Help, Is There A Guide To Aggression?
#1
Posted 11 March 2017 - 11:15 AM
When clicking that quickplay button there seems to be a lot of teams that go to an area of the map and do little more than that, and camp. I'm only a new tier 5 player so that might have something to do with it too, playing with other new players.
#2
Posted 11 March 2017 - 11:32 AM
About the best you can do in pugland, is suggest an alternate tactic and see if the team follows.
I don't care for turtling nor the maps that encourage it either, but generally you want to do what the team does.
Don't be aggressive by yourself if the team does not follow.
Edited by knnniggett, 11 March 2017 - 11:32 AM.
#3
Posted 11 March 2017 - 11:36 AM
Assuming you are playing on the solo / quick play queue getting the whole team to be aggressive requires balls as you'll need to have a competent plan and communicate that to your PUG in such a way that they listen. There ARE players who do that on the quick play queue, it is effective, and results in rolls.
What you are more in control of is when to be aggressive yourself. Some useful advice might be:
If you are shooting and start to receive a lot of incoming fire, do not continue to be aggressive, go back behind cover.
If you know the other team have a firing line set-up don't peek aggressively into it on your own as you will come off worse. Find a different angle.
If you are shooting a 'mech and he is obviously not shooting you then be aggressive - keep shooting, use your cool shot, do all the damage you can / get a kill whilst it is free.
If you see a 'mech and you think you can out trade it to your advantage be aggressive e.g. if you can unload two alphas into the right torso of a Night Gyr or Kodiak and all but cripple it whilst taking moderate damage yourself then it's worth the trade. If you can finish off a Night Gyr or Kodiak whilst getting your Hunchback cored but not killed that might be a good trade so be aggressive and get that done.
It's all about deciding when to be aggressive and when not to be and the rule of thumb is be aggressive when you come out on top in terms of trading damage or kills.
There are loads of more general guides out there... search around.
#4
Posted 11 March 2017 - 11:48 AM
But you are talking about Quickplay and that is much different than playing with "better" players or in a unit or group of people that know and play each other. Because there is a huge problem in Quickplay with pushing (moving forward to attack). And that is you do not know nor can trust other players. As you said, some just camp.
I will give you two examples from 10-20 minutes ago.
In the first game, we were playing assault in Boreal Vault. It started off bad as a couple on our team were shot in the back by teammates coming out of the drop zone (I'm so tired of this). Then we had one Disco. We get into a line and after about 2 minutes of trading fire, an assault on our outer right decides to push alone. Besides the "friendly fire" bitching, no chat at all. I mention to the King Crab to be careful as he is pushing alone. Then 2 more assaults start to follow him and then 3 more also follow.
So on our right side, 6 Mechs are making a push around the side of a hill with buildings into a death ball of 12 enemy mechs. It would now be hard for the other 6 mechs on our team to reach them. IF they wanted to. I was in a light and said our only chance now is to join the 6 on the right side. And I moved that way and tried to engage while trying to get the others to us.
But honestly, I knew that unless something crazy happened, we had already lost. 6 of our mechs and I went up a hill and over a ridge and got wasted. I knew they were there, a UAV had showed us the entire part as one RED mass. In the end, around 10 of us got close to the "battle" and died. The last two did not die with us so died alone.
So...be careful when and with who you push. Talk about it. I could have stayed back, allowed that 6 to die then try to make some more damage for myself but that is a poor team approach.
OK, the last match. We were in the Canyon. I moved left to join our Charlie and Bravo and as often happens, the rest of Alpha took off by themselves. The 3 of them could have met 4 enemy mechs and been out gunned but instead, they took themselves out of the battles for a few minutes. I try to do the "right thing" and often others will follow you but now always.
Short version...C and B came to the middle and went up the ramp and we did it as a group calling targets and by the time the rest of Alpha got there, we crushed them. Normally, on that map in that game, we meet at one place, we did this one a bit different.
Now, for some good advice:
#6
Posted 11 March 2017 - 01:01 PM
You can also try another thread by Void Angel, Follow the Fracking Atlas which is more focused on working with your teammates.
Last (but certainly not least) are the truly excellent Tactics 101 Comics by fat4eyes. They detail so many things, I cannot suggest strongly enough that you should read them.
Edited by Jay Leon Hart, 11 March 2017 - 01:02 PM.
#7
Posted 11 March 2017 - 01:27 PM
The best way to win a trade is to fire first, from hiding.
Be aggressive when retreating. Keep fire on your enemy, retreat to advantageous cover, try to lure your opposition into your more placid teammates, if'n their giving chase. Don't just run.
The core concept, is always be thinking about how to tear into the opposition. If you see three mechs an you've no backup, then yeah, you prolly don't wanna charge in. But that doesn't mean you don't advance an flank, maybe one of em'll stay back to snipe whilst the other two advance to join their team, an at that moment you can pounce. Unless the enemy is balling up with all their mechs, someone's gonna be out there, on their own. Maybe they're still close enough that the team can provide covering fire, but when you pop out, for that first glorious moment it's just you and your prey, and sometimes they panic, or it turns out they're sitting back sniping cuz their system can't handle the game well enough to brawl, and you get to shine. Or maybe, just maybe, your own team'll engage, an you can pop out an get free backshots, forcing the enemy to present their rear armour to either you or your team.
Learning the maps helps, learning how the maps play out helps just as much. Sure, one outta three times I try to flank along a rarely used path, I'll run into a flanking light ruining my fun, but one outta three matches I can tromp an atlas into the enemies backfield and wreck havoc on their rear lines. Just keep moving, and once the fight's begun, keep firing.
You can even hold position aggressively, if your always jockeying for a cleaner firing line, always trying to find a way to flank or damage a portion of the enemy without leaving your team. That usually requires some actual ranged weaponry though, at the distances most teams like to stand off.
If you haven't checked it yet, my Assualting Guide covers some placement tactics and approaches assaults from an aggressive mindset, even when trying to hold a position.
P.S. I'd suggest going through the whole thread, there's some good discussion there.
~Leone.
Edited by Leone, 13 March 2017 - 06:37 PM.
#8
Posted 11 March 2017 - 01:46 PM
unfortunately in solo queue the Pick Up Group does not always respond like that, one large laser raked accross a group can be enough to convince 11 players, including the one who called for the push, to back up into cover, 3 seconds later I find my self 100m from the rest of the group with 4+ Mechs focusing me down, so I do maybe 100 damage, and the enemy then know where the rest of the team are and push in from several directions, killing them all, while if my team had commited to the push we would have taken down at least 1 lance without losses.
My advice is to make sure you keep at least 1, preferably 2, allies in sight, and if you see them break off do so yourself.
Better advice would be to find people to drop with and live/die secure in the knowledge that you have freinds who will protect/avenge you.
Edited by Rogue Jedi, 11 March 2017 - 01:47 PM.
#9
Posted 11 March 2017 - 09:28 PM
Good luck.
#10
Posted 12 March 2017 - 03:42 AM
Having fun with a dual er ppc and 5 smplsr build at the moment, but have struggled with the ac20 3 machinegun 2 smplsr build due to lack of ranged weapons. The simplest one I found for me to learn with was one er ppc and one ac20, gave me something to practice peeking and sniping with and something to slap mechs up close with. Haven't ground enough credits to buy the missile variant yet, so that will be another to learn about.
It's one of those things where I'd rather at least be trying to do something rather than just sitting still and waiting for the enemy to wrap around or plow in and clean up as it were, which seems to happen a lot in my limited experience of solo quickplay.
I try not to sit still, poke around, spot, flank a bit if I see an opening, change angles of fire, and try not to get to far away from team. But this sometimes happens either because I focus too much and the team has moved off, or I've over committed and get nailed for it. All part of the learning curve I guess.
Cheers again everyone for the help and see you on the battlefield.
#11
Posted 12 March 2017 - 03:58 AM
SpeedyRR, on 12 March 2017 - 03:42 AM, said:
Having fun with a dual er ppc and 5 smplsr build at the moment, but have struggled with the ac20 3 machinegun 2 smplsr build due to lack of ranged weapons. The simplest one I found for me to learn with was one er ppc and one ac20, gave me something to practice peeking and sniping with and something to slap mechs up close with. Haven't ground enough credits to buy the missile variant yet, so that will be another to learn about.
I'd recommend the ever-faithful 2x UAC10 with optional 2x ERML or 2x SPL. HBK-IICs are one of the best Medium 'mechs, so you have a good starting point.
#12
Posted 12 March 2017 - 05:10 AM
Also, when you see an opportunity to push that doesn't look like a death trap - PUSH!.
Edited by DavidStarr, 12 March 2017 - 05:17 AM.
#13
Posted 12 March 2017 - 05:59 AM
#15
Posted 13 March 2017 - 05:13 AM
DavidStarr, on 12 March 2017 - 06:08 AM, said:
And yes, I've learnt this from many different games. Map awareness is so important and seems to be a vital part to success in this one.
#16
Posted 13 March 2017 - 05:23 AM
Leone, on 11 March 2017 - 01:27 PM, said:
The best way to win a trade is to fire first, from hiding.
Be aggressive when retreating. Keep fire on your enemy, retreat to advantageous cover, try to lure your opposition into your more placid teammates, if'n their giving chase. Don't just run.
The core concept, is always be thinking about how to tear into the opposition. If you see three mechs an you've no backup, then yeah, you prolly don't wanna charge in. But that doesn't mean you don't advance an flank, maybe one of em'll stay back to snipe whilst the other two advance to join their team, an at that moment you can pounce. Unless the enemy is balling up with all their mechs, someone's gonna be out there, on their own. Maybe they're still close enough that the team can provide covering fire, but when you pop out, for that first glorious moment it's just you and your prey, and sometimes they panic, or it turns out they're sitting back sniping cuz their system can't handle the game well enough to brawl, and you get to shine. Or maybe, just maybe, your own team'l engage, an you can pop out an get free backshots, forcing the enemy to present their rear armour to either you or your team.
Learning the maps helps, learning how the maps play out helps just as much. Sure, one outta three times I try to flank along a rarely used path, I'll run into a flanking light ruining my fun, but one outta three matches I can tromp an atlas into the enemies backfield and wreck havoc on their rear lines. Just keep moving, and once the fight's begun, keep firing.
You can even hold position aggressively, if your always jockeying for a cleaner firing line, always trying to find a way to flank or damage a portion of the enemy without leaving your team. That usually requires some actual ranged weaponry though, at the distances most teams like to stand off.
If you haven't checked it yet, my Assualting Guide covers some placement tactics and approaches assaults from an aggressive mindset, even when trying to hold a position.
P.S. I'd suggest going through the whole thread, there's some good discussion there.
~Leone.
Nice, reading this made me a little wet. Wait, that was wrong. OK, it gave me a woody. Dang it...that is not right.....OK, I enjoyed it!
#17
Posted 13 March 2017 - 01:41 PM
It's that simple.
(Note this is the same sort of simple as "pool is simple. You bus make one ball at a time and leave it so you can make the next one.")
#18
Posted 14 March 2017 - 07:20 PM
- get in a medium mech
- find your assaults and stay with them until contact with the enemy
- bring direct fire weapons
- don't bring an IS XL engine
- don't advance alone
- don't keep looking straight at the enemy after firing-fire and turn
- don't stop moving
- repeat until you figure out what you think is fun and what is not fun about the way you're playing
- change it up so you're having fun playing the way you like
#19
Posted 15 March 2017 - 07:58 AM
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