5
Aresye, on 03 March 2016 - 02:29 AM, said:
Up to the MRBC Div A level, a solid drop caller is a must, but at the Div A level it gets weird. Some teams still utilize a main DC, others have multiple DCs (ex: 1 DC for lights, 1 DC for main force), and some don't use any main DC at all. The last I would say is the most rare, but some groups like EmP do seem to utilize this method for calling drops. As for the ones utilizing a primary DC, it's mostly for the overall strategy, appointed to the player with the best strategical mindset, but any Div A player should be able to take over and effectively lead a drop should the need arise.
Drop commanding is a funny thing in which there's a very delicate balance in high level play. The biggest error I see in lower division teams is they place too much emphasis on their primary DC, in which they become so focused on what they're saying they actually lose a bit of their situational awareness. That or their DC is micromanaging, which causes the same effect.
Personally I feel DCs are completely under-appreciated in this game. Just simply being able to call targets while still effectively piloting and shooting (the most basic form of drop commanding) is a skill that takes months to learn, but in competitive play you also add strategy into the mix, so not only does a competitive DC have to call targets while under fire, they also have to have a solid read on the game, and on top of that, formulate and/or adjust strategy on the fly to counter the opposing team.
I mentioned something similar in a past thread about competitive play, but it's really a separate game altogether. You might find a solid group of players and practice often, win the majority of your matches in group queue, and maybe even beat a premade of 228, SJR, or EmP. You'll think, "Hey, we might have something good going here," and decide to enter a league. Next thing you know you're getting absolutely smashed by a team you thought was not very good at all, and go, "Wait...what?!"
You'll get paired up with a team like 228 for an invitational and go, "Hey, we've had some close matches against them in the past, we should be able to put up a good fight, maybe even win if we play really well." Come match day, you experience a new definition of futility, as you behold in sheer trembling terror the true strength of 228. You'll think, "There's absolutely no possible way that a team can be THIS good!" as 5 matches in a row your team fails to achieve a single kill. Everything from their scouting, their dropdeck, and strategy, is nothing short of perfection.
Then you watch as that same team (that you thought was a terrifying example of perfection) gets rolled 5-0 by another team like EmP, and you'll quickly come to realize just how little about the game you truly understand. You'll start utilizing scout mechs for actual scouting, fire support mechs for fire support, etc. All these examples of role warfare that you previously thought were non-existent in the game, you realize are absolutely necessities in competitive play. You don't just need a good ACH player, you need a dedicated light pilot with years of experience perfecting their craft. You don't need a good DWF pilot, you need that ONE player who knows the exact maneuver to instantaneously counter a light on their tail.
Above all else, you need a good drop commander, but you'll quickly find none are available. Fear not however, as this is where competitive play gets fun. Now you or somebody else on your team gets the opportunity to learn from the others, and become a competitive DC. Slowly, over the course of a couple years, your team will take on its own personality, formed by the unique relationship between your DC and fellow teammates. You'll practice more and more, and eventually you'll find yourself in the Div A bracket, ready to show off your own team's flavor, and becoming the very team that gets to show new teams what competitive play is all about.
Simply put, if MWO ever makes it in the esports scene, you can rest assured it's not going to be the cocky players and good twitch shooters getting all the interviews and praise. It's going to be the team captains/DCs, because the higher up on the competitive ladder you climb, drop calling becomes less of a skill, and more like a work of art.
Drop commanding is a funny thing in which there's a very delicate balance in high level play. The biggest error I see in lower division teams is they place too much emphasis on their primary DC, in which they become so focused on what they're saying they actually lose a bit of their situational awareness. That or their DC is micromanaging, which causes the same effect.
Personally I feel DCs are completely under-appreciated in this game. Just simply being able to call targets while still effectively piloting and shooting (the most basic form of drop commanding) is a skill that takes months to learn, but in competitive play you also add strategy into the mix, so not only does a competitive DC have to call targets while under fire, they also have to have a solid read on the game, and on top of that, formulate and/or adjust strategy on the fly to counter the opposing team.
I mentioned something similar in a past thread about competitive play, but it's really a separate game altogether. You might find a solid group of players and practice often, win the majority of your matches in group queue, and maybe even beat a premade of 228, SJR, or EmP. You'll think, "Hey, we might have something good going here," and decide to enter a league. Next thing you know you're getting absolutely smashed by a team you thought was not very good at all, and go, "Wait...what?!"
You'll get paired up with a team like 228 for an invitational and go, "Hey, we've had some close matches against them in the past, we should be able to put up a good fight, maybe even win if we play really well." Come match day, you experience a new definition of futility, as you behold in sheer trembling terror the true strength of 228. You'll think, "There's absolutely no possible way that a team can be THIS good!" as 5 matches in a row your team fails to achieve a single kill. Everything from their scouting, their dropdeck, and strategy, is nothing short of perfection.
Then you watch as that same team (that you thought was a terrifying example of perfection) gets rolled 5-0 by another team like EmP, and you'll quickly come to realize just how little about the game you truly understand. You'll start utilizing scout mechs for actual scouting, fire support mechs for fire support, etc. All these examples of role warfare that you previously thought were non-existent in the game, you realize are absolutely necessities in competitive play. You don't just need a good ACH player, you need a dedicated light pilot with years of experience perfecting their craft. You don't need a good DWF pilot, you need that ONE player who knows the exact maneuver to instantaneously counter a light on their tail.
Above all else, you need a good drop commander, but you'll quickly find none are available. Fear not however, as this is where competitive play gets fun. Now you or somebody else on your team gets the opportunity to learn from the others, and become a competitive DC. Slowly, over the course of a couple years, your team will take on its own personality, formed by the unique relationship between your DC and fellow teammates. You'll practice more and more, and eventually you'll find yourself in the Div A bracket, ready to show off your own team's flavor, and becoming the very team that gets to show new teams what competitive play is all about.
Simply put, if MWO ever makes it in the esports scene, you can rest assured it's not going to be the cocky players and good twitch shooters getting all the interviews and praise. It's going to be the team captains/DCs, because the higher up on the competitive ladder you climb, drop calling becomes less of a skill, and more like a work of art.
I actually pretty much agree with all of that. My only"complaint" with the Comp Scene had always simply been the assertion many make that pretty much every player on Team XYZ is THAT GUY. And that simply ain't true. Wasn't true during LORDs heyday, ain't true now. Some units have more of those guys than others, for sure. But ice dropped with and against virtually every one of them. And there are quite a few really good pilots, valuable unit members, whom having spoken with, arm their posts and ideas, etc, I can safely say can't balance a checkbook, let alone have mystical knowledge of how to balance the game. But you dang well still want them on your team because they can wreck face.
There are certainly a much higher% of top tier guys with a better understanding, than in PUGlandia, but even the guys with good grasp often disagree, post conflicting ideas, and sometimes are just plain add bias blinded as the rest of us. But it's still asinine to dismiss input from non comp players, because a lot of us do see the same issues, but might have a slightly less minmax view on things.
