MechWarrior Online: 1 Year Customer Appreciation Program

September 17, 2014 will mark the one year anniversary of the MechWarrior Online launch event in San Francisco, California. It's hard to believe it has only been one year. It seems like it has been longer than only one year and, despite what some naysayers have said, a lot has happened since then.

For example:

• Four new maps (Tourmaline Desert, Crimson Strait, HPG Manifold, and Terra Therma)
• UI 2.0
• Private Lobbies
• Many new Inner Sphere mechs and 8 Clan Invasion mechs
• Community Warfare Part 1: Unit creation
• Numerous bugs squashed
• Numerous weapon and equipment adjustments
• Mech Modules of various types. Weapon modules being the most notable.
• Quirks for Clan mechs and some Inner Sphere mechs

And I'm sure there are some things I have forgotten.

The best part of this anniversary is Piranha Games's Customer Appreciation Program

As a long time player and customer, I stand to get quite a few nice toys. The most notable being:

• Exclusive Centurion variant: CN9-AH with a 30% C-Bill bonus
• Exclusive Atlas variant: AS7-S with a 30% C-Bill bonus
• Exclusive King Crab: KGC-000 (my guess at the model) with a 30% C-Bill bonus
• Founders mechs C-Bill bonus increased from 25% to 30%
• Exclusive Mad Dog/Vulture Clan Invasion mech with 30% C-Bill bonus and two variants when I buy the Wave 2 Man-O-War package

 All in all, some very nice and much appreciated rewards for being a loyal customer.

Thank you Piranha Games

MechWarrior Online: I Have Officially Played Over 10,000 Matches

According to my profile at MechWarrior Online, here are my significant statistics while playing MechWarrior Online through September 10, 2014.

Matches Played	Wins	Losses	Ratio	Kills	Deaths	Ratio	Damage Done	XP Earned	C-Bills Earned
10,076	5,676	4,379	1.30	6,981	5,452	1.28	2,124,329	8,408,064	1,194,674,999

Not the most impressive stats, but they are mine and you can't have them. :P

As you can see, I have also earned over 1 billion C-Bills which happened back in late May, 2014. I haven't played the most matches or have the most C-Bills in MechWarrior Online, but I have to admit I smile every time someone notices how many C-Bills I have or how much experience I have on my Atlases when I am broadcasting on Twitch.tv. :D

Yeah, I play this game a little too much, but I enjoy it and it keeps me home at night where The Wife can keep an eye on me. That's what I tell her at least. ;)

And for the record, I am not a disgruntled player. I am a Legendary Founder, Project Phoenix Overlord, and own the Clan Invasion Masakari package. Call me a sucker or tell me I don't know how to manage my money (ha!), but despite the game's flaws, I am still having fun after more than two years (started Closed Beta in May 2012).

No game has kept my attention as much as MechWarrior Online has since I played EverQuest from 1999 to 2003 and World of Warcraft from 2004 to 2010. And, I took multiple month long breaks from playing both of those games during those time periods. My longest break from MechWwarrior Online in the past 28 months? One week during Christmas in 2012 and another week during Christmas 2013.

So, having said all that... I am looking forward to the things coming in MechWarrior Online later this year and beyond.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D with 2 Large Laser, 2 LRM10, and 2 Medium Laser In Action

This is a series of videos where I pilot my Founder's Atlas, AS7-D (F), with 2 Large Lasers, 2 LRM10 with Artemis, and 2 Medium Lasers. It's not a LRM boat or a typical high damage output build, but it can do some serious damage over the course of a match. The LRMs can be used to engage at long range while taking little damage in return. Once you get in the 180 to 500 meters range, the LRMs perform more like Streak SRMs and you get to add in your lasers for pinpoint damage to strip off  heavily damaged parts of your enemy.

The below Assault match took place in River City where I got 4 kills and 8 assists on 674 damage. 

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. :)

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-BH, The Boar's Head, Video Series

Here are a series of videos where I pilot the Atlas Hero mech, The Boar's Head. The current weapon load outs I am using are:

• AC20, two ER Large Lasers, and four Medium Lasers with a Standard 375 engine 
• Six Large Lasers with a Standard 350 engine. 
• AC20 and six Medium Pulse Lasers with a Standard 350 engine

The builds are a little warm on the hotter maps, but do really well on the cooler maps.

Below is a match in Canyon Network where I get 3 kills and 4 assists on 494 damage.

Below is my best match to date in The Boar's Head where I get 3 kills and 3 assists on 738 damage in HPG Manifold.

In the below match I get 4 kills and 4 assists on 446 damage with the 6 Large Lasers build.

Here is a match where I am using the 6 Large Laser build and get 6 kills and 2 assists on 584 damage in an HPG Manifold assault match.

I dust off The Boar's Head, with 6 Large Lasers after not playing it for a while because of the Clan mechs for a match in Frozen City Night. I get 5 kills and 2 assists on 566 damage.

In the video below, I pilot the Boar's Head with an AC20 and 6 Medium Pulse Lasers in Tourmaline Desert. I get 2 kills and 5 kills on 686 damage.

MechWarrior Online: Batwing Rides a Boar's Head Atlas

A quick video of fellow Death's Hand Brigade member, Batwing, unintentionally landing on top of an enemy Boar's Head Atlas and riding it to it's death!

MechWarrior Online: 1000th Match in Atlas AS7-D-DC

This is my 1000th match in an Atlas AS7-D-DC. It's not pretty. It wasn't fun. It really wasn't how I wanted my 1000th  match the D-DC to go, but oh well. :D

The weapon load out is my preferred build for using the D-DC in 4 man groups these days. An AC20, two ER Large Lasers, and three SRM6. It gives me decent damage at long, medium, and short engagement ranges.

I also have a second AS7-D-DC that is my "shotgun" build with two LB-10X, two Medium Lasers, and three SRM4 that I run in 4 man groups. It is a strictly a short range brawler.

In 12 man groups I swap out the ER Large Lasers for regular Large Lasers because I tend to engage the enemy at shorter ranges and the drop in heat from the lasers is needed for better heat management once the brawl starts.

Stats after 1000 matches (blame PGI for inaccurate numbers)
Wins: 539
Losses: 453
Win/Loss Ratio: 1.19    
Kills: 731
Deaths: 512
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.43    
Time Played: 4 days 11:44:59 hours

MechWarrior Online: 500th Match in Atlas AS7-D

Below is my 500th match in the Founder's Atlas, AS7-D(F). The weapons layout is two AC5, two ER Large Lasers, and two Medium Lasers. It's not my favorite build, but it consistently puts out good damage over a match.

This particular match isn't anything special as far as my performance or my team's performance goes, but I wanted to record it for posterity.

Stats over 500 matches (Blame PGI for inconsistencies if their stats page)

Wins: 262
Losses: 234
Win/Loss Ratio: 1.12 Kills: 331
Deaths: 281
Kill/Death Ratio: 1.18
Time Played: 2 days 02:23:30 hours

 

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D, with 2 AC5 and 2 ER Large Lasers In Action

Here is a series of videos where I pilot an Atlas, AS7-D, with two AC5, two ER Large Lasers, and two Medium Lasers.

This is a new build for me. I've tried AC5 and UAC5 builds before on the Atlas, but never really liked them for brawling because of the faster rate of fire. Usually when I brawl with an AC20, I fire my big weapons and torso twist to mitigate incoming damage until the weapons finish cycling for the next shot. With faster firing weapons like the AC5, there isn't much time for torso twisting because, if you do, you sacrifice your damage output. So, consider this an experiment for me. :D

A match in Terra Therma where I get 3 kills and 5 assists on 760 damage.

Extra Life 25 Hour Fundraising Event

I'm just going to borrow the post our Extra Life team leader, Dark Treader, made to our private boards. YouTube clips of him saying his thank yous and my last match follow.

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Wooo-hoo!

That was an awesome run, everyone! After 25 hours of MWO, with Gimpy running his stream and getting the word out, we were able to meet our goal of $1000! As of 4:13pm EST, 11/3, we're at $1,205!

So, major events during the event:
1. The Extra-Life.org site & associated servers, 4 times during the event, came under a DDoS attack. Why this happened, no one knows, but the general consensus is that whoever initiated it is an asshole of the highest caliber. But in a strange way, I think this did help to increase the support for the program, as the event hit a new milestone this year: as of the time of posting here, they've raised over $3.4 million dollars!

2. A WHOLE lot of people from the unit joined in and participated, giving the group support. We ran 12-mans for a good block of time on Saturday (even did some "training" drops to help out 2nd, and I put training in quotes because if you saw the result of the drops from our end... oi. Taking goofy builds vs. 2nd's comp builds is definitely not a way to have success ), then broke back into 4-mans for the rest of the run. A BIG thank you to everyone who dropped with us, helped support us, and especially during the last few hours when all of us were drained and the energy was gone, kept us going for that last stretch.

3. We made our team goal (as stated above), and two of the team made personal goals as well - and donations are still coming in! So if you're interested in donating, you're more than welcome to do so

4. Thanks to Niko Snow from IGP/PGI for hopping over and dropping with us!

5. We got a shoutout on the MWO Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MechWarriorOnline ), also

I think that pretty well covers the big points of the day, it was a lot of fun overall, and we raised a decent amount of money - a good bump from last year's numbers
Next year, I'd love to see us even more organized and try and double or triple the amount we raise. I know that 24 or 25 hours is a big block of time to set aside, but I think it's worth it - and the numbers we posted and the word we spread about the event showed.

In any case, just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who supported us and donated to the cause.

DHB effin' ROCKS!

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Dark Treader say his Thank Yous

 

Gimpy's last match of playing 25 hours straight.

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battles

Here are a few videos I recorded during one of our, Death's Hand Brigade, recent training nights. We were sync dropping two 12 man teams against each other and I was lucky enough to be on the winning team 3 out of 4 battles.

I am piloting an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, two Large Lasers, and three SRM6.

A battle in Alpine Peaks. I get 1 kill and 10 assists on 411 damage.

 

 A battle in Tourmaline Desert. I get 1 kill and 10 assists on 745 damage.

A battle in Caustic Valley. I don't get any kills, but have 9 assists on 523 damage.

MechWarrior Online: AS7-D with AC20 and 2 ER Larger Lasers in Action

I was grouped with a couple of fellow DHB members when one asked me about the load out of the Atlas AS7-D I was running. He wanted to finish off his Atlas pilot skills but hadn't found a good build for the AS7-D. So, I shared my build with him, AC20, 2 ER Large Lasers, and 2 Medium Lasers, and this is what happened in our next match.

MechWarrior Online: Combined DHB and Aces Wild 12 Man in Caustic Valley

Deaths Hand Brigade and Aces Wild team-up for a match in Caustic Valley. This is the last match of an impromptu event between DHB and Aces Wild. We started with two 12 man groups with members of the two units in both teams. The original plan was we were going to sync drop against each other. However, due to people coming and going it took a long time to get the two groups to sync drop and we eventually just did normal 12 man drops as much as we could.

Overall, it was fun dropping with Aces Wild and everyone had a good time.

MechWarrior Online: Lance of 4 Atlases in Tourmaline Desert

While grouped with another DHB member, Von Kempf, we get placed in a lance with two other Atlases. Result? Fun!

This was complete luck to get grouped with two more Atlases for my last drop of the night. The best part is they realized it was best for the four of us to stick together without anyone having to say it.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with AC20 and 2 ER Large Lasers in Action

These are a series of videos where I pilot an Atlas AS7-D-DC with an AC20, 2 ER Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6. It's currently my preferred D-DC build in PUG matches when I drop solo or when in a 4 man group with mechs of various weights.

The match below took place while in a DHB four man lance during an epic battle in Tourmaline Desert. Not the best place to be running this slightly warm build with only one Cool Shot, but somehow I manage to get 7 kills and 3 assists on 1063 damage and our lance accounts for all of our team's kills (11).

Battle in Forest Colony Snow where I get 5 kills and 7 assists on 787 damage. This was the last match of a long night where I had mostly very mediocre games in the D-DC.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X in Action Video Series

This is a video series showing off my Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X, 2 Medium Lasers, and 3 SRM6 with Artemis build. I don't claim to be the person who first ran the build, but I did originally run it back in Closed Beta and see others running similar builds from time to time.

Its major weakness is the lack of pin point damage of the AC20 and the raw damage per second of the Ultra AC5. However, with the fast recycle time, low heat, and critical hit rate on internals, the LB-10X makes for some good fun. Especially when combined with the SRM6s. Strip the armor off the torso armor and watch the light show begin!

Assault match in Canyon Network:

Assault match in River City

Assault match in Terra Therma

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battles in Alpine Peaks and Tourmaline Desert

Here are two 12v12 battles between two Death's Hand Brigade 3rd Battalion groups during a training session. We sync drop in Conquest mode to increase the odds of getting matched against each other. The purpose of the training is to work on communication, focus firing, and moving as a group. The overall focus of the training is combat. So, we don't intentionally cap bases.

The mech I'm piloting is an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20, 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s.

Alpine Peaks

 

 Tourmaline Desert

MechWarrior Online: Atlas AS7-D-DC with 2 LB-10X AC in Action

This mech is a slight variation of one of my favorite builds from Closed Beta, Atlas AS7-D-DC with two LB-10X AC, two Medium Lasers, and three SRM6 with Artemis. I get 6 kills and 3 assists on 628 damage. This was also the last match of a nearly 9 hour long MechWarrior Online play session. This was arguably my best match of the day. 

MechWarrior Online: DHB vs DHB 24 Mech Battle in Caustic Valley

Two Death's Hand Brigade 3rd Battalion teams face off in Caustic Valley. This was during our first night of 12v12 training. We had dropped against this same DHB group two times earlier and they kicked our butts, but we make up for it this time. Our teamwork and communication were much better than in previous drops and it paid off.

MechWarrior Online: Atlas, AS7-D-DC with AC20 and 2 Large Lasers in Action - Part 3

While piloting an Atlas, AS7-D-DC, with an AC20 and 2 Large Lasers, and 3 SRM6s, we run into a DHB group in a Caustic Valley Assault battle. Not sure if you can see it in the in-game text chat, but one of my fellow DHB team mates put a bounty on my head if someone would team kill me.