26 replies to this topic

[Odinvolk]

I am going to post some tips for new players here, and invite others to contribute as well.

1. Regardless of what PC you have, set all graphics to low, disable all eye-candy such as AA, Damage Glow, V-sync, cockpit glass and everything-everything. But keep resolution to the best level your PC can cope with. Why? Because things like damage particles, missile trails, shiny lasers all obscure your vision. Having them all off improves your chances to maintain vision on the enemy. Frame-rate gains help too. High resolution gives you better vision over the field, but find a sweet spot where it does not affect game performance.

2. Do not use in-cockpit items. They steal part of the visible area, and also are a distraction.

3. Third-person view will put you into disadvantage. You can use it one time to figure out how torso-twist works, but that is the extend of its usefulness.

4. Use only WASD + Mouse for controls. This gives you the fastest and most precise targeting. Three button mouse can be useful, programmable mouse as well, but i do just fine with plain 2-button mouse. Read next point to see why!

5. Keep weapon groups to a minimum. You will need short range and long/medium range punch. A third weapon group can be useful for something like TAG and NARC, but if you need to hit keyboard keys to fire it, then you are at disadvantage. If you cannot fire all of your weapon groups comfortably with just the mouse buttons then you have too many weapon groups.

Weapon selection:

You will need a primary weapon group which is DPS heavy. Can be long-range for snipers, but i prefer short-range for more damage. Multiple SRMs, AC20s, LBX 10s, and sometimes Lasers are great for primary group. Your secondary weapon group should be the opposite of the primary, e.g. on a mech that does large DPS at short range you will sometimes need to shoot at something long or medium range. Med Lasers, Large Lasers and AC5s are good for that.

If you are DPS sniper, with primary weapon group of PPCs or ERLLs, or LRMs, or long-range ACs, then you will have to have short-range back up, against (usually quicker) enemies that do get close to harm you. I like SSRMs on ECM-capable mech or SRMs or Med lasers on non-ECM mech.

Obviously there are exceptions. For example, Pirate Bane Locust is a very-short range mech, where MGs and SLs are your main weapons. I actually use 4xMLs on this mech, grouped 2+2 to lower heat output.

6. Pain Job. This is not WOT. Having a fancy paint job gives you no advantage. Having colorful paint job makes you a target. There are limited circumstances, on darker & night time maps where having a dark-painted mech can give you a little bit of the edge (especially for ECM mechs). So native dark green is OK, but i paint my mechs into lighter shade of black/dark gray.

7. Piloting. There is one move you HAVE to master. It is circling your enemy with WASD keys, while having your torso firmly fixed on the enemy. AKA "Circle of Death". Be ready to stop at the back where possible and unload into the back when you have significant speed advantage. Otherwise, the simple fact of constantly moving will keep you alive for longer. Standing mech = dead mech.

8. Shot Selection. When opportunity exists always shoot in the back. You are safe, and they die 60-80% quicker.

9. Do not be afraid of dying. Death is meaningless in this game, there are no penalties. Avoiding dying makes you a time-waster and/or less useful to your team.

10. Team tactics. This is taken from my earlier reply to someone, but it is very important to understand what role your mech has in the team:

Assaults brawl close-up or DPS at range. They should, ideally, be allowed to engage first and tie up the enemy.

Heavies do the same, but from behind the backs of assaults. They are second-tier brawlers. And lower DPS dealers at range.

Mediums are natural flankers. They should, ideally, let heavies and assaults engage enemy then circle the already engaged enemy for DPS. They should not run ahead and get popped before their main force gets into range.

Lights have 3 important tasks - 1 defend team from other teams lights. This prevents stupid scenes when big Mechs try chasing smalls and force team to collapse. 2 - scout, respond to base threats. 3 - If 1 & 2 is done then lights should join mediums in flanking for free DPS.

That's how you win.

Cheers!

[RoboPatton]

It's a start. This game needs some serious outreach for new players via PGI. Hopefully this new Tutorial they're talking about will introduce them to these concepts.

[Troutmonkey]

Good tips for new players

Go to the -> New Player Forums

[Kodyn]

Some good tips, except for the roles; Assaults are not the ideal front line in most cases, they are second line.

Assaults thinking they need to be up front leading the charge leads to a lot of dead assaults early on, and when a team see their Atlas pulled apart in front of them, they tend to panic and scatter. Brawler heavies and meds are your ideal front line, backed up by your assaults and other fire support mechs.

Most of the rest looked pretty good.

I'll add-

Avoid the urge to Nascar on every map. Teams have a habit on many maps, for example, Crimson, to get to a good spot, then see no enemy on the other side of the saddle, so instead of sitting tight, forming a firing line, and awaiting the OPFOR, who is obviously about to come out of tunnel or B-line, they continue around in a circle through the city, allowing the other team to then gain the defensive position of the platform/underneath, all while chewing away at the circling team's rears as they keep up the idiotic chase.

It's not always best to defend, in most cases the more aggressive teams win, but when you have certain maps, certain spots, it's a position of strength, the key is knowing when and where. Be adaptable, the same tactic will not work on every map, against every team, or with every team's makeup.

Slapping 1-2 LRM 5's on any mech to fill out tonnage or "do damage as I get in range" is a classic mistake. If you have an otherwise dedicated loadout, it will almost always be better helped by more heat sinks, AMS, ammo, armor, hell, even BAP is a better choice than just a LRM 5 or two with a couple of tons ammo. "Oh, but it helps pad my damage." So would another alpha from your main guns with better heat dissipation, or staying in the fight longer because you had more armor, or BAP shutting down the ECM of a mech that was about to sneak up and kill you.

New players should spend time perusing veteran player's builds, and experiment with known, tested, successful builds before trying out their own custom jobs. I know, I know, that's where half the fun is(more than half, for me), but get some matches under your belt before you get creative; your team and your CBills will thank you for it in the end.

Pay attention to paper dolls. Sure you can get good damage just spreading it all over a mech, but you can snag a lot more kills with a well-aimed shot to an already open component.

Leg lights and clan mechs that have otherwise full armor. If a clanner isn't already opened up somewhere, or has his back to you, go for that leg before just denting a side torso he can afford to lose. Many clan mechs also have limited ammo and HS space, so they have em in the legs. And this is pretty much death to any light, IS or clan.

Avoid staring at mechs. Poop 'n scoot, poop 'n scoot. If you have a good twisty mech, then it's shoot, twist, shoot, twist. The longer you stare, the more time you're giving the enemy to line up and look for your weak spots, then drive the nail home.

All I got for now, just put down the few things that came to mind quickly.

Edited by Kodyn, 09 August 2015 - 10:10 PM.

[Kiiyor]

These lists are great. I love cataloging them. I think I have a few hundred dot points so far.

My top 5 tips for newbies:

#1: Practice at least once in the training grounds. The heat of battle is NOT the place to work out how locking LRM's works, or how to make the bottom bits work with the top bits.

#2: Fight at mid-range. Never be at the front of your team. Never be at the rear. Most decent players can sniff out the delicious scent of a newbie a mile away. That **** is irresistible. You want as many friendlies covering up that smell as possible.

#3: if there are mechs with blue squares around them between you and a mech with a red square around it, don't fire.

#4: seriously, stop shooting me.

#5: If someone annihilates you particularly brutally, pay attention to their mech and loadout. You might want to copy it.

[MoonUnitBeta]

RoboPatton, on 09 August 2015 - 08:03 PM, said:

It's a start. This game needs some serious outreach for new players via PGI. Hopefully this new Tutorial they're talking about will introduce them to these concepts.

These new tutorials better make ME a better pilot! None of this cheeky "press W to move, press S to go back" crap. Ramp it! Press W to move, NOW GO KICK SOME ASS!!! WHILE USING JUMPJETS TURN YOUR LEGS SO WHEN YOU LAND YOU TAKE OFF IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION **** TURN THESE NUBS INTO CHAMPS BABY!

[Kodyn]

I particularly liked your points #3 and 4 there Kiiyor

[El Bandito]

I'll add my tidbit.

If you wish to have four groups of weapons but your mouse has only 3 buttons, use the "space" button for the fourth group. Naturally it means you will have to remap the JJ button, but for non-JJ mechs it is of no issue.

It also takes me back to the age when I was shooting azure balls of PPCs.

Edited by El Bandito, 09 August 2015 - 10:38 PM.

[Kiiyor]

Kodyn, on 09 August 2015 - 10:13 PM, said:

I particularly liked your points #3 and 4 there Kiiyor

If only the word could spread, heh.

I had the armour from all three torsos removed earlier today, from a friendly. I turned my mech to stare at his.

"What?" he typed.
"Dude, you cherry'd my torso - please watch the FF"

At that point, I took another hit - from an enemy FireStarter. I turned back, and the friendly that shot me first finished the job.

Not much you can do but laugh in the face of that.

[TwentyOne]

turning graphics to max low to perform better, really man? Tryhard to the max! WINNING IS THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!111!!11

[Kodyn]

I have a lucky left leg on my RVN...or maybe right leg...damn backwards paper doll on our mechs always messes with me.

But I start 99% of my matches with that same leg yellow to orange from FF or someone running me over within the first 5 seconds. What's funny is that on that particular mech, I almost never lose that leg first, or end up having any issues from the FF. And I almost always end up having a great match in it...so I don't even get mad anymore. It's like they're just saying to me, "Break a leg!"..but you know, in a good way.

Now in my other mechs...I still get mad lol.


EDIT:

TwentyOne, on 09 August 2015 - 10:40 PM, said:

turning graphics to max low to perform better, really man? Tryhard to the max! WINNING IS THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!111!!11

That's actually common practice for FPS games...or really any online game. If you don't have an amazing gaming rig, it's just practical. For instance I get really low FPS, so I kinda have to keep everything at lowest just to play. It's taught me to become a better player, that's for sure, knowing i'm seeing everything probably after it happened, but it's doable.

Edited by Kodyn, 09 August 2015 - 10:45 PM.

[El Bandito]

Kodyn, on 09 August 2015 - 10:41 PM, said:

That's actually common practice for FPS games...or really any online game. If you don't have an amazing gaming rig, it's just practical. For instance I get really low FPS, so I kinda have to keep everything at lowest just to play. It's taught me to become a better player, that's for sure, knowing i'm seeing everything probably after it happened, but it's doable.

Yep. In League of Legends tournaments players turn down their graphics almost to the lowest setting so that they would not be distracted by useless particle effects. What use is graphics when you are genuinely trying to win?

Edited by El Bandito, 09 August 2015 - 10:51 PM.

[Aresye]

Pro-tip: While keeping your weapon groups limited to your primary and secondary fire, consider using your 3rd weapon group (if you have a 3-button mouse) to only be your arm-mounted weapons. This way you have a dedicated group to fire at things (ex: UAVs) outside your torso range without incurring more heat and/or possible friendly fire.

Pro-tip: Set your in-game mouse sensitivity down low. Start off with around .25 and work up from there if you need more responsiveness. Keep mouse smoothing and acceleration off. Alternatively, see if your mouse software comes with on-the-fly DPI shifting. Use a high DPI setting for twitch reflexes such as spreading damage & quick shots, and use a low DPI setting for lining up longer range shots. You'll encounter both situations in almost every game, so having the ability to switch between the two helps immensely!

[Speedy Plysitkos]

have to disagree on some points.

1) i dont know about Q3 players, but i personaly like to play at nice visual graphics, its important part of joy (games). So i will not recommend this.

2) again, part of point 1, i prefer to see some nice things on monitor, not grey boxes only.
The scaling in different mechs is unfortunatelly different in mwo, so in some mechs you didnt notice, you have there cockpit items, while in others it indeed takes some 15% of you visuals.

6) piantjob, makes you visible... well, dunno how others, but mechs should be unique. playing with the default green on all mechs, is more the mehhh...

[Kiiyor]

TwentyOne, on 09 August 2015 - 10:40 PM, said:

turning graphics to max low to perform better, really man? Tryhard to the max! WINNING IS THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!111!!11

Ok, I've decided I want you to narrate any future tutorials PGI implement.

@PGIPLS

[Widowmaker1981]

Odinvolk, on 09 August 2015 - 08:01 PM, said:

1. Regardless of what PC you have, set all graphics to low, disable all eye-candy such as AA, Damage Glow, V-sync, cockpit glass and everything-everything. But keep resolution to the best level your PC can cope with. Why? Because things like damage particles, missile trails, shiny lasers all obscure your vision. Having them all off improves your chances to maintain vision on the enemy. Frame-rate gains help too. High resolution gives you better vision over the field, but find a sweet spot where it does not affect game performance.

This pisses me off so damn much. Its true, and you should do it if you want to win.. but i dont have a ****-hot PC so i can play games that look terrible. I get like 80 fps with everything maxed and the game looks awful without particles especially set to high or very high. But it really, really annoys me when people i cant see keep shooting me because they turned their settings right down and half the stuff obscuring my vision is gone for them.

I think visability should be made artifically worse in lower settings. I dont give a crap about people with **** computers.

[Kodyn]

Widowmaker1981, on 10 August 2015 - 02:47 AM, said:

This pisses me off so damn much. Its true, and you should do it if you want to win.. but i dont have a ****-hot PC so i can play games that look terrible. I get like 80 fps with everything maxed and the game looks awful without particles especially set to high or very high. But it really, really annoys me when people i cant see keep shooting me because they turned their settings right down and half the stuff obscuring my vision is gone for them.

I think visability should be made artifically worse in lower settings. I dont give a crap about people with **** computers.

So you're essentially saying that you're selfish, don't want a large player base, and only want the game to run and play the way you want it?

So....find a single player, offline game?

[Johnny Z]

Cover = best armor in the game.

Light mechs with medium or short range, throw it in full forward and leave it there. Even long range light mechs cant afford to be hit standing still.

When in doubt, keep firing.

Learn to use arm lock.

Turn in game mouse sensativity to half of default and tune from there.

Dont over heat.

Edited by Johnny Z, 10 August 2015 - 03:44 AM.

[Widowmaker1981]

Kodyn, on 10 August 2015 - 03:07 AM, said:

So you're essentially saying that you're selfish, don't want a large player base, and only want the game to run and play the way you want it?

So....find a single player, offline game?

No, i just dont want to be disadvantaged by playing the game as it was intended to look. It shouldnt have to be a choice between looking nice and having gameplay advantages - i.e. instead of making the hard to render effects (smoke, explosions, etc) vanish at lower settings, they should just look crap instead - so settings your settings to low makes the game run faster, but DOES NOT GIVE YOU A GAMEPLAY ADVANTAGE.

Oh and you dont need to spend a fortune to have a good PC. You just have to build it yourself, not buy it from Dell (so you actually get good quality components). Mine is ~4 years old apart from the GFX card, and still runs this on max settings.

Edited by Widowmaker1981, 10 August 2015 - 03:49 AM.

[Johnny Z]

Widowmaker1981, on 10 August 2015 - 03:46 AM, said:

No, i just dont want to be disadvantaged by playing the game as it was intended to look. It shouldnt have to be a choice between looking nice and having gameplay advantages - i.e. instead of making the hard to render effects (smoke, explosions, etc) vanish at lower settings, they should just look crap instead - so settings your settings to low makes the game run faster, but DOES NOT GIVE YOU A GAMEPLAY ADVANTAGE.

Totally agree but maybe newbies dont know that low framerates means a bad match and no fun at all.