KoshiManiac, on 18 May 2015 - 09:02 PM, said:
Today in my first match with that mech I had gotten 8 assists and dealt 44 damage.
Please understand, that is not success, that is failure. You were one twelfth of the team, and you did miniscule damage to 8 enemy Mechs. You are
lucky the rest of the team carried you to victory, despite you doing so little damage.
Now, I'm sure your ECM helped the rest of the team. Your TAG
may even have, too. But your ECM and TAG also help your team
while you're doing something far more useful ... shooting enemy Mechs and giving them another target and defence vector to divide their attention.
KoshiManiac, on 18 May 2015 - 09:02 PM, said:
I see people complaining about how the guys with ECM got themselves killed too early on and the only time I took damage was when I had a friendly mech run into me
And all that time you were
hiding, the enemy had one less Mech to worry about, one more opportunity to concentrate fire on someone else on your team, one less flank to not defend against, etc.
Hiding is not helping. It enables the enemy to focus their fire better on the rest of your team, and prevents them from taking the 2 damage per second that your ERL could be doing, or the 2.56 DPS that 2MLs on your Mech should be contributing to the main goal of taking enemy Mechs out of the match.
KoshiManiac, on 18 May 2015 - 09:02 PM, said:
Do I engage the enemy with that mech yes. The only two weapons on that mech are Tag and ER Large and some would argue but I feel that the benefits outweigh the cost to have a mech providing ECM, Tag, and AMS at the cost of a mech designed for offense.
If you have ECM and an ERL then you should be flanking and/or harassing from the rear. You could be getting the enemy to turn around (and stop firing at your frontline Mechs) or have some of them chase you and thereby further blunt their attack on your frontline Mechs for several minutes, etc. If you're particularly clever, you can 'kite' some of those enemies back to your team where they can be killed.
That is the kind of 'support' your team needs.
Hiding behind a mountain providing an ECM bubble (easily countered if one of the enemy has either line of sight, a UAV and/or TAG) while doing only 44 damage is making your team fail, not supporting them.
KoshiManiac, on 18 May 2015 - 09:02 PM, said:
A non MWO analogy is when I spent 8 years helping out one football team or another at my high school
But you are not a coach in this game, you are one of only 12 players out there on the field.
To use your own analogy, you are currently leaning up against the goal posts behind the other 11 guys on your team, when in fact you should be tackling the opposition, distracting them, giving them one more field position that they have to defend against, etc.
I am writing all this up because it's important for you and all newer players to understand how teams win in this game. Unless you are in a highly-organised 12-man team executing predetermined battle strategies and role warfare, or playing Conquest mode, then you need to engage the enemy constantly with your team in order to maximise your team's success.
Every minute that a player hides behind a mountain not shooting, means their team is doing less damage, is receiving proportionately more damage, and has the balance of the battle tipping in favour of the enemy.
Edited by Appogee, 19 May 2015 - 02:26 AM.