25 replies to this topic

[AedanCousland]

Hello again. Another day, another question. Is this something I should be worried about? It seems incredibly arbitrary since I read it depends upon your Win/Loss ratio, and no matter how good you are, whether you win or lose is down to the team you're with and the position your Leopard drops you off. Is this an important thing or is it largely ignored?

[Cloves]

PSR is a trap. The matchmaker will try to fit you with folks of your own tier, thinking it reflects skill. It kinda does, but can be gamed, and folks can always be worse than thier tier or on thier way up and better. The PSR moves by match score primarily, modified by w/l. Get a 800 match score and your PSR will go up every game. Get a 250 and you will see a steady rise. Get a 50 and you will go down, probably slowly unless you are getting a bad w/l. You can game your matchscore, but raising your tier will only cause you to have to fight better opfor whilst carrying worse teammates. Ignore tier and work on personal performance, I guarantee your tier will go up.

[Barkem Squirrel]

If you are consistent then it will go up, and don't really worry about it. That being said, the game changes at the higher levels.

So Last year I was tier 5, then I got a new computer. Playing at less than 10 frames per second sucked. Notice that I am tier 1 now, so I have gone through the rise.

So when I started playing with the new computer it was like clubbing seals, why I practiced the basics in the training grounds and when I could implement that (sure seeing what I shooting at helped). I was flat out carrying matches by myself, literally in a medium hunting and killing the "C" lance by myself. The assault lance is normally the "C" lance for PUG matches. It really did not seem fair and that ended about when I hit tier 2. I went hyperagressive and generally chased the other team or at least broke them up. After tier 2 there is more positioning to the game and here is where I have seen more 12-0 stomps. Why players are better, know when to rotate out of the front, share armor and how to press attacks, inform which targets or crit and where.

Now how good was I, well with the old computer I could get into the top 10 or 20 for a few of the chassis or mech tournaments and that was at about 10 to 15 fps. Since then I got into the top 10 once with the Maddog, but I have not really participated or there has not been that many since then.

Instead of looking at your tier level watch your average match score for the different seasons that are I think they are a month long. I think that is a better way to track your performance than just your tier level.

Edited by Barkem Squirrel, 02 June 2018 - 09:33 AM.

[AedanCousland]

I'm ranked Tier 5. I know I'm better than Tier 5. I'm not suggesting I'm Tier 1 but I'm not bottom ranked despite it being years since I last played Mechwarrior games. Now I have two problems with this. In each match I set a series of goals for myself. Don't be the first to die, get at least one kill, and stay alive until the end regardless of that end being a win or loss. So long as I achieve those goals it's a win for me.

My first problem, when I'm with a team that supports each other I work well, I flank, I share armour, and I get kills. When I have a team that doesn't work together, I lose. The second issue is quite commonly a Lance (and this has just as much chance of happening to the other team) will be cut off from the rest of the company, invariably with the enemy team between us. That usually doesn't end well for that lance and so we lose. Both of these are completely arbitrary and out of my hands.

I'll give you a prime example from my last match. One of my Lancemates is engaging an enemy Assault. I move up to assist him and engage the enemy in my Assault to allow him to pull back for a moment. When I pull back to allow him a turn at taking the fire, he's nowhere to be seen, having buggered off to the other side of the map leaving me to fend off an enemy Assault and two lights on my own. I die, the match is lost and I'm penalised but it's not my fault. The other guy should have supported me, working as a team. This is not atypical and because of it I can't gain any traction to play with players who know what they're doing.

It really feels like this should be based upon kills and survivability not whether the game is won or lost. At least then it's a truer reflection of your personal skill.

Edited by AedanCousland, 02 June 2018 - 09:50 AM.

[Barkem Squirrel]

To get out of tier 5 I generally told the team what I was going to do, did it, but also called out targets and what part to shoot at. Using VOIP in game was the thing that took me two weeks to figure out after I got the computer. That single thing with being way more aggressive in playing caused me to rocket up from Low tier 5 through mid tier 3 very fast.

The funny thing was I could be in a griffin with LRMs TAG and one ML leading a charge and the other team would run and mine would follow. It was talk to them get some organization and go.

The army has a saying, "shoot, move, communicate." When I was an instructor for the vehicle computer systems, we kinda changed that to "communicate, move and then shoot."

Communication is the Key, especially at lower levels. Some people will at times call you out to make the calls as they remember you.

Edited by Barkem Squirrel, 02 June 2018 - 09:56 AM.

[Cloves]

AedanCousland, on 02 June 2018 - 09:34 AM, said:

I'm ranked Tier 5. I know I'm better than Tier 5. I'm not suggesting I'm Tier 1 but I'm not bottom ranked despite it being years since I last played Mechwarrior games. Now I have two problems with this. In each match I set a series of goals for myself. Don't be the first to die, get at least one kill, and stay alive until the end regardless of that end being a win or loss. So long as I achieve those goals it's a win for me.

My first problem, when I'm with a team that supports each other I work well, I flank, I share armour, and I get kills. When I have a team that doesn't work together, I lose. The second issue is quite commonly a Lance (and this has just as much chance of happening to the other team) will be cut off from the rest of the company, invariably with the enemy team between us. That usually doesn't end well for that lance and so we lose. Both of these are completely arbitrary and out of my hands.

It really feels like this should be based upon kills and survivability not whether the game is won or lost. At least then it's a truer reflection of your personal skill.

It is based on those things. W/L will modify the change, but it’s vastly weighted on how much damage you achieve, components you destroy, people you kill. Do those things and it will go up. Fail to do those things and it will go down. It does not change your tier in one game alone, sounds like you are out of the new player multiplyer. If you are tier 5 you have not been getting multikill games every game since you started, sorry but it is just not so. Don’t think they of it as a “bad player” label, think of it as a “new player” label. I am not currently in the top 60-80 percent of players ( I left for a long time, came back last month). Looking at the jarl’s list, best month I ever had was in the mid 90s but most of the time I am a middle of the road to bad player. I am tier 2 since when I play I play maybe 300 games a month. On start I burried myself deeeeeeep in tier 5, lowest 10% of performance, took a few months to pass 30%, then peaked in the 90s, fell for two months then quit in season 16. Tier 2 means I have good games and bad games, less that 12 consecutive months of play. If I keep at playing, I will hit tier 1. Better players can make new accounts and hit tier 1 in a month. I am better on average than some that have been tier one for multiple years.

-edit neither of those things are arbitrary and both are under your control. Are you on comms? Communication is influenced by you. Bad positioning is 100% under your control. Keep in mind that every other player faces the same challenges in quick play as you do, and take ownership of your performance.

Edited by Cloves, 02 June 2018 - 10:12 AM.

[AedanCousland]

Barkem Squirrel, on 02 June 2018 - 09:53 AM, said:

To get out of tier 5 I generally told the team what I was going to do, did it, but also called out targets and what part to shoot at. Using VOIP in game was the thing that took me two weeks to figure out after I got the computer. That single thing with being way more aggressive in playing caused me to rocket up from Low tier 5 through mid tier 3 very fast.

The funny thing was I could be in a griffin with LRMs TAG and one ML leading a charge and the other team would run and mine would follow. It was talk to them get some organization and go.

The army has a saying, "shoot, move, communicate." When I was an instructor for the vehicle computer systems, we kinda changed that to "communicate, move and then shoot."

Communication is the Key, especially at lower levels. Some people will at times call you out to make the calls as they remember you.

I only started a week ago, I barely know what I'm doing. Which is another major frustration because its difficult to learn when people aren't telling you what you need to do, and when you do something wrong, can only moan at you rather than explaining why you shouldn't do what you did.

[Cloves]

AedanCousland, on 02 June 2018 - 10:12 AM, said:

I only started a week ago, I barely know what I'm doing. Which is another major frustration because its difficult to learn when people aren't telling you what you need to do, and when you do something wrong, can only moan at you rather than explaining why you shouldn't do what you did.

Assaults are not recommended for new players. They carry a heavy burden when it comes to winning, and thier slow speed means mistakes are punished drastically. To be good in an assault requires knowledge of the maps and battle flow, both things a new player cannot have out of the box. I strongly recommend folks start in heavy mediums or heavy mechs to start, it will make success easier.

Edited by Cloves, 02 June 2018 - 10:37 AM.

[BWS2K]

Welcome to the game!

PSR can largely be ignored at this point in history. The veteran T1's are in general 'better' than the lower tiers but there are so many other variables that it's not helpful for representing anything. Have fun in the lower tiers and take your time to learn your 'mech, the maps and modes, how to communicate and call targets/focus fire, and develop situational awareness. PSR is not an experience bar, not everyone 'floats' through it to T1, and it isn't the sole measure of a good player. You can increase it by doing lots of things but the focus, at least for the first few months of play, should be the other things I mentioned - working as a team, phonetic alphabet, etc. I made a little video on PSR recently that might help to understand some of its nuances:

[Phoenix 72]

I could only reiterate what others have said, so the only thing I want to add is: Medium Mechs are a good point to start learning the game. Assaults require a completely different game play and it is easier to get the fundamentals of MWO down with Mediums, where not nearly as much is riding on your performance.

Eventually, you are going to get a number of Mechs anyway, of all the different weight classes, so you might as well try to get decent in all of them. After all, only if you know what they can and cannot do, you can effectively counter them.

[Cloves]

Also you will find very little transferable skill between any of the mech warrior games and this one, don’t set any expectations based on other games.

[Damnedtroll]

Sometimes you got yourself in an insane losing streak and you cannot change anything to get out of it. The best way in this situation is changing when you play. I'm in eastern north america and my best play time during the week is between 10am and 1pm, when most European player base are playing. Strangely I can have some pretty dependable teammates at these hours.

Found that weekend are chaotic and frustrating...

Edited by Damnedtroll, 02 June 2018 - 02:34 PM.

[justcallme A S H]

AedanCousland, on 02 June 2018 - 08:40 AM, said:

Hello again. Another day, another question. Is this something I should be worried about? It seems incredibly arbitrary since I read it depends upon your Win/Loss ratio, and no matter how good you are, whether you win or lose is down to the team you're with and the position your Leopard drops you off. Is this an important thing or is it largely ignored?

It has little to do with WLR and everything to do with how you perform in game. Yes a "win" gives you a good boost however in a loss, if you play well, it will still go up.

It matters every bit how good you are as to how fast you will climb.

Crank out games with 400 match score or more consistently, you'll basically be in T1 as fast as possible.



That said the way PSR is calculating right now is utter garbage so in terms of it saying how 'good' you are, well, it does an incredibly poor job of that.

[mailin]

The way PGI calculates PSR is really wonky. Don't worry about it. Have fun, get on comms if you can and if there is someone on comms listen to what they say. One more thing, PRESS R for every new target that you're going to hit.

GLHF and I hope to see you on the battlefield.

[Spare Parts Bin]

justcallme A S H, on 03 June 2018 - 05:32 AM, said:

That said the way PSR is calculating right now is utter garbage so in terms of it saying how 'good' you are, well, it does an incredibly poor job of that.

That is true, I am always trying new machines and new loadout. PSR is unaffected by FP standings.

[DJ Sikosis]

Well, at least you're aware of the PSR ... I had no idea when I started playing some 3 years ago, didn't know what I was doing, just having fun and drove my tier ranking into the ground. Never been able to get out of Tier 5 now, so basically I *always* play with "newer" players.

[Tarl Cabot]

Do not work worry about PSR/Tier, it can be frustrating. Be aware that even though PSR is made up of different actions, damage divided by half goes to the MS. So set goals, with damage being the easier one to aim for. 300-dmg means 150-MS + other actions.

• Lower tiers take AMS since you will tend to run into more LRMs mechs, primarily because lower tier/newer players have not learned how to effectively avoid/counter them.
  
• Front load your torso armor - 3-7pts (dependent on weight class) of armor on rear sections then max on front. Never shave armor from your torso areas, only on arms/legs if needed.
  
• Keep weapons to 2 types, ie ERML LL, AC10+ML. No need to have more weapon systems, especially starting out.
  
• Try to utilize heavies and meds first. Speed is life while also having enough armor and weapons to wear down your opponents without being one-shot (light) or being out flanked/left behind/out of position/etc in an assault.
  
• Mouse sensitivity in game. Turn it down to 0.1 to 0.3 to have smoother control over your mouse.
  
• Setup Toggle Torso Lock hotkey, so you can turn off to provide more range for arm mounted weapons then on to make to allow arm/torso weapons to be in sync.
  
• If using AA, do not use PostAA but FXAA to lessen performance hits.
  
• And just to repeat, do not worry about PSR movement. Play to have fun without doing things that may impede the enjoyment for the rest of your team, many things which, generally, are also against COC

Edited by Tarl Cabot, 04 June 2018 - 04:09 PM.

[BTGbullseye]

DJ Sikosis, on 03 June 2018 - 07:15 PM, said:

Well, at least you're aware of the PSR ... I had no idea when I started playing some 3 years ago, didn't know what I was doing, just having fun and drove my tier ranking into the ground. Never been able to get out of Tier 5 now, so basically I *always* play with "newer" players.

You need to learn about the joys of LRM boats... MCII-4 would be my first suggestion.

[TooDumbToQuit]

DJ Sikosis, on 03 June 2018 - 07:15 PM, said:

Well, at least you're aware of the PSR ... I had no idea when I started playing some 3 years ago, didn't know what I was doing, just having fun and drove my tier ranking into the ground. Never been able to get out of Tier 5 now, so basically I *always* play with "newer" players.

I also lost all of Tier 5 and was in Tier 6 for a very long time. I did not even know there was a Gold Bar.

And I lost Tier 2 last night so.

WINS do matter unless you can always do 800-1,000 damage and you do not really care about your "team".

I have heard WAY too many people mention using others as Meat Shields in QP and FW.

[Spare Parts Bin]

DJ Sikosis, on 03 June 2018 - 07:15 PM, said:

Well, at least you're aware of the PSR ... I had no idea when I started playing some 3 years ago, didn't know what I was doing, just having fun and drove my tier ranking into the ground. Never been able to get out of Tier 5 now, so basically I *always* play with "newer" players.

LikeUntoGod, on 04 June 2018 - 03:09 AM, said:

I also lost all of Tier 5 and was in Tier 6 for a very long time. I did not even know there was a Gold Bar.

And I lost Tier 2 last night so.

WINS do matter unless you can always do 800-1,000 damage and you do not really care about your "team".

I have heard WAY too many people mention using others as Meat Shields in QP and FW.

I have seen that behavior in both QP and FP. I see myself as part of a team, I want us to not only win but do good. Tier 5 or Tier 4 is just the writing on a cereal box.

Edited by Spare Parts Bin, 04 June 2018 - 05:21 AM.