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What follows is a pugs guide to what works and what not to do when playing MWO. There are some basic concepts that will work and reward you with more wins but they require you to use some team work. MWO is very much a team game and it is best if you try to use team tactics rather than rushing around on your own.
Mech/weapons selection:
I won’t belabor this to much. As you spectate matches see what other people are loading onto their mechs – if it works for them it will most likely work for you also – provided you drive it intelligently. Pay close attention to minimum ranges. If you look at your weapons readout on your hud your weapon will be in the green if you are in optimal range or white if you are somewhere between optimal and max ranges. If it’s grayed out you are beyond maximum range or within minimum range. If this is the case – don’t fire as your wasting your ammunition or building heat for no reason.
Beginning the match and positioning:
- If there is a four man group it’s best to follow them. Follow the crowd if you’re not sure. Unlike some other games, you are far better off traveling as a group. There are some exceptions to this – scouts will often go off to find the enemy. If you’re in a bigger mech it isn’t a good idea to follow them. Going off on your own is foolish. If you run into the enemy they most likely won’t be alone and you’ll be killed quickly.
- Choke points. Every map has several choke points where paths meet, tunnels or arches are etc. The best plan is to move to one of the choke points on the map and wait to see if the enemy comes your way. Never enter the choke point but position yourself to cover the exit. You ALWAYS want the enemy to have to go through the choke point while you and your team blast them to pieces – not the other way around. It is also more difficult to retreat or get reinforced if you have to pass through a choke point. Try to form up facing the choke point but a little to the side so that the enemy has to come through the choke point to see you. Form firing lines whenever possible so you are not standing in front of one another.
- It’s also best to cover multiple routes but stay within 200 – 300 meters of one another. That way you can move to each others aid when the fighting starts.
- Do not run up behind other players and stand behind them. You block their retreat if they need to back off. You also can’t fire from that position. Always try to find a location beside a team mate so that you can add your fire to theirs.
- Don’t immediately go rushing to wherever there is contact. If the contact is just a one or two mechs there are still 10 more out there. Wait until you have verified that the contact is the main enemy force or at least several mechs before you abandon your position to assist – if you’ve done this right your close by anyway. One of the biggest mistakes I see made is that once the enemy has been found a bunch of people go rushing to that location only to have the rest of the enemy team plow into them from behind and pick them off as they have their back turned.
- If you are the one who makes contact. Type in chat that you have X number of mechs at whatever map grid location. Tell them only how many mechs there are actually there so they can decide what they need to do. If you need help - say so.
- Once you have a firing line set and the enemy are on the other side of the choke point DO NOT LEAVE. You may see a few mechs pop up on the flanks – Let your team mates take care of them or if necessary you can shift slightly to cover both flanks but DO NOT leave your team mates. What normally happens if you leave the firing line is that the enemy figures out they have an advantage and push through the choke point en mass killing as they come. They then fall onto the other mechs from behind and the game is over quickly. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this happen. One or two mechs pop up on a flank and half the team runs off to fight them and then the rest get rolled.
- There are several conditions where flanking is fine. Flank if the enemy is staying in roughly the same spot and is not pushing your position. Make sure you aren’t over extending yourself and can back off back to your team if necessary.
- DO NOT attempt to flank if they are pushing hard as a group – you need to stay and help defend or it’s game over. It’s also a bad idea to flank if you have to go a long distance or are putting yourself into a position where you will get rushed/double/triple teamed.
- If the enemy starts flanking you to either side in force, you need to pull back as a group and deal with them. You DO NOT want several enemy mechs getting position behind you. DO NOT pull back to deal with a single mech.
- Another option is to push the weaker group – as long as you can do this without letting them behind you.
