62 replies to this topic

[silentD11]

Zerberus, on 01 May 2013 - 05:32 PM, said:

I`m actually an atlas pilot with a speed addiction, the commando was originally just for a NoS fix (What`s the rule? 2 hits a day, right? ).... but it`s grown on me much more than I expected or wanted, and now I just want something ******* insane like a spider with 12 jjs 4mgs and a parachute big engine

Don't bother with mgs and the spider doesn't need more than 1/2 jjs. You use them for hairpoint 90 or 180 degree turns in an instant. Load up the ECM spider with an ER PPC int he arm, XL 225 or 235, medium laser in the torso, ECM, and 2xjj. Then just play the game pretending it's quake and you have a rail gun + lightning gun.

[Taemien]

OP, you're making a fatal mistake. You are playing a support role in a PUG.

Don't do this!

Support Roles:

ECM shield
LRM support
Scouting
Base Defense

The last one works if you've got the loadout for it and there's only one mech, not 3-5, that is trying to cap your base. But the rest will give you unneeded gray hairs if you do it in a PUG.

Remember supporting a PUG is a hit or miss.. well alot of miss, situation at best. They might... MIGHT appreciate and use your resources you give them as a team effort. Most of the time they won't. PUGs can't help themselves. Its a 16 mech free for all where half the mechs aren't enemies. But the other half aren't friends, they are simply not enemies.

Is this because PUGs are stupid? Nope. They are simply ignorant.
Is this because PUGs are bad? Again, Nope. They are simply there to shoot mechs.
Is this because PUGs don't care? Sort of. Its nothing personal though.

Even the best players do PUG things when they are in a PUG. Its not serious hardcore gameplay when you launch outside a group. You know when you go to the driving range, and spend a dollar on a bucket of balls and hit the crap out of them, not caring where they land? Thats a PUG. Its NOT the PGA Tour. You know when you go to the Go Cart track and dink around in a go cart? Thats a PUG, its NOT NASCAR.

PUGs are there to have fun. Winning is great when it happens, but second to the Fun those in the PUG are there for.

I've said it before, don't ever expect the PUG to help you out. Don't expect them to do anything right. Be gracious when they do. Its not their fault, they are the PUGs. But if you want to have an enjoyable experience, don't rely on them. Always remember this: "PUGs are PUGs. PUGs do PUG things. PUGs have been what they've always been. PUGs are what they always are. PUGs will be what they always will be."

[Sephlock]

Prezimonto, on 01 May 2013 - 05:49 PM, said:

So where are the in-game rewards for this type of game play?

The salty-sweet tears of your enemies aren't enough for you ?

[Traigus]

Sephlock, on 01 May 2013 - 06:37 PM, said:

The salty-sweet tears of your enemies aren't enough for you ?

Can't buy a 6 PPC stalker with tears...

/smokebomb!

[Sephlock]

Traigus, on 01 May 2013 - 06:42 PM, said:

Can't buy a 6 PPC stalker with tears...

/smokebomb!

I have noticed the gigantic difference when switching between leveling up my ravens (I already leveled up the 3L) and grinding cash with my stalker...

[El Bandito]

Currently it is much better to sit tight near your base and defend if you are on a big map.

[Xendojo]

Bravo OP!

BRAVO!!!

One day, in a future MWO far far away....we might have real gameplay again.

Until then, do what you do homie! And F**K all the haters!

Edited by Xendojo, 01 May 2013 - 07:25 PM.

[Elizander]

That's a pretty good idea of how it feels to be a 'scout' in pub games these days. Sadly I can't think of any solutions at the moment since I'm busy with other things. LRMs used to be the reason to spot, but not many people carry them these days and the current LRM trajectory makes them impractical to use against any sort of cover from either side.

[Idlebot]

I love my lights my main is a Spider SDR-5D. I feel my job is to

• Spot the Enemy before they find us. Try to get your team set up.
  sometimes they will pay attention sometimes not.
  a.(Have a beer)
  
• Taunt the enemy into coming after me and set them up for a good old fashion cross fire. smashing.
  a.(Have a beer)
  
• Hunt down any enemy lights coming after my Heaves, mediums, and assaults.
  
• Run around the outside of the fight scout it find any lone enemy that is pulling back and is damaged.
  If you can finish him (have beer in celebration you survived!). or see if they are going for cap.

most of all have fun because every light mech pilot knows, lights moving a 150 kph jumping around everywhere is a lot of fun.
good hunting.
I'm going to have a beer now.

[Karazyr]

Chemie, on 01 May 2013 - 01:52 PM, said:

with no integrated VOIP, true scouting in pugs is useless.

Might as well drop in an assault like everyone else. They have made lights and mediums useless in current meta....even in 8-man. Only forced RHOD drop weights allows for M/L roles.

all the more reason to play a light, fattys are easy kills, im my spider 5D i dont scout i call out targets that's it, the rest of the time im taking out fattys back armor whilst confusing them by jumping behind them.

the problem is most people look down on lights as a wasted slot, dispite the fact that lights take the most skill to pilot well ( dont try and say a assault does thats bull) i dont think that mindset is gonna change anytime soon

i mainly play pug games, most of the time im doing very well but ocationaly i get a unlucky gause rifle to the face and die, then i get abused in chat for dropping ins a useless mech.

[Galenit]

Derrpy, on 02 May 2013 - 12:41 AM, said:

the problem is most people look down on lights as a wasted slot

If one or two enemys following the whole fight the light (or cicada), their team is down one or two mechs with more weight and firepower than yours.
One game a highlander and jaeger were following my cicada until their friends were dead. Taking out more then 3x my wight from the fight is not wasting a slot.

But that doesnt matter if your team doesnt take advantage of it,
help them and tell them in chat that 2 mechs are following you
and if you are lucky, the will take advantage of this .....

Edited by Galenit, 02 May 2013 - 12:57 AM.

[stjobe]

I certainly agree with the OP, piloting a light 'mech is a thankless task.

Like the OP, I've been a Commando pilot since CB, and the big problem is this:

The game only rewards damage, killing, and assists in any meaningful way. Since HSR (which is a good thing, don't get me wrong) the chances of a light pilot doing lots of damage and getting kills has gone way down - we're too fragile and our speed doesn't give us the advantage it once did.

Make no mistake, I'm not saying it's impossible to do well in a light; I'm all too aware it is. It just doesn't pay. What's further aggravating is that none of the classic light roles pay anything either, so what you have to do to get a payout is this:
* Load up on as much weaponry as your chassis can handle
* Do as much damage to the enemy as possible, preferably kill-steal and/or have assists on any kills

How is that any different from what a medium, heavy, or assault does? Except that you're a light, so "as much weaponry as your chassis can handle" isn't all that much in comparison, and the payout is commensurately lower.

There is currently no role for a light in MWO. If they started rewarding light gameplay with more than a pittance, you'd see more of us around for sure.

/signed, one of the 11%

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

I love my Jenners (except maybe the -K ... hopefully there will be a module worth buying that will make that fourth slot worth the grind).

Scouting is fun, but I agree that it is seldom appreciated.

Capping on conquest is appreciated, especially when you are the last mech on your team, and all that's left of the opposition is a couple of slowpokes ... the encouragement I've received in these matches is worth every insult or gripe.

Going back to stop a base cap alone is a dangerous gamble and is frakking harder than most think ... to do it right, you have to stay in the cap square, which reduces one of a light's best advantages ... mobility. By the time the "lights RTB" call goes out, I'm usually already on my way, but I will try to respond "on it ... but will need backup".

Harassing heavier mechs is sometimes appreciated ... I will always cherish a race towards Gamma on River City Night, where I was harassing a medium 'mech through the lower city, a Raven joined in the fight, the medium died, and chatted "please tell me it was the Jenner that killed me ... he deserved that kill" ... warms my heart just to think of it.

Screaming around the battlefield at 140-150+ kph with your hair on fire is great fun.

[Karazyr]

Galenit, on 02 May 2013 - 12:56 AM, said:

If one or two enemys following the whole fight the light (or cicada), their team is down one or two mechs with more weight and firepower than yours.
One game a highlander and jaeger were following my cicada until their friends were dead. Taking out more then 3x my wight from the fight is not wasting a slot.

But that doesnt matter if your team doesnt take advantage of it,
help them and tell them in chat that 2 mechs are following you
and if you are lucky, the will take advantage of this .....

true true, tbh i proove them wrong anyway, im in the middle of the fight pecking at them with my large laser and 2 mediums suprising how much damage that can do > il take on all!

im just wating for the 6mg spider, i wanna try and fit a AC 20 on one >

[Prezimonto]

I find it interesting how many Founders have posted in here. I wonder if it's because we all have played the game in time frames where stuff was broken, but it felt like there was a lot more balance. Lights were fast and hard to hit without HRS... but could be knocked down if they weren't careful. The rewards were non-existant(or non-important) so you didn't feel punished for different play styles.

Imagine how light pilots are going to feel in a Heavy/assault dominated game play once knocked comes back along with HSR in the game. Add to that a lack of rewards and skill involved with the now infamous "information warfare", and outside of the fun of piloting a highly mobile mech there's potentially going to be little to do outside of capping Conquest points when no one's looking.

Edited by Prezimonto, 02 May 2013 - 04:45 AM.

[stjobe]

Derrpy, on 02 May 2013 - 04:15 AM, said:

im just wating for the 6mg spider, i wanna try and fit a AC 20 on one >

It should be possible, depending of course on whether the extra B hardpoints are in the side torsos.
You won't be fast though; with a STD 100 engine, you can fit an AC/20 and two tons of ammo, but not much else.

Prezimonto, on 02 May 2013 - 04:45 AM, said:

Imagine how light pilots are going to feel in a Heavy/assault dominated game play once knocked comes back along with HSR in the game. Add to that a lack of rewards and skill involved with the now infamous "information warfare", and outside of the fun of piloting a highly mobile mech there's potentially going to be little to do outside of capping Conquest points when no one's looking.

I'm actually quite worried at the moment; the role of a light has been more and more curtailed, and if PGI doesn't somehow incentivize lights we're on a high-speed track towards extinction. There's simply no point in playing one - some of us are hanging in there just out of stubbornness (or the love of lights, as someone else called it), but we're few and getting fewer.

Whatever happened to lights being able to multi-target? Scouts being the only ones *able* to send targeting information? All those goodies they talked about in Dev Blog 4?

You know, all the Scout role skills:

* Radar Range Increase – Increases radar range by 2% up to 5 times
* Ghost Signature – Increases length of time before a signal fades by 2% up to 3 times
* Vision Mode 1 - Zoom Vision – Allows the pilot to zoom 7x
* HUD Detail 1 – Enemy Damage Level – LOD detail in terms of damage
* HUD Detail 2 – Enemy Component State – Overall component criticality
* Null Signature System – Allows the pilot to appear shut down for 5 seconds
* Multi-Targeting – Allows the pilot to target multiple enemies up to 4 at a time.
* IDF Accuracy – Narrows the AOE of IDF fire.
* Critical Shot Indicator – Shares with nearby friendly BattleMechs the critical components of an enemy BattleMech

Those were intended for Scouts only, not everyone. I guess those are just empty promises now...

[Denolven]

The best supporters are like mind ninjas. They are at the right place, at the right time, doing seemingly nothing, while totally messing you up whithout you noticing it. You never really see what they actually did. It's still the fighters who "win the game", no matter how much enabling was going on in the background. But without that support, the fighters are just big metal things running around and shooting stuff.


You are either a supporter, or the hero.
I know it doesn't seem logical, but experience has shown that you are never both.
(World of Tanks managed to brake this up a bit by splitting up damage rewards between damage dealer and spotter, so both get half the fame.)

That being said, there is also some good news. Capable heros usually know exactly how much they depend on supporters, and vice versa. If anyone talks badly about you, they usually jump in and kick that guy's virtual ***.
So my advice is: find yourself some capable hero(s) to play with

Edited by Denolven, 02 May 2013 - 05:40 AM.

[Xenosphobatic]

Personally, I've looked at my light role as something else. Rather than a support role, you are a mop-up crew. Fast
That lone Atlas? Pop his rear torso while he desperately tries to fight you. That 'Phract with the deep red CT that retreated behind lines? Mop it up!
Your team full of non-ecm assaults? Help with ECM/distract enemy when you get contact. There's no better feeling than knowing your team had nothing but rear torso shots because some assault/heavy was focusing on little old you.
It's inconsistent, I know, but I cannot compare the feeling of toppling Atlases who thought they were 100 miles tall and bulletproof in a mech that came up to his/her hip.

And, yes, most Spider pilots are insane/drunk/high. They also have tremendous :blink:'s.

[DrunkDrivin]

stjobe, on 02 May 2013 - 05:13 AM, said:

It should be possible, depending of course on whether the extra B hardpoints are in the side torsos.
You won't be fast though; with a STD 100 engine, you can fit an AC/20 and two tons of ammo, but not much else.


I'm actually quite worried at the moment; the role of a light has been more and more curtailed, and if PGI doesn't somehow incentivize lights we're on a high-speed track towards extinction. There's simply no point in playing one - some of us are hanging in there just out of stubbornness (or the love of lights, as someone else called it), but we're few and getting fewer.

Whatever happened to lights being able to multi-target? Scouts being the only ones *able* to send targeting information? All those goodies they talked about in Dev Blog 4?

You know, all the Scout role skills:

* Radar Range Increase – Increases radar range by 2% up to 5 times
* Ghost Signature – Increases length of time before a signal fades by 2% up to 3 times
* Vision Mode 1 - Zoom Vision – Allows the pilot to zoom 7x
* HUD Detail 1 – Enemy Damage Level – LOD detail in terms of damage
* HUD Detail 2 – Enemy Component State – Overall component criticality
* Null Signature System – Allows the pilot to appear shut down for 5 seconds
* Multi-Targeting – Allows the pilot to target multiple enemies up to 4 at a time.
* IDF Accuracy – Narrows the AOE of IDF fire.
* Critical Shot Indicator – Shares with nearby friendly BattleMechs the critical components of an enemy BattleMech

Those were intended for Scouts only, not everyone. I guess those are just empty promises now...

Big guns and big scores bring in more money.

[Denolven]

DrunkDrivin, on 02 May 2013 - 05:37 AM, said:

Big guns and big scores bring in more money.

Pretty sad, isn't it. It's one of the beauties of capitalism - it shows what people want, and it's brutally honest.

A friend of mine and me were planning an own game. And at pretty much every discussion about any topic, we came to a point where we had to decide: money or cool stuff. Problem is they both require each other, in a very weird way. Compromises everywhere...