This question came up in clan chat, asked by one of our newer players. It's an oldy but goody, so we may as well condense it all and pass it along to our 'younger' viewers.
It's that age old question whereby a new player suddenly hits a road block of a player of their level that has mechs well above the level at which they can be purchased.
Invariably there is an amount of disbelief coupled with a feeling of having just been cheated, and I can understand that on an emotive level.
The problem is that we know it's legitimate, and we then have to take to the message boards to explain. Perhaps it's time to condense the reasoning so our newbies can be directed to a single point.
First, there is an element of pay to play in this game. For a certain outlay you get an amount of bonus free mechs that are not limited to what are available at a given level. It's very legitimate and laid out clearly on the Niode Purchase page.Second, that player could have been placed into a high level clan as a sacrificial lamb so to speak. A particularly strong clan can afford to throw one or two of these into their lineup and give up the losses on the understanding that their other players can make up the difference.
This nets two things for the lamb.
They first get a high level prize mech, probably a niode one. As they stay at such a low level, they can easily upgrade them with gifted instant upgrade kits. This will obviously make for a very formidable force at their level and will simply keep them powerful as they advance in the game.
The other thing is the free skill points that come with a medal placing. These can be instantly spent on 'Heavy' skill. The player stays the same level but can suddenly start piloting bigger and bigger mechs.
All of this is legitimate and above board.
It just doesn't feel that way when you are on the receiving end.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. Progressively throughout the past wars, the calculation used to place clans in their divisions has been tweaked and the practice of low level stooges being used has become less viable and appealing.
Hopefully for the sake of the new players the recent changes will make it a little more difficult for the stooges to scare good players off.
Submitted by David McCallum #701548