Back in the cockpit of a giant mechanized war machine with MechWarrior Online

But that must mean there is a ton of options right?

Sure, it's a testament to just how much customization you have available to you, and that's great. Certainly MWO isn't just about repeatedly queuing for matches. A really large component of this game, and the enjoyment you'll get out of it, stems from equipping a seemingly infinite number of possible loadouts.

On more than one occasion I finished up my last match, "done playing for the night" so to speak, only to discover an hour later I was still in the MechLab trying to find the perfect balance of speed, heat efficiency, slot and weight management, armor and firepower for my BattleMech. This is as much a part of playing the game as grinding through a match.

But ultimately there has to be some kind of happy medium between in depth customization and user friendliness. To be frank, while I enjoyed spending an hour customizing my BattleMech, I probably could have condensed the experience into 20 minutes if there had just been a MechLab tutorial, or even just some pop-up tooltips.

As a whole the game lobby, with all its components is 1 part engrossing, 1 part aggravating, and 1 part just plain silly. Don't even get me started on how odd the group and social options are. With just 18 quick clicks, and cancelling out of 5 menus and then going right back into them you can finally join a game as group. I exaggerate of course, but not by much...

Okay point taken; let's move on to the free stuff

Of course we need to answer the question "can gaming really be free?" With MechWarrior Online I'm afraid I have to say that this is one of the least free free-to-play games I've ever covered on this column. It's not that you are restricted from customization options if you don't pay. That would be an unabashed pay-to-win scheme and no developer in their right mind would do that (at least in the west).

Nope, it's not that at all. In fact, there is very little that you can buy with real money (for MWO that currency is called MC and runs around $5.00 for 1000MC) that you can't also purchase with in-game currency (called C-Bills and earned relative to your contribution to each match you play).

It's almost the opposite actually. Many of the important systems you'll find in the MechLab, such as weapons, ammo, engines, heat sinks and upgrades can only be purchased with C-Bills. This is the stuff the really makes a difference on the battlefield and Piranha has done a great job of ensuring you can't just pay your way to battlefield dominance by using real money MCs to buy up all the best gear.

Of course you're eventually going to get tired of the trial mechs so you'll want to purchase some new BattleMech chassis sooner or later. Lucky for you, you have the option of using either currency, so no real restrictions there either. That is unless you've got your eye on one of the Premium chassis, in which case you'll be shelling out anywhere from $7.00 to $30.00 for one chassis.

Not only do these puppies come fully loaded, but they have snazzy paint jobs too that scream "oh look at me, I'm Mr. Spendy Pants". But some people really go bananas for the cosmetic stuff, throwing all kinds of money at. But that hot pink "camo" isn't going to help you win matches, neither is some silly dashboard hula girl.

But I guess I better get back on topic here, because I was trying to explain to you how MWO was the least free-to-play game I've covered yet and everything I've said up to this point seems to scream the opposite. So here's the problem. The C-Bill cost of most gear is staggering in comparison to the rate at which you earn C-Bills.

At first it seems reasonable. But then you discover that you've been getting a recruit bonus to help you gear up your own BattleMech. Spend wisely in those early days though, because once it wears off your C-Bill income will grind to a snail's pace.

With game modes and maps that quickly grow stale, it's the BattleMech customization and experimentation that kept me coming back to MechWarrior Online, the main hook if you will. But having to play through 4 matches just to pick up a one new weapon for my mech really took the wind out of my sails.

It was aggravating to cook up a new idea for a mech loadout, grind away at matches earning C-Bills at a rate more ponderous than an Assault Mech with a leg blown off, only to discover that I didn't really like that play style. Then it was back to the drawing board and back to the C-Bill grind to try it all again. There are few things that wreck a gaming experience more for me than a repetitive grind.

And then there are Premium Accounts, a quick and dirty way to earn more C-Bills; which of course costs real money to activate for a set number of days. I'd love to give you more details on it, but in a rather humorous turn of events, you can't actually review the different Premium Account options unless you have MCs in your wallet, which of course the Free Agent did not. From what I could gather from reading forum posts from people who were obviously as confused as I was, the bonus income rate is something in the realm of +50% C-Bills earned.

So there you have it

Since the hook of the game for me was an activity that saw me spending C-Bills at an alarming rate, there is no way that I could continue to play MechWarrior Online without purchasing Premium Account time. "Can gaming REALLY be free?" Sadly with MechWarrior Online I think the answer is no.

But don't let that deter you from at least experiencing what a true BattleMech simulator feels like, because I can't state it enough, they really nailed that aspect of it. Perhaps if you spend your recruit bonus a little more wisely than I you might even be able to hold off the C-Bill wall long enough to find your stride.

But for the Free Agent it is simply not to be. While I didn't go as far as uninstalling MWO from my machine, it's unlikely it will see much additional play unless I can find a way to enjoy myself that doesn't involve massive amounts of C-Bills.

MechWarrior Online is fun and feels great to play in short sittings, but is desperately in need of more depth. It's my sincere hope that the rumors are true and more depth is forthcoming, because I believe this game deserves a second chance.

Add new content that will match the depth of gameplay with the existing depth of customization, and match the polish of the BattleMech simulator feel they've developed with improved UI, both in and out of game, and there is a real winner in MechWarrior Online.

No doubt we'll be watching it in our rear view mirror as the Free Agent moves on down the highway. But if you'd like to share your own experiences with MWO post comments below to your heart's content. If not then just join the Free Agent in Episode 15, where we'll be walking the Path of Exile.

See you next time on the Free Agent.

Robert "Caergan" Gray

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