4 replies to this topic

[Sader325]

So, every now and then I take command in pug matches. Giving orders, telling everyone what to do and all that.

Part of that involves taking point to get people to see i'm willing to sacrifice myself for the good of the team and more often than not it leads to solid games where my team wins.

That being said, I always find that when I start leading my aim turns to poop and my own damage and effectivness plummets.

Leading is hard, but fun. I suppose I should do it more and get more used to multi tasking. But the more complicated (multiple weapon systems, tricky heat management) the mech i'm piloting the less I feel like leading.

Does anyone else who starts leading also see their own skills deteriorate?

Or am I just bad at the game :X

[Templar Dane]

For me, what usually happens is I'll lead the assault, with at least 4 guys right behind me. Fights starts, I get focused because I'm up front.............and my allies never fire a shot.

OH NOES THE GUY IN FRONT GETTING SHOT I BETTER HIDE.

[Lyoto Machida]

That's why I wish they added a second seat for the command console like in TT (iirc). Seems like they have the ability to have 13 players per side (as per the private match spectator thing).

Would be nice to have a guy calling and plotting map points without the burden of driving a mech at the same time.

Speaking of which...when is the CC going to be useful for the tonnage? 2017?

[bad arcade kitty]

you can die asap and then command them being dead

[Alistair Winter]

The hardest part about leading in Pugland is that unless you follow the established norm, there's quite often going to be at least one guy who rains all over your parade and starts to debate the best course of action. "Upper city? That's ridiculous. You can't win a match on River City unless you have the Citadel!"

And for the duration of your match, that guy will keep complaining about how bad the plan is. If you lose the match, it'll be proof that your plan was terrible, regardless of how the team actually played and whether people actually followed the plan.

To me, leading a team isn't as difficult as dealing with the other would-be leaders on your team. And then making new plans on the spot when your teammates either fail to follow orders or just go off and do their own thing.

The good thing about 12-man matches, however, is that a commander is far more useful if he can bring the team together, as opposed to just relying on his own individual skills to win the match. In an 8-man or 4-man match, you can't afford the luxury of having one guy in the back just barking orders. Not to the same extent, anyway. It's fairly common to win a 12-man match in Pugland even with 1 guy AFK or DC'ed.

Being a light mech Commander can be a bit tricky though, because light mechs have to keep moving all the time in order to stay alive. Which makes it harder to type and plot in orders on the map.

Lyoto Machida, on 02 June 2015 - 05:29 PM, said:

That's why I wish they added a second seat for the command console like in TT (iirc). Seems like they have the ability to have 13 players per side (as per the private match spectator thing).

Would be nice to have a guy calling and plotting map points without the burden of driving a mech at the same time.

Speaking of which...when is the CC going to be useful for the tonnage? 2017?

That would be so glorious, I can't even begin to string words together to express it.

How many of you guys even use the map / battlegrid and all the different orders and icons, when you're being a commander? I'd say I use it about 10% of the matches where I'm leading the team. It's just so unwieldy and it really makes a mess of the minimap. CounterStrike style radio commands would be more useful.