This series of posts is mainly for people who make decisions on buying mechs in terms of how good they are, rather than if they adhere to a chosen playstyle, or how cool they look. I’m dividing them up into “must-haves”, “second-stringers”, “worthwhile”, and “why bother”.
Danger Sale: From February 3 to February 9
There’s more chaff in this sale than the last, but some of the options are very worthwhile, for people both building up their mechlab and expanding into new and exciting options.
Must-Haves
These mechs are worthy additions to any MechWarrior’s stable; definitely worth picking them up if don’t have them already.
Banshee
The Banshee is arguably the best Assault mech in the game, and I would absolutely argue in favor of that. It can do most things worth doing, and it can do most of the most worthwhile things very well indeed.
Second-Stringers
These aren’t the mechs that everyone should have, but they are absolutely fantastic nonetheless.
Grasshopper
I’ve always liked the Grasshopper, but now it’s legitimately quite good at all the things you can do with lasers. I’d say that it’s still on the border between must-have and second-string, but it falls on this side.
Enforcer
The Enforcer is one of the best medium mechs in the game; the only IS mech in its class that absolutely beats it is the Blackjack, and the Blackjack cheats. There’s a good chance that this will not be the case after the upcoming balance patch (the ENF-4R has a 20+10% range quirk), but it’ll still be good…probably.
These days, I’d say that the Wolverine is basically an inelegant Enforcer, but it’s still good. As is the case with the Enforcer, however, the Wolverine’s best variant relies on a high (25%) energy range quirk which is set to be nerfed, and the Wolverine’s other features are less redeeming than the Enforcer’s.
Worthwhile
These mechs are still solid, but I would wait to purchase until after you’re comfortable with your mech stable and are maybe just looking to explore.
Wolfhound
This is another mech that I’ve always liked but also felt was too obsoleted by the Firestarter. Such obsolescence has become much less severe though, and it has worked out to be a solid mech in its own right.
Crab
There are a number of finicky bits about the Crab that make me hesitate, but overall it is a solid chassis that manages to retain its identity in spite of the fact that it’s just another laser boat.
Zeus
The Zeus is one of those mechs that isn’t special at all and should be absolutely terrible, but manages to be decent nonetheless. Very much not-a-priority, though.
Trebuchet
Treb best mech. Disclaimer: the Treb is not actually the best mech. Still a classic and one of my favorites, though.
- TBT-5J
- Loup de Guerre (very nice and fun variant, but doesn’t do much that a Griffin can’t do better, feel free to replace with the TBT-7K)
- TBT-7M
Special Snowflakes
These are only really worth getting at all if you’re a completionist or looking for a challenge, or perhaps for sentimental reasons.
Urbanmech
Now the Urbanmech isn’t shite. But it’s not good either.
Vindicator
The Vindicator, on the other hand, sort of is shite.