15 replies to this topic

[The Blood God]

Hi I've try googling this and the forum search bar but can't find a specific answer so could some one please define what a meta-build is please I'm just curious as to the exact meaning

[CheeseThief]

A meta build is a jump jet equipped mech which pairs a pair of PPC's with a ballistic of some sort.

Built for maximum pin point front loaded damage to focus down specific components, backed up by the ease of target acquisition given by being able to clear cover with jump jets.

Edited by CheeseThief, 13 July 2014 - 03:23 AM.

[Cyborne Elemental]

Picking out a group of weapons that is the most effective means for any set of current game balances is the "meta game".

Usually its any weapon combination that can deal the most damage with the most range at the least heat cost/tonnage.

Meta builds currently are (and usually on any mech that can also use jumpjets)
2xAC5 + 2xPPC
2xCERPPC + 2xCGauss +6 ERMedlas
2xPPC + 1Gauss
6x ClanSRM6+Artemis
AC20 + ERPPC.

[OneEyed Jack]

It's not a definition you're likely to find. I don't use any other game boards, but here it developed from the term "metagame" being applied to the overall typical style of how the game is currently being played. Meta builds are builds designed for the current metagame.

For some time now, the "meta" has been jump-capable mechs, with pinpoint, front-loaded, long-range weapons, as Cheese suggested, but the term could vary if the meta changed.

[Redshift2k5]

Meta-game is the game outside the game.

For Collectible Card Cames, meta-game is about knowing what deck(s) are the top decks and why, what decks counter these decks and why, etc etc. and generally these "meta" decks will "define the meta" by being a dominant force in how both these decks themselves are played but also how every other deck must adjust to compete. Metagame shifts as new factors come into play(cards are banned, new cards, new killer deck design, etc) or as people adjust to the meta in different ways.

Generally in MWO people call a "meta mech" or "meta build" is a mech has jumpjets, PPCs, and AC5s, but there is no strict definition. Some players will use other weapons (gauss, Ultra/5, etc) and some people will even call you a meta if you have LRMs! So exact definitions are somewhat shaky.

Meta can also encompass tactics, a PPC+AC5Jumpjets mechs can stay in one spot (pot tart meta) but the competitive meta tends towards being highly mobile and rolling around a map counter-clockwise (since the highly meta Dragonslayer can load all it's guns on the right side of the mech)

[Heeden]

Most games call it a FotM (Flavour of the Month) build, in games with this much variety in mechanics it's usual for the developers to be constantly balancing and rebalancing various systems. The meta-game involves working out how to best use these systems for a playstyle that is most enjoyable or effective for you. The build which is theoretically or practically the best (usually a combination of being strongest or easiest to use) tends to have a lot of players switch to it, hence being Flavour of the Month.

[Kjudoon]

MAX909, on 13 July 2014 - 03:15 AM, said:

Hi I've try googling this and the forum search bar but can't find a specific answer so could some one please define what a meta-build is please I'm just curious as to the exact meaning

The real definition you''re looking for is what Meta is. Meta exists in every game as the most efficient way to win in the shortest amount of time with least risk. It''s about winning, now with the smallest chance of losing.

In MWO, that means certain builds are more applicable to the meta in dealing out Damage per Second, High Alpha Damage while being as fast and heavily armored as possible.

Classic ideas of a 'meta' is the high Alpha mech like a Boomjager that can deliver 40dmg with 2 AC20s but it's designed for more brawling distance as AC20s are short range in comparison to a GaussJager which can do 30dmg at significantly longer ranges.

A meta Raven would be the 2 ERLL with ECM sniper build giving it 18damage at long range and being really stealthy while a meta Jenner has 6MLs for a 30 point damage alpha at high speed. Neither of these are pinpoint damages due to their very nature of being hit scan weapons unlike the Jagers mentioned before.

Think of Meta as the buoyancy equilibrium of damage delivery in a game to make for the fastest victory and least risk to those who employ it. It's also not often fun to play and requires a high degree of computing power, twitch speed and a limited amount of tactical intelligence on specific maneouvers like poptarting, ridge humping and other forms of smart movement control. A boomjager that stands still, doesnt know it's range limitations is rarely a help the same way if they skimp on armor for ammo or vice versa.

That's Meta for you. People will differ on how some things ought to be delivered, and that's why there are more than a few Meta mechs and 'near' Meta mechs out there. Example:

Shadowhawk Meta - 1PPC 1AC20 It's slow, enough JJs to poptart but has a standard engine and good heat management. It does 30dmg pinpoint in optimum range, but has the 90m minimum range issue. Tough and a pain in the butt in the right trained hands

Shadowhawk Near Meta - 1ERPPC 4LRM5s. Does more damage, but it is indirect, guided and not pinpoint making it 'not true meta' because that stands mostly on the ability to deliver 30dmg pinpoint. It also relies on an XL for speed and more JJ for great maneouverability with max armor. Tough, fast, jumpy makes it irritating and a lot more forgiving and flexible. It has a 32dmg alpha, but only 10 is pinpoint while 22 is spread and slow weapon speed. But it can spam LRMs freaking out players for fun and profit and with more shots than the "True Meta" design I posted before.

May that answer your question.

Edited by Kjudoon, 13 July 2014 - 09:46 AM.

[Agent 0 Fortune]

The Meta is about exploiting easily abusable systems within the game, the end result usually involves taking all the fun out the game because a powerful meta puts the game on a single rail.
Two meta characteristics can interest with devastating results to the game overall enjoyment and playability. the most resent, and uncorrected expample is the poptart meta, which is an intersection of the Front Loaded Damage Meta and Jumping (evasion) mechanics.

Interstingly enough you will often see people defending half of the corss-meta, and blaming the problem the other half. For instance, you see a lot of people saying Front Loaded Damage can be fixed with convergence, and jump jets are fine. while you have other saying FLD is an integral part of the game, and jump jets are the problem.

Meta is also hard for devlopers to detect with statistics, since players are simply using the existing game mechanics in unintended ways. It wasn't until the tournament videos that PGI saw what had been going on for months. Then they choice to address the simple (technical speaking) issue of jump jet maneuverability.

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

A meta build is a build that conforms to the current popular meta. Currently that seems to be primarily jump-equipped mechs with some combination of AC/PPC/Gauss, typically intended to exploit jump jets for their ability to limit engagement windows and to exploid the single-impact-point (pinpoint) front loaded (FLD) damage mechanics of PPCs, Gauss, and IS ACs.

[GreyGriffin]

Sadly, the term metagame is pretty gray. The Metagame as defined by the tags and the devs previously is actually the economy, the C-Bill/mechbay/module grind, combined with the specter of community warfare.

What the players define as the metagame is the tactics that define the game's baseline behaviors, specifically long-ranged jumping snipers, the assumption of which colors the tactics used in the assumed response.

[TimePeriod]

Metagame is for the few people which must archive victory at all costs.

In other words:
Everything I hate.

[Heeden]

Basically the meta-game is everything outside of the bit where you're actually piloting the mech.

TimePeriod, on 13 July 2014 - 10:14 AM, said:

Metagame is for the few people which must archive victory at all costs.

In other words:
Everything I hate.

Rubbish, for me the meta-game is building a mech I want to pilot whilst filling every weapon slot.

[TimePeriod]

Heeden, on 13 July 2014 - 10:21 AM, said:

Basically the meta-game is everything outside of the bit where you're actually piloting the mech.



Rubbish, for me the meta-game is building a mech I want to pilot whilst filling every weapon slot.

Which in turn brings me to the nullification of a potential argument across multiple people and ideology:

Opinion.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

Think of meta as the most effective builds for fighting other mechs. There are a lot of factors that go into "meta" builds and it can even be dependent on self imposed weight restrictions that are commonly used by competitive players.

From what I've seen "meta" mechs try to find the best of three main features: Hitboxes, weapon placement, and jump jets.

Now you load up that mech with the goal of doing as much damage to a single location in one shot as possible from the widest array of ranges possible. Usually the bulk of this damage comes from PPCs with other weapons providing supplemental damage while generating less heat, usually at the expense of weight.

Typical combinations usually start with a base of two PPCs and then combo this with AC5s, UAC5s, or Gauss Rifles.

Without going into to much detail here, just know that if you are not running a similar build you are at an extreme disadvantage. The enemy "meta" mech will be able to out maneuver you, shoot you with more effective weapons, shoot you from further away, and take less damage from your return fire.

In such a situation your best bet is to get into brawling range but even then you probably took a lot of damage on the way in.

[Karamarka]

Meta to me is running the most optimal build.

The Meta of league of legends? = the best equipment / purchase guide per match

Meta of Counterstrike? = m4/ak/awp and very recently was the new pistol CZ775 until it got nerfed.

etc..

[Pjwned]

It's better that you don't know.