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I'm cross posting this from the "guides" as i'm not sure who this will benefit more.
I'd like to outline some of the basic rules and ettiquetes of playing in pugs, as there are many who dont seem to know.
1) NEVER WALK INTO A HARBOUR. ON ANY MAP!
the harbour is usually an extremely open area with no cover and is easily flankable. it makes for bad times and dead mechs. granted I've seen it done well by premades, but pugs wont have the neccessary communication to make it work. harbour will only make to dead!
2) NEVER GO TUNNEL!
for the exact opposite reason of harbour. it's too cramped, and squeezing a whole team in it is just an invitation to be annihilated by the enemy team waiting at the entrance. again, seen it work, but only by fast lances who are communicating via voice coms. tunnel is fine for a single scout looking to ID enemy positions, but that's about it.
3) NEVER USE THE BOTTOM PASS IN ALPINE!
the bottom pass is for ambushing the team that spawn in lower. It always ends in tears. I actually lost count of how many times I warned my team they were walking into an ambush only to be told to "stop being a moron" just before the enemy team proceeded to bring the wrath of god down on us. yes, we all know that alpine is extremely unbalanced. but if you're smart you can draw the enemy team into range by not poking your head out.
4) IF YOU WANT TO CAP, PLAY CONQUEST.
there are exactly two situations in which capping is good manners. the first is an act of desperation. you're a lone mech who is able to outrun the remaining heavy mechs on the enemy team but not kill them, so cap as a LAST RESORT. the second is if you're the several heavies left vs 1 light mech who evades and shuts down so you cannot find him. in this situation everyone just wants the game to end, it has already been won. these two situations mirror each other but can work out perfect for either side depending on who decides what.
capping in any other situation is only polite as a distraction, used to split the enemy team before a push. if you out flank an enemy team DONT CAP. use the flank to kill them, as you'll earn more Cbills. ending the game early with a cap wastes everyone's time and doesnt reward you at all. it's about as dishonourable as you can get before you turn into a teamkiller.
5) LISTEN TO YOUR TEAM MATES/REPORT ENEMY POSITIONS.
if your team is walking out into the harbour on river city lower at the start of the game and the one guy left at base starts screaming bloody murder, turn around and LOOK at the very least. Had a game the other night where the entire enemy team rushed the base in the first 30 seconds from upper, while my team were out dicking around with a jenner in the harbour. I yelled out for help, but no one responded or even looked. we lost to torrents of LRM fire from out of our own base. my atlas was cut down by 4 light mechs. it was a game that could have gone the other way if people had only payed attention.
It is extremely important to listen to tactical information relayed by friendlies. it is even more important to report enemy positions.
this is all I can think of at the moment, and I'd like to apologise to those team I've sworn at and belittled. It's highly frustrating being stuck watching my entire team about to die and not be able to do anything because they wont listen to me.
Please just use some intelligence out there and I promise you that you'll earn a ton more Cbills.
Edited by mikromancer, 23 September 2013 - 08:28 PM.
