It's not just the Summer months that have gamers hot and bothered, the new Firebrand JM6-FB JagerMech has arrived in MechWarrior Online, promising the kind of metal melting power to make opponents quiver.

The Firebrand boasts twin PPCs and dual AC/2s to causes devastating damage to anything caught in open ground against this juggernaut.

The new update to MWO will also allow players to try out four trial Mechs: the Spider SDR-5D, Hunchback HBK-4P, Cataphract CTF-4X and the Atlas AS7-RS.

Featuring a beefy arsenal of long range missiles, short range missiles, and a set of big honkin' lasers, this new hero (IE, named) mech is called Pretty Baby, and it's just been added to MechWarrior Online. But that's not it, either. There's a whole slew of new content in the new update, like new UI polishes to the MechLab, the in-game screen, and tweaks to matchmaking.

Julian "Mirai" Williams

Piranha Games has been busy so far in 2013. We're only a few weeks into this year and MechWarrior Online has seen the launch of the new Spider light mech as well as the first Double XP event of the year. With the Death's Knell Hero Mech coming up right behind the Spider, it looks like they're not planning on letting up the pace any time soon. This week Piranha Games' president Russ Bullock took some time to answer a few of our questions about MWO, from the roles of the new mechs to what the future brings and even a few tips for inexperienced mech pilots.

With a couple of medium lasers on each arm, 176 points of armor and the agility to circle strafe like a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, the Death's Knell Commando Hero Mech seems suitably named.

Sparks literally fly when this beast is in play, as you can see from the video embedded at the bottom of this article. What you might also notice about the video is that a familiar voice can be heard at the end.

Fancy something a bit more agile and responsive in your MechWarrior Online stable?

Well, you are in luck, as the newly released Spider boasts a ballistic eight jumpjets and a turning radius that can really wreak havoc on players used to dominating with heavier, firepower laden mechs.

MechWarrior Online has delivered further content that the fans have asked for - more mechs, more modes and more maps.

Conquest mode is the latest addition, with capture points replacing the traditional deathmatch and base assault modes. A new night variant for River City adds more vision complexity and, lastly, two new 60 ton mechs have entered the game, Fang and Flame. 

Content patches are always great! 

Julian "Mirai" Williams

Those Penny Arcade guys are always looking out for us gamers, but  now they've taken it to a whole new level with the release of nothing less than the "Definitive and Esteemed MechWarrior Online Guide to Ultimate Victory." Damn straight.

If the question is: what are you and seven of your closest friends going to do today? The answer is now MechWarrior Online.

Seems to be a big 'ol patch-fest this week in MMO land. Yesterday, Blizzard pushed out World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Landfall, Patch 5.1 to the live servers. Today, Sony launched Rain of Fear - the 19th expansion for EverQuest. And we also saw the not-yet-released MechWarrior Online release a doozy of a patch.

Fans of up-close and personal mech combat have even more reason to be thankful this week, as MechWarrior Online gets updated with four new variants of walking fortresses. 

Fresh from the foundry is the new Cataphract mech: seventy tons of close-combat devastation. Featuring a top speed of nearly 65kph, this heavily armoured mech comes in four different variants, with each offering a mix of different hardpoints and weapon choices. 

For those of you who follow the MechWarrior lore, the Cataphract originated as a Capellan mech, before spreading throughout the Inner Sphere. It’s also lovingly known as the FrankenMech due to being made from the spare parts of other, less fortunate mechs.

Also included in the Thanksgiving Week update are two new modules: a 360 degree target sensor that will keep track of your current target, even if they manage to get behind you, and a booster module that will add 15% to sensor range. 

The Frozen City at Night completes the update, with this shadowy new environment setting delivering huge shooting lanes and fog-free firefights.

If you’ve been itching for the chance to beat Piranha at its own game, now’s your chance. Today (21st November) at 6PM Pacific/9PM Eastern, you’ll be able to play against the developer live on Twitch. Be sure to fire up their Twitch.TV channel beforehand to grab all the action.

Gareth “Gazimoff” Harmer, Senior Contributing Editor