13 replies to this topic

[Androas]

And why YOU, as a greenhorn, NEED to embrace it, LOVE it,
send it poems and chocolate once in a while!

Lets start with someone, who was by chance much smarter then me.

He trained a lot of people in their choosen Hobby,
which, in this case, was Martial Arts, so, lets cite Bruce Lee:

"I am not afraid of the man, who trained one thousand techniques one Time each,
i am afraid about the man, who trained ONE technique one thousand times!"
(The same goes for me, i am not afraid of the guy, who owns all the mechs
the game has to offer, and played each one time, im Scared as HELL about the
guy who own ONE Hunchback, and played him for 2 years straight)

As someone who actually is following in the footsteps of the Little Dragon, teaching
MA myself, i can tell you, the Grind is YOUR best friend.

Why is that? Its Bohooooring!

Yes it is, and, if you ever felt like screaming because "Terra Therma again!
In my 12 Million Medium laser and 500 PPCs Mech!"

You are nearly there.


Repetition is good, in any Hobby, because, each repetition adds to your experience.

If you would play the same Map, in the same Mech, over and over, you WILL learn a new thing each and every time,
and i can promise you, if you, for example, set out to Alpine in a long range direct fire Mech for 1.000 Times,
the following will happen:

After 200 rounds,

you will be able to predict what the other team is going to do with a high rate of accuracy,
because you have seen 200 Scenarios of what they CAN do allready, you will be able to move from safe
spot to safe spot, and avoid next to all snipers they can set up, because you know the Spots, you know
their LOS, you know about everything.

After 500 Matches you can move out, and take your shots, while moving arround the map, without giving a second
thought, because you absolutely sure, know where your Targets are, like in chess, there are only so many
options for initial movements, you will be able, by seeing a enemy player, to allready predict, what they are up to, if they are a threat, or some suicide commande, and how to respond, not only on a personal level, but as a team as whole.


And after one Thousand games, you by chance, could even turn your Monitor off after seeing your spawn point,
because you know exactly, how long it takes to move from a to b, and you by chance even, can start taking pot shots,
at the most likely locations, without looking, turning them into solid Hits.

The "grind" is good for you *if* you learn to appreciate what it offers you,
and that is Knowledge, experience, which over time, will refine to skill.

And if you played one map THAT many times, you get other benefits, you will be able, to put the knowledge you earned
there, and apply it to similar situations, adjusting your plans on the fly, even if you are on "totaly new map" and in "totaly new mech".

People nowadays complettly hate any form of repetition, and call it "boring",
and thats why A LOT of people fail to get better.

its a question of your mindset really,

you can either "chase the next new and shiny"

or listen to the Lessons "the grind" gives you,
and those are many!

It shows you hundreds of different Situations,
sometimes broad Variants,
sometimes totaly strange and akward stuff,
sometimes deviations from something you have seen allready, which are so small that its hard to tell
if there is any deviation at all.


And by seeing all those, small and hughe differences from basically the same things,
you will learn, and grow,

you become more Skillfull, faster at thinking, analysing, acting.

But ONLY, if you accept the "grind" as what it is, the BEST teacher, you can EVER hope for in your Hobby.

As (again) Bruce lee said:

"If you throw the same punch for one Thousand times, it becomes more then a simple punch!
And if you throw it one thousand times more, it again, becomes just a punch."

The same goes for maps, and mechs,
if you play the same map and the same Mech for 1.000 Games, over the course of your time here,
you will gain a deep insight into whats ging on, your option, the enemy options,
that you, more often then not, will chew trought half their team, while you keep wonderring:
"How did they NOT see that coming?"
before the other team even knows whats going on.


So, when you, for the xt time, sit there on Tera, in your super Hot mech, and just want to alt F4,
consider how much you can improve by simply playing it trought, and trying to improve, compared to the last time,
you did end up here.




Regards.

[kesuga7]

dam grind for doubleheatsink Tax

its playing the game but sometimes trying to earn enough money in a lesser build because you don't have money for a xl engine makes it a wee bit less fun

but it can make you a better pilot after so many hours lol

Edited by kesuga7, 23 April 2014 - 10:59 PM.

[Androas]

kesuga7, on 23 April 2014 - 10:57 PM, said:

but it can make you a better pilot after so many hours lol

And that what you should aim for, because, when you finnaly got what you try to save up for, you will allready be able to put it to better use, then the second you did start saving for it ^^

[Turist0AT]

Did he just say grind in a video game is good and compare it to doin doing martial arts? i belive the answer is no.

[Androas]

Turist0AT, on 23 April 2014 - 11:49 PM, said:

Did he just say grind in a video game is good and compare it to doin doing martial arts? i belive the answer is no.

Good luck with getting anywhere

[Mynder]

If you can find one thing every day that you can do better than yesterday, then in less than three years, you will have improved your life in a thousand ways. -- yours truly.

Same goes for building up skill.

[Turist0AT]

Androas, on 23 April 2014 - 11:50 PM, said:

Good luck with getting anywhere

yeah... thanks. You too

[SnagaDance]

I think the OP speaks much wisdom. but I'll add to his by butchering a little bit of Sun Tzu:

"Know your own mech(s) and know those of your enemies and you will win a hundred PUG-battles."

Or in simpler terms. I'm at my best versus mechs I (have) own(ed) myself, because I know their possible lay-outs, turning circles/angles and cockpit views by heart and can therefore exploit them.

[Levon K]

Meh, if you have an easy life and plenty of hours to kill playing MWO, by all means, grind it out.

The rest of us are looking for quality entertainment.

I work hard and train hard in real life. It means something and lasts a lifetime. When I play MWO, it's for fun only.

[Rasc4l]

Androas, on 23 April 2014 - 10:52 PM, said:

The "grind" is good for you *if* you learn to appreciate what it offers you,
and that is Knowledge, experience, which over time, will refine to skill.

You, sir, understand.

Don't let the console generation lacking the attention span or the self-important "got-a-life-career-family-mortgage-but-still-should-perform-like-the-ones-with-10k-matches" tell you otherwise.

And indeed, "grinding" in MA is not completely unlike grinding in MWO. Like with many sports, after enough repetitions the physical performance itself becomes a triviality and differences are found only in the mind and mindset (or if you know the concept of set and setting, then the set).

[opcow]

Well written. Grinding it out gives a deeper appreciation of the subtleties and ins and out of the mech. I suggest a subtitle from my experience grinding xp on my Cents:

"or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the CN9"

[The Dreaded Baron B Killer]

grinding, I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, when he's finally had enough and tries killing himself in different ways..

same thing in MWO.. expect Finding different ways for the enemy to down my atlas whilst my team mates look around in awe...

[CG Chicken Kn]

The "grind" in MWO is practically non existent , especially compared to other free to play games.

Go start a new WoT account and let us know when you buy your first tier ten tank as pure free to play.
Now start a new MWO account and let us know when you have your first chassis mastered, kitted out to your liking,and modules unlocked and bought.

Both give you a competition level unit in both games. It will take you something like 25 to 50 times as long for the w example, at least.

[Jon Gotham]

Well said Op, well said.
Take pride in everything you do people, even your entertainment. Nothing in life should be a throwaway thing.