173 replies to this topic

[cleghorn6]

I'm on a 9 match losing streak. Come watch that 4 over there turn into a 5.

:|

[Bud Crue]

This is wonderful. Wish I would have discovered your forum topic and youtube channel long ago. I think your attitude and commitment are reflective of the "silent majority" of MWO players (especially us older folks). Well done, and thanks!

[M T]

Having less play time doesnt always mean you'll get worse, or with a crapton of playtime it doesnt mean you can get to the top.

Some people just have it, some people dont.

No shame in that, you probably exceed in other areas.

[Luscious Dan]

Two main things:


1) I fully support gamers taking ownership of their hobby. Find what makes the game enjoyable for you, and do it. We're all responsible for our own fun, and trying to make other people play the way we want them to doesn't really work.

2) For anyone who is interested in getting better by the win/loss and kill/death metrics, it can certainly be done. Self reflection and analysis of what higher tier players are doing will get you there. You can bring some of their skills and concepts into the mix without copying their mech builds and losing all creativity.


When I started playing again this year, I was dead-set on playing the game in ways that were never going to work. I decided to embrace the challenge, figure out what I'm good at and build around that skillset. So instead of playing a Shadow Hawk laser sniper (SHD-2K is still by far the worst mech that I own in terms of stats), I really focused on active hit and run tactics, finding ranges I'm comfortable engaging from, etc. I bought some Ravens (always loved the design, one of the few that has looked good from tabletop, through previous games, and into MWO) and started playing like the son of Corax that I am, even when I'm piloting something else.

Some (certainly not all) of my builds ended up being exactly like MetaMechs endorsed builds, but I didn't always plan it that way. Sometimes it just happens. I mean, try to make a 2xLPL Raven 4X and there's only so many ways you an put it together... all roads lead to XL255 and a single jump jet. Convergent evolution in action, baby. Playing an elited Raven 4X with all the trimmings is just plain fun by the way.

Sometimes the Arctic Cheetah calls to me, but I'm more likely to answer when it's the Raven. Or a Zeus. Or a Thunderbolt. Even the Koala and Shadow Cat get me going in ways that they really shouldn't.

Edited by Luscious Dan, 08 October 2015 - 10:43 AM.

[IraqiWalker]

cleghorn6, on 08 October 2015 - 07:53 AM, said:

I'm on a 9 match losing streak. Come watch that 4 over there turn into a 5.

:|

I'm rooting for you.

[cleghorn6]

IraqiWalker, on 08 October 2015 - 02:02 PM, said:

I'm rooting for you.

Clearly it was this support that led me to have the game of my life. Video is up now

[IraqiWalker]

cleghorn6, on 09 October 2015 - 02:54 AM, said:

Clearly it was this support that led me to have the game of my life. Video is up now

[cleghorn6]

Hi! Me again. After a brief return to mediocrity, I stomped home and have finally unlocked Master on all the HBKs.



Yay!

So anyhoo, I've been watching ExMaChIIInA and his Road to Tier 1 videos. So I thought to myself, what if a regular doofus like me starts running his build (or something like it). Is there a significant advantage to meta-humping that us normal humans don't know about (or don't care about)? I suspect I know the answer but lets test anyway. For Science!

So I'm running a HBR-PRIME. ExMaChIIInA runs an A, but I get bonus CBills for my PRIME so...
First video uploading as I type.

Edited by cleghorn6, 20 October 2015 - 12:34 AM.

[cleghorn6]

HBR-Prime done. 8 matches and 5 of those were crap. I can't bring myself to run the other two with the same build, yet. So instead I'm going to do some first impressions on the Resistance 2 'mechs.

Starting with the Crabs! Yay! Crabs!

[100mile]

This is excellent....and I totally agree with your "silent majority" comment. I hover between Tier 3 and Tier 4 but i think it has more to do with me playing with a team than it does my skill level... Keep up the good work!!

[Bud Crue]

Let us know what you think of the Crabs. I myself had terrible results...then came back to them only after stripping XLs off of other mechs to give 3 of my 4 Crabs some speed. A slow Crab is a dead Crab. Much better results when the speed is in the upper 90s or better.
Also, I have noticed that I die from legging on these more than any other mechs other than maybe Ravens.
Also, though I am incapable of it...ignore the quirks. E.g. the R variant with a standard 300 and 5 ML (only Crab I left standard) is a crappy build (poor heat, poor alpha...but I gotta use the quirks!). I mean, a Cicada can do what this thing does at ten tons less. But I just can't help myself though, cuz I gotta use the quirks (will probably upgrade to big XL engine when I can afford to buy one). Be interested to get your builds and impressions.

[Spleenslitta]

cleghorn6, on 06 July 2015 - 12:07 AM, said:

Yes, I understand that specialisation is the key to super high stats. The problem is that it's incredibly boring.

My current mission is to have all Basic skills unlocked for all my IS 'mechs. After that, it's a toss up whether I try to Elite them all before I take on the Clan 'mechs. I've just finished the Griffins, I'm working on the Wolverines now. After that it's only the Grasshoppers and Zeus' (and the random early bird Jaegermech) to go.

EDIT: Also, I don't care about super high stats, in case that's not clear.

Then have fun without doing the meta at all. I don't care about stats much either and guess what?....I do almost everything the opposite from meta.
Not only do i use non meta builds, but tactics too.

I prefer staying away from my team since i have made my own set of high risk/high gain tactics that is based on playing solo.
That most certainly goes against the normal way of playing MWO.

My builds are nutty. I have KFX's that have a single ER laser of every size and 4x MG's. Or i toss out a couple of heatsinks to get an ER PPC instead of the ER LL.
My FS 9S (the one with the MPL quirks) hasn't got a single MPL in it. 280XL, 6 JJ's, 2x ML, 3x SL and 1 ER LL.

Despite all this i'm fairly successfull statwise. PGI said: MWO is a thinking players game and it can be if you try it.
Here is a link to a huge guide i made on how i do it. I allready made 2 players toss the meta builds with my madness.
Non Meta Light Mech Tactics Guide.

[Haladrius]

Cleghorn6,
thanks for putting your matches up on youtube. Many time I've watched posts of other's matches and frankly I've been discouraged by how much better other people are than me. Not that even at my best I could match those posts but perhaps the discrepancy isn't as vast as it appears.
Then again, maybe your matches are better than all those guys at which point maybe I'll just do all my matches in the testing grounds.

Thanks,
Hal

[100mile]

Fact is yes Meta gives you the best chance to perform at the highest level of the game....But here's the rub...Only if you have the skill level to go along with it and only if your play style adapts to it.
Is it fun for a person of my skill level to kit all his Mechs to the Meta...Not very often (Although I when it does overlap with my play style I use the Meta with out mercy or apology) cause I don't have the natural talent level to play them "Right" and I don't wanna suck the fun out of the game trying to run something i don't enjoy.
The only "Meta" I fully back is working with your team..no matter what style you play, no matter what mech load out you run and no matter how good you are finding a team you like to work with/join or at least attempting to work with the pugs you drop with will make this game way more enjoyable.

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the poster and may not reflect the opinions of the rest of the posters in this thread..

[cleghorn6]

Here's the thing. I am an average player, at best. I've been playing for a long time, so I know my way around, but I have no particular skill at this game. If I head on over to metamechs and pick myself up a tier 1 build, I get demonstrably better results. Now I'm not saying they're OP nor "lol wut WTF PGI balance Paul" which seems to be the other main response. My position is that the parts of the game that aren't shooting things, aren't very well rewarded.

If you optimise your gameplay and 'mech build to putting out damage, welcome to tier 2. For everyone else, take your steering wheel and get in the back with the rest of the scum.

[cleghorn6]

Welcome back!

I've just finished putting the finishing touches on the Black Knight First Impressions videos, and they're the last of the Resistance 2 set. 16 matches in stock builds, not a single one with a heat rating over 1.0. Most commonly seen map? Mordor, of course.

The last little while has seen my PSR slowly drop. A stack of matches in stock 'mechs hasn't helped, at all. My face melting efforts in the HBR went so-so, so what else can I test?

The most "broken" 'mech in the game (currently) of course! Arctic Cheetah, here I come. If I get comfortable, I might even Elite them out. I'll try a few different builds for them, see what sits comfortably. They seems to be suited to the usual ECM light roles, laser sniper, laser vomit and close-in assassin. I'll try out some builds and see how we go. If you want to refresh your memory, my First Impressions videos are sitting, taking up valuable YouTube storage space.

For Science!

Also to recover some self respect!



Edit: Also, I'm up to 24 subscribers and over 1000 views, so thanks everyone for watching. Please comment either here or on the videos, I'm happy to take feedback. And if you could just get a few thousand of your closest friends to do the same, I can retire and do this full time

Edited by cleghorn6, 27 October 2015 - 07:20 PM.

[cleghorn6]

I've just knocked out some awesome Arctic Cheater matches, come check it out.


So much fun.


| Linky
V

[cleghorn6]

Arctic Cheetah Basic skills done. I think I'm going to Elite them all, so I guess that's what you're watching now. If someone wants to come up with a suggestion, I'm all ears.


I'm about 5 matches behind because apparently I'm meant to be working when I'm at work (I know!)

EDIT: All the videos are up. I'm up to date. Take that, work!

Edited by cleghorn6, 24 November 2015 - 06:26 AM.

[cleghorn6]

I've just posted up 2 of my best ever matches.


Using the Double XP event to level up my Arctic Cheetahs. I'm running 4 x cSPL, 2 x cERSL, ECM on the ACH-C and wrecking face. It's awesome.


Before anyone asks, the missing videos are where my old PC is crapping out and breaking the recording. It's coming into summer here in the southern hemisphere and the increased temps are not doing my machine any favours. By the time I've got through 3 matches in a row, the case is too hot to hold your hand on. I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen.

[totgeboren]

cleghorn6, on 01 December 2015 - 12:22 AM, said:

I've just posted up 2 of my best ever matches.


Using the Double XP event to level up my Arctic Cheetahs. I'm running 4 x cSPL, 2 x cERSL, ECM on the ACH-C and wrecking face. It's awesome.


Before anyone asks, the missing videos are where my old PC is crapping out and breaking the recording. It's coming into summer here in the southern hemisphere and the increased temps are not doing my machine any favours. By the time I've got through 3 matches in a row, the case is too hot to hold your hand on. I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen.

Sounds like you at a minimum need to run your PC with the case open (I do), and make sure you clean your fans a few times a year. A good thing about having it open is that it's easier to hear when your fans are getting filled with dust (I have cats and they seem to enjoy putting all their fur in my fans).

Anyway, I know you don't care all that much about kdr, which all things considered seems rather reasonable.
But like everyone else I think you enjoy others getting rekt more than you getting rekt, so all I can say as an oldie is, learn heat management!
I was playing on and off for about a year, doing rather ok and enjoying the game, and then there was an event during a weekend where I was all alone and had nothing to do. And so I played rather intensely for two days straight. And something sorta clicked in my head, and I think it has to do with how I manage heat now.

My kdr went from like 0.8 to 1.16 (so not super good or bad either way), but I bought me some Panthers recently, and in my -8Z variant I got a whooping kdr of 1.92, with 171 games played.

I don't play meta mechs (most played is Centurions followed by Awesomes). But yeah, heat management and positioning wins you games.
And a nice thing about MWO as someone 30+ is that you don't need twitch reflexes to do well. Just situational awareness really.

Edited by totgeboren, 03 December 2015 - 06:51 AM.