31 replies to this topic

[Geek Verve]

/rant on

From the pages of "I Used to Ridicule the 'Get off my lawn!' Guy, until I Became One"...

First, I know I may be preaching to the choir as far as many of you are concerned. I posted here in case newer players may not be aware of some of the things that just bug the {Scrap} out of other players (well, me anyway).

• I know it says right at the beginning of every assault match, that to win you 1) Capture the enemy's base, or 2) Destroy all enemy mechs. That said, people need C-bills to buy new mechs, upgrade equipment, etc. The pittance you get for merely winning a match (which, incidentally is the same amount awarded for losing), is barely a drop in the bucket. As such, capturing the enemy's base is typically viewed as a last resort. The more damage you do, the more C-bills you earn from the match. I know, you're a light mech, and you're fast, so it's an easy way for you to "win", but other players find early capping obnoxious. There's nothing worse than trekking halfway across the map, finding a strategic approach to the battle and getting ready to drop the hammer in a 0-0 match, only to hear that a base is being captured. Even doing it only for a few seconds and then leaving the base, just to cause chaos is irritating. The maps are just generally too big for 12-man teams to both defend their base *and* actually fight the battle. [Ok, I accept that there is perhaps a place for tactical partial capping.]
  
• While waiting on the match to start, don't be that guy who just can't stand sitting still for 60-seconds and chooses to fill that time by spamming the Take and Resign Command buttons. The constant chirping is annoying as frack.
  
• When the match starts, by all means, fire your weapons a time or two, if you need to check the heat build-up on that new build or test your fire group(s). Otherwise, those 24-SRM's you just launched into that building could be the SRM's you wish you still had at the end of the fight to save your arse, or better yet, save mine. It won't kill you to make your way to the battlefield without going all herpy-derpy on your fire controls, especially considering the fact that players around you are just starting to position themselves in the marching order, and will likely be the unwitting recipient of one of your short attention span folly volleys.
  
• This is one that I've seen mentioned before...DON'T JAM UP BEHIND A TEAMMATE! If they've stopped, it may well be because they see a target of opportunity and want to get off a shot or two before backing up for cover. If you're standing there, they're stuck.
  
• It is not your [insert diety here]-given right to fire on any and all enemies at all times. Be mindful of those other players surrounding said enemy, and if you're going to try to squeeze a shot in, be fracking sure you're not putting it into one of your teammates backs by mistake.

Aside from the first point, the rest strike me as common sense. If you happen to disagree with any of these, please tell me why. I try to keep an open mind. After all the internet will be the internet, so you often have to choose between going into a nerd rage or just suffering the fools. Maybe I'm the fool here, who knows.




/rant off

Edited by Geek Verve, 10 October 2013 - 04:53 PM.

[Joseph Mallan]

We apparently have the same neighborhood kids running across our lawns!

[Hexenhammer]

Lol. It's called maturity and just wait till you hit your 40s, 50s, 60s. But age has its benefits.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 10 October 2013 - 08:52 AM.

[Itsalrightwithme]

Unless weight matching is re-introduced, light and fast medium pilots are somewhat gimped, especially when there is no indication of the opposing team's weight composition. As much, early capping is often used as a way to invite the opposing team's light mechs to a knife fight. When the opposing side fails to send any lights or mediums back, they are either (1) incompetent or (2) consisting entirely of stompy slow mechs.

In the case of (1) you can argue you could have earned more C-Bills, but in the case of (2) consider yourself lucky.

Either way, when any side starts capping, the stompy mechs should hasten and establish contact at least to see what the other side consists of. If your heavies/assaults decide to turtle instead, well, consider yourself lucky you still won the match.

Otherwise I agree with your other points.

[Kiritumi]

My lawn is 22 stories up. Lets hope them kids dont get jetpacks XD

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Re: your point about joyfire at the start of a match; it actually annoys me more when people loose missiles or ballistics. Lasers, being the hottest weapons, are just about the only ones I'll believe "testing heat" for. Anything else, you're wasting ammo you'll need later.

[Dexter Herbivore]

"Even doing it only for a few seconds and then leaving the base, just to cause chaos is irritating. The maps are just generally too big for 12-man teams to both defend their base *and* actually fight the battle."

That's the point, to create chaos. It's a valid tactic and you should be learning how to deal with it. Just because people don't play the way you like tactically is not a reason to complain; adapt, adopt and overcome.

[mailin]

One thing I'd like to add, and it happens a lot. On Crimson if you move to one of the ramps and your team follows you, and then you stop for a period of time a couple of things are likely to happen. First, you will probably be asked to move forward, then you will probably be told to move forward, then you will probably be shot in the back, then you will most likely die from being shot in the back. In other words, if you're on the ramp, you have already committed yourself to going onto the upper level and spreading out. If you want to stop at that point, go for it.

Geek Verve, on 10 October 2013 - 08:37 AM, said:

/rant on

From the pages of "I Used to Ridicule the 'Get off my lawn!' Guy, until I Became One"...

First, I know I may be preaching to the choir as far as many of you are concerned. I posted here in case newer players may not be aware of some of the things that just bug the {Scrap} out of other players (well, me anyway).

• I know it says right at the beginning of every assault match, that to win you 1) Capture the enemy's base, or 2) Destroy all enemy mechs. That said, people need C-bills to buy new mechs, upgrade equipment, etc. The pittance you get for merely winning a match (which, incidentally is the same amount awarded for losing), is barely a drop in the bucket. As such, capturing the enemy's base is typically viewed as a last resort. The more damage you do, the more C-bills you earn from the match. I know, you're a light mech, and you're fast, so it's an easy way for you to "win", but other players find early capping obnoxious. There's nothing worse than trekking halfway across the map, finding a strategic approach to the battle and getting ready to drop the hammer in a 0-0 match, only to hear that a base is being captured. Even doing it only for a few seconds and then leaving the base, just to cause chaos is irritating. The maps are just generally too big for 12-man teams to both defend their base *and* actually fight the battle.

As a mostly dedicated light pilot, I agree with this to a point. Winning by cap is completely unacceptable at the beginning of the game. However, once a light has successfully found the enemy and noted their numbers and movements to the rest of the team, and the team has engaged the enemy, then cap. But, note that you DO NOT want to cap it all the way at this point. What you do want to do is disrupt the enemies' plans, confuse them and try to get them to make a mistake. To that end, sit on cap for a period of time (sometimes I will get off after the base captured warning goes off three times, sometimes I will take it down to 90%). If the enemy shows up and you can quickly take out the enemy, do so. If not, note the number of enemies and communicate this info to your team. Once that is done, quickly engage the main enemy force while they are at a numerical disadvantage. Only cap to win if there is no other way of winning. I say again, ONLY CAP TO WIN IF THERE IS NO OTHER WAY OF WINNING. This can only be determined once several friendlies are dead, not before anyone is dead. Oh and never, ever cap to win when most of the enemy is dead, unless it's that one evasive guy in that Spider and you have no lights left to catch him.

[Marlowe Lecter]

Geek Verve, on 10 October 2013 - 08:37 AM, said:

/rant on

From the pages of "I Used to Ridicule the 'Get off my lawn!' Guy, until I Became One"...

First, I know I may be preaching to the choir as far as many of you are concerned. I posted here in case newer players may not be aware of some of the things that just bug the {Scrap} out of other players (well, me anyway).

• I know it says right at the beginning of every assault match, that to win you 1) Capture the enemy's base, or 2) Destroy all enemy mechs. That said, people need C-bills to buy new mechs, upgrade equipment, etc. The pittance you get for merely winning a match (which, incidentally is the same amount awarded for losing), is barely a drop in the bucket. As such, capturing the enemy's base is typically viewed as a last resort. The more damage you do, the more C-bills you earn from the match. I know, you're a light mech, and you're fast, so it's an easy way for you to "win", but other players find early capping obnoxious. There's nothing worse than trekking halfway across the map, finding a strategic approach to the battle and getting ready to drop the hammer in a 0-0 match, only to hear that a base is being captured. Even doing it only for a few seconds and then leaving the base, just to cause chaos is irritating. The maps are just generally too big for 12-man teams to both defend their base *and* actually fight the battle.

This is just flat out wrong. Just because you don't like capping doesn't mean folks should stop doing it. One reason lights do this is to get the opposing team to do the "What the..." move and turn around. If even 3 non-lights on the main force turn back toward base, that gives the team caping an advantage. If you are trudging along and you hear "Enemy base is being captured" that should be your cue to push into the enemy's position, hard. You might catch some of them with their backs turned.

[mailin]

Marlowe Lecter, on 10 October 2013 - 09:33 AM, said:

This is just flat out wrong. Just because you don't like capping doesn't mean folks should stop doing it. One reason lights do this is to get the opposing team to do the "What the..." move and turn around. If even 3 non-lights on the main force turn back toward base, that gives the team caping an advantage.

Agree, which is pretty much stated in what I said.

Marlowe Lecter, on 10 October 2013 - 09:33 AM, said:

If you are trudging along and you hear "Enemy base is being captured" that should be your cue to push into the enemy's position, hard. You might catch some of them with their backs turned.

I totally and completely disagree with this however. If you do this the game devolves into cap warrior online, which every experienced player hates. If it doesn't devolve into that, you will string out your own forces which pushed hard into the enemy territory, making it that much more likely that your forces will be focus fired into spectating.

[Geek Verve]

Marlowe Lecter, on 10 October 2013 - 09:33 AM, said:

This is just flat out wrong. Just because you don't like capping doesn't mean folks should stop doing it. One reason lights do this is to get the opposing team to do the "What the..." move and turn around. If even 3 non-lights on the main force turn back toward base, that gives the team caping an advantage. If you are trudging along and you hear "Enemy base is being captured" that should be your cue to push into the enemy's position, hard. You might catch some of them with their backs turned.

Maybe you just read what I wrote wrong. I specifically mentioned *early* capping. If you can explain to me how winning a match with a 0-0 cap makes sense, I'm all ears. As mailin said, Cap Warrior Online is no fun - yes, there are probably some who *do* enjoy it. Some people probably like mustard on strawberry ice cream, too, but it's still safe to say it's disgusting.

I can accept the partial capping to disrupt the enemy strategy. I don't like it, but I can at least recognize the reasoning behind it. It will probably be different, once I join a house/clan and can drop with people who are more or less on the same page, but in PUG's? I don't know, maybe it's something I can work on dealing with better when it happens.

[mailin]

Geek Verve, on 10 October 2013 - 11:45 AM, said:

Maybe you just read what I wrote wrong. I specifically mentioned *early* capping. If you can explain to me how winning a match with a 0-0 cap makes sense, I'm all ears. As mailin said, Cap Warrior Online is no fun - yes, there are probably some who *do* enjoy it. Some people probably like mustard on strawberry ice cream, too, but it's still safe to say it's disgusting.

I can accept the partial capping to disrupt the enemy strategy. I don't like it, but I can at least recognize the reasoning behind it. It will probably be different, once I join a house/clan and can drop with people who are more or less on the same page, but in PUG's? I don't know, maybe it's something I can work on dealing with better when it happens.

Glad you agree with me Geek Verve. I actually chose my exact wording on the phrase that you paraphrased very carefully. If anyone disagrees with it, I suggest they reread it. ;-)

[C E Dwyer]

yup your joining the grumpy old men crowd.


Personally I find push the frakking ready button coments, when your team only shows 11 far more irritating, the chiruping actually means they are paying attention.

Also I'd like to point out that not all mechs slow down at the same speed, so if player x pushes past an Atlas, to be first at a choke point, and suddenly stops, because A there is a mech to shoot at, or B, wants to back peddle, because half the other team are comming up the path, said person can expect to get blocked.

there are reasons for everything, and its not wrong just different

[Sadistic Savior]

Itsalrightwithme, on 10 October 2013 - 08:52 AM, said:

Unless weight matching is re-introduced, light and fast medium pilots are somewhat gimped, especially when there is no indication of the opposing team's weight composition.

They are not gimped at all. Use them for spotting/scouting and harassment. Christ, the best tank in the game is a light mech.

And once CW gets going, lights will matter even more. Capping will mean something finally.

[RallyPoint]

As a new player I've found this game very intollerant of new players. It's somewhat frustrating because I'm far from inexperienced at online gaming. I'm trying to learn it out. However the game's user interface was apparently designed in the late 1990's so figuring things out is almost entirely left to trial and error plus asking other players. Many other players meet your questions with hostility but a good numbe are helpful. The vast majority of vocal a-holes are completely intolerrant of your ignorance and that truly pis me off.

If 1 of the 10 D-bags who slagged on me about early capping in an Assault match had taken the time to explain I get more C-Bills for fighting, doing damage, and killing then I ever will capping I would have quickly switch tactics. That's not what happens though. They see you moving accross the map and start insulting you over chat. Since I'm ignorant to the point they are trying to make and the way they are making it is to simply insult me with out actually explaining why I'm wrong you can see where I wouldn't get it and continue to be 'that guy' who caps early.

All I ask is that ppl be more patient and at the very least EXPLAIN why you are so mad at someone. Not just call them an A-hat who's ruining the game for everyone else. Again if someone had said "hey {Dezgra} you get the same CBills for winning or loosing based on capping so knock it off and get in the fight" I would have actually GOT the point and changed up my tactics.

There's a difference between grumpy old A-holes and mature gentlemen ... it's called tact.

Edited by RallyPoint, 10 October 2013 - 01:07 PM.

[Andrew Porter]

What gets my goat majorly are the guys who run to the volcano on that God forsaken hellhole Terra Therma then block the ramp or retreat with the entire team behind them. Especially if a couple of guys have already gone in. Stop then and you may as well have tk'd the guys inside, as you are responsible for their deaths and usually for the resounding loss that follows. If you are doing the volcano, do it with some guts, yeah?
The capping thing... sometimes that is just the result of poor map design. (I'm looking at you, Alpine. And Caustic. And River City. Not sure I have ever had a cap-race on a map outside those three.)

[Andrew Porter]

@RallyPoint,

Not blaming you as I agree about some of the unhelpful attitudes on display sometimes (and map design sometimes funnels you to a cap without even seeing the enemy team), but sometimes you got to ask why people start smacktalking you in a game like this, especially if it usually coincides with you doing the same thing as last time someone called you a Dregza or whatever... ofc it doesn't excuse people being needlessly rude, but, err, it is the internets after all.

[Duncan Aravain]

I play MWO for the cardio workout. Nothing gets my heart racing and blood pumping on a daily basis like PUGs and all the wonders they offer.

[Haji1096]

I would add one more thing to this list:

Don't facehug an enemy mech and cut off fire lanes from your team mates.

[mailin]

Sadistic Savior, on 10 October 2013 - 12:22 PM, said:

They are not gimped at all. Use them for spotting/scouting and harassment. Christ, the best tank in the game is a light mech.

And once CW gets going, lights will matter even more. Capping will mean something finally.

If by gimped he means that they don't get as much xp for doing their jobs (scouting and harassing) as assaults do for their jobs (brawling), he's absolutely right. That's the way the dice are rolled. If you don't like it, drive an assault so you can get more xp. For me it's really not about how much money or xp I get, but about how much fun I have when playing the game. I simply get a lot more enjoyment out of going really fast and ******* people off. I also love, love, love relaying info to my team and having them respond to it. Recently on Alpine I was pugging in my Spider, told my friendlies where I was going, spotted the enemy and typed the info in team chat on numbers of mechs, location and direction of movement. I then saw all of my team mates moving to engage while I slipped behind the enemy and got and maintained locks for our lrms. We tore them up and won 12-0. I did less than 100 damage, but I got a little xp and c-bills for spotting. The enjoyment is what really made it a memorable pug match though.