Getting Started
The following guide looks to help new players as a place to start, walking through a few important concepts, getting into a battle and other important aspects to start with.
Solaris Training Company
After logging in and registering following the Installation procedure, new players are assigned into the Solaris Training Company and given a hangar of random training units. The Solaris Training Company exists as a separate faction for new players to learn the ropes with no risk to their faction (other players/team mates) or to their own self.
The hangar full of units are temporary training units that cannot be destroyed permanently in battle. The new player starts with a limited number of Resources which will remain with the new player after they leave the training faction, unlike the units within the player's hangar.
To leave the Solaris Training Company, a player must earn 100 experience. After which point he/she will be able to declare for a faction.
Preparing for Battle
Before a new player can head to war, at least one legal army must exist in his/her hangar to initiate a battle. By pressing the "Create Army" button in the Hangar tab, a new empty army is created. Various Units can be dragged into and out of the army. Army Construction has strict yet easy-to-follow rules for each and every battle. Further, each Operation has specific army and unit restrictions, whether by weight, MP, or BV. Check the operation carefully to see what is needed to be eligible for a given operation. A player can also right click an army and select "Check Access" to be given a list of operations that that army is legal for.
Battle
To start there are not many actions available to new players due to the lack of experience points. To earn necessary experience and in general learn the ropes of BattleTech, MegaMek and MekWars, new players must Battle. Usually an attacker would have a choice between Operations depending on the army, however as a new player within Solaris, the only operations available at the beginning are tutorial battles, which include Ground Tutorial and Aero Tutorial. Through the specific operations pages, the exact army composition and player requirements necessary to perform that operation.
Once a legal army is created, consult the Battling page on how to start a battle.
Post-Battle
In the aftermath of an intense firefight, both players are deactivated (if they were active) and they will find there's plenty of work to do (and more than likely their techs, as well). The good news is that a payout for the operation is received, giving the player a number of Resources like C-Bills, Reward Points and more. But before going charging into the next battle repairs need to be made, unit ammunition needs to be purchased and reloaded, individual commanders might be eligible for skills, and unit replacements might need to be bought.
A new player will not have any techs to do any repair work, so hiring techs is one of the first things to do post-battle. Techs can have various skill levels that affect pricing and chance of repairs, so for more information consult the rulebook. Reloading ammunition is as simple as clicking the reload button in the hangar page.
At some point the butcher's bill may need to be addressed. A player might need to replace several units lost. The Production section of the wiki can better explain the process behind buying units.
