63 replies to this topic

[Apocryph0n]

Well this is a team-game.
The most challenging and entertaining part of this game is the late EU night (USTZ) group queue. (At least for me and a couple of thousand other players at the weekends )

Having an organized team is epic, leads to nice moments (and unusual tactics. sometimes you fight on parts of the maps that you would never see as a solo dropper ) and playing against organized teams is way better than the solo queue. (as in: harder and thus more rewarding - feeling wise)

I do still randomly delve into the solo queue but for me: Fun is where teamplay is. Solo queue is where I farm my CBills (if there's no CW group going on.)

[Tarogato]

Both.

I mostly play solo, but as I got better at the game I realised that there was nothing else I could do as a solo player. I would have to join a competitive unit to get the most out of the game, so that's what I did.

Right now I play about two thirds solo queue and solo CW and one third with unit mates.

[jss78]

Only solo PUG so far. I like that I need a 20-minute time slot at most to be able to play a game, or an hour to play a few. That's all I have time and energy for, on most nights.

I also really like the total non-commitment of playing solo. I'm just not a competitive person, but what's worse, have somehow ended up in a severely competitive job. Long story short, I just have a severe aversion to any kind of commitments let alone competitiveness, when it comes to my spare time. I just want my half-hour fix of stomping around in a giant robot, blowing stuff to smithereens. That's fun. Feeling pressure to do the previous in some optimal or "meta" way, not so much.

slide, on 02 June 2015 - 06:20 PM, said:

There are plenty of units out there with different commitment levels, it is just a case of finding one that suits you. Not every group requires you to play 12 hours a day and give up your first born as tribute. People seriously have the wrong idea about most units, sadly it is an idea born from the highly competitive serious units that have little to no empathy for anyone who is not at their level of skill or commitment.

...but this is actually really nice to hear. I guess I really feel reservations about units and CW because I perceive them as relentlessly competitive. Maybe I'll give it a shot, eventually. The more I play PUG, the more I long for at least a modicum of teamwork.

[nagdamnit]

I'm currently a member of, a lore based, milsim structured unit in Davion. Now personally I haven't a clue about lore and I was never in the military so I don't know one officer from another (all gobbledygook to me). All I have experienced with this unit is a bunch of guys and girls from across the globe (literally) that like to have a laugh while playing this game together.

Some days we play CW (its not competitive gaming, its just CW), some days we play the PUG queue, others we play on our own and mess about. There is no pressure to do anything, is purely a social mechanism.

Considering that team play is so heavily rewarded in this game, joining a unit can only add to your experience of the game. The key is to find the right unit and the only way to do that is test a few out.

[Nightmare1]

I joined a casual Unit so that it's easier to find friends for drops. I'm more of a comp player, but I don't have the time to commit to a comp Unit and don't like the drama that they often have. My casual Unit is a no-strings-attached kind, so I can drop whenever I want. It's a lot like pugging in the sense that we have some very good pilots and some not-so-good pilots, and you drop with whoever is in TeamSpeak that night.

Being in a Unit does not have to mean that the game becomes work. It doesn't have to be the "next level" of intensity or commitment. You simply have to find the best fit. I pugged for a while until I got tired of the craziness and utter lack of thought (tactical or otherwise) that existed in the pug queues, so I joined a comp Unit. I got sucked into it in a big way, climbing the ranks until I was running it. That made the game more of a job than anything else and nearly killed MWO for me, so I left the Unit and joined my current one instead. It's a chill group and we have a lot of fun without taking anything too seriously.

For anyone on the fence, go check out the Merc Unit forums. There are several casual Units there such as mine (The Brethren) that won't require attendence or impose mandatory practice and such. You just join up, no strings attached, and drop wihen you can. It's a better gameplay experience than pugging or comp play, in my opinion.

[Chaos Strike]

I joined a unit. Had not initially planned on it.
I am not a real competative person and can not commit to being online at set times.
However I am socialable and like to make new friends to shoot the breeze with. I also like having someone there to watch my back at times.

When I started playing MWO, I quickly got frustrated dropping with 11 other people that ran off in 8 differant directions.
No teamwork, no planning, no help and nobody talked.
My impression became that this was a "Team" game where everyone did whatever they could NOT to be a team.

Then I recieved an invitation to join The Templars. A fairly casual group of helpful and understanding people that like to have fun together.
I have learned alot about playing MWO, piloting differant Mechs and their roles. My skills are greatly improved as well.
I really enjoy logging into the game and TeamSpeak with the unit.

I do CW and group drops with them. I still solo drop a fair amount, but I usually have someone to BS with at the same time.

[Lyoto Machida]

Joined a unit back in Closed Beta and learned so much, so quickly (even though I'd played older BT/MW games). The main reason I still play this game is because of the guys in the unit.

[Anachronda]

I joined a unit for several reasons and I have been able to get a lot out of it. Let me count the ways

1) In any match, a coordinated group has a distinct edge. Especially with an experienced player giving a plan, calling targets, etc. Even if not everyone is super good if people follow orders it will work much better than everyone doing their own thing.

2) Related to the above, Community Warfare. This is where I was recruited. In CW, you just cannot win if you are not coordinated and you kind of need as much of a group as you can to drop. Granted the factions do have their own teamspeak and you can often pick up enough that way, but it's best if you have a unit who knows each other's builds, playstyle, strengths and weaknesses. Pugs seem not to be great at following orders or using voice comms, both of which are required for CW victory.

3) Mentorship and learning opportunities. Usually in a unit there are lots of people who will be more than willing to help you, give advice, etc. Mine has been great in this regard as they are very newbie friendly compassionate folks. They have helped me with builds and given great advice. Between that and their observations it helped me grow as a player much more than I would have on my own, even doing research as I tend to do.

4) Camaraderie. an extension of point 3, joining a unit is a great way to make new friends and have fun playing together.

I could go on but I am sure you get the gist. Units are great great great. The more friends you have the better. I suggest you fill out your friends list as much as you can whether you are in a unit or not because that will help you find groups and fill them out.

[InspectorG]

Shadowstyke, on 02 June 2015 - 02:26 PM, said:

Please keep comments to which choice you made and why.

Thank you.

Unit...but i mainly drop Solo.

My Unit is the bestest most Ghetto collection of casual scrub villainy you will find in the Sphere, or outside it.

Clan? IS House? We dont give a **ck.

Solo, Group, CW, we dont give a **ck.

Where else you gonna see a lance of 3 Quickdraws and a SCRO? We do it while Air Guitar-ring THIS song puffin blunts talking about how much we can get in the streets for selling this AC20 we 'found'.



No aim bots. No wallhax. Just a 40oz and steering wheel emulation.

[wicm]

I Agree with
Anachrond

.....But I would reverse the numbers.

Edited by wicm, 04 June 2015 - 02:41 PM.

[Anachronda]

DarthRevis, on 02 June 2015 - 03:50 PM, said:

Joined a relativly young unit and have been having a AWESOME time ever since!

I played SOLO for about 3 weeks and realized this s%#t is for the BIRDS~! (and not Clan Green Chicken or Faction Purple Pigeon lolz) I have not looked back since....

Nice kitty ... please do eat all the pretty green birdies you can.

[1453 R]

Solo.

No unit I've ever encountered in MWO is willing to put up with the irregular non-primetime hours I keep, nor my complete lack of desire to attend mandatory training sessions or pilot unit-required machines. Furthermore I'm an ascerbic basshole with a caustic personality nobody else is willing to put up with.

That and I can kill you just fine with my own personal guns whenever I feel like anyways, so nyah

[stealthraccoon]

We raccoons are naturally solitary creatures.

But honestly, I might drop 10 times during the weekday; weekends I play more frequently. I just can't be consistent enough to hang with a steady group - and I can't stand the idea of VOIP, most of the time I don't even turn my speakers on.


Oh yeah, CW doesn't happen - until they drop the minimum weight to something I can manage, like 100 tons (two Urbies and two Locusts, now that is a drop!).

Edited by stealthraccoon, 04 June 2015 - 07:51 PM.

[Blue47]

solo.

im not very interested in letting others tell me how i should play, which mechs i should choose or anything else like that.
i would imagine a unit more like a military based structure. i guess i would have to fit a certain role in a unit, even when it would be against my own will.

as long as i stay solo, i can do whatever i want without issues (except CW, since i would play it to win and therefore would need to adapt).

[IraqiWalker]

Blue47, on 04 June 2015 - 07:56 PM, said:

solo.

im not very interested in letting others tell me how i should play, which mechs i should choose or anything else like that.
i would imagine a unit more like a military based structure. i guess i would have to fit a certain role in a unit, even when it would be against my own will.

as long as i stay solo, i can do whatever i want without issues (except CW, since i would play it to win and therefore would need to adapt).

That's not how units work. Not unless you are playing competitive CW, and even then. Not always. I've been with a unit for 2 years+ now, and only ONCE did I get ordered to switch to a specific mech. When we were doing a 12 v 12 against another unit. Anywhere outside of the competitive scene, unit pilots will drop with whatever they want.

[BFHKitteh]

There are a lot of misconceptions around here. I haven't played MWO in two days, I was dropping by myself for a few hours, even though a few of my unit-mates were on, they were all also dropping solo. Now three four of us are on TS and we're doing drops. We aren't using meta-mechs, we suck, we have no required reading or show-up times, you just drop with the team if you want to. The main thing is getting on TS and just having a good time in a beer and pretzels sort of way. Kind of like playing Battletech around a table in a game shop.

[Mad Ox]

Solo for most part try grouping with a couple friends but end up always getting put against 8-12 mans that just utterly annihilate all before them its just no fun at all.

Group play for small groups is one of the most disappointing features of this game never seen a game so harsh to small groups,

Edited by Mad Ox, 05 June 2015 - 09:27 AM.

[juxstapo]

I'm the Corsair's solo player....

heh, kay that's not true, I'm just terminally late for practice.

[Not Bob]

I'm in a unit.

I started off as a solo player when my roomate introduced me to this game, and we thought it looked neat (He was a BT fan, so he knew the lore, me - I knew nothing about Lore at all, but the game looked nice and had a solid feel to it.) and we played solo. Sometimes with each other (As we had no idea how to actually group up... lol

After a couple hours of weeks of playing, I got really addicted to the game, and realized just how bad the solo que was - I couldn't rely on teamates to do anything (Sometimes they'd do it, other times they'd just wander off - This was pre-voip) and there was nothing that I could do to change it.

Now, I work a really screwed up work schedule, so I couldn't really commit to more than dropping a few times during the week, so I looked around and ended up posting in the Hiring Hall, and I signed on with The Aces Wild, after talking to a few guys. There are a ton of guys that work weird schedules, that can't really commit to anything beyond "I may get on", and we don't force builds on anyone (Unless you want to go comp, but that's a whole different ballgame)

I've never once wanted to go back to the solo que, as there is just too much fun to be had with other people online, where you can play with like-minded people, learn from them, teach others, and just have a good freaking time.



Also, I've never really understood how in a Team game where teamwork is crucial to survive, that so many people would be adamant against teams in general.

[SilentSooYun]

Solo, these days.

I started with a unit and for some time I had a lot of fun, but drama happened, management and focus shifted, and suddenly it wasn't fun anymore. About that time my workload increased, my computer's ability to deal with certain patches decreased, and my tolerance for basically playing the same thing over and over flatlined... I took an extended holiday, you might say.

Now I'm kinda-sorta back-ish, but I'm still rather casual about my playtime and gun-shy about joining a unit. I see videos of beautifully well-coordinated teams and I want that, but I'm not a terribly social person (I'm "Silent" for a reason) and I don't care for demands being made on my time, Mech choice, or loadout... though I do accept advice and scheduled events (and dear gods do I need advice... preferably not preambled by "Hey dumb*ss"). Finding friendly people is easy... finding tolerant people is way more difficult.