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Another player on my team responded that it was only their 3rd match, and that they weren't sure they liked this game. While I'm getting better, I'm not good enough to carry on a conversation in chat once the battle is joined, so here's all the things I wanted to say...
Don't get frustrated and give up!
First off, it's free to play. You won't get the hero mechs, or the wicked custom paint-job (
), and you'll have to slow-grind your xp/cbills like the rest of us paupers, but it won't cost you a dime to enjoy this game. Which is good, because you might have a hard time enjoying your first efforts...The learning curve is kind of steep (some will call this understatement) and as of now there is no tutorial (PGI says it's coming) so you're going to have to learn the ropes by fighting beside and against MWO veterans. You are going to make a lot of silly mistakes and you will pay for them, both in getting crumpled fast by the enemy and also verbally via in-game chat by your frustrated teammates (trust me, there really aren't that many negative creeps playing MWO, but they come out in droves to pig-pile the new players, so it seems like it's everyone).
You might think that players coming in later with a tutorial will have it better than you, but the opposite is true. These first (oh so embarrassing) battles are your tutorial, and they're the best tutorial you'll ever get from an on-line game.
Right now, in open beta, MWO is nothing but match after match, and it can seem like a pointless robot-stomp, with you being the robot getting stomped more often than not. But you're learning. You're learning how to take down a big mech with a light one, and how to counter those tactics when you go heavy. You're learning how the maps 'flow,' which spots are good places to defend, and how to turn those "good places" into death-traps. You're learning how you want to fight, and which weapons and mechs will augment your style of play. Above all, in playing with and against seasoned mechwarriors, you are learning how real combat is going to play-out when MWO releases. This is going to help you more than any AI a tutorial can throw at you.
When Community Warfare finally releases, and all of these pretty flags finally mean something, your time learning the hard way will make you a much more valuable asset to your house or mercenary unit than those coming fresh out of a tutorial. Don't worry about your stats; PGI has stated that all of that is going to reset on release.
So please don't quit! Ignore the haters (and blow the hell out of them when they are on the other team) give an ear to the players that want you to get better and are willing to offer positive advice, read the forums (dig past all the griping and you really can find some useful tips) and 'spectate' after you die to watch what other players are doing right and wrong.
We need you to stay. You are the future of the game, a game we want around for a long time. Some may call you a 'noob,' but we were all noobs just like you. The good players don't forget that.
Once you've paid "the iron price" for your experience, it won't be long before you start coming across players making the same mistakes you used to (many, I suspect, will be fresh from the tutorial!). If they're on the other team, bon appetit! If they're on yours, don't forget how frustrating this game was for you at first and try to help them.
