8 replies to this topic

[MischiefSC]

This is not a new concept. If you are in the defense queue then you are facing 12 people from the same faction who got together to attack. Odds are very good it is a coordinated unit. Given that almost every merc unit in the game is in FRR right now going to the defense queue on an FRR border is the worst possible decision you can make if you are not yourself in a competitive coordinated unit.

They are there because there is this river of suicidal lemmings, flinging themselves into a churning sea full of sharks because at least there is sharks there and that is better than going in a different direction.... right?

Other people will defend your worlds. If you are not a coordinated unit dropping as a coordinated unit you are unlikely to beat the coordinated unit who got 12 people to attack you. Conversely nobody else is going to attack the enemies on your border; just you. So you get in the attack queue even if you are a pug and fill up 12. Odds are good you will pull a mixed team on the other side because pugs who can not find an IS vs IS fight (which is most of them) they want will queue to defend against you.

Unless there are big units in your faction helping run the borders you should only drop in a defense queue (your own faction or anothers) if you see a 6+ team already in it looking to fill out. Why they are in defense nobody knows but we'll leave that caveat there so that we do not say 'never ever'.

Generally though?

Never ever pug in the defense queue. Ever. Get in the attack queue. Be cool. Be the guy who starts the group going. Be the guy who helps fill in your teams attack queue. You'll win way, way more often. Dropping on defense as pugs does not hold worlds. You are just wasting time and helping the other team take it faster as rolling you will be quicker than a ghost drop. Go attack and at least you will trade worlds.

Better to leave CW and do quickplay for a bit than drop in defense. If you drop in defense as a pug you are just helping the enemy take your worlds more quickly. The screwy balance between units and pugs and getting farmed and all of that takes two sides to tango.

Remember - you get farmed because you choose to keep showing up in the situation that gets you farmed. You are digging a hole, laying in it up to your neck in front of the combine and then acting surprised when it harvests you.

Get in the attack queue. Do it.

Oh, and fraking PUSH you surats. What sort of stravag huddles at corners or the gate on attack, waiting for someone else to go in first? There are times I can hear the simpering the lip-quivering from my cockpit. You want to ride with the Clans you should at least ride like a Clanner. There is no honor in huddling in the back hoping to be the last to die.

[KinLuu]

They do not play attack, because they do not want to push.

[Rushin Roulette]

Please also continue doing that (pushing that is) once the big mercs are finally gone from the FRR sector.

It gets really boring if we have to fight our way half across a map just to see everyone is hiding behind the guy infornt of him... anyone can then see what will and does happen. Its shooting fish in a barrel one at a time while they are nicely lined up... Fighting against aggressive teams is much more fun for everyone involved and the games are closer, more exciting and everyone is really forced to actively participate in a match.

Some clanners could do it before and still do, but sadly quite a few (and also quite a few IS pilots of course) dont .

[MischiefSC]

Hiding is how you lose. Hoping to just get lucky is not a valid strategy for driving a win. Clan mechs are maneuverable and carry a big alpha. Load a big alpha and stay mobile.

Crazy as this sounds..... fight like a bloody CLANNER. Ironically the balance right now strongly favors Clanners who fight like a Clanner. Play aggressive, get up on the enemy and fight at your optimal range. Stay mobile and keep the field in motion. If the other team digs in, flank and worry and drive him out. If he tries to move, out-flank him. A Clan team is almost universally better at repositioning due to similar movement speeds among mechs. It's also almost universally faster than IS teams.

Play like a pack of wild animals. Hunt, chase, push, worry, nip, harass. If you cut one off from the herd or injure one badly enough set on it and kill it. Push and flank and circle and move relentlessly. The IS does great when they can set up a firing line and hold it. Don't let them. Don't be where they want you to be. Don't let them control the field.

Playing like a frightened pack of sheep is humiliating to watch. You're playing a game of pretend big stompy robots and you're pretending to be the tough genetically engineered warriors. Pretend you're actually tough and pretend that being damaged in your pretendy robot doesn't actually hurt you and, as such, is okay. Pretend you have some balls and pretend that you want to win.

[KHAN ATTAKHAN]

Fellow Ghost Bears, have a read of this post and listen to these guys, god knows you won't listen to any fellow Ghost Bears.

Some of us believe in pushing hard once on the field and it can help to win a battle, use of overwhelming force is still the way but it must be done wisely, a suicide rush is just a waste of time.

ATTAKHAN666

[Ivan Romatovich Kerensky]

Clan alphas are brutal. srm/small pulse timber build can alpha down an atlas in 3 strikes before over heat. Pair that with just 2 or 3 others running the same build and working together... Get your new players out of that god awful ebon jag trail as well. It's not good, at all. Artic cheeta's need to stop/stopping to take their shots... The close speeds of the clan mechs make for effective murderball pushes provided everyone commits too the push. (Leave your direwhales for the public que or defense only.) And like the op said, get in the attack que. Your still gona face 12 mans at times. But your chances of hitting another pug drop increase greatly.

[MercJ]

I *knew* there was a reason our rounds went so well when you joined us Mischief.

For those that weren't there, AW0L has been winning ~90% of our rounds in the past few days, using the strategies and playstyles mentioned here by Mischief.

In fact, one of the reasons we called our unit "The Alpha Wolves" was because of the way a wolf hunts - in a pack, mobile, with a burst of ferocity after careful positioning. It's a pretty apt description of one of the best ways to take down targets in MWO.

You can't stand your ground against mechs with almost twice the hitpoints that you have (a Blackjack 1X with quirks is a few points shy of Timberwolf HP. Think about that for a second.) You either have to be running extremely heat-efficient brawling builds with high burst DPS (SRMs/Small pulse) and STILL gang up on targets, OR kite them by using your speed to keep them at 500+ meters. Either way, whatever you do, you HAVE to do it together. One clan mech barely has the heat to take down one IS mech, let alone multiples.

Whether you like it or not, this game cannot be won on your own.

Listen and understand what Mischief is saying, it's very good advice.

[Jon Gotham]

This thread should be mandatory reading for every clan pug. Can only add my appreciation of the advice given.

[nehebkau]

My thoughts are: if you are too afraid to go on the attack you should stick to LRM boats in the PUB queue.