7 replies to this topic

[Nightmare1]

Disclaimer: Results vary by individual.

Okay, some Unit buddies and I had a conversation earlier in the week about grinding for C-bills and which mode is most effective for it. I stated that I felt like I obtained the most C-bills in the pugging queue while someone else said that CW provided the most. It got me to thinking and I decided to math it all out. To date, I've simply been going with my gut, but what if I was wrong? I know that CW rewards are nice, but I always felt that the time it took to get them and the small number of matches you could play were handicaps too large to overcome by these earnings.

So, I've been collecting data each time that I played MWO. I recorded my earnings for each match along with the start and end times for when I played. I also noted whether or not I was using Premium Time or Hero Mechs. This is what I found:

Group Queue:
Average earnings: 279.77 C-bills/second
Average matches: 4.66 matches/hour
Premium Time, no Heroes.

Solo Queue:
Average Earnings: 294.03 C-bills/second
Average matches: 6.46 matches/hour
Premium Time, no Heroes

CW on a winning streak:
Average earnings: 391.80 C-bills/second
Average matches: 1.59 matches/hour
Premium Time, with Heroes
Normalized to match the previous data with Premium Time only, CW earnings were: 321.81 C-bills/second

At a glance, it looks like CW is the best method to use for grinding C-bills, followed by solo pugging followed by the group queue. However, this is a little misleading since the data doesn't reflect the 300,000 C-bill bonus you get for winning a match. That CW data also represents a win streak. What happens if you lose instead?

CW on a losing streak:
Average earnings: 155.56 C-bills/second
Average matches: 1.2 matches/hour
Premium Time, with Heroes.
Normalized to match the previous data with Premium Time only, CW earnings were: 119.66 C-bills/second

What's interesting is to note that in the group queue and solo queue, it doesn't matter if you win or lose or have streaks of wins and losses because it all evens out in the long run. You can drop so many times, comparatively speaking, that the win streaks and the loss streaks nullify each other. It's also possible to earn nearly as much on a loss as you do on a win if you do well enough. CW is more of a feast or famine scenario though, since a significant majority of your earnings come from the 300,000 C-bill bonus you get from wins. If you don't get that bonus, then you're really just having a really good group game, but at a rate of play much lower than the group queue. As a result, you don't earn as much in the same amount of time.

The reason why I separated the CW matches into win/loss streaks was because I based this data on play time. Since I normally only play for two hours at a time in CW, I can only get in about three matches before I sign off. As a result, the play times tended to organize themselves into streaks, while the group and solo queues did not. In the interest of matching the group and solo queues, I combined the CW win/loss streaks to make a single CW rating below:

CW Combined:
Average earnings: 257.06 C-bills/second
Average matches: 1.37 matches/hour
Premium Time, with Heroes.
Normalized to match the previous data with Premium Time only, CW earnings were: 206.51 C-bills/second

So, basically, I've come to conclude this: CW is definitely the best mode to grind C-bills in if you can win consistently. If you can't consistently win, then you should grind C-bills elsewhere, probably the solo queue. That's not to say you shouldn't play CW; play it if that's what you enjoy! It's just that if you're grinding C-bills, there are more consistent modes to play that may yield better profits in the long run.

Personally speaking, I enjoy CW and look forward to playing more of it. However, unless I can be part of a large group, which increases the odds of winning, I won't be grinding in it for C-bills and will only be playing in it for kicks.

What do y'all think? Anyone have similar numbers/experiences? I'm curious to see what everyone else's experiences have been.

[Wintersdark]

The rate at which you can get matches in CW is highly variable.

If you're in a 12 man group AND there are adequate OpFor at your target planet, matches are fast.

If you're solo or in a smaller group, there's no certainty of rapid matchmaking. It's not uncommon to end up with roughly 20 minutes between matches even at a reasonably busy planet when you're in an oddly size group.

Mybtests have all shown that while I make 1 million c-bills on a win in CW, the match nearly always takes most of if not all of its 30 minute timer, and a 10 to 20 minute delay between matches puts us to roughly 45 mins per match.

The problem is, CW is so unpredictable unless you're in a large group. A large group means you'll win most matches, but if solo? Even if you've got 50% WLR vs other solos, the groups are still going to win an awful lot.

This matters, because you're not playing many matches, so a loss severely tanks your income.

Solo queue matches are faster, and even if you're just pulling a 1:1 WLR its likely to average out nicely.

Group queue? Small groups in the group queue are basically MWO's hard mode. Not a reliable way to grind c-bills. Large competent groups are good, but if you've got that, CW is better.

So, it depends very heavily on the people you have available to grind c-bills with. Can you get a large group, particularly a 12 man of competent players? CW all the way. Otherwise, solo queue.

[Nightmare1]

Agreed.

I forgot to include it, but most of the CW drops I was recording for these stats involved group sizes between 8 and 12 players.

[Wintersdark]

Nightmare1, on 10 January 2016 - 12:25 PM, said:

Agreed.

I forgot to include it, but most of the CW drops I was recording for these stats involved group sizes between 8 and 12 players.

The key point there is that a group of 12 players totally skips a phase of matchmaking, and "jumps the queue" in front of all the smaller groups/solo players. That is, if there's a team being assembled of smaller groups/solo players, and a 12 man enters the queue, the 12 man is immediately moved to the next phase (picking an opposing team to fight against). Thus, a 12 man group is *substantially* faster than any other size, from solo through 10 man, simply by nature of jumping the first queue entirely.

[Nightmare1]

Correct, that was one thing I had noticed. Our 12s were getting matches almost instantly while the 8s sometimes took a few minutes.

Even then though, it remains very dependent on winning the match.

[Aiden Skye]

If you get in a good rotation so you are getting quick consistent drops in CW, you can rake in some cbills. On a good match I'll snag 1-1.6 million cbills. On a bad match...the memory of which I try to suppress...got me?! No idea usually storm off.

[MischiefSC]

Pugging in CW I made 13 million cbills yesterday. CW is hugely profitable now.

[crustydog]

Community Warfare -

On a bad night, say with pugs against teams - losing almost every match, my earnings per hour can range from negative earnings to somewhere around $600K C-Bills.

On a good night, with a full 12 man team, on a busy planet, with premium, I will range between $1.5 to $3 million C-Bills per hour.... usually average about $2+ million.

CW is optimized for unit play, and the benefits of fighting with an efficient unit cannot be matched anywhere else in MWO. Winning plays a big part in the total payout at $300,000 bonus per match with premium. IF you can get in 3 matches in an hour - that's nearly your 3rd million right there.

It's not just efficiency on the battlefield - it's the time spent in queue - and in forming up the group between queues. No spending time in the mechlab while in the group - always having extra warriors waiting in line to fill open slots - running an efficient Teamspeak set up - having optimized mechs for each map ready to go - that sort of thing. Also, stuff like minimizing the number of slow assault mechs in the drop decks - playing with speed in mind. Faction rewards also contribute.

Battle tactics play another big part - as a merc, I prefer to harvest ALL of the mechs and all of the turrets. Leave not a nickle behind if you don't have to - but do it quickly:)

It takes a long time to get your game tuned to this level, but once you are there C-Bill grind is really no longer a factor, (you can hire entire merc units to attack people you don't like if you are so inclined...) but then the grind becomes Loyalty Point grind in pursuit of faction ranks. The higher ranks do seem to take forever. With a loyalty contract, premium time and heroes, you can cut that Loyalty Grind by at least a third.

Edited by crustydog, 10 January 2016 - 02:04 PM.