Ah, the Goons. Also known as Gewnies, Goonz, the Swarm, and OH NO GOD BEES!
I've never had the (possibly dubious) pleasure of being on either side of a war involving them in EVE Online, but anyone that pays any attention at all to what goes on in that game has heard of them and probably has an opinion on them. Hell, I wrote a (for me)
fairly expansive post on my EVE Online blog about them and their effect on the game. The Mittani is, I would contend, the front-runner if not the incumbent for the title of
Magnificent ******* for EVE Online. And I give him whatever Internet points he deserves for that.
This having been said, the fact that the Swarm will be here in MechWarrior Online bothers me not a bit.
The Goons won't be able to use the blob tactics so many people have talked about here. Combat in MWO will not be like in EVE, where if things are going badly you can just hotdrop another fleet or three of supercapital ships. There are no reinforcements mid-match. There are no respawns mid-match, either, from my understanding. It's just however many 'Mechs you start with.
What the Goons will have are an outstanding support structure that few, if any, player units in this game will be able to match. Between guys that crunch numbers and generate strategy, a robust voice comms setup already in place, and practice at coordinated tactics that most of us will either have to work to achieve or dream of, they will make facing off against them an interesting experience, to say the least. I expect the Goons to try and trade on their rep, to intimidate all their opponents. I expect them to have a constantly-evolving stable of 'Mech designs that are constantly tweaked and refined to take advantage of every single game mechanic they can possibly twist to their advantage. Whatever works best is what they will use - save perhaps during drunken 'Mech nights, when they bring whatever they feel like and amuses them.
Again, I don't see how the Goons will have any advantage over everyone else that cannot, at least eventually, be made up for. As for the rest of it, I've tuned out Goon posts on game forums before. I can get back in the habit easily enough, I'm sure.