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Let's talk about what you, an individual mech pilot, should do with that one minute.
When you first connect to the match, you appear in the Drop Preparation Screen. If you are one of the first to connect, you will have roughly a minute before the timer counts down and starts the match. If you are one of the last to connect you may have as few as five or ten seconds before the match starts. The average is about thirty seconds.
Prepare For Drop Screen
(1 second elapsed)
Click the READY button in the top right corner. This tells your team that you are in fact present for the match and not one of those pilots that says (much later) 'sorry I was AFK getting a sandwich because I thought it would take a lot longer to connect'.
(2 seconds elapsed)
Click on the blue Team button on the bottom left side of your screen, switching yourself to the team chat channel.
(3 seconds elapsed)
If you are using LRMs as a primary weapon, type “LRMs here” and hit ENTER.
This gently reminds your team to mark their targets (default R key) for your LRMs, and tells potential scouts that they aren't wasting their time (and risking their lives for nothing) if they get and maintain locks for you.
Alternatively, if you are a fast/scout pilot who is willing to spot for LRM equipped mechs, type “Any LRMs here?” and hit ENTER.
This tells your team that you are willing to spot for the LRM drivers, and more importantly tells YOU if doing so will be a waste of time (if nobody answers, don't risk your life trying to maintain a lock).
(4 seconds elapsed)
Look at the match information. This tells you the Map, the Objectives, and the Victory conditions. You need to know if its a Hot/Cold map, Day/Night, and whether or not your team can win by capturing things (the enemy base, or mining stations). If capture is not listed as a victory condition, it's a death match – its very likely the enemy team will be in a big blob, and so should your team. Some maps are well suited for LRM use (Caustic, Alpine Peaks), and some are not so well suited (River City, Crimson Straits). Adjust accordingly.
(5 seconds elapsed)
Scan your team list, specifically, look down the column that shows mech type. You need to know if your team has a lot of fast/light mechs, or a lot of slow/heavy mechs, and how many ECM mechs.
-If you have a lot of slow/heavy mechs, the match will develop slower and probably turn into a slugging contest.
-If you have a lot of fast/light mechs, expect enemy contact sooner and over a larger area. If YOU are in a slow/heavy mech but there are a lot of fast/lights, you need to try to stay with the team and be prepared for enemy wolf packs trying to single you out.
-If you have no ECM mechs, your team will be spotted sooner and more often, and you will be vulnerable to LRM fire. Look for and use cover that will block incoming missile fire.
(8 seconds elapsed)
Look at the three lances on your team. If you see three or four pilots with the same icon, all in the Alpha lance, its very likely they are dropping as a group (a 'premade') and that they have voice communications. If you are not sure what else to do in the match, move to their location and follow them. Chances are they have a plan, and can use your help. Note that you can have more than one premade on your side, and the game always seeds the premades in Alpha lance first, then Bravo lance, then Charlie lance.
The way the matchmaker works, however, means that if you have one or more premades on your side, the enemy team does too. Remember that, and watch for a lance that works together.
(10 seconds elapsed)
Look at the numbers to the right of everyone on your team, their 'Ping' count. If someone has a zero after ten seconds on this screen, chances are they are not going to be present for the match (a disconnect or crash-to-desktop). Look at the enemy team's numbers too. This can tell you if you'll start the match up or down by a mech or two, relative to the enemy team.
If you see someone on your team with very high numbers (500+), they probably have very high lag, and it is possible they will either disconnect (DC) during the match, or at the very least be slow to see anything you type in chat.
If the matchmaker detects a player with Zero Ping, it will usually extend the countdown by up to 30 more seconds. This gives you extra time to study your team and develop a plan for the upcoming map.
If you were late connecting to the match, this may be all the time you get before the match actually starts. If not, use the extra seconds before start to pick someone (in your lance preferably) who has a mech similar to yours (fast/slow) and offer to team up or follow them. Even if you only pair off with one other pilot, your chances of surviving and affecting the outcome of the match have just doubled.
If you have done all of this, and there is still time left, NOW is the time to 'salute' players you recognize on the other team, or remind everyone to have fun (etc). You can also use this time to suggest your own plan if nobody else has yet.
Match Start
Once the start up animations have ended, you are inside your cockpit (or outside, if you have 3rd person POV defaulted). You have perhaps 5-10 seconds to communicate with your team, before everyone commits to moving in one direction or another. Anything you still need to say in team chat, say it now,then hit the B key and bring up your map.
(Start +3 seconds)
Look for your lance's position, relative to the other two lances, and the objectives (and/or enemy base). Your lance will be the light green arrows, the dark blue ones are the rest of your team. If nobody has suggested a better plan by now, get moving towards the rest of your team – join the mob.
(Start +5 seconds)
Look around at your lance mates. Are they showing signs of life (looking around at you, moving their legs or arms, etc)? If so, get moving and lead the way. If not, move a little in the direction you want them to follow, then stop and look back at them (this usually conveys the follow me message, even without chat). If they don't respond within a second or two, ignore them and head for the herd on your own.
(Start +10 seconds)
Stay alert, keep swinging your torso left and right, looking around as you walk towards the rest of your team. Your sensors only detect enemy mechs in a 120 degree arc, centered on your field of view from the cockpit. That means if you are walking straight north, looking straight north, and an enemy is standing due east or west of you, you won't know he's there until he shoots you in the ribs/back. Keep looking around as you move, throughout the match. Enemy light pilots hate this sort of behavior, because it makes it harder to sneak up and backstab you.
If you need to test fire your weapon groups, do it into the ground or into a hill/building. Do NOT fire up into the sky. You want your location and weaponry to remain a mystery as long as possible, and firing your PPCs into the sky tells the enemy scouts where you are and what you are armed with. Seriously, only fools and drunks fire their weapons into the sky - don't be either in a match.
(Start +20 seconds)
When you join the rest of your team, pay attention to where people are walking and/or firing. Don't walk directly in front of or directly behind anyone. Not only do you make it impossible for them to fire or dodge fire, you are limiting your own options. Seeing 'Ducks in a row' is a sure sign of new or inexperienced players, and there will be serious casualties real soon. Stay to one side and slightly in front of or behind your team mate, and remember to look around for enemy mechs.
The golden rule of spotting is 'if it doesn't have a blue/green arrow over it, its a bad guy'. (Yes there is a rare bug that sometimes prevents you from seeing a team mates arrow icon...life is like that sometimes, and you can apologize after the match for smoking him like a cheap cigar. Fog of war, man.)
(Start +30 seconds)
By now you have seen the enemy or hear reports of where they are. Stick with your buddy, keep scanning for targets, move from cover to cover and if you see an enemy mech use the R key to target it for your team. This makes it show up on everyone's radar, and lets your LRM guys rain death on it. Try to cycle through every enemy you spot, marking them in turn with the R key (shoot each one at least once, too, if you can for extra XP). When the real fighting starts, figure out who your buddy is firing at, then focus your fire on the same target. It is much better to kill one enemy mech than to damage several of them. That bears repeating – Focus Your Fire On One Target.
Congratulations, you're now one minute into the match and you have done lots of small things to help your team and yourself. Win or lose, you've contributed to the team.
After the match, remember to thank anyone who teamed up with you (LRM/Scout, lance mate, etc), and no matter what don't act like a jerk in chat if things go badly. It's just a game, and some days nothing you do will turn it into a success. Get your mind right, and drop again.
Edited by Pekiti, 19 June 2014 - 04:16 PM.
