Beginners Guide To MWO v1.2d

-Beginners Guide to MW:OA Field Manual for:
by :
Image courtesy of PGI 2012
WaddeHaddeDudeda Chris R.
_______________________Content_______________________
1) What is this all about? .................................................................................... 1 2) Goal of the Game ............................................................................................ 2

2a) Assault Mode .................................................................................................................. 2 2aa) Destroying all enemy Mechs ...................................................................................... 3 2ab) Capturing a Base ........................................................................................................ 3 2b) Conquest Mode .............................................................................................................. 3 2c) Testing Grounds ............................................................................................................. 4
3) Interface/Basics ............................................................................................... 5
3a) Keys/Functions ............................................................................................................... 5 3b) The HUD ....................................................................................................................... 10
4) Economy ......................................................................................................... 14
4a) ComStar Bills ............................................................................................................... 14 4aa) Trial Mechs............................................................................................................... 14 4ab) Cadet Bonus ............................................................................................................. 15 4b) Mech Credits ................................................................................................................ 15
5) The Mechlab - Heart of the Game ............................................................... 17

5a) Heat, Heat Sinks, Engines and you! ........................................................................... 18 5aa) Waste Heat ............................................................................................................... 18 5ab) Heat Sinks ................................................................................................................ 19 5ac) Engines ..................................................................................................................... 20 5ad) Example of calculation ............................................................................................. 22 5b) Dakka Dakka Dakka - Weapons-Roundup ............................................................... 23 5ba) Energy-type Weapons .............................................................................................. 23 5bb) Ballistic-type Weapons ............................................................................................ 25 5bc) Missile-type Weapons .............................................................................................. 27 5bd) The Good, the Bad, the Conclusion ......................................................................... 29 5c) MacGyver where are you? - Equipment-Roundup................................................... 30 5d) Mech-Upgrades ............................................................................................................ 34 5e) My first Mech ............................................................................................................... 37 5f) Expertise - Knowledge Level 2 .................................................................................... 40 5fa) Critical Hits ............................................................................................................... 40 5fb) Consumption of Ammunition ................................................................................... 44
6) Experience Points .......................................................................................... 45 7) Modules .......................................................................................................... 47

7a) Regular Modules .......................................................................................................... 47 7b) Consumables ................................................................................................................ 48
8) Games in Groups - You, myself and the three of us .................................. 49

8a) Friends .......................................................................................................................... 50 8b) Groups .......................................................................................................................... 52
9) Links + further Information ........................................................................ 56
Content; Preamble & Acknowledgment
______________Preamble & Acknowledgment_____________
The following words are mainly directed towards anyone born BEFORE 1985 and who still enjoys (and values) the pleasure of being given a manual with their favorite game. Also, people who have never heard anything of Battletech before in their entire life and yet ended up at MW:O are more than welcome to risk a look. The following Wall of Text is aimed to provide you with an introduction to the world of MW:O and guide new players through their very first steps in the game. Unfortunately, the current game GUI is not very intuitive so this guide will help you understand this part of the game. Hopefully, even old dawgs will learn one or two new tricks from reading this guide. Important tip:
Protip-boxes indicate USEFUL INFORMATION and are the PERSONAL OPINION of the Author. The same applies for chapters written in italic font.
I'd also like to thank everyone within the MW:O (and other) communities who dedicate time to lend a hand to new players, guiding them through the very first (difficult) hours. Also many thanks to the people who do the datamining after every patch. You are the people who deliver relevant, useful and sometimes amusing information. Without that information many chapters in this guide wouldn't have been possible. So thank you Sirs and Sirettes! Finally, I want to say thank you to Weebz/Mark P. a thousand times, for dealing with my faulty engrish and for taking the effort to enhance the readability flow of this guide a lot! It definitively wears your handwriting now mate! Last but not least, Id like to thank YOU! Yes, you, the reader of this guide! You gave me the drive to start and finish this guide in countless hours of my freetime! I'm very pleased that you found your way here and hope that you will enjoy it and find it useful.
-Wadde/Chris R.
Content; Preamble & Acknowledgment
II
1) What is this all about?
Battlemechs are giant, stompy, weapon bristled robots, powered by a fusion reactor and controlled by men and women called Mechwarriors. The entire story takes place in the 31st century, where mankind is at war once again. The interstellar space surrounding Earth (or the so called Inner Sphere) is divided into five major Houses and many independent systems. Those five Houses were constantly at war, until a new superior force appeared on the field: the technologically advanced Clans. The Clans had previously left the Inner Sphere in a mass exodus hundreds of years ago. They are now back to reclaim what is rightfully theirs: Terra. If you want to know more about the awesome background of Battletech I suggest you take a look here. To summarize it briefly: Battletech started as a tabletop game many years ago. After its success many novels and computer games were released to gain even more success. MW:O is the latest release in a long standing Mechwarrior history.
Beginners Guide to MW:O
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2) Goal of the Game
MW:O can be described as a team based FPS and/or simulation game. It really depends on to who you ask this question. To me, it is both. Too slow paced to be a pure FPS, yet not complex enough to be a pure simulation. After all, it is about winning with a team consisting of 8 Mechs against another team of 8 Mechs. To date (May 2013) there are two different game modes (and one training mode) to achieve that goal: 1. Assault Mode 2. Conquest Mode 3. Testing Grounds. You can select the desired/preferred mode in the main screen at the top right corner via the orange symbol .
2a) Assault Mode

To win in the assault mode you basically have two options: 1. destroy all enemy Mechs 2. capture the enemy base
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2aa) Destroying all enemy Mechs Mechs consist of, similar to humans, a skeleton (the internal structure), skin (the armor) and multiple sections. Those sections are the head (HD), the left, center and right torso (LT, CT, RT), the left and right arm (LA, RA) and the left and right leg (LL, RL). Like mentioned above, Mechs are powered by a fusion reactor (simply called engine from now on). The engine is usually mounted in the CT of a Mech, in special cases also in the LT and RT (check Chapter 5ac) Engines). If the engine (= the CT) is destroyed, the Mech will be incapacitated and therefore count as destroyed as well. A Mech which also carries engine components in its LT and RT will be taken out of the game if EITHER of those sections are destroyed. Furthermore, destroying the cockpit (killing the pilot) or crippling BOTH legs will ultimately remove the Mech from the game.
2ab) Capturing a Base At the beginning of every game both teams are deployed at their own base. Either base can be captured by the opposing team if an enemy Mech stays within the marked area (capture zone) around the base. In this case the color of said area turns from green to red. An enemy capture attempt can be halted if at least one friendly Mech also enters the capture zone. If this happens the color of the area turns from red to yellow. The capture process can get sped up by having additional Mechs from your team enter the capture zone. It is also possible to unlock a module which speeds up the capture process (check Chapter 7) Modules).
2b) Conquest Mode

The aim of conquest mode is to either accumulate 750 resource points or to destroy all enemy Mechs. Resource points are generated by each of five bases which are positioned throughout the map. Each team starts with their own homebase, so typically the teams tend to fight over the three remaining bases. The more bases a team has captured, the faster the resource points will be accumulated. Bases are captured the same way as mentioned above (Chapter 2ab) Capturing a Base).
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2c) Testing Grounds

As the name implies this is basically a test area to playtest newly created Mechs, set up your weapon groups before you go into a real match and to explore the existing maps. The map will always be picked randomly and it is only possible to enter the Testing Grounds alone, without any other players. There are always 8 dummies deployed around the map, which can be shot at, damaged and destroyed.
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3) Interface/Basics
The controls of a Mech are anything but easy to learn. The main problem for many new players is to control the torso and legs in unison. A Mech is able to run in the direction X and turn its torso (independently of its walking direction) in the direction of Y. It does not differ greatly from the ability to really common FPS games to also run into the direction X and looking with your head into the direction of Y at the same time. However, a Mech reacts much slower and on the battlefield there are some additional rules to obey, so Id like to explain the controls and general interface further in the following chapter.
3a) Keys/Functions
Throttle Up/Down [W/S] = the Mech moves forwards or backwards
Protip: If the Throttle Decay box is checked then your Throttle Up/Down keys will function similar to a gas pedal on a car. As soon as the key is released, your Mech will abruptly stop. If you uncheck the Throttle Decay box your Mech will continue to walk at its designated speed if you release the keys.
Turn Left/Right [A/D] = the legs of the Mech turn left or right, determining the direction of movement (the mouse will turn the torso and thus determines the viewing direction) Centre Torso [C] = the torso is automatically returned to align with the legs, so that both are facing the same direction
Protip: This is an important feature for beginners if you have lost track of where your torso and legs are relative to each other!
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Centre Legs [F] = the legs are automatically returned to align with the torso, so that both are facing the same direction Toggle Arm Lock [LShift] = either combines both the crosshairs for arm mounted weapons and torso mounted weapons into one crosshair or splits them into two separate crosshairs, depending on whether the Arm Lock box is checked or unchecked
Protip: If the Toggle Arm Lock box is unchecked you have to control both crosshairs (for arm and torso mounted weapons) independently of each other. By checking the Toggle Arm Lock key both crosshairs are combined into one single crosshair. For beginners especially, it may be helpful to check the Toggle Arm Lock box so they only have to deal with one crosshair until they have a firm grasp of the basics of the game. A huge advantage of two crosshairs is that the crosshair for arm mounted weapons is a lot more flexible than the crosshair for torso mounted weapons (check Chapter 3b) The HUD)
Full Stop [X] = the Mech stops abruptly, regardless of whether it is running forwards or backwards (essentially the handbrake of the Mech) Toggle Power [P] = the systems of a Mech are powered up or down (ergo the power button) Next Target [R] = select/actively target an enemy Mech in order to reveal its armament and armor status (it is also used to achieve a lock-on for guided missiles)
Protip: You cannot target or lock on to Mechs that are powered down! Shut down Mechs will not appear on the radar either!
Show Target Overlay [Q] = displays the pilot name and Mech type for all friendly units, plus any visible enemy units Jump Jets [SPACE] = activates the jump jets of a Mech and grants said Mech the ability to...well, jump Free Look [LCTRL] = allows you to look around in your own cockpit, without affecting the orientation of the torso Override Shutdown [O] = prevents the automatic forced shutdown of the Mech when it reaches a critical heat level
Protip: The use of this function runs the risk of causing an internal ammunition explosion which will damage or even destroy your mech. It should be used with caution! Also the internal structure will definitively start to slowly take damage once the Mech overheats and the automatic shutdown sequence gets overridden. Furthermore it is important know that this function must be activated before the heat level of the Mech reaches 100 %. After its activation the automatic shut down sequence will be overridden for a total amount of 5 seconds. During that time the warning message OVERRIDE ENGAGED will be displayed in the upper part of the screen.
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Fire Selected Weapon Group [MOUSE 1] = the weapons of the currently selected weapon group are fired Fire Weapon Group 1 - 6 [1 - 6] = the weapons of the weapon group 1 - 6 are fired, regardless of whether they are currently selected or not Toggle Weapon Group [RCTRL] = assigns the currently highlighted weapon to the currently highlighted weapon group Toggle Chainfire [BACKSPACE] = weapons of the same weapon group will fire one after another, rather than all together at the same time Weapon Group Highlight Up/Down/Left/Right [UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT] = individual weapons and weapon groups are highlighted and via Toggle Weapon Group assigned Alphastrike [BACKSLASH] = fires ALL weapons on a Mech in one fell swoop Weapon Door Toggle [SLASH] = opens and closes missile bay doors for missile launchers Some Mechs come with missile bay doors which protect any installed missile launchers. When missiles are fired, the bay doors will automatically open and close. However this process causes a significant delay between pressing the fire button and the missiles actually firing. This makes aiming difficult, especially with unguided missiles. By using the Weapon Door Toggle function, the bay doors can be controlled manually. This avoids the firing delay but leaves the weapons installed in the bay vulnerable to destruction from enemy fire.
Protip: the small LED in the cockpit states if the doors are: green = open, yellow = closed, red =destroyed
Cockpit Light [PERIOD] = changes various levels of brightness for the cockpit (but NOT any digital readouts) Toggle Zoom Mode [Z] = standard zoom that provides 1,5 to 3x magnification Toggle Adv. Zoom [V] = activates the zoom module with 4x magnification, provided that the module is unlocked, bought and installed in the Mech (check Chapter 7a) Regular Modules)
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Toggle Night Vision [N] = activates the night vision mode, recommended on dark maps Toggle Thermal Vision [H] = enables heat vision; recommended for poor visibility and for providing contrast against confusing terrain which makes it difficult to find enemy Mechs quickly
Protip: Thermal ftw! Thermal vision makes it easier to locate Mechs at range or whilst amongst camouflage or cover! In some cases it helps to identify targets that you might otherwise overlook (small/fast Mechs)!
Toggle ECM Mode [J] = switches installed ECM from disrupt-mode to counter-mode Toggle Cockpit Item [APOSTROPHE] = enables/disables certain special functions of decorative items that are shown in the cockpit after you have purchased them with MCs Coolant Shot [Delete] = activates the coolant shot module, provided that the module is bought and installed in the Mech (check Chapter 7b) Consumables) Call Artillery Strike [Home] = activates the artillery strike module, provided that the module is bought and installed in the Mech (check Chapter 7b) Consumables) Call Air Strike [End] = activates the air strike module, provided that the module is bought and installed in the Mech (check Chapter 7b) Consumables) Call UAV [Insert] = activates the UAV module, provided that the module is bought and installed in the Mech (check Chapter 7b) Consumables) Global Chat [T] = chat to ALL players on the map (yellow font) Team Chat [Y] = chat to all TEAM members (blue font) Lance Chat [U] = chat to all LANCE members (turquois font) End Chat [ENTER] = submits the typed chat message Show Battlegrid [B] = enlarges the minimap and allows you to send commands to your team Once the game starts each player has the opportunity to use the battle grid to take command via the Take Command/Lance Command option, and relinquish it in the same manner.
Every team can have ONE general commander and up to THREE lance commanders. General commanders names and chat will appear in white, lance commanders names and chat will appear in green. By clicking the left mouse button anywhere in the battle grid the commander can place one of several ready-made icons at any time (an explanation of the symbols and their meaning is shown at the top of the battle grid). These symbols appear automatically on the radar and in the compass of all other team members to visualize the battle plan. It is common sense and good etiquette to follow the commanders prompts however you can still suggest an alternative plan, or ignore it entirely. Often the commander role is not required and communication via team chat is enough.
Protip: Press the I button to toggle additional information on the battle grid.
Scoreboard [TAB] = displays the current players, their status (alive/destroyed), faction and ping Invert Throttle [Np_Period] = thrust reversal; shifts from forward gear into reverse gear and back Set Throttle 10 % - 100 % [Np_1 - Np_0] = manual control of the throttle in steps of 10 % Step Throttle Up/Down [Np_Add/Np_Substract] = manual control of the throttle without any limitations all other functions = to date (May 2013): placeholder without any effect to the game
Protips: Press right Shift + F11 to completely remove the HUD and take some exciting screenshots. :) To date (May 2013) it is not possible to bind a mouse wheel via the game settings menu. There is a workaround though: start the client, hit the options and assign a new, unused key, in the Alt Key Map column to your desired function (e.g.: lbracket and rbracket for Weapon Group Highlight Left/Right) close the game and navigate to your pilot folder within your MW:O directory (e.g.: D:\Mechwarrior Online\USER\Profiles\WaddeHaddeDudeda) open up the actionmaps.xml with notepad (right mouse button, open with) hit the search function (LCTRL + F) and search for the keys you have assigned to your desired functions beforehand when you have found the according entries (lbracket and rbracket in our example) replace them with the following commands: mwheel_up mwheel_down close the actionmaps.xml file, fire up the game and do the Im so happy dance because now your mouse wheel should be working obviously you can assign any desired function to the mouse wheel, the above one was just a very common example
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3b) The HUD

Making reference to a typical screenshot from the game, Id like to explain the different data and information displayed on said screenshot.
1. Clock Once the counter reaches 00:00 the game ends immediately. 2. Scoreboard This displays the total amount of kills for each team. Blue numbers representing your own team, red numbers the enemy team. As soon as one team manages to accumulate 8 kills the game ends. 3. Base Status Bar While the blue bar represents the status of your own teams base, the red bar shows the status of the enemy base. If one bar is completely depleted, the team it represents will lose the match. As soon as someone tries to capture your base a BASER UNDER ATTACK message will be displayed in the upper part of the screen. 4. Warning Messages These will be displayed in each of the circumstances below: HEAT WARNING = the current heat level is very high (> 80 %); the Mech is about to initiate the automatic shut down sequence OVERRIDE ENGAGED = the automatic shut down sequence has been overriden
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CRITICAL DAMAGE = the Mech suffered severe damage (armor < 20 %) and all that is holding the parts together is either made of saliva or duct tape INCOMING MISSILE = an enemy Mech has just launched a salvo of homing missiles towards you BASE UNDER ATTACK = your own base is in the process of being captured 5. Compass The horizontal bar is your compass (0 - 359). The yellow triangle at the bottom represents the legs of your Mech, the upper one the torso. The bases on the map are represented by a blue (friendly base) or red (enemy base) starshaped icon. Friendly Mechs will also be displayed by a blue symbol, enemy Mechs will appear in red. The Mech you have currently targeted will be bracketed in yellow on the compass. 6. Crosshair for arm mounted weapons This crosshair is directly controlled with the mouse and very flexible due to arm actuators which are mounted in many Mechs. This means you have free range of motion with your arm mounted weapons (with a few limitations). Think of it like a regular FPS game crosshair! Once you score a hit the crosshair will flash in red for a brief period of time. 7. Crosshair for torso mounted weapons With this crosshair you can control all torso mounted weapons. It is rather slow/lethargic and feels very indirect. This is because you directly control the arm mounted weapons with your mouse and the crosshair responsible for the torso mounted weapons will always try to follow the arms. Because of its nature the torso is not as flexible as the arms, which means you have a very limited torso twist. This means that you will not be able to hit an enemy Mech with your torso mounted weapons in certain situations, but you still can hit it with your arm mounted weapons - for example, if the enemy Mech is far above or below the elevation of your torso. Similar to the crosshair for arm mounted weapons, the crosshair for torso mounted weapons will flash in red for a brief period of time once you have scored a hit.
Protip: When you are new to the game, you should avoid making any hectic or sudden movements with your crosshairs. It is much better to use slow and smooth movements whilst try to move the crosshairs in unison. Personally, it helped me to pay more attention to the torso crosshair and ignore the arm crosshair to a certain degree. It also helps to consider where the next enemy Mech may appear from and attempt to have your crosshairs oriented in that general direction, rather than being forced to react with a snapped movement when the action happens. Alternatively you can check the Toggle Arm Lock box in the options menu and combine both separate crosshairs into one crosshair.
8. Weapons and weapon groups of your current Mech Here you will find useful information about your currently installed weapons, their maximum (effective) range, their healthstatus (active/destroyed), their ready status and the remaining ammunition. By using the cursor keys and the RCTRL button, it is possible to (re)configure your weapon groups. Weapons on the upper part of the display (marked with a circle) are mounted in the arms. Weapons on the bottom part of the display (marked with a cross) are mounted in the torso.
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9. Weapon Ready Status The 6 bars around the crosshair represent your 6 weapon groups. Yellow = ready to fire, red = reloading (ballistic or missile weapons) or cooling down/recharging (energy weapons). 10. Target Information a) name of the targeted pilot b) Mech and variant of the target c) distance to the target d) damage status of the target e) identification letter (A - H), depending on when the target showed up the very first time on the radar for that match; the letters are the same for all team members 11. XP Hint Shows how much XP you have gained from performing specific actions. 12. Damage readout and armament of the actively targeted Mech The enemy Mech will be destroyed once either its head, CT or both legs have been taken out. If the Mech is equipped with an XL engine (check Chapter 5ac) Engines) it can also be destroyed by taking out either LT or RT. The damage readout for enemy Mechs is mirrored, as if the Mech is standing directly opposite, facing you. For instance, the left arm on the readout corresponds to the right arm of the enemy Mech. 13. Damage readout and armament of your own Mech Same as #12. The only exception is, that this display is NOT mirrored. Thus the left arm on this display corresponds to the left arm of your Mech. As soon as your own Mech suffers severe damage a warning message (CRITICAL DAMAGE) will appear in the upper part of the screen. 14. Lancemate Indicator Shows with whom you are grouped with in a lance. Also indicates what Mechs and variants your lancemates are using, their damage status and their current location. 15. Radar + Minimap The radar shows various information, it indicates which direction the Mech is moving into (single line), which direction the torso is facing into (V shaped lines), where allied units are located and where enemy units are located (if certain criteria are met). In order to make an enemy appear on the radar there has to be a Line of Sight (LoS) established. This can either be achieved by yourself (direct LoS) or by another allied unit (indirect LoS). As soon as the LoS is interrupted by terrain, the enemy units will disappear from the radar again. ECM will also change how the radar works. 16. Throttle-/Speed Indicator Tells you how fast your Mech is moving, and in which direction (forwards or reverse). 17. Jump Jet fuel Gets depleted each time the Mech makes use of its jump jets and replenishes automatically once the jump is completed.
18. Heat Level Indicator Displays how much waste heat the Mech has accumulated. If the waste heat reaches a level of 100 % on that scale, the Mech will attempt to automatically shut down. Furthermore the warning message HEAT WARNING will pop up in the upper part of the screen.
Protip: Shut down Mechs are combat ineffective and an easy prey. It is highly advisable to never shut down under any circumstances! In situations where you must shut down, try to make sure you are not under fire and preferably behind cover. It is worth considering installing an extra Heat Sink or two over an additional weapon system when constructing your mech.
19. Coolant Shot Indicator If you have acquired and installed this module, the indicator will tell you how many coolant shots (and of which variety) you have remaining (check Chapter 7b) Consumables).
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4) Economy
Like pretty much everywhere else, the saying: If you dont cough up some dough, theres nothing to be bought! applies in MW:O as well. To date there are two currencies implemented within the game.
4a) ComStar Bills

The common Cbill is the acknowledged currency in the Battletech Universe, therefore your friendly local vendor in MW:O will gratefully accept it too. Cbills can be earned by simply playing the game. They are awarded for wins, losses, ties and mainly for destroying enemy Mechs. It does not make much difference if you either win or lose the game; the base amount of Cbills you earn will be the same. You can increase your income drastically by playing an active role during the combat, which roughly translates into damaging and destroying as many enemy Mechs as possible. Cbills are used to buy new Mechs and to configure them with weapons, equipment and ammunition.
4aa) Trial Mechs Trial Mechs are the exception to the buy and build mechanic. They are four Mechs of different chassis that are rotated by the developers every two weeks.
These are useful if you want to test a new chassis before you commit to spending Cbills on it, but are primarily used by new players to accumulate money for their own Mech; use of a Trial Mech is free. The drawback to using a Trial Mech is that you cannot customise them. Otherwise, Trial Mechs operate exactly the same as purchased Mechs and will earn both Cbills and experience points (check Chapter 6) Experience Points).
Protip: Purchased and customized Mechs are ALWAYS superior to Trial Mechs! Apart from that Id like to mention, that your earnings at the end of a game are determined by your actions during. An easy method for gaining Cbills fast is to achieve as many kill assists as possible. For each kill assist youll get credited 7.500 Cbills. Kill assists are awarded if you manage to hit an enemy Mech prior to a team mate destroying it. This means, for example, if you were to achieve five kill assists you would accumulate 37.500 Cbills. Whilst this doesn't sound like much at first, it will add up over the course of a few games and it is relatively easy to make sure that you hit as many different enemy Mechs as possible. The basic amount for completing a game is 25.000 Cbills regardless of the outcome. If you want to maximise your earnings, it is important that you do not attempt to win by capturing the enemy base. This is especially true if your team has the lead on kills - you have a good chance to easily pick off the remaining Mechs and collect extra Cbills in the process. In this situation, enemy Mechs are essentially free money and experience points on legs, so collect em all!
4ab) Cadet Bonus During December 2012, the Developers introduced the Cadet Bonus system. This was done to ease new players into the game and reduce their time spent piloting inferior Trial Mechs. New players will benefit from a Cbill-boost during their first 25 games, regardless of the outcome. The amount is 424.492 Cbills for the initial game, but will reduce with each subsequent match. This will grant new players an additional 7.981.686 Cbills in total by the time they have completed their 25th game, plus their normal game earnings. The Cadet Bonus ends after the 25th game, after then earnings are based on performance on the field. This makes the path to owning your very first Mech quite short.
4b) Mech Credits

MCs are bought with real life currency. This can be done directly via the MW:O homepage or from within the client via the ADD MC button. You can use them to buy Mechs and other vanity items, but not to purchase weapons or equipment.
As a workaround, it is possible to buy a Mech with MCs and then immediately sell it and all of its components in return for Cbills. This is quite inefficient however, since you only get partial value in return for the sold Mech. Alternatively, you can purchase a Hero Mech. These Mechs are unique models of that have their own layout, unique skin, and earn an extra 30% bonus for games that they are used in. Apart from that MCs can be used to buy additional Mechbays or to buy or top up a premium account. With a premium account you will receive 50 % extra Cbills and experience points (XP) at the conclusion of each match. It is also possible to convert any accumulated XP into General Experience Points (GXP) by using MCs. You can learn more about the use of GXP in Chapter 6) Experience Points. Premium time can be exchanged for MCs from within the game client. Obviously, you will have to buy some MCs first and then click the ADD TIME button.
Protip: It is wise to invest MCs into new Mechbays or premium accounts only! For 2500 MCs you will not be able to directly purchase a decent Mech and its necessary components to successfully customize it, but you WILL get a 30 days lasting 50 % Cbill and XP-boost. The Cbill-boost will generate an average of an additional 60.000 Cbills per match, meaning after 100 games you have accumulated 6.000.000 Cbills in addition to your regular earnings. 100 games sounds like a lot, but they go past very quickly. ;) The XP-boost will grant you about 200 - 400 more XP each match and is especially handy when youre about to level up your different Mech chassis (check Chapter 6) Experience Points).
Speaking of MC: MC Hammer cant touch this!
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5) The Mechlab - Heart of the Game
Lets get back to the Mechs. Mechs are divided into four weight classes: 1. light Mechs 20 - 35 tons 2. medium Mechs 40 - 55 tons 3. heavy Mechs 60 - 75 tons 4. assault Mechs 80 - 100 tons Each weight class will usually fulfill a different, specific role on the battlefield: light Mechs fill the scout role. medium Mechs can fulfill multiple roles and are the backbone of every combat unit. heavy & assault Mechs are there to deal severe damage to enemy Mechs. The main feature of these Mechs is that you can configure them however you like (if you have the cash), as long as you follow some basic rules. For instance, you can exchange the engine, weapons and additional equipment but you must keep in mind that each component adds weight and takes up space. This means that each Mech is limited by three factors: 1. Weight A Mech can never carry more than its maximum tonnage allows it to. 2. Space Every Mech has only a certain capacity/volume for every component this capacity is called critical slots. 3. Weapon hardpoint restrictions For instance: you cant mount a Laser into a missile hardpoint or vice versa. It is worth noting that each Mech chassis has multiple variants. These variants share the same basic characteristics (total tonnage, critical slots) but will have differing types and amounts of weapon hardpoints. You can find a quick overview of the different weapon hardpoints here and here.
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The basic rule is that weapons will only fit into hardpoints of the same type: Energy-type weapons will only fit into energy hardpoints. Ballistic-type weapons will only fit into ballistic hardpoints. Missile-type weapons will only fit into missile hardpoints. Once you have decided on a certain Mechclass (light, medium, heavy, assault), a certain Mech (medium Mech X, Mech Y or Mech Z?), and last but not least on a certain variant (Mech Y variant 1, 2 or 3?) you can basically hit the Mechlab and try to assemble the deadliest Mech possible (whilst following the rules mentioned above).
The goal to aim for when configuring your mech is to make sure you use up all available tonnage and critical slots!
The general rule of thumb within Battletech is that everything that is designed to save weight is more bulky and will take up additional space (and critical slots). Conversely, standard items, whilst heavier take up less space (and critical slots).
Protip: When you have finished building your Mech, it is pretty normal to have critical slots left over. You should make sure that you make full use of the available tonnage however. There is no benefit to dropping into a fight with a Mech that is underweight, whilst you will have less firepower, armour or speed relative to your opponents in the same class of Mech.
In the following section, I'll explain further which components and weapons a Mech is able to mount (to do this you need to click at the Loadout tab in the Mechlab).
5a) Heat, Heat Sinks, Engines and you!

This sub-chapter is one of the more difficult parts to understand, but is very important. Ill try to unravel the stuff slowly and carefully, so it remains understandable:
5aa) Waste Heat Every action a Mech takes will generate waste heat. This includes walking, running, using jump jets or firing its weapons (you can see how much heat is generated by each individual weapon in Chapter 5) DakkaDakkaDakka - WeaponsRoundup in this guide or here or over here). If heat builds up to a critical level, it may cause ammunition stored within the Mech to explode. This causes severe internal damage to the Mech. In an effort to prevent this, the Mech will attempt to shut itself down briefly. Whilst the Mech is shut down, you cannot do anything and are combat ineffective. Automatic shutdown will always happen if the heat scale reaches 100 % (which usually happens in the least opportune moments at all ^^).
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The Mech will power itself on again when the heat level has reached a safe level and you can continue to fight. It is possible to avoid the automatic shutdown my using the Override Shutdown function. This carries the risk of damaging the Mech due to internal ammunition explosions. Even Mechs that do not carry ammunition will begin to take internal damage or even explode if the automatic shutdown is continually overridden. If the heat build up reaches a critical level (> 80 %) a corresponding message (HEAT WARNING) will be displayed in the upper part of the screen. The rate at which heat dissipates depends on multiple things: 1. The current map Certain maps have colder or hotter environments than others. 2. The terrain of the map Water will cool off the Mech, volcanoes will increase the heat build up. 3.How many Heat Sinks are installed within the Mech. 4. Movement Speed. Moving between 1% and 66% of your max speed will negate one HS worth of heat dissipation. Moving at greater than 66% of your max speed will negate two HS worth of heat dissipation.
5ab) Heat Sinks Heat Sinks (from here on they will be abbreviated to HS) help to dissipate the waste heat generated by your Mech, similar to the HS installed on your PC. There are two different types of HS available: 1. Single Heat Sinks (SHS) 2. Double Heat Sinks (DHS) Single Heat Sinks weigh 1 ton uses up 1 critical slot heat dissipation rate of 1 Double Heat Sinks weigh 1 ton uses up 3 critical slots heat dissipation rate of 1,4
Protip: In the Battletech tabletop game, DHS are true to their name and have a heat dissipation rate of 2,0. Though, the developers of MW:O decided to adjust the value for DHS down to 1,4 in the interests of balance.
The bottom line is that DHS are more efficient at cooling your Mech than SHS. They also save weight since you need less of them to achieve an equal rate of cooling. The drawback is that they are more bulky and use up more critical slots. To install DHS, you require 3 free critical slots in the same section of the Mech. This restriction means that they cannot be placed in the head or legs.
5ac) Engines Now on to the engines, before all parts of the puzzle fit and create a whole (bigger) picture. Engines are the fusion reactors that power every Battlemech. They are rated in numbers starting with the smallest engine at 100 and going up in steps of 5 until reaching the largest engine at 400. The higher the rating, the more power an engine outputs, which in turn translates to movement speed. You should note that the more powerful an engine is, the heavier it will be. You can choose between two different types of engines: 1. Standard engines (STD) 2. Extra Light engines (XL) STD engines ...are very heavy but only use up critical slots within the CT of your Mech. If the CT is destroyed, so is your Mech. Pros: + cheap + use less critical slots + the Mech is more durable and therefore harder to destroy Cons: - heavy XL engines ...offer weight savings over STD engines, but in exchange they require additional critical slots to install. These will always be located in the LT and RT of the Mech. This means that your Mech will be removed from the game if ANY of the torso locations are destroyed (LT, RT or CT). Pros: + saves weight which can be used to install addtional weapons and equipment Cons: - very expensive - take up additional critical slots - the Mech is more vulnerable since the LT & RT have always less armor protection than the CT
Protip: Engines (particularly the XL versions) will cost you a lot of money. At the start of your career it is highly advisable to simply swap the engines between different Mechs and variants, instead of buying new engines for every new config you may come up with! To do this, first remove the engine from the old Mech by dragging it into the stock panel. Then select your new Mech and drag the engine back from the stock panel into the Mech CT. Generally you should also refrain to make use of XL engines in assault or brawling Mechs (there are exceptions though)!
You should also know that each engine has a certain amount of HS inbuilt and their weight is already accounted for. The 100 engine comes with 4 internal HS and one additional HS is added for each step of +25 on the engine rating (up to the 250 engine). This applies to both STD and XL engines. size of the engine 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 inbuilt HS 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
After you reach the 275 engine and above, you stop receiving additional inbuilt HS but have the option to install extra HS that will not use up critical slots, but will count towards your tonnage. For each increase of +25 on the engine rating, you will gain another optional slot within the engine. size of the engine 275 300 325 350 375 400 inbuilt HS 10 10 10 10 10 10 optional slots for HS 1 2 3 4 5 6
It is up to you to decide if you wish to make use of those extra slots. Though, it is worth noting that installing DHS in the engine slots will not use critical slots. For example, the 3 DHS that can be optionally added within the 325 engine would ordinarily use up 9 critical slots if put elsewhere in the Mech. Internal HS operate at a heat dissipation rate of 1,0. If you choose to upgrade to DHS then the internal HS will operate at a heat dissipation rate of 2,0 (!), whilst all additional (external) DHS will only operate at a heat dissipation rate of 1,4.
Protip: If you intend to make best use of the DHS upgrade, an engine rated 250 or bigger will be most efficient due to the 2.0 heat dissipation rate of internal HS and the fact that 275+ engines can mount additional DHS in the CT. The exception proves the rule of course!
You can only drop into a match using a Mech with a minimum of at least 10 (!) HS installed! These can be composed from any combination of inbuilt engine, additional engine or external HS, no matter if SHS or DHS!
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5ad) Example of calculation Armed with the above knowledge we will now set up a Mech and taking a look onto its heat efficiency (without paying attention to its actual weaponry). Mech 1a SHS engine 250 (= 10 internal SHS) 6 additional (external) SHS = (10 + 6) x 1 = 16 points of heat dissipation Mech 1b DHS engine 250 (= 10 internal DHS) 6 additional (external) DHS = (10 x 2) + (6 x 1,4) = 28,4 points of dissipation
Mech 2a SHS engine 275 (= 10 internal SHS + 1 additional spot for 1 external SHS) 6 additional (external) SHS = (10 + 1 + 6) x 1 = 17 points of dissipation
Mech 2b DHS engine 275 (= 10 internal DHS + 1 additional spot for 1 external DHS) 6 additional (external) DHS = (10 x 2) + [(1 + 6) x 1,4] = 29,8 points of dissipation Wrmeableitung If you compare Mech 1a and 1b you should notice that both are making use of the same engine and the same amount of external HS. However, Mech 1b has MUCH better cooling efficiency, allowing it to mount more weapons, hotter weapons, or remove some heat sinks to free up weight and critical slots (whilst still maintaining better cooling efficiency than Mech 1a).
Protip: Those numbers are all theoretical and will not help much in an actual engagement. I personally like to work out some numbers BEFORE I spend a small fortune on the upgrade/downgrade to DHS/SHS. If you upgrade to DHS the cooling efficiency should be AT LEAST as good as with SHS (or ideally much better). Even if the cooling efficiency is only equal to the SHS version you save some precious tonnage, which can be spent on armour or a bigger engine, for example. The aim is to find a good balance between cooling efficiency, your armament and the type/size of your engine. I feel more than comfortable with a heat efficiency rating of at least 1.3 (as shown by the bar in the Mechlab) but a higher rating is always better.
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5b) Dakka Dakka Dakka - Weapons-Roundup

The purpose of this subchapter is to briefly explain the different weapon types in this game. Youll find more accurate detailed values here and here. I'd like to preface this chapter by noting that all weapons do damage beyond their maximum range. The amount of damage inflicted falls off drastically past maximum range however. Missiles are the exception to this, they will self-destruct at the limit of their range.
5ba) Energy-type Weapons Laser Lasers exist in three categories (Regular, Extended Range, Pulse) and also in three power levels/sizes (small, medium and large). Bigger lasers do more damage at greater range but also create more heat, have longer recycle times, are heavier and take up more critical slots. Regular Lasers fire a constant beam for the duration of about one second. In order to deal the maximum amount of damage it is advisable to focus on one location of the target Mech, rather than pulling the laser beam over multiple locations.
Damage: 9 Range: 450 m Heat: 7 Recycle: 3,25 s Damage: 5 Range: 270 m Heat: 4 Recycle: 3 s Damage: 3 Range: 90 m Heat: 2 Recycle: 2,25 s
Extended Range Lasers (or ER-Lasers) work like regular Lasers, but as the name suggests their range is greater at the expense of additional heat generation.
Damage: 9 Range: 675 m Heat: 9,5 Recycle: 3,25 s
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Pulse Lasers fire in concentrated bursts over a shorter period in comparison to regular lasers. They could be compared to a laser gatling gun. This makes them more effective as the damage is more likely to be centered on the same area, whilst the tradeoff is additional heat and weight.
Damage: 10 Range: 300 m Heat: 7,3 Recycle: 3,25 s Damage: 6 Range: 180 m Heat: 5 Recycle: 3 s Damage: 3 Range: 90 m Heat: 3 Recycle: 2,25 s
Protip: Due to the aforementioned shorter beam duration Pulse Lasers make an excellent weapon against light Mechs.
Particle Projector Cannon PPCs are more or less an energy based sniping weapon. They fire a type of projectile (particle-accelerator!) which inflicts large amounts of damage. The drawback is that PPCs build up considerable heat and will only do partial damage to targets closer than 90 meters (1 point damage drop off every 10 meters below 90 meters), making them unsuitable for brawling. On a more positive note: PPCs have the ability to disable enemy ECM for four seconds whenever an enemy Mech which is carrying ECM is hit.
Damage: 10 Range: 540 m (90 m) Heat: 8 Recycle: 4 s
Extended Range PPCs (or ER-PPCs) again have increased range at the expense of additional heat. A mitigating factor is that they have no 90 meter minimum range, so they are effective at all distances. Similar to their counterparts, ER-PPCs have the ability to disable enemy ECM for four seconds whenever they score a hit.
Damage: 10 Range: 810 m Heat: 11 Recycle: 4 s
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Flamer Flamers were originally designed to be anti-infanty weapons in the Battletech Universe. Since MWO has no infantry, flamers are used to increase the heat level of an opponents Mech and can also be used to obscure their vision. The heat scale of the targeted Mech will not raise past 90 % under any circumstances.
Damage: 0,4 Range: 64 m Heat: 0,6 Recycle: 0 s
5bb) Ballistic-type Weapons Autocannons Comparable with modern tank guns, Autocannons exist in three categories (Regular, Ultra, LBX) and up to four calibres (2, 5, 10 and 20). Larger calibre projectiles do more damage but also create more heat, have longer recycle times, are heavier and take up more critical slots. Additionally, maximum range decreases with calibre size (according to Laws of Reality 2.0) Regular Autocannons fire off a single projectile. Simple!
Damage: 20 Range: 270 m Heat: 6 Recycle: 4 s Damage: 10 Range: 450 m Heat: 3 Recycle: 2,5 s Damage: 5 Range: 620 m Heat: 1 Recycle: 1,5 s Damage: 2 Range: 720 m Heat: 1 Recycle: 0,5 s
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Ultra Autocannons have the special ability to fire at a greater frequency than their regular counterparts. Because of that increased rate of fire they have a fairly high chance of jamming. They tend to do this of course, in the least opportune moments. They will, however unjam automatically after a few seconds.
Damage: 5 x 2 Range: 600 m Heat: 1 x 2 Recycle: 1,1 s
Large Bore Extended (LBX) Autocannons are basically shotguns in a Mech-size format. Utterly useless at range, absolutely devastating up close.
Damage: 10 Range: 540 m Heat: 2 Recycle: 2,5 s
Gauss Rifle The Gauss Rifle operates in a similar fashion to the PPC, but since it uses ballistic ammunition it does not generate much waste heat. The drawback is that you must devote tonnage to carrying the ammunition. In case of its destruction there is a 90 % chance that it may explode and cause severe internal damage.
Machine Gun Similar to the Flamer, the MG was designed to be an anti-infantry weapon so is largely irrelevant in Mech combat. It generates no waste heat but does miniscule amounts of damage, at least against armored targets. As soon as the armor on an enemy Mechs is stripped, the MG is able to cause severe internal damage due to its ability to land many critical hits in a short amount of time (check Chapter 5fa) Critical Hits).
Damage: 0,08 Range: 120 m Heat: 0 Recycle: 0 s
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5bc) Missile-type Weapons Missile-type Weapons exist in three categories (SRM, SSRM, LRM) and also in up to four power levels/sizes (2, 4, 6 or 5, 10, 15, 20). The number designation indicates how many missiles are fired in one volley. Larger missile packs will do more damage but consequently generate more heat, reload slower and use more ammo. They also require additional weight and critical slots to install. Short Range Missiles As the name suggests, SRMs are used at very close ranges. They have no guidance system and are dumbfired so their effectiveness depends on the skill of the pilot.
Damage: 9 Range: 270 m Heat: 4 Recycle: 4 s Damage: 6 Range: 270 m Heat: 3 Recycle: 3,75 s Damage: 3 Range: 270 m Heat: 2 Recycle: 3,5 s
Streak Short Range Missiles SSRMs are basically regular SRMs with an attached guidance system. You have to lock-on to your target in order to fire SSRMs. This involves wrapping target brackets around your target and holding your crosshair over the target long enough for the lock to be achieved. Once fired they will follow the target until they either hit, the target moves out of range or the target interposes an obstacle between itself and the missile (e.g.: a hill or other terrain). In the latter case the LoS is broken and the missile will lose the target. Without a lock-on SSRMs cannot be launched. This means that you cannot fire at Mechs that are powered down, unless your Mech carries BAP. When launched, the target will see the INCOMING MISSILE warning on their HUD. Due to the guidance system and targeting computer, SSRMs are heavier than regular SRMs.
Protip: SSRMs are exceptionally good at killing light Mechs. If you plan to engage larger targets (50+ tons) then ordinary SRMs would be better suited as they do more damage.
Long Range Missiles LRMs are functionally very similar to SSRMs, however they are effective over great range. The lock-on and LoS mechanic work exactly like SSRMs however LRMs have a minimum range of 180 meters. If you fire at a target within this range you will do no damage and only waste ammunition. It is possible to launch LRMs indirectly at a target you have no direct LoS with. In order to do this, a friendly unit must have the target Mech acquired which will allow you to lock-on and launch. It is also possible to dumbfire LRMs whilst having no lock-on at all. In order to do that all you need to do is to simply pull the trigger.
Damage: 18 Range: 1000 m (180 m) Heat: 6 Recycle: 4,75 s Damage: 13,5 Range: 1000 m (180 m) Heat: 5 Recycle: 4,25 s Damage: 9 Range: 1000 m (180 m) Heat: 4 Recycle: 3,75 s Damage: 4,5 Range: 1000 m (180 m) Heat: 2 Recycle: 3,25 s
The following symbol appears if a Mech is being targeted by guided missiles (blue = friendly Mechs, red = enemy Mechs):
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5bd) The Good, the Bad, the Conclusion The following summary is the opinion of the Author and is marked accordingly. Sniping The best set of sniping weapons are: (ER-)Large Laser (ER-)PPC Gauss Rifle Mid-Range For mid-ranged encounters the following weapons are effective: Large Laser PPC Gauss Rifle AC 10 AC 5 UAC 5 Brawling If you prefer it up close and personal you should consider the following: Large Pulse Laser Medium Pulse Laser Medium Laser Small Laser AC 20 LBX AC 10 (S)SRMs No love for the following contenders due to the reasons given: Flamer inflicts (almost) no damage at all heat build up at the enemy Mech is a nice to have but not a huge advantage in an engagement AC 2 inflicts little damage the enemy Mech will be knocked around after a hit, but it will barely affect a good pilot damage output is based upon a high rate of fire so to inflict maximum damage your Mech must be out of cover and is exposed for quite a long time MGs damage output is mostly irrelevant and not worthy of note, at least against armored targets LRMs very often (there are exceptions though) easy to counter difficult to quickly take down a Mech with precise shots, since the damage is spread across the whole Mech
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5c) MacGyver where are you? - Equipment-Roundup

This section deals with additional equipment that can be installed on your Mech. Target Acquisition Gear The TAG Laser does no damage but operates similar to a Mech sized laser pointer. When used against an enemy Mech, friendly LRMs will have an increased chance to hit therefore causing more damage. The LRM spread will be reduced by 25 %, the lock-on time for LRMs will be reduced by 50 %. TAG will also nullify the ECM on an enemy Mech, provided that it is further than 180 meters away from you.
The following symbol appears if a Mech is being tagged by a TAG Laser (blue = friendly Mechs, red = enemy Mechs):
NARC The NARC Beacon operates in a similar manner to the TAG Laser, but instead of having to hold a continuous beam on the target the NARC is fire and forget. The beacon will remain active for 20 seconds, after which time you will need to attach another to your target. Furthermore an active NARC-Beacon allows your own team to acquire the marked Mech and get solid lock-ons, even when there is no direct LoS established. The NARC-Beacon will cease working 20 seconds after its launch OR if it received 35 points of damage due to incoming fire. In addition, NARC-Beacons will be disrupted from enemy ECM.
The following symbol appears if a Mech is being narcd by a NARC Beacon (blue = friendly Mechs, red = enemy Mechs):
Protip: TAG and NARC stack together for bigger bonuses.
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Anti-Missile-System The AMS will fire automatically and intercept incoming homing missiles (SSRMs or LRMs) fired at you or nearby teammates. It will destroy around 5 to 7 missiles from an LRM salvo, or (with luck) a single missile from an SSRM salvo.
Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment C.A.S.E. works to minimise the damage caused by internal ammunition explosions. As explained previously (Chapter 5aa) Waste Heat) ammunition stored inside a Mech may explode and cause severe internal damage. This will happen if waste heat reaches a critical level or if a Mech suffers a critical hit (check Chapter 5fa) Critical Hits). If a location is destroyed by such an ammunition explosion or critical hit, it will also cause damage to adjacent areas of the Mech. This damage will always be directed towards the CT, for example an explosion in the LA will also damage the LT. Correspondingly, an explosion in the LT will also damage the CT. Installing C.A.S.E. will not prevent such explosions but it will contain the damage to one area of the Mech. Damage will not be directed towards adjacent sections. C.A.S.E. can only be mounted in the LT or RT.
Protip: Gauss ammunition is the only type that will not detonate, since Gauss slugs are composed of solid nickel-iron and do not use a propellant or warhead. However the capacitors of the Gauss Rifle are very fragile. A Gauss Rifle explosion, in case of its destruction due to a critical hit, will have the same consequences as an ammunition explosion, but installing C.A.S.E. can help to reduce the aftermath. To date (May 2013) there is no benefit in installing C.A.S.E. whilst using an XL engine. Since C.A.S.E. will not prevent the initial explosion but only subsequent splash damage, the additional elements of an XL engine stored in LT or RT will be destroyed. As explained earlier, destruction of any part of an XL engine results in the loss of the Mech.
Beagle Active Probe BAP will increase the maximum sensor range of a Mech by 25 % and also reduce the time delay in acquiring information about status of an enemy Mech, when targeted. In addition BAP grants the ability to target Mechs which are powered down within a radius of 120 meters.
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It also nullifies the effects of ECM when the BAP carrying Mech is closer than 150 m to the ECM carrying Mech.
Electronic Counter Measure ECM can only be placed into certain Mechs and variants. It can be toggled between disrupt-mode and counter-mode. When utilised in disrupt-mode, ECM will generate a bubble with a radius of 180 meters centered upon your Mech. This will grant certain benefits to you and friendly units within the bubble, and incur penalties upon enemy Mechs. Friendly Mechs under this bubble can be considered as cloaked. These effects are as follows: Enemy Mechs will not be able to detect Mechs using the radar until they are within 200 meters (instead of the default 800 meters). Enemy Mechs cannot actively target their opponents, hence no lock-ons for guided missiles. Enemy Artemis will not grant any bonuses. Enemy NARC beacons will not work within the ECM bubble. Enemy Mechs will not benefit from installed BAP modules, unless they are closer than 150 m. Enemy TAG Lasers will not work against an target carrying ECM whilst inside their ECM bubble - it will work on targets outside of the ECM effect radius, or on ECM Mechs beyond 180 meters. Enemy Mechs cannot see their teammates on the radar if LoS is broken. Enemy Mechs will not be able to share target information data amongst their teammates. The HUD starts to flicker. Keep in mind that enemy hits from (ER)PPCs will disrupt the protective effect of ECM for four seconds! If the ECM is being operated in the counter-mode it will negate the effect of exactly ONE enemy ECM (which is being operated in disrupt-mode). It will always affect the closest enemy ECM. In order to counter multiple enemy ECM, an equal number of friendly ECM in counter mode are required.
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The following symbols will appear on the screen as soon as ECM affects a Mech. Blue symbols will appear on friendly Mechs, red symbols on enemy Mechs. = This Mech carries ECM. The ECM is active. = This Mech is close by (< 180 m) to another ECM carrying friendly Mech and therefore cloaked. = This Mech is being jammed by an enemy ECM (operated in disrupt-mode). = The ECM on this Mech is currently being countered by the ECM or BAP of an enemy, therefore all bonus effects are nullified. Command-Control-Communication/Command Console C3 hasnt found its way into the game - yet. The according item is only a placeholder. The basic purpose of C3 is to share (target) data amongst friendly Mechs. It can only be put into certain Mechs and variants.
Jump Jets JJs can only be mounted into certain Mechs and variants. These serve to lift the Mech off the ground for a short period of time. Jump jets can come in handy to reach certain spots on certain maps and for evasive maneuvering during combat. They can only be installed in either the legs, LT, RT or CT. With additional jump jets installed, your Mech can jump for a longer duration (and therefore further). Jump jets have different classes which correspond to the type of Mech they are installed on. Heavier, more powerful jets are reserved for the larger Mechs whilst light jets can only be installed on smaller Mechs
Protips: The Mech will take damage on its legs if it drops from high altitudes without breaking the fall. Jump jets will generate additional waste heat. Once jump jet fuel is depleted it will replenish itself after a short amount of time.
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5d) Mech-Upgrades
Mech upgrades can be purchased in the Mechlab via the Loadout tab. Upgrades differ from other purchasable equipment in that you have to pay the full price every time you want to undo a certain upgrade. They are generally very expensive, although price differs slightly between chassis. For this reason it is advisable to plan out your build beforehand. Pay particular attention to critical slots since upgrades will usually use extra space and you need to have room for the rest of your loadout. You should also make sure that the upgrade complements your Mech configuration for example, there is no real benefit in equipping a Mech carrying only Gauss Rifles with DHS.
Armor Standard Armor Standard armor is the basic armour fitted to the majority of Mechs. Its neither taking up weight, nor critical slots.
Ferro Fibrous Armor FF armor offers 12 % more armour points per ton than standard armor. This means that you need less of it to achieve the same level of protection which equates to a weight reduction. The drawback to FF armor is that it is much more bulky and takes up an additional 14 critical slots within the Mech.
Structure Standard Structure The standard structure makes up the basic internal bones which support the majority of Mechs. It will always consume 10 % of the total tonnage of the Mech in question, but does not take up any additional critical slots.
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Endo-Steel Structure Endo-Steel is a light weight alloy. When used as a Mechs internal structure, it will offer weight savings of 5 % of the total tonnage of the chassis. Similarly to FF armor, Endo-Steel is bulkier and requires an additional 14 critical slots to install.
Example of calculation: An Atlas weighs 100 tons. Its standard internal structure weighs 10 tons (100 t : 10 %). The installation of Endo-Steel would reduce this to 5 tons (10 t : 2 = 5 t) and therefore free up 5 tons. For Mechs whose weight is not directly divisible by 10 (25, 35, 45 and so on) the numbers will always be rounded down. As further example, Endo-Steel when installed on a Catapult will only free up 3 tons, instead of 3,25 (65 t : 10 % = 6,5 t : 2 = 3,25 t = 3 t).
Protips: Installing Endo-Steel or FF armor on larger, heavier Mechs presents a problem since you are usually limited by critical spaces rather than tonnage! Smaller, lighter Mechs benefit more from these upgrades however, since tonnage is usually limited! You should ALWAYS use Endo-Steel over FF armor, since it frees up more weight whilst using the same amount of critical slots!
Heat Sinks Single Heat Sinks As mentioned in Chapter 5ab) Heat Sinks, SHS weigh 1 ton and take up 1 critical slot. They operate at a heat dissipation rate of 1,0.
Double Heat Sinks DHS also weigh 1 ton but take up 3 critical slots whilst operating at a heat dissipation rate of 1,4. DHS installed internally within the engine operate at a dissipation rate of 2,0!
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Fire-Control-System Standard-Control-System Standard-Control-System is the basic missile guidance system installed in most Mechs. It is very reliable without any significant advantages or drawbacks, plus it neither adds additional weight nor uses extra critical slots.
Artemis-IV Artemis-IV increases the accuracy of SRM and LRM launchers by 35 %. In both cases the missiles will have a tighter spread and will therefore do more damage to one section of a Mech, rather than spreading the damage across the whole Mech. With LRMs the Artemis-IV bonus will only be granted if the LRMs are launched with a direct LoS (rather than an indirect one acquired through another friendly Mech). Artemis-IV does not affect SSRMs at all. The system is bulky meaning for every missile launcher installed on the Mech, an additional ton and critical slot are required.
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5e) My first Mech

Once again, the following section is subjective and represent the opinions of the Author (thus why it is marked accordingly). The intention is to give guidance to new players who are about to purchase their very first Mech. To date (May 2013) there are, in my humble opinion, four Mechs which are beginner-friendly since they meet the following criteria: 1. All of them are cheap to buy. 2. The completed setup will not cost a small fortune. 3. The setups are fairly balanced and will help new players enjoy their experience in the game.
1. Jenner - JR7-F 6 small Laser STD 245 engine (113,4 kph) 4 external SHS 2 jump jets Endo-Steel 224 armor (18-37-7-25-7-25-7-24-24-25-25) A cheap and reliable Mech which constantly deals good amounts of damage. It is highly advisable to upgrade to DHS as soon as possible. Also a big XL engine (XL 275+ with additional HS) should be next on the to do list. If you are good at heat management, it is possible to swap the small Lasers for medium Lasers. You should only attempt this after you've already upgraded to DHS and an XL engine.
2. Hunchback - HBK-4SP 5 small Laser, 2 SRM 6 (+ 4 tons of ammunition) STD 250 engine (81 kph) 8 external SHS Endo-Steel 272 armor (12-56-8-40-8-40-8-25-25-25-25) This Mech is a workhorse which excels at brawling. Upgrade to DHS as soon as possible. Artemis-IV is optional and can be used after the upgrade to DHS and the removal of 2 DHS. As an alternative you can also make use of 4 medium Lasers and 2 SRM 6 (without ArtemisIV). Though, DHS are mandatory in order to to run this.
3. Catapult - CPLT-K2 2 medium Laser, 2 Gauss Rifle (+ 6 tons of ammunition) STD 200 engine (49,8 kph) 2 external SHS 2 C.A.S.E. (LT & RT) Endo-Steel 288 armor (18-70-10-50-10-50-10-0-0-35-35)
To date, the Catapult K2 is ton for ton one of the most dangerous and hard hitting Mechs in MW:O. The Gauss Rifles have excellent range and do vast amounts of damage to a single location. An additional bonus is that they generate very little heat. It is advisable to install the equipment listed above into the armoured torso and legs and to leave the stripped arms empty (apart from the Endo-Steel components). Upgrading to DHS is entirely optional. It is advisable to use a larger XL engine (XL 250+) and add additional ammunition as funds permit. In order to do this, you can forgo the C.A.S.E. and additional HS since C.A.S.E. offers no benefits when using an XL engine and an XL 250 comes with the required 10 HS preinstalled. Alternatively you could swap the 2 Gauss Rifles with 2 AC 20s (+ 8 tons of ammunition). Again, the upgrade to DHS is optional, but is advisable since AC 20s generate far more waste heat. It is also a little trickier to pilot with success due to its limited range. However, if you manage to sneak up on an enemy you will be very effective and have great fun in the process. Last, but not least you can also make use of 4 PPC and a XL 280 engine. The X-Wing amongst the Mechs so to say. ^^
4.Stalker - STK-3F 6 large laser STD 275 engine (52,4 kph) 11 external DHS 448 armor (10-96-12-62-10-62-10-53-53-40-40) Easy to handle weapons. Moderate heat build up. With the exception of the DHS pretty cheap to build. Thanks to the shape of the Stalker it is also very durable. A very reliable workhorse! Good pilots will easily score between 500 - 1200 points of damage per match and carry their team to the victory on their steel shoulders. Alternatively you can use 5 PPCs (2 ERPPCs, 3 regular PPCs) and a STD 250engine. So to say the more durable and also more badass version of the X-Wing. Very bold pilots can also try to mount 6 (!) PPCs and a XL 280 engine. Very hot, but also very evil! If you prefer it up close and personal you also have the opportunity to make use of 6 medium Lasers and 4 artemis SRM 6, topped by a STD 300 engine.
The list of battle-proven configurations could continue endlessly, but these few should help out absolute beginners and allow them to get into the game and experience early success with their first bought Mechs.
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Protip: Even with the Cadet Bonus, you will have to accumulate extra Cbills in order to purchase and adequately set up your first Mech. I would advise you to pass on the Spider and Commando and at least aim for a Jenner instead. The additional 10 tons is a real advantage and unlike the other two Mechs, the Jenner is still viable and fun to drive even when you have filled your bay full of other Mechs. The effectiveness of Mech configurations vary with each player, as their style and strategy are each different. For this reason, I'd hesitate to label certain Mechs as absolutely good or bad. You have to figure out what suits you best. If my life was at stake and I was forced to make a statement, I'd have to say that the Spider, Dragon and Awesome are a complete waste of Cbills and are only fun to drive as a novelty, or if you are very bored! The to date (May 2013) best Mechs for competitive games are the Atlas D-DC (brawler), Highlander-732 (sniper), Catapult A1 (brawler), Cataphract 3D (sniper), Centurion A (brawler), Trebuchet 7M (sniper), Raven 3L (scout). ;)
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5f) Expertise - Knowledge Level 2

The following chapter contains advanced and in depth information about the game mechanics. It is worth learning since it may mean the difference between victory or defeat in some situations. Once you have a firm grasp of the basic gameplay, it will be of benefit to you to keep this information in mind and try to use it to your advantage.
5fa) Critical Hits Critical hits have the ability to directly damage the internal components of your Mech. This includes the engine, weapons, ammunition and additional equipment. A critical hit will only occur if the Mech has lost all armor protecting a section (HD, LT, CT, RT, LA, RA, LL, RL) and all that is left in this location is its internal structure. When a weapon hits a section of the Mech with exposed internals, there is (with one exception) a 42 % chance of causing critical damage (of varying severity). The breakdown is as follows: 25 % chance of a single critical hit (x1) 14 % chance of a double critical hit (x2) 3 % chance of a triple critical hit (x3) So there is a 58 % chance to not suffer a critical hit every time a weapon hits you. The exception to the aforementioned weapons are Flamers, LBX AC 10s and MGs. Those weapons have a 67 % chance of causing critical damage: 39 % chance of a single critical hit (x1) 22 % chance of a double critical hit (x2) 6 % chance of a triple critical hit (x3)
single critical hits = the damage inflicted by the weapon is dealt directly to one of the internal components double critical hits = the damage inflicted by the weapon is doubled and either dealt directly to single internal component, or split between two components triple critical hits = the damage inflicted by the weapon is tripled and either dealt directly to a single internal component, or split evenly between three components, or split 2/3 towards one component and 1/3 towards one other
To help you make sense of the above, you should know that every internal component within the Mech has a set amount of Hit Points or HP: Engines = 15 HP Gauss Rifles, ECM = 3 HP AC 20s = 18 HP everything else (weapons, ammunition, equipment) = 10 HP
Once the HP of an item is reduced to zero, the item is destroyed. Critical hits to engines used to be a factor in the repair cost of your Mech. In December 2012 the game developers removed the Repair & Rearm system, so critical hits to engines have little effect. A Mech can only be put out of action by completely destroying a section housing an engine (generally the CT, but in cases where an XL engine is used the LT and RT count too) or both legs. This means that all armor and internal structure of this section must be removed. A critical hit to the engine will not cause the destruction of the Mech. If a critical hit reduces the HP of a Gauss Rifle to 0 there is a 90 % chance that the Gauss Rifle will explode. If this happens the explosion will deal 20 points of damage to the internal structure of the section the weapon is installed in. If the internal structure is destroyed in the process then the remaining damage will transfer inwards towards the section next closest to the CT, or the CT itself (LA LT CT or RA RT CT). This damage transfer will not occur if C.A.S.E. is installed within the destroyed section. If ammunition suffers a critical hit which destroys it, it will explode causing up to 20 points of damage (depending on the type of ammunition). Any damage surplus from the explosion will again be transferred inwards towards the CT (as above with Gauss Rifles explosions). Again, installing C.A.S.E. within the section housing the ammunition will help limit damage overspill. Every other equipment type will simply stop working after its destruction, there are no further adverse effects. But how do critical hits work exactly? To summarize: as soon as all armor over a section of the Mech is stripped, each subsequent shot that lands has (usually) a 42 % chance (67 % chance in case of certain weapons) to score a critical hit. If a critical hit is inflicted, the resulting damage is based upon which components are installed within this section and also what the critical modifier is (x1, x2, x3). If only one component is housed within this section, it is almost certain that it will take severe damage or be completely destroyed. If more components are installed, a random one will suffer the damage from a single (x1) critical hit. If a double (x2) or triple (x3) critical hit is scored then the odds are that the damage will be spread over two or three components or that one component suffers all the damage at once. The determining factor on what components are hit (and how often) is their installation size, or the number of critical slots the components occupy (check Chapter 5) The Mechlab - Heart of the Game). To put it simply: the bigger/bulkier a component is (the more critical slots it uses up), the greater the chance of it sustaining a critical hit!
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Example 1: A battle weary Atlas has no armor remaining on its LT, exposing the internal structure. This section contains 1 DHS and 1 ton of SRM ammunition. The Atlas now suffers a hit to the exposed LT from an enemy AC 5. The game will randomly determine if the hit was critical, with a 42 % chance of success. For the purposes of this example, we will assume a critical hit was landed, but it was only a single critical (x1) with a 25 % chance of occurring. The game will now work out which of the internal components will be damaged. Of the equipment installed in this location, the DHS uses up 3 critical slots whilst the SRM ammunition only uses 1, for a total of 4 (since no other components are installed). The game works out the distribution based on critical slots, so since the DHS occupies 3/4 slots it has a 75 % chance of receiving the damage, the SRM ammo has a 25 % chance. Bearing in mind that each of these components has 10 HP, they would still both be fully functional after receiving the critical damage of 5 points from the initial AC 5 strike, but the affected component would be reduced to 5 HP.
Example 2: Now our Atlas suffers a double critical hit (x2) with a 14 % chance of occurring. The game will again randomly determine which components will suffer damage. The DHS still has the highest chance of being damaged due to the amount of critical slots it uses. Since the double critical strikes twice, the effects of these hits will be determined as: Scenario A: The DHS will be hit both times. The total damage done will be 10 points (2 x 5) - the DHS (10 HP) will be destroyed in the process (high odds). Scenario B: The hits will be split, thus the DHS and the ton of SRM ammunition will suffer damage of 5 points each - no further consequences (average odds). Scenario C: The ton of SRM ammunition will be hit both times. The damage done will be 10 points again (2 x 5) - the ton of SRM ammunition will be destroyed in the process and explode, dealing further damage to the Mech, depending on whether C.A.S.E. is installed or not (low odds).
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Protip: Careful consideration should be given to where components are placed when building your Mech, in order to lessen the impact of critical hits. This does not mean you should avoid installing bulky components altogether (AC 20, Gauss Rifles etc.). You can install lesser, non volatile components in the same location in order to absorb critical damage. An example would be SHS, DHS or Gauss ammunition (since it will not explode). Example: Since the Gauss Rifle is very fragile it should never be installed into the RT of an Atlas by itself. Instead, try to install 2 or 3 tons of Gauss ammunition or a DHS into this torso as well.
Weapons that can cause critical hits: Any weapon can inflict critical damage. Weapons with higher rate of fire will have a greater chance of causing critical damage due to the sheer volume of hits. The drawback to this strategy is that weapons with high rate of fire usually do not deal a huge amount of damage per hit, so even if you do get a critical hit the base damage will be quite small. It may take quite a few critical hits to do any serious damage to your opponent. This means there are basically two classes of weapons: 1. weapons which fire frequently and often score critical hits for small amounts of damage 2. weapons which rarely score critical hits but are devastating when they do Weapons belonging to the first group are Lasers (they basically dispense their full damage in multiple, weak beams), Flamers, AC 2s, AC 5s, UAC 5s, LBX 10s, MGs and all types of missiles. All of these weapons have a high rate of fire, but deal rather low damage. Since Flamers, LBX AC 10s and MGs all have a very low base damage output, the damage-multiplier is increased as soon as they land a critical hit. The exact values are: Flamers = 1,1 (0,04 [base damage] x 1,1 [multiplier] = 0,044 points of damage in case of single critical hits; 0,088 points of damage in case of double critical hits; 0,132 points of damage in case of triple critical hits) LBX AC 10 = 2,0 (1,0 [base damage per pellet] x 2,0 [multiplier] = 2,0 points of damage per pellet in case of single critical hits; 4,0 points of damage per pellet in case of double critical hits; 6,0 points of damage per pellet in case of triple critical hits) MGs = 12,5 (0,08 [base damage] x 12,5 [multiplier] = 1,0 point of damage in case of single critical hits; 2,0 points of damage in case of double critical hits; 3,0 points of damage in case of triple critical hits)
Protip: For Flamers and MGs especially, the increased chance of double or triple critical hits does not sound very appealing. You should keep in mind that these weapons have a high rate of fire and can shoot "non stop" due to low recycle times. You should also be aware that these weapons will only deal critical hits against the internal structure of a Mech, so they are ineffective when used against armored targets!
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Weapons such as (ER)PPCs, AC 10s, AC 20s and Gauss Rifles belong to the second group. These weapons have a rather low rate of fire, but deal massive amounts of damage. If you are keen to use this information in order to target specific components on your opponent, then you should be aware of their damage limits and the best weapons to use against them (as shown below): Engine (15 HP) = AC 20, Gauss Rifle (irrelevant as of May 2013 since the Mech will not be destroyed if the engine suffers a critical hit) Gauss Rifle (3 HP) = AC 5, UAC 5 (plus every weapon with damage > 3, but then lower rate of fire) AC 20 (18 HP) = AC 20 every other component (10 HP) = PPC, AC 10 (plus every other weapon with damage > 10, but then lower rate of fire)
5fb) Consumption of Ammunition The ammunition which is stored within the Mech will be used in the following order: 1. HD 2. CT 3. RT 4. LT 5. LA 6. RA 7. LL 8. RL
You should keep this in mind while setting up your Mech!

Protip: When using a Mech configuration that relies heavily upon ammunition based weapons, you might be forced to install ammunition into the HD or CT sections due to slot restrictions. You should be aware that these might explode if you suffer a critical hit or due to excess heat - killing your Mech in the process. An effort should be made to deplete the ammunition within these sections before you enter a close quarters brawl.
6) Experience Points
Throughout the game you will earn Experience Points (XP) and General Experience Points (GXP) whilst you play. How much XP you will receive depends upon your performance in the match. XP is (amongst others) awarded for: kills, kill assists, spotting assists, destroying components and various other criterias. If you have a good game, it is possible to earn over 1000 XP without a premium account. Most games will average around 600 - 700 XP however. You also have the option to buy a Champion-Mech for MC. Those will grant you a 10 % XP-boost in every match.
GXP are earned at a slower rate - for every 20 XP earned you'll be credited with 1 GXP. GXP is more useful though, its value will be explained later. With the accumulated XP it is then possible to click at Pilot Lab and unlock various skills under the tab Mech Trees. All of those skills grant certain bonuses for the appropriate Mech chassis. There are 3 different tiers of skill sets: 1. Basic 2. Elite 3. Master Basic-Skills Basic-Skills are available straight away and can be unlocked as soon as you have gathered the necessary XP. You must first own the Mech for the unlocks to become available.
Elite-Skills Before Elite-Skills become available, you must first unlock the Basic-Skills on an additional 2 variants of the same chassis. Example: In order to raise your Catapult K2 skills to Elite, you would need to purchase an additional two different Catapult variants. This could be either the C1 and/or the C4 and/or the A1. You must then gather enough XP in each chassis in order to unlock the Basic-Skills, which when completed will make the Elite-Skills available to unlock. As an additional bonus for completing all the Elite-Skills on one variant, all effects of the Basic-Skills on said variant will be doubled.
Master-Skills Master-Skills are available for unlock when you have completed all the Elite-Skills on 3 variants of the same chassis, or alternatively 3 Mechs of the same weight class. To continue the previous example: in order to make the Master skills available to unlock you would also need to gain enough XP to unlock the Elite skills on your additional two Catapult variants (C1 and/or C4 and/or A1) in addition to the K2. Alternatively you could buy 3 different variants of 3 different Mechs in the same weight class (3 Catapults, 3 Cataphracts and 3 Dragons) and then unlock all the Basic-Skills. At this point, you could sell 2 variants from each chassis and proceed to unlock the EliteSkills on the 3 remaining Mechs. Once this is complete, the Master-Skill will be available to unlock.
Back to the XP: You can only spend XP on the chassis in which you gained it. For example, if you have gained 10.000 XP with your Catapult K2 you can only spend that XP on the K2 skills and not on Atlas skills. Any surplus XP gained after you have unlocked all available skills is not wasted however. It will continue to accumulate and can be converted into GXP. In order to convert XP into GXP you must spend MCs (which means a real world cost). To perform this exchange you must first have all the Basic-Skills for that variant unlocked. As implied by the name, GXP is global and can be used in many ways. For the cost of 400 MC, you can convert your surplus 10.000 XP gained in the K2 chassis into 10.000 GXP which can then be spent on any chassis, like an Atlas. Alternatively, you can use GXP to unlock modules (check Chapter 7) Modules). Since the cost to unlock these modules is quite high and GXP is gained at a slow rate, it is advisable to unlock Mech skills with ordinary XP and save GXP for modules. The real word expense of converting XP into GXP is high, so you should consider your purchases wisely. Having an active premium account will boost your XP income by 50 % (check Chapter 4b) Mech Credits).
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7) Modules
As mentioned above, you can buy and install modules or your Mech, each of which will grant certain different bonuses. Modules are divided into 2 categories: 1. Regular Modules 2. Consumable Modules Regular modules will always be in your stock once they are bought. They will for example increase the radar range by 25 % or make the capture process 15 % faster. Consumable modules will be depleted after they are used once and will grant the ability, for instance, to either remove a significant portion of your waste heat at once or to call in an artillery strike.
7a) Regular Modules

You can unlock these modules via the Pilot Lab and Pilot Trees tabs. Here you will find the modules sorted into five categories: 1. Vision 2. Targeting 3. Support 4. Sensor 5. Consumables.
You can see what each module offers by checking the description. You can then spend GXP to unlock them. Once the module skill has been unlocked, you must buy the actual module to install on your Mech. These can be found within the Modules tab within the Mechlab. Modules are bought with Cbills, just as with ordinary equipment. Every Mech has a limited amount of module slots which differ between chassis and variant. You can increase your total module capacity by +1 by unlocking the Master-Skill on the respective variant (check Chapter 6) Experience Points).
Protip: Due to the very high cost of modules, it is advisable to buy each only once and swap them between different Mechs as required, similar to engines. If you plan to spend your money on modules it is (to date - May 2013) highly advisable to buy the following modules: Target Info Gathering, Advanced Target Decay, Advanced Seismic Sensor, Capture Accelerator. The other modules are certainly not as great!
7b) Consumables
As mentioned above, consumable modules will be depleted after they are used. Once expended, you will have to rebuy them in order to benefit from their bonus ability again. Basically there is a Cbill- and MC-variant of every consumable module. The Cbill-variant is, by default, always weaker and inferior to the MC-variant. However it is possible to upgrade the Cbill-variant by spending a one time fee of GXP in the Pilot Lab under the Pilot Trees Consumables tabs. After that upgrade the Cbill-variant of that consumable module will be on par with the MCvariant. The best thing about the upgrade is: the Cbill price will stay the same (before/after the upgrade). Just like all other modules you can purchase consumable modules in the Mechlab under the Modules tab. Each of them will take up one module slot into your Mech.
Protip: If you do not want to be constantly spending MC on consumable modules then your only option is the Cbill-variant. In this case it is highly advisable to unlock the upgrades for your desired modules as soon as possible, to bring them on par with the MC-variant. You should especially try to get your hand on the Cool Shot 9 by 9 module (upgraded version of the Coll Shot 9 module). It can be a game changer but make sure that you only use it if it grants you your own survival (and therefore the victory of the match) or at least one or two additional kills. Apart from that I would refrain to make use of consumable modules outside of league and tourney games, since its simply a waste of hard earned money!
8) Games in Groups - You, myself and the three of us
MW:O is a very ambitious team game, therefore the more, the merrier approach applies.
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8a) Friends
The game has a friends list which you can use to add players in order to see their status and create groups with them. To do this, click at the Social button located in the bottom right corner of the screen. From there you will be able to see your friends list (which will be empty at this stage). To add a player click the Add Friend button and enter their name. The text field is not case sensitive. You must use their MW:O pilot name and make sure it is spelled correctly.
Once the friend invitation has been sent, the recipient will notice their Social button blinking. They must click this button then switch to the Invites tab to accept the invitation.
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Once this is done, the players will be visible to each other via their respective friend lists.
A green icon the the left of a player's name indicates they have started the game client and are available to play. If the icon is yellow then they are already in a game. A red icon means they are currently offline.
Protip: If your friend is online and available, you can double click the green icon next to their name to open a chat window. This won't work if they are already in a game or offline.
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8b) Groups
Once you have added a few friends, you might want to start thinking about playing together in the same group. To date (May 2013) there are 2 different types of groups. Whenever you decide to start a new group you will be asked which type of group you want to start.
4 Players Maximum UP TO 4 players in one group will be matched against other groups with up to 4 players and solo players. The game attempts to balance these games by matching each Mech in your group with its corresponding weight class in the opposition group. For example, if Team A drops with 2 Assaults, 2 Heavies, 2 Mediums and 2 Lights then Team B will also consist of these weight classes.
8 Players Required Groups of exactly 8 players will ONLY be matched against other groups of 8 players. Mech weight class balancing will be disabled, so it is possible that one team drops with 8 light Mechs whilst the other team brings 8 assault Mechs.
Protip: 4 man groups are good for having fun, to earn Cbills and XP and to playtest new things. 8 man groups are more serious and competitive. You should only consider these if you have a balanced team and someone to lead them as a drop commander. As such, when entering into an 8 man group you should bring your best Mech and your A-game. If you have 8 people who just want to have a bit of casual fun, or use unfamiliar Mechs then it is advisable to split into two separate 4 man groups.
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To create a group you first click the Social button, then find the Group tab.
Click Create Group and select the type (4 man or 8 man). The star icon next to your name indicates that you have group leadership.
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From here you can go back to your friends list and start adding people to the group. Click on their name and select Invite to Group. The player has to be online and available in order to send them an invitation.
Now the invitee has to switch to the Invites tab and accept the invitation.
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In order to launch the game with your group, all members must be in Ready status. To do this, they have to click on the status icon to the right of their name to toggle it. Your current active Mech will then be locked in for the upcoming game. If you change your Mech you must toggle Ready again.
Once the group Leader and all members are ready, the game is started when the Leader presses the Launch button in the top right corner of the screen. This will initiate the match for all group members. The group leader also determines the game mode that the group will play in, as described in Chapter 2) Goal of the Game. If the current leader of the group leaves his group for whatever reasons a new leader will be randomly selected by the game.
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9) Links + further Information
Listed below is helpful information about MW:O and places where you could meet new people to fill your friends list: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page THE holy grail for every Battletech nerd. http://mwowiki.org/wiki/Main_Page In depth data about MWO. Has information about weapon hardpoints, engine limits, raw data on specific weapons and much more. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ Similar to above, LOTS of in-depth data and a useful free online Mechlab to toy around with.
http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/65779-mwo-mechbay-program/ Java based offline Mechlab with lots of data as well. Very helpful to check out if a Mech config would work tonnage- and critical slot-wise before you invest your hard earned Cbills.
https://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/101194-updated-common-mechs-in-run-hot-or-diecompetitive-league-mech-designs/ Gives a good insight to the commonly used (and therefore very successful) mechconfigs from the most competitive teams MW:O has to offer.
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https://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/96395-guide-hit-box-localisation/ Nice guide with many images which highlight the specific hitboxes on each Mech.
https://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/2095-application-to-add-your-merccorp-page/ Official teams playing MW:O. If you are looking for a unit this is a good way to start and to get in touch with the respective leaders. http://www.runhotordie.com/ First (and to date only) competitive MW:O league. Are you up to mess with the best? ;) http://proxis.midgardmc.eu/mwo/ Proxis Planetary League - Player made planetary league. http://spherewars.sp.ohost.de/ Spherewars - Player made planetary league. TeamSpeak 3 Server Name: Comstar Relay North America (Comstar NA) Adress: na1.mech-connect.net Passwod: WordofBlake inofficial, NA Beta-TS! TeamSpeak 3 Server TeamSpeak 3 Server Name: No Guts No Galaxy Podcast TS3 Adress: http://nogutsnogalaxy.net/ (accessible via the website) NGNG TS! Name: Comstar Relay Europe (Comstar EU) Adress: eu1.mech-connect.net Password: hG5!4Dg* inofficial, EU Beta-TS!
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Beginners Guide To MWO v1.2d

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-Beginners Guide to MW:OA Field Manual for:

Image courtesy of PGI 2012

1) What is this all about? .................................................................................... 1 2) Goal of the Game ............................................................................................ 2

5) The Mechlab - Heart of the Game ............................................................... 17

6) Experience Points .......................................................................................... 45 7) Modules .......................................................................................................... 47

8) Games in Groups - You, myself and the three of us .................................. 49

9) Links + further Information ........................................................................ 56

Content; Preamble & Acknowledgment

______________Preamble & Acknowledgment_____________

Content; Preamble & Acknowledgment

1) What is this all about?

Beginners Guide to MW:O

2) Goal of the Game

2a) Assault Mode

Beginners Guide to MW:O

2b) Conquest Mode

Beginners Guide to MW:O

2c) Testing Grounds

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

3b) The HUD

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

4a) ComStar Bills

4b) Mech Credits

Speaking of MC: MC Hammer cant touch this!

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5) The Mechlab - Heart of the Game

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5a) Heat, Heat Sinks, Engines and you!

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5b) Dakka Dakka Dakka - Weapons-Roundup

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5c) MacGyver where are you? - Equipment-Roundup

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5e) My first Mech

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

5f) Expertise - Knowledge Level 2

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

Beginners Guide to MW:O

You should keep this in mind while setting up your Mech!

Beginners Guide to MW:O

7a) Regular Modules

8) Games in Groups - You, myself and the three of us

Beginners Guide to MW:O

__Preamble & Acknowledgment_