158 replies to this topic

[Joseph Mallan]

Elfman, on 06 November 2013 - 06:30 AM, said:

Yep Joe but would prefer if we went back to the weigth matching and had Elo as a secondary thing rather than the Elo and damn the weight matching

It would be better for some. But I strongly remember there were still PUGStomps even with class matching. Things like simple mistakes and better communication will beat a uncoordinated team most days.

Edited by Joseph Mallan, 06 November 2013 - 07:11 AM.

[Kunae]

Luke Garrad, on 02 November 2013 - 10:37 AM, said:

All PGI have to do is what games like Dota does. Have a solo only button.

Won't help a thing.

[Kunae]

Luke Garrad, on 03 November 2013 - 09:54 AM, said:

Losing = Learning how bad the matchmaker is in this game. (Thats when it becomes crazy streaks)
Look at other topics people have created. Everyone getting stomped by premades and the tonnage each game is way off at times. Balance tonnage and put premades against Premades.

Wrong.

Don't get sucked into MHW's self-pity-party. Do as was suggested, go hop on the public TS servers and drop with some folks. It'll change your whole perspective.

[Vodrin Thales]

Mudhutwarrior, on 02 November 2013 - 10:29 AM, said:

If you pug thats pretty normal. I know some will come in and say they win big. Except they you see them on the feild and that fantasy evaporates quickly. No one can survive under fast called coordinated fire. Past that you type you die so most matches have little or no communication.
Just get used to losing a lot and waiting for good matches. Somedays its good but most its bad.

I've been tracking my solo win/loss percentage due to seeing a lot of threads like this lately. Turns out I win about 57% of my solo drops, and around 62% of my drops overall. When I do see a string of defeats I can usually attribute it to my own play and mistakes I am making. Of course I have some drops where my team plays terribly influencing my ability to win, but this is nowhere near every drop, and rarely more than 2 or 3 in a row. I'm just a little skeptical of these kinds of threads because they don't sink with my experience.

[Vodrin Thales]

Wispsy, on 03 November 2013 - 03:59 AM, said:

Well fortunately for me, even when I solo if I do actually get a game I usually win. I guess matchmaker gives me all the good teams! Oh wait....no I do not think that is then case :/ not at all :/

I know that's not true. You and I were in a match together a few weeks ago while you were in your LRM Atlas. Our team was beyond awful and we did not win. Happens to all of us from time to time

[Joseph Mallan]

Mudhutwarrior, on 02 November 2013 - 10:43 AM, said:

Love your personal attacks. The reader is inclined to find out why which raises visibilty. Thanks.

Aww come on Mud, he didn't mean it like that. -Caramon Majere-

[Clit Beastwood]

I hate to break everyone's hearts, but you just need to get better at the game. Running LRMS while pugging? You're going to die. Running off on your own? You're going to die. If what you're currently doing is failing, try doing something different. If you run assaults and get your poo pushed in every drop, try running a heavy/medium/light. To survive on the battlefield you need to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Most of the threads about balance/matchmaker/OP mechs/etc. recently read like "I want to be the only mech that drops with weapons."

Assault tips:
IF:
- You keep losing to cap - try defending.
- You keep dying - don't be where bullets are.
- You get focused - stick with your team.

Conquest tips:
IF:
- You keep losing to cap - try defending, or run something faster.
- You keep dying - don't be where bullets are.
- You get focused - stick with your team or lance.

This game isn't hard. The matchmaker is here to help you find balanced matches, but if you're not doing your part by learning, adapting, and getting better, there's only so much it can do. If you're too far on either side of the bell curve, you're going to have a hard time finding balanced matches. Use testing grounds to develop heat neutral builds. Use testing grounds to practice shooting while moving laterally. Use testing grounds to find new attack vectors on maps you may not be familiar with. If you're losing, it's your responsibility to find out what isn't working and change it. Practice practice practice.

Edited by Fierostetz, 06 November 2013 - 08:44 AM.

[Sandpit]

Your win loss record isn't far off from a 50/50 split now. Getting some buddies together (If I could ever get my dam turtlebeach headset workign right I'd be on TS dropping) on the TS servers is the easiest way to get through the learning curve, find mechs and builds that work well, get advice and tips, and info on some of the mroe complicated things within the game.

Most of the time you see a lopsided game comes down to 2-3 mechs running off on their own with no plan and running right into a big blob of enemy mechs, then getting decimated quickly leaving the other team 3 mechs down and then if there was 1 afk or disco you're now fighting an 8 vs. 12 almost from the beginning.

Even if you dont' have a mic or dont' want to use the VOIP feature getting on the TS servers gives you a good way to find some online gaming buddies.

[Bors Mistral]

Luke Garrad, on 02 November 2013 - 09:56 AM, said:

... or a spider which dies within the first 10 seconds...

Now I know for sure that something's wrong. Had you said a Locust, I would have considered it normal.

[Vodrin Thales]

Bors Mistral, on 06 November 2013 - 08:50 AM, said:

Now I know for sure that something's wrong. Had you said a Locust, I would have considered it normal.

I don't know. I one shotted spiders in two different games last night. Pro tip to spider pilots: Don't run directly away from a mech with a 30+ pinpoint alpha.

[Clit Beastwood]

I think one of the biggest things hurting new players IS the forums. Nobody goes through the trial and error phase of mecheducation. Someone has a good game, posts a smurfy build on the forums, and everyone flocks to it. Hint: that person is good with that build because they tuned it to themselves. Don't look at other people's smurfy builds, replicate them, and then wonder why it's not working. New players really need to spend the time experimenting, learning, and tweaking. They're never going to learn about heat management if they go straight to a "hot" build that a veteran can manage, but the newer player that found the build on the forums will never be able to stop shutting down. When I first started, I looked at a few builds, emulated them, got my tail kicked. I stopped looking at others' builds. I learned on my own that an XL stalker could be a beast, but would likely die quickly if anyone realized what it was packing. I learned on my own what builds were too hot. I learned on my own about projectile speeds. Everyone plays differently, their builds should work for THEM, not for someone else. Just my 2 cents, but I really feel that the trial and error process is part of the foundation upon which a solid MechWarrior can be built. Remember, any structure is only as strong as it's foundation.

[Clit Beastwood]

Vodrin Thales, on 06 November 2013 - 08:57 AM, said:

I don't know. I one shotted spiders in two different games last night. Pro tip to spider pilots: Don't run directly away from a mech with a 30+ pinpoint alpha.

As a 90% spider pilot since I started the game, they're back to being pretty squishy. I still have some issues with high-ping ones though. It's frustrating in my spider 5d (ping of 60-80) to be fighting another 5d with a ping of 300 - they gosh danged teleport all over the place

I started piloting fatties a short time ago, and while I still prefer either my 5d or my Death's knell for their high speed and very mobile arms... the Jester is proving to be a lot of fun

Edited by Fierostetz, 06 November 2013 - 09:12 AM.

[Wispsy]

Vodrin Thales, on 06 November 2013 - 08:36 AM, said:

I know that's not true. You and I were in a match together a few weeks ago while you were in your LRM Atlas. Our team was beyond awful and we did not win. Happens to all of us from time to time

That is why I said usually and not always.

[RG Notch]

Luke Garrad, on 02 November 2013 - 12:32 PM, said:

At least stats will be reset with the achievements update....I hope that includes elo so I can start from step one again with a average score and move up.

Based on what you've been saying why would you think you would move up?

[nehebkau]

Well, I solo and I don't use TS at all nor do I group with anyone. I am in the same position as the OP as far as friends are concerned. I am doing ok with 2,262 / 1,825 which is about 55%.

I've stopped focusing on W/L since it is too dependant on external factors such as people using VOIP and being grouped. Actually, I would be happy if my W/L ratio would drop to 10% so that I get into easier matches

All I've been concentrating on now is getting my KDR up higher, which has ment switching from lights and mediums to heavies and assaults. Since I've done that ( I have about 1800 matches in lights before the switch) my KDR has steadilly climbed from 0.50 to 1.24. As a light I was focused on getting the win, i.e. capping, scouting and harasing rather than killing but 1 mech can't make a difference -- it was getting very frustrating. Now I usually get 2 or 3 kills per match (a high of 9 for me) with lots of component bonus' and with a hero mech, even if we loose, I still am getting between 100K and 200K.

I say forget your W/L ratio and look at your damage done and your kills in a match and use that to judge yourself -- hope for more game losses so you get into a lower ELO which means you will get more kills and damage.

With a borked matchmaker and the inherent issues around voip and groups a lower ELO is more fun.

[Almond Brown]

Roughneck45, on 02 November 2013 - 10:42 AM, said:

Yes, it would be nice, but this game doesn't have the player base to split the queue like that, not yet anyway.

A Solo only button solves nothing anyways. Someone has 5K games played, put in a Solo button, they smurf a new acct, take a new Trial (stick with 2-3 others) and "we" still kick his teams arse all over the Maps every game.

When you hit Launch Solo, you are expected to play with the other 11 players in at least a quasi Team based effort.

Pug Teams don't lose most games. Mostly poor Pug players, lose most Pug games for their Team.

Edited by Almond Brown, 06 November 2013 - 10:57 AM.

[verybad]

Strangely enough, I usually lose, and have poor numbers as well. I THINK it's because I'm one of the worst players in the game, but still have fun playing it. My presence on a team is like a curse however making them lose more often.

I have a KDR of 0.36, I would like for PGI to change this so that I have a KDR of 3.6 however. It would be a simple multiplication thing for PGI, and without this, I think they're ruining the game for people like me that can't play FPS well, even if we have fun getting our ***** kicked.

[Vodrin Thales]

Wispsy, on 06 November 2013 - 09:14 AM, said:

That is why I said usually and not always.

I was agreeing with you bud. Just pointing out that all of us, no matter the skill level, have bad teams sometimes when dropping in the pug queue. Point is that you can influence outcomes with better play, and really good players have win percentages significantly above 50%, so guess what win % bad players have.

nehebkau, on 06 November 2013 - 09:34 AM, said:

I've stopped focusing on W/L since it is too dependant on external factors such as people using VOIP and being grouped. Actually, I would be happy if my W/L ratio would drop to 10% so that I get into easier matches

I don't really understand this sentiment. Winning against an overmatched foe over and over again is boring to me. What's really fun is winning a nail biter against a strong opponent.

[verybad]

Vodrin Thales, on 06 November 2013 - 10:49 AM, said:

...and really good players have win percentages significantly above 50%, so guess what win % bad players have.

It's no guess for me

[Joseph Mallan]

Vodrin Thales, on 06 November 2013 - 10:49 AM, said:

I was agreeing with you bud. Just pointing out that all of us, no matter the skill level, have bad teams sometimes when dropping in the pug queue. Point is that you can influence outcomes with better play, and really good players have win percentages significantly above 50%, so guess what win % bad players have.



I don't really understand this sentiment. Winning against an overmatched foe over and over again is boring to me. What's really fun is winning a nail biter against a strong opponent.

Define significantly?