38 replies to this topic

[BigJeex]

Hello friends,

I'm new to MWO but have been thoroughly enjoying it. I'm a huge fan of armoured vehicles and have thousands of logged hours in over 30,000 games in World of Tanks, which I have been playing since 2011. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel like MWO is a superior game to WoT but here are a few of my ideas. I know it is comparing apples to oranges but I need to get this off my chest.

1. RNG ruins gaming and ruins lives
One of the most frustrating aspects of WOT is the complicated damage system. So many random number generating dice rolls happen to prevent your shots from doing anything. First you roll to see if your gun actually fires where your crosshairs are aimed, second a dice roll happens to see if your shot penetrates enemy armor and then another dice roll happens to see how much damage is inflicted. Mechwarrior is so refreshing because it bypasses all that B.S. and if you miss its because your aim sucks and you need to LRN2AIM.

2. No mindless grinding
I have less than 1000 games played so correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you can just purchase any Mech you want. In World of Tanks you have to grind 9 tiers of useless vehicles to get to tanks that are viable in Clan Wars. In MWO there seems to be a pilot skill aspect to the game but otherwise everyone is on the same tier of Mechs whether they are light, med, hvy or assault. You can just pick the ones you want and get them instantly (if you have the credits).

3. MWO spotting mechanics are realistic
In the fantasy setting of WoT you cannot see your enemies at all until they are spotted. They are just completely invisible and it is like they do not exist. In MWO you can see enemies thousands of metres away if you have sharp eyesight and could actually hit them if you have weapons that can reach that far.. even if they are not targeted by your weapon systems. It just makes so much sense its hard to go back to WoT after seeing what is actually possible.

4. Reasonable artillery
MWO handles artillery in a very nice way. You can outfit your Mech with Long Range Missiles and blast enemies that are lit by your team from the safety of the back lines but your missiles do reasonable amounts of damage and chip away at enemy armor and HP. In the World of Tanks tier 10 arty can completely one shot an enemy tank from full health if a lucky shot scores a penetrating direct hit. Being hit by a barrage of missiles in MWO isn't fun but is nothing like being completely obliterated by a talentless newb across the entire map like in World of Tanks. The airstrikes that happen in MWO are still mysterious to me, but they haven't been an issue.

5. MWO maps are better
Although the same choke points seem to be used over and over again, the map variation and change in daylight used by MWO is another breath of fresh air. Maybe its because I've played over 30k games but the WoT maps are stale and stagnant. Instead of bringing out new maps every patch Wargaming.net actually retracts and removes maps from circulation and it is unacceptable. I like the voting system in MWO and it's nice to pick your map. The largest maps in WoT are only 1,000m squared which is such a tiny combat arena.. and they are all square shaped maps. The large, unsymetrical maps in MWO seem organic, lively and unpredictable.

*6. Entertaining brawl-fests
It doesn't happen every game but it occurs much more frequently than it does in WoT: that moment when your team brunt force crashes into the enemy position and 24 mechs are brawling toe to toe for a furious few minutes. I've found my self grinning ear-to-ear at the intense carnage and it is what realtime player-vs-player MMO's are all about. In random public matches WoT generally consists of terrified mouth-breathers hiding the entire match and trying to CHAI-snipe their way to victory. These types of confrontations is the reason why I play.

*point added after a bit of thought

Conclusion
I've tried Warthunder ground forces and although it is very realistic it didn't capture my imagination. Some of my friends are currently playing Armored Warfare but I haven't tried it yet. I've purchased the Wolverine and Quickdraw bundle for MWO and am enjoying it very much.

If you have other suggestions or considerations please share with me, I am gathering my thoughts to produce a video about this subject for my YouTube channel, Aficionado & Friends.

Here's a replay of my best game to date, 3,000XP with a Wolverine 6K

Edited by Semjaza, 10 January 2016 - 06:37 PM.

[Johny Rocket]

I tried WOT for about 10 matches and deleted. About a 1000 matches on WT air campaign, tried the ground training and said naw.

[Johnny Z]

The only reason World of Tanks has players is because they havnt tried MechWarrior Online yet. I never played world of tanks because its lame. Tried World of Warships and its lame. Tried Warthunder and it is playeable or a few hours but is lame also.

MechWarrior Online needs ALOT of work still and is half a game but its way better than any other pure shooter out there. Easily.

The only competition MechWarrior Online does have at the moment is Planetside and that game doesn't have the staying power or potential MechWarrior Online has. Planetsides problems they will never address.

[RockmachinE]

I wouldn't even compare WOT to MWO. WOT is a simplistic point and click game. The 2 things that I hate, absolutely hate about WOT:

Tanks turning invisible if you fail a spot check. This kills immersion, it kills gameplay and its straight up dumb, one second you see a tank the other you don't. More like WTH?

Shells fly in a straight line. A.tank.game. where shells fly in a straight line...

Its a simple point and click game that pretends to do tanks, its straight up dumb.

[Novakaine]

Just think if we had a choice Battlemechs, Battle tanks and Aero Fighters.
Oh the joy.
Honey can I haz my credit card back now?

[Elizander]

Tier 3 World of Tanks was all I could do before saying 'no thanks'. Any game with a similar tier progression system is immediately taken off my radar.

[TheCharlatan]

Semjaza, on 10 January 2016 - 10:54 AM, said:

*snip*

First off, welcome to MWO and the MWO forums.

For me, there is one simple thing that just makes me prefer MWO to WoT: giant robots.
I've been playing MWO for a year, and i still get that "feel good" feeling every time i look at my side and see a Dire Wolf or an Atlas stomping nearby, throwing ordnance at the enemy.
I watch 5 minutes of WoT and i get bored.
I couldn't care less about gamplay: WoT just dosen't capture my imagination.

[RockmachinE]

Johnny Z, on 10 January 2016 - 11:12 AM, said:

The only competition MechWarrior Online does have at the moment is Planetside and that game doesn't have the staying power or potential MechWarrior Online has. Planetsides problems they will never address.

Ok I'm willing to get into a huge argument over this. MWO and Planetside are 2 completely different games and can not be comapred with each other, ever.

* MWO is an action simulator
* PS 2 is a MMO first person shooter

*MWO is an arena match maker game with a loby, a pseudo MMO
*PS 2 has a huge persistent world that players are free to enter, leave and roam around as they wish, a true MMO

*MWO does not require twitch skill
*PS 2 is a twitch based game

*MWO focuses a huge amount on mech customization and loadouts, its literally based on this
*PS 2 has loadouts, but they are not a critical element like in MWO


*PS 2 is the only true MMOFPS in history to have ever existed for a reasonable amount of time and attracting a decent playerbase (other then PS1 of course)
*PS2 is the only true MMOFPS that manages to put thousands of players on one huge world that includes infantry, vehicles and airpower
*PS2 broke the world record for simultaneous players in one map (1,158)
*PS2 is a unique game not rivaled by anything, ever. Devs have tried, all failed other then PS2.

I am a huge fan of PS2 and of MWO. They can not be compared at all, they are both good each in their own way and have separate flaws as well.

Please for the love of god do not compare a loby action simulator to a true massively multiplayer first person shooter. Its not fair to either game.

As for staying power. PS2 is one year older and has a much bigger playerbase.

Edited by Louis Brofist, 10 January 2016 - 11:29 AM.

[Y E O N N E]

One game has big cannons, lasers ,and particle accelerators.

The other one only has big cannons.

ggclose.

Also: MWO would be so much better if it was basically Planetside 2: BattleTech Edition.

[BigJeex]

Maybe it's because I don't know any better, but the one thing that erks me about MWO is the lack of melee combat. In WOT you can crash into an enemy tank for huge damage if you outweigh them but when I'm in a heavy mech I really really want to kick these little light tanks nipping at my heels for crippling damage. Is that going to be implemented in the future?

Or I'd like to take a huge axe or chain saw sword into the fight.

Edited by Semjaza, 10 January 2016 - 11:35 AM.

[TyphonCh]

Semjaza, on 10 January 2016 - 11:34 AM, said:

Maybe it's because I don't know any better, but the one thing that erks me about MWO is the lack of melee combat. In WOT you can crash into an enemy tank for huge damage if you outweigh them but when I'm in a heavy mech I really really want to kick these little light tanks nipping at my heels for crippling damage. Is that going to be implemented in the future?

Or I'd like to take a huge axe or chain saw sword into the fight.

My girlfriend's brother and I have been at arms about each of these games. I like mwo, he likes wot. Neither of us can convince each other to play the other. I did some digging and I after some deliberation I didn't want to play it, basically for all the reasons you stated in the OP. It just seemed dull, point and click, RNG crap, die instantly from invisible tank (WTF), etc. One f2p game is enough for me.

Anyway there were knockdowns in this game at one point but they were highly abused. Paul Inouye, PGI's lead design or whatever it is he does, got trolled hard by knockdowns in a game, and they got it on video. It's classic
https://youtu.be/4K2QF70H2hc

Also check Dragon Bowling. The one of two times Dragon's were meta. Hahaha

Edited by Team Chevy86, 10 January 2016 - 01:02 PM.

[Tamwulf]

About buying Mechs- ALL mechs are available for MC/real money. Not all mechs are available for C-bills (in game currency).

For example, the Marauder went up for pre-sale earlier last year for real cash- that was the only way to pre-purchase the mech. After it released, you could purchase it for MC, but you wouldn't get all the pre-release items (some modules, cockpit items, camo, titles/badges). Right now, the only way to get a Maruader is by using MC's.

At some future point, you'll be able to use C-bills.

World of Tanks... bah. MWO is way better! MWO is a bit grindy though, especially when you are trying to master a Mech chassis. If you are trying to make C-bills... my best advice is to just not worry about C-bills and play the game. You'll make money win or lose, and trying to grind out c-bills is just not fun. I mean, I'm currently broke trying to master Ebon Jaguars- refitting the Bravo variant for a good configuration. I need C-bills, but I'm not going to play MWO just to make C-bills. I'd rather look at my balance after a couple games and say "Cool! I can afford that Radar Derp module now!" or "eh, need some more matches."

MWO is way more fun when you go stomping around in your big Mech shooting stuff!

[John Archer]

TheCharlatan, on 10 January 2016 - 11:22 AM, said:

First off, welcome to MWO and the MWO forums.

For me, there is one simple thing that just makes me prefer MWO to WoT: giant robots.
I've been playing MWO for a year, and i still get that "feel good" feeling every time i look at my side and see a Dire Wolf or an Atlas stomping nearby, throwing ordnance at the enemy.
I watch 5 minutes of WoT and i get bored.
I couldn't care less about gamplay: WoT just dosen't capture my imagination.

How true!

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

It's been two years since I last played WoT. Back when it was obviously P2W with premium ammo, premium time giving preferable matchmaker, and premium tanks getting preferable matchmaker.

I wanted to like it because tanks. But nope. WG ruined that for me.

But anyways, yeah, MWO > WoT. For a lot of reasons. Mostly because the RNG nature of WoT is complete bullsh!t.

[Acehilator]

Grinding in WoT? Who cares, there are fun to play tanks for a lot of playstyles in all tiers over T3. Stop thinking that T10 is somehow the goal. It is not, just enjoy the trip. If you want to play WoT CW you got to have T10s true, but that is not for the faint of heart anyways, so...

Artillery whine? Get real and stop being lazy. It is the same as brawling in the open in an Assault Mech and complaining about "OP" LRMs.

Map variance? Yeah well, changes in the last year were not for the better (soft cover reduction + corridor style), but overall WoT map numbers/quality are so much better than in MWO its not even funny.

RNG? 1 out of 10 shots it is a problem, but you dont complain when it is to your advantage, so dont complain when it is your disadvantage.

Spotting system? Yeah could be better. But you can use it to your advantage too, so it pans out.

Point & click? MWO is WAY WAY worse with pinpoint accuracy at every range. I have no idea how anybody can even suggest that WoT is point & click with aim times and an aiming circle instead of a single aiming dot.

The armor system makes WoT so much more interesting to play and allows to carry harder, so for me WoT is the far superior game. I highly doubt I will ever reach the same amount of games in MWO (21.5k or something).

Edited by Acehilator, 10 January 2016 - 01:05 PM.

[Wolfways]

1) So you don't like realism. Fair enough.

2) You can buy (nearly) any mech you like but you still need to grind through three variants. Not as much grind as in WoT but it's still there. You also need to grind GXP for modules, grind for C-Bills, etc. It's not as obvious but it's still there.

3) While I like the radio system of WoT having a tank down the street suddenly vanish was always annoying and unrealistic.

4) LRM's are not artillery, they are a direct-fire weapon system that has the ability to be fired indirect that pgi has nerfed into the ground. There are artillery and air strike modules that players have been complaining about being "unfair" or "game ruining" forever.

5) If ugly maps are better...
At least the WoT maps give you a sense of scale. MWO maps are tiny for a game that has huge mechs, weirdly coloured, and bland. WoT maps also have a variety of cover/open space while MWO maps are just one lump of the same thing, you either get an open map (and there are only a couple of these) or a map with nothing but cover.
If you want to see great maps look on YouTube for Mechwarrior:Living Legends maps.

[Mcgral18]

I tried WoT once...I'm not sure how anyone can enjoy that PoS.

[Aiden Skye]

I prefer the Battetech lore and piloting futuristic war machines that we can only dream of in this age. If I saw a real functional Timberwolf invading earth in real life I'd squeal like a little girl with excitement!

[Totenxcx]

Agree on almost all the OP said, except arty is nowhere near as bad as it used to be (hitting tanks going full speed from across the map used to be a thing during closed beta).

Having played both WoT and War Thunder for years I would say that MWO trumps them in everything except graphics.

It's better regarding grind. Wot grind is horrible. War thunder grind used to be the mildest but has progressively been increased, both increased amounts needed for unlocking and decreasing rewards.

Balance wise, in MWO even if sometimes a mech is op you can still kill it, and it gets nerfed down relatively quickly. In Wot the nature of the game mechanics makes imbalanced tanks very toxic. The premium T-59 for example was just silly. Normally you play medium tanks carefully and flank, but with this you could literally just throw yourself at the enemy. As for war thunder, I don't remember a time where there wasn't at least one ridiculously broken plane and it would take a ridiculous amount of time and gnashing of teeth on the forums to fix them.

And not to go on for too long, I'll just say that the gameplay wise, MWO is the most fun. (except maybe war thunder planes at one point)

[SkaerKrow]

I've played World of Tanks for about five years, have three Tier Xs, and have spent hundreds of dollars on premium content. Let me tell you, the MechLab in MWO is better than just about everything in WoT (and I say that as someone who used to enjoy Tanks quite a bit).