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Stupidly simple solutions to stupidly over complicated problems
It's a sunny, cold day on the peaks. You patrol around the mountains, and you note the enemy is in H9 again. Yep, they took up position in the usual spot. Slowly, agonizingly, you make your way through vollies of LRMs and storms of sniper fire. You're taking heavy losses, but so is the enemy. Finally, it's 2v1, and you have 1 legged Dire Wolf left. He tries to get into a range to bring his LB20-X ACs to bear. And then he dies. You lose Alpine Peaks again, taking home a measly 100 damage and 70k C-Bills. You wonder if this will ever end.
You post an angry thread about how the map encourages sniper fire and LRMs and is horrible for brawling. You rant and start a debate that has occurred too many times to count. YOU petition to have it removed from the game. "Make the map good for brawlers too!" you cry.
A week later your thread has sunk to the bottom of General Discussion. You start a match, and your drop image displays the pure white peaks that plague your dreams.
A stupid problem
Anyone who has played Alpine Peaks knows the map is huge. Anyone who has played it also knows that H9 is the usual position attacked/defended. Almost everyone knows the horrors of trying to hike the mountain to reach the top under the withering barrages of Gauss, ERPPC, Lasers and LRMs. You don't always lose, but it is certainly hard to win this way. The solution isn't to hope you you spawn on the right side of the map. It also isn't to hope the enemies don't utilize their advantage. So what is the solution?
A stupidly obvious solution
Don't attack H9. Make the enemy forsake the advantage of high ground and assume a position that benefits you. There are areas to brawl in the same way there are areas to snipe in. The map is huge, as we mentioned, but people fall for the bait every time and only ever use one area of it.
There are many problems that MechWarriors over complicate. To list a few of them:
- Getting steamrolled
- Trying to take positions that are well fortified
- Trying to hold futile positions
- Getting flanked
Pay attention to the minimap.
If the fight is three sectors over from you, go there. I recently played a match where I got punked by 6+ people while my team attacked a single Mech two or three sectors away from the main company. We may not have lost, but it was frustrating that they were focusing so much man power where it wasn't needed.
Talk to your team.
You don't have to use VoIP. Call out targets. Tell people you're a boat. Inform your team of approximate locations of enemies. Tell them if you see a UAV or ECM. Communication is a key component to coordination.
Don't attack an enemy's advantageous position.
If the enemy is holding ground that gives them the advantage, make them forsake it for ground that benefits you. It's a simple, clean, unorthodox tactic that is sure to produce results if you execute it. The worst that could happen is you lose, but then, that could happen anyways.
Don't hold a prone position.
"Prone" in this case refers to a position where the enemy can surge like a wave and envelope you. This is also called 'getting steamrolled/bulldozed.' Don't do it. Recognizing a prone position isn't hard, and if you recognize that you could get steamrolled, just leave. You have no obligation to defend a bad place.
Don't hold a vulnerable position.
"Vulnerable" in this case refers to positions that put you in bad places otherwise, such as being vulnerable to snipers, LRMs, brawlers, etc. If a position is causing you to be at a disadvantage, just go away, because you're giving the enemy team an advantage.
Prioritize targets.
Some targets are more valuable than others. Do you need to boat but can't cause of ECM? Kill their ECM. Are they boating the crap out of you, or is a boat/sniper making a position hard to take? Kill the boat/sniper. Is a Dire Wolf triple Gauss-ing your team to death? Storm the Dire Wolf with everything you have.
Dead v/s Disabled.
Sometimes you don't need to kill a Mech, just get it out of the fight. Side torsos have less armor than the front center torso. Take the AS7-S for example. Blow off it's SRMs and it is drastically less powerful.
Don't chase the squirrel.
See a lone Light/Medium? There's nothing wrong with chasing it, just be aware of your surroundings. Otherwise you'll end up surrounded by heavies on all sides and getting blown to pieces.
Don't expend manpower on useless targets.
This shouldn't have to be said, but sadly it must. If eight of your team members are killing a Blackjack while the other four are being beaten twice to death by Dire Wolfs, you're not doing it right.
*Results not guaranteed, it is up to you to make them work for you
Edited by DavidHurricane, 03 March 2015 - 10:53 AM.
