.  I was standing on the cap point, and the Atlas trundled back to put a stop to that.  All he could do was park in the cap zone with his back to a building and hope his MLs would hit me as I circled him and the building since he was an LRM fit.

Atlases have a ton of armor when you're a little 'mech...

[Ghambit]

If you can spot where they're armor gimped they go down easy just like everyone else.  And dumb pilots with XLs like to forget to add rear side-torso armor, so I always start there.

[Threash]

Rumor is Carole Ruggier did it, you know, this woman  .

It does sound exactly the same.

[5150]

Rumor is Carole Ruggier did it, you know, this woman  .

It does sound exactly the same.

Pretty sure I saw a thread on the MWO forums where someone asked her on Facebook and it's not her (although she has said if asked she would do it and the devs are apparently considering it)

In other news am I the only one a bit let down by double heat sinks no being, well not being double after todays patch (apparently they will be x1.4)

Granted the devs have the opportunity to tweak them up again in a future patch but this kind of shit should be been done before the final wipe/open beta

[Miasma]

Rumor is Carole Ruggier did it, you know, this woman  .

Man I sucked at that game.

[Amaron]

In other news am I the only one a bit let down by double heat sinks no being, well not being double after todays patch (apparently they will be x1.4)

That's stupid.  I'm all for ignoring PnP balance.  DHS are iconic though.  There should never be a situation where SHS are superior on mechs under 70 tons.  At 1.4 they need to make them only take 2 slots.

[Falconeer]

Apparently, it really is Carole Ruggier. The Facebook thing where she said it wasn't her is old, and refers to the 2009 trailer. So yes, she's in MWO (and MW2).

[Lantyssa]

In other news am I the only one a bit let down by double heat sinks no being, well not being double after todays patch (apparently they will be x1.4)

That's bogus, especially for the 1.5 million price tag just to have the option to use them.  Are they at least making the ones int he engine cool more?

[Arthur_Parker]

In other news am I the only one a bit let down by double heat sinks no being, well not being double after todays patch (apparently they will be x1.4)

That's stupid.  I'm all for ignoring PnP balance.  DHS are iconic though.  There should never be a situation where SHS are superior on mechs under 70 tons.  At 1.4 they need to make them only take 2 slots.

I can see why the did it, DHS at 2.0 would have broken the game, lights would have been unstoppable.  I love my Jenner but I sometimes get over 1000 damage in a pug game as it is.

DHS will be 1.4 the power of singles for 3 crit slots Lantyssa, all of them, so the engine ones will be fixed.

Edit also if you add the below line to your user cfg
gp_mech_sound_system_disable_bitchinbetty = 0

You get bitchin betty, sadly very quietly, telling you about base attacks, jump jet fuel and critical heat levels.

[Falconeer]

I tried that trick, but the bitching betty files that are in the game (although hidden) at the moment are definitely not the ones from Carole Ruggier, and not at all like the one from the recent trailer. So probably just placeholders.

[Arthur_Parker]

Yeah, it's being changed, I like it though.

[Lantyssa]

She was just a player who recorded the phrases.  Fanbois went nuts, so they probably put them in as a treat.

[Falconeer]

Patch notes!

Open Beta - Update #1 - Patch 1.0.142

Upcoming Patch - Tuesday Nov. 6th @ 10AM – 1PM PDT


Change Log
________________________________________
Update

Hello Folks,
It’s been another big push for content and gameplay this patch. There are several new things for you to take a look at and test out. In summary, there’s a new map, a new Mech variant, a new piece of information warfare equipment and some tuning to existing systems. Also included with this patch is the first phase of the Match Maker system.
Forest Colony Snow is a new take on the original Forest Colony. There have been a few changes to some of the gameplay spaces which change the tide and tactics of how battles on this map will play out.
The Centurion CN9-D has been added to round out the Centurion family.
The Artemis IV FCS Upgrade system has been added to the game. Artemis IV is an enhanced targeting system that increases the accuracy of LRMs and SRMs. This means that more missiles will be hitting on target than previous. This does not mean that SRMs become guided, they just tighten up their spread.
A very big improvement in Mech hit-box detection was also included in this patch. You should notice much greater accuracy in weapon hit detection than previously.
While not 100% eliminated, the black screen lock at the start of a match has been drastically reduced. We are continuing to monitor this problem and will be addressing as soon we find the exact cause.
That being said, here are your patch notes:

GENERAL
MATCHMAKING Phase 1
This patch, we introduce the 4-player limit to group sizes. The match maker works the same as usual with this single exception that groups can no longer be larger than 4-players.
This is phase 1 of a 3 phase Match Making upgrade and will eventually evolve into a skill based matching system.

Match Making – Phase 1
Players can launch into a match as a solo player.
Players can launch into a match as a group.
Player groups cannot be larger than 4 players.
Player groups can be 2, 3, or 4 players in size.
The Match Maker still checks to make sure there are even Mech weight classes on both teams.
Example: A player group of 4 players launches. The match maker then tries to find more players to fill an 8 player team. The additional players can be another group of 4, or a smaller group of 3 or 2 players and the rest will be filled with solo players.

New BattleMech:
Centurion CN9-D
Tonnage: 50
Top Speed: 97.2 kph
Armor: 8.5 tons
Weapons: 2 Medium Lasers, 1 LB 10-X AC, 1 LRM 10 w/ Artemis IV FCS
Hardpoints: 2 Energy, 2 Ballistic, 2 Missile, 1 AMS

Artemis IV FCS Upgrade
Artemis improves the grouping size of LRM and SRM volleys.
Artemis improves the lock on time and tracking strength of LRMs
Artemis does NOT add guidance to SRMs.
Upgrade panel has an Artemis category with two options – Artemis and Remove Artemis
The Artemis category will not show up if the ‘Mech does not have Missile hardpoints.
Changing options will automatically upgrade/downgrade any existing eligible missile weapons and swap any eligible missile ammo to the proper type
The Artemis upgrade can be applied to all standard LRM and SRM launchers, but not Streak SRMs or Narc Beacon launchers
Price of the upgrade includes cost of the upgrade itself plus cost of the ammo if there was not enough in the inventory
Ability to select the Artemis upgrade will depend on availability of sufficient slots and tonnage
When viewed in “Loadout”, all Artemis capable weapons will take up one extra slot and weigh one more ton than usual when Artemis is selected
For any weapons that are Artemis eligible, only the Artemis version will show in the equip list
Similarly, only Artemis ammo will appear for the ammo for those weapons


GAMEPLAY
Double heat sinks are now 1.4 times as effective as standard heat sinks. This includes DHS's that you place on your Mech as well as those integrated into the engine.
Trial Mechs now get locked when taken into gameplay.
If you leave early, the Trial Mech you were using is locked into the game until it finishes.
Mechs with Weapon Bay Doors can toggle the doors open/closed with ‘/’ slash
Catapult and Centurion now have weapon bay door indicator lights in the cockpit. Green for Open, Yellow for Closed, Red for Destroyed.
Fixed a source of de-synchronization issues (result should be better hit-box detection)

WEAPONS
AC/20 heat reduced from 7 to 6
Small Pulse Lasers were only generating 50% of the amount of heat they should have been. This is now fixed.
Small Lasers, Medium Pulse Lasers, and Large Pulse Lasers were only generating 75% of the amount of heat they should have been. This is now fixed.

MAPS
Forest Colony
There is now a beached ship splitting the large water expanse. This provides a new area of cover for people engaging long-range enemies.
NEW: Forest Colony Snow
Forest Colony Snow is now part of the random map rotation. During the winter, temperatures drop to (-25°C), making quite a frosty glow around this familiar area - turning this map we know and love into a winter wonderland of low temperatures, frozen ground, with an icy chill in the air.

BUG FIXES
Heat value will no longer desync for clients when a Mech does not contain any external heat sinks
The Catapult K2 now has correct geometry/textures when swapping out PPCs.
New equipment on Mechs will default to weapon group 1 instead of not being set
Missiles will now correctly explode at their max range
Locking animation will no longer play when firing SRM if LRM/SSRM ran out of ammo
Machine gun will no longer fire when Mech has been destroyed
Catapult arms will once again blow off correctly when side torso has been destroyed
Greatly reduced Mech ragdoll jittering
Fix an issue where the cockpit and/or arms will randomly jitter
LRM’s will no longer behave incorrectly (spin wildly) when fired at corners of objects at close range
Ammo counter will update with each volley fired
Damage glow amount and size reduced

We thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!
The MechWarrior® Online™ Team

[Amaron]

I can see why the did it, DHS at 2.0 would have broken the game, lights would have been unstoppable.  I love my Jenner but I sometimes get over 1000 damage in a pug game as it is.

That's because of poor weapon balance.  Nerfing DHS wasn't the answer.  Fixing heat:damage:weight ratios is the proper solution.

[Arthur_Parker]

Fixing as in how exactly?

Garth posted this yesterday.

I'm not a designer, but I will say that DHS at 2.0 heat allowed me to core a fully armoured Atlas from behind in roughly 3 seconds. In my Jenner. Keep in mind that the 1.4 times boost isn't just to cooling DOWN, it's a boost to heat THRESHOLD as well.

This was shades of the SL Jenner of F+F beta past, and we reacted to it quickly, because well, we'd already seen what happens.

And remember everyone - we're still open beta, so weapon changes will still occur.

[Lantyssa]

I don't understand why HS should boost heat threashold.  Let them shut down if they alpha too often.

Single or Double, if you're coring an Atlas in 3 seconds, heat dissipation isn't the problem.

[Arthur_Parker]

10 heat sinks in the engine at 2.0 is 20, currently a fairly standard build is something like 13-15 HS * 1.4  to get somewhere in the region of 18-21.  So at 2.0 you've already gained 3-5 tonnes which is doubling available weapon weight for a jenner.  You can already run 6 medium's on jenner F, but you have to strip a lot of armour, drop AMS and run fairly hot, all of which could be cured by 2.0 values, not to mention running 6 medium pulses, or silly 2 large pulse/ppc's builds.

What they have at the minute works somewhat, (ignoring the current lrm issues), 2.0 DHS would mean revisiting armour values or engine speed again just to stop lights dropping people before they can react.

Edit to add, I'm taking about lights only, maybe they need to up the value for mediums and above, not something I've experimented with a lot.