AirMech FAQ

AirMech FAQ by Chael

Alright, so here I have compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions in this forum. I’ve seen MANY posts about some of these and would just like to provide the answers to them, especially for newcomers to the forum so that they won’t have to make new threads asking about them. It pretty much covers everything from gameplay to technical problems, but please note that this is a FREQUENTLY asked questions list and if you can’t find your answer here, post in one of the relevant sections.

Table Of Contents

(Search the letter/number combination at the end of each question in the table of contents to find its answer [AKA: Hit CTRL+F])

~ Does Anyone Have A Steam Key? [1Q2W]
~ Why Does The Game Cost $20 On Steam Even Though It’s F2P? [1Q2W]
~ Why Can’t I See My Friends’ Games? [1Q2W]
~ Why Did I Stop Getting Kudos? [2W3E]
~ How Do I Get Free Diamonds? [3W4R]
~ What Do Cosmetic Tracers Do? [4R5T]
~ Do Players Who Pay Real Money To Carbon Have Unfair Advantages? [5T6Y]
~ Can You Make Variants Available For Kudos? [5T6Y]
~ Where Can I Find My Referral Code? [6Y7U]
~ Where Can I Download Official Art For This Game? [7U8I]
~ Why Did My Fort Start Taking Damage After The Game Timer Went Beyond 30 Minutes? [8I9O]
~ How Do I Logout? [9O0P]
~ Why Can’t I Redeem Some Quests That I Have Completed? [0P1Q]
~ What Is VIP Status? [0P1Q]
~ What Is The Difference Between The Color Levels? [AZSX]
~ How Can I Exit A Random Game? [SXDC]
~ How Do I Sell Units That I Don’t Want? [DCFV]
~ How Do I Place Beacons Or Let My Team Know Where I Am? [FVGB]
~ What Happens When You Link Accounts? [GBHN]
~ Why Do You Use Such Weird Search Indexes? [HNJM]
~ I Can’t Load AirMech On PC. Help! [JMKL]
~ How Do I Use Team Chat? [QAWS]
~ I Have Lag Problems! Help! [WSED]
~ Which Is The Best AirMech/Pilot? [EDRF]
~ How Do I Use Special Abilities Such As The Striker’s Sword? [RFTG]
~ Are There Any Cheats For This Game? [TGYH]
~ What Units Can Be Placed On Sockets And What Does That Do? [YHUJ]
~ I’m Trying To Update AirMech But The Sequence Keeps Repeating! Help! [UJIK]

Does Anyone Have A Steam Key? [1Q2W]
OR
Why Does The Game Cost $20 On Steam Even Though It’s F2P?[1Q2W]
OR
Why Can’t I See My Friends’ Games? [1Q2W]

Right, so this question doesn’t really fit FAQ style, I know, but this is the most common post I’ve seen so far. The thing is, people asking for Steam Keys usually don’t know the difference between the three versions of AirMech and think the Steam version. I know Pixie has already talked about this in his sticky, but I’d just like to reiterate it because some of you don’t seem to get it. I’ll get down to why you can’t see some of your friends’ games below. Actually, if you read the descriptions of each of the three versions of AirMech right here, you’ll be able to work it out yourself. All the way below of this section about Steam is why it “costs” $20…

The three versions of AirMech DO NOT have any major differences in gameplay (except one version is supposedly much more laggy than the others). In case you don’t know, these three versions each run on Google Chrome, PC and Steam.

Right, now we’ve got the basic stuff settled, here are the features of each version:

Google Chrome:

~ Native Client, people on Chrome can only play with people on Chrome.
~ Only version with the EXCLUSIVE Chrome Saucer.
~ Absolutely FREE, download it from the Chrome Web Store or here:

http://www.carbongames.com/chrome.html

~ Usually very laggy compared to the other two versions.

(You can use the Chrome Saucer in other versions by logging into Chrome and buying it before logging in on the same account to another version.

PC Version:

~ Exactly the same as the Steam version barring Steam functions like Steam invite.
~ PC players can play with BOTH PC players and Steam players.
~ Like the Chrome Version, it’s FREE. Download it here:

http://www.carbongames.com/download.html

~ More populated and less laggy than Chrome.

Steam Version:

~ Like I said, exactly the same as the PC version, except that it has Steam functions.
~ Requires a Steam Key to enter, obtainable when you make a real-money purchase from Carbon. If you get the Beta Bundle, post here for a total of THREE Steam Keys:

https://www.carbongames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2765

So unless you REALLY need those Steam functions, you don’t require a Steam Key since the PC version is almost identical.

Why does the game cost $20 on Steam although its Free To Play ?

There have been a lot of these questions in the Steam Gamehub of AirMech. The answer is the game is still in beta, and the steam client is available only to people who have bought the Beta Bundle (Which gives tons of in-game content) the $20 is for the Beta Bundle and not for the game. After the end of the AirMech Beta, the game will be available Free To Play on Steam.

Why Can’t I See My Friends’ Games?

For those who totally didn’t get what was up there, I said that only Chrome players can play with Chrome players. PC players can play with other players, plus play with Steam players, and vice versa. Therefore, you most probably can’t see someone else’s game because both of you are playing on different clients (one has to be Chrome).

Why Did I Stop Getting Experience/Kudos? [2W3E]

In order to deter people from farming easy Kudos and XP offline, and to make an incentive to play online instead, Carbon has implemented a 1 hour 30 minute time limit to offline play. After this time span, you will NOT receive any Kudos or XP for playing offline. This resets every 22 hours (according to the Carbon FAQ, which you should read):

“Currently we only allow players to earn rewards for the first 90 minutes of offline play each day, resetting every 22 hours.

Online games do not have this restriction, and you will always earn rewards for playing online games during Beta (alpha). This helps us test our servers, so we are happy to give you Kudos in exchange for helping us test.”‘

If I’m not wrong, when completing offline games in less than 7 minutes will make the game count as 7 minutes. So you can’t play 90 1 minute games by Jackal rushing. Besides, PvP is so much more fun! Be a contributor to the community by being there for others to play with!

How Do I Get Free Diamonds? [3E4R]

Alienware Arena currently has a promotion for you to get an EXCLUSIVE Alien pilot and 1000 Diamonds for FREE! Just follow the steps in this link:

http://www.alienwarearena.com/giveaway/airmech-closed-beta-key-1000-diamonds/

When you get the key, either redeem it on this website or ingame (Store > Codes).

I’m Not In One Of The Applicable Regions! Help!

Since the promotion is only available in North America, South America, Europe, Russia and Australia, it seems as if it’s impossible to get one if you’re out of range. However, fear not, as there’s a simple solution.

Using web proxies such as Tor Browser (search it up) will allow you to pose as an anonymous person and disable Alienware Arena from knowing your location, thus letting you get one of these promo keys. Simply create an Alienware Arena account, login while using a web proxy that supports Javascript, and get your key!

NOTE: THE SITE IS OUT OF KEYS. SORRY.

What Do Cosmetic Tracers Do? [4R5T]

Nothing except changing the color of your AirMech’s bullets. Which also brings me to the next question…

Do Players Who Pay Real Money To Carbon Have Unfair Advantages? [5T6Y]
OR
Can You Make Variants Available For Kudos? [5T6Y]

No. The explanation to this is simple.

All real-money items are only for cosmetic or single player purposes.

Therefore, in PvP you will not be heavily disadvantaged against the so-called “no-lifers who pay 2 win”. Don’t take this as an excuse to rant when you lose. Anyways, be grateful that Carbon made such efforts to balance the game out at the sacrifice of earning more money! Variants and Cosmetics WILL NOT be made available for Kudos as they are the only way Carbon can make a little bit of money.

Where Can I Find My Referral Code? [6Y7U]

Go to Store > Codes. I guess the rest is simple enough.

Where Can I Download Official Art For This Game? [7U8I]

In the Carbon media section:

https://www.carbongames.com/media.html

Why Did My Fort Start Taking Damage After The Game Timer Went Beyond 30 Minutes? [8I9O]

Ok, so this is a gameplay question, I know, but quite a few people don’t understand this concept. This damage is known as overtime damage and is meant to end games that people drag out – mainly when players “turtle” (camp at base with tons of units surrounding). The amount of damage you take is dependent on how many outposts you control; the more outposts you have in possession, the less overtime damage you take.

How Do I Logout? [9O0P]

Right click the power button. Note that this only works on Chrome and PC versions as the Steam version is bound to your Steam account.

Why Can’t I Redeem Some Quests That I Have Completed? [0P1Q]

Those quests with a Spade icon next to them are VIP quests. This means you need VIP status to redeem them.

What Is VIP Status? [0P1Q]

VIP status is a special status given to you when you pay a certain amount of money to Carbon for ingame items etc. By paying a total of $9.99 to them, you can obtain Silver VIP status, which awards you an extra 10% Kudos/XP for every game you play. Gold VIP status doubles the amount of Kudos/XP you get for every game you play, but is not available at the current time.

What Is The Difference Between The Color Levels? [AZSX]

In online games, the color level you have is the number of “votes” to have that color for your team. Here’s an example:

1st Team:

Randomdude1 ~ Blue Lv2
Randomdude2 ~ Red Lv1
Randomdude3 ~ Red Lv2

Total votes for this team: 2 Blue, 3 Red. So this team will have Red as their army color.

2nd Team:

Randomdude4 ~ Green Lv3
Randomdude5 ~ Red Lv3
Randomdude6 ~ Blue Lv1

Total votes for this team: 3 Green, 3 Red, 1 Blue. In the case of a draw within the same team (i.e 4 Red, 4 Blue) there is a color priority, which is Blue > Red > Green. Meaning, Blue has the highest priority.

What If Both Teams Have The Same Color After Voting?

In the case of this scenario, the team on the left takes dominance and the team on the right will have their second most voted color.

How Do I Exit A Random Game? [SXDC]

Press escape, and a menu will come up. Exit from there.

How Do I Sell Units That I Don’t Want? [DCFV]

To sell units (AKA Recycle), hold the spacebar while carrying the unit over any Outpost/Fort that YOUR TEAM owns. This will recycle the unit and refund you the full price of it.

I Got 0 Credits For Some Of The Stuff I Sold! Help!

Units that you didn’t buy such as the preset tanks/turrets etc on 1v1 AI will give you 0 credits. The units that give you 0 credits when sold are:

~ Runners from Bot Spawners
~ Gemini Goliaths from Survival
~ Gorgons (Mobile HAATs) from Survival/Vale
~ Ultimate Berthas from Last Stand
~ Abducted units
~ Basically any unit you didn’t pay for

So don’t sell them, especially Gemini Goliaths and Gorgons because they are AWESOME!

How Do I Place Beacons Or Let My Team Know Where I Am? [FVGB]

If you want to place a beacon to let teammates know where you are/know where you want them to go, double press the [Z] key. If you just want them to know where you are, press the [Z] key ONCE instead of twice.

What Happens When You link Accounts? [GBHN]

Just tested this out. When you link accounts, several things happen:

1. Whenever you login on either email you will enter the same account.
2. All purchases/Kudos etc carry over, but duplicate purchases WILL NOT be refunded.
3. The first email you enter when linking accounts is your contact email.
4. The second email’s username will be used as this account’s username.
5. The higher level account’s level will be this account’s level.
6. You can link more than two accounts.

Hope this clarified your doubts, since you guys didn’t really know how this worked. Even I screwed up before finding out!

NOTE: THE ABOVE IS WHAT USED TO HAPPEN. BELOW IS WHAT HAPPENS NOW:

Tested again. Now, there are several changes:

1. You can only login to the first account you login to during the linking process (therefore your username is also that account’s username, unlike previously where the system took the second account’s name)
2. All purchases/Kudos etc carry over, but duplicate purchases WILL NOT be refunded.
3. The first email you login to is your contact email.
5. The higher level account’s level will be this account’s level.
6. You can link more than two accounts. However, there seems to be a maximum number of accounts you can link (probably 10).

Why Do You Use Such Weird Search Indexes? [HNJM]

If you’re having problems with my search system, use Google search. That’s what I do when searching for AirMech stuff.

I Can’t Load AirMech On My PC. Help! [JMKL]

If the “Incoming Awesomeness” part of updating the game keeps finishing and restarting, try removing Airmech.exe AND Carbon folder from your computer. Download and reinstall it afterwards. Whatever you do, DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT rage quit and switch to Chrome (you probably are on PC thanks to Chrome problems anyway) until Chrome lag problems are seriously improved.

How Do I Use Team Chat? [QAWS]

Team chat, meaning chatting with only your team, useful for formulating strategies and discussing things you don’t want opponents to know, can be executed by placing an exclamation mark [!] before your message. As the exclamation mark will disappear when the message is sent, I suggest you put two exclamation marks when trying to communicate with your team.

I Have Lag Problems! Help! [WSED]

It really depends on what kind of problem you have. Here are the more common ones:

How Do I Fix Desync/Lag On Chrome?

Read this:
https://www.carbongames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3311&sid=1e86ae84a80a0a0cdafab5eeb5717c33

What Is Considered A Laggy/High Ping Level?

Anything above 280.

The Game Is Lagging Even Though Everyone’s Ping Level Is Low! Help!

Either yourself or other players (or both) have a graphics card that’s not powerful enough to run AirMech properly. This results in a low FPS (frames per second) and affects the game by slowing it down. The only way to fix this is to get a new graphics card if YOU have low FPS. Getting a new graphics card because someone else has low FPS is downright retarded.

Which Is The Best AirMech/Pilot? [EDRF]

There is no best. Also another reason why I totally love this game. Carbon does their very best to balance out stuff, just like they make paid items have no game-changing effect! Oh well, What I CAN do is to let you know what each of the Mechs/Pilots do, so…

AirMechs

Striker: All-round
Chopper: Area Control
Bomber: Unit Killer
Neo: Anti-Mech
Saucer: Anti-Mech
Osprey: Support
Warthog: Survivable, Ranged Unit Killer

Pilots

Choose one that fits your playstyle, their descriptions say all. There is no best Pilot/AirMech; this also applies for loadouts.

How Do I Use Special Abilities Such As The Striker’s Sword? [RFTG]

You first need to upgrade the skill. This can be done by spending ability points on one of the icons at the top left side of the screen when you level up. So if you want to use the sword, upgrade the Sword (obviously). The same applies for all other active skills (Bombs, Heal, Etc). To use these active skills, right click (for the Striker’s ground active skill, Sword, you must hold right click and left click to slash).

Are There Any Cheats For This Game? [TGYH]

No. Trying to cheat during online play will get you kicked from the game. Carbon also keeps logs of purchases and will know if any suspicious activity goes on.

What Units Can Be Placed On Sockets And What Does That Do? [YHUJ]

Sockets are those little pads attached to forts and outposts – forts always have them, outposts may or may not. Only Artillery, Turrets and Socket powered units can be placed on Sockets (you can place a tank on a Socket for all I care, but nothing would happen). Effects of Socketing something differs depending on the unit you use on one. The Socket-using units are:

Turrets:

~ T99 (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Grinder (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ HAAT (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)

Artillery:

~ Arty (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Archy (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Bertha (Auto-Repairs while on Socket)

Socket Powered

~ Money Maker (Generates credits, Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Lunchbox (Slows units when attached to outpost, grants base shields when placed on a fort Socket, Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Honeypot (Heals nearby units when Socketed, Auto-Repairs while on Socket)
~ Bot Spawner (Spawns Runner every 13 seconds when Socketed, Auto-Repairs while on Socket)

I’m Trying To Update AirMech But The Sequence Keeps Repeating! Help! [UJIK]

I’ve seen a lot of this lately, and apparently none of you are taking the time to do a search, so I’ve decided to add the solution in here. So the “Incoming Awesomeness” thing keeps closing and restarting, eh? No matter…

1. Fire up the task manager.
2. Find the AirMech process.
3. End process tree.
4. Start AirMech again.

You have to do this because there is a “ghost” AirMech process running, and screwing with your updates. Don’t ask me why, but if that didn’t work…

1. Delete AirMech.exe and the Carbon folder at %appdata%/Carbon.
2. Redownload AirMech from http://www.carbongames.com/download.html
3. That’s it.

That’s about all I have on my FAQ! I hope this has helped you answer your burning questions! Happy AirMech-ing!