43 replies to this topic

[Almond Brown]

topgun505, on 20 November 2014 - 07:08 AM, said:

stuff

How many people would boat PPCs if they had a 7 second recycle time (for example)?

That is the wrong question to ask from a game play perspective though.

The real question would become.

"Would anyone ever use a PPC if it had a 7 second CD?" Let alone boat them.

Also game play pace is huge. The current time frame is where they want it one has to guess.

[dubplate]

terrycloth, on 19 November 2014 - 06:38 PM, said:

Winning by objectives without facing the enemy is kind of boring. If the maps are big and twisty enough that it's plausible to completely miss the other team, that's not really a good thing.

I'm not familiar with MW4 to know how the objectives were but wouldn't 1 team be guarding the objectives so it'd be the defending teams fault for wandering around the map? I agree it'd be boring but how often would that happen?

[Tombstoner]

Almond Brown, on 20 November 2014 - 11:12 AM, said:

That is the wrong question to ask from a game play perspective though.

The real question would become.

"Would anyone ever use a PPC if it had a 7 second CD?" Let alone boat them.

Also game play pace is huge. The current time frame is where they want it one has to guess.

If there was an accuracy penalty associated with simultaneous PPC use then i would move to chain fire. With a 7 second cool down, i would boat them to provide continuous fire, one every 1.5 seconds or so.... presuming perfect accuracy as it exists today i would have an advantage vs a moving( less accurate) target. i could sustain this fire power for continuously until i over heat or start receiving return fire.

Without the accuracy modifier i wouldn't touch a PPC with 7 sec cool down. that is if ghost heat was removed then yea but now its back to the multippc stalker only this time its in a 100 ton clan mech.

[Kiiyor]

Almond Brown, on 20 November 2014 - 10:06 AM, said:

Even in BT/TT if an Atlas was targeted by multiple enemy Mechs, that were around that corner, I suspect death or destruction would also be pretty swift.

An Atlas in MWO that turns a corner, to find just another Atlas, will have a real fight on their hands. As it should be. No Mech will survive attack by multiple enemies simultaneously, nor should they. That would be just as stupid but from the opposite end of the spectrum.

You're right, but I probably shouldn't have used an Atlas as an example.

If an Atlas, or a DireWolf is lurking close to cover, then they can usually survive at least one mistake, being it extending too far or exposing their whole silhouette to enemy fire. This is good, and this is also what i'm talking about when I describe TTK in terms of fighting for information.

A BattleMech should be able to have a brief exchange of fire with the enemy and survive, and should be able to consider this as a tactic to gain information. An Assault mech can do this. Mediums and (to a lesser extent) Lights can not. Anecdotally, It's getting to the point where even heavies are hesitant to do this. It doesn't have to be multiple mechs shooting at them either; any two enemy mechs can utterly ruin one mech in a single exchange of fire. Heck, a DireWolf can completely remove the armour from a medium's torso in one strike.

One of the things I enjoy most about PUGS, is watching emergent behavior. Every now and again, out of the glorious uncoordinated chaos that is most pugs, a group will emerge that fits together. They will cover each other's weaknesses, they will instinctively react to battlefield changes, and they will form a decent, effective team, without typing a word or communicating with anything other than their actions. This happens mostly because these players have all started to learn from their mistakes - and these will be the same mistakes that lots of other people are making.

If you watch it for long enough, it's like evolution - but while nature takes centuries to evolve and adapt, we get to do it in video games by learning much quicker from our deaths. In MWO, the more experienced pilots you have in a team, the more you notice how players as a whole are evolving and adapting to meet changes in the meta.

The biggest change I've noticed recently, is this:

More than ever before, pilots are extremely hesitant to move out of cover.

I've seen matches where a team is up 8-4, and will not push. 8 mechs against 4, and the offensive team still resorts to peek fire, because they know they can be instagibbed if they move out of cover. In teams, it isn't as much of an issue, as good comms means everyone pushes together. In pugs, it's every man/woman for themselves, and every man/woman knows they can be ruined in very short order if they aren't protected by map hitboxes.



Hmmm, reading back on this, it sounds like i'm saying the sky is falling, when it's really not what i'm trying to say.

Ok. For experienced players, this shift in the meta with all the extra damage floating around is something people have adapted to, and they have done this by being more cautious.

[sensationalism]
It's not the experienced pilots this is an issue for, though; it's the poor saps with 30 drops to their name that just purchased a Hunchback, and find that they live longer under fire in Counter Strike.
[/sensationalism].

If TTK is increased, especially where it is needed most with Lights and Mediums, experienced players will still adapt and evolve. If it isn't increased, newer players might not hang around long enough to get the chance to.