13 replies to this topic

[Archie4Strings]

Hi guys!
First of all, i am sorry for my probably very poor english! I am german, and i am writing this thread here in the english section, because i expect (and hope for) a larger range of answers and opinions.

I am part of the 19th Strikers. We are loyal to the Smoke Jaguars. Got 45 Members, around 20 active. So i cannot complain about my unit. Due to the upcoming MWO Championships, we do focus our Drops on that. But also due to the FP-Event "Prove your allegiance" i also want to complete the Invasion mode (because of real life - daughter, job, whatever - i dont have enough time for invasion and scout).

But my experience of the last week is the following:

I lost every FP-Match since Sunday. Every loss got the same reason. We were always a bunch of Pugs in FP, while the enemy was always a larger premade group of 8-12 pilots. I am serious... unfortunately :/
The biggest group i joined in was a group of 4 Pilots. Usually we also do train FP in our unit, but due to the focus on the championship, it got a little less. So it was hard to organize a proper premade by myself... (also some people just dont want to play FP or they are still beginners and dont have enough Mechs for a good dropdeck).
So for that reason, i had to play more or less in random Pug-drops. That could be fine, if the IS would have some more pugs as well. But they dont. They are full of large Merc-Units or large loyal Units with Premades of at least 8 people.

What can i or we (as clanners) do about it?

Is all we can do (as a unit loyal to a clan), to wait for a big Merc-Unit (like MS or whatever) to come back to our Faction? And until that, just avoid FP?

I (as a pilot loyal to a clan-faction) dont see any chance to finish the event. I got 8 Wins out of 24 Matches i've played. I still need 7 wins. If it goes on like this, i need another 2 weeks for the remaining 7 wins (to complete the 9 Invasion Challenges)...

It feels like it is impossible for me to finish the challenge, just because i am a member of a unit, which is loyal to the clans and because it is not a larg unit of dozens of active players..

Does or can anyone agree? Or if you disagree, pls tell me the reasons why! I am willing to learn and i happily let me prove wrong! Anything that helps to change the situation! Or did i just have a very frustrating week and i can expect the next one the be much better because i just had a lot of bad luck?

[KinLuu]

I completed most of the event while playing solo. I only played defense against factions I consider to be quite weak in general.

Don't play against factions that don't have a lot of PUGs but a lot of units desperately looking for games. In your case, this would mean not to play on the Kurita border, but on the FRR border. Ideally, you would want to attack Steiner, but that is not an option since you are smoke Jag.

[Koshirou]

Wait until MS comes back from their current "See! We play on the IS side too!" stint?

[Archie4Strings]

KinLuu, on 12 May 2016 - 11:38 PM, said:

I completed most of the event while playing solo. I only played defense against factions I consider to be quite weak in general.

Don't play against factions that don't have a lot of PUGs but a lot of units desperately looking for games. In your case, this would mean not to play on the Kurita border, but on the FRR border. Ideally, you would want to attack Steiner, but that is not an option since you are smoke Jag.

Yeah i guess i kinda had a bad luck about it... I played Rasalhaague for a day and regretted (is that the right past of regret??) - "i did regret it ".. Anyway, "BMMU" kicked my *** then so i went to steiner (helping the jade falcons) the next day, and guess who changed contract? Right! BMMU kicked my *** again... I also played vs Kurita... got my *** kicked... Attacking or defending didnt make a difference... :/

[Leone]

So, as a merc unit playing for Jade Falcons, I've noticed a decent mix of units and random pick up groups this event. I did see a few MercStar groups defending the Steiner front and putting up a solid fight, so I can beleive they're eslewhere as well. But yes, it can be rough. I still recall my early days, and one thing I do know is that if you do drop with a decent group of Smoke Jags, ask em for an invite.

Don't get me wrong, playing solo can be great fun, but if your going for the wins, securing some solid teammates goes a long way.

~Leone.

[-Vompo-]

Try dropping on attacks instead of defence. Most units prefer attack over defence.
Also creating a larger group than 4 players doesn't hurt if you can do that.

[Jonny Taco]

I hear you op. 2/17 in terms of total wins since I started on monday. Games have mainly been defensive (smoke jag is getting wrecked) but I also played a few attack rounds too.

Average damage done between the rounds is around or a little over 1500 and assists/kill count was typically 20+/5+. My performance was not ground breaking but I constantly lead or scored in the top of my team.

My experience is that the Maps brutally favor closer range builds and don't really give many positions to use the "longer range" of clans to gain some kind of advantage before they close in close and wtfpwn everyone.

I'd love to see a tally of win/loss between is/clan in this event.

[xe N on]

Archie4Strings, on 12 May 2016 - 11:21 PM, said:

What can i or we (as clanners) do about it?

Nothing. Don't play faction war without a premade group of at least 8 ... regardless if you are IS or Clan.

Edited by xe N on, 13 May 2016 - 07:19 AM.

[Celtic Warrior]

You can't pug as clan you need to be in an organized group. That's the best/only way to beat IS at the moment.

[windermere]

Archie4Strings, on 12 May 2016 - 11:21 PM, said:

Hi guys!
First of all, i am sorry for my probably very poor english! I am german, and i am writing this thread here in the english section, because i expect (and hope for) a larger range of answers and opinions.

I am part of the 19th Strikers. We are loyal to the Smoke Jaguars. Got 45 Members, around 20 active. So i cannot complain about my unit. Due to the upcoming MWO Championships, we do focus our Drops on that. But also due to the FP-Event "Prove your allegiance" i also want to complete the Invasion mode (because of real life - daughter, job, whatever - i dont have enough time for invasion and scout).

But my experience of the last week is the following:

I lost every FP-Match since Sunday. Every loss got the same reason. We were always a bunch of Pugs in FP, while the enemy was always a larger premade group of 8-12 pilots. I am serious... unfortunately :/
The biggest group i joined in was a group of 4 Pilots. Usually we also do train FP in our unit, but due to the focus on the championship, it got a little less. So it was hard to organize a proper premade by myself... (also some people just dont want to play FP or they are still beginners and dont have enough Mechs for a good dropdeck).
So for that reason, i had to play more or less in random Pug-drops. That could be fine, if the IS would have some more pugs as well. But they dont. They are full of large Merc-Units or large loyal Units with Premades of at least 8 people.

What can i or we (as clanners) do about it?

Is all we can do (as a unit loyal to a clan), to wait for a big Merc-Unit (like MS or whatever) to come back to our Faction? And until that, just avoid FP?

I (as a pilot loyal to a clan-faction) dont see any chance to finish the event. I got 8 Wins out of 24 Matches i've played. I still need 7 wins. If it goes on like this, i need another 2 weeks for the remaining 7 wins (to complete the 9 Invasion Challenges)...

It feels like it is impossible for me to finish the challenge, just because i am a member of a unit, which is loyal to the clans and because it is not a larg unit of dozens of active players..

Does or can anyone agree? Or if you disagree, pls tell me the reasons why! I am willing to learn and i happily let me prove wrong! Anything that helps to change the situation! Or did i just have a very frustrating week and i can expect the next one the be much better because i just had a lot of bad luck?

I agree, being part of a good group is the way to win or at least have a good close match. Dropping in with 11 other people who may have never played with each other is generally a disaster unless they listen to one person and stick with a plan.

[Tyler Valentine]

Yeah I won 12 out of my first 15 matches in the event, now I'm stuck on 13 wins in 28 matches lol! The big merc units definitely determine whether the rest of us win or lose consistently. Oh well, best thing you can do is try to stay positive with the PUGs and maximize your points. Sounds like you're not getting a Warhawk but you can get all the other rewards, make a few tens of millions of c-bills, and appreciate the fact that at least there are people actually playing FW right now

Edited by Tyler Valentine, 13 May 2016 - 10:51 AM.

[MischiefSC]

There have been some interesting evolutions in game population over time.

When Clans were op as **** for the first year + of FW all the best mercs went to Clans and did 2 things -

They carried so much that along with the tech imbalance at the time most mediocre Clan players never had to get good. Also the comp merc units looted the best players put of the Clan loyalist unit's.

Then balance arrived and merc units started moving around and now the Clans lack the loyalist leadership talent to pull them together. Most the good Clan units with leadership talent have gone merc.

Conversely the IS factions played that wholetime against the best merc units playing in op tech and instead of flouncing and walking away they doubled down and got better.

Most the IS factions have a very, very strong loyalist bench. They have developed and adopted numerous communication tools from heavily adopted faction TS to phone apps for unit leaders to coordinate populations.

Even with scouting heavily favoring Clans against IS pugs the IS loyalist population is pretty damn strong right now. What can you do?

Get on TS, group up and coordinate. Find and gather your factions players, get them to do the same. Coordinate decks for speed and engagement range so you don't have people bringing LRM TBRs and assaults (too slow, breaks team synergy with few exceptions) and practice strategies that work.

That's what the IS did and why it's beating you.

[justcallme A S H]

Leone, on 13 May 2016 - 12:34 AM, said:

So, as a merc unit playing for Jade Falcons, I've noticed a decent mix of units and random pick up groups this event. I did see a few MercStar groups defending the Steiner front and putting up a solid fight, so I can beleive they're eslewhere as well. But yes, it can be rough. I still recall my early days, and one thing I do know is that if you do drop with a decent group of Smoke Jags, ask em for an invite.

Don't get me wrong, playing solo can be great fun, but if your going for the wins, securing some solid teammates goes a long way.

~Leone.

I think the quality the last two days has dropped dramatically. And given most contracts for units expire within 24-36hrs of everyone else (due to the was FW3 launched), it's going to swing big every 7 days in many cases.

Being in Jade about a month ago, the games were excellent as were the players. Coming back 2 days ago, it's been the most frustrating games I've played in my 5 months and just getting steamrolled most of the time due to it essentially being a 8 man team vs 12 because there are always 4 people pure LRM boating or just plain not listening/going for a sunday stroll every game and getting picked off. And I'm not the best player, so it's hard to really make up for it when only 6-8 players work as a team and the other 4 wander off into the sunset

I think the reason is you guys and 228 took so much territory (well done as always), 2 days ago all the PUGs and super-average players have moved to Jade to try and join in on the territory taking while the event is still going. So the skill level has dived massively.

Hopefully when the event finishes it levels out a bit more.

But again that is the changing dynamic now with 7-day contracts and bonus levels based on that population means it's going to be vastly different every change over IMO, well, that's what I've seen since the launch at least anyway.

Jonny Taco, on 13 May 2016 - 04:54 AM, said:

My experience is that the Maps brutally favor closer range builds and don't really give many positions to use the "longer range" of clans to gain some kind of advantage before they close in close and wtfpwn everyone.

Not at all. You can move into positions on most maps to utilise range and get outside 500m and then be reasonable outside IS LPL range. That said, it's not as if Clan cannot brawl either. Bring 4 x SRM4 and a LX20 on a TBR and see how much fun you'll have with those crits on open area after you SRM/open them. Particularly in Emerald as an example, time it with 2-3 other brawlers and Jump Jet over a ledge and cause absolute mayhem... Now tell me IS Heavy will achieve the same result

It's the same as people bringing super hot laser vomit mechs to Vitric where you're better off bringing ballistics as it's easier to manage heat when starting out as a new player, you can get a lot more damage out - sometimes less pinpoint though of course.

You've just gotta play to the map. Hence I have 8 mechs to choose from. Some with JJs, some without. Some for hot maps, some for colder etc.

I don't view one side better than another.

[Kin3ticX]

mercstar has like a .69 win loss and thats pretty much from hardly trying and trying hardly


so, if you are at 8 wins out of 24 games, you are doing something wrong


go after a few obvious low hanging fruits and you can quickly boost that 8 / 24 record

Edited by Kin3ticX, 13 May 2016 - 08:53 PM.