I'm slightly baffeled qki.
I agree with you. But you seem to forget, this is the "guides" section
It's for n00bs like me
Look, I'm not a competitive player, nor am I elitist, and yet I see the point. In fact I have spent several mostly long posts trying to explain it from the point of view of a new player.
I know the meta annoys you. It annoys everyone.
However, you're a Founder. You've had quite a bit of experience with this game.
Try to imagine someone who just stepped in. Especially if they have no BT/MW experience. What they want is an introduction to the game. They don't want swings and roundabouts, about well this weapon is a bit worse than that one, but you can use it just fine. Nobody wants to spend hours playing and being able to contribute very little because of a bad build/trail mech.
Especially since this game is all about mechs. Like it or not, new players will go up against optimized builds taught to others by mentor players or simply copied off others. This means that the playing field in nowhere near level.
So they want a good mech.
A mech designed to be powerful so it compensates for lack of experience.
Imagine how much learning and reading a completely new player has to do to understand the mechlab and what makes even a solid mech. How much testing and playing does it take to get a feel for what works and what doesn't (not on the top level, on any level) ?
Quite a bit. And this is bad. In other games you can pick up and play on a even level in one tenth the time.
This is such a big deal that trial mechs themselves should be as nasty and meta-adapted as possible (IMHO), so that new players can play something really good right off the bat. It also would give them a guideline on how to build future mechs.
That is why a list like this and mech tier lists are important. There is also a reason why they are very strict. That is because if you allow for situational builds (e.i. Ac2 jagers which can be utterly devastating if left alone, but get killed quickly 1on1, or in brawls), you end up with a confusing and very long list of things that work if played right.
Imagine if you wanted to buy a car. It's a lot of money and you have a friend who knows all there is to know. If he goes and says "Well if you value the handling feel of a good double wishbone setup more than the steering directness of a fully hydraulic servo, then I say, go with this one. But then again, you might like the immediacy of atmospheric power output more than the big whumps of tourqe from the turbo..."
What has he told you (unless you know just as much as he does) ? Nothing.
Yes it's fun to learn all these nuances and such, but sometimes you don't want to need a glossary to get started.
You want him to say, "Buy that one, you'll love it".
This is especially true since new players with PvP experience form other MMO games, will come LOOKING for a tier list and such, because they understand this.
Budding LoL players, for instance, don't want to "try on their own" or "use and underrated build" that a
much senior player can work wonders with. They want to cut cookies.
And the same is with new MWO players.
That is why something like this, condensing advice to the only absoulte best to keep it as simple as possible is a good thing.
Doesn't help you much. But it helped me a lot.
Also: it does not stifle creativity. Everyone will try their own thing once they get comfortable. The idea is to make this as easy as possible.
Edited by Marmon Rzohr, 23 August 2013 - 01:32 AM.
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