38 replies to this topic

[Wintersdark]

I was thinking about this today, as I had game after game of really, horrifically embarrassing performances. I'm not talking about the matchmaker. Everyone has their matchmaker beliefs, be they real or imagined. This is not about the matchmaker. I'm experienced enough and objective enough about my own performances to know when I'm just being bad, rather than blaming it on everyone/everything else.

What I've noticed is this: I tend to play, in any given day, either really well, average, or really poorly. What's odd is the consistency: I'll play really well in every match that day, or really badly in every match, etc. I can tell inside of 3-5 matches whether I should play that day or not; if it's a "bad day", no amount of effort, of carefully tuned meta mechs, etc will fix it. I'll be terribly bad all day. I'll die, and think to myself... "Why didn't I twist away after firing?" "Why was I so aggressive, pushing too far in front of my allies?" I know damn well what I did wrong, but have no idea why I did it.

On the other hand, on a "good day", it doesn't even matter what I bring to the field. Objectively bad mechs? No problem. Random builds? It's all good - better, if anything.

Even average days. Still doesn't matter what I bring to the table, I'll do reasonably but neither particularly well or particularly poorly.

---

How about you? Does this happen to you, too? Or are your individual performances either more consistent overall or even just more random? Am I just a freak(probably!)?

[Mcgral18]

If something goes bad repeatedly, or the PUG LIFE expects my Myth Lynx to carry too much, I'll just grab a bigger robot.

Maybe one that Wubs. That, or move to the group queue to guarantee some competence.

[Wintersdark]

Mcgral18, on 04 July 2015 - 10:38 AM, said:

If something goes bad repeatedly, or the PUG LIFE expects my Myth Lynx to carry too much, I'll just grab a bigger robot.

Maybe one that Wubs. That, or move to the group queue to guarantee some competence.

I wasn't talking about the competence of people in the match with you, I meant your own.

Do you feel you always bring a consistent amount of quality to a team? Just how consistent are you?


I just felt it odd because I tend to vary pretty significantly, and that it's very much a whole day thing. I'll be good in a day, or bad, but either way I'll be that way all day.

I figure it's got to be a mindset thing, maybe distraction level with the kids, don't really know. But it's a very measurable thing.

[Soulscour]

Only thing that matters is win ratio

[Bishop Steiner]

Wintersdark, on 04 July 2015 - 09:47 AM, said:

I was thinking about this today, as I had game after game of really, horrifically embarrassing performances. I'm not talking about the matchmaker. Everyone has their matchmaker beliefs, be they real or imagined. This is not about the matchmaker. I'm experienced enough and objective enough about my own performances to know when I'm just being bad, rather than blaming it on everyone/everything else.

What I've noticed is this: I tend to play, in any given day, either really well, average, or really poorly. What's odd is the consistency: I'll play really well in every match that day, or really badly in every match, etc. I can tell inside of 3-5 matches whether I should play that day or not; if it's a "bad day", no amount of effort, of carefully tuned meta mechs, etc will fix it. I'll be terribly bad all day. I'll die, and think to myself... "Why didn't I twist away after firing?" "Why was I so aggressive, pushing too far in front of my allies?" I know damn well what I did wrong, but have no idea why I did it.

On the other hand, on a "good day", it doesn't even matter what I bring to the field. Objectively bad mechs? No problem. Random builds? It's all good - better, if anything.

Even average days. Still doesn't matter what I bring to the table, I'll do reasonably but neither particularly well or particularly poorly.

---

How about you? Does this happen to you, too? Or are your individual performances either more consistent overall or even just more random? Am I just a freak(probably!)?

Very streaky.

Sadly sometimes my good streaks coincide with Elo Hell, but it is what it is. Still, I have days I just can't play, for anything, and then others I run around like an EMP laughing at the tiny mortals as I mow them down like wheat.

So, I'm about as consistent as my ex-GFs moods, lol.

[Jman5]

I'm usually pretty consistent which I attribute to the fact that when I pick a mech, I stick with it. When you switch around from mech to mech to mech you are constantly having to re-adjust to the nuances of them. I also believe it helps keep your Elo more steady and gives you better games for whatever mech you are playing.

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 04 July 2015 - 11:07 AM, said:

Very streaky.

Sadly sometimes my good streaks coincide with Elo Hell, but it is what it is. Still, I have days I just can't play, for anything, and then others I run around like an EMP laughing at the tiny mortals as I mow them down like wheat.

So, I'm about as consistent as my ex-GFs moods, lol.

hah yeah, sadly being on a hot streak personally doesn't necessarily mean winning a lot - we've all had those matches where you've been an unstoppable engine of destruction but it just didn't matter.

[Wintersdark]

Jman5, on 04 July 2015 - 11:11 AM, said:

I'm usually pretty consistent which I attribute to the fact that when I pick a mech, I stick with it. When you switch around from mech to mech to mech you are constantly having to re-adjust to the nuances of them. I also believe it helps keep your Elo more steady and gives you better games for whatever mech you are playing.

this is probably true. . I can't do that, though, I'm a flighty butterfly Mechwarrior. I've got over a hundred mechs now and use them all regularly.

I suspect what happens for me could be a matter of mindset and current playstyle not matching what I'm bringing with me. . Being all aggressive and brawly with mechs that shouldn't be, that sort of thing. Probably at least a contributing factor.

[Greenjulius]

I've had some embarrassing deaths here and there. Usually when I get too enthusiastic about blowing stuff up. If I manage to survive in a decent mech, I'm usually in the top couple players for score and kills. I currently sit at a 2:1 KDR, so I'm at least not a liability for my team.

However, in the competitive scene, I'd put myself only at above average. I'm quite competent in most mechs with the exception being SRMs, which I never seem have a feel for. Sometimes a decent game with SRMs, most of the time bad >400 damage games.

Laser vomit and gauss are easy however, and anyone worth their salt should be able to consistently pull in 500+ damage games with either.

Edited by Greenjulius, 04 July 2015 - 11:23 AM.

[meteorol]

Having my ups and downs while pugging.

My w/l stays around 1.3, but my k/d fluctuates between 3.11 and 3.21, depending on how bad the losing streak or how good the winning streak i'm in is. Never managed to get it above 3.21 with the amount of solo pugging i do. I feel like my performance ingame is pretty consistent. But your own performance doesn't count much with 24 mechs on the field.
When i'm having a bad day and with losing match after match, i tend to stop playing in regular queue and do some CW. CW has countless issues and isn't really a good game mode, but it can be refreshing at times.

[jss78]

I definitely have "off" days. There's a ton of information coming in when you play -- where're the enemies, where're the friendlies, where am I being shot from, which way should I rotate, etc. -- and some days I feel like my brain just isn't tuned to process all that. I just feel a bit slow and sloppy, and essentially play at about 90%. Which, out there in the 31st century, equals quick death. The only solution I've found is to take a break.

I work as a scientist in real life, and it's a bit similar there. Some days your brain just isn't wired to produce clever ideas, and no amount banging your head against the wall will help.

[Radar Glitch]

Sometimes background stresses can make it hard to focus all day long. It can sometimes be the opposite for me, I'm in a bad mood and I get super focused. You might think about that, do your "bad days" correspond to, say, Monday? Do you play better on days off of work or school or when your kids are out of the house all day or when you get more sleep etc.

I too tend to play the same mech over and over but I have a few of those 'why why WHY???' moments, I usually change mechs for a few drops and focus more on the strategy/play style side of things before switching back.

I don't care if I'm dying as long as we're winning and I'm doing my thing.

[Wintersdark]

Radar Glitch, on 04 July 2015 - 11:40 AM, said:

Sometimes background stresses can make it hard to focus all day long. It can sometimes be the opposite for me, I'm in a bad mood and I get super focused. You might think about that, do your "bad days" correspond to, say, Monday? Do you play better on days off of work or school or when your kids are out of the house all day or when you get more sleep etc.

That's really impossible for me to gauge - I do rotating shift work, so I work mornings/evenings/nights/weekends, my kids are always at home, I never get much of any sleep =) It's pretty much consistently awful.

Quote

I too tend to play the same mech over and over but I have a few of those 'why why WHY???' moments, I usually change mechs for a few drops and focus more on the strategy/play style side of things before switching back.

heh I have a hard time leaving one build on a mech for more than a few drops, even with 100+ mechs. The only time I'm not constantly tweaking builds is when I'm in CW of group dropping (and thus mechlab time holds everyone up).

Quote

I don't care if I'm dying as long as we're winning and I'm doing my thing.

Me in a nutshell, there. My KDR is >1 in pretty much everything, but not by a lot. This is because I generally speaking play quite aggressively - I aim to give more than I get, and consider a match a success if that's the case. As such, I tend to die in most of my matches... A lot more in my winning matches than is necessary, in fact: I'll relentlessly push when winning, even when severely damaged with several allies intact. I see no value in surviving a match that we're winning =)

(Obviously, I also see no value in dying uselessly at the start of a match, mind you)

meteorol, on 04 July 2015 - 11:29 AM, said:

Having my ups and downs while pugging.

My w/l stays around 1.3, but my k/d fluctuates between 3.11 and 3.21, depending on how bad the losing streak or how good the winning streak i'm in is. Never managed to get it above 3.21 with the amount of solo pugging i do. I feel like my performance ingame is pretty consistent. But your own performance doesn't count much with 24 mechs on the field.
When i'm having a bad day and with losing match after match, i tend to stop playing in regular queue and do some CW. CW has countless issues and isn't really a good game mode, but it can be refreshing at times.

Actually, that's a really good point, and something I hadn't considered. I ought to try jumping into CW when the public queues are not working out for me, see if the wholly different style of play there shakes things up?

But yeah, your just one of 24 players. Your input matters in a match, but only so much. You can do horribly and win a lot of matches, or dominate and still lose. The joys of war.

[Deathlike]

Wintersdark, on 04 July 2015 - 09:47 AM, said:

I was thinking about this today, as I had game after game of really, horrifically embarrassing performances. I'm not talking about the matchmaker. Everyone has their matchmaker beliefs, be they real or imagined. This is not about the matchmaker. I'm experienced enough and objective enough about my own performances to know when I'm just being bad, rather than blaming it on everyone/everything else.

What I've noticed is this: I tend to play, in any given day, either really well, average, or really poorly. What's odd is the consistency: I'll play really well in every match that day, or really badly in every match, etc. I can tell inside of 3-5 matches whether I should play that day or not; if it's a "bad day", no amount of effort, of carefully tuned meta mechs, etc will fix it. I'll be terribly bad all day. I'll die, and think to myself... "Why didn't I twist away after firing?" "Why was I so aggressive, pushing too far in front of my allies?" I know damn well what I did wrong, but have no idea why I did it.

On the other hand, on a "good day", it doesn't even matter what I bring to the field. Objectively bad mechs? No problem. Random builds? It's all good - better, if anything.

Even average days. Still doesn't matter what I bring to the table, I'll do reasonably but neither particularly well or particularly poorly.

---

How about you? Does this happen to you, too? Or are your individual performances either more consistent overall or even just more random? Am I just a freak(probably!)?

I'm consistently inconsistent IMO, but that's more of a function of how tired I am. I'm sure it happens to me and various other people, as it is a function of trying to execute muscle memory.


The time where I'm consistent is when I get into a proper mindset (especially during tournies, where efficiency is required) where playing the same build over and over converts into a certain level of proficiency.

Still, the MM will manage to eff me over, but if I feel I did my part... it's no big deal.

Wintersdark, on 04 July 2015 - 11:17 AM, said:

this is probably true. . I can't do that, though, I'm a flighty butterfly Mechwarrior. I've got over a hundred mechs now and use them all regularly.

I suspect what happens for me could be a matter of mindset and current playstyle not matching what I'm bringing with me. . Being all aggressive and brawly with mechs that shouldn't be, that sort of thing. Probably at least a contributing factor.

I think there is something to what you feel and what you bring makes sense, as I'd have brawling mindsets on sniping mechs and vice versa at times, so it does me no good to go that route (round hole, square peg deal).

However, in experimenting with mechs, I feel that "confidence" in a mech build is more important initially (especially given the state of balance) where I need to like what I built before I accept it.

On the other hand, the Mist Lynx should just cry in a corner since I can't find a consistently good build to run on it.

[Percimes]

Hmmm. Sadly I think the only way to get consistent performances in the solo queue is if you play for yourself and use your team to your own advantage. If you play for the team you'll get inconsistent results, depending of the other people on the team. If you try to carry the team, you'll get frustrating gaming sessions.

[Wintersdark]

Percimes, on 04 July 2015 - 12:03 PM, said:

Hmmm. Sadly I think the only way to get consistent performances in the solo queue is if you play for yourself and use your team to your own advantage. If you play for the team you'll get inconsistent results, depending of the other people on the team. If you try to carry the team, you'll get frustrating gaming sessions.

depends on how you rate performances.

I never, ever play "for myself", always for the team. Because winning matches is more important to me than scoreboard results (which I'm indifferent to). I know when I've played well, or poorly, even if the match score says otherwise. You can die early through no real fault of your own, or even through necessity (leading an important push, for example) and have things look bad for you personally on the scoreboard.

This thread isn't about scoreboard results or matchmaker accuracy, but rather how well you're actually playing. Though I'll grant that there's different ways to gauge that based on how you view it... Someone may use their team as you say and get a great score, then feel they're playing well.

Edited by Wintersdark, 04 July 2015 - 12:28 PM.

[Wintersdark]

Deathlike, on 04 July 2015 - 11:59 AM, said:

I'm consistently inconsistent IMO, but that's more of a function of how tired I am. I'm sure it happens to me and various other people, as it is a function of trying to execute muscle memory.

probably a factor for me as well, though as I said it'd be impossible to gauge because I'm always tired and beat up

Quote

The time where I'm consistent is when I get into a proper mindset (especially during tournies, where efficiency is required) where playing the same build over and over converts into a certain level of proficiency.

CW does this for me, as while my builds may change between sessions, I tend to only do group activities when I'm in a social mindset (less tired and intolerant?) and then don't want to let friends down. Or, maybe it's just because it feels, as simple and hollow as CW can be, that we're fighting for something, so I focus more? Dunno for sure, but I tend to have consistently good CW performance... But then, I generally haven't tried playing CW on a bad MWO day either. The more I think about it, the more I need to try that.

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Still, the MM will manage to eff me over, but if I feel I did my part... it's no big deal.

... Purely a function of spite and malice!

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On the other hand, the Mist Lynx should just cry in a corner since I can't find a consistently good build to run on it.

Ironically, my Myst Lynx is one of the very few mechs that doesn't see build changes. My prime sits at srm12+2erml always, and I have tons of fun with it (even though it's bad).

I tend to bring it in CW a lot, actually, technically as a space filler to allow the larger mechs (poor thing is doomed to be forgotten come ACH time)... But I've started dropping with it first(assuming there's no particular strategy requiring something else), and reliably pulling 800-1000 damage out of it. I can only assume it gets ignored in favour of larger targets

[SaltBeef]

About as consistent as server hit reg!

[Wintersdark]

SaltBeef, on 04 July 2015 - 12:44 PM, said:

About as consistent as server hit reg!

Sooooo.... consistently random, or consistently bad? =)

[SaltBeef]

Random Chaos