Mechwarrior Online

I used to be a pretty hard core MW 3 - 4 Player in a Mercenary unit where we utilized third part web sites that formed"Leagues" and those leagues would be based on planetary capture using the games stock maps. Games would be scheduled with a competing house/clan and in my case the house or clan would seek our unit leader and hire a mercenary to assist if say one person couldn't make it to the match and we would fight for them for resources if we won or loss or if another unit from various decided they wanted to challenge us for resources planets etc..

It was a lot of fun and these leagues would go on for several months and at the end of the day the house/clan would be the winner if they had the most resources.. I miss doing tings like that and wish on some regard this would of been brought back in MW:O

So the 3rd revamp'd map came out a few weeks ago - Caustic Valley. Least changed of the maps, by far. Didn't even increase the size of it. It did get a graphics update, for better or worse. Roughed up the terrain a tad to give a little more cover in a few places, and added the odd rock, but it's about 90%+ the same map.

New mechs keep on churnin' out, which I like, though I don't pay real cash for 'em. There is quite a variety of stuff out now. There's the Halloween event going on this weekend - score 150 points in a game and you get a pick out of a random grab bag. Standard stuff - mech bays, MC, cash, GEXP, etc. The nice edition to the grab bag this year is a free Champion Timberwolf + mechbay, which I just got (limit 1 per account, obviously). That's pretty sweet - those things run a pretty penny (about 15m credits).

The quirk removal/revamp isn't out yet, and not a lot to comment on until the changes are locked.

The re-quirkening has arrived. All kinds of changes, far too many to list. Few mod/skill changes as well. ECM went from 180m to 90m. IS heatsinks minorly buffed, Clan nerfed a bit more. Some Clan laser ranges reduced. IS/Clan LRMs and SRMs buffed in different ways. Some skills on the skill tree reduced in effect. Slightly upgraded cockpit UIs. Maruader released.

Patch notes and PDF of all changes by mech and variant:

MWO: News
http://mwomercs.com/static/downloads...k%20Values.pdf

Marauder? Did they win some legal deal? Wasn't the Warhammer / Marauder / a few others too robotechy?

The owners of the IP did some minor redesigns and are sticking their dick in HG's face, and bringing a bunch (all?) of them back.

Thought it might be related to the battletech game coming out in which they got the rights to do marauder etc iirc?

This current patch is one of the most enjoyable in a long time. They are trying to polish this turd as much as possible for steam release. Many sub par mechs recieved heavy armor buffs. Taking into the account for map design only allowing for sub 300m fighting, this build played as a patient flanker has been absolutely wrecking for me. Get in close, aim for the face and alpha. No one can out trade you.

Also just recently unlocked Seismic sensor. Such a bullshit module that severely gimps any creative flanking/tactical maneuvering.

Atlas AS7-S(L)
std 335 engine
Ac20 2 tons ammo
4xmpl
4xsrm6 artemis 2 tons ammo
4 double heatsinks

If you think it's bs now, you shoulda seen it back when seismic worked while you were moving and not just standing still. Unless they changed it back to that, been a while since I last played.

I have a serious love/hate relationship with mwo. I may redownload it and play a few matches if this patch has improved things.

Well, at the very least it's improved some mechs that weren't being utilized a lot previously. I haven't had much time to look at all of them (I own over 80 mechs) but I've certainly had to change the loadouts on a bunch since the patch - and that's not a bad thing. I really like that quirks are more general and not weapon specific now. On another note, my UAC5 Cicada is way more fun than it has any right to be.

Three months later, and the game has vastly improved with a new meta game to give reason and meaning to the endless 15 minute death matches!

Oh wait, it's not April yet, sorry. Still a fun, but pointless game, unless you like collecting Mechs like me. Which it has been good for, if nothing else. They keep on pumping these things out. 4 IIC Mechs released - Jenner, Hunchback, Orion, and Highlander. Also the Marauder, Warhammer, Rifleman, Archer (I had to cave and buy this =/ The tears will be awesome), Kodiak, and just released for preorder, the Phoenix Hawk (bringing the total unique chassis in the game to 61). The last 3 Mechs there aren't released yet - Archer comes out on the 15th. The Phoenix Hawk is the first Mech (I'm pretty sure) that's being released with 2 Heroes. Not sure how I feel about that, but the phrase "money-grubbing" comes to mind.

Looks like the ghost heat system is getting ditched in favor of a "power draw" system, in which all weapons will play a part. So instead of getting penalized for shooting 3 PPCs at the same time, you'll get penalized for firing too many weapons period at the same time. Sounds good in theory. We'll see what happens when more details are known.

Can't speak for the other "unseen" but the warhammer 6D is my shit. That wasn't an x2 either.

Update, only because some new POSITIVE changes/additions have occurred. Still no meta-game to speak of. But a new map was added - Grim Plexus - based upon the Faction map Grim Portico. Very very fun map. Very open, and yet tons of cover. Certainly in the top 4 popularity-wise, based on how often it's picked, along with Canyon Network, Mining Collective, and HPG Manifold. Also added a new game mode called Domination. Essentially, there is 1 cap location in the center(ish) of the map that both sides fight over.

"Each team will start a game of Domination with a team countdown timer set at 1 minute. To complete the objective and emerge victorious your team must hold the Comms Beacon for a total duration of 1 minute throughout the course of the match. The first team to reach 0:00 will be the victor.

To initiate the countdown of your teams timer, three conditions must be met:

At least one member of your team must stand uncontested within a 400m radius around the Comms Beacon.
This team member must not be taking fire from the enemy.
There must be no enemy 'Mechs present within the 400m radius around the Comms Beacon."

Has a very King of the Hill type feel to it, and encourages actual fighting, as opposed to sitting trading LRMs and Gauss rounds for half the game. One minute may not sound like very much, but it's usually more than enough. Additionally:

"Each team also has control over two Mobile Field Bases, which can be destroyed by enemy forces. Destroying an MFB will result in a 15-second penalty being added to your opponents timer. Timers cannot exceed 1:00 in duration, so destroying an MFB while the match is already well underway will maximize the potential advantage gained from destroying them."

An annoying change is, killing the enemy team is no longer a win condition in anything but Skirmish. Which means even if you kill the entire opposing team, you need to run out your timer in Domination, capture the enemy base in Assault, and score 750 points in Conquest. This can result in unneeded and annoying sitting around.

The Archer was released. I had high hopes they would be tweaked before release... and they were not. While some people think they are good, they aren't. I'll take my Maddogs and Catapults over them any day =/ King of LRMs my ass.

A good change was you can no longer switch your vote around for maps while the timer runs down, nor see what anyone else has picked (until after you choose). Gets rid of a lot of annoying goofing around that ends up in playing shitty maps.

Add a TK penalty system, but /shrug Whatever, it's such a rare problem as it is.

Conquest mode no longer starts each side off with a cap point already under control - all 5 are neutral now. Kinda like this.

Alpine Peaks spawn locations changed, though I've not played enough to get a feel for 'em. Has resulted in *some* new fighting locations, which is good.

Overall they are continuing to improve the game as it is, but not moving it forward and adding to it like they really need to. Still, the new map and game mode are worth checking out imo.

Grabbed the kodiak pack. I'm already a ninja in my atlas.... the KD-1 and spirit bear hero are going to be absolutely brutal with multiple srm6 + uac20 + lasers. It's an atlas minus some health but you are moving at 70+ kph with clan xl. Icing on the cake is both those models have the cbill bonus built in if you pre order.

They have that bonus even if you do not pre-order but buy them later, don't they? Pre-order bonus stuff seems to be just fluff (some cockpit items, premium time and credits or credit-bought items).

It looks like you might be right. I still wanted both variants so no great loss, but good info.

They used up probably every opportunity they had (including a steam launch - waste of their best shot) to grow the player base enough for the planetary conquest style content, and failed. As a result the most 'meta' aspect of faction warfare is which faction you pick to have a chance at actual combat without endless queue time. I think you can put a fork in that idea for this game. However, the quick play option is decent by now. A 'Mech arena shooter isn't exactly everything I hoped for, but at least that part is fun from time to time.

Phase 3 should be happening soonish I think, letting units own planets and such that'll generate them MC to hand out to unit members. And didn't they say their numbers are higher than they've ever been since the steam launch? Russ can stick his conquest change up his ass though, shits just dumb.

They might have said that, I don't know - I'm only doing quick play matches because anyone I know that wants to focus on faction warfare says it fucking sucks, mostly due to map design and lack of players. If they really have an all-time peak good for them, but then those players don't seem to give a shit about faction warfare.

Yeah the faction maps are pretty weak, no matter what map you're on it's the same thing, break through one door or the other then destroy the generators etc... At least in pugs anyway, I'm sure the dynamics might be a little different when dropping in a 12 man against another 12, but from what I've seen so far, one side is almost always pugs while the other side is a 12 man unit.