MechWarrior Online
MechWarrior Online is a multiplayer vehicular combat title focused on piloting towering BattleMechs in tactical 12v12 matches. Between battles you fine-tune your machine with weapons, modules, and equipment, then take that build into team fights where positioning, heat management, and coordination matter as much as raw firepower. Wins and solid performances translate into experience and in-game currency, which you can reinvest into new chassis and better loadouts.
 | Publisher: Piranha Games Playerbase: Medium Type: Vehicular Combat Release Date: September 17, 2013 Pros: +Deep mech building and loadout options. +Methodical, position-driven combat. +Strong emphasis on squad and team play. Cons: -Steep onboarding for new pilots. -Just three core modes. -Tutorial does not prepare you well. |
MechWarrior Online Overview
MechWarrior Online drops you into a war-torn future where massive, two-legged combat machines decide battles at close range and across open terrain. Instead of treating your mech like a simple “vehicle with guns,” the game asks you to think like a pilot managing a complicated weapons platform, balancing firepower, durability, and heat while reading the flow of a 24-player battlefield. The real hook is customization: you can outfit your BattleMech with a wide selection of weapons and supporting components, then iterate on your build until it matches how you like to fight.
Matches are 12v12 and take place in varied maps that include icy flats, industrial zones, and ruined city blocks, each encouraging different lines of sight and movement choices. There are three primary modes, Conquest, Skirmish, and Assault, which all revolve around coordinated pushes, holding angles, and picking favorable engagements. Successful matches reward you with in-game currency that can be used to buy new mechs and additional equipment, letting you steadily expand your hangar and experiment with different roles on a team.
MechWarrior Online Key Features –
- Mech Customization – spend currency on a large selection of weapons and modules to shape your mech into a specialized build.
- Tactical Gameplay – smart positioning, careful peeking, and using terrain for cover are essential for survival.
- Huge Robot Library – a broad roster of mechs to collect and pilot, with new options introduced over time.
- Coordination is Key – calling targets and moving with your squad is often the difference between a stomp and a win.
- 12v12 Matches – 24 players per match, split into three squads on each side, creates battles that reward organized play.
MechWarrior Online Screenshots
MechWarrior Online Featured Video
MechWarrior Online Review
MechWarrior Online aims for a heavier, more simulation-leaning take on mech combat than most arcade-styled shooters. It is at its best when you embrace that mindset, slow down, and treat every corner and ridge line as a real tactical decision. Coming from faster mech games, the first sessions can be surprising, not because the concept is hard to grasp, but because the control scheme and pacing demand patience.
Movement
The first thing you notice is that the tutorial does not do enough to make the early hours smooth. Basic concepts are there, but the game’s distinctive movement model takes time to internalize. Your mech’s upper and lower body operate as separate pieces that can rotate independently. The mouse steers your torso, while WASD drives the legs, and the game provides quick realignment keys, “F” to line legs up with torso, and “C” to line torso up with legs. On paper it is straightforward, but in practice it feels awkward until muscle memory kicks in.
Once you acclimate, that “awkwardness” becomes part of the tactical depth. You can control your approach speed with throttle settings, choosing between a committed push and a cautious advance. Weapon use also pushes you into deliberate decision-making, because heat is a constant constraint. Fire too aggressively and your systems punish you; manage heat well and you can keep pressure on targets without crippling yourself. The result is a combat rhythm built around angles, timing, and controlled bursts rather than constant spraying.
Aesthetics
MechWarrior Online offers both third-person and cockpit perspectives, and while the external camera can be useful for awareness, the cockpit view is clearly the “main” experience. Each match begins with a satisfying boot-up sequence and a dense HUD that sells the fantasy of operating a complex machine. It is not just a visual flourish; the cockpit framing makes you feel like a pilot managing instruments, not a floating camera with guns.
Small touches also help with immersion. Different cockpits have their own character, and the sense of scale is strong when you are threading a heavy mech through city streets or cresting a hill and seeing another machine emerge on the horizon. Even when the gameplay is punishing, the presentation consistently reinforces why the setting and tone have lasted for so many years.
Game Modes
The game is built around multiplayer, there is no single-player component to ease you in. The three modes cover familiar ground with a MechWarrior flavor. Conquest revolves around capturing resource points, with victory determined by reaching 750 resources or leading on points when time expires. In practice, many Conquest matches still devolve into full-team brawls once contact is made, because removing enemy mechs from the board is often the most reliable way to secure objectives.
Skirmish is the more direct “fight it out” option, while Assault centers on attacking or defending a base. The bigger issue is not variety so much as how frequently newer players see the same mode in rotation, which can make the experience feel narrower than it needs to be.
Matchmaking can be rough. With a medium playerbase, the system cannot always separate skill levels cleanly, so beginners may find themselves facing experienced pilots with refined builds and strong map knowledge. That can be discouraging, but it also means you can learn quickly by shadowing better teammates and watching how they rotate, focus fire, and disengage when a push turns sour. Server choice and latency vary by region, and you will regularly see pilots from different parts of the world in the same queue.
Mechs
New players start with Trial Mechs, two per weight class: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Assault. Those categories define the role you are likely to play. Lights are fast and evasive, good for scouting and harassment; Assaults are slower but built to soak damage and anchor a line. The middle classes fill in flexible roles, depending on loadout.
The progression loop encourages you to earn currency as soon as possible so you can buy a mech that truly fits your style. Trial Mechs let you sample the roster, but because you are learning movement, heat, and positioning at the same time, the early grind can feel like being thrown into the deep end. You are improving as a pilot while also trying to build the resources needed to expand beyond the starter options.
Combat
Early combat tends to be humbling. Starting equipment commonly feels modest next to the intimidating weapon effects and coordinated volleys coming from veteran builds. If you approach MechWarrior Online like a fast arena shooter, you will be punished quickly. A straight-line charge into open sightlines usually ends in a rapid death, especially when opponents focus fire or catch you overheating.
A more effective approach is careful, cover-based fighting: peek, deliver a controlled burst, then drop back before return fire strips your armor. When you do take damage, it matters, because death removes you from the match and turns the remainder into spectating. That design reinforces the game’s tactical tone, but it can also slow down learning, since a mistake may cost you several minutes of waiting before you can apply what you just learned. A mode with respawns would help new players practice fundamentals without so much downtime, but as it stands, survival is part of the core loop.
Not The Chosen One
One of the game’s defining moments for many new pilots is realizing that “landing hits” is not the same as “winning an engagement.” You can spend a long time circling an enemy, firing whenever your weapons are ready, and still feel like you are making little progress if your damage is not concentrated effectively or your loadout is not suited to the matchup. Meanwhile, a few accurate volleys from the opponent can end your mech quickly, especially if they know how to punish your positioning or exploit a moment of overheat and shutdown.
This is where MechWarrior Online shows both its strength and its biggest barrier. It does not hand out power fantasies in the opening hours. The game expects you to learn how damage spreads across components, how to prioritize targets, and when to disengage. That expectation is appealing to sim-minded players, but it is a harsh introduction for anyone hoping for an immediately accessible mech shooter.
Mech Friday
After a handful of matches you can start affording your first purchases, and the hangar opens up in a big way. The store and loadout screens are dense, and the interface can feel technical, but the upside is real freedom. Once you own a mech, you are not locked into a simple “primary and secondary” setup. You can tune the machine around a preferred engagement range, mix weapon types, and adjust supporting components to suit your plan.
The lack of guidance cuts both ways. Experimentation is part of the fun, but without a strong in-game coaching layer, you may end up learning through failure, comparing builds, and researching community advice. That process can be satisfying if you enjoy tinkering, because the game supports a lot of iteration, and small changes in loadout can noticeably shift how a mech performs.
Hero Mechs are available through the game’s cash currency and are generally stronger in comparison, mainly in the sense that they can accelerate your path to a capable setup. They are not an automatic “win button,” though. The pilots who consistently carry matches are typically the ones who understand heat cycles, positioning, focus fire, and build synergies, and they treat the loadout screen as seriously as the battlefield.
Final Verdict – Good
MechWarrior Online is a demanding multiplayer mech simulator that rewards discipline, teamwork, and build knowledge. Its biggest problem is approachability: the tutorial is thin, the learning curve is steep, and the one-life-per-match structure can make improvement slower than it needs to be. Players willing to study the game, watch guides, and accept early losses will find a deep combat experience with excellent cockpit immersion and one of the most satisfying mech customization systems in the genre.
For anyone looking for thoughtful, tactical robot warfare rather than arcade speed, MechWarrior Online still stands out as one of the strongest options available.
MechWarrior Online Links
MechWarrior Online Official Site
MechWarrior Online Wikipedia
MechWarrior Online Gamepedia [Database/Guides]
MechWarrior Online Reddit
MechWarrior Online System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: Windows Vista 32 bit
CPU: Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz or Athlon II X2 245e
Video Card: GeForce GT 220 or Radeon HD 6450
RAM: 2 GB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 7 64 bit
CPU: Core i5-2500 3.3GHz or Athlon II X4 650
Video Card: GeForce GTX 285 or Radeon HD 5830
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB
MechWarrior Online Music & Soundtrack
MechWarrior Online Additional Information
Developer(s): Piranha Games
Publisher(s): Piranha Games
Engine: CryEngine 3
Lead Designer(s): Paul Inouye
Art Director(s): Dennis DeKoning
Game Designer(s): David Bradley
Artist(s): Alex Iglesias, Thad Jantzi
Programmer(s): Thomas Dziegielewski
Announcement Date: July, 2009
Closed Beta: May 22, 2012
Open Beta: October 29, 2012
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Development History / Background:
MechWarrior Online was created by Canadian developer Piranha Games. At the time, the MechWarrior license was held by Microsoft, until Jordan Weisman successfully negotiated to secure the rights. Weisman then partnered with Russ Bullock at Piranha Games to pursue a new MechWarrior project. Early prototype discussions took place in March 2009, followed by an official announcement in July 2009 that included a three-minute trailer. Closed beta testing began on May 22, 2012. Open beta had been planned for October 16, 2012, but it was delayed to October 29, 2012 so the team could address server stability concerns. The full release arrived on September 17, 2013. Between 2011 and 2014, Infinite Game Publishing held publishing rights, but Piranha Games regained publishing control on September 01, 2014. Piranha Games continues active development of MechWarrior Online.