River City/River City Night
Starting at the aircraft: if your team reaches Upper City without a single shot fired and you don't see any contacts, you must return to base. If you attempt to cap, the game is already lost, because the lower city path is shorter and you'll never make it in time.
Starting at the boat: if your team charges towards Upper City to find more than 4 contacts already there but choose to fight from below the hill, you've already lost.
Starting at either: if you charge through the centre river, the game is over for your team.
Forest Colony/Forest Colony Snow
Starting at the hill: if your team charges towards the boat on the water, you've already lost, the cover favours them and disfavours you.
Starting at the low ground: if your team charges through the central road, you've already lost, there is nowhere to take cover.
Starting at either: if your team goes through the tunnel (like, 5+ mechs all go through the tunnel) and seismic sensor shows you 3 mechs at the exit, all of you will die if you leave the tunnel.
Caustic Valley
Starting at the refinery: If your team goes to the left of the caldera, you will die.
Starting at the hill across the water: if your team goes to the left of the caldera, you will die.
Starting at either: If you charge through the caldera when they're outside the caldera lip, you will die.
Alpine Peaks
Starting at the city: if your team charges PAST the refinery hill and into the low ground near Epsilon, you will die.
Starting at the low ground base: if your team charges up the mountain right of the refinery hill when the enemy team is on top, you will die.
Starting at either: as a general guide charging through the valley on the south side is suicide.
Bad news here: if you start on the low base you're already more likely to lose as the other team can get to all the good defensive spots before you do. This is one of the maps which is the most biased towards one of the starting spots.
Canyon Network
If you are in the canyon in a fight you die, if you are at high ground you live. If you are trying to move closer to be in weapons range however you must move through a canyon - if you charge through the high ground you will die. And lastly, if your teammates don't know how to climb the canyon to high ground through the small gulleys provided, the game is over before it began. This is one of the maps that is the least biased to either starting spot.
Frozen City/Frozen City Night
Both sides: if you charge on the mountain side of the landed aircraft you die. If you charge through the aircraft you die. If you charge through the tunnel you die. If you stand at the other side waiting for the other team to poptart you with Gauss and PPC you die. If you charge through the valley you're capped. The only valid tactic is to move on the lower side of the crashed aircraft. All other tactics involve waiting for the other team to make a tactical mistake from positions that cannot be hit by poptarts and giving them the burning hot death they deserve.
Tourmaline Desert
If you charge through the stargate you die. If you hole up at the stargate waiting to be poptarted you die. You must move through the crystals on the side - the team that sticks closer together while doing so will win. This is also a map in which your starting position matters least.
Build related
Long range builds suffer in River City, Short range builds suffer in Alpine peaks. Hot builds suffer in both Caustic and Tourmaline. Ammo-intensive builds suffer in River City and Frozen City. Poor pilots suffer in Canyon Network (the kind who walk into walls). LRM boats suffer in River City. Balanced builds suffer in almost every map. Fast builds suffer in River City. Slow builds suffer in Tourmaline and Alpine.
Signs of impending doom
The following are signs your team will lose, regardless - or that a player is going to die extremely soon. Firstly, team damage or team killing at the start of the match. Secondly, two high ELO ranked solo players or more on the same side. Thirdly, weapons fire at the start of the match into the air or ground at the start of a match for 'weapons tests'. Fourthly, any instance of walking into each other or into walls before an enemy appears. Fifth, any instance of attempting to shoot through a friendly at an enemy. Sixth, any mech that stands still, especially if it's due to heat shutdown. Seventh, any mech without an alpha build which attempts to snipe. Eighth, any team that shoots a Spider when an Assault mech is shooting at them. Ninth, any player who chases a red CT target into an enemy team. Tenth, any non-light Mech that chases a light mech. Eleventh, any Leeroy Jenkins behaviour in charging the enemy team alone. Twelfth, any Lone Ranger behaviour in taking a route alone without any backup by anything other than a Light. Last, the death of any of high ELO rank player in the early game.
Disclaimer
It is entirely possible, and common, to win a game even if your team shows themselves to be bad if the enemy shows themselves to be worse. Conversely it is entirely possible to lose to an expert team even if they do tactical mistakes and you do none. But the likelihood of victory is always diminished by tactical mistakes/signs of bad piloting.
Edited by Hayashi, 01 June 2013 - 05:23 AM.