5 replies to this topic

[Kyle Wright]

Morning/Evening everybody.


So as of late I have began to tire while playing in the solo and 4-man group. To many times, Ive seen casual players freeze up at entrances on Terrible Therma, run off by themselves to die alone, or take their lance to base cap and leave 8 mechs versus 12.

Now now, before you start with some elitist unit comp player ***** routine I must confess. I have been part of 4-mans that have lead PUGs into horrible situations and lost the match because of it. Part of this has to do with My lance being able to communicate via coms to another and the in-game system does not make it easy to tell PUGs what is going and what we are trying to accomplish.

So i will leave some simple suggestions.

- Learn the map layouts and where most engagements occur. Knowing things such as the best cover from direct and indirect fire, fastest routes to the center of terra therma, learn which maps usually turn into a mech nascar sim.

- Learn how to make efficient and logical builds. Now I am not asking people to conform and do the whole "META or DIE." However, I am asking that you use logical builds that work in the parameters of a theme. Whether its brawlers, snipers, or support take a theme and learn the about the most efficient builds already out there. Im sure of the higher comp players will help you on top of all the smurfy links floating around.

- Learn basic combat techniques. Things like what a flanking maneuver is ( If you see your 4-man lance moving to the side or behind a enemy, prepare to attack the enemy team. We are most likely sacrificing ourselves so that the team has a distraction.) Another thing you should become familiar with is the combat technique of SLICING THE PIE. Defalade positions. Cover and Concealment when moving.. etc. (see illustrations below)



Slicing the Pie

Edited by Kyle Wright, 02 July 2014 - 04:54 AM.

[Roland]

I don't even understand why people go into the middle of Terra Therma at all.

There's really no reason to. Just avoid it, and it's far less likely for a PUG group to get all gummed up and die in the entrance.

[Piney II]

Kyle Wright, on 02 July 2014 - 04:53 AM, said:

Part of this has to do with My lance being able to communicate via coms to another and the in-game system does not make it easy to tell PUGs what is going and what we are trying to accomplish.

This is the crux of the matter. Even if every solo player on the team is well versed in the map, tactics and weapons use, it won't pay off without solid communication within the team.

[Kyle Wright]

Roland, on 02 July 2014 - 04:56 AM, said:

I don't even understand why people go into the middle of Terra Therma at all.

There's really no reason to. Just avoid it, and it's far less likely for a PUG group to get all gummed up and die in the entrance.

Thats just it, because its the center of the map people naturally will gravitate towards the middle.

[Marmon Rzohr]

Roland, on 02 July 2014 - 04:56 AM, said:

I don't even understand why people go into the middle of Terra Therma at all.

There's really no reason to. Just avoid it, and it's far less likely for a PUG group to get all gummed up and die in the entrance.

The reasons why middle is important:
- it offers control over a large portion of the map
- allows teams who hold it to defend very easily against teams on lower ground
- allows for the fastest possible response time to any part of the map

Let's see what happens in practice:

• Conquest: the center holds one cap point. It also allows your team to respond to any of the other cap points very quickly. Should you devote 2 or all 3 lances to any other cap on the map your response time is very, very slow to other areas.
  
• Assault: if it comes to a fight, holding the high central position gives your team a large advantage. If it comes to a base rush, the route through the center of the map is the shortest and you will cap before the enemy does if it comes to that.
  
• Skirmish: interestingly, skirmish brings the least motivation to attack the center, as it is perfectly viable to defend another location, as long as it's out of firing range of the center. You can also prepare an ambush on one of the exits. However, it does give you a fantastic opportunity. If both teams go middle, and you take it first you will find yourself in a score and position advantage. So you can freely camp the middle and force the enemy to come to you, or wait for them to split up to flank you (they usually will once locked out of the middle) and just rush one element of their team and smash it, then finish the other. Another reason to do this is that organizing an ambush can be very tricky in a PUG.

WARNING !
All of this should be taken with a grain of salt, as rushing the center isn't ALWAYS the best thing to do. If your team are slow to respond and move to attack it, then unless you're confident you can defend it long enough for your team to back you up, it's better to call for a regroup on a different location and try to ambush the enemy as they come out, or simply defend from a different location which cannot be fired at from the center. This also applies if you know you are going to be to slow to respond (e.i. piloting a Dire Whale with no speed tweak, for instance - tell your team)

Finally:
Terra Therma sucks

Edited by Marmon Rzohr, 02 July 2014 - 05:39 AM.

[Mechteric]

Kyle Wright, on 02 July 2014 - 05:13 AM, said:

Thats just it, because its the center of the map people naturally will gravitate towards the middle.

Bingo, we have a winner!


Maybe if they off-centered the volcano, make it be one of those side decisions like on other maps like going caves versus going river for examle. That actually might make it better, and here's why:


The current decision process:
1. Ok which way to go, center, left, or right? Left and right look exactly the same, so lets try center.
2. Center it is!


The potential decision process with a better map design:
1. Ok which way to go, center open field, left volcano, or right winding lava pass? Hmm, lets see are we mostly fast mechs, long range mechs, brawler mechs?
2. If brawler, maybe the winding lava pass...
3. If fast, maybe volcano...
4. If long range, maybe center open field...


Think about it devs, this type of decision making should exist on every map, and indeed some existing maps already have this (forest colony, frozen city, crimson straight, tourmaline: could use one extra landmark, river city: sort of but could use extra cover in the river areas like big rocks or sunken ships or something). Here's some maps which could use a bit more variety in their strategy decision making:

- Terra Therma: as said before, move the volcano off to one side, open up the center a bit with some cover, maybe make a nice windy path of lava that can be traversed on the opposite side.

- Canyon network: move the middle saddle off to one side, maybe add a small abandoned garbage/salvage facility off to the other side (where the current garbage dump is, but bigger and with buildings and other equipment)

- HPG Array: you get the idea, no more of this "middle area contains the only interesting feature and the rest looks the same"

- Alpine: same, get that overlooking hill out of the center, add some trees, large rocks for cover. Just make this map interesting, its too sparse.

- Caustic: ditto, the "3" line is the only good idea almost every game.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 02 July 2014 - 05:45 AM.