88 replies to this topic

[General Solo]

Spleenslitta, on 16 May 2016 - 11:16 AM, said:

We're almost complete opposites then. I get few kills and unstable damage that sometimes spikes way up there.
I do mostly 300-500. I actually do my best to stay away from my team since weirdo tactics makes me survive longer that way.

Perhaps such tactics are contributing to your loses.

Splitting from the team not only weakens your position, it also weakens the team as a whole.
Splitting off should only be done when your team has some definite advantage otherwise it can be a detriment to victory.

And if your wins are low your tier progression will be slower.

You can be a giud pilot, with good gunnery skills but if your positioning and teamwork skills are weak, you may do well individually but those traits are not contributing to team victory as much as they could.

Thus you lose more and your tier progression is slower.

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 17 May 2016 - 12:50 AM.

[Spleenslitta]

OZHomerOZ, on 17 May 2016 - 12:45 AM, said:

Perhaps such tactics are contributing to your loses.

Splitting from the team not only weakens your position, it also weakens the team as a whole.
Splitting off should only be don't when your team has some definite advantage otherwise it can be a determent to victory.

And if your wins are low your tier progression will be slower.

With my tactics it's the exact opposite. i got 2,009 / 1,794 win/loses so it's about average i guess. I don't care that much about my tier anyways.
But it is a gamble and situational awareness better than normal is necessary to survive.

I wrotte an extremely long guide on how my tactics work but the short explanation is this-
When you stay near your teammates in a light mech and pop out of cover the enemy will allready be facing your way since the majority of your team is there.
That means you are running out in front of an enemy that is prepared to gun you down.

But if you stealthily go out on a flank or behind the enemy they are less likely to be looking your way when you finally pop out of cover.
But then the enemy sends their lights after you so you have to relocate very often and i'm not talking about just moving 100 meters and firing again.
Thus you survive longer but do damage slower in return for having a decent chance to having received little damage when there are only a few enemies left.
Then you either go all out or keep doing the same till the enemy is dead according to what is most suitable for the situation.

Further explanation is hard to do without making a textwall here.
Link to the monstrously huge textwall guide on my tactics - http://mwomercs.com/...-tactics-guide/

If you manage to read through all that you should be congratulated and be given a bottle of champagne to celebrate the feat. XD

[S 0 L E N Y A]

I completely disagree.

In solo que I can just focus on damage and kills in order to level up a mech (and in turn PSR) and not worry about the overall game consequences.

It is not too hard to rack up tons of damage without supporting your team. And frankly, squad support is RARE in solo que, even for higher tier players. The Pug Life is REAL.

In group que then most start to care a little bit more about the team dynamic and match outcome. Further, even if you are in a lower tier there is still a good chance you will run up against a comp level team that will spank your butt. That clearly cannot (or is very very very unlikely anyways) in solo pug matches.

[Spleenslitta]

Boogie138, on 17 May 2016 - 02:02 AM, said:

It is not too hard to rack up tons of damage without supporting your team. And frankly, squad support is RARE in solo que, even for higher tier players. The Pug Life is REAL.

Ummm.... i got a friendly question (yeah i found it slightly necessary to add that word).
If i spend most of my time away from my team but constantly harrass the flanks and rear of the enemy.
The enemy keep looking behind them since i might appear there at any moment or they chase me all over the place.
While doing so they don't contribute to the mainfight.

I do very little in the way of focusing damage on specific mechs.
I rarelly even hit vurnerable parts because i don't even have the time to lock and then wait for target info so i can hit the vurnerable parts.
I have to pop out of cover and quickly shoot before i'm discovered- get back in cover - relocate far and randomly so i can repeat.

Is that supporting my team or not?
I'll keep doing things my way regardless of the answer but it's good to know anyways.

[TercieI]

Tesunie, on 16 May 2016 - 09:07 PM, said:

I don't know if you've heard my opinion on that part...

You are right. Wins is what really drives PSR. However, I disagree that wins should be so heavily weighted for "Player Skill Rating". It should have some effect, but not as heavy of one as it currently has.

However, my entire comment on that is beyond the scope of this thread. Just suffice that I agree with you and you are correct with how PSR currently operates.

Indeed. I was only commenting on what is, not what should be.

(I suspect I value wins more than you, but, yeah, another thread).

[Metus regem]

TercieI, on 17 May 2016 - 06:33 AM, said:

Indeed. I was only commenting on what is, not what should be.

(I suspect I value wins more than you, but, yeah, another thread).

I just wish they system didn't reward sloppy gunnery (read lots of damage required per kill) so much or at the very least rewarded you for being efficient with your shots (read very little damage required per kill)....

[TercieI]

Metus regem, on 17 May 2016 - 07:38 AM, said:

I just wish they system didn't reward sloppy gunnery (read lots of damage required per kill) so much or at the very least rewarded you for being efficient with your shots (read very little damage required per kill)....

Well, that's my point...that doesn't lead to wins, that leads to losses. And the system rewards winning over all, so it's not really all "more damage = more PSR." <shrug>

[Lolo van Trollinger]

had a match in a king crab yesterday. sneaked it all behind their force. 6 kills in 400 damage (rear armour is a {Dezgra}). 5 most damage dealt, 4 solo (from behind. all off them. from behind).
matchscore was less than that noob in the treebutcher trial mech splattering 9 targets with 320 damage and no kills.

last week i racked up 2 solo kills in a cicada. 57 damage for that match. what match score ? i can be glad I stayed at my PSR winning this match dead.
the guy who sliced that single AFK to bits all match (700 or so damage on a sleeping assault, no further help to the match) got a hefty score. hmmm.... faster locust backstabbing then ?


kill efficiency is worth nothing. get over it. get over PSR. just kill more mechs.

Edited by Lolo van Trollinger, 17 May 2016 - 08:12 AM.

[Metus regem]

TercieI, on 17 May 2016 - 08:05 AM, said:

Well, that's my point...that doesn't lead to wins, that leads to losses. And the system rewards winning over all, so it's not really all "more damage = more PSR." <shrug>

Actually it does, "more damage = higher match score, higher match score = faster PSR climb rate"...


On a loss you need a match score of around 400 to stay stable, ease to do in a mech that vomits damage all over a target (SRM's/LRM's/Lasers/c(U)AC's), much harder to get in a mech that is built to kill quickly and efficiently.

On a good match in my Warhammer I'll push 700-ish damage with 5 kills (4 solo) win and get a match score just shy of 500, a good match in my Dakka Wolf and I'll be pushing 1500 damage with 4 kills (1 solo) win and get a match score just shy of 900.

That's the problem, my Warhammer is a more efficient killer than the Dire Wolf, yet is punished on match score because of it. Now I get it, Damage is one of the few things players can actually control in a match, but vomiting damage out with US Riflemen during Vietnam accuracy shouldn't be rewarded like it is currently.

[TercieI]

Metus regem, on 17 May 2016 - 08:24 AM, said:

Actually it does, "more damage = higher match score, higher match score = faster PSR climb rate"...


On a loss you need a match score of around 400 to stay stable, ease to do in a mech that vomits damage all over a target (SRM's/LRM's/Lasers/c(U)AC's), much harder to get in a mech that is built to kill quickly and efficiently.

On a good match in my Warhammer I'll push 700-ish damage with 5 kills (4 solo) win and get a match score just shy of 500, a good match in my Dakka Wolf and I'll be pushing 1500 damage with 4 kills (1 solo) win and get a match score just shy of 900.

That's the problem, my Warhammer is a more efficient killer than the Dire Wolf, yet is punished on match score because of it. Now I get it, Damage is one of the few things players can actually control in a match, but vomiting damage out with US Riflemen during Vietnam accuracy shouldn't be rewarded like it is currently.

We're splitting hairs here, but I disagree. I see it as "efficient killing leads to wins, wins guarantee no PSR drop." <shrug> My PSR is maxed, so not really an issue for me anyway.

[Tesunie]

Each side is correct.

Wins will have more of a guaranteed effect on raising PSR. If you win, your PSR can never go down no matter how low your match score might be.

Damage has an effect on raising PSR, as if it's always high enough you can gain large amounts of PSR on a win, and remain stable or even gain PSR on a loss. However, it's not as much of a guarantee as a win.

Each side of that debate is absolutely correct. To be technical, the BEST solution to PSR is to always win with always high damage (which typically translates to high match score).

[TercieI]

Tesunie, on 17 May 2016 - 09:54 AM, said:

Each side is correct.

Wins will have more of a guaranteed effect on raising PSR. If you win, your PSR can never go down no matter how low your match score might be.

Damage has an effect on raising PSR, as if it's always high enough you can gain large amounts of PSR on a win, and remain stable or even gain PSR on a loss. However, it's not as much of a guarantee as a win.

Each side of that debate is absolutely correct. To be technical, the BEST solution to PSR is to always win with always high damage (which typically translates to high match score).

Yeah. Carrying hard is the best way to raise PSR faster. And that last word is the real problem: Faster. PSR always rises. You can only make it rise faster. It is still a glorified XP bar.

[Metus regem]

TercieI, on 17 May 2016 - 09:59 AM, said:

Yeah. Carrying hard is the best way to raise PSR faster. And that last word is the real problem: Faster. PSR always rises. You can only make it rise faster. It is still a glorified XP bar.

On that we agree.

[Brizna]

It tends to raise, even if you play badly, but if you play very bad the natural tendency to go up may not be enough to prevent you going down.

In the end as previously stated, to raise it fast you need: win ++ high score == high damage

If your win ratio is bad and your score per match low you can go down albeit slowly.

EDIT TYPO.

Edited by Brizna, 17 May 2016 - 11:39 AM.

[Captain Mittens]

Fact is, player skill rating is something different than your ability to win matches.
For example, playing conquest in my locust 1-v. Capture 3 bases solo, then evade remaining enemies after the rest of the team dies, and manage to harass enemies trying to cap, delaying them, and allowing us to hit 750 resources. I get a match score of like 250 despite essentially winning the game for my team.

Or assault, My lance, pushing up hard on a flank, kills 2-3 enemies in out way then sit on the base and cap it, kill 1 more who comes back to clear base. The of us, essentially win the game again, receive "no gain" to PSR despite playing a near perfect match.

[General Solo]

This is my attempt to answer the tittle of this post in a nutshell

You Are A Better Mech Pilot If...


...you have a good understanding of the fundamental game mechanics of MWO.
Many are not included in documentation, many are found by observation.
Knowing mechanics others don't gives you an edge.

...you are able to build mechs in mechlab which give you an advantage due to your understanding of the fundamental game mechanics of MWO

...you have sufficient mech, gamemode and map knowledge from which plans and tactics can be formulated using your understanding of the fundamental game mechanics of MWO.


... you are able to create tactics and strategies which give you an advantage due to your understanding of the fundamental game mechanics of MWO.

... You have effective communication skills to transfer your ideas, information and knowledge to allies in order that those plans and ideas manifest.

... You have sufficient hand eye coordination and physical capability to make your mech do what yo want.

That's about it.

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 18 May 2016 - 07:15 AM.

[General Solo]

Once you understand the the fundamental game mechanics of MWO, then you can make a list of rules that you mostly don't break.

Sort of like a code by which to pilot your mech by.

I don't always follow my own rules/code.
But when I die, its usually cause I broke one of them.

[Spleenslitta]

Captain Mittens, on 18 May 2016 - 04:35 AM, said:

Fact is, player skill rating is something different than your ability to win matches.
For example, playing conquest in my locust 1-v. Capture 3 bases solo, then evade remaining enemies after the rest of the team dies, and manage to harass enemies trying to cap, delaying them, and allowing us to hit 750 resources. I get a match score of like 250 despite essentially winning the game for my team.

Or assault, My lance, pushing up hard on a flank, kills 2-3 enemies in out way then sit on the base and cap it, kill 1 more who comes back to clear base. The of us, essentially win the game again, receive "no gain" to PSR despite playing a near perfect match.

You provided the perfect example. In a nutshell. Thank you.

OZHomerOZ, on 18 May 2016 - 07:21 AM, said:

Once you understand the the fundamental game mechanics of MWO, then you can make a list of rules that you mostly don't break.

Sort of like a code by which to pilot your mech by.

I don't always follow my own rules/code.
But when I die, its usually cause I broke one of them.

We may not agree on tactics but you really nailed it with this post. I got my own set of rules too and i usually die when i break them.
Usually it's when i get tempted to fire more than once while out of cover or otherwise dawdle in some way.

Post #37 was freakin' perfect.

[WVAnonymous]

Metus regem, on 16 May 2016 - 08:23 AM, said:

Not entirely true.... the Teir system is weighted to move you up, eventually everyone will be T1, it just takes time...
...

Actually, I'm going to disagree with that claim. I took myself out of Tier 4 by only playing fully leveled mechs and really focusing on doing the things that generate high scores (protecting/being protected, lance in formation, etc.) for several weeks.

After reaching the mid-point of Tier 3, I resumed my normal play style and started leveling mechs again. I have fallen back to barely within Tier 3 while playing another 1000 matches.

I'm pretty sure you aren't guaranteed a climb to Tier 1 just by playing a lot.

[juxstapo]

You Are A Better Mech Pilot If..

..your Gauss slug slams into your target's leg at hypersonic velocity, snapping it straight and locking the shattered joint... every.. single... time.

...your opponent's mech seems to ripple and bulge, and finally burst at the seams as it's fusion reactor, freed from it's shielding and restraints, consumes the machine around it in an expanding sphere of blinding golden flame.... every... single... time.

...You can hit the correct leg. (Welp, that rules me out).

...Your teammates are utterly sick of your warhorn.

...Your Gauss or AC/20 equipped mechs each carry just a dozen rounds of ammunition.

...You promise not to use headshots this match, just to make it fair.

...You are the meta.

...You find something fundamentally disturbing about a player that doesn't use a HOTAS setup.

...You've ever said "BAWK" over open chat.

...Duncan Fisher was your homeboy.

...You don't have to use the reference to identify the parts of a Wasp for the entrance exams to the Academy on Pacifica.

...You left said Academy in a Chameleon.

(got any more? )