1.Play the single player campaign and develop some of your own tactics. Practice using artillery in combat and working with multiple mech lances.
2.When choosing mechs, start with type -A mechs and remove all the weapons. Then replace them with LRMs. These are called "missile platforms", they are boring and everyone hates them. However they are the most effective type of mechs and most nasty tactics aren't too effective. Just don't forget to use the "L" key. If you're playing with the "stock mechs"house rule, don't dispair, use Catapult A’s or Vulture A's. The mechs you like single player aren't as hot in multiplayer because their cost is too high.
3.Drop any fixation with CLAN ERPPCs, they have a very poor bang for buck rating. Great for single player, poor for multiplayer.
4.Find another rookie and go one-on-one for a few rounds. This way you have time to get used to multiplayer and the lag issues without getting creamed. No-one really like to be creamed.
5.Then find a vet and go for a round or two in a group. Spend more time watching what the other blokes do than trying to be a hero. There are some very, very good players out there.
6.In four or more player games, leave the tasks that require running more than one thing at a time to other players (such as artillery, recon and minelaying). After a while, take one of these each time and practice it (especially the use of artillery in laggy games).
7.Learn the maps. The maps section gives you some ideas here. Knowing where everything is before you go in is half the way to winning the battle. You've got to know what your options are.
8.Find a good partner that is often there when you're available and practice with him or her. Mechs
Mechs are of course at the core of what makes Mech Commander a fun game. Your choice of mech and its loadout will determine how successful you are once you enter the mission. This section is designed to assist you in designing your mech for maximum effectiveness within the Multiplay combat environment. The weapons section is also crucial in determining the fate of your Mech lance.
Overall, Clan mechs are superior in all regards including price/performance, which may surprise some players. Even though Inner Sphere mechs and equipment are cheaper Clan mechs still give you more bang for your buck. As a result, newer players should always try to use Clan mechs. The sole advantage of Inner Sphere mechs is having more meat for the grinder. This only appears in lower RP games, and appears particularly with Atlas-A type mechs. There are a small number of mech types that have survived trial by fire. These are:
Alpha Strike Mech
Long Range Mech
Close Combat Mech
Specialist mechs are definitely the order of the day, and as most mechs are general purpose, they need modification. Your mechs should be built with a specific tactic or set of tactics in mind.Don't forget the mech's survivability while performing this tactic, we don't really want our girls and boys dying out there do we? It is best to specialise your mechs for a task or range bracket the following reasons:
Combat management. Due to lag and reaction time, you don't have much time to micro-manage your Mechs. If you can simply select your Mech and order it to "shoot at long range" you are more likely to get the results you are after.
Weapon utilisation. If you can keep your mech at optimum range with it's target and all of its weapons are of the same range bracket, then all of your weapons are utilised all of the time. Alpha strike. Your aplha strike is maximised as all your weapons are fired at once.
When choosing and modifying mechs you are normally looking to maximise your mechs speciality relative to RPs or Tons (referred to as bang ratings here after). Supporting your mechs, you have a choice of vehicles, your choice of vehicles can also tip the balance...or waste precious RPs. A general consensus as to the best overall mech chassis (ie. not including weapons) for each side comes out as the following (subject to more debate):
Clan: Mad Cat-A. Good armour, and the heaviest Clan mech that does not sacrifice speed. Overall best mech of the game.
Inner Sphere: Atlas-A. Huge amount of armour. The only mech that doesn't have a Clan counterpart
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