79 replies to this topic

[XX Sulla XX]

polarizing


So talking to lots of people and reading lots of comments I have come to one firm conclusion. That conclusion is that Polar Highlands is by far the most polarizing map we have ever had pardon the pun.

People seem to have very strong opinions about this map both good and bad and there seems to be very little middle ground.

Edited by XX Sulla XX, 22 January 2016 - 05:30 AM.

[Kuritaclan]

I never have a conclusion. It is what it is. Deal with it. That helps a lot, on all Maps.

[adamts01]

It's the most realistic battlefield yet. Every weapon type is viable. All the arena fans and people who think LRMs are OP need to get over it.

[Lily from animove]

XX Sulla XX, on 22 January 2016 - 05:18 AM, said:

polarizing

thats because your biomagentic personal field is affected by the pole makign some spinning their had like crazy as a compass needle on the pole would do.

adamts01, on 22 January 2016 - 05:35 AM, said:

It's the most realistic battlefield yet. Every weapon type is viable. All the arena fans and people who think LRMs are OP need to get over it.

So its not solaris its polaris?

[Davegt27]

Enhanced imaging would greatly help on this map

You see the terrain can help or hurt you, you can very easily maneuver out of cover into the open and
Get blasted to death

So not having a topographical map hurts

My advice
1) Like caustic try not to crest a hill (you can eat a lot of enemy fire that way)

2) Stay in cover
3) Avoid backing up if at all possible, you can back up over a rise and get blown away
4) Try to go around into openings in the terrain
5) Lights you can’t out run a laser so be careful
6) Let the other team do most of the maneuvering most likely they will maneuver themselves in to a loss

[Dingo Battler]

I love it in my LL/Gauss mechs, but can't bring out any brawling variants at all. That's where the polarisation comes from.

You can brawl, but you either have to hide in the back doing nothing for most of the match and wait till either your side or their side wins, and the brawls for the scraps start.

Its not a matter of using your brains either. The slopes don't block LRMs, and the second you poke your head out, they'll snipe you to death. Venture too far past your team (who are all trading long range pokes), and they'll congregate and kill you. You have to be really patient, and hope your team is really good.

Either way, the high incidence, and high amount of votes for it has skewed the meta badly. I don't expect it to continue, but its a great time to be a LRM/PPC/Gauss/LL mech. Coincides perfectly with the warhammer and archer (unfortunately, PPCs still suck!)

[Paigan]

Judging from experience in general and in the MWO community specifically, I'm pretty sure people find reasons to hate or love ANYTHING that changes or gets added. No matter how reasonable or unreasonable the underlying thought process may be.

[El Bandito]

I like Polar Highlands, but I don't like my teammates' performance on it.

Edited by El Bandito, 22 January 2016 - 09:56 AM.

[William Mountbank]

KBurn85, on 22 January 2016 - 06:03 AM, said:

You can brawl, but you either have to hide in the back doing nothing for most of the match and wait till either your side or their side wins, and the brawls for the scraps start.

The Huginn is a beast on this map. Take faster brawlers, stay low, wreck sniper rears.

[Omi_]

I'd like to break down what I think makes this polarizing:

- It takes 1:30 to get into any kind of battle. People seem to be divided on the "enjoy the setup"/arcade shooter front.
- LRMs are overall more useful as compared to other maps with very binary spots where they work or don't work. Where many players rely on specific corridors on other maps to circumvent LRMs, it's those who use awareness of spotters and minor changes in terrain that tend to prevail here.
- The LRM issue tends to bleed into the "whether people can brawl on this map or not" issue for the very same reasons.

For the record, I love the map! This map makes me consider getting that MDD-A which is on sale right now for the 6xLRM5 build, and not just for seal-clubbing (previously considered LRM to be out of meta).

Edited by Hornsby, 22 January 2016 - 06:20 AM.

[WANTED]

I really like this map cause it gives me extra options. Not much is available on many other maps

[adamts01]

Hornsby, on 22 January 2016 - 06:18 AM, said:

I'd like to break down what I think makes this polarizing:

- It takes 1:30 to get into any kind of battle. People seem to be divided on the "enjoy the setup"/arcade shooter front.

That's a very good point. I absolutely hate the way this game had been moving. Next match, next match next match. 20 seconds it too long for so many of these ADD kids to wait for their next 4 minute long match then reload and start over. This map requires patience, scouting, and tactical movement. It definitely leans towards simulation and away from arena shooter maps that look like paintball courses. It's just an open battlefield. It's beautiful and realistic in it's simplicity. And absolutely any tactic or build can work if your team maneuvers properly. It's great.

[patataman]

True, many guys love it because it's big and realistic. Many others hate it because it's not arena style like most of the other maps. If only we could have 2 separated queues, one for arena maps and another for realistic maps...

[Omi_]

adamts01, on 22 January 2016 - 06:27 AM, said:

That's a very good point. I absolutely hate the way this game had been moving. Next match, next match next match. 20 seconds it too long for so many of these ADD kids to wait for their next 4 minute long match then reload and start over. This map requires patience, scouting, and tactical movement. It definitely leans towards simulation and away from arena shooter maps that look like paintball courses. It's just an open battlefield. It's beautiful and realistic in it's simplicity. And absolutely any tactic or build can work if your team maneuvers properly. It's great.

There is a moment at the start of each match on this map where I think... we could literally go anywhere from our starting location. The enemy has to deal with this fact, and as much we need to send scouts out on each flank to figure out how they're responding to this same freedom. Light mechs have the terrain with which to stealthily move up and escape if necessary. The map is the perfect size for those scouts to retreat to heavier forces before getting chewed up if they duck and weave well.

It's a beautiful creation and I wish I could play it all the time. Literally no other map has this. I know that PGI was heavily inspired to create a MW4 map in theme, but this has turned out to be so much more.

EDIT: It's also rare to ever feel that you have a map extremity in any given direction at any time. Rather, you're more focused on where your allies are than where map boundaries end. As there is a natural urge to retreat towards friendly forces, the map can sometimes feel effectively boundless.

Edited by Hornsby, 22 January 2016 - 06:34 AM.

[adamts01]

patataman, on 22 January 2016 - 06:29 AM, said:

True, many guys love it because it's big and realistic. Many others hate it because it's not arena style like most of the other maps. If only we could have 2 separated queues, one for arena maps and another for realistic maps...

Maybe there's hope for CW to turn in to that.

[Pariah Devalis]

adamts01, on 22 January 2016 - 09:38 AM, said:

Maybe there's hope for CW to turn in to that.

I'm just hoping this map makes it onto the 4v4 CW rotation. A map this big with this sort of terrain can make a 4v4 extremely fun. Hell, a 1v1 on it is crazy fun, too.

Edited by Pariah Devalis, 22 January 2016 - 09:43 AM.

[patataman]

adamts01, on 22 January 2016 - 09:38 AM, said:

Maybe there's hope for CW to turn in to that.

I didn't think about that. PGI, pls do as mr adamts01 said.

Edited by patataman, 22 January 2016 - 10:05 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

XX Sulla XX, on 22 January 2016 - 05:18 AM, said:

polarizing


So talking to lots of people and reading lots of comments I have come to one firm conclusion. That conclusion is that Polar Highlands is by far the most polarizing map we have ever had pardon the pun.

People seem to have very strong opinions about this map both good and bad and there seems to be very little middle ground.

it's great...unless you are myopic, inflexible and married to overspecialized mech builds.

So...sounds perfect to me!

[MeiSooHaityu]

I like Polar, it is interesting.

Little known fact: Polar's terrain is not covered in snow, but instead is covered with the salt collected from the forumites over the past 3+ years. Very bitter and corrosive.

[Malleus011]

If CW was on these kinds of maps, I'd play it more.