22 replies to this topic

[Enderman]

What is up with the matchmaking system?

Situations where I get up to 10 losses in a row, or just a horrible w/l ratio (such as 0.2) over many games are quite common for some reason.
This is all in Conquest, don't play the Assault mode at all.

You can argue that I am a bad player, however in most matches I am doing average or better, and in some topping the damage/killboard for the team.

Singlehandedly killed 3 meches in Highlander, damaged several others, did our team win? No, everyone got slaughtered, around 3 players on our team having 50-75 damage dealt.
Killed 2 mechs in another round in Hunchback, and heavily damages 2 more - nope, we lost, because our team split up and got picked 1 by 1 by the focused fire from the enemy.
Capped several points on Alpince in a light? Lost, because my teammates decided that capping is above them, went to the center, most got killed, and we eventually got outcapped because the enemy seemed to know what they were doing and sent their lights to recap our points.
And I am using cover / sticking with the team whenever possible / trying to move away from a position where we are being overwhelmed / helping to cap points.

The fact is that how good or how bad I play in the matches does not seem to matter much, since my team often just suicides itself in situations that could have been avoided.

[Snowcrow]

I feel your pain.

[Dawnstealer]

Conquest is a tough one because it really depends on the team playing like a team. What's more, different strategies can lead to victory and the map (and where you start on that map) really matter.

Also, depending on when you play, you might be getting stuck with the same team (mostly) over and over. When I start going on a losing streak, I'll just go mess around in the mechlab for a bit, switch up mechs (since ELO is apparently based on the mech+player, and not just player, I've heard), or switch up game types.

but yeah: the 0-10 thing sucks and it does seem like the matchmaking has been making some goofs lately. I'm not sure if that's intentional "trying to break the system," or if it's just that something got bumped out of whack.

[Johnny Marek Summers]

My guess is you are dropping in PUGs. Most people say to get teamspeak and drop in groups so you know someone has your back. In a PUG you will most likely get new guys or even people who just want to try a new loadout, so it's a real gamble every time you drop.

My guess is that you may want to go to Assault to see if things get better. Conquest would work better if you knew you have a lance of lights for capping and a lance of heavy hitters for fighting with a grabbag lance of whatever to help with the fight or protect the bigger mechs from a counter assault of lights.

[L Y N X]

Teamwork wins... you can not always make your team stay close enough to focus fire or even focus fire, but YOU can be a better team player by performing and role modelling the behavior you expect.

That said, it is still possible to flip a coin and get tails 10 times in a row. I bet you do not complain when you have a winning streak of 10 in a row, do you?

Attitude is such a small thing, but it colors your entire perception of reality.

Edited by 7ynx, 26 August 2013 - 10:15 AM.

[scJazz]

Enderman you are playing in Conquest Only!

People who are trying out their new Lights and New Players in Lights tend toward Conquest Only. Experienced players either use Any or Assault Only.

You are playing in the Match type most guaranteed to cause your entire team to scatter like roaches in the light!

In the last 107 matches I've played I had a run of 9 losses and a run of 11 wins. I didn't post about either.

[mailin]

Conquest is very challenging for a pug team because not everyone fully understands their roles. In assault the mantra is stay together, whereas in conquest it may be beneficial for everyone to scatter like the wind as long as they understand the importance of being aware of where your buddies are and who needs help. No situational awareness in cq is a sure way to die a horrible, painful death. Also, all too often in conquest you will see assaults not engaging but capping. It's maddening because if I, in my Spider, decided to brawl they'd be all over me in chat, not realizing that they are flip side of the coin.

[mailin]

But I agree, if you're running an assault switch to assault mode unless there's a very good reason for not, but then I'd run in any mode.

[EyeDie I]

conquest has become capwarrior, i used to only do conquest for the higher cbill earnings but with capping changed and 12v12 it has become capwarrior, now i only do assault matches.

[Enderman]

well, the reasons I don't play Assault:
- since you don't have any real objective besides kill-em-all (base cap does not count in PUG games), there is no need to move around the map - a lot of matches just consist of hugging cover and flinging PPC bolts or AC/gauss shells across the map. The only time when things tend to escalate is when one team gains a distinct advantage by killing enough of the enemy mechs and decides to push. This tends to happen even in small maps.
- stealth cap, when you suddenly realise that you will loose the round because the enemy decided to cap your base, and you can't intercept them. Defending a base is not an option in most cases except for smallest maps, since if you split your force in the beginning, you already lost.
- I've played many games when teams just took different routes, went to each others bases, and the one with the fastest mechs won. Even a very bad Conquest round is not as bad as this.
- If you loose on Assault mode, you practically gain no XP / CB

Too bad there is no objective-based Assault mode with defend/attack rounds like in Unreal Tournament...

Edited by Enderman, 26 August 2013 - 12:05 PM.

[Johnny Marek Summers]

With more options in Conquest, there are more chances of something going wrong. I guess if you really want to play Conquest with a decent chance of winning you really need to organize your own mech company. This way you can be certain of your team's capabilities and how well that they will act as a team.

However if that is too much work, I guess you can look around in your PUGs and send friend requests to someone who you feel is also doing things right and slowly build up your list. If you can get a lance together at least there will be some organization, and that could be a game changer.


EDIT: minor changes (missing word and a spelling error)

Edited by Johnny Marek Summers, 26 August 2013 - 12:59 PM.

[LauLiao]

Hmm, I wonder if there was some sort of common denominator in those 10 losses...

[DegeneratePervert]

Conquest is my favorite gametype (611 recorded drops, number will go up this evening), and I understand the frustration that you feel. I suggest you try Assault, or find a buddy to play conquest with.

One thing that I find helps with the losing streaks is to just care about kills. As long as I take down 2-3 dudes with me, I'm pretty happy.

[Lostdragon]

I would recommend you try taking command if you feel you are sufficiently versed in the necessary strategy. People will not always listen to you but sometimes all it takes is a little organization to win. In pug matches the winning team is usually lead by the best cat herder.

I would also suggest you switch to assault when you get frustrated, it is easier to win in a pure pug. I pug 100% of the time and I rarely play conquest because it can be very frustrating, especially sjnce the cap time increase.

[scJazz]

LauLiao, on 26 August 2013 - 12:38 PM, said:

Hmm, I wonder if there was some sort of common denominator in those 10 losses...

If by common denominator you are referring to a Highlander running Conquest Only...

Yeah pretty much.

Sorry Enderman... it was you not them!

[borisof007]

Conquest tends to lend itself MUCH more to well coordinated teamwork than assault does. While Assault does have its issues with poptarting and sniping, I've found this to be more problematic on certain maps than others.

For example, Terra Therma, with it's constant elevation changes and more close quarters does well for mobile heavies and mediums, while giving assaults the ability to slowly push through choke points.

River city is a LOT more CQB with almost all shooting (for me at least) happening within 200 meters.

Forest colony is an open map that's also small, Frozen City would be better without heat/night vision and more extreme weather, but it's sullied by it. Caustic Valley is just super open with little cover anyway. Tourmaline desert is a mixed bag.

[ShinVector]

Recently due to the way the match maker and 12v12 has been...
It is getting really hard to influence a match especially if you a light mech...

Even if you are able to kill 4 to 6 mechs... There might be another 6 waiting to kill you.

So run around looking for weak spots.. Damage as many enemy mechs as possible in the process of looking for weak spots.
Bait people into running into your strike team...

Capping does not work very well nowadays since it is so, slow... On big maps maybe but generally would be stomped by a good enemy strike team.

[mailin]

If you are consistently losing (I don't think 10 losses in a row is enough) switch to assault. It's been said before, and I'll say it again. In assault you really only have three possibilities. Kill all the enemy mechs, defend your base, or cap theirs. Most tend to kill all the enemies with maybe 25% going for a cap win. (I have a whole rant on immediate cap wins, so we don't want to go there.) If a friendly mech or two or even a lance decide to cap win, there really isn't much you can do about it. They're fools, but if they win, they're winning fools. If you defend your base you may reduce the enemy's numbers by a couple, unfortunately most don't want to do this. This leaves killing them all. To that end, if you're in a light, scout the enemy position and relay that info in team chat. If you're not in a light, use team chat to let your lights know that that is expected of them. If friendlies break off from the main group, use their names to call them back. Most will respond appropriately. DO NOT stick with anybody that decides to Rambo. Stay with the main group if you're in anything heavier than a light.

[dnz]

try play with your friends more, if you stick together as a lance and use teamspeak / skype etc it makes it much easier to call targets and coordinate tactics.

[Hammerhai]

It bears repeating:
Statistically, this is quite possible. I'll give you it is frustrating, but still possible. On the other hand, it is not all that possible, although I can only guess at the maths involved. Assuming a straight 50/50 chance, though-well you were QUITE unlucky (I make it a chance of 1 in 97,656. Feel free to check the math, it should be 1/(2 to the power of 10)). Not much you can do about it, but Teamspeak is a good way to go to lessen the odds of this. Good luck. And you should be jinx free for a good long while! Murphy permitting, of course.

In PGI's defense, complaints like this are very probably monitored and checked, albeit most likely in abstracted form, as a trend report. They do watch for trends.

Which reminds me of the time I played Car Wars, and needed to roll a "1" to have my PC killed. I did. And then proceeded to roll another 7 "1"'s in a row. I did complain, to put it mildly. RIP Jonathan Hackett, last of the Hackett Family of Car Warriors.

And Car Wars or Ogre have my vote for a franchise I would like to see being made. Look into it PGI?

Edited by Hammerhai, 27 August 2013 - 02:00 PM.