54 replies to this topic

[QuulDrah]

Dawnstealer, on 01 December 2015 - 11:25 AM, said:

Even if you're doing something stupid, if ALL TWELVE PEOPLE DO IT, it will probably work.

Get to know the lay of the land.
Do not rush into choke points...

Had a 9+3 premade defend on Boreal. The 9 called to defend second (or third?) wave near the omega, since the last clan wave just fizzled and died. I.e. most of us where in damaged mechs, but all turrets were still up.
Claners ball up, coming the usual canyon route, and the 3 decide to rush them there...?!? Going the canyon, not even flanking from E6...
Even if the 9 would have followed, we would have given up our numerical advantage in the narrow canyon, given up cover, given up turret support. You 3 just walked right into their open firing line... and then complained?

My point being: No, in that particular situation, all 12 players doing the same stupid thing would have resulted in 12 dead mechs.

Normally you are right, of course

[kauldron]

Apparently the situation is getting worse. Now, not only do they play CW with trial mechs, they also disconnect when they lose their first mech too quickly. To add insult to injury, they reconnect, and then accuse the others of being "idiots". In the most recent game I had one guy do exactly that. When I checked the damage he did, it was 184 (with all four mechs, which is not surprising considering that he prolly lost heart and discoed shortly after losing his first mech, only to return to badmouth the others). If something is not done (ie, the game should not allow the player to use trial mechs in CW), I doubt anyone will play CW precisely because of this situation.

[xX PUG Xx]

I can say with some degree of authority that the Trial 'Mechs are not the problem if someone cannot perform, 12-1400 damage is achievable with proper positioning and playing WITH your team. If I was at my PC I could post up multiple screenies of my various alt-accounts doing just this.

It is not the Trial 'Mech that is at fault, it is a lack of experience or skill of the pilot and the only way a player will gain either of those is to play the game. So excluding them because they don't own a 'Mech is not a particularly constructive answer.

Edited by xX PUG Xx, 09 December 2016 - 07:19 AM.

[Count Zero 74]

Trial Mechs OP!!

[M A N T I S]

I've done 2K+ in trials, just to see if I could. It's not the trials. These people just weren't ready, regardless of the mechs they had. I'm thinking your restriction of trials might help though... at least you're guaranteeing that the pilots who join spent enough time playing to master a few mechs. I guess that counts for something.

I used to disagree on that point, but I'm coming around now.

Edited by M A N T I S, 09 December 2016 - 09:29 AM.

[naterist]

ok, here we go,

1. if everyone is in a big group standing within 5 feet of each other, and focusing fire, dont be the first to get scared and break formation. stay there. youll be fine.

2. dont give orders, give information and suggestions. no one in that match is in a unit with you so dont expect them to listen like a good little soldier, some dont care, thats ok. 11 guys working together is better than goin "F it" because one guy isnt listening, forget him.

3.if someone starts giving orders and whatnot, and you think it isnt the right order, dont second guess that person. everyone has had a chance to speak up and claim the title of drop caller, if you think you can do better, do it the next game, unless that person stops calling for whatever reason. multiple people giving orders only confuses the team and almost garuntees a loss everytime. just remember that even the worst plan is likely to work as long as everyone commits to it 100%.

4. focus the big targets. kdk-3's and dire whales are priority number 1. after that, call people who stand out. the guy in front of the enemy formation is the best target normally because people will easily identfy them, and when checking enemy letter tags to coordinate shots, people tend to check the first they see first, so the sooner people see the mech your clling out, the faster they are likely to shoot it and the faster it will go down. if all enemy mechs are reletavily in formation, then call mechs that stand out. if you see 11 ebons and one timber, call the timber first, assuming theyre all relatively in the same position (murderballed up).

5. dont ever give up. ive seen a few games were the score was 36-24, enemy team was up, but we came back because their last 2 waves were all lights or mediums, and we still had a wave of heavies. you never know when a come back is coming, but if you let them get in your head, youll miss the chance to come back before it even arrives.

6.(tactical) IS mechs are sluggish, yet they dish out some crazy firepower up close. the closer your team can get to the enemy without taking fire, the more effective youll be when the real fighting beggins.

7(tactical) as i said, inner sphere mechs are sluggish, which makes a gen rush easy for the opposing team. always have a fallback method for reaching the gens in case the enemy tries to just bypass you. if it becomes evident that they are going for a gen rush, shoot their legs, or if theyre letting you fire without stopping to engage (ive made whole rage threads on this topic, trust me, it happens a lot more than people think) just open up on their back ct's and kill em quickly.

8. just keep in mind that almost every clan heavy is goin about 81 kph, and the average IS heavy is goin between 64.8 and 75 kph. the clans can and will outmanuever you if they can get away with it, so try and keep yourselves between the enemy and their objective.

9.(for totally new pugs to fw) find a unit to drop with. download teamspeak. i dont think that it is essential to join the unit, but if your just starting off and your friendly with anyone in a unit, ask if you can play with their team in FW for a little bit. they will teach you a lot of things you would never have learned on your own, and you should see a significant jump in damage and match score after learning from them for a bit.

10. go play for the clans a bit and do the unit thing with one of the clans units as well. im not saying go traitor, but after playing with a clan unit, you can see how the clans operate at their fullest potential. its part of that whole "know your enemy" idea in warfare. it works great, and youll make some internet friends. (internet friends are the best cause you dont have to rememebr their birthdays, its written on their profile 90% of the time )

11.(final and most important tip) your first month pugging it is gonna suck. just straight up, your the new guy, playing a mode you dont fully understand yet, and your playing people whove been doin this for a LONG LONG LONG time. dont expect to win at first. this is a game were you cant get better by improving your character, you gotta actually improve yourself to advance. thats gonna take time. go on the different teamspeaks and find some people to help you. i rememeber my first day trying FW and spectre (i think most people know him, awesome dude,) was in a group with me for a few hours, and we talked, and he set me up with the basics. i didnt understand it all but as ive branched out and played with others i understood more of what he ment and i learned a variety of different things, but spectre got me off the ground floor. you need to go out, hop on teamspeak, and find your spectre. hell, message me in game and if i have the time ill help you out. im normally on the frr hub if im playing, and ill do my best to help you get started if you need it.

[Carl Vickers]

DaFrog, on 19 July 2015 - 11:12 AM, said:

Don't take his advice either.

Considering you eject at the first sign of a 12 man, you are not the person to be believed.

Edited by Carl Vickers, 09 December 2016 - 02:49 PM.

[naterist]

DaFrog, on 19 July 2015 - 07:28 AM, said:

SO if we listen to this, shock and awe of the US combined forces has no place in warfare ? Remember those CNN videos ?!?


Don't take his advice.

brosef, if you die in this game, you dont also die in real life. pretty hard to shock and awe someone who is in no real physical danger.

[MischiefSC]

You've got 4 mechs, use all 4. It's alright to die if you're selling yourself for more than you're worth.

Waves are like storm surges vs throwing water balloons at someone. Both will get someone wet, one of them will destroy cities. This works by all the mechs on your team being over 80% or so health on defense or everyone being on the same wave on attack. If you're under 80%, go with everyone else also under 80% and push out to soften up the attackers so that when they push in its 12 damaged mechs vs 12 healthy mechs.

That mechanic, 12 healthy vs 12 damaged, is a huge part of why organized teams crush pugs and disorganized teams. When there's several damaged enemies you can kill them early, turning the fighting right after into 10 v 12 or even 8 v 12. Staying and fighting on defense when you're at 60% health isn't a whole lot better for your team than being AFK for a couple of minutes in the middle of a fight - you're going to die, early, and then they're playing without you.

Push while laying down fire. There is no better defense, no better protection, no better position to be in than behind a wall of firing mechs. You're going to get shot - that's okay, you're in a big robot. The point however is that your side needs to be up and shooting them more than they're shooting you. In most cases in a push the first guy to go into cover loses. If it's a fight between competitive tier coordinated 12man teams this isn't the case but given that it's a rare day when 1 of those drops in FW it's best not to worry about that.

Your objective is to push in and overwhelm the enemy on attack or stand and butcher the enemy pushing in on defense. On attack you want to force the enemy to give ground, abandoning their teammates to be overwhelmed. On defense you want to keep that from happening. The only time you want to be falling back on defense is when you're the guy furthest out in front.

Sometimes you're going to lose even when you did everything right. That doesn't mean you quit doing things right, it just means the other team was still better. That's okay, the ability to learn the difference between 'that was a bad idea' and 'that was a good idea that just wasn't good enough in this situation' is part of becoming tactically adept.

[MischiefSC]

Kiiyor, on 21 July 2015 - 03:14 PM, said:

My tip? Play to YOUR strengths. If you like hanging back a little and sniping, and are comfortable with that, then DO it. Don't take your fragile XL Jagermech into a push because some PUG 4 man commander insists that you need to be shoulder to shoulder.

If you like taking LRM's, then do it.

If you like brawling, then take brawlers... just be aware that most CW, especially in PUGS, is longer range.

CW, especially in the pug queues, and especially in the pug 'sphere queues, can SUCK if someone else is trying to force you into their play style.

As long as you support the team, feel free to do it your way.

The problem though is that if you're pugging.... this can really be a problem, especially if you drop with a premade team.

If you're going to drop in a team, even a 4man, that knows how you play and your strengths and that's part of the tactics then, well, great. If you're pugging? Bring every flavor and do your best.

The problem is that if your team goes gen rush and you're in a gauss Jag you're only slightly better than worthless. If your team is set up for a long range attrition fight and you're in a brawler Atlas, yeah.

This is one of the biggest factors that separates CW from the rest of MWO gameplay. You need to be at least comfortable with everything and able to at least muddle along on almost any strategy. Trying to 'only play how you play best' ends up shafting your team a lot of the time.

Being a long range sniper on attack and on many maps even defense also is a bad idea as a pug. Fine in a team if your team is set up to take advantage of it, when pugging it essentially equates to using your team as meatshields while you farm damage and kills while letting your team play a man down. I know that's not your intent but when pugging that way it's how it turns out.

Pugging in CW is a different animal. If you want to be successful at it you need to realize you're filler and plan accordingly. Be ready to switch it up, have a flexible deck. If you drop in a team with other uncoordinated pugs you're likely to be boned anyway. Your real meat and drink will be filling out larger teams and being able to adjust and play to their strategy is going to give you the best overall results.

[Jeff on a Buffalo]

Another good rule is if you see Count Zero 74 on your team, do listen to the guy. He can often lead your team to victory if you just follow his guidance!

Edited by Jeff on a Buffalo, 09 December 2016 - 07:49 PM.

[DevlinCognito]

The three simple rules of Pug Dropping:

1. Follow the DC.

If someone steps up to call and you didn't, follow the damn plan. I don't care if you think you are the re-incarnation of Kai Allied Liao or completely new to CW, if someone is calling to try and help the team win then follow the damn plan. A bad plan followed by 12 people is infinitely better than 12 solo players doing their own thing. While the score may look bad after one wave, it can be turned around if you work as a team.

2. Heaviest Mech first.

Attack or Defend this is generally the best course of action. Unless a DC has called for something different, you will need the armour/firepower. If you save your Maulers till last wave when surrounded by 11 team mates in light Mechs, guess what the enemy will concentrate on? (Pro hint: it won't be the Locust)

3. Never reinforce between waves.

Yes it sucks to be the first to drop in a push, and it's tempting to get back into the fight,but by the time you do the survivors will be dropping leaving you facing 12 Mechs alone. While you may be able to vulture one or two kills, you will die again, leaving your team 11 Mechs on their push versus 12, unless they wait for you again leaving your team short on the last wave. On the same note, 12 fresh Mech vs 12 damaged is ALWAYS better than trying to conserve your damaged Mech. It is a 30 minute match and you have 4 Mechs, that is seven and a half minutes per Mech, use it.

While there is plenty more that could be said, follow these three basic rules and you will find your adventures in solo dropping a lot more successful.

[Davegt27]

the game is mostly controlled by the computer

in FP there is no individual computer control but it goes by sides
the side with the greater unit tag gets a boost so always try to drop in 12 man units if you want to win a lot

also they flip back and forth periodically which side is dominant, sometimes its the IS and the Clan cries a lot

some times its the Clans and the IS cries a lot
this hurts the Clans the most since everyone know how powerful Clan mechs are and it can be a real shocker
loosing so easily

they have improved things a ton since CW phase 1
once during phase 1 the Clan kill all 3 Gens and Omega before I could pull the trigger on my Jager 5 times
I just sat there staring at the screen

now they throttle things keeping the match fairly close until the last wave and the dominant side kills 10 Mechs in like
30 seconds

this mode is designed for teams of equal numbers so don't expect much if you pug
just try to give them a good fight

oh and don't get to cocky your not a Mech piloting god

IMHO
have a nice day

[Marquis De Lafayette]

naterist, on 09 December 2016 - 02:37 PM, said:

ok, here we go,


11.(final and most important tip) your first month pugging it is gonna suck. just straight up, your the new guy, playing a mode you dont fully understand yet, and your playing people whove been doin this for a LONG LONG LONG time. dont expect to win at first. this is a game were you cant get better by improving your character, you gotta actually improve yourself to advance. thats gonna take time. go on the different teamspeaks and find some people to help you. i rememeber my first day trying FW and spectre (i think most people know him, awesome dude,) was in a group with me for a few hours, and we talked, and he set me up with the basics. i didnt understand it all but as ive branched out and played with others i understood more of what he ment and i learned a variety of different things, but spectre got me off the ground floor. you need to go out, hop on teamspeak, and find your spectre. hell, message me in game and if i have the time ill help you out. im normally on the frr hub if im playing, and ill do my best to help you get started if you need it.

I remember meeting you on FRR TS in what turned out to be my final weeks over there when you were A couple of days in the mode and trying to learn how not to get your rear-end kicked (we have all been there!). Glad to see you stuck with it and also how you have improved from those early days. Now you get to dole out the pearls of PUG-survival wisdom to the new guys. I have been always glad to help the new guys, cause someone(s) helped me make the adjustments I needed to make in coming over from QP. Glad to see you giving back and FW would be a better place if more veterans did that. We do need new blood in FW (as older players will inevitably leave at some point no matter what PGI does) and folks won't stay if they can't find a way to "get good" or at least decent enough to make it fun for them. Cheers and stay helpful to the new IS pilots... I still try to be helpful to the new IS guys by teaching them practical in-game lessons on subjects like "what they should not to try again", "don't stare at the KDK-3" and "why your locust doesn't work as well in FW as in QP (streak-boats!)"...on the battlefield. Lol

[Count Zero 74]

There is one, only one simple rule you should follow to have success in FP.


USE YOUR BRAIN