13 replies to this topic

[KishPrime]

Going to give the forum my first shot!

At this point, I consider myself an average player. I've got about 1400 matches under my belt, but seem stuck at that level where I can't get much better. I'd probably be better if I committed to a specific mech but I don't think that's absolutely necessary. I pretty much vary 30/70 between the 70-90 damage but really fast death games and 250-400 damage games, with an average win% and K/D ratio. I only get the 500+ damage, 3+ kill matches in 1 out of every 25 matches.

I'm going to list off a bunch of caveats that may partially explain my difficulties, but not sure if any of them really get at the problem:
I rarely use maxed-out mechs as I am constantly working on new skill trees
I don't use consumables, as I spend C-bills on new mechs
I've not played a lot of keyboard/mouse games before this
I don't ride gauss/PPC/ECM builds very often at all, which all seem to get a lot of props at the best options - been using PPC more lately to try those out
Medium/Heavy are my most common classes played, with Cicadas/Hbacks/Cats as my primaries
I clearly do a lot better when skype-chatting and playing with my brother, as we both go over and sometimes well over 350dmg/match about 75% of the time

So, anyone have any good suggestions as to how to improve to that next tier? Better map knowledge? Headshot practice? They don't have to be related to the above - just providing them in case it helps guide discussion.

[Roughneck45]

PPC's, gauss, and good aim.

So sad, but so true.

As far as pugging is concerned, I just tell people to be fully aware of your surroundings. Try to make sure that you are never the focus target in an engagement. Don't be the first one to round that corner unless you know exactly what is behind it.

Koreanese has a lot of training videos on your tube as well, if you want to check them out. Good advice all around.

On a side note, use a 6+ button mouse if you can afford one. Being able to have all the weapon groups on the mouse instead of reaching for the number keys really helps.

Edited by Roughneck45, 16 August 2013 - 12:01 PM.

[KishPrime]

I actually have a 6-button mouse but my thumb is not good at pressing them while aiming.

I think I stumbled into some of koreanese's stuff abut 4 months ago - it was good but I only watched one or two. I'll check them out again. Thanks!

Edited by KishPrime, 16 August 2013 - 12:05 PM.

[Lostdragon]

I am by no means a top player but I usually do pretty well. Pick something and stick with it. You need to be running with double basics to get the most of your ride. You also need to understand your role and optimize your mech for it then stick to it. Be patient and wait for the enemy to make a mistake then capitalize on it. Never engage unless you have the advantage of numbers, surprise, or speed. When the advantage shifts away from you then you must adjust quickly or die.

I pug 100% of the time and I usually do pretty well as long as I stick to those rules. Even if I lose I usually get a kill and do decent damage (I consider 300 decent). I also play a Jenner F mostly and I feel pretty confident I would almost always win 1v1 against an equally skilled pilot in an Hunchback, Cicada, or Catapult. All of those chassis have pretty big weaknesses that are easy to exploit so you might want to try some mechs with better hitboxes like Centurions and maybe Cataphracts. I also highly recommend you try a light, I find the Jenner to be the most fun and effective mech in my hangar.

[Clit Beastwood]

Use testing grounds - it's not simulated battle, but its a good target range. Great weapons are nothing if you can't land shots.

Example - since way before HSR I've been a dedicated spider pilot. I was stuck at about 250 dmg and 1 kill per match average, dying every match. I spent lots (lots!!!) of time in testing grounds practicing high speed headshot drivebys. After a few weeks, I started consistently getting headshot kills in-game. Next, I started playing with a jenner with 6spl, again, high speed headshot passes, mixed with amputation passes for legging the mechs I was harassing. run a right side circle 20 times, left side circle 20 times, then figure 8's, etc. - just target practice. If what you're doing isn't working, don't be afraid to try something else. If you're "stuck" with your heavy mechs, try an assault. Try a light. You'll find a mech that has the "feel". It'll become an extension, and you'll start killing - a lot. Practice practice practice. Don't chase the meta, all you'll learn to do is be a photocopy of a better player, as in, identifiable as a copy, but never as good as the original. Play for you. Don't worry about your stats. I've tanked my stats a few times by running a bj1x with 8 tags, 8 flamers, whatever - its a game, its supposed to be fun. Remember to occasionally take a "break" and do something fun. I run a spider 5v when I start getting burned out - 12jj has a way of making things fun again after a grind. My current "fun" mech that I didn't think would work is an ac20 flame. Never though it'd work, but it's awesome.

[Marmon Rzohr]

What I'd like to add on to the excellent suggestions already stated is this:

Ask yourself, what kind of playstyle suits you best. What weapons give you the best results and feel the most natural to use ? What chassis ?

Also: do you have any maps you lose most often on ? If so, how do you lose ?

Find the answers to these questions then I think a few simple guidlines can be found to help you get up to speed.
I think that while training helps (e.i. playing more games and target practice), finding what tactics, weapons and mechs work best for you right now speeds the process up quite a bit.

P.S. Tweaking mouse sensitivity in the options menu can make for a shocking difference in precision. Give it a try. Certainly worked for me

[Shae Starfyre]

Once you are in your niche role, tweak things like your mouse speed and optimize key/button load outs to play to the strengths of your Mech.

The DPI settings on the Mouse can be fine tuned to allow just the right sweep of the mouse across the pad to move your mech's upper torso just right for decent aim to movement ratios so as not to be too fast or too slow.

Also, reworking some of the key lay outs for non-gaming mouse input is advisable.

Moving from one mech to another over and over again, really limits the specialized attention required to become better in a particular Mech. Once you have the number of matches you state in one mech alone, you might find your improving; in that mech, anyways.

[DarkDevilDancer]

Now you say you dont play maxed mechs does that mean you stop at basic? because to get the most out of your mech you really need to max out elite as that doubles your basics and things like speed tweek are vital to success.

MASTER YOUR MECH!

Its really important to buy those three variants and skill them up.

[skotsche]

I can handle four weapon groups on my mouse. And I do not use the thumb buttons, as I cannot aim when using them. But I use the mouse wheel for weapon group three and four. Three is scroll down and four is scroll up.

This greatly suites my playstyle as I am unable to mentally cope with more than four groups. I use weapon groups one and two for direct fire weapons and three and four for missiles.

So far I did not try to change mouse sensitivity. I think it is quite high at the moment, but I really should play with it...

[KishPrime]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I've tried quite a few of them. I really want to set up the mouse wheel for groups 3 and 4 like you'd mentioned...could be a good option. I've actually been hitting 400 and 500 damage about 40% of the time recently - not sure what changed. I notice a pretty distinct difference when I play with the double-basics vs. not. I think this is definitely part of the reason for my inconsistency. Fortunately I've got my Cicadas up now and just have a little ways to go on my Stalkers to be at max with all of the mechs I usually play.

PPC/Gauss is pretty ridiculous. It's very easy to do 400 damage a match when you don't even have to get close.

Do you all increase or decrease your mouse sensitivity? Just curious if people usually find it too sensitive or not sensitive enough. What is the Cicada's weakness that was mentioned earlier?

[EyeDie I]

you do better skyping with your brother?now imagine voice chatting with 4-12 team mates.there are teamspeak,mumble?and raidcall servers where you can play with other mechwarriors check out the factions part of the forums and make more friends to hunt and coordinate with.

[Marmon Rzohr]

If you're fighting at long range, decreasing mouse sensitivity can help a lot, as it helps you land more percise shots.
In short, if you find that you overshoot what you're aiming for with the crosshair or need to make a lot of adjustments to point it on target, you should give lowering sensitivity a try.

[Ozric]

Teamwork is OP. If you want to do one thing to improve your performance, do what almost everybody else does and roll with other people. That's how the top tier folks have maintained their stats make no mistake.

Or do what I do, and continue to PUG exclusively. You will simply be more awesome than everybody else, and even though you might loose a lot, and your stats will suck, and nobody will even notice how awesome you are anyway, you will still be awesomely awesome in the eyes of the mech spirits.

[KishPrime]

I will say that one thing I think I was doing terribly wrong was falling in love with medium lasers at 400-550 range. You can tickle a mech with them but you certainly aren't doing much more than that, I've realized.