MechWarrior Online Preview

IGN had the opportunity to go hands-on with Piranha Games’ MechWarrior Online and have cranked out a new preview that calls the free-to-play MMO “a thinking person’s shooter”. I’d say it’s just as much strategy and role-playing as it is shooter, though:

The usefulness scouts play in spotting showcases role warfare, a feature Piranha considers a “pillar” of MechWarrior Online’s gameplay. The goal in MechWarrior Online isn’t to just ramp up to the biggest mech you can find, but to feel useful in the role you like to play. For instance scouts gain points and experience for any damage they deal as well as the enemies they reveal. Revealing enemies allows long range attacks from lightly armored, artillery-like mechs. The bulk of the battlefield will likely be made up of medium mechs, though, slower bruisers that can take and dish out a decent amount of damage. These forces will do the pushes, working in conjunction with support classes and relying on ultra-heavy assault mechs to break through enemy lines. Heavy mechs might get more kills, but their slow pace won’t help them if they need to get back to base and save it from being captured by a clever scout.

Perfecting your mech’s loadout and developing a keen eye for what others have makes up another huge component of a savvy pilot. Between battles you can return to the MechLab, where you can buy new mechs and customize the ones you own. At some point you’ll also be able to tailor your pilot’s abilities, becoming a master of a specific type of mech, or putting points into abilities that make you even better at the type of role you typically play in the battlefield. When it comes to customizing your mech, the biggest thing you have to consider is the maximum tonnage of your chassis, since everything you add to it puts on additional weight. Additional consideration also goes into what hard points the mech has, since you can’t equip a projectile weapon on an energy weapon slot, or vice-a-versa.