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[shiftyogre]

You all will notice that I don't post that often, mostly because I don't really say anything until I have something to contribute. I say what I'm about to say not to *****, but in the hopes that something will be fixed sooner or later.

Before I start this discussion, a bit about me: I've been playing Mechwarrior games since MW2 for the PC in the mid 90's. In fact, with the exception of living legends, I've owned EVERY Mechwarrior game and expansion to come out since that time. I'm a founder here in MWO, as well as having purchased the Overlord pack, and spending about $40 outside of that. I'm telling you this not to make you think I'm somehow better than everyone else, because to be blunt: I'm not. I'm instead telling you this to show that I have a bit invested in this game.

Now on with my topics of conversation:
The current matchmaking sucks. It rewards stupid behavior from teammates by LRM and alpha blobbing. It heavily discourages original thought or tactics. 12 man drops have exacerbated existing issues to the point that the game has gotten ludicrously difficult. I'm talking Shadow Warrior with no health packs and one shot kills difficult. I used to have about a 1/1 win/loss ratio on any given night. Tonight I've literally gone 1/5, and the only one I won was by cap. The other nights I've played this week have gone similarly. I realize that this game isn't all about winning, but more than a 16% chance of success would be appreciated. Right now the game is about as much fun as having your hand shoved into a meat grinder that's being turned really, really, really slowly. As for what to do about this, I have several suggestions:

1. Make 12 man drops OPTIONAL and selectable. 8 man drops encouraged more movement and tactics than the current 12 man meta does. The current maps, with the exception of Terra Therma, are too small for 12 mans anyway IMO. There isn't enough room to manuever. Also: bring back the matchmaking by weight class. It's annoying being on a team of 8 lights and 4 mediums vs 8 assaults and 4 heavies.

2. Speaking of Terra Therma, it's current form is way, way, way too big. There's enough room for 12 mechs, but not to do anything other than traverse single file, and anyone that has dropped with 11 people they didn't know will quickly be able to describe to you this situation usually ends up being like black friday at Walmart: 50 fat women fighting to squeeze into a narrow aisle to get the last tickle me elmo: it will only end with people being pissed they got shot by team mates (accidentally mind you), people being pissed they can't back up, or people being pissed that they can't shoot. I like the concept, it just needs tweaked.

Other than these two complaints, I'm largely happy with how the game is progressing. I'm looking forward to the new mechs and maps coming out. Keep up the good work!