16 replies to this topic

[Dorro]

Its time to add another log to the fire of "Dear Hughes, please tweak the economy or we are coming to the LA office with torches and pitchforks."

A long time ago, before we all started watching international soccer games, AJK gave us an economy thread that detailed the total cost of mech loadouts and cockpit time required to kit a mech in this game, detailing that there was a serious discrepancy between the money earned playing and the amount of cockpit time required to fill the garage- Something we would generally consider to be a dealbreaker to new players, and unhealthy for the game population.

Naturally, that thread is now lost under a sea of pakistani soccer matches. It probably isn't. I'm just lazy.

Which brings us to today's poll.

Every mech in the game, with the exception of the sub-and-tow family mechs that lead up from the CRT, costs 11k and change to buy. This by itself isn't too terrible, and at least Vannie and Assault come at a significant discount, but here is the question we are posing today-

What is the ACTUAL cost of piloting a new mech for you_ Do you take it out naked, or do you have to hang an air freshener from the mirror and install an air compressor before you think about taking it for a spin_ At what price point do you seriously consider actually piloting a new mech in a match_

As an example, a lot of us won't get out of the garage without an air compressor.  Any mech that is reasonably quick on the jump practically requires it, and this includes most A classes, most Bs, and even the rocketeer if you think the 1.4s dodge clock is worth it. The inferred necessity of the air compressor dictates that the cost of most mechs jumps about 2k.

Another prime example are the repair kits and repair orbs, considered to be part of the ubiquitous kit throughout the community. Radars/scramblers and HEs/Dets are also popular.

So what is the TRUE COST of a new mech_ Do you drive it immediately out of the box, or does it need to have more money thrown at it first_ Vote!

[Hijinks_The_Turtle]

I drive it as soon as I buy it... Just don't remind me about the cost... The loans I take out for my mech is staggering.  Insurance costs a lot as well!  I can't seem to find an insurance company that covers fall damage.  

Edited by Hijinks_The_Turtle, March 23 2014 - 10:27 AM.

[EM1O]

it's unanimous! w007!
hahahhahhah

[h0B0]

Considering i have tens of thousands of left over credits i purchase all mechs and equip them right away.

I also own multiple sets of internals and items on different mechs for testing purposes since that is about 60% of my playtime.

[HatesYourFace]

Who needs internals or items_

I have an account that I keep at baseline CRT with nothing but Shield 1.

I hardly even notice the difference when I play it.

Edited by HatesYourFace, March 23 2014 - 10:48 AM.

[comic_sans]

Dorro, it's 12k n change, for what little it matters.

And yeah, I got an alt I use to learn mechs that seem totally counter to my playstyle, but after weeks of playing an hour or so a day and getting to lvl20, I've got a mostly kitted brawler (tied for least expensive mech by a landslide) and an empty papa incin and NOTHING ELSE.  That's just bonkers.  When I first joined, I got a new mech every week, and I had 5 maxed out and kitted within 2 weeks of starting the game; I know this because I was level 30 when ascension dropped, and I'd only been playing for 2 weeks before - I only narrowly met the "5 maxed mechs" quota.

How on earth could anyone max 5 mechs in 2 weeks today_  Granted, I was playing 3 or 4 hours a day when I started, and maybe an hour or two these days just because I'm not on a honeymoon anymore, but my friend I'm teaching to tech would like to try new things and it's just not possible with him only playing when we're both available.

It's also amusing to me that in the time it took to get my incin to level 3, I hadn't made HALF of the ~7k hc required to get the papa.  That's fuzzy absurd.

Edited by comic_sans, March 23 2014 - 11:03 AM.

[KejiGoto]

As soon as a I get a mech I generally take it out unless I know what sort of setup I want on it in which case I just buy right then and there.

For me I want to get an idea of how the mech performs and what areas I can help bolster the mech up some. For example of the mech has poor fuel regen I'll probably go with a Fuel Converter to help that situation out. If the mech needs to move around a lot and I find myself constantly re-positioning then I'll go with Deflectors so I have better defense. If I find the mech performs well in the air I'll slap the Air Compressor on it. You get the idea.

Personally I think it's a little foolish to leave something in the garage just because it doesn't have internals or items on it. For all you know you'll be outfitting with things which don't match your play style or you might be overlooking a shortcoming of the mech which could easily be fixed with an internal like I talked about above.

[Dorro]

Hijinks_The_Turtle, on March 23 2014 - 10:27 AM, said:

I drive it as soon as I buy it... Just don't remind me about the cost... The loans I take out for my mech is staggering.  Insurance costs a lot as well!  I can't seem to find an insurance company that covers fall damage.  

I used to use the fall damage internal, then I just told myself "fuzzy bunny that, I'll just play better and squirt a little before I hit the ground, why waste an internal slot on the shock absorber_" It went pretty good for about 2 hours, then I started dying from fall damage again.

[HatesYourFace]

Dorro, on March 23 2014 - 01:02 PM, said:

Hijinks_The_Turtle, on March 23 2014 - 10:27 AM, said:

I drive it as soon as I buy it... Just don't remind me about the cost... The loans I take out for my mech is staggering.  Insurance costs a lot as well!  I can't seem to find an insurance company that covers fall damage.  

I used to use the fall damage internal, then I just told myself "fuzzy bunny that, I'll just play better and squirt a little before I hit the ground, why waste an internal slot on the shock absorber_" It went pretty good for about 2 hours, then I started dying from fall damage again.

Only mech I use the shock absorber internal on is the Predator.

Nothing more embarrassing then decloaking from fall damage lol.

Any other class should just use their thrusters.

Edited by HatesYourFace, March 23 2014 - 01:06 PM.

[comic_sans]

Dorro, on March 23 2014 - 01:02 PM, said:

Hijinks_The_Turtle, on March 23 2014 - 10:27 AM, said:

I drive it as soon as I buy it... Just don't remind me about the cost... The loans I take out for my mech is staggering.  Insurance costs a lot as well!  I can't seem to find an insurance company that covers fall damage.  

I used to use the fall damage internal, then I just told myself "fuzzy bunny that, I'll just play better and squirt a little before I hit the ground, why waste an internal slot on the shock absorber_" It went pretty good for about 2 hours, then I started dying from fall damage again.

Aw dude that is exactly how to feel about the shock absorbers unless you're a pred.  Never run those dinguses, just do an air-dodge right before you land.  Gets you where you need to go faster too.

Do you remember Mario 64_  It's like doing a butt pound 1" above the dirt.

Edited by comic_sans, March 23 2014 - 01:12 PM.

[HatesYourFace]

comic_sans, on March 23 2014 - 01:06 PM, said:

Do you remember Mario 64_  It's like doing a butt pound 1" above the dirt.

Or enchanting an item with a 1 second feather fall spell in Morrowind then using it right before you splat all over some rocks.

(Or Pally bubble in WOW...but what's even more fun is casting water walking on a party member as a Shaman right before they dive into water from high up...priceless.)

[Hell_Diguner]

I got really lucky when they changed mech prices during the Steam launch. Of the mechs I hadn't yet purchased, only the Predator was the full 12k HC.

[Phantasmo]

I drive as soon as I get it, and as a matter of fact almost all my mechs are running naked with little to no extra items, since I preffer to save for more mechs.

[Xacius]

HatesYourFace, on March 23 2014 - 10:47 AM, said:

Who needs internals or items_

I have an account that I keep at baseline CRT with nothing but Shield 1.

I hardly even notice the difference when I play it.

Probably because you're still in the noob bracket on that account, lol.

[Goyo]

Playing on an alt account... I am amazed how many GOOD games it takes to level mechs.  As a new player I don't think I would stick around for that grind.

[Nept]

Dorro, on March 23 2014 - 10:21 AM, said:

A long time ago, before we all started watching international soccer games, AJK gave us an economy thread that detailed the total cost of mech loadouts and cockpit time required to kit a mech in this game, detailing that there was a serious discrepancy between the money earned playing and the amount of cockpit time required to fill the garage- Something we would generally consider to be a dealbreaker to new players, and unhealthy for the game population.

Naturally, that thread is now lost under a sea of pakistani soccer matches. It probably isn't. I'm just lazy.

As an fyi, AJK's calculations were way off.  Luminescent posted an accurate guide a little bit ago: https://community.pl..._20#entry462220

[OmegaNull]

You don't need items or internals to be good. I love playing with nothing sometimes. Makes things hard and challenging.