26 replies to this topic

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

So after getting back into the game I realized that the majority of PUGs were cowardly, hiding behind walls the entire game rarely peaking to do damage as a team. I also found that in spite of this they would also listen to the orders of anyone who sounded like they knew what they were doing.

For the past few matches I've been rallying my squads by shouting (mostly typing with lots of caps) things like "TODAY WE CHARGE TO GLORY MEN" and "WHO WILL FOLLOW ME TO GLORY" and other warhammer 40k-esque lines to boost team morale and lead them into direct charges against the enemy all at once.

This strategy has been working very well each time the group followed, it works best if the leader is in an assault mech, doesn't fall in battle, and maintains completely seemingly suicidal bravery in his rushes into the enemy.

I'd like you guys to maybe try this out in your next solo drops, or maybe even in a 12 man full of atlases. We could probably turn around the whole sit in a corner until deathball kicks in meta. I remember once in CW one guy said to stay aggressive, some of the best advice I've gotten.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Dakota1000, on 13 August 2015 - 05:11 PM, said:

So after getting back into the game I realized that the majority of PUGs were cowardly, hiding behind walls the entire game rarely peaking to do damage as a team. I also found that in spite of this they would also listen to the orders of anyone who sounded like they knew what they were doing.

For the past few matches I've been rallying my squads by shouting (mostly typing with lots of caps) things like "TODAY WE CHARGE TO GLORY MEN" and "WHO WILL FOLLOW ME TO GLORY" and other warhammer 40k-esque lines to boost team morale and lead them into direct charges against the enemy all at once.

This strategy has been working very well each time the group followed, it works best if the leader is in an assault mech, doesn't fall in battle, and maintains completely seemingly suicidal bravery in his rushes into the enemy.

I'd like you guys to maybe try this out in your next solo drops, or maybe even in a 12 man full of atlases. We could probably turn around the whole sit in a corner until deathball kicks in meta. I remember once in CW one guy said to stay aggressive, some of the best advice I've gotten.

Every time I do that I get massacred by lights but I play only lrms for the most part. Then again, when I dont charge, I get games like I was last night with upwards of 926 damage lol

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Ah, I was running a direct fire King Crab, KO'd one of those little lights trying to hit me in the back then just turned and did the same to the next I saw. I guess leading a charge in an LRM boat might be a bad idea.

[Davegt27]

I say don’t charge flank

A Blind charge is not a good idea

[Dino Might]

I must admit, after playing thousands of matches primarily as a flanker and harasser, it's quite fun to get in something tanky and lead the charge. Sometimes I don't even fire that much, and I'm just busy rolling as much damage as possible while the rest of my team comes over the hill behind me. It's pretty satisfying to charge into a group of enemies, take one of them out while getting torn to pieces, while distracting the 7-8 other enemy mechs while your team pops up and wrecks them.

No mech does this with more style than the Atlas. I think the Zeus is better suited to the role, but it doesn't have the same "cool" factor.

[Scandinavian Jawbreaker]

I don't know about heroic charges but I've noticed that even a bad pug commander on VoIP can have a huge impact on the outcome.

[Funkin Disher]

Make's me wish my VoIP worked.

[Kiiyor]

A good charge, carried out from within the warm embrace of a good ol' fashioned deathball will almost always win the day, if you do it early.

If you lose momentum though, or if someone cowards out and reverses, it's all over. TTK means that a mech being focus fired from even two other mechs will evaporate near instantly.

Hence the hiding.

People lurk because outside cover, thar be monsters. GigaWhales that can remove every scrap of CT armour from most mechs with one volley. WubShees that can shear of a limb in one go while exposing the barest handful of pixels over the top of a hill, MetaCats that can cheerfully gut you while gracefully prancing away at mach4, DakkaCrabs that can render you senseless with a torrent of UAC5 round so intense that your relatives feel the shellshock, and a bazillion other mechs and loadouts based solely around shock and awe.

I always PUG cautiously - not because it's the best way to play, but because you can't trust anyone in a PUG to do anything that will put them at risk, and that includes backing up a push.

[Lynx7725]

ugrakarma, on 13 August 2015 - 07:11 PM, said:

I don't know about heroic charges but I've noticed that even a bad pug commander on VoIP can have a huge impact on the outcome.

Yes. Bad people on VoIP makes me really, really want to shoot them.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Kiiyor, on 13 August 2015 - 07:34 PM, said:

A good charge, carried out from within the warm embrace of a good ol' fashioned deathball will almost always win the day, if you do it early.

If you lose momentum though, or if someone cowards out and reverses, it's all over. TTK means that a mech being focus fired from even two other mechs will evaporate near instantly.

Hence the hiding.

People lurk because outside cover, thar be monsters. GigaWhales that can remove every scrap of CT armour from most mechs with one volley. WubShees that can shear of a limb in one go while exposing the barest handful of pixels over the top of a hill, MetaCats that can cheerfully gut you while gracefully prancing away at mach4, DakkaCrabs that can render you senseless with a torrent of UAC5 round so intense that your relatives feel the shellshock, and a bazillion other mechs and loadouts based solely around shock and awe.

I always PUG cautiously - not because it's the best way to play, but because you can't trust anyone in a PUG to do anything that will put them at risk, and that includes backing up a push.

It helps to be one of those monsters. The resounding dakka of my king crab may have been what got my team mates moving up, that and the yardsale warhorns blaring on each kill. The shock and awe had enemy mechs turning to run the moment I started spraying, sure made killing them easier.

[RoboPatton]

One of the reasons I like playing light so much, is pugs just sort of follow you. And if you spot the enemy the games unfold a bit smoother I've found.

Still no accounting for "bads".

[Speedy Plysitkos]

nothing can beat the feeling, when a match start and you see all arrows getting WIDE spreaded everywhere, during first 20 seconds. In that moment, you know, you cant do a **** with them. Zippo. Ill tried , and in 99% of this nobody listening ANY order or advice. PUGS are PUGS.

[Pjwned]

Leading a charge while being able to take somewhat of a beating is exactly why I bought and grinded out my VTR-9S, and after learning the hard way that an 80-ton XL assault mech is not quite as tough as I imagined when getting focus fired, I had a number of awesome games with it (after being a little more careful) where I was at the front of the fray blasting things apart and it was great seeing my team advance with me (usually) in those situations where I otherwise can't usually do much myself.

It's quite fun, I'm just kind of bitter that its jumpjets suck so much ass that the mech can't even get over small obstacles even with its huge XL engine, so I haven't played it for a little while after raging about that. I might play it more at some point because I do like it other than its jumpjets, and would definitely play if its jumpjets were buffed at least a little bit, but for now it's kind of benched.

Edited by Pjwned, 14 August 2015 - 02:23 AM.

[aniviron]

This is fun to do, but I have had much more of a mixed experience than you. It works pretty well in a 350+ King Crab or Warhawk on dense maps (frozen city, bog) and I'll do it 100% of the time on terra therma (you either win or you lose quickly and get to play a new map, win/win) but I'd guess that even when using both text and VOIP getting more than three people to follow me is a coin flip. I'd say that if I can get 5-6 people to follow me we win most of our games, but it's far from a sure bet, especially if the other team reacts well and scuttles away while chipping your armor off. It also relies on the people who didn't charge in actually forming up and pushing as well, hopefully from a different angle. Most of the failed charges come when the ones off in la-la land only get around to fighting after everyone in the push has already died, making two 12v6s which is an easy win for the enemy deathball.

[TwentyOne]

Dakota1000, on 13 August 2015 - 05:11 PM, said:

So after getting back into the game I realized that the majority of PUGs were cowardly, hiding behind walls the entire game rarely peaking to do damage as a team. I also found that in spite of this they would also listen to the orders of anyone who sounded like they knew what they were doing.

For the past few matches I've been rallying my squads by shouting (mostly typing with lots of caps) things like "TODAY WE CHARGE TO GLORY MEN" and "WHO WILL FOLLOW ME TO GLORY" and other warhammer 40k-esque lines to boost team morale and lead them into direct charges against the enemy all at once.

This strategy has been working very well each time the group followed, it works best if the leader is in an assault mech, doesn't fall in battle, and maintains completely seemingly suicidal bravery in his rushes into the enemy.

I'd like you guys to maybe try this out in your next solo drops, or maybe even in a 12 man full of atlases. We could probably turn around the whole sit in a corner until deathball kicks in meta. I remember once in CW one guy said to stay aggressive, some of the best advice I've gotten.

This is EXACTLY how I play with experienced teams in the team queue. Its a fun and effective tactic, and its something I would rather do, DESPITE LOSING, than hiding for 10 minutes trading lasers.

[Eboli]

Kiiyor, on 13 August 2015 - 07:34 PM, said:

A good charge, carried out from within the warm embrace of a good ol' fashioned deathball will almost always win the day, if you do it early.

If you lose momentum though, or if someone cowards out and reverses, it's all over. TTK means that a mech being focus fired from even two other mechs will evaporate near instantly.

Hence the hiding.

People lurk because outside cover, thar be monsters. GigaWhales that can remove every scrap of CT armour from most mechs with one volley. WubShees that can shear of a limb in one go while exposing the barest handful of pixels over the top of a hill, MetaCats that can cheerfully gut you while gracefully prancing away at mach4, DakkaCrabs that can render you senseless with a torrent of UAC5 round so intense that your relatives feel the shellshock, and a bazillion other mechs and loadouts based solely around shock and awe.

I always PUG cautiously - not because it's the best way to play, but because you can't trust anyone in a PUG to do anything that will put them at risk, and that includes backing up a push.

So true Kiiyor,

Although a PUGger myself I refuse to play that style of continuous hide and peek game. I am a brawler by nature and like to take it to the enemy or be there to try to stop push. Sometimes it works as my "team" is there to back me up, other times they just run away and let me go down blazing while they usually getting run down afterwards. Aggravating at times but also certainly rewarding.

Happy to be flexible in game play but you won't see me abandoning the front.

Cheers
Eboli.

Edited by Eboli, 14 August 2015 - 02:04 AM.

[Kiiyor]

Eboli, on 14 August 2015 - 02:03 AM, said:

So true Kiiyor,

Although a PUGger myself I refuse to play that style of continuous hide and peek game. I am a brawler by nature and like to take it to the enemy or be there to try to stop push. Sometimes it works as my "team" is there to back me up, other times they just run away and let me go down blazing while they usually getting run down afterwards. Aggravating at times but also certainly rewarding.

Happy to be flexible in game play but you won't see me abandoning the front.

Cheers
Eboli.

I'm one of those guys who will always move to protect the best interests of the group, but have absolutely ZERO compunctions about abandoning someone doing something stupid to their fate.

That DireWolf lagging two gridsquares behind, because he stops to shoot? He's Meat. If that same Dire is being left behind moving at full steam though, i'll absolutely cover them.

Those two mechs running off to do a flanking attack, then screaming over VOIP for support? Again, they're meat. Should've stuck with the group.

That WarHawk peeking against the entire enemy team and trading 2% in damage for 30% of his armour? It was nice knowing you, WarHawk.

Every now and again though, i'll drop with someone I recognize, and will follow them into hell out of a sense of forum comradery and sheer, morbid curiosity in equal parts.

"Hey, it's Sarlic in his Atlas! He's... charging. GLORY IT IS"
"Hey, Dogmeat! I shoot what you shoot!"
"hey, Matthew Ace! How goes it! I SHALL FOLLOW YOU INTO THE GATES O... Oh, I crap, I just mashed the wrong key and shot you in the back..."

I also make it a point to attempt to follow ANYONE who tries to take PUG command, or suggests a tactic. I think anyone with the stones to take the reins in a PUG deserves at the very least to have 10 minutes of my attention, no matter how stupendously idiotic the plan is.

[Eboli]

Yep,

Commonsense rules the day.

Last night on Tourmalene I was in an assault lance where 2 players decided to do an extreme "flank" from the get go and abandon the safety of numbers and move far away from where the majority of the friendlies were.

They got found out by lights and went down in flames while screaming for support and then saying how noobish the rest of the team was for abandoning them. ???

Anyhow, I have just turned off European server as an option. This is definitely the main source of frustrating games where people play the peek and poke and run away mentality. I swear MWO has played a role for my partial baldness as I pull my hair out in frustration.

Been here since Closed Beta and I think I am at the point of wanting to get into proper group play...

Cheers!
Eboli

[Paigan]

Dakota1000, on 13 August 2015 - 05:11 PM, said:

[...]
For the past few matches I've been rallying my squads by shouting (mostly typing with lots of caps) things like "TODAY WE CHARGE TO GLORY MEN" and "WHO WILL FOLLOW ME TO GLORY" and other warhammer 40k-esque lines to boost team morale and lead them into direct charges against the enemy all at once.
[...]

If I read such sentences in a match, I would consider them to be a joke and not follow them at all, mentally flagging the guy who wrote them as a clown and/or disquieter.
I consider anyone getting an actual boost to morale from such a joke to be a child.

But maybe that's just me (and/or being european. There are significant mentality differences between europe and america as I have learned here in the forums)

[LordBraxton]

+1 to OP and -1 to all detractors. I ALWAYS take the vanguard position in my EXE now. I don't just yell 'chaaarge.' but I constantly edge forward, and eventually commit. Occasionally Ill look back from cover at my teammates and glare at them with my angry koala face. If my team is cowardly I still get 300-400 damage and a kill. If my team pushes I get plenty of 4-6 kill 800-1000 damage games. Over 500 matches its evened out to a 2.0 kdr and 450~ damage average. I play a lot of group queue, but even my own unit just cant summon the balls sometimes.

Edited by LordBraxton, 14 August 2015 - 04:18 AM.