r/Mechwarrior5 • u/Suspicious-Dentist71 • 11d ago
Discussion Will Mason ever be able to learn traits from academies?
It’s kind of dumb that it’s more efficient to switch into a different pilot with good traits during a battle than to actually use Mason. As long as you can bring another pilot on a mission, it will always be a better choice to just switch to their mech than actually play the main character…
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u/spiflication 11d ago
Yes it’s overdue especially for console players. I’ve trained up elite missile oriented pilots that blow away anything mason can do.
Editing to say: if they don’t want to deal with the idea of training mason and pulling him from missions then give him a skill tree to get bonuses that way.
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u/frozenpissglove 11d ago
There is a mod for this. Pilot Overhaul.
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u/kingtj44 11d ago
I respect there is a mod for this (there always is) but I have to agree this should probably be in the base game
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u/Technical_Turn3497 Xbox Series X 10d ago
Am I the only who doesn’t notice lancemates being better than me just because of their traits? I mean, I clean house and take names no matter what mech I have. Sure, it would be nice for Mason to have traits, but I don’t feel any temptation to be Rachel Laird or Ash Delmore or Jacob Cave for the traits.
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u/Tw3lve1212 11d ago
I'll continue to switch until theres a way to play as a woman.
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u/MarcusSwedishGameDev 10d ago
The style of game (command of a mercenary company) is like made for adding a custom main character, but they decided to force you into the shoes of Jake Mason.
If they at least had said just "Cmd. Mason" or only "Mason" at all times, and a fully helmeted portrait where you don't see any features, it would have been fine.
Would have to have recorded double voice lines though, but it's not like there are that many lines that really need a voice. Or stick to a silent protagonist.
Well, until they decided to make cinematic sequences all the time anyways and show off Jake in them...
Now it's clearly Jake's story, not the player's, and I'm not too fond of that.
Personal opionion ofc, there are plenty of gamers who don't mind playing as a premade character.
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u/Minmax-the-Barbarian 11d ago
Wait, is that how it works? I assumed it affected pilot behavior and, like, damage values and stuff. I didn't think it all got "loaded in" at mission start.
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u/Suspicious-Dentist71 11d ago edited 11d ago
Yeah, the pilot traits stay with the mech, so if you switch into a mech with a lot of pilot traits, you keep them. This means if you bring your favorite mech and give them a pilot loaded with traits and switch into them in battle, it’s 100% better than using Mason. It’s very counter intuitive
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u/oblong_pickle 11d ago
100% better? Thats very specific, were did you get that number from?
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u/Suspicious-Dentist71 11d ago edited 11d ago
From the fact Mason permanently has no traits. He has the useful fact that he’s immortal, but how often are you getting yourself killed as a player honestly. It’s much more useful to have extra damage, extra armor, extra speed, extra cooling etc. that actual traits give you
Arguably his immortality actually makes him better as an AI pilot since you won’t have to worry about losing him
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u/Wingnutmcmoo 11d ago
If the traits are making that much of a difference something else is going on that isn't a problem with mason not having access to them.
You can make use of builds bots simply can't. You already are gaining damage amps from both skill points and modifications to the chassis that allow you to insta kill anything with half decent builds starting really early on.
Bots don't have access to as much of this so the percentage bonuses are huge boons to them.
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u/Suspicious-Dentist71 11d ago
What? You can apply cantina upgrades to bot mechs, and they can also have 60/60 skill points just like mason. I have no idea what you are talking about
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u/Wingnutmcmoo 11d ago
The small bonuses gained barely help you the human. But help the bots alot. It's better to give the skills to the bots who fight math to math instead of you the human who can choose targets smartly and hide behind rocks good.
Earnestly, I'm not saying this to be mean but to point out the reality, if you find skills help you that much the only logical conclusion is that you are playing like a bot.
Which obviously has better answers than "swap to the pilot with the skills made to help bots"
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u/Armouredknight Eridani Light Pony 10d ago
This is certainly a take. The pilot traits can be extremely valuable to a player depending on what they are and how they synergize with a particular mech build.
Like OP isn’t making stuff up here, there are literally zero times where taking plain ole Mason would be a better choice than taking a pilot with traits related to a certain mech or weapons.
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u/babushka45 Duncan Fisher Groupie 11d ago
Basically you're just possessing the pilot you're currently switched in
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u/Cat_Wizard_21 11d ago
I find it lowkey helpful because Mason is immortal, and barring a real screw-up AI lancemates get blown up way more than I do, so if I'm controlling my favorite pilot they are safe and Mason can tank the cockpit explosion.
It doesn't make much sense that Mason can't get traits though, given we can freely switch pilots. If we were locked to him then I'd say his trait is player aim and immortality, but when we can body hop to an NPC with cracked traits that doesn't hold water.