Need advice on being a good lance mate

To the OP:

The mech is the tool, the craftsmanship comes in the piloting.

Knowing what the mech is capable of and how to get the most out of said mech is the key. Knowing the maps as they all have certain spots where most of the action happens and from what direction the bad guys usually come from. Using cover. Think of your armor as a resource, much like ballistic ammo or missiles and how to best use it, as in spreading damage over the entire mech by torso twisting/jjing/cover. Working with your lance via comms(c3, team speak, mumble, vent or whatever you use for voice comms). Focus fire on single targets by calling out the target. Comms also help to corral your lights back to the group as they tend to speed off to go scout and such and can get distracted.

As to the mech, any of the above suggestions are viable to say the least. It's really a matter of taste and play style. There is no "one" mech to rule them all, mind you, there are some really terrible variants out there.

Last bit of advice I can give you is to read these forums. Go over the guides. Watch the linked videos and pay attention to where the action is happening and at what ranges. Use the smurfy mech lab thingy to tinker before you spend them hard earned cbills on a mech that just doesn't produce. This game is constantly changing with the devs tweaking stuff almost weekly now. 30 min. of research a couple times a week can serve you well.

To sum up, the mech is only a small part of the equation. Learning how to pilot any given mech is the larger part of it. The high damage numbers will come in time as your piloting skills improve. Accuracy and lead down range, spreading damage over your entire mech, comms and learning the maps will serve you far better down the road than dropping a chunk of change on the game to get that "ideal" mech.

Kind of a rambling post, I know, but it's just some points from a mechwarrior that hasn't been playing too much longer than you.