14 replies to this topic

[Harpazo]

These games are impossibly one sided with the clan winning on offense, defense, it doesn't matter. The planets aren't back and forth battles, they're easy grabs for the clan. I don't buy the statistics PGI put out showing how balanced CW is. That may be true when both teams are playing min/maxed mechs and are coordinated, but when you drop in casually to play CW from the Inner Sphere side, then it's 15 minutes of absolute slaughter and then a defeat screen.

So what strategies, if any, are people finding viable in a solo-drop for the Inner Sphere's side of Community Warfare? Is it even worth trying or is CW only worth playing with a coordinated 12 man group?

[Stealth Fox]

What .. clans are playing again? I thought there was a heavy heavy drop off in clans doing CW at all, Must be organized teams droppen on your pug arse and eating your lunch with coordination.

Unless I missed a lot of stuff, Clan Tech is a downgrade from IS tech still.

[Harpazo]

Have you played CW recently? It's the same story when you solo drop: death.

[DustySkunk]

I know it's tough to believe just coming into CW but Clan PUGs get slaughtered too... So do Clan 12 mans for that matter.

The short version of the answer you're looking for is that playing with a group in CW will vastly improve your experience. Teamwork is OP, not the clans. CW is the endgame of MWO and while that playing as a PUG is possible, you are unlikely to find even matches. This is coming from someone who's been on both sides of the fence.

Actually it's debatable that "even" matches exist more than once in a blue moon in CW anyway because of the lack of matchmaking. Regardless, the clans eat it as much as the IS factions.

[IraqiWalker]

Please, I've seen IS and Clan 12 mans caved in by solo pugs, and small group mixes.

For the record, casual drops on the clan side go about as well as you describe your drops, they get farmed as well, when they run into an organized team.

Here are some basic things to help you out, and really improve your chances of winning:

1- This is the single most important one: Get on teamspeak for your faction's server, and coordinate with people there. Try the faction hub, or the Comstar server, and check your faction's channels there. Grab people, and coordinate with them.

2- Have your mechs Elited fully. Better yet, mastered.

3- Use Voice comms, and chat to coordinate with the pugs.

4- (This one is very hard), when you see a soloist decide to do something stupid, and rush by themselves into the enemy team's jaws while the rest of you are getting ready. Don't follow them, let the Leeroy Jenkins impersonator die alone, and accept that you guys will be a mech short (hopefuly, or at worst 4 mechs short). Make sure you can reign the other pilots in, if they decide to follow the idiot.

5- Minimize the amount of LRMs you bring, and for Kerensky's sake, please don't put them on a 100 ton mech. That is an absolute waste of tonnage.

Beyond that, the rest are optional stuff, like ECM, or other things.

Seph MacLeod, on 20 June 2015 - 08:38 AM, said:

What .. clans are playing again? I thought there was a heavy heavy drop off in clans doing CW at all, Must be organized teams droppen on your pug arse and eating your lunch with coordination.

Unless I missed a lot of stuff, Clan Tech is a downgrade from IS tech still.

Ghost Bear is the only clan whose CW activity dropped, the others are fine.

Edited by IraqiWalker, 20 June 2015 - 08:44 AM.

[DustySkunk]

IraqiWalker, on 20 June 2015 - 08:44 AM, said:

<snip>
A whole lot of truth and good advice
</snip>

You would do well to listen to this man ^^

[Ryokens leap]

OP, it's not the mechs, it's the pilots.

[Dreammirror]

You kinda answered your own question. The best strategy is to come prepared with a mastered Meta build and a coordinated team. Cw is unforgiving to random pugs; its meant for hardcore team warfare. Its not that pugs can't win, but its highly unlikely.

[Tarogato]

The one overwhelming message that I hope everybody gets regarding CW is...

CW is best experienced in a group/unit setting. Do not expect to be able to drop solo and have any degree of success whatsoever.

With rare exceptions, dropping solo is automatic ticket to the Defeat screen - don't do it if you can help it. Find a Teamspeak server, coordinate with a group. You don't need to even join a unit, you just need to be in an organised group. Too many people pug in CW, and the result of this is everybody thinks it's acceptable to pug in CW. It shouldn't be. The more 12-solo-pug teams, the more they get slaughtered by unit teams.

[Karmen Baric]

Tarogato, on 22 June 2015 - 05:51 AM, said:

The one overwhelming message that I hope everybody gets regarding CW is...

CW is best experienced in a group/unit setting. Do not expect to be able to drop solo and have any degree of success whatsoever.

With rare exceptions, dropping solo is automatic ticket to the Defeat screen - don't do it if you can help it. Find a Teamspeak server, coordinate with a group. You don't need to even join a unit, you just need to be in an organised group. Too many people pug in CW, and the result of this is everybody thinks it's acceptable to pug in CW. It shouldn't be. The more 12-solo-pug teams, the more they get slaughtered by unit teams.

Solos can win and have fun, but the winning is not that often, still i like CW, get on Faction teamspeak it helps

[IraqiWalker]

Karmen Baric, on 24 June 2015 - 02:17 AM, said:

Solos can win and have fun, but the winning is not that often, still i like CW, get on Faction teamspeak it helps

Hence the "group" part.

[loopala]

I pug, it is what I do. I pug CW, yep I sound like a bad AA meeting.

Get on the TS find group. They are out there looking for a random player or 2. Find them. Some of my best CW games has been when I hook up with a short group. Oh I still do random pug drops cold and get my shiny metal behind handed to me but I know that is going to happen going in. Faction chat is your friend. Go were the rest are going.

Yep mastered mechs. Not sold on the whole hog meta bit. I tend to run some mixed builds that work for me. LRMs are ok but for the love of kittens don't boat. 1 luancher 5 ~15. 1 ton ammo. Lrm20 is not great. Learn to dumbfire and suppression fire. Bring arty/air and uav on all mechs. ECM is thick. If you have an ecm mech without ecm pray your team does not kill you for GP.

Position/ awareness are king. You may not save a bad team but at least you will take a few with you.

If you pug you lose, a lot. Just the way it is. But that time were a group of pugs holds the line and may not win but gives a good account of them selves is glorious. And nothing beats handing a 12 man premade their shiny metal behinds.

[Lugh]

Ryokens leap, on 20 June 2015 - 11:19 AM, said:

OP, it's not the mechs, it's the pilots.

Blasphemy!!

But this does remind me of a quote:

[Johny Rocket]

The problem with teams is they have a plan and when it goes fubar they are done. Good pugs are used to working in a loose association with other pugs. Most pugs specialize and the gods of random order sometimes shine on them. Its more about the balance of who brought what than anything.
Ive been in CW where we got the right mix and just destroyed them. Most times its like "so Im the only guy who brought ecm?"

[Leone]

First off, let dead threads lie. Just make a new one next time.

Second, the problem I see with most pug drops is they expect to let others do their fighting for them, so there's little focus firing and armour sharing.

Come on folks, this is supposed to be the 'thinking mans shooter', hit your 'b' button (default map button if I recall) and get your RTS on. There are twelve enemy mechs, your side has twelve mechs. How best to spread the damage so you still have mechs standing when the enemy falls, how best to focus fire, so their's less incoming damage.

Just take a breather, pause, look at the map and think like a strategist. If you, were you not in a mech but organizing from the sidelines, and want to shout at the little yellow icon that it's not helping the fight, then figure out what it could do better and act. Sometimes you must recognize that the enemy has better tactics, and resolve to do as much damage as you can, spending your mechs like currency to purchase minor victories in the greater combat. I personally always like to have one, if not more dedicated pushing mechs. Designated assault leaders or counter pushing mechs meant to brawl into a concentration of enemies and break their line of battle. Survival was not a high design priority.

Me, I made my choice long ago, and instead of trying to rely on the unreliable I decided to go out in a four stage blaze of glory. I stripped most of my IS engines down to bare bones, and slapped as much weaponry on as I could, so that when my teammates fled leaving me alone to hold the front, I could still give a solid showing before being overwhelmed. This tactic earned me recognition amongst mine enemies, warriors who like to play aggressive as I do, and now I drop with a small but like minded unit. I've had to re-gear up my engines to keep up, (so glad I didn't sell em) but all in all, I had fun, and still am.

Oh, also, dropping clans right now. We're mercs, and we just switched last week, so don't read too much into it.

~Leone, Once Raid Leader of the Crimson Hand, now of Kells Commandos.

Edited by Leone, 03 October 2015 - 01:29 AM.