MechWarrior Online: Are Hero Mechs Pay to Win?

As of March 19, 2014, I have bought five hero mechs (not including Founder and Phoenix mechs). I will speak about each one's strengths, weaknesses, and whether or not it is "Pay To Win". Keep in mind that as the mechs go up in weight, they cost more MC and that means they cost more real world money. For the record, I bought all of my Hero mechs on sale for 30% to 50% off their normal prices.

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Yen Lo Wang - Centurion - 50 ton medium - 3750 MC

 I have only had this mech for about a week and I am having OK success with it. Its biggest drawback is the primary weapon hard points, 2 ballistic, are in the right arm. Why is this a drawback? Because there is only 32 points of armor maximum for the arm and it gets blown off fairly quickly unless you are very good at protecting it.

Most people usually place an AC20 in the right arm because it gives the most bang for the buck while constantly torso twisting to protect the arm.. You can put two AC5 in the arm, but because you can lose the arm so easily, it is not really worth it due to the lost damage done due to the constant torso twisting.

The general consensus on the Yen Lo Wang is it is Not Pay to Win because of the limited weapon load out and general fragility of the Centurion chassis. I have been having fun with it though. An arm mounted AC20 is always fun.

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Firebrand - Jagermech - 65 ton heavy - 4875 MC

The Firebrand is one of my favorite mechs to play. Not because it is Pay to Win, but because basically build a mech that resembles in look and load out one of my favorite Unseen mechs, the Rifleman. I made a slight adjustment to the base weapon load out of the Rifleman and replaced the two Large Lasers with two ER Large Lasers due to the normally long range engagements found in MechWarrior Online.

As a result of the long range weapons on the build I use, I typically do very well and make a lot of money with the Firebrand. Some people will disagree, but I don't consider the Firebrand Pay to Win though because it is still a Jagermech and they are known for their light armor. As a result, the Firebrand is somewhat easy to kill with a few well placed shots to the side torsos (they typically run XL engines).

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Ilya Muromets - Cataphract - 70 ton heavy - 5250 MC

The Ilya Muromets is arguably the best Hero mech in MechWarrior Online due to its weapon hard points. Currently, it is one of a handful of mechs that can mount three Ultra AC5. It is the only one that can use them effectively due to its weight.

To be fair, using three Ultra AC5 basically requires the Ilya to use an XL engine (or it is way too slow) and thereby makes it somewhat fragile. However, it is still extremely deadly and the triple Ultra AC5 build has been given the nickname "Buzzsaw" within Death's Hand Brigade.

This mech could be considered Pay to Win when used by the right person.

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Dragon Slayer - Victor - 80 ton assault - 6000 MC

The Dragon Slayer is currently one of the better Hero mechs due to its weapon hard points and jump jets. It is one of my favorites to play because it is pretty mobile and has the potential to do a lot of damage. In fact, I scored my highest damage output of 1370 damage with 5 kills and 6 assists in this mech. You can watch the video here if you don't believe me. :)

The Dragon Slayer's biggest weakness is its ability, or lack thereof, to deal with light mechs up close. You are dependent on the arm mounted ballistics or energy weapons and light mechs can be very difficult to hit when they are in your face.

Now, you can call the Dragon Slayer Pay to Win, if you want, but keep in mind you still have to be a decent pilot and have decent aim to consistently get high damage and kills. And, the Dragon Slayer is not cheap due to it being 80 tons and you must pay 6000 MC to purchase if it is not on sale. That's roughly $25 USD.

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The Boar's Head - Atlas - 100 ton assault - 7500 MC

 The Boar's Head is a good money maker for me. The six energy hard points in the arms allow for a lot of different energy configurations. The stock build with a 400 XL engine is fun because you get to run around at 72 kph in an Atlas, but it also makes for an easy kill. My personal favorite is six Medium Lasers in the arms and an AC20 in the right torso with a 375 standard engine. It is quick (for an Atlas) and it is dangerous. 

The Boar's Head's main weakness is the typical Atlas weakness... Take out the right torso and it loses most of its weapons. Not too big of a deal if you are used to piloting an Atlas and know how to protect your side torso.

Is The Boar's Head Pay to Win? I honestly can't say. At 7500 MC or almost $40 USD, is that really "winning"? I just know I really enjoy using it.

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Don't want to buy any Hero mechs? Well, you can buy many other mechs with C-Bills you earn while playing the game that are much closer to being Pay to Win than these Hero mechs. :)