173 replies to this topic

[cleghorn6]

I've been watching a lot of the MWO videos that go up on YouTube from people here and others and I realised that I was getting an unrealistic view of how MWO gets played. Firstly most of the guys posting a lot of videos are far far better players than me and second, only the good matches go up. Mostly.

So, I decided to bring down the average skill level displayed in MWO matches posted to YouTube by recording EVERY SINGLE MATCH I play, and sticking them on the internet for your ... amusement, I guess. This way there is a reference point for average play. Average players can watch and feel less bad about how they're doing. Good players can watch and say "dude, really?". Bad players can say "hahaha, I do that all the time too".

So here it is: https://www.youtube....leghorn6/videos



A little more about me. I've been playing since closed beta, so just over 3 years, but I'm an actual grown up with an actual job and actual kids, so I don't get to play as much as I'd like. I have a career total of just over 2000 matches with a W/L ratio of just under 0.7. Like I said, very average. I try to play every day and I've managed to keep my uploads up to date while I've been recording (the last few months, 100 matches or so).

I'd love to hear comments, feel free to subscribe. I've turned ads on but I don't expect being bad at a computer game to turn into a career any time soon. If I could have done that I would have done it 20 years ago and saved myself a great deal of stress and unnecessary suffering.

One final thing, there's no commentary at the moment, I have a new-born in the house so I'm a bit noise limited. As soon as I'm able, it's the first thing I will add. Then at least I can explain WHY I'm doing all the dumb things I'm doing and you can laugh at me for two reasons.

Enjoy!

[cleghorn6]

Self promotional bump.

I'm just about done doing Basic skills on all my Urbanmechs and I'm about to start Griffins, so if you've any desire to see someone flail about in a Griffin, now is the time to jump in.

[Technocentrisme]

Well that is how youtube vids work for the most part, i'd say your take on it is quite welcome (not that i am the one to decide such things )

Edited by Technocentrisme, 11 June 2015 - 01:08 AM.

[DrSlamastika]

You play 3 years and your W/L ratio is 0,7 . . . . what you are doing wrong?

I hope you will get better.

[VoodooLou Kerensky]

DrSlamastika, on 11 June 2015 - 01:18 AM, said:

You play 3 years and your W/L ratio is 0,7 . . . . what you are doing wrong?

I hope you will get better.

Mines worse and Ive been playing since day 1. What am I doing wrong? Not using metabuilds.

[DrSlamastika]

wait, whats the meta again? lol

[Technocentrisme]

DrSlamastika, on 11 June 2015 - 01:34 AM, said:

wait, whats the meta again? lol

Well being casual is nice

[ConanTheGamer]

I run with 1st Federated Suns Armored Cavalry (1FSAC) and we do private matches with New Texas Mercenaries (NTEX). NTEX post videos on their Youtube channel. It never fails that they post the matches they win and rarely upload the matches they lost.

[Surn]

If you want to do much better, master a single build. Use gxp to level new mechs to save your "all important" k/d ratio. I was ranked 77 in the last tournament with my oxide and my kill death ratio In That mech is about .65...bad by most accounts. Yet it netted around 2100. The k/d ratio is largely because of matches prior to getting the build and play style worked out.

Edited by MechregSurn, 11 June 2015 - 03:59 AM.

[cleghorn6]

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.

Edited by cleghorn6, 06 July 2015 - 01:04 AM.

[IraqiWalker]

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.

You should try the centurions when you get the chance.

Also, if you go clan, and try the KFX, or ADR. Try a 2xUAC2 build. It is glorious.

[cleghorn6]

IraqiWalker, on 06 July 2015 - 12:15 AM, said:

You should try the centurions when you get the chance.

Also, if you go clan, and try the KFX, or ADR. Try a 2xUAC2 build. It is glorious.

I have the loyalty one and another I picked up from a challenge I think? So I just need to buy a third, or splash out on a Wang I suppose.

I think I will probably go Clan next, the only reason to go for Elite first is to build up a truly ridiculous amount of space money. Once you've got the build locked in, there's no need to spend C-Bills really. I might take a break either way and just have some fun so your recommendation is noted

[General Solo]

Check your mech statistics in your web profile to see which mechs you do best in.
This can tell you which mech class best suits your play style.
Win/Loss is more a measure of team performance.
So if you mostly pug its going to be lower than if you run with a good group.
Check which of your mechs have the highest K/D and stick with them.
Meta it up a little. Cause getting kills reliably is always fun.

[FlipOver]

cleghorn6, you are a good example of how people value their worth incorrectly in this game.

But it's not your fault, it's the way the game is made and how much of it revolves around the K/D ratio.

K/D should at most be a low level benchmark value, never it should be the standard since there are many ways to contribute to a match without killing.

Granted, it also shows how many deadly shots you were able to get on the enemy, but it does not show some other more meaningful stats like:

Ability to:
- draw fire so your team can focus on the enemy while the enemy is distracted by you
- split the enemy team so your team gets a numeric advantage on a set grid
- scout the enemy and safe zones, spot flankers, harass, cap
- work with the team even if that means you will fall in the next 3 minutes
- disable the enemies fire-support making them focus on you at their backs

All this and much more are never taken into account, but this doesn't mean K/D should be a standard benchmark level.

Some say to you to get on your mechs with the best K/D ratio and stick with them. I say you should learn how to use all the other mechs with the lowest K/D so you can be sure you either are average or you were just playing them the wrong way or even if you are valuing your worth incorrectly.
Because even if you kill no enemy and you die every time, doesn't mean you are an average or below average player, especially if your crazy maneuvers give your team the territorial/positional/strategic advantage to win the match!

[cleghorn6]

Hey, guys, I'm not salty about my stats. I could not care less. I know SJR or QQ or 228 or whatever the goons are called these days are not going to be beating a path to my door any time ever and that's totally fine with me. I'm not worried about getting my stats up, at least, not at the cost of having fun. Would I love to drop with those guys? Sure. Would they invite me to their comp side? Absolutely not.

Here's the thing. I love this game. I'm having a blast playing. I play solo PUGs only. I play non-optimised builds. I build my Clan 'mechs with only full sets of omni-pods*. I play maybe one match a day and even if I was an undergrad again and devoted my life to playing this game (which is what would have happened if it came out while I was an undergrad) I STILL wouldn't be in the top comp sides because I'm just not that good. Plus I live in a weird time-zone so scheduling would be a problem but, you know, mostly the not very good thing

I'm posting up all these videos precisely BECAUSE I'm not very good. As a poor to average player, it's very easy to get disheartened looking at youtube videos by B33f, or SeanLang or comp match casts from HomelessBill because the guys on those videos just rock every match they're in. They pull ridiculous numbers and swing matches. A very small number of people play that way.

I'm representing everyone else. For people starting out, these are realistic numbers you can pull once you figure out how the game works. You're not going to pull 900+ damage in a CDA-3M. You're going to have the match of your life and finish with 450 or so and be super stoked for hours afterwards. Then you're going to be punished for 5 matches straight and not make 3 figures. Then you're going to cry a little and swear to never play the game again. Then the next night, you'll be back, trying again. At least, I hope you will. I know I am.

Apologies for the novel but I guess this is important to me. I get excited.

I know I could improve my stats by just running a meta-Wolf or a DoomCrow or these days an Epic Jaguar. And sometimes I do (indeed if I decide to skill up my Clan 'mechs, the EJ is going to be high on the list, and the others aren't because I've already skilled them all up). But I'm more about fun and challenge.

I am not my KDR. For 7 minutes at a time, I am a Mechwarrior.




* Not strictly true but I start all my Clan builds with a full set of omni-pods and make minimal changes if any.

[capt hungry]

That last sentence - very Fast And Furious.

I agree with what you said though. This game (any game really), is supposed to just be fun. Granted, I feel like rage quitting and pound my fists on my desk, but I do have some epic rounds sometimes.

It's a weird balance.

I look at my stats and think I could be better, but Real Life calls and I play when I can (weekends usually).

Although, PUGGING is much more amusing with my unit than solo, but I get the appeal.

One thing about most of the online games I've ever played, is I like being able to hop in for minutes/hours, and not feel like its a full time job. I am generally not concerned about how quickly I level a mech up. Its just nice to shoot big stompy robots as time allows.

[General Solo]

My point was not about comparing or showing off e peens using K/D as a sledge.
My point is that if you have a stable of mechs it can and does indicate which mechs you get more kills in and vica versa.
Those mechs suit and support your playing style better.

Just saying

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 16 July 2015 - 01:28 AM.

[Will HellFire]

Hey Im totally with you mate. Have fun, that's what a game is about. And K/D ratio is a useless stat for measuring skill.

Though as a member of 228 I must say: I feel offended you call us goons! Yes, we have four competitive teams (2 in NA, 1 in EU and 1 in Oceanic time zones), but we have a LOT of casual players on our Expeditionary Corps. Our comp players do have their trainings and matches, but apart from that they are willing to play with anyone and help improve anyone. You might find the odd salty or trash-talking one, cant be helped in a large unit, but overall a good bunch of guys.

And one last thing: Ive never heard of a comp team approaching anyone to sway them to join the team. Its the other way around, if you are interested, you must be the one to approach and prove youre worth your spot on the team. And stats count for nothing, its your attittude and overall team play that makes it.

[Moku]

Don't bother comparing yourself to the popular youtubers. You don't want to be playing like them.

Moku

[cleghorn6]

Alright, back on topic everyone, pay attention.

Wolverines are done, all Basic skills on the 6K, 7K and 6R. All the matches are up if you're a glutton for punishment and there are some truly dire matches in there I can tell you. I think this is the first chassis where I've got every single match up. Griffins are almost all there but I derped some recordings.

Just wait until I Elite them all

Almost by accident I've decided I'm skilling up the Zeus' next. Ordinarily I'm hilariously bad in Assaults, so this should be "interesting". Lets see if anything I've learned can be applied at the glacial pace of your standard Assault 'mech.