12 replies to this topic

[WolfEagle1]

I played MW4 back in the day and just stumbled across MWO! Jeez, how could have I have not known? Anyway, I haven't downloaded the game yet as I recently started WOT on XBone so I don't have the time to jump into another MMO right now but I do have some questions.

1) WOT has a large and active player base on the consoles, where is MWO in it's lifecycle? Growing, stable, declining?

2) How is matchmaking handled in MWO? Based on tiers or skill levels or...?

3). Are Premium ($$$) Mechs generally better than their "free" equvalents or slightly nerfed?

4) back in the day I used a multi-button programmable stick and separate throttle controls for MW4. What are the cool kids using nowadays for controllers? Specific recommendations?

5) how is the forum community? Helpful, snarky, ghost town except for the die hards?

Thanks in advance for responses!

[segeri9]

Welcome to the fold, wolfeagle. Let me try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.

1. I would probably say it's fluctuating between stable and declining, depending on who you'd ask. Personally, things are at a good state at the moment, save for the Community Warfare. (Think of it as hardcore war between the entire player base, where wins will actually net you territory in the innersphere and such). It's still a bit skewed in my opinion for those who aren't part of a good clan.

2.Right now they're experimenting with tier based match making separated into regions (America, Europe, Oceanic). It also ties in which weight class you'll be using since they try to level things off with a 3/3/3/3 team when possible. so for example, if 50% of the current players are using heavies, then it will take a while to load a match because they don't want too many heavies in a team. in contrast, if only 15% are dropping in lights, you have a quicker chance of getting into a match.

3. premium mechs aren't always better. in fact, most are simply there because they have unique loadouts. e.g. all non-premium stalkers are energy/missile mechs. but the misery is the only one armed with a ballistic hardpoint in the torso. Not necessarily OP, but holds off quite well in the field. But then there are also those which are fairly lackluster. I can't name which ones at the moment but I'm sure people can give you advice on that.

4.From what I've heard from players, joysticks are a bad idea. Best recommendation is a multibutton mouse with maybe 5 or more buttons for weapon groups. You can still work with a regular mouse, but it helps to be able to fire groups 4-6 from your mouse with ease.

5. As for the forum community, especially here at the new mechwarriors forum, they're more often than not a friendly bunch who'd jump straight in to help. Some even are willing to teach hands on and have a few good video tutorials here and there.

So to wrap things up, I'm sure other people will be able to pitch in their 2cents worth. The learning curve is a little steep, but do the training missions and don't hesitate to ask for help. maybe even join a clan with a good bootcamp training program. so just have fun and good luck. see you on the battlefield, mechwarrior.

[The Trumpet of Gabriel]

Hi WolfEagle1,

1.) I would say it is fairly stable at the moment. They are working toward an eventual Steam release so we'll see what happens then.

2.) Matchmaking is determined by your pilot skill rating "PSR." New players start out as tier 4 and can move up or down based on a combination of your win/loss ratio and in game match score.

3.) For the most part premium mechs are no better or worse than mechs purchased with in game currency.

4.) Mouse and keyboard are the way to go.

5.) Depends on the day and what the topic of the post is. For the most part though people are helpful to new players.

[Leone]

1) From what I've seen MWO is a growing, stable game with some slight decline from people who expect AAA quality from a company offering a free to play game.

2) Matchmaking is a horrendous affair based on how well you do, according to the games scoring, and whether or not your team wins. A decent light pilot might end up on tier five, the lowest available, due to lights having in general, lower damage numbers, and because the game cannot count the hidden benefit of distracting four mechs during the initial brawl to decide the fate of the game. But for the most part, it tries to give you even odds across all your games.

3). Premium Mechs are different. Not better, or worse, unless the different hardpoint options are better or worse for you. Oh, and they give you a money bonus. So better for grinding, different for actual gameplay.

4) Apparently the cool kids build thier own mechpit. http://mwomercs.com/...57#entry2198157

I recommend the mouse and keyboard approach before you decide to go hog wild though.

5)We're a helpful, snarky, ghost town. Except for the die hards. Wee!

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 12 October 2015 - 06:00 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

WolfEagle1, on 12 October 2015 - 05:16 PM, said:

I played MW4 back in the day and just stumbled across MWO! Jeez, how could have I have not known? Anyway, I haven't downloaded the game yet as I recently started WOT on XBone so I don't have the time to jump into another MMO right now but I do have some questions.

WELCOME ABOARD! Please, DO download and try it out. It's F2P after all!

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1) WOT has a large and active player base on the consoles, where is MWO in it's lifecycle? Growing, stable, declining?

No console presence yet, and I really wouldn't know if it's on the horizon or not. As for the game, I'd say it's stable. Had some surges over the last couple years, and has its seasonal swings. I think we're at something like 30k or 40k players right now, not counting the inactive accounts that don't log on at least once or twice a month. I COULD be mistaken, though.

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2) How is matchmaking handled in MWO? Based on tiers or skill levels or...?

Tiers, which are in turn based on skill levels. The system's been in place for a bit, and the actual tier for each player has only recently been made known to us. It's like this:

Things you do in a match are worth points. Those points are tallied up at the end of a match to give you a match score. Based on the outcome of the match (win or lose) and your match score, you may move up or down or not at all, but just a little. It's possible to RISE a little in overall tier rating for a LOSS, assuming you did particularly well (400+ match score in a solo queue drop loss, at present, IIRC). We're told it's possible to FALL in tier rating, if only slightly, for a particularly awful performance in a WIN, too. Anyhow, a given match may produce one of the following results for your overall Player Skill Rating (PSR): Major reduction, Minor reduction, No change, Minor increase, Major increase. Again, it depends on the match outcome and your individual performance. You'll get, I think, a half-point for each point of damage you do, so many points each for kills and kill assists, points for spotting and scouting, and so on. 200-ish is average in the lower tiers for a performance in a win.

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3). Are Premium ($$$) Mechs generally better than their "free" equvalents or slightly nerfed?

Not really. At least, not as a general rule. Some are pretty good, some are junk. What they offer can't be too significantly better than the other variants of that same chassis, or the cries of P2W could lead to mutiny. Neither buffed nor nerfed. Different, but generally equal.

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4) back in the day I used a multi-button programmable stick and separate throttle controls for MW4. What are the cool kids using nowadays for controllers? Specific recommendations?

I use a decade-old Nostromo N52 for my left hand, and an every-day Logitech trackball for my right. That works out just fine for me. I'd forego the specialized controller and focus on mouse and keyboard, especially if you've become accustomed to a console controller.

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5) how is the forum community? Helpful, snarky, ghost town except for the die hards?

Yes.

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Thanks in advance for responses!

Any time, homie.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Welcome to MWO.

1. As you've already seen, you'll get different answers as to the state of the game. I judge game stability this way: I see comments from players both in game and in the forums looking for help. That tells me people like yourself are still finding the game. Just today, I spoke to a customer on a tech support call that mentioned he played video games. I told him about MWO and he got all excited because he played both Table Top and MW titles when he was a kid. He didn't know MWO existed until I told him about it. There are also many long time players active in the forums. I would vote "Stable".

2. Matchmaking is OK. I've seen my own matches stabilize since PSR was introduced. This is a relatively new matchmaking attempt by MWO. I doubt everyone will ever be 100 percent happy with any matchmaking tool, there will always be haters. But I think PSR is an improvement.

3. As others have said, the premium mechs are no better than the other variants purchased with in game currency. They're just different. Different hardpoints and camo patterns. In many cases, they are actually considered to be inferior to the standard variants. They do provide a 30% boost to earnings. The early release mechs (mechs you purchase prior to release) are like buying the proverbial "pig in a poke". Prior to release you really don't know how well they will perform, so buyer beware. Sometimes you get a real winner, like the Timberwolf, but when the mech is released for in game currency, they can be nerfed because PGI deemed them "too powerful". Some will argue this is pay to win. I consider it "pay for early access".

4. I use keyboard and gaming mouse. (Although I'm neither "Cool" nor a "Kid")

5. Very helpful. There are the "regulars" that keep up with new player questions, Koniving, IraqiWalker, Rogue Jedi, and others. I think they are the typical welcoming committee. I will pop in occasionally. They are very helpful.

Again, welcome to MWO. The game has a huge learning curve, so don't get frustrated and give up. Feel free to ask questions in the forums. We'll do what we can to help.

[WolfEagle1]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated. As far as keyboard/mouse vs joystick/throttle. I remember playing MW4 when it first came out and I sucked with the keyboard/mouse. I have a game chair set up for iRacing that can be easily reconfigured for piloting and mutilple sticks. In fact I still have the controllers I used to play MW4 - they use keyboard emulation so no software needed to map the buttons. I'll be back once I get ready to jump in. Happy hunting until then.

[WolfEagle1]

Well, I did some reading on the forum about the problems with MWO and joystick aiming. That's a shame. It looks like a programmable throttle for the left hand and the mouse for the right is the closet I can get to the sim set-up I had for MW4

[mailin]

Yeah, I used a joystick for the MW games, but this one really does work best with a keyboard and mouse, although there are some diehard mechwarriors that do use a joystick but they are the exception, not the norm.

I must agree with everything that has been said previously. Download the game and give it a run. Just so you know, the game and initial patch is HUGE.

[Cupid and Psyche _]

WolfEagle1, on 12 October 2015 - 05:16 PM, said:

I played MW4 back in the day and just stumbled across MWO! Jeez, how could have I have not known? Anyway, I haven't downloaded the game yet as I recently started WOT on XBone so I don't have the time to jump into another MMO right now but I do have some questions.

1) WOT has a large and active player base on the consoles, where is MWO in it's lifecycle? Growing, stable, declining?

2) How is matchmaking handled in MWO? Based on tiers or skill levels or...?

3). Are Premium ($$$) Mechs generally better than their "free" equvalents or slightly nerfed?

4) back in the day I used a multi-button programmable stick and separate throttle controls for MW4. What are the cool kids using nowadays for controllers? Specific recommendations?

5) how is the forum community? Helpful, snarky, ghost town except for the die hards?

Thanks in advance for responses!

1) The population MWO is slowly growing. Occasionally, it stagnates, but I would say there is a trickle of new players.

2) Matchmaking is not the best. They recently implemented a new system: PSR.

3) No. The game is not pay-to-win in the slightest, but there is a huge grind. The majority of the best 'mechs can be earned in game for no real-world money

4) No idea- I use keyboard and mouse (Logitech G300S mouse)

5) Forums are active. Occasionally they get vile, but it is pretty good on the most part. A lot better than reddit.com/r/mwo

[Rogue Jedi]

I used a joystick for MW3 and 4, and have tried HOTAS and Joystick for MWO but keyboard and mouse work better for this game

[Koniving]

WolfEagle1, on 13 October 2015 - 02:24 PM, said:

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated. As far as keyboard/mouse vs joystick/throttle. I remember playing MW4 when it first came out and I sucked with the keyboard/mouse. I have a game chair set up for iRacing that can be easily reconfigured for piloting and mutilple sticks. In fact I still have the controllers I used to play MW4 - they use keyboard emulation so no software needed to map the buttons. I'll be back once I get ready to jump in. Happy hunting until then.

Past MW games were simulators with simulator-esque controls. (Mouse was just aim. Separate buttons for torso twist left/right; very complicated control scheme).
This MW game...is not. It uses the typical WSAD keys for legs with mouse for torso. Literally it's almost identical to World of Tanks and War Thunder in terms of controls...and actually a bit simpler.

[Kyynele]

I actually bought a HOTAS set when I was starting out with MWO, remembering how good those were with the old MW titles. It's absolutely terrible to use in MWO. For a few days I used the throttle + mouse combo, but if you're serious about doing well, you'll likely end up just using the boring old keyboard and mouse. The game just works best with those.

The HOTAS set fortunately is wonderful with Elite:Dangerous, so the money wasn't completely wasted.