101 replies to this topic

[luxebo]

I think you do know about Smurfy: http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab and theat you need 3 variants of a chassis to master a mech right? Just quickly saying it, as you'd probably want to soon master the Orion, Battlemaster, and Victor (not sure if you specifically mentioned you have it). Just playing more will get you better, and you'd be able to soon overcome the tough learning curve. Hopefully you get better, and wish you well in the battlefield.

[richie b]

OK, I go and make food & there's loads of replies when I get back! An active, supportive forum community is a decent thing. I'll try to respond to bits in lumps rather than individually to avoid lumps of quote everywhere...
First up, I appreciate playing with better players. Learning how to play competently is the goal. Once I got a mech, I couldn't see why I was dying so quickly, or could see, but had no idea how to stop it. Like I can see enemy mechs, they light me up & a whole world of LRMS descends on me, which I fail to avoid since I was trying to work out how to do this effectively whilst remembering which way the legs are pointing. Whilst I can see them, they are not being "lit up", so I can't target them with missles, nor can my team assist. I presume this is due to pilot skills and modules, but I don't honestly know. LoS not being enough is counter-intuitive.
So, better players is awesome, but far, far better players means that exposure is limited & I can't really understand what's happening. So it's not a learning experience as much as a humiliation. Analogy, I'm a poor chess player who once had to play chess with a national level player once a week for a while. He thrashed me repeatedly & I had no idea how. All I learnt was to avoid playing chess with him & to never play chess again. It was the most unhelpful experience ever in terms of developing my skills.
I played the Catapult trial mech most & looked at "first mech" reviews & decided to get a Jagermech (the A version). Running a build based on something from the forums, 3* LRMS 5 (with Artemis) (can't install the 4th for some reason, needs tinkered with) with 2* ACM 5 guns. Have got double heatsinks, endo & stuff, but have avoided the XL engine based on comments about being easy to kill (if I become easier to kill, I'll die before entering game). So have stuck predominately with heavies in a support-type role, since that's where I like to start these games to get an idea of how stuff works. I've done the basic stuff OK, I think. I just have no idea of the maps, what areas are helpful, where the deathtraps are. All that stuff & am getting very little chance to find out....

Right, I have been having a not-good day, & rage-quitting always annoys me when others do it, so I really should be better than that.
I'll have another go tonight, after looking at groups. See if I can manage to top 100 damage again (yep, that's how awful I've been. Someone said about trying to get 200, lol, if only!)
If anyone sees me wandering around the battlefield like a lost soul, please feel free to put me out of my misery/offer helpful tips, depending on what team you are on ;-)
OK, back to it & apologies for any stroppiness above.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 11:32 AM, said:

I stink at anything light. They just move too fast and I cannot aim worth a damn while moving fast. Or moving at all, for that matter.

I have that issue too. The best defense for lights is SSRM+Artemis and BAP. Those ECM Spiders piss me off when I don't have Streaks and BAP, so its become pretty standard in my builds.

[DONTOR]

Try playing Conquest mode only, in something relativly fast, stomps will happen less. Meta mechs appear far more often in skirmish and assult mode as it is mostly kill to win and less about objectives.
Theres also a fair amount of brawling in conquest, but watch out for the occasional light mech 4 man that will ruin your team.

[H Seldon]

I've been playing since CB and I still get stomped a lot. I've had 1 close match today out 10 (lost that match as well). Every other match has been a stomp. I call a stomp when the team kills 4 or less. I was on the giving end once and the receiving end all of the other matches. I've won just the 1 match so hitting 10% W/L today. It gets old sometimes.

[mogs01gt]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 11:32 AM, said:

I stink at anything light. They just move too fast and I cannot aim worth a damn while moving fast. Or moving at all, for that matter. I did a fair amount of damage with the trial Stalker that was up, Lrms are very newb friendly. When the trial Phract that was up i played quite a bit. But I haven't tried the new trial Cat because its missle only, and that worries me some. Played the new Victor some, but I've been trying to avoid the trial mechs now.

I bought a BattleMaster with my cadet bonus. And while I definately lean towards the heavier, the better, it was a huge mistake. So last wkd I shelled out some MC for the Hero Orion and have been playing that a lot. I also bought the trial Stalker, since I had fond memories of my cadet days in it. Unfortunately, my recent experiences with it are far different than my cadet days. I cannot hit anything with the Gauss, though.. It's laughable. Finally made enough last night to take the damn thing off and put an ac10 there. Still working on making enough to drop the ferro that came with it and get Endo.

The Gauss is for Vets, dont feel bad that you cant use it.

Whats your build on the Orion and BM?

Edited by mogs01gt, 04 April 2014 - 11:49 AM.

[Voivode]

It's good man, hang in there and you'll get it. This game requires a lot more situational awareness than most FPS games. You'll get the hang of it.

[Onyxian]

DONTOR, on 04 April 2014 - 11:47 AM, said:

Try playing Conquest mode only, in something relativly fast, stomps will happen less. Meta mechs appear far more often in skirmish and assult mode as it is mostly kill to win and less about objectives.
Theres also a fair amount of brawling in conquest, but watch out for the occasional light mech 4 man that will ruin your team.

Yeah, I've stuck with skirmish mostly so far. It seemed to be a match that would require the least communication, since I can't use VoIP. Should give something else a try

[mogs01gt]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 11:54 AM, said:

Yeah, I've stuck with skirmish mostly so far. It seemed to be a match that would require the least communication, since I can't use VoIP. Should give something else a try

Conquest is faster paced, less camping and allows a variety of mechs.

[Onyxian]

mogs01gt, on 04 April 2014 - 11:49 AM, said:

The Gauss is for Vets, dont feel bad that you cant use it.

Whats your build on the Orion and BM?

At work now (supposedly), but off the top of my head, the Onion has a PPC, 2 ML, LRM 15 Artemis, and I just replaced the gauss with an AC10. And Ams. Double heat sinks and ferro that it came with. I'd like to drop the Ppc and an ML for two ER LL when I can. I am swapping the XL 310 from the trial stalker between the Onion and the Stalker as well.

The Battlemaster had 6 ML, and I have honestly already forgotten what else. LRMs and 2 MG I think. Wanted to drop the 340 outta it, but engines were sooo expensive, and that's when I thought to hell with it and bought the Protector and Stalker, and I haven't looked at the BLR since.

Edited by Onyxian, 04 April 2014 - 12:05 PM.

[Voivode]

richie b, on 04 April 2014 - 11:43 AM, said:

Right, I have been having a not-good day, & rage-quitting always annoys me when others do it, so I really should be better than that.
I'll have another go tonight, after looking at groups. See if I can manage to top 100 damage again (yep, that's how awful I've been. Someone said about trying to get 200, lol, if only!)
If anyone sees me wandering around the battlefield like a lost soul, please feel free to put me out of my misery/offer helpful tips, depending on what team you are on ;-)
OK, back to it & apologies for any stroppiness above.

This is what I'd suggest on the JM6-A for a newer player. The streaks will be good against light mechs and the rest will much punchier against heavy guys. It has an XL (which is expensive, I know) but I honestly run XL engines in my Jagers. Standard or XL, they are a glass cannon either way, so you might as well put some punch in that glass cannon!

Oops, forgot the link....here you go

Edited by Voivode, 04 April 2014 - 12:05 PM.

[Voivode]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 12:03 PM, said:

At work now (supposedly), but off the top of my head, the Onion has a PPC, 2 ML, LRM 15 Artemis, and I just replaced the gauss with an AC10. And Ams. Double heat sinks and ferro that it came with. I'd like to drop the Ppc and an ML for two ER LL when I can. I am swapping the XL 310 from the trial stalker between the Onion and the Stalker as well.

The Battlemaster had 6 ML, and I have honestly already forgotten what else. LRMs and 2 MG I think. Wanted to drop the 340 outta it, but engines were sooo expensive, and that's when I thought to hell with it and bought the Protector and Stalker, and I haven't looked at the BLR since.

The Orion isn't a very XL friendly mech, this might be contributing to your quick deaths. I'd recommend switching to a standard and concentrating your firepower on one thing. For instance, an AC10 with two ERLL and a pair of SRM4s should fit nicely on there with a standard engine.

[mogs01gt]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 12:03 PM, said:

At work now (supposedly), but off the top of my head, the Onion has a PPC, 2 ML, LRM 15 Artemis, and I just replaced the gauss with an AC10. And Ams. Double heat sinks and ferro that it came with. I'd like to drop the Ppc and an ML for two ER LL when I can. I am swapping the XL 310 from the trial stalker between the Onion and the Stalker as well.

I ran my Orion K like this.
ON1-K
I did not want to brawl(turning speed is too slow to brawl IMO), I wanted to stay around 500m. Ssrms were there for lights.

Edited by mogs01gt, 04 April 2014 - 12:37 PM.

[Vanguard319]

If you are trying to improve your ELO, I would suggest getting some people on your friends list, and take the time to form a premade lance: Like it or not, premades have distinct advantages that pugs will never have, such as the ability to form a lance whose mechs will compliment each other. (i.e. a Raven as scout/spotter, a Hunchback as a brawler, a Catapult for LRM support, and an Awesome for long range sniping.) Another advantage of a premade is that you can get feedback from other, more experienced members of your lance, a few of the builds I have were put together with advice from my team mates, while still reflecting my combat style. Generally, lancemates in a premade have no problem offering advice if asked.

[xMintaka]

I happen to love this game. Regardless of whether I'm part of a group or not.

Granted, playing in 12 mans groups is the most fun you can have in this game (IMO), but groups aren't needed. If you see me there's a 90% chance I'm solo dropping and cackling like a witch with every kill.

The key is to build mechs that you enjoy playing, not mechs that conform to the Meta. Although, you should have at least one metamech for when you're on a losing streak. Other than that, experiment and have fun. My triple guass Ilya und Guass Raven say Hai!

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

Well there are two big issues :

• Newer players are still in too high an Elo bracket. I think they should literally start off at the dead bottom and work their way up.
  
• Not enough players for the Elo to work properly. If I make a new account and in the first match in that new account is an SJR 4-man, that's proof that there is too small a player-base.

This game has been bled. There is no blood left to bleed, and I don't see it making it to it's 3 year mark.

[Nick Makiaveli]

Onyxian, on 04 April 2014 - 05:30 AM, said:

My point was, I'm not going to make it far enough to stabilize and put me in with the crap players where I belong. And I wonder how much business PGI has lost because everyone's initial experience is so bad, and most people don't have the necessary masochism to endure getting stomped constantly. And if I'm in an Elo bracket with premades, then why aren't there ever any premades on MY team? Why am I always on the receiving end?

Because less than 16% of players drop in groups. So you are getting as many pre-mades as the other side.

In other words, it's isn't the pre-mades that are a problem. If you huddle around the Atlas, which encourages others to do the same, then you guys are what we call the Ball 'O Death. In your case it's fatal to you and yours. The enemy can easily fire into your crowd, and you guys either block or eat the return fire. By the time you spread out enough to shoot back effectively, you are dead.

Be the change you want to see. Learn to be a better player and that doesn't just mean being a better pilot or shot. It means typing in chat and giving directions. Tell your team I am pushing to Kappa, need some fast support.

As to TS, why not? I assume you have speakers, so you can listen and take directions. If you don't, then you can get a cheap headset for less than $20. If you don't have $20, then find it. If you have time to play MWO, then you have time to make some money. Go get some exercise and pick up soda cans.

[Shatterpoint]

I'm not one of the cool kids by far.
Last time I'd have called the game fun was a few months back when I rolled a new account to start from the bottom rankings. Doing that is a very short term fix and won't bring in any coin for the game, who's going to throw money at a disposable account they know they'll end up scrapping soon after?.

It was only fun because I already knew the mechs/tactics I'm good at and was throwing them against one of the influxes of new players trying the game. (I know I'm not the only "vet" doing this sometimes and I know it has to hurt the game because that influx of noobs get steamrolled or carried before ragequitting the broken matchmaker.)

Of the 8 or so friends I've tried to get into mwo none played more than a couple of weeks, it takes a special kind of stupid/stubborn to take repeated kicks to the groin and ask for more.

[HighTest]

Voivode, on 04 April 2014 - 11:49 AM, said:

It's good man, hang in there and you'll get it. This game requires a lot more situational awareness than most FPS games. You'll get the hang of it.

This. If I was to offer one piece of advice to a new player, it's to work on your situational awareness. The trick is to learn to literally keep one eye on your targeting reticule, and the other eye on your mini-map. Really. Especially if you're PUGging.

(This is something I was really brutal with in the very beginning. I tended to often walk right into places I really should not have been. I blame the previous MW games, as I used to just blast into a computer AI enemy until it died. Human AI, however, can be much, much smarter.)

(I also blame the demented line-of-sight 'radar' system that MWO uses... originally, I figured a radar was a radar, right? If something is near you, it'll show up like on a regular radar. Umm... no. Not unless you can see it. Which frankly still seems counter-intuitive to me, but whatever. If you want to see things around you, you'll need to blow a 6-million CBill wad on the seismic sensor, which I highly recommend.)

If I had a dollar for every time I tried to cover a PUG group of mechs, only to find that they retreated, or died, and the rest of the enemy force was now focused on me instead, well, I'd at least have a bunch more mechs in my stable. Seriously, though, positioning is key. Try to make sure you're relatively near your friends, as being caught alone in the open is an immediate death sentence. I'm not suggesting to stick right with the group, but if you're laying down cover fire from a small distance, at least make sure you know which way to run if you get ganked by a light swarm or lone assault. And it's always crucial to know when your PUGmates are leaving you alone in a place to die...

[cleghorn6]

The answer is simple and straight forward. Learn to play. I don't say that as a put-down, I use it to describe the process you need to go through. This is not a game that you will pick up quickly or by just mucking about and figuring it out. You will have to work at it. Try to figure out why you're getting smashed, then try to come up with strategies to mitigate that weakness.

You're already starting by looking at what mech you have and how you use it. Very good. Bring that level of attention and analysis to the rest of your game.

Watch videos. Use specator mode to watch your teammates after you're dead. Use what you see to improve your own game. Start by watching people using similar mechs to yours. Then watch people in mechs like the ones you want to shoot. See how they play, see what works, what doesn't. Implement the stuff that works.

Follow links. Look at builds, more importantly look at discussions of builds. The why is much more important for you right now than the what. At the moment I'm driving a 4 LRM5 Oxide, exactly how to build it is useless but a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses gives you tips for your own builds and ideas of what to look for on the battlefield (seriously, don't build one of these, it will crush your newbie spirit)

Most importantly: DO NOT believe people when they say it's the matchmaker, DO NOT believe people when they say it's Elo, DO NOT believe people when they say it's pre-mades. None of these things are the reason you're losing a lot when you start. You're losing because you're bad at the game, and that's the best reason of all. Why? Because you can learn to be better.