41 replies to this topic

[AlmightyAeng]

GIANT TARGET, on 31 March 2014 - 05:47 PM, said:

Actually Votanin, that tactic on Alpine for the team that starts on the east side is generally the right move in a pug game. There are many other routes on the map if a team is coordinated, but as that hill is the first very visible and very defensible spot on the map for the east team, it's a good place to congregate for those who lack TS. The team taking control of the hill first can move to either side of the ridge and snipe enemies coming up the ramp or coming from behind the hill below. If you're Charlie just move there as soon as you can, even in slow assaults. You'll still make it there in time before the enemy Charlie.

Yeah, we had a game last night where my team went 12-0 on Alpine, starting by taking the hill first.

We all snuggled the DDC, and let our LRMs (I think we had 1 boat and 2 mechs with 'some) and PPC mechs take shots. They tried going around the tower...but we just shift right and kept plugging away, taking them in 2's and 3's until they were all dead.

The only truly effective tactic I've seen for 'taking the hill away' when you're NOT the first team is for:

1) A brave light to drop a UAV and have the team charge in under covering missile fire or
2) A chain of brave light runs in and drops an artillery strike into the huddle, and the team advances while this occurs or
3) Both.

Going low lets them pick you off since they have superior position, going around the tower does the same, with their base missiles lending a handle. A TURRET was actually attributed one of the kills that game.

[Votanin FleshRender]

Ertur, on 31 March 2014 - 05:53 PM, said:

Bad runs like that happen.

However, a couple of points.
Do not shoot your LRMS at 2000 m. The effective range for LRM's is between 180 and 1000. There's a kind of a guide if you pay attention to the weapons, they turn yellow when you are at extended range where the damage is reduced, green when you are in optimum range, and black when they are out of range. However, note that it is not calculated by what you have targeted, but where your reticle is at. So if you are looking at a wall 200m away while targetting someone 2000m away your weapons will show green even though you are well out of range.

If you drop down one, that can be bad. However, if your team stays close and can create a situation where it is like 8 on 4, or better 11 on 4, then you can make up the difference pretty easily. It's not an automatic loss. Create a smaller engagement where you have the number advantage, even if you start outnumbered for the match as a whole. The Y button is your friend for this.

I know how to use Lrms now... My point was, I was winning more games when I didn't use them correctly. Now that I use them properly, I'm losing all the time, ergo my question.


As far as Alpine, I think I have won pretty much every game I started on the N and W sides of the map (I only play skirmish). But this last wkd, for some reason, I started every game on the S and E side and lost every time. Charlie lance just could never get around to the hill before the first two lances had engaged, and were almost always down 2-3 mechs by the time my Charlie lance got there. I was playing the trial Stalker a lot, and an Atlas and they are both very slow, and Charlie starts soooo far to the S of the map.


As far as doing VoIP, I've got 4 kids, so that makes it difficult. And if I'm playing late at night after the missus has retired, the computer is right next to the bed, and its just not very practical. I understand it would help things tremendously though.


Thank you everyone, though, for taking the time to read and respond.

Edited by Votanin FleshRender, 01 April 2014 - 08:48 AM.

[Monsoon]

Definitely sounds like bad luck, best suggestion is to grab team speak and join one of the more popular servers (NGNG, one of the House Channels or the NA/EU Comstar servers) or join a unit and group up with them. Solo, is a crap-shoot, and if you're gonna PUG is can't hurt to drop with three 'friends' to improve your chances.

12v12 can be equally a crap-shoot if you just like to run 'whatever' and you drop against a pure META group.

[mailin]

To the OP, if you have headphones or a headset, get teamspeak, and log on the Comstar NA server. There is mute button that will mute a mic, and switches the icon so your teammates know you won't talk, but it will still let you listen in, which can be a HUGE help. I'm on there a LOT when I'm playing, and there are quite a few that run with muted mics.

[AlmightyAeng]

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:47 AM, said:

As far as doing VoIP, I've got 4 kids, so that makes it difficult. And if I'm playing late at night after the missus has retired, the computer is right next to the bed, and its just not very practical. I understand it would help things tremendously though.

Thank you everyone, though, for taking the time to read and respond.

The late night/kids/bedroom computer problem is a familiar one. We've got a couple guys in my unit that this sometimes applies to. While they're unable to speak, they still get in Teamspeak and throw on a set of headphones. They're listening in as we call out commands, and are just as effective as a lancemate, if somewhat quieter than usual

Edited by Ghost Badger, 01 April 2014 - 09:35 AM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:47 AM, said:

I know how to use Lrms now... My point was, I was winning more games when I didn't use them correctly. Now that I use them properly, I'm losing all the time, ergo my question.

This may have been covered (house full of kids at the moment is making reading through all this tricky >.< want to get it out before I forget it though)

A thought I had - I will sometimes fire off an LRM/5 or the like at 1200+ meters just to make someone duck - if you were doing similar - you could have been helping keep the other team's head down, despite not technically knowing what you were doing?

It could also just be pure unadulterated random luck - life is like that sometimes.

[Jacon Ceronia]

Votanin FleshRender, on 31 March 2014 - 08:12 AM, said:

Edit - actually, it's not even losing that bothers me. If its s good match, then I can enjoy a loss. What I'm tired of are the 12-2, 12-3 asskickings.

Can I just say that I'm so relived to not be the only one experiencing this? I thought I turned into a craptastic player overnight. I can't say how many games I played Saturday, Sunday, and then Monday night. However, I can say that I was on the winning team only a minor fraction of the time. Say, one in six games (to error on the cautious side). Had the worst luck, seeing the other side lose maybe 1-3 players, total. This was not always the case, but it happened more than half the time. In my mind PGI has some serious issues with balance, lately. After last night, I was ready to uninstall forever!! And, I'm not typically one to have angst, or spread it around the forums. It's as if I've been playing alone with all inexperienced players, against 12 mans, lately. Talk about frustration. What are we supposed to do now with a game we have THIS much real world money tied up in?? As an investor, I feel let down. Will PGI step up to improve?

BTW-- I've been playing since early open beta, and getting rick-rolled 12-0-ish is a new phenomenon.

Edited by Jacon Ceronia, 01 April 2014 - 12:59 PM.

[IraqiWalker]

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:47 AM, said:

As far as Alpine, I think I have won pretty much every game I started on the N and W sides of the map (I only play skirmish). But this last wkd, for some reason, I started every game on the S and E side and lost every time. Charlie lance just could never get around to the hill before the first two lances had engaged, and were almost always down 2-3 mechs by the time my Charlie lance got there. I was playing the trial Stalker a lot, and an Atlas and they are both very slow, and Charlie starts soooo far to the S of the map.

That's the real problem you're having. Your team isn't putting in the effort to group up. Instead, they are rushing in and trickling into the enemies' firing lines. I don't care how good you are, you will lose every time in that scenario.

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:47 AM, said:

As far as doing VoIP, I've got 4 kids, so that makes it difficult. And if I'm playing late at night after the missus has retired, the computer is right next to the bed, and its just not very practical. I understand it would help things tremendously though.

As mentioned earlier, you can just put the headphones on, and that would allow you to listen in on your lance-mates' conversations. With your mic muted it doesn't matter if you're playing in an isolated room or at D-Day on June 6th 1944. It won't cause any interference for them. However, it will allow you to act in a coordinated fashion.

[Votanin FleshRender]

The off mic idea sounds great, thanks everyone!

Small rant - I've been letting my oldest son play a bit, and after 4 days and maybe 12 matches, he scored almost 400 damage with a Jenner-k. The most I've managed in either of my jenners is about 20! Damn kids...

[IraqiWalker]

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:25 PM, said:

Small rant - I've been letting my oldest son play a bit, and after 4 days and maybe 12 matches, he scored almost 400 damage with a Jenner-k. The most I've managed in either of my jenners is about 20! Damn kids...

LMAO

[AlmightyAeng]

Votanin FleshRender, on 01 April 2014 - 08:25 PM, said:

The off mic idea sounds great, thanks everyone!

Small rant - I've been letting my oldest son play a bit, and after 4 days and maybe 12 matches, he scored almost 400 damage with a Jenner-k. The most I've managed in either of my jenners is about 20! Damn kids...

Quick! Get him a Raven 3L! And then jump on computer # two and FOLLOW him hehehehe.

[mailin]

Ghost Badger beat me to it!! I was thinking, built-in lance mate. (One reason why I'm building "my wife" a computer, but it's really so that my son and I can play MWO.)

[JC Daxion]

Bad luck... the other night i was trying to get my 5 wins for my mech bay... it started off with close matches, loosing by 1 or 2 mechs... it ended with getting rolled 12-0 for like 10 in a row.. I think it took me almost 20 or 25 matches to get 5 wins..

Later that night the tides turned, and i ended up about even on the night, which ment catching up on nearly 20 wins... needless to say it made for a very interesting, and not so fun night at times.. I did end up getting 45 matches in a marathon play, and bought my last Cat C1, so it wasn't all bad....

at least i had a free mech bay to stick it in

[Kyynele]

Votanin FleshRender, on 31 March 2014 - 06:35 AM, said:

I could go on, but the question remains. A 3-30ish record this wkd vs a .500 record during my cadet matches. Bad luck now, got lucky during my cadet games, or am I singlehandedly destroying my team?

Please, someone correct me if my info is obsolete, but I've been under the assumption that during ones cadet matches, the elo rating is significantly lowered. Once you run out of cadet bonus, you'll be placed to your proper elo level based solely on your wins and losses, thus noticeably ramping up difficulty.

[Modo44]

Kyynele, on 03 April 2014 - 02:28 AM, said:

Please, someone correct me if my info is obsolete, but I've been under the assumption that during ones cadet matches, the elo rating is significantly lowered. Once you run out of cadet bonus, you'll be placed to your proper elo level based solely on your wins and losses, thus noticeably ramping up difficulty.

This is correct. However, the matchmaker don't care. The relatively low Elo player can be pitted against pros just as easily as a skilled veteran can be asked to carry a bunch of green pilots. This is especially visible during US off hours when you get 1 halfway balanced match out of 10.

[AlmightyAeng]

Modo44, on 03 April 2014 - 04:54 AM, said:

This is correct. However, the matchmaker don't care. The relatively low Elo player can be pitted against pros just as easily as a skilled veteran can be asked to carry a bunch of green pilots. This is especially visible during US off hours when you get 1 halfway balanced match out of 10.

Really? From what I understood, new players are thrust into the exact MIDDLE of ELO, and their wins/losses move them up or down accordingly. It was one of my major complaints regarding the system...

What am I gonna cry about now? My LACK of first world problems?

Edited by Ghost Badger, 03 April 2014 - 06:07 AM.

[Modo44]

Elo is lowered for the first 25 matches. Last I checked, new players start at 1300 where 1500 is supposed to be the average.

[Onyxian]

Is your Elo calculated and tracked per mech? Or just overall?

[Dracol]

Don't think anyone posted this yet.....

ELO for the cadet bonus is set lower then average. During your cadet days, you win/loss record is recorded. After that 25th match, it recalculates your ELO utilizing your record but starting at an average start point.

So, what happened is during cadet days, you were in a lower ELO bracket facing newer players. You did great. Then your cadet bonus wore off and you were placed in an ELO bracket equal to your excellent win/loss record against newer players.

If you want to see more wins while learning more advanced techniques join an open Teamspeak server.

[IraqiWalker]

sneeking, on 03 April 2014 - 04:33 AM, said:

if you keep piloting your favorite mech they will step on also.

my spider is almost at a guaranteed match loss status with match maker now.

if I jump in jester it serves me a smorgasbord lol.

I've always enjoyed your expressions Sneeking.

Ghost Badger, on 03 April 2014 - 06:06 AM, said:

Really? From what I understood, new players are thrust into the exact MIDDLE of ELO, and their wins/losses move them up or down accordingly. It was one of my major complaints regarding the system...

What am I gonna cry about now? My LACK of first world problems?

"New" refers to two different groups, in that statement, actually. Those who are still getting their cadet bonus are put at a lower elo rating, however once the 25 matches are done, they are moved to the "neutral" elo, hence the sudden spike in difficulty out of nowhere. As far as the MM is concerned, new players are the ones who still have the Cadet bonus going on.

Even though each variant has it's own elo based on your experience with it, you will not be put in low elo brackets if you are using a new mech, you'll be placed in the middle. Once you've played a couple dozen matches, the MM will have a better idea of where to place you, when in that mech.

Onyxian, on 03 April 2014 - 08:25 AM, said:

Is your Elo calculated and tracked per mech? Or just overall?

Per mech, so you can jump into a new mech, and the MM will assume you've never used it before, so you get a somewhat lowered elo rating to compensate.