34 replies to this topic

[el piromaniaco]

Just play and have fun (or at least try too).
I do that about a year now, had too many mechs to be any good in any of them so i was T5 when the PSR was introduced (some months ago). I still try to unlock all the skills on all my mechs, so as soon as i start having high enough MS to rise in PSR regardless of Win or Loss i switch Mech and start again.
But slowly i made it to T4 and somewhat faster i progress to T3 eventually (at the O of INFO right now).
The better you play, the better you know your mech, the maps, basic tactics (flanking, scouting, UAV use, etc.) the basic "skills" (aiming, torso twisting, shooting the weak spots, etc) the more fun you have and the faster you'll rise and get to play against "better" players eventually.

TLDR:
Nice to have you here, play, have fun, it get's funnier and better, hope to fight with or against you soon.

Greetings

el piro

Edited by el piromaniaco, 16 February 2016 - 08:41 AM.

[SilentFenris]

Smidjun 1, on 16 February 2016 - 07:25 AM, said:

So far I haven't heard anything here that suggests this is anything other than a first person shooter.

Teams are NOT a required part of this, especially in quick play. I will see what happens as my "tiers" go down ( although I still do not see any REAL benefit to the concept ), but I cannot imagine being in a different tier will change the behavior that is abundant on the servers (very laggy servers I might add).

People are still not gonna follow your orders just because you pushed the right button.
Won't keep people from barking orders without even pushing the right button and expecting them to be followed.
Won't keep them from backing into you when the shooting starts or shooting you in the back as they start off and test their weapons! Won't keep them from thinking that because they went and bought this huge mean clan mech that they are the Lone Wolf Solo Heroe of the game because they did 4000 damage. No accunting for the 7 men or mechs your team lost (and in earlier versions would have required you to pay for repairs and replacements giving the need to work together some purpose), or the fact that very often the primary mission is tossed just so they can kill everyone.

Perhaps at lower tiers the tactical genius level is higher though I can't imagine the people I'm playing with getting any smarter, since after about a month and a half of seeing many of the same names I see them doing the same silly shtuff! And very surprisingly I have found Faction play to often (not always) go on the same way.

I have on several occasions tried to take command on the simple basis of the Lance. Cat herding is not fun and was a 50/50 crap shoot on the wins losses. Sometimes I had 1 or 2 that worked with me, but for the most part it was a lost cause.

Just frustrated I guess. Insanity = Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
The game (or the people in it) just makes you want to pound the key board sometimes.

Not sure if my experience will make you feel better or not. I'm part of a small unit of "weekend warriors"; only half a dozen regularly active members. Even on the days where we do get a team of 6 mechwarriors in a match together we don't coordinate because:
a) mech-builds/dropdecks are not coordinated
b) play-styles differ greatly
c) most of us are more accustom to playing solo then coordinating with a team

As you said, it is akin to herding cats. If I can't get 5 other players who I've played with regularly to listen and work together, how can you manage a team of 11 players you've never played with to listen?

The answer is b) "play-style". In a Solo Quick Play match the team lucky enough to get a large group of like-minded players who are willing to coordinate rather than a bunch of "Lone Wolf Solo Heroe" players you mentioned is the team that has the advantage.

You can't control whether or not these types of players are on your team, but you can find out whether you have anyone willing to cooperate by chatting with your team early in the match. If you don't have anyone willing to cooperate, accept it and figure out what to do expecting no help from your team.

Playing with a group is a totally different story then the solo queue. Even a 4-mech team that uses VOIP and coordinates well can be a game-changer. As I said before, my unit gets thrashed when we're up against a practiced team.

**EDIT addition**

To tie back into the original post and topic. I believe the players willing to coordinate with their team will have a higher win/loss ratio, and as a result will advance faster in PSR than another pilot with similar technique and mech-builds who is not willing to coordinate. On the flip-side, those players with high kill/death stats may not have as high a PSR because they take more losses due to failure to coordinate well with their team.

As a side note, coordinating well with the team sometimes means not doing the best thing for your kill/death ratio and instead doing what will get the team a win. Example: as sacrificing yourself to hold off a cap instead of chasing after that damaged raven for a kill.

The ideal teammate/pilot would have a high K/D ratio, high W/L ratio and high PSR. Ideal situations rarely exist, most of us focus on one of those three. Just don't forget, it's a game, so have FUN!

Edited by GrayFenris, 16 February 2016 - 09:35 AM.

[Whitey On The Moon]

..so after a long break, I'm playing again and I'm finding that if I wantto play a light in the scout/support role that I enjoy playing I'm just going to have to get used to tier 5.
I've always enjoyed the satisfaction that comes from keeping an op-for light from coring the backside out of an assault or heavy but that meta just doesn't seem to be making the difference in the w/l collum, so my PSR seems stagnant ATM.
For myself, I'm going to continue to play and eventually join a unit, because I love the BT universe and games and I know my skill lvl will improve to where it once was in my MW2 & MW4V days, regardless of how it effects my PSR.
BUT in an instant gratifaction society I'm not sure how the PSR system will effect new player longevity when the biggest determining factor to PSR is win / loss..

[Vlad Striker]

8 killing blows at high tier is fantastic. So spend your time wisely

[Omaha]

TIERS R EVERYTHING!!!


GET ON MY LVL!

LoL, Sorry guys had to. Just take pride in yourself, who cares what everyone else thinks. Work together as a team, and win BIG!

[Jiffy]

I've definitely found that tiers don't matter an awful lot. As my tier has gone up, the average skill hasn't seemed to improve dramatically, just that the ceiling for the most skilled players you might run into is higher. Nascar is still pervasive, cookie cutter strategies are typical, and assaults often get left behind to die. No matter what tier you are, you'll see horrible plays and the occasional great play. It all just depends on how well your team works together. I also don't find that I have a tendency to play any worse at T1 than I did at T3-- I think the difference is really negligible.

[B0oN]

My personal goal : LEG EVERYONE, EVER !
If that fails ... HEADSHOTS ONLY

Too bad my DC (DropCommander) calls for specific components ....

Edited by Rad Hanzo, 17 February 2016 - 06:52 AM.

[AdamBaines]

Smidjun 1, on 02 February 2016 - 07:19 PM, said:

I often see a great deal of great ideas and suggestions here in the forums, so it baffles me when I play the game and see people do the same thing over and over......

Unfortunately, many players do not come to the forums. I'd say very few come on the regular.

[el piromaniaco]

Many of the MechWarriors are not ForumWarriors.
Often those who don't want to discuss their opinion or view on tactical decissions or life in general.

So the bunch of self-centered idiots you had as a team in the last match will never read your rant, never read any suggestions on how to make it better and therefore will keep on doing the same stupid things over and over again.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

DrkFx, on 16 February 2016 - 12:43 PM, said:

one thing they should NOT be for is comparing. this game should be for having fun, not to have a pissing contest about who is a better pilot.

Ultimately I agree it should be about having fun, but fundamentally this is a competitive game.
Further, for some (maybe too many) the competitive aspect of the game is primarily what they find as fun.

Im guilty to an extent. This game took a long time to click with me. I dropped all the way to about the lower 1/5th of tier 5. Personally, that was quite frustrating consider my experience (and relatively high success) in other shooters, including previous mechwarriors.

Then the game started to click for me, and I continue to climb up the tiers. However, at this point I have lost a good deal of interest in the meta and "best practices" approach to the game. So I spend about half my time using anti-meta and troll builds just for the lolz. It is not helping my stats at all, but now that I know I can hang with all the hot shot try hard pilots, I honestly dont care very much anymore.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

DrkFx, on 17 February 2016 - 03:05 PM, said:

i kind of meant comparing to the point where it makes you angry, you know what i mean? if you can take it in stride and have fun with it, that's one thing. there are some guys that get mad and frustrated instead of trying to learn. they try to convince themselves and others that they don't suck and that it's the game's fault or other PUG's fault.

Oh those are my favorite. The "it was everyone's fault but my own" excuse is my favorite, right after the OP accusers.

[Smidjun 1]

Every game is a "pissing contest". It is the nature of males.
The biggest problem I see here is that the developers went with the least work for best money concept and the game got left behind.

I will keep playing the simple stuff here, but this game will not get better. It will fade into the history as a failed game.

[The Basilisk]

Smidjun 1, on 02 February 2016 - 07:19 PM, said:

I often see a great deal of great ideas and suggestions here in the forums, so it baffles me when I play the game and see people do the same thing over and over, sometimes winning and sometimes losing.
Granted this is quick play I am talking about so for what it's worth wile these tactical suggestions are great here on paper, out there on the battlefield things are quite different.
When the shooting starts it becomes Ants in the rain! Mechs backing into team mates or running into a team mates line of fire and stopping. No one wants to take command because "no one ever listens" but will expect everyone to listen when they just start barking commands during combat. Not that clicking a commander button gives you any tactical sense or me any reason to follow your lead.
"Stay together" usually means "keep up with me", I can't understand why they cant stay with me at my blazing 64.8 kph, but I keep hoping they will catch up!
My point is it It's just a 1st person shoot - em - up that doesn't generate confidence in the leaders, or trust in your fellow warriors.
A pug is NOT your friend.

One of the things most "tryhards" ( yes its inflamatory and a bit exaggerated ) simply ignore and also don't want to hear is that there are LOTS and LOOOOOOTS of ppl who just want to play.

There is no need discussing this insert "... but why would i play this if not for wins ... etc pp and stuff and arguments and reasons...." )
If you don't understand this its fine you are not needed to understand just advance in tier and be done with it.

PPL want to get home from work, drink a beer or (*insert beverage of your likes*) and shoot and blow up things.
Thats it. They do not care for performance team and other ppls cravings for winning or what not.
Just advance and thats it.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Wish there was a module that lowered PSR

[JuggernautAlpha]

My opinion is that PSR is useful to the game. I am glad PGI included it as part of the ranking system. Can you really make a judgement about skill in a single game? Not really. I would propose it takes hundreds of games.

PSR helps separate players who make big mistakes every game from players who make minor mistakes once every few games. A tier 5 match is much more forgiving than a tier 2 match and it should be. Personally, I enjoy the tier 2 matches much more than the tier 5 matches.

When I started playing the game, I didn't pay attention to the PSR rating. I just experimented and played. I tried to find a mech chasis I liked and I experimented as much as possible until I found what I was good at. I found I had the most fun playing the medium class and I started to complete master skills for my favorite medium and assault mechs. I began to make fewer mistakes and I started having extra cbills to buy weapon modules and buy more mechs to play with.

Eventually, I settled into the medium mech I enjoy and I generally only play games with this mech. Then I quickly watched the bar go from tier 3 to tier 2 rapidly. I don't play any other mech right now, just the same one. This means I typically always stay yellow on a loss and I'm almost always green in a win. And my PSR seems to move steadily. In total, I have about 1500 games in all mechs combined with about 90% win/loss. In the single mech I am playing, I have about 600 games played and a 1.0 win/loss and a 1.5 kdr.

If I want to experiment with another mech or play another of my favorite chasis, my contribution to the team is much weaker than the primary mech I typically play. I'm a tier 2 player in my best mech and I'm probably still a tier 4 player in my worst mech.

I used to make a small fortune in tier 3 (400-500K cbills on a high payout), but when I went to tier 2, I don't make the same level of cbills (300K on a high payout). Even if I still have the same level of play against good players, there are just other good players who are playing there too so the rewards are harder to get and the money is less overall.

I figure I will reach tier 1 in a month or two, my tier 2 bar filled up about 25% in a week, but I'm not really tracking it. However, I try to improve each match and try to find better ways to win each game.

Some generic observations:

Tier 5 - no comment

Tier 4 - most mechs are not mastered, limited modules equipped, out of 12 players, large amount are still learning the game mechanics, but learning to improve damage, position, mech role, mistakes are forgiving

Tier 3 - a mix of mastered mechs, players have spent cbills for modules, much more time spent in game piloting a single mech so fewer mistakes, players who have mastered damage, position, and mech role will shine

Tier 2 - games begin to become won/lost faster than tier 3 and 4, less cbills earned per match (noticeable change), lack of scouting or a bad position can become instantly deadly for a player, high assumption all players have balanced armor, weapons, modules, and experience to optimize mech performance, mistakes are unforgiving (you die or lose 40% of your armor for the rest of the game), still a general lack of leadership/communication in quick play (i saw more people willing to talk in tier 4)

Tier 1 - no comment

Final thoughts:

Each 12v12 game has a clutch moment. A single moment in time when the match was won or lost, but the destroyed mechs or damage might not have happened yet. This can often be the moment of the 'push' or it can be the moment when one team has a superior position or a UAV that won the game. It can also be the moment when 2 players made a mistake of walking around a corner or 2 players didn't know how to spread damage and they didn't help absorb some damage for the rest of the team. Clutch moments can be very noticeable or they can happen more slowly. Make it your goal to be "in the clutch" every single game (in a positive way). Don't be hiding in the back when your team needs you, don't be selfish and chase mechs that aren't important to the match, and don't be afraid of dying. If I lose a game or if I die in a match, but I know I was fighting my role and I was involved in the "clutch moment", then whatever happens, I know I did the best I could regardless of what anyone else says. Timing is everything.

In general, I would say I play the role of a striker/skirmisher. I'm not going to lead a push. I have to avoid damage to survive towards the end of the match. I have to avoid being the initial target damaged by the other team. However, once it is clear the positioning of the enemy, I can begin to quickly respond to situations. I support with extra damage to the enemy at critical moments, I can seek engagements where I can maximize help to my team and avoid damage, I also help finish weakened mechs, and protect slower mechs from light mechs, etc. There are times when I end a game badly b/c my weapons are 400m or less and most of the game is spent with 800m exchanges in a map like alpine peaks and our team position is bad. However, there are similar games when I patiently wait and I can help win the game because I have fresh armor and I can show up to damage weakened mechs before they hurt the weakened mechs on our side. I repeat timing is everything.

To tie this all back into PSR, I wouldn't have learned the right skills without going through the process from tier 4 to tier 2. I needed to do consistent damage, on different maps, with different players, win or lose in each match, and for a long period of time. However, if I was constantly jumping from one mech to the next, I think I would still be in tier 4 since I wouldn't have the experience of playing games in a single mech and how to apply that knowledge to continue to improve.