192 replies to this topic

[Kanil]

Ghogiel, on 14 December 2016 - 03:49 PM, said:

Also what game mode is "Blank0" supposed to be? (check game mode stats in profile, shows I have played it 100s of times)

My first guess is that it's pre-4.1 Invasion. Did you CW a lot last cycle?

[Ghogiel]

Kanil, on 14 December 2016 - 03:56 PM, said:

My first guess is that it's pre-4.1 Invasion. Did you CW a lot last cycle?

If blank is pre 4.1 invasion.. then what is the "invasion" that is listed?

Edited by Ghogiel, 14 December 2016 - 04:18 PM.

[Kanil]

Ghogiel, on 14 December 2016 - 04:18 PM, said:

If blank is pre 4.1 invasion.. then what is the "invasion" that is listed?

I have no idea. I had 0-8 pre-4.1 invasions and now have 0-8 Blank0's.

I have 4-5 post-4.1 invasions despite only playing one post-4.1 invasion.


Edit: Looking at my map stats, I have a total of 4-13 win/losses on CW maps. I'm guessing they're both invasions, but... possibly from two separate time periods. They do seem to have fixed the whole one CW game is 4 wins or 4 losses thing though.

Actually, I think I've got it. One is the "invasion" mode and the other is the "counter attack" mode, which has now been removed.

Edited by Kanil, 14 December 2016 - 04:30 PM.

[Ghogiel]

Kanil, on 14 December 2016 - 04:25 PM, said:

Actually, I think I've got it. One is the "invasion" mode and the other is the "counter attack" mode, which has now been removed.

That could be it.

But why remove counter attack. That **** was better than invasion anyway.

[Wildstreak]

Every Escort match, there is at least one guy who has no clue what the ECM beacons are, stands next to one under enemy control but not close enough to flip it and wonders why the enemy can see and LRM him.

First Escort match, all one guy did was that over VOIP. "How are they hitting me, I don't understand."

New Rule, every Escort Match I ask up front how many do not know how to play it.

Edited by Wildstreak, 14 December 2016 - 05:19 PM.

[alita99]

well, as a light player, I find this mode to be the absolute worst. Yes, it's hard, yes it's a challenge, but honestly, it's absolute zero fun as the defender -- even if played well -- the VIP is an idiot and has zero value other than a very, very large target.

If PGI's intent was to piss people off enough to get them on the forums complaining (and thus increasing forum numbers) good job.

[SFC174]

I've played 8 times now in PUG queue. 4 defense, 4 attack. 3-1 in defense, 2-2 in attack. It does seem like the VIP is weaker today than it was yesterday. Goes down much quicker.

The only defense match we lost was in Crimson Straights where the VIP seems to always go through the saddle. Everyone knows this now, so they set up a firing line and despite taking out 8 of their mechs, they still managed to focus down the Atlas.

One of the attack matches we won was on Crimson as well, and won the same way we were defeated on defense. Line up in the saddle and let em fly. The other attack match was on Forest Colony and for some reason the escorts decide to completely abandon the VIP. So while 8 of us skirmished it out with the enemy escorts, Bravo lance managed to find the Atlas having a nice little forest walk on its own and stand behind it for 2 min putting fire into its back and killing it.

From what I've seen, save for the Crimson squeeze play, the only way the attacker will in consistently is if the escort team is really off their game. Otherwise, the defenders tend to have an advantage in intelligence, a little attrition from the turrets, and the fact that in PUG queue at least, you will always get some attackers diving right at the Atlas while your team kills them. Once the attackers are down a few mechs, its pretty much over. In a well organized group queue match, I could see the attackers having the discipline to focus on the escorts first and kill the Atlas later. But even then, its still a 12v12 death ball and the escorts have some advantages.

I didn't like this mode when announced. I didn't like it the first few games I played. And at this point I find it absolutely boring and ill conceived. Even when winning you can end up with little damage, kills, xp., especially if on defense and the enemy has a hard time finding you on a big map like Polar Highlands. I'm not really sure how it can be saved without massive changes. Tuning the stats on the Atlas won't do it. Maybe the selectable routes or other variables available to the company commander could help as someone suggested. But as it stands now, this game mode should be killed.....with fire......right now.

[Silth1984]

Okay,

First, I got to give PGI credit for at least attempting to add new content to the game....new actual content and not just new mechs!

So now they need to take the next step in adjusting the match mode.

1) Let the atlas follow the move to command by the commander so routes can be adjusted.

2) Drop the fixed in place defense turret, and instead allow air support. Short term you could use the dropship if the atlas takes more than 25%, 50%, and 75% damage (3 passes with a short hoover period). Make the head of the atlas non-destructible, and allow it to shoot at enemy targets in it's path.

Long term: Use an actually truck convoy with mobile tank support, and maybe choppers.

Also, it should have it's own Queue since both defense and attack would benefit from purpose built mechs.

[FireStoat]

I've gone through two Escort missions tonight, both of them defense on Crimson Shoreline. The first one had the VIP walk up near the tunnel from the Saddle-side spawn in (across from the platform), pause, and then go all the way around the mountain and through the city back towards the platform for his dust off near the enemy spawn side.

We had 3 mechs stage a very valiant defense at the saddle while the rest ran through the tunnel and took a lot of them from behind, giving us a fairly easy win.

The second time had us at the same spawn point (saddle facing side, not the platform facing side) and the VIP went for the saddle pass this time. We had no choice but to burn our way through, but used microphones to announce that assaults should be front and center, all others on the sides for the push. It was ugly and we only had 3 mechs remaining to their 1 at the end. The enemy kodiak and mad dog packing full LRM's pretty much lost them the fight - the enemy really had us on the ropes hard through most of it.

I like the game mode but I think it will outgrow its novel feel in a couple of weeks at most. I think it deserves a further review for refinement if it's to be kept at all.

[SFC174]

Additional note, while its a little early, I have only been averaging 700 XP on Escort matches while my other 1800 games in various modes have averaged just over 1000 XP per match (with Conquest, as much as I dislike it, returning the highest of the other modes at about 1100 XP/match).

[Vellron2005]

Is it just me or is the VIP atlas super-tough and ultra-tanky?

Yesterday, 5 mechs were pummling the thing from all sides, and we managed to barely get an arm off? Also, the hitboxes are completely fudgy.. I'm shooting it straight in the back with 2 x LBX10, from about 200 meters away, and I take off it's side torso, and the back only takes slight damage?

Da f**k?

It's tough as hell..

[Dr Cara Carcass]

JaidenHaze, on 13 December 2016 - 12:21 PM, said:

Sooo, i played a few games Escort, everything was a disaster. Atlas got headshooted or 12 enemy mechs just rush into our lines and focus fire it. Doesnt play nice, cant really say "how" it is supposed to be played. But right now, i cant see the point :/

Also the VIP Atlas got stuck on Tourmaline Desert

Same **** happened to me several times too. This mode sucks, it needs a lot of fixes or should be abandoned completely.

[Berserker2011]

For those who are wondering about the damage the Atlas could take, I stumbled over the following at smurfy’s mechlab:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d6570785d7d2c1f

I was searching for the standard setup for the D-DC and found a second version listed.

Seems like smurfy interprets the game files and found our VIP.

[rolly]

This is the only time I've run VIP as the Defender:

The Atlas got to the LZ, Dropship came in and he walked up to it and then the VIP remembered he had to pick up something from the corner store and did an about face and walked away.... We had to hunt the DC'd mech just to end the match.

YAY for buggy AI. It sucks donkey, BUT at least its a different mode finally. This mode needs a ton of polish or a Player controlled VIP please. Either way I'll accept it as a work in progress.

Edited by rolly, 15 December 2016 - 05:42 AM.

[LastPaladin]

Huntermark, on 13 December 2016 - 10:58 PM, said:

I just have not found it any fun at all.

Exactly. I play games to have fun, and this mode is not fun. My only strategy is to get out of these matches as quickly as possible.

[duccio]

finally have a new mode. I like it very much. good job

[The Unstoppable Puggernaut]

Has the chance of getting the Escort mode been dropped? Yesterday it was almost constantly available but not today (I guess cause of the freebie giveaway).

[Jerry Beard]

Hate to say this but the mode is bad because of players. have played this at least 15 times pretty much split. All it turns into is a skirmish with neither side fully understanding (YET AGAIN) the mission requirements. You can't blame PGI for the lowest denominator that play this game it seems. QP matches no matter what they do devolve into death matches 98% time and who is to blame for that??? US! It is what it is because of the player base plain and simple. If PGI had to make sure that every chuckle head did exactly what they should then there would be very little freedom to do anything and the game would be as scripted as heck. While I am no fan of PGI it seems that this is surely just another blame everyone else for the crap play but myself thing that I see so much of in the forums. Sure there are guys that try to play well but most could give to cents about anyone or anything but themselves. Hard to have a team based type of game when no one seems to even understand what the team concept is about and that is not PGI's fault nor responsibility to teach. Just my 2 cents which in the scope of things means squat I know but still needs to be pointed out.

[Dendrobium]

I played a few round of escort now and I'm seeing a split of wins. I've played about a 50/50 between defense and attack. I have yet to be on a defender team and win. Very few for attacker as well. Both T3. Most times my team splits up on defender and we get picked off slowly. The very first match I played someone in team said to play it like skirmish and ignore the VIP. That...didn't work out so well.

I have gotten close to a win in defense. We put up a good fight. We were on Crimson and 3/4 of my team went to set up a firing line and hold the other team near the saddle. Myself and the rest guarded the VIP. We picked off a few enemies that went off on their own and tried to take pot shots at the VIP. 1 tried to bait us away from it, but we sent just 1 guy after him and he killed the enemy. We ended up with the VIP getting close to the drop area, and the drop ship was waiting. We took out all but 3 of the enemy team. We were so close. Myself and 1 other ended up going down last but the VIP was close to full health. Then the pathing hit.

Pathing was terrible! He had a direct road to go to the pick up ship. He would have made it had he done so. So what did the VIP do? He decided to take the long way around with building in the way. He did some weird stutter swing step a few times, which further delayed him, and seemed as though he was giving a tour of the area to the enemy as they tore him open. Because the building were in the way, the pick up ship couldn't hit any of the enemy either, which were pretty beat up. It wasn't just this map either. The pathing seemed terrible on most of the maps we played.

All in all, I think it is a fun new mode. It's definitely something different. However there are some adjustment needed pretty badly. I'm not really sure how bad pathing could have slipped by either.

Edited by Dendrobium, 15 December 2016 - 07:30 AM.

[Gojira54]

Must say im not impressed with escort