115 replies to this topic

[Justin Kell]

I've been playing for a few months now and my kill/death ratio is 32/718. I don't seem to be getting any better.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. maybe I need to rebuild my mechs or change my tactics but I have no idea.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking for. I guess I'm just hoping you guys have some ideas to help me suck a little (or a lot) less.

Edited by Justin Kell, 02 January 2017 - 05:23 PM.

[Jingseng]

Well, like I tell everyone who comes here looking for help, The More Information You Give, The Better The Answer You Get.

I mean, if all you tell us is

Justin Kell, on 02 January 2017 - 05:20 PM, said:

I've been playing for a few months now and my kill/death ratio is 32/718. I don't seem to be getting any better.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. maybe I need to rebuild my mechs or change my tactics but I have no idea.

I'm not really sure what I'm asking for. I guess I'm just hoping you guys have some ideas to help me suck a little (or a lot) less.

Then about all I can say is: "Yeah try those things. Maybe you do suck. I don't know."

Give us some more info, like game modes you favor or have trouble in. Mechs you routinely pilot and their builds. Tactics you try in game. Weapons and engagement ranges you prefer. What you do when X happens.

More info = more analysis and understanding = better advice

On the other hand, for some people, thinking hurts and it's all too much effort. In which case, those are the answers you get back in return.

[Bud Crue]

You're going to have to give folks more to work with than that.

What mechs do you own, what are your load outs, what is your play style, pug or group play, tier, what is your comp specs, ping, fps, mouse settings, etc.? All these things can affect your performance. Then of course there is the issue of personal skill. Some folks are just bad at FPS games no matter what (I am such a person). Any way give as much info as you can in re the points above and the folks around here will be happy to help.

Some general pointers from a terminal teribad:

Learn patience (fight the urge to rush in).
Learn to move with the group (do not allow yourself to be caught alone...that is the path of the focused down mech).
Learn to spread damage (this skill is increased with faster mechs (faster the mech, the faster the twist capability).
Do not face tank.
Never stop moving.
Learn to differentiate your arm reticle and your torso reticle, if you can't get this then consider keeping your arms locked and unlock only when necessary.
PPFLD is great if you can aim, if you can't then consider scan based weapons.
Lots of rear armor is wasted 90% of the time, the other 10% of the time you can't have enough.
High hard points are your friends. Don't build a mech to look cool. build it to be functional.
Know thyself. To wit: If you can control your heat and have good trigger discipline than by all means throw on those extra lasers to increase that alpha, if you lack this control, then err on the side of running cooler at the expense of your alpha.
Know thy enemy. Study the meta, study the mechs so you know what they are and how best to engage them.
Use the minimap.
Use the paper doll.
Use coms.

[Justin Kell]

I'll try to answer as much as I can. I don't know anything about mouse settings and such.

I seem to do better on frozen city and frozen highlands. I hate canyon network. always get stuck in the canyon while getting blown up.

My favorite mech is the arctic cheetah, prime variant with two large lasers as the weapons.

Most of the mechs I've bought are the standard loadouts or just minor variations.

I've got three stalkers, including Misery. I get killed quickly in those.

As far as tactics, when piloting medium/heavy/assaults, I try to stay with the group and follow directions on the comms. I always seem to get killed by something I can't see. and by the time I turn to face them and fight, I'm dead.

Lights: I try to scout/flank as much as possible. I'm a little better there but get very few kills or even damage. I tend to get killed when I blunder into a group of 5 or 6 over a ridge that I had no idea were there. Not sure how to keep that from happening. Trying to slow down and peek a little more but I still seem to get shot. and I never seem to be able to outrun the enemy when they spot me.

[WANTED]

Sounds like you might like scouting and fast medium mechs over the assualts. Which is fine. As for enemies showing up when you crest make sure to spend the cbills on a seismic module to see them blink red on your minimap when standing still.

Edited by WANTED, 02 January 2017 - 06:15 PM.

[justcallme A S H]

Ok so a ACH with ERLs is basically a pest mech. You're never really going to kill anything with it. The other problem with using it (and assumption time) is that you stand still a lot. This is teaching you incredibly bad habits for a light pilot. In a light you need to be constantly moving.

Assaults like the Stalker are again, hard to use because they are slow. That said they generally have range.... Assuming you are using Large Laser build on one at least?

If you are moving with a group you should not really be dying to often without killing... Make sure you move around without being "zoomed in". This is a mistake most people make, you can't see the entire map. Also on maps like Canyon, being down on the lowest ground means you can be shot up high, from usually, 200degree+ angles. So it's not a good idea.

Really it's map awareness. Pay attention to where the "majority" of the red squares are, that is where the bulk of the enemy will be.

Also do NOT stick your head out from behind cover until you see a team mate do the same. 2 targets appearing at the same time means less overall damage as people rarely focus unless it's the only thing they can see.

It sounds mainly though that your loadouts suck, because stock loadouts on most mechs - do suck.
Look here:

http://metamechs.com/mwo-guides/

This is the best resource for new starters IMO. Copy some of the builds, see what happens then. I bet you do a lot better simply by putting some synergy into the builds. Stock loadouts usually don't have any synergy, right support equipment (single heat sinks instead of double etc).


Give all the above a shot, I would imagine in a month you'll then have improved greatly.

My KDR after my first 3 months playing was around 0.3 - 0.4 after 500 games+
Now basically 12 months on a few 1,000 games later it's 1.78 and most games I can land 3-4 kills in QP and Faction Play (not for beginners) I can 8-10 kills most matches so the KDR will keep rising

Also another item - think about joining a unit that has some training structure to help you improve. I started with Praetorian Legion, I can say the training there was good. I'm now with another unit that has excellent pilots but no politics/loose structure, I found politics to not be my thing and a more loose environment more fun. That said, less training (but I don't need it now really).

So yeah... Plenty for you to get going.

Edited by justcallme A S H, 02 January 2017 - 06:17 PM.

[Bud Crue]

Consider this with your AC: the closer you are to something the faster its relative speed appears. As such if you are staying at distance to take advantage of the range of those large lasers, you are actually easier to hit. I don't run clans, but the principle is the same for all lights and the Cheetah is the best light in the game precisely because it can get in close and stay there and most players can't do a damn thing about it. Add to that the ability of it to boat a lot of guns and the toughness of the clan XL and you ought to take advantage of that ability. Keeping your distance, ironically negates a lot of its advantages. Don't know if this applies to you but since you mentioned running large lasers I am guessing that it might.

As to the Stalkers, yeah...not a new player friendly mech. Best you can do is what you already said you are doing, stay with the group. Stalkers have no significant structure or armor quirks so for an assault they are fairly fragile (as odd as that may seem). Keep your nose to the enemy and learn to wobble instead of twist. The side torsos are huge in profile, so don't give the enemy that profile (this is by the way, why you are dying from things you can't see. People see the stalker and they try to get in side view on for an easy shot at the side torso.

Edited by Bud Crue, 02 January 2017 - 06:18 PM.

[Jingseng]

It sounds to me like your problem is two fold -

1) your main problem is situational awareness. Namely, that you are not aware of what is around you. You can practice this by forcing yourself to glance at your directional indicator strip (along the top, which now also shows relatively the location of allies and enemies, as well as mission objectives) and mini map (which shows the same information in two dimensions instead of one, and includes directional facing where available).

Use the mini map and correlate with what you are seeing outside your cockpit - cover, enemy and friendly locations, and the like. Practice NOT bumping into friendlies, including those behind you. These are immediate-practice goals for developing situational awareness.

Once you have that, start practicing using the mini map to locate avenues of approach and exit (for your team and the enemy). Where snipers may be taking cover. The general trend in how your team is moving (or not moving) and the enemy's location (and movement or lack thereof). These are your intermediate goals that build off the immediate goals... starting here will be more difficult without the fundamentals. This will improve your situational awareness and hopefully keep you from being caught off guard. It should also improve your positioning so you can fire on enemies without having to deal with teammates crossing in front of you, so you aren't crossing through lines of fire, so you can move around without being seen, and so forth.

2) Sheepism. You may be listening just a little too much to what other people are saying on comms. This can distract - once saw an entire damn lance, following one another, walk into a mountain because the leader was chatting. And the same lance failed to back up the team getting murder balled.

Besides which though, fairly often people on comms don't know what they are talking about =p What they are saying might work.... if mwo was an RTS, all your teammates were cloned AI based off the speaker's brain, and the enemy all bog standard predictable CPU AI. More often, they like to blame each other and rage scream. Or offer useful information that ends up garbled or otherwise unintelligible due to regional accents, etc.

In short, it's better and much more useful to learn to think for yourself. Don't eschew it entirely (though you often wont miss much), but be able to think and act (and contribute) independently.

Based on your preference for lighter mechs and flanking attempts over standing with the group and getting flanked, it seems like you generally do slightly better on your own. I would encourage that. But since you do better on the cold, open maps, and worse on not-cold, confined maps, and prefer long range (?) engagement, it seems like you have a problem with situational awareness... when everything is in front of you and two sides stare at each other, that's easy for you. When everyone is moving, being hidden, etc, it's much harder for you - you get caught and you get killed.

As for the rest, we still don't have enough information. Armor, weapons loadouts (even grouping), engine, heatsinks... that can speak volumes.

I will say don't sell any mechs. The stalker is a solid chassis, just not the place to start from or build good habits in. I don't know what other mechs you have or pilot (besides the ACH - which I would say, switch to er small or small pulse... or even medium pulse lasers. Or for giggles, NARC and TAG with some small pulse back up).

With lights though (also not necessarily the best place to start or build good habits), you need really good situational awareness. Because you die much more easily, move much faster, and thus need to make decisions more quickly... decisions grounded in information. A heavier medium or lighter heavy would probably be the place to start. But we need much more information to make a recommendation. See my previous post.

[Justin Kell]

This is great info. I'm studying it now.

It sounds like I may have bitten off more than I could chew with the stalker at this point. would I be better off selling it and using the c-bills to buy something else or improve my other mechs?

[Leone]

Nope.

Learn to work with what you got. I've seen plenty of decent stalkers. And then once you've learned to do well there, we'll get you something more to your taste.

Also, I'd be up for some more drops and advice. Invite sent.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 02 January 2017 - 07:51 PM.

[Jingseng]

Jingseng, on 02 January 2017 - 07:37 PM, said:

I will say don't sell any mechs. The stalker is a solid chassis, just not the place to start from or build good habits in. I don't know what other mechs you have or pilot (besides the ACH - which I would say, switch to er small or small pulse... or even medium pulse lasers. Or for giggles, NARC and TAG with some small pulse back up).

You get cbills by playing the game and leveling up your patience skill. It's actually a really very important skill in this game.

Edit: I mean, you've played enough to get a stalker and ach at least. I'm sure you've got it in you to play some more to get like, a Hunchback or a Warhammer or something.

Edited by Jingseng, 02 January 2017 - 07:53 PM.

[Justin Kell]

I made my last post before I saw the most recent one. I'll definitely keep the stalkers and work on awareness. the tag/narc idea is interesting. I may try that.

[Jingseng]

Justin Kell, on 02 January 2017 - 07:52 PM, said:

I made my last post before I saw the most recent one. I'll definitely keep the stalkers and work on awareness. the tag/narc idea is interesting. I may try that.

Just know:

1) Tag/Narc is a support build. It's not a cbill earning build, or exp gaining build. It's a help others on my team for the win build.

2) From time to time, your team wont have anyone who can take advantage of NARC/TAG.

3) From time to time, your team will be too stupid to take advantage of NARC/TAG.

4) If you are going to NARC/TAG, you need to stay mobile. Staying around in one spot decreases the time it takes for the enemy to find and murder you.

5) If you are going to NARC/TAG, you need to be aware of your team's location relative to the enemy - there is no sense narc/tagging enemies your team can't even hit because of range (other than intel, but at that range, again... )

6) If you are going to Narc, prioritize the more lethal targets. Try to only have one or two narc targets out so the lrm fire is focused rather than spread out across the entire enemy team.

7) If you are going to tag, try to be consistent on who you are tagging (stay on a single target longer rather than switching from target to target). Try to prioritize ECM (o) carrying mechs. Try to keep tag on target as long as you can.

8) If you are going to tag/narc, do NOT tag/narc a target that is hiding behind or under cover. You are making your team waste missiles.

9) Narc/tag on an enemy light mech when your team has lrms is one of the fastest ways to send that ******* to hell.

[Misfit Martian]

I'm feeling the same as you Justin, I have all the Jenners, and feel more confident in them - until I get cut apart by lasers. I think I may need to bite the bullet and pay for an XL engine larger than 250. I want to be good with my Thunderbolt 5SS but it's not going well. Also my Blackjack 2 needs work, but am getting the feel for it.
My biggest advice is not to get left alone, I mean like, NEVER. I learned and did better by playing the Urbanmech, and was not able to run off and flank or scout. By sticking with bigger mechs I did more assist and even learned how to use TAG and earn good assists. Don't focus on kills yet, just try to stay alive.

Edited by Misfit Martian, 02 January 2017 - 11:14 PM.

[Jingseng]

Misfit Martian, on 02 January 2017 - 11:12 PM, said:

I'm feeling the same as you Justin, I have all the Jenners, and feel more confident in them - until I get cut apart by lasers. I think I may need to bite the bullet and pay for an XL engine larger than 250. I want to be good with my Thunderbolt 5SS but it's not going well. Also my Blackjack 2 needs work, but am getting the feel for it.
My biggest advice is not to get left alone, I mean like, NEVER. I learned and did better by playing the Urbanmech, and was not able to run off and flank or scout. By sticking with bigger mechs I did more assist and even learned how to use TAG and earn good assists. Don't focus on kills yet, just try to stay alive.

That.... isn't entirely right... especially for light mechs.

The 'point' or 'purpose' isn't to "stay alive as long as you can". Losing is still losing whether you are alive or not at the end. You want to contribute to your team's win... it is only in the context of dying usefully or not that K/D matters (or any other stat).

If lights stick around the larger cousins non stop... well, chances are, you are hampering firing lines and maneuvering/retreat. Chances are also pretty good that the enemy is doing something you want to have warning about but don't know (such as flanking). And lastly, chances are good the enemy lights are spotting your entire team for LRMs / attacking the drop goal uncontested (capturing base, etc.)

"Stick together" is the mantra of sheep and brainless play. You need to learn when to stick and when to move, how far out to go, and whether you should be responding to "base is under attack" or "i need help" etc.

A stock urbie... sure, because it has no choice. A modded urbie? They can run damn fast, and there's no sense in their sticking around underfoot. Stock Raven is more useful sticking close and getting in opportunistic shots and providing ecm (if it has it) to heavies and assaults. It probably should not wander. A stock Locust (esp pirates bane) absolutely should be wandering and causing havoc, making the enemy chase the rabbit, etc.

It's a question of understanding what your mech (and build) are capable of and how it needs to be played, over what you are trying to force it to do. You adapt to your mech... it does not adapt to you.

This is why more information = better advice.

That you often die, alone, out of position does not equate to "hug your team tightly". There are many reasons that could be happening, but nothing we could pin point without information on what you are doing. If you are spotted while scouting? Yeah you might die alone and cut off... especially if you don't try to gtfo or find cover, or do it in the wrong mech. Plenty of times some know nothing idiot has followed me on a flanking/scout... and either stood on or walked through the enemy base.

Instantly alerting the entire enemy team, which hasn't yet seen us, to exactly where we are.

Brilliant.

Do you stand still a lot? Poke repeatedly from the same bit of cover? both of those will find you torn apart by focused fire and/or flanked. Overheat frequently? Never chain fire? Don't know about ghost heat?

Sticking too tightly (which is how "never be left alone" will generally be interpreted, as well as intended) too often just means clustering tightly, getting in each other's way, and dying together instead of alone... but still dead all the same.

There is rarely ever a single blanket answer. Other than "Press R".

[SnagaDance]

Some more specific info on that Arctic Cheetah:

Are you using the Prime variant? If not, buy the Prime left torso, mount it, and install the ECM. ECM is so good in this game that you should always ask yourself "Is it possible to get ECM on this mech?" and if the answer is "Yes!" then you do so immediatly. It's honestly a bit of a crutch (especially if you use it as your main means of missile defense) but I believe beginning players can use all the help they can get.

Someone already mentioned how those ERLL mean that you'll be standing still at long range and that's 100% true. In addition you'll be standing still for quite some time because of the awfully long burn team on those Clan ERLL. The ACH is a top-light, but a great ERLL sniper it is not (even with those nice high shoulder mounts).
It's not great at Ballistics or Missiles either, it excels at Energy weapons at close range though. 6 ERSL or 6 SPL make it a ferocious knife fighter/backstabber/causer of mayhem. 6 ERML might also be an option for a medium range option though that build runs really hot and once again suffers from longer beam duration. Might be a nice team ECM supporter though, sticking with the big mechs and shielding them with ECM and supporting their fire.

A piece of general advise that I haven't seen mentioned yet: always press 'R' to target enemy mechs. Not just when you see them yourself but also when others spot them and you see them on the mini-map or even just as markers on your heading bar. Sure that enemy mech might be 1000m away at the moment but if you already spot that that Warhammer has a critical red Right Torso you'll know where to aim and shoot for the first moment you see a Warhammer in your own sights (might not be the same Warhammer but if it is you'll start that fight at an advantage). Information is ammunition, for you, and the rest of your team. Know where the enemies are and where to hurt them.

Good luck!

[TooDumbToQuit]

My friend, you do not know suck.....Look at some videos on YouTube also. I found Snuggles Time to be helpful on how to play certain mechs.

And it is about staying alive longer. Make a goal, do not be the first to die or do not die in the first 3 minutes etc.

[Deeber]

Others have posted plenty of good advice, but I wanted to mention a few specific points that came to mind, and might be of help to you.

First, it sounds like you're making the learning experience more difficult than it needs to be, by spreading your playing time across all four weight classes. I'd suggest focusing on playing one weight class, or maybe even just one chassis, until you've built up a basic level of experience with the game overall. Given that the Arctic Cheetah is your favourite chassis, perhaps consider playing mostly that chassis for the next hundred matches or so. In essence, you'll be minimising the amount of new things you're trying to learn at the same time.

Second, I think a specific skill you'll want to develop is being able to monitor your main view (out of the cockpit window) and the mini-map at the same time. Jingseng has already mentioned situational awareness; I'd consider this particular skill to be part of developing good situational awareness. At first, it might feel like you're constantly dividing your attention, but I think it becomes easier with practice. (When I first started playing MWO, I hardly looked at the mini-map at all; I already had 'information overload' just watching what was happening out of the window, and trying to make sense of it all!)

Third, I'd suggest exploring the various maps using the 'testing grounds' option, if you haven't already done so. While you'll certainly become more familiar with the maps by playing in matches, there's nothing to stop you from exploring each map in your own time, without other people shooting at you. (Again, this suggestion is to try to make your learning experience easier.) I'm not saying that you need to stay in the testing grounds for several hours, but it can really help on some maps (e.g., HPG Manifold, The Mining Collective) to have some familiarity with them before having to fight in them.

[Musashi Alexander]

We've all been there and it can be frustrating. But keep chipping away and you'll get better. One tip I'd recommend is spending a bit of time on the testing grounds. Work on specific skills like giving yourself a small time window to shoot and hit a specific component on a stationary mech before getting back to cover, change position, hit it again. Practice managing your heat, negotiating terrain and cover to cover, learn your weapons and learn your mechs.

[Justin Kell]

There is so much good info here I don't even know where to start.

I'm going to focus on situation/map awareness and mostly on one chassis (sometimes I just want to switch it up for the fun of it. )

I'll probably post loadouts here of some of the mechs I'm using because I know nothing about mechbuilding.

Thank you guys so much.