79 replies to this topic

[Malora Sidewinder]

Shimmergloom, on 30 March 2013 - 09:43 PM, said:

Hey all! not sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes.

I just started earlier today, and so far my play time has been painful more than fun.

A quick run-down of the last 3 games I've played.

Game one, (first time encountering Electronic Counter Measures) I chose the free trebuchet. I get the desert map, and after walking with the team I notice a team-mate off in the distance getting shot by stuff. So I moved in closer to see if i could help, and i see three of the same mechs around him. I try and light them up with my missiles, but i couldn't target them. I thought it was a bug so i ran in and started hitting them with my lasers. I did OK until they killed my team-mate. then they came after me. They just ran around in circles and fired off their missiles that didn't miss. SRMS that tracked or something. Eventually two of them just stopped behind me as i shot their friend and drilled through my back armor with those magic missiles.

It was terrible and I felt impotent and there was NOTHING I could do. Very non-battletech if you ask me. If I wanted to feel like infantry I would play battlefield.

Game TWO, I pick the free light mech. desert again. Run around with the team, and we all kill two of their team. It was great, the fight lasted 30 seconds or so and I thought I did good. We keep going trying to find their team. I run off to look, round a corner, and boom. Dead. Don't know what killed me. Still don't, and frankly, I don't care. Some sort of ballistic. But that shouldn't happen. Quick kills don't belong in mechwarrior. I wrote it off as a fluke.

Game three, I try my hand at the free heavy mech. The dragon. I ALWAYS liked the dragon in TT, and I really enjoyed reading some of the battle-tech books with dragons in them. They're just such a cool mech and they have cool lore with them. In the books, men would tremble when they saw a dragon on the battlefield. Things go well. I get into a fight with a mech that I recognized immediately. The catapult. He hits me with some lasers and missiles, and I hammer him with my autocannon and lasers, and I think I did a good job in that fight, and dished damage. One of my team-mates kills him and I get away with only armor damage. Then I see another catapult, hit him with my missiles then close in with my laser and autocannon. He shoots me once with a STUPID amount of missiles. I die. Instantly. Through intact armor.
someone on my team called him a skillcat, and I see where the nickname comes from......

I really want to give this game a chance. I know I'm terrible, I expect to be. I do my best to stick with the team, to not run off on my own, and to do what everyone else does. I see the same thing happening to most of my team-mates every battle too. But I also expect this game to have some sense of balance. I may not be a good judge of what needs nerfing and what doesn't because I've played six games. But out of those 6, half of them have been so terribly frustrating... I didn't even realize I had made a mistake until my mech corpse was on the ground. This game requires a ********* to enjoy it......

And yes, i hear everyone telling me "It gets better, just wait until you get your own mech!" and "You just cant play noob, Magic missiles and electronic counter measures are fine" (Actual quotes) but if this is what I should expect, I don't want to wait for it to get better. I want to go do something else.

Is this JUST because i'm new or does this game have some problems?

stick to it, man.
you'll manage. you'll get better and that alone will reduce dying, but you *will* get your own mech, and if you're decent that should make everything much much better.

if i had to offer advice, i'd say join a group to drop with. not sure if recruiting on the forums is against the rules or not, so i'll send you a PM about the team i'm apart of.

also, when you *do* have enough to build your own mech, be sure to run by your ideas with some veterans of the game to make sure you don't waste money on an idea that only looks good on paper.

happy hunting!

[Bagheera]

Malora Sidewinder, on 30 March 2013 - 10:53 PM, said:

if i had to offer advice, i'd say join a group to drop with. not sure if recruiting on the forums is against the rules or not, so i'll send you a PM about the team i'm apart of.

There's a recruiting section for starting recruiting threads, but iirc there's not any rules about recruiting someone in their own thread.

[El Bandito]

Wizard Steve, on 30 March 2013 - 09:50 PM, said:

Post on your main.

This. It is a failed troll thread.

[kalabaddon]

El Bandito, on 30 March 2013 - 10:57 PM, said:

This. It is a failed troll thread.

it's not like he was advocating rage quitting or anything, why not assume good intentions and call out the troll tag if they prove out to be one? otherwise you all just chase away people?

[Corbon Zackery]

When I started I saved the Commando from extinction no one was really using it and it took time for people to understand the power a 133kph mech with 3 m. pulse lasers could do.

That being said several people exploit ECM mechs buy loading streak missiles on them popular builds include.

Commando with 3 streaks and a tag or m. laser they also use airtimes for faster lock-on.
Raven that has 3 m lasers and 2 streak missiles
ECM spider not as annoying but still dangerous as it can pack 3 pulse lasers and about 12 heat-sinks.

So team wise in the first match you did the right thing you tried to help out a buddy or did you because you left the protection of your other teammates.

2nd match you ran into a splat cat meow 6 SRM six packs even with the new damage is still dangerous. That's why you need to target the arms were the hard points are leaving it with no weapons.

3rd match you got hit with double AC 20 or Double Gauss rifle Trial mechs have a slight flaw in them called uncased ammo. Ammo explodes if its critical hit. Most people exploit the fact that you can hide ammo in the leg or use a CASE but Trial mechs have none so they go up like popcorn in a oven.

Like any new grunt on the battlefield your going to go through some growing pains. Once you understand the weaknesses of the trial mechs such as uncased ammo no anti missile system you develop tactics to overcome adapt and conquer on the battlefield.

First thing you do is dump off that ammo before it blows up on you. Second stay near mechs that have a AMS system since its a passive system it will protect you. Third never go solo until you develop your map awareness.

Edited by Corbon Zackery, 30 March 2013 - 11:15 PM.

[El Bandito]

kalabaddon, on 30 March 2013 - 11:00 PM, said:

it's not like he was advocating rage quitting or anything, why not assume good intentions and call out the troll tag if they prove out to be one? otherwise you all just chase away people?

Once one has done as many Tribunal cases in LoL as I, one tends to look at the world in pretty cynical ways.

[Duncan Fisher]

shadevarr, on 30 March 2013 - 09:50 PM, said:

It is still being balanced but I remember being new and it was a very steep learning curve. Get through those rough 1st 25 drops and then get into something more comfortable. PGI has agreed that the trial mechs arent up to the task.

WANTED, on 30 March 2013 - 09:51 PM, said:

From what I read you got a kill and then got an assist on a kill so you must be doing something right for starting out this early. Yes, you will die alot even with tons of experience under your belt. This game relies alot on everyone working as a team and that is rare usually unless a large group drops in on Team Speak.

And yes there are problems. The splat cats, AC 20/20 mechs, etc can take over a match if given the chance. Wait till you purchase a mech and spend time tinkering with it and then you might enjoy it more.

S3dition, on 30 March 2013 - 09:51 PM, said:

Both.

ECM is currently very broken and renders missiles useless against it without other ECM or TAG nearby.

Also, for people new to Battletech, multitasking targets, heat, ammo, and range can be very tricky, especially when you aren't familiar with the weapons.

The game is currently in open beta, so there are a lot of fixes and extra content incoming. Your best bet is to grab some friends (install teamspeak and check out one of these servers: http://mwomercs.com/...e-chat-servers/), who can help you learn the game.

It's a lot of fun once you've learned the ropes and customized a mech. Yes, the free trial mechs are pretty bad against custom mechs, but it shouldn't take more than ~20 games to get your first mech.

Also, ignore the negative banter. There are a handful of people on these forums that are determined to drive away new players. Not sure why. I guess they like playing alone?

Anyway, welcome to the game!

Darkfire66, on 30 March 2013 - 09:54 PM, said:

Get on the NGNG teamspeak and I'll help you learn how to play.

Kiiyor, on 30 March 2013 - 09:56 PM, said:

The learning curve for this game is best described as... Brutal. Only imagine drawing the word out over about 4 seconds as you say it. There are lots of beginner threads in the guides section, but they can't cover everything. Everyone has their own tips, but learning to identify your mistakes is your best bet.

I've talked lots of friends into playing, and one of the hardest things for them to grasp was the importance of good positioning on the battlefield.

Mechs are far from invincible. Even an atlas can be turned to vapor in hilariously short order if it is left under the scrutiny of too many enemy guns.

In this game, your positioning and how you expose yourself to fire are far more important than decent gunnery skills. Getting this mindset is one of the hardest things to come to grips with.

My advice? Pick yourself a nice, fat protector, like an atlas. Stay about 200m behind them, and shoot what they shoot. Also, when you're moving, think to yourself "if I'm shot at now, is this the place I would like to return fire from?"

If the answer is no, find somewhere you would like to return fire, and go there.

Lastly... Find some friends. If you get on TS, you don't even have to talk, but the game is billions of times easier to get to grips with when you play in a team.

Stick with it! I promise it gets better.

Zen Hachetaki, on 30 March 2013 - 09:59 PM, said:

Not sure what the above poster means (the guy talking about your main), but I will give it a go for some feedback for you.

First off, yes game has some problems, but so does every game - and *technically* this is still beta. I will say it is NOT forgiving to new players - spend a LOT of time in the training grounds to get used ot movement. Do NOT stand still and aim, get used to hitting things while at full speed.

The worst part of the new player game are the trial mechs. Simply put they are terrible. once you get your own - within about 20 matches, it gets much better. Trial mechs share some horrible things - 1) single heat sinks 2) ammo in bad spots (you likely died to ammo explosion) 3) weak armor 4)non sensical (for this game) weapon layouts.

Once you get your own mechs and can optimize them it gets much, much better. Each mech in the game has strengths and weaknesses (other than the Raven 3L), learn to recognize them and you will be fine - it is part of the fun of learning tbh. In that Commando btw getting one shotted from heavies can definitely happen. What you are concerned about are Streak SRMs. They home on on you from odd angles - they CAN miss but you need to leverage cover and quick turns. What makes them brutal is when paired with ECM as then the ECM mech is un lockable from most ranges for guided missiles.

ECM mechs are primary targets on the battlefield as they share their protection with others close to them. Sucks bad. Only certain chassis can carry them - find them and eliminate. PPCs short them out for 4 sec and TAG makes them LRMable. You may also "dumb fire" you LRMs, you do not have to have a lock. Anyway, keep going and don't give up - it is all there for you to play as well (buy the 3L first and you will soon learn it's counters... from people using them on you)

DanNashe, on 30 March 2013 - 10:08 PM, said:

New Player forum or the help forums up top are often less . . . unfriendly :-).



Early warning: the trial mechs are really bad. I'm sorry to say. They often have 2/3 the armor normal people carry. And overheat like crazy.


LRMs: deal 0 damage under 170 meters.
You have to maintain lock until they hit for it to keep aiming.
You can't lock onto someone with ECM unless you directly hit them with TAG (1 ton, 1 crit, uses an energy slot)
General rule, avoid missiles.
Streak locks work the same way.
You were probably fighting Raven 3Ls, that's just howt hey operate. You can't afford to get separated from the pack as a new player.
I feel for ya. In a bigger mech, sometimes all you can do is put your back to a wall.
The key thing here though, is if you are outnumbered, you die.


The problem with lights actually is that you will run into more 3Ls.
Lights have the highest skill gap.
In the commando trial mech . . most things can kaboom you if they are 50 tons or more if you get in front of them. CAn't engage head to head. [Alpha strikes of 40-50 damage are pretty common.]


Dragon trial is terrible. Will be better next month.
You can hit "R" to target most enemies, after a while it will show you their weapons.
Yes, splatcat. 6 SRM6. It's actually not nearly as deadly as it used to be. And SRMs just blow up harmlessly after 270 meters.

A big part of it is just because the trial mechs right now are *particularly* awful.
If you want to see how much a good mech will cost you can go to smurfy's:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

Select your mech. Outfit it. You can see how much the total cost will be in the top right.
This also has "weapon stats" which will give you a great idea of what everything does, it's slightly different from TT. Although base weapon damage is the same for everything except missiles. Missiles are a little weird right now (in a good way IMO, but people disagree).

Right now the trial experience is a little indefensible, sorry for that. Focus on assisting allies. You really can make a difference, but you cannot solo anyone. You need to figure out what your teammates are shooting at, and shoot at that target.

also, check out the forums for a good teamspeak server. Join a group in no guts no galaxy teamspeak, for example, it will really improve the quality and fun of the gameplay.

There's a thread somewhere i the guide section with a bunch of public teamspeak servers.

Victor Morson, on 30 March 2013 - 10:10 PM, said:

Your experience is something I have been lobbying about very aggressively for the past few days. PGI is under the mistaken impression the reason newbies are getting turned off is the lack of 3rd person, not the lack of a real 'mech.

Trial 'mechs are, effectively, awful. They don't have the armor of firepower of a custom variant. I understand your frustration and assure you that it DOES GET MUCH BETTER. I will warn the Dragon, outside of the Flame, is considered one of the weaker chassis but a custom one can do considerably better.

Again, I understand your "I'll just give up" attitude. This is THE problem with Trial 'mechs, the worst system PGI ever put in place. But try not to, at least until you can afford a solid medium 'mech and try the game with something that can be actually armored and equipped properly. It really is not your fault.

XX Sulla XX, on 30 March 2013 - 10:41 PM, said:

Just like they said stick it out until you get your new player bonus and can build a custom mech. Then you are on a more even playing field and it is a lot more fun.

Bagheera, on 30 March 2013 - 10:43 PM, said:

Hi OP, and welcome to MW:O. I'll try to address your post in order:

1. Definitely the wrong section. Not because of you or your post, but because General Discussion is, by and large, a pretty bad place to actually have a discussion. Take some time to browse through some of the more useful sections (New player help, etc), then come join the sane people in Jettisoned Comms.

2. Match #1. Sadly, your teammate off by themselves getting whomped by Ravens with ECM made a tragic mistake in running off on his own (unless he was your scout, and even then should have been leading those little chicken-legged ******** into the line of fire of your heavier hitters). Your mistake, and it's okay to make them, was breaking formation in your medium to try to save him. No, really. It's harsh, but pug matches will, usually, have 1 guy on the team who runs off in their own direction. The best you can do, being brand new, is stick with the rest of your team and write that loner off. Hopefully his suicidal act will be enough of a diversion for your main force to take out a couple of enemy mechs before the 2 or 3 smashing your suicidal loner finish the job and return to the fray. With more experience, a different mech, and another teammate in tow - then you can try to save the loners. For now, pick a medium you like, and play "support the Atlas" (stalker, awesome, whatever assault is available) for about 20 or so matches straight. Sounds boring, but it works and it is an effective way to learn the game.

Also, when you see those little chicken-legged ******** running around, aim for their legs with all of your lasers. A legged light is a dead light. Given the history of MW this might seem dishonorable at first, but with the current state of ECM, and the abject lack of consequences when they pass right through you to get your back, just leg them and be done with it.

3. Match #2. You turned the wrong corner and likely took a pair of either Gauss or AC20 to the wrong spot. Usually your face. It happens, it should happen, and it doesn't happen often enough to be problematic. When you're driving your own custom mechs and you insta-jib that Jenner that landed right in front of you, you'll come around.

4. Match #3. "Skillcat" is just another 1 trick pony. SRM max range is 270 meters, and they are only truly effective when they are right up on you, less than 100m, because of the way SRMs spread. Having said that, they are a priority target. Shoot them at range, call them out to your team. Heck, in most PUG matches all you have to do is type the letter of your target in team chat and you'll get at least 1 person helping on your target. For a while I just took to calling targets with a single letter for entire matches. For example, if I see an enemy with heavy damage and there are friendlies around, I'll just call out "E" in chat with no reference. Sometimes you can call a whole series this way, though I often call the wrong one.

Regarding the Dragon, the stock configs translated ... badly .. to MW:O. Even modified there are people convinced they are awful. I, personally, am not a fan, but I've seen enough people wreck shop with them to know that its not the crap chassis that some make it out to be. If you really love Dragons, I bet you'll find a way to be effective with them.

5. There are .. a lot .. of things here that are pretty broken, and you've encountered several of them. This is compounded by the fact that you are new. It sounds like you are familiar with TT, which is going to simultaneously help and hinder your transition here. Go to the guides section, check out Ohm's quick reference or any other of the threads that describe the mechs, weapons, etc. You will have a better grasp on how things work in this translation. You're also running into the matchmaker issues, probably pretty hard. Remember, the longer it takes to find a match, the wider the ELO net had to be cast. Also, matches are ending up woefully mismatched in terms of tonnage/weight class. I've seen teams with no lights go against teams with 5. I've seen 7 assaults on 1 side and none on the other. Matchmaker is a pancaking mess right now and that is part of the problem you are experiencing. For example, do you recall in match #1 where there were 3 Ravens on the enemy side, did your side have any lights at all? For the record, I would much rather fight on the side with no assaults against the side with assaults than I would want to fight on the side with no lights versus the side with lights. The former is hard mode, the latter is impossible mode.

6. Those "actual quotes" are just trolls an grognards. They exist in all games and they always will. Ignore them.

7. Yes it is because the game has problems, yes it is because you are new. Neither are insurmountable obstacles, it's just a question of how much you enjoy the game despite the terribad new user experience.

[Faithsfall]

As other's have mentioned stick with the group, this at the start will help.

After that it does start to come down to the more you play the better you will become, things like certain mech weakspot's jager torso (alot run an xl engine), huncie's box, raven's legs etc.

Get to know the limits of the weapons you run, min/max range, this also then will help when you get the target info back look to see what that mech is carrying, lrm boat get under 180m, ac/20 build keep your distance etc.

Another good idea is to learn to torso twist, keep an eye on your damage and try to protect area's that have had sever dmg, so show the enemy the healthy armour and only turn back to the enemy when you are rdy to take the next shot.

Until you get out of the trial mechs you have to also remember that they are not the best builds for that mech, you can do ok in them but as a beginer they can be nasty to learn in, so again it is just continue playing it will all get better.

[B E E L Z E B U B]

you should watch players play on youtube, you will get a feel for tactics and teamwork and also you will see what the "owned mechs" are like.

no offense to the devs but trial mechs are crap. they dont have enough ammo and or heat sinks, also the weapons setup isnt usually comfortable.
tial mechs i think are desiged (i think) to make you wish you had something better that way people who have the money can opt to buy their own mech before they even get to the 25th match (btw in closed betta there was no 25th match money rule, so you got a nice fix id say)

i would say to you that you should do the following:
1. watch the vids here: http://www.youtube.c...oGutsNoGalaxyTV phil and his buddies are pros, look at what they are doing, it helped me.

2. be patient and wait for that 25th match. then youll have almost 8 million c-bills and you could get a nice shiny mech. i would go for the HBK-4SP or the HBK-4P that way youll still have the money to buy DHS and then (if you have the tactics down) youll do verrry good and the game will begin to be awesome.


another thing - thank you for coming to the forums and sharing your expirience. for me, the forums provide a deeper meaning to the game. i like interacting with other players, throwing ideas around, you will become a better pilot if you keep hanging out around here, im proof to that. i was a terrible noob, i never even knew what TT was or that there was a whole story and even a time line behind the game. so atleast you allready know the equipment. see i came from twitch fps like COD, so i charged all the time and died 100% of the time. anyways.. youll do good, i know you will, just be a gamer, man up and suffer through the learning curves. you will be an awesome pilot. i can smell it.

Edited by Karma Police, 30 March 2013 - 11:29 PM.

[Xmith]

This is important. If you drop solo, watch the premades on your team. They will lay back while the rest of the team take most of the damage and deaths. After that point they will come in and mop up. So try and keep an eye on them.

Edited by Xmith, 30 March 2013 - 11:38 PM.

[Stone Profit]

Shimmergloom, on 30 March 2013 - 09:43 PM, said:

Hey all! not sure if this is the right forum for this, but here goes.

I just started earlier today, and so far my play time has been painful more than fun.

A quick run-down of the last 3 games I've played.

Game one, (first time encountering Electronic Counter Measures) I chose the free trebuchet. I get the desert map, and after walking with the team I notice a team-mate off in the distance getting shot by stuff. So I moved in closer to see if i could help, and i see three of the same mechs around him. I try and light them up with my missiles, but i couldn't target them. I thought it was a bug so i ran in and started hitting them with my lasers. I did OK until they killed my team-mate. then they came after me. They just ran around in circles and fired off their missiles that didn't miss. SRMS that tracked or something. Eventually two of them just stopped behind me as i shot their friend and drilled through my back armor with those magic missiles.

It was terrible and I felt impotent and there was NOTHING I could do. Very non-battletech if you ask me. If I wanted to feel like infantry I would play battlefield.

Game TWO, I pick the free light mech. desert again. Run around with the team, and we all kill two of their team. It was great, the fight lasted 30 seconds or so and I thought I did good. We keep going trying to find their team. I run off to look, round a corner, and boom. Dead. Don't know what killed me. Still don't, and frankly, I don't care. Some sort of ballistic. But that shouldn't happen. Quick kills don't belong in mechwarrior. I wrote it off as a fluke.

Game three, I try my hand at the free heavy mech. The dragon. I ALWAYS liked the dragon in TT, and I really enjoyed reading some of the battle-tech books with dragons in them. They're just such a cool mech and they have cool lore with them. In the books, men would tremble when they saw a dragon on the battlefield. Things go well. I get into a fight with a mech that I recognized immediately. The catapult. He hits me with some lasers and missiles, and I hammer him with my autocannon and lasers, and I think I did a good job in that fight, and dished damage. One of my team-mates kills him and I get away with only armor damage. Then I see another catapult, hit him with my missiles then close in with my laser and autocannon. He shoots me once with a STUPID amount of missiles. I die. Instantly. Through intact armor.
someone on my team called him a skillcat, and I see where the nickname comes from......

I really want to give this game a chance. I know I'm terrible, I expect to be. I do my best to stick with the team, to not run off on my own, and to do what everyone else does. I see the same thing happening to most of my team-mates every battle too. But I also expect this game to have some sense of balance. I may not be a good judge of what needs nerfing and what doesn't because I've played six games. But out of those 6, half of them have been so terribly frustrating... I didn't even realize I had made a mistake until my mech corpse was on the ground. This game requires a ********* to enjoy it......

And yes, i hear everyone telling me "It gets better, just wait until you get your own mech!" and "You just cant play noob, Magic missiles and electronic counter measures are fine" (Actual quotes) but if this is what I should expect, I don't want to wait for it to get better. I want to go do something else.

Is this JUST because i'm new or does this game have some problems?

you failed at both understanding and at playing the game. You thought you knew what was going on, but you didnt. You cannot be bothered to l2play, so you cry. this game is not for you, because you refuse to l2play. Goodbye, and please dont come back. you belong in cod, where the gaming takes no thought nor effort to be good.

[Evil Rosa Parks]

Stick with it! I can't give any substantive tips above what these guys are saying, so all I can offer is encouragement.

I first started playing at closed beta (completely new to mechwarrior in general), got murdered much like the way you describe, and quit. Once open beta started, I resumed playing and stuck with it. I Got better and better, and while I'm always learning, I placed 5th in the heavies v. world tournament: which isn't saying much but it was a huge improvement from where I was. My buddy who I got into this game has had a similar experience.

So long story short, stick with it, this game has a disgustingly brutal learning curve. When you get through that, however, the game is really rewarding and a ton of fun.

Welcome to Mechwarrior

[Dreamslave]

Walk, on 30 March 2013 - 10:08 PM, said:

Uhhh. There is literally no multiplayer game in the universe that you can just jump in and not get ***** at first...
League of Legends? Yea, check. You will get stomped because you don't know basic lane matchups or items. Any FPS? You will get stomped because you don't know maps, guns, etc. MWO? You will get stomped, because, well, like any other game, you just don't know jack ****. It's how it works. I don't understand the point of this post. You expect to even grasp any kind of pvp concept in six games? Get back to single player campaigns, pvp is simply not for you.

This pretty much sums up what everybody should be saying in this thread.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Experience piloting and shooting goes a long ways. Also, customized mechs make a world of difference. Unlocking pilot skills improves your experience too as does certain mech upgrades. One shot kills are possible if you have light armor, but it's from boating powerful guns. Powerful, but not without their weaknesses. It's difficult to get the hang of, but once you do, it's really fun.

[Taurick]

Shimmergloom, on 30 March 2013 - 09:43 PM, said:

i see three of the same mechs around him. I try and light them up with my missiles, but i couldn't target them. I thought it was a bug so i ran in and started hitting them with my lasers. I did OK until they killed my team-mate. then they came after me. They just ran around in circles and fired off their missiles that didn't miss. SRMS that tracked or something. Eventually two of them just stopped behind me as i shot their friend and drilled through my back armor with those magic missiles.

It was terrible and I felt impotent and there was NOTHING I could do. Very non-battletech if you ask me. If I wanted to feel like infantry I would play battlefield.

lolol
I'm sorry you say you got bbq'd and it was not like BT?

Please explain to me what you expect to happen in TT when you are 1 mech fighting 3, and 2 of them are behind you?

[One Medic Army]

The game right now punishes mistakes quickly and with massive force.
Unfortunately most of the trial mechs classify as "mistakes" as far as their build, and there's a whole 'nother class of mistakes everyone makes when they start playing.

All I can say is that it will get better as you learn the quirks of the game, and joining some guys on TS will help you improve as well.
It's also worth sticking around in game after you die and watching how other people pilot, you can pick up a lot by ghosting others.

Edited by One Medic Army, 31 March 2013 - 12:11 AM.

[Axident]

It does have a steep learning curve because there's a lot going on that you''ve got to watch at once: location, enemies, allies, heat levels, ammo levels, damage levels, etc.

If you drive, think back to what you had to do before you got your license. You couldn't just go out on the road. You had to prove that you could monitor not only your vehicle but all the stuff going on around you: instruments, road ahead, potential dangers, rear mirrors. A lot of stuff going on that you really had to keep track of, and you couldn't do that straight off the bat, could you. It took practice.

MechWarrior is a little like that, only the other cars are shooting at you.

Take some time. Don't ragequit. Practice. it gets better.


*edit - spelling

Edited by Axident, 31 March 2013 - 12:11 AM.

[Kristov Kerensky]

Personally, I'm in the 'this is a troll' camp due to statements the OP made that are clearly...wrong.

First off, in TT, getting 1 shotted, NOT uncommon and sure as hells not impossible by any means, it's actually much easier to get 1 shotted in TT then it is in MWO since a gauss will take the head clean off a Mech in TT, unlike MWO where 2 gauss won't take the head off a Mech. ANYONE who's played TT knows this, OP doesn't but claims a TT background.

Second, he tells us he got blasted by something, no idea what, and died from a single shot. New players tend to be the ones who pay the most attention to that death screen that pops after you get killed..you know..the one that gives a run down of what hit you, where you took the final damage and what you died from.

IF not a troll..then plenty of excellent advice has already been given, the only thing I would add is..

Situational Awareness...paramount skill that you need to cultivate.

[Sean von Steinike]

Everyone already covered the important bits so I'll just say, welcome to the game. The more you play, the more you will understand how and why you died and the more you will inflict it on others.

[barnmaddo]

- ECM is unbalanced, but lets be honest; A loner and a noob would die to three people playing as a team in almost any circumstance. Maybe you thought since they were light mechs they would die easily, in practice light mechs are some of the toughest mechs to kill. (At least without the right equipment)
- I think the insta-kill was just bad luck, or possibly because of the inferior trial mechs.
- Sounds like you're getting a crash course in min/max setups. Honestly I'm a bit surprised the matching system paired you against such tough teams. I remember my first matches being against people who couldn't stop running into walls, and who would ignore you as you slowly eat through their rear armor.

This is a fairly strategic game, the learning curve isn't just skill:
- Mechs have a lot of health, so focus fire, and damage mitigation becomes important.
- The mechs aren't that maneuverable, so positioning is important.

But there are also a few skill barriers:
- Need to learn to watch your targets damage, and then shoot the appropriate spots on the mech.
- Learn to steer/look/shoot.
- Many of the weapons take skill to use. (leading your shot for slow moving projectiles, missiles getting blocked by cover, min/max ranges...)

As a light mech, I learned it's best to shoot distracted people.
As a medium mech, I learned to position myself so I won't get focus fired.
As a heavy mech, I learned to wait for the right opportunity.