26 replies to this topic

[Colonel Clunge]

After a long, long grind, I finally managed to get out of tier 4 and into tier 3. What I wondering was this?

(1) What differences in gameplay should I expect to notice?
and

(2) what tactics I should adopt in order to progress through this tier?

Any advice or insights will be massively appreciated.

Cheers

[Lily from animove]

stop using lrm's stop using AMS.

otherwise it would be better to knwo what mechs you like to use and bring. if you are T3 yoiu alos gonna play vs T4.Poeple will have aim (not all but most). Poeple won't be drooling while watchign you shoot them.

[Colonel Clunge]

Lily from animove, on 09 November 2016 - 06:57 AM, said:

stop using lrm's stop using AMS.

otherwise it would be better to knwo what mechs you like to use and bring. if you are T3 yoiu alos gonna play vs T4.Poeple will have aim (not all but most). Poeple won't be drooling while watchign you shoot them.

I have more medium mechs than any other class but I have mechs of all classes. My favourite mechs are Wolfhounds (although not so much these days....) Cicadas, Enforcers, Shadowhawks, Warhammers, Black Knights (struggling since the nerfbat/rescale...), Battlemasters.

I hate LRMs but I'm not the best brawler in the world (I think my machine struggles a bit with CQB tbh!) so I would say my best playstyle is mid-range poking / harrassing. Best games are 500+ on my mediums; 700+ on my Warhammers and 900+ in my BLRs.

Have some meta cheese builds but don't feel confined to them.

I always use Radar Derp and Adv Seismic if I have the chassis mastered.

[Palfatreos]

seems like you should be able to get tier 1 eventually as long you on your game of the 4 pillars. Optemisez builds, accurate aim, good position and reposition, map awarness. Tier more exp system then pure skill based sysyem.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Most important tip for a fresh T3 player:

Practice playing more safely!

What I mean is:
use terrain as you move!
Practice defensive twisting while under fire! (Or at least protect your vitals!)
Do not recklessly turn corners without checking your mini-map first!

Edit Also:
Take time to aim your shots, dont just haphazardly let the bullets fly!
(What I mean is, make sure your firing at the right targets, and not the wrong ones- or your allies that might accidentally run infront of you)

Call your targets, and fire on your allies targets!

All of these things may seem like common knowledge, but every pilot must take extra precautions as they move up in tiers because it only gets harder as one progresses!

So everything right you have been doing previously, make sure you magnify and hone those skills ten fold!

Edited by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, 09 November 2016 - 11:55 AM.

[Hoffenstein]

Expect a lot less variety in the builds you come across.

[Neput Z34]

The question is, do you wish to have fun? The closer you are to Tier 1 the less "interesting" and "fun" the fights become

Sadly Tier 3 will see a lot more Tier 2 and some Tier 1 players depending on match maker.
Basically don't expect protracted brawls, and a lot more "peek-a-boo" with occasional "surprise AC20+SRMs".

pro tip: If you can see the enemy, they can generally* see you too. Most people don't need a "lock" to shot your mech, so ECM is less useful in higher tiers.

[Jiffy]

Honestly I wouldn't expect a massive change. Better aim and movement from some, and probably more nascar. Because of the nature of PUG matches, teams are still generally rather uncoordinated without a few people on the mic taking the wheel and giving people some direction. In spite of what a lot of people will tell you, you can survive at any tier without a meta build, as long as you don't bring a total derp build, but you will see more meta stuff as you move toward T1.

Really the differences are subtle. If you did well before, you won't magically become bad, but things will maybe be slightly more difficult. My advice is keep running what you've been running, until it stops working (if it even does).

[General Solo]

Once you reach T3, you will now play against T1's some games

Who have better aim, make less mistakes, are less forgiving to play against and at times use different strategies to the ones you have seen.

My advice:
When you die in a T1 game, spectate the T1 players on your side to see how they play and what builds they use.

This is how I learn't to play

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 10 November 2016 - 04:40 PM.

[AncientRaig]

Lily from animove, on 09 November 2016 - 06:57 AM, said:

stop using lrm's stop using AMS.

otherwise it would be better to knwo what mechs you like to use and bring. if you are T3 yoiu alos gonna play vs T4.Poeple will have aim (not all but most). Poeple won't be drooling while watchign you shoot them.

Neg clanner. AMS is still decently useful in T3 because you'll still regularly see Tardlas LRM boats and LRM5 chainspam on a regular enough basis to consider fitting it if you can. However, it's not something you need to be working into your builds no matter what. For example, I could slap an extra DHS on my CN9-AL if I took off AMS, but I'd rather have the added protection than an extra 0.01 seconds of firing time. But my CTF-0XP doesn't run AMS because I need the tonnage for ECM. Once your out of guaranteed LRMspam territory, AMS becomes an option rather than a necessity.

[Void Angel]

Colonel Clunge, on 09 November 2016 - 05:54 AM, said:

After a long, long grind, I finally managed to get out of tier 4 and into tier 3. What I wondering was this?

(1) What differences in gameplay should I expect to notice?
and

(2) what tactics I should adopt in order to progress through this tier?

Any advice or insights will be massively appreciated.

Cheers

Mostly... not so much is different. As a Tier 3 player, you can be matched with any tier in the game - the total spread in any match is a maximum of three tiers. Most of the time, you'll be matched in your own tier, but that can change based on events, time of day, and day of the week.

Essentially, you should expect incremental changes in players' tactics and weapons. Many people will shift toward long-range poking builds and sniper tactics, and away from LRMs - but you'll still see plenty of people hammering away with LRM boats, or working a brawling setup (like me!) Simply keep on doing what you ought to have been doing all along - pay attention to what your teammates are doing, and try to help them do it.

Call targets, use your R key, and let your team know (briefly!) what you see, especially if the enemy is flanking or spotting for LRMs. Pay attention to the tactics and builds your teammates brought every round, and consciously ask yourself how you're going to fit your build and desired tactics with them. And always, always, iterate and refine your 'mechs to increase your performance - pay attention to whether or not your armor allocation, heat management, and ammo supplies are holding up during gameplay, and make changes to your tactics or build as appropriate. If you find that you're getting hammered by LRMs, for example, slap on AMS; if you're not seeing too many missiles, you can pull it off and use the tonnage elsewhere. Test, evaluate, and repeat.

So while you're not going to see a distinct jump in skill levels, you are going to be more likely to encounter players from higher skill levels than you've seen before, and learn from their tactics. Pay attention to what seems to work, try to understand why it works (or doesn't,) and then incorporate that information into your lexicon of skills.

Welcome to Tier 3 - and see you on the battlefield. ;]

[B L O O D W I T C H]

My very first t1 game, i got lurmed right back to t2

OP, don't worry too much.

There is a very high skillgap between really good players and most t1 inhabitants.
There is also hardly any skillgab between t1, t2, and most of t3.
PSR is more or less just a simple EXP-bar.

Edited by Toha Heavy Industries, 10 November 2016 - 05:29 PM.

[Tier5 Kerensky]

Tiers are not hard limits. You already faced tier 2 and 3 players. Now you will just face less tier 5 players and more tier 2-3 players. And some tier 1 too.

But another side of it, you will have more tier 2-3 players on your team as well. So you will really not notice much as your gradually climb the tiers.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Move like the water flows,keep low,keep maximum of 2 attack lanes open to your mech if possible.Only engage in unfair(to the enemy that is) fights,even KDK-3 drops fast when focus fired.Target the players you know are good first.Use or atleast listen to VOIP.
If LRMs are problematic,use radar derp.

[LT. HARDCASE]

In T3, you really have to pull your weight.

You'll either be in T5/4/3 matches, where you''ll be expected to be the bet player on your team, T4/3/2 matches where you'll be the anchor, or T3/2/1 matches, where you either be careful, or you're just cannon fodder.

[Audacious Aubergine]

Having just recently hit T3, all I can offer right now is learn to expect the ups and downs (and try not to cry). I thought T4 was unbalanced with the kinds of matchmaking I got, but T3 has been even more polarising - practically every match I've played has been a stomp in either direction, but the closer games have all been pretty satisfying

[Steel Raven]

For whatever reason, the fist few matches after reaching the next are the most unforgiving.

[Sylonce]

Lily from animove, on 09 November 2016 - 06:57 AM, said:

stop using lrm's stop using AMS.

otherwise it would be better to knwo what mechs you like to use and bring. if you are T3 yoiu alos gonna play vs T4.Poeple will have aim (not all but most). Poeple won't be drooling while watchign you shoot them.

I LRM'ed my way from Tier 4 to Tier 2, lol. Mixed loadouts mostly. LRMs are still useful in higher tiers for pug play. It is a great psychological weapon to keep your foes behind cover, and because people use them less, they become more complacent to them.

In my experience, T3 is a pretty comfortable tier in which you don't necessarily have to play a super-meta loadout. You just have to play a slightly smarter game and all should be fine.

[Colonel Clunge]

Audacious Aubergine, on 12 November 2016 - 06:39 PM, said:

Having just recently hit T3, all I can offer right now is learn to expect the ups and downs (and try not to cry). I thought T4 was unbalanced with the kinds of matchmaking I got, but T3 has been even more polarising - practically every match I've played has been a stomp in either direction, but the closer games have all been pretty satisfying

Steel Raven, on 12 November 2016 - 07:09 PM, said:

For whatever reason, the fist few matches after reaching the next are the most unforgiving.

Funny - that is exactly how I have found it. First few games were total stomps in favour of the opposition. Games are definitely cagier. The team that makes the first mistake or has too many lone wolfs on board almost always loses. I've definitely been sticking with the pack a lot more than before. Communication was very lacking the first few games but then seems to have come back with a vengeance which is good.

[Brizna]

Tier 3 is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to draw. One match it will be tier 1 meta mechs pushing hard and dismembering select mech components and the other you will have lurmers from beind a rock and other types of clueless players. So just bring your wits and keep proving MM wrong by wining more than 50% of your matches so you get out of tier 3 asap.

Tier 2 is where the fun begins, T2 guarantees no completly newby player in your match.