Which Mechs to use and which to avoid

[SquareSphere]

^definitely agree about the warhammer, just as a rule of thumb keep it outside the 400-500m mark for best results.

[Tricky_Gilligan]

I avoid the:
-Cougar: I prefer brawlers for light mechs.  The PPC varient is ok, but doesn't really have enough heat.  Prefer pretty much every other light mech
-Bushwacker: Can't even torso twist 90 degrees in either direction, let alone partly behind itself like a lot of other mechs.
-Warhammer: I used to like it, but the Thanatos seems to be more effective for a very similar price.
-Mad Cat: So expensive now, I prefer a Nova Cat or assault mech over it most of the time.  Also, as in CBT, not a huge fan of the varients.  The C is amazing, the rest are a little meh.
-Atlas: MK II ftw.  Will sometimes get the Atlas with the 3 ACs if I'm a SaKhan, normally I just wait for the Mad Cat MK II though.

I use these every game:
-Gauss Uller or AC 20 Osiris to start out, depending on the map.
-Hollander II, normally the A (heavy gauss)
-Shadowcat A (UAC 20)
-Thanatos
-Nova Cat if not on Inferno or Extremity
-Mad Cat MK II

Anything not on the two lists gets used every 2-3 games.  I try to mix it up to keep it interesting.

[(TLL)Siilk]

 I actively avoid Hollanders B(inferior to gauss shadowcat) and C(RAC 2 is just too weak), Any bushwalker except C(Prime and A are undergunned, B is too slow and unmaneuverable for a brawler), Awesome(too hot, wide profile). Rest of the mechs are prety much ok for me, but some(cougar and some of  warhammer and vulture variants) are too pricey in 0.2.0, so I rarely buy them.

[Rally]

I'll tell you what I find good, use that information to your advantage.

AC20 Osiris - this mech is simply too good to pass up, I'm sure it'll be toned down in the next version
twin gauss Vulture - now at a nice price point, with ECM, it's a great sniper
Nova Cat, any of the all laser variants - best if you get these early, very good vs light mechs ^^
Mad Cat prime - BAP, AMS, heavy armor, heavy firepower, this is what I end up in most of the time (but it has about 10 tons less equipment than any Nova Cat variant, which means it's lacking heatsinks, so I can sometimes damage myself when I run on the edge of the heat scale - which is all the time)

Sometimes I use:
AC10/MRM Warhammer- very cheap heavy class mech, ECM and good armor, it doesn't work every time as properly driven light mechs can evade most of it's attacks
Pulse laser Warhammer - I sometimes get this, it has ECM and makes a good substitute for the pulse laser Nova Cat
AC20 Shadowcat - a fast mech with a strong gun, it runs hot though

That should be about it.

[~SJ~ Blhurr]

I used the AC20 osiris to drop a lone MKII on marshes yesterday by staying behind it and hitting its back armor.  It only took like 4-5 salvos to drop the thing.  That combined with a few hits on other mechs gave me enough cash to buy the 6lbl novacat.  I'm not sure if that's by design but I felt a little guilty about it.

[Killer-Bee]

really depends on which variants the enemies are currently running, who you are hunting for and what gamestyle u prefer.
but the mechs i usually use for allround purpose
osiris b at start. excels at hit and run
followed by
madcat prime. good allrounder. lrms to counter novacats and alike at long range. while balanced weaponry for close and long range combat against all types of units. fast, high degree torso twist, good armor, AMS, BAP (!), use chain fire for laser banks to counter heat problems at medium to long range and to maximize effectiveness against BAs.
atlas c in close range maps. for obvious advantages.

close range sneak attacks. back armor!
shadowcat b. ecm,masc,...

long range passive sniper
novacat c. while some favor the A i rather have the capability to knock off other ppls aim and push their heat therefore having advantages against the A variants even in long range fights. also i like the greater range with ppcs damaging even farther than effective range.
watch out for lrm campers and enemies sneaking up on you tho because u wont notice most in passive with this mech.


as far as mechs i avoid. none really. all have their dis-/advantages. u just have to use them right.

[Eldragon]

This thread just confirms what we have known all along, the first 5 minutes of the round will forever be known as the "AC20 Osiris Swarm".

[(TLL)Cowking]

Really there is one rule to mech usage!

If you know how to use it you can do great with it!

Take for example the Atlas: Alot of players get in an Atlas and have that invulnerable mentality... they run off and get killed by over whelming fire power. But the proper way to use it is as a command mech, keep it in the middle of a allied formation where it can bring its formidable fire power to bear with less risk to being over run by faster mechs. (When I get a Atlas i usually stay in it a good quarter of the match if I am playing decently.)

But it works both ways, I am no missile boater so i don't play them and stick with direct fire with missiles supplementing them. Really you just have to find your play style and keep with it.)

[Arbiter]

This thread just confirms what we have known all along, the first 5 minutes of the round will forever be known as the "AC20 Osiris Swarm".

Again, why do people feel the AC20 is optimal vs other small fast moving mechs? I think it might be a good choice to run around with in a battle you arrived late to and used vs larger, slower moving targets. Beam laser Osiris= good damage and hitting right where yer pointing is particularly key against the small speedy buggers.

[MatthewPryde]

I like the kit fox prime for a light since you can lose a weapon and keep kicking, those little osiris' are too easy to pick off the ac20. then where are you?

[~SJ~ Xarg]

Running back to base with the stupid amount of money that AC20 earned you before you lost it, to buy another Osiris B :p If you can lead a target well enough, missing with the AC20 isn't much of an issue... losing it early leaves you undergunned but not out of the fight.

[Eldragon]

This thread just confirms what we have known all along, the first 5 minutes of the round will forever be known as the "AC20 Osiris Swarm".

Again, why do people feel the AC20 is optimal vs other small fast moving mechs? I think it might be a good choice to run around with in a battle you arrived late to and used vs larger, slower moving targets. Beam laser Osiris= good damage and hitting right where yer pointing is particularly key against the small speedy buggers.

As Xarg said, If you're interested in staying in the fight for a long time the AC20 Osiris isn't that great. But all you need to do with it is hit another light mech in  the rear torso twice and they're dead. If you get killed first no big deal. Just respawn, grab another AC20 Osiris and rush in.

The AC20 Osiris is also good for the drive-by kill steal*. Big one hit weapons are ideally suited for hitting a badly damaged enemy and killing them.  As an experiment, in the early game take out the RAC5 Hollander. It does a lot of damage, but you get your kill from a thousand tiny cuts. You'll do 85% of the damage to the target. But you'll almost never get the kill, because most other people are using the big hitting weapons and finish off that last 15% in 1 blow.

*Yes kills matter. finishing off a mech nets a large c-bill bonus.

[~SJ~ Blhurr]

One of the major flaws and misgivings about the lottery payoff effect of getting kill shots.  I really don't like that aspect of the cbill algorithm.

[Eldragon]

One of the major flaws and misgivings about the lottery payoff effect of getting kill shots.  I really don't like that aspect of the cbill algorithm.

Agreed. I think there need to be some kind of kill bonus, but right now I have way too munch incentive to sit back and only fire on mostly damaged targets.

Those incentives seem to be self reinforcing as well.
0) Kill shot gives a big bonus, everyone likes c-bills/points.
1) Most mechs are packing long range, big punch weapons (Gauss/L. Laser/ERPPC/LRM). So a mech can be polished off quickly from afar by someone else.
2) Running into close range is just a recipe for getting killed. Even more incentive to hang back and pick off targets.
3) Once you fire, you have revealed your position. Better to wait and make sure that shot counts.
4) If you fire and not kill the enemy, someone else will get the kill shot as your weapons reload. See #1.
5) Even on the short range brawl maps like Inferno and Marshes, there are still ample locations to sit back and pick off targets for the kill.

I think the solution will also depend on the short-range brawler becoming more viable. (such as reducing Gauss ammo/ton, upping Med. laser damage, etc), more maps, and reducing the bonus for killing off a mech.

[Killer-Bee]

as long as your not trying to be Scrooge McDuck hoarding cbills for no reason it doesnt really matter. cbills can be given easily at any point in the game.
and in any case if you just wait for your shots to be killshots everytime you are missing out on cbills in the long run. as well as showing that you dont mind about teamplay at all. in which case the whole game system wouldnt make sense anyways ^^