Posted 06 September 2015 - 01:03 PM

I hardly ever see more than 350k (usually a lot less than that) despite multiple kills, a boatload of assists, 500+ damage, and winning & surviving the round. And that's before mentally subtracting 80k because doing that well normally involves using a strike and coolshot. And I run Premium Time all the time.When I'm not grinding out new chassis, I play mechs I enjoy playing though, not LRM boats and other builds designed to farm c-bills. In a world of 6-million-cbill modules and XL engines that cost almost as much, we shouldn't have to play a specific build just to acquire those things. Certainly shouldn't have to just to earn decent income. Any build contributing that well to the team should be rewarded heavily, though that's not really the case right now. Earnings are ... okay right now. Not great by any means, just okay. Here's a perfect example . I'm running a WVR-Q (Quarantine hero mech) there, grinding out its unlocks. I got two kills, plus seven assists, did 681 damage, and even got a few spotting assists, yet despite Premium Time and Hero mech bonus, I only earned 351k. Now subtract 80k for the consumables and the real number is 271k.For a Medium mech that did that well in the match (I had the highest match score on my team, second highest kills, and second highest damage), that reward is pretty mediocre. To have to PAY to get that level of reward (premium time and hero mech) for that level of performance is pathetic. The only thing more disappointing would be not paying for PT and the hero mech bonus and ending up with 115k earnings. If that isn't an example of the disgusting cbill grind in MWO, what is. You'd have to play 40 matches _doing that well or better_ just to get a 4.5million c-bill upgrade like a large XL engine. But I also already have the mech upgraded and kitted out in order to do that well, so factor that in, too. Yeah, it's crazy. Here's another one . Grinding out the TBT-7K. Again, 2 kills, 7 assists, over 600 damage, highest matchscore on my team and second-highest damage (missed that by 2 points), alive at the end of the match, and match was a 12-0 sweep of the enemy. Earnings? 238k. Weak. Or 159k without premium time. Even weaker. And subtract 40k or 80k for consumables. (I tend to use two during a match with a mediocre chassis like a TBT.) And you're looking at less than 100k for a very successful match performance and win in a low tier mech. Okay, one more to show how it's even worse for heavier weight classes. One of my favorite mechs in the game, the TDR-9SE(C). I've got over a milllion XP sitting in this thing. This is a slightly above average match result in it for me. Top matchscore, top damage (800), top kills (4), plus 7 assists, we won, and I was alive at the end of the round. How much do you earn for that kind of performance? 182k without premium time. Minus 80k in my case for consumables and you're earning a measly 100k without PT, or in my case with PT 190k after consumables.This is why I will never play this game without premium time running, because even with PT it's barely got the ROI to make it worth playing. And I feel sorry for new players that can't even afford to upgrade their mechs and therefore don't have as good a shot at doing as well as someone with a meta build and everything unlocked. War is a racket.