47 replies to this topic

[RF Greywolf]

So I'm running my Adder's, one of my favorite clan omni mechs second only to the TW. (Don't judge me, I'm a wolf ) I'm running my Adder-A and usually buddy up with a friendly Direwhale to watch his six and keep the ankle biters off of him. While doing this I usually only end up with a couple assists and maybe 200 damage if I'm lucky where my big buddy usually gets 4-5 kills with a ton of damage since he can ply his death trade without worry of getting picked at from behind. Now in the past couple matches I am continuously getting yelled at by teammates about me not pulling my weight since I'm not up front soaking damage. When I try telling them about being a 'Whale Guard' they say that's a stupid idea and it's only an excuse to pad my stats. It's not like I get tons of kills off of it, but it does usually guarantee that the friendly DW can do what it's good at and gives us a good shot at victory.

Thoughts?

[Bilbo]

They want you to soak damage...in an Adder... <insert mind blown .gif>

[Malcolm Vordermark]

I think your reasoning is fine. I would consider a different build though. I'm sure you can find one that keeps away pesky ankle biters and allows you to contribute more damage to the whale's target too.

[Rhaythe]

And yet, if one of them were driving a Dire Whale, and you left them behind, they'd be screaming at you to cover them.

[RF Greywolf]

Bilbo, on 06 August 2014 - 05:26 AM, said:

They want you to soak damage...in an Adder... <insert mind blown .gif>

IKR

Rouken, on 06 August 2014 - 05:32 AM, said:

I think your reasoning is fine. I would consider a different build though. I'm sure you can find one that keeps away pesky ankle biters and allows you to contribute more damage to the whale's target too.

I initially had ERLL instead of MPL but it ran too hot for my tastes if I did get into a long brawl. MPL's seem to keep a decent rate of fire for fast moving targets.

Rhaythe, on 06 August 2014 - 05:33 AM, said:

And yet, if one of them were driving a Dire Whale, and you left them behind, they'd be screaming at you to cover them.

I guess that depends on how much of an 'expert' they are. The DW pilots usually thanked me at the end of the game.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

RF Greywolf, on 06 August 2014 - 05:39 AM, said:

I initially had ERLL instead of MPL but it ran too hot for my tastes if I did get into a long brawl. MPL's seem to keep a decent rate of fire for fast moving targets.

I would avoid Clan pulse lasers, they don't offer much benefit for the increase in tonnage. Consider a build like this ADR. That gives you more direct damage and longer range to assist the Dire Wolf and keeps a streak 6 for defending against lights. You could also drop the streak 6 for another ER ML and more DHS for even more assist potential and still fight off lights if your laser work is good.

[Joshua McEvedy]

RF Greywolf, on 06 August 2014 - 05:22 AM, said:

So I'm running my Adder's, one of my favorite clan omni mechs second only to the TW. (Don't judge me, I'm a wolf ) I'm running my Adder-A and usually buddy up with a friendly Direwhale to watch his six and keep the ankle biters off of him. While doing this I usually only end up with a couple assists and maybe 200 damage if I'm lucky where my big buddy usually gets 4-5 kills with a ton of damage since he can ply his death trade without worry of getting picked at from behind. Now in the past couple matches I am continuously getting yelled at by teammates about me not pulling my weight since I'm not up front soaking damage. When I try telling them about being a 'Whale Guard' they say that's a stupid idea and it's only an excuse to pad my stats. It's not like I get tons of kills off of it, but it does usually guarantee that the friendly DW can do what it's good at and gives us a good shot at victory.

Thoughts?

You're doing the right thing by being a good team player. I often get the same treatment too in PUGs whenever I'm escorting an assault or heavy, and providing ECM/AMS/NARC/TAG services for the entire company. A couple of weeks ago, the needling and ad hominem insults got so bad that I just turned off my ECM (to counter) and let the ungrateful PUG meet its fate.

It's too bad that PGI has not come up with a better system of rewards for playing in a true support role, or that a large percentage of the MWO community can't see past the "damage/kill" stats for support mechs.

Hang in there, buddy! You're not alone!

Edited by Joshua McEvedy, 06 August 2014 - 06:32 AM.

[Novakaine]

They are not whale shaped.
They are frog shaped.
Direfrogs.

[Gorgo7]

I run my Kit Fox as an escort to the biggest thing on my team when pugging. I works very well indeed.
Yes, the Direfrogs (whales) are usually delighted.
I always begin by alerting the team though..."Supporting Direwhale with ECM" the whale is always happy and the tactic seems to get good results.

ERPPC, x2 CSRM6, ECM

[Malcolm Vordermark]

Novakaine, on 06 August 2014 - 06:08 AM, said:

They are not whale shaped.
They are frog shaped.
Direfrogs.

Frogs can hop, something entirely to agile for the DW. Which handles like a beached whale.

[Xyroc]

you came in contact with someone that was already irritated and then decided you were in the wrong. No matter what you could have said you would have been wrong to that person. Its best to just ignore confrontational people in online world lol.

Edited by Beliall, 06 August 2014 - 06:28 AM.

[loopala]

the clan lights are made for this role. i like the kitfox better for an escort but to each there own. the red team has a hissy fit if you get an ecm triple ams kitfox between 2 dire whales. only thing better is to have storm crow ridding shotgun

[RF Greywolf]

Sadly it was multiple people over multiple games. Heck, one took 'commander' and basically told the team that if they couldn't keep up with his speed then they deserved to die. He lead a couple trials into a crossfire then tried using them as shields. They all died and then he yelled about how the team didn't support him well enough. I didn't remember much of this going on a couple weeks ago, but in the past couple days it seems to be everywhere. I'm curious if the game got a giant influx of new players or am I just getting the unlucky draws lately. Meh.

Rouken, I'll have to try that build and see how well it does. Only concern is not having a probe, but I'll see what it's like and let you know. Hopefully PGI gets rewards set up for roles soon.

[WonderSparks]

Defending a Dire Wolf? And getting yelled at for doing so? All this sounds oddly familiar...
My inane banter aside, quite frankly I support the role of "Support that turtle!", if for no other reason that I, myself, could have used such a supporter yesterday (that Oxide was so fast I wasted about 14 Gauss rounds before finally hitting the CT once and popping it), it would have made getting to that damaged Atlas on Alpine so much easier since the Oxide legged me.

So yeah, Dire Wolf. Sometimes even the biggest of the big and baddest of the bad just needs a friend.

[Koniks]

loopala, on 06 August 2014 - 06:53 AM, said:

the clan lights are made for this role. i like the kitfox better for an escort but to each there own. the red team has a hissy fit if you get an ecm triple ams kitfox between 2 dire whales. only thing better is to have storm crow ridding shotgun

The Nova was also made for escorting the heavies and assaults.

[Apnu]

OP: You must have some crazy and sad people in your Elo bracket. Wow. I like to run lights and mediums, and do the same thing, escort the big assaults to the win. No one's ever said I don't pull my weight. Even if I do < 200 damage.

In medium mechs I use those 95 and 100 ton monsters as walking cover. Drop in behind, let them grab the aggro, then pop out and blaze away. When I get noticed, I hide behind that big brother again. Its the only way to survive as a medium pilot these days.

[Navid A1]

Rouken, on 06 August 2014 - 06:21 AM, said:

Frogs can hop, something entirely to agile for the DW. Which handles like a beached whale.

Have you seen a dire wolf walking?...
A whale does not tip-toe.
The PGI version of the DW does.... so ... its a dire FROG...!... a big... slow ... fat frog

[Eglar]

Apnu, on 06 August 2014 - 10:39 AM, said:

In medium mechs I use those 95 and 100 ton monsters as walking cover. Drop in behind, let them grab the aggro, then pop out and blaze away. When I get noticed, I hide behind that big brother again. Its the only way to survive as a medium pilot these days.

I'm sorry but as fancy as what you said sounds, for me it reads like

Quote

In medium mechs I use those 95 and 100 ton monsters as walking cover. Drop in behind, block their retreat, occasionally pop out and blaze away. When the enemy misses the assault mech, it hits me.

same goes for the OP of this thread. I usually don't complain about people doing that but it is my opinion that mediums and lights are more viable when using alternate attack directions and covers. A real, indestructible cover is always better than a mech as cover. And also note that there is a big difference between following a charge and "escorting someone". But even when charging, what if the Assault mech in front of you charges, takes too much damage and needs to cycle out, are you willing to tank the damage for him? Are you blocking the assault mech behind you and in front of you?

As long as you find your own cover and focus on his targets, you won't get as many issues.

[Apnu]

Eglar, on 06 August 2014 - 12:11 PM, said:

I'm sorry but as fancy as what you said sounds, for me it reads like:

"In medium mechs I use those 95 and 100 ton monsters as walking cover. Drop in behind, block their retreat, occasionally pop out and blaze away. When the enemy misses the assault mech, it hits me. "

LOL! That was great. Very cynical. Bravo.

True that you can get in the way of the assault mech, it takes a lot of battlefield awareness to not get underfoot. But then I see players blocking retreats all the time. Its important to know the status of your big buddy. Medium mechs have enough armor for maybe one pounding before they are done. Maybe, in this era of 2 cERPPC and 2 cGR, popping your mech out of cover when you only have 320 pts of armor is dangerous. No medium can tank for longer than one alpha from another assault. Best you can do is distract the enemy for a bit while the assault seeks cover then dive for cover yourself, if your still alive.

Having said that, due to the communications limitations in the solo queue, and the randomness of PUGs in general, collecting a group of lights and mediums to flank the enemy position is nearly impossible. When it happens its dumb luck. Players, generally, are horrible at predicting what other teammates are going to do. So I adopted to following the brawlers and use them as cover to advance. All too often I'd go to flank and nobody would come with me, or the assaults would turn away somewhere else and I'm alone and far from the fight. I don't have to predict anything, just follow the big guy and shoot at what he/she shoots at.

[jper4]

Bilbo, on 06 August 2014 - 05:26 AM, said:

They want you to soak damage...in an Adder... <insert mind blown .gif>

i had the EXACT same thought, i was "isn't an Adder a light?" and clicked the link to be sure.

and OP like Apnu i've played whale guard a lot with my mediums too. good way for a medium to be ignored by the other side when thar be whales afloat! and unlike when doing the same for an atlas they're not going to start lobbing LRMs from 999m away.