33 replies to this topic

[General Solo]

I agree OP there are signs, which for tell a loss
Recognizing this allows one to formulate alternate strategies and if the stars align pull off a win.

My favorites when a loss looks likely are:

Get as much kills and damage as you can before the team dies (Good for PSR for those that care)
and
Pug shields Double front

Some times we even win

Some people get a bit salty about it, even on a win

Edited by OZHomerOZ, 18 April 2017 - 04:18 AM.

[Jiffy]

Usually you can tell you're being set up for a loss when your team refuses to group up and trade with the enemy. Activity is important, but people often use the word "activity" interchangeably with "nonstop movement", which can be just as bad as inactivity. "Activity", by my measure, is a willingness to trade with the enemy team, softening them up before they get into brawling range. Usually when I see my team rush up to a position, and then peak out to shoot maybe once every minute, it's a sign that things aren't going to go well. Players who do this are usually worthless at best, and a detriment at worst-- hogging good cover and not using it to shoot, and getting in the way of the players who are actually using it advantageously.

Edited by Jiffy, 23 April 2017 - 12:06 PM.

[Cato Phoenix]

1. When a mech on your team dies before the 2 minute mark, usually around 13:29

[Audacious Aubergine]

Over the last few days, I've seen a new one: realising you've connected to an Oceanic server

[Insanity09]

I've recently been seeing a specific twist on #4, timid nitwits.
When a single enemy, ONE guy, appears and is facing off against 3-4 of your team in an equal weight class, and the numerically superior side draws back into cover rather than blasting the heck out of the one guy, that's a bad sign.

Please note, I'm not saying they should pursue when that one enemy mech pulls back, that could very easily be a trap. I'm just saying 3-4 fresh mechs have zero excuse for hiding, without shooting back, from one.

(The specific instance of this that sticks in my mind is when a single enemy Hellbringer appeared in front of our entire charlie lance at a range of about 400m, and the charlie lance took cover, milled around, and didn't shoot at all, as far as I noticed. I initially saw this on radar, and had time to come in from one side in my lousy MLX and take a shot after a few seconds. Then a few seconds later, several enemies appeared. More than enough time to serious pound the HBR then draw back when the numbers equaled up. The match proceeded to go exactly as badly as I feared from that point on.)

Edited by Insanity09, 30 May 2017 - 11:51 PM.

[Exilyth]

You might be in a bad spot when

• people did not press ready (if they can't be relied upon to press a button, you can't rely on them to pilot a mech )
  
• you leave the landing zone with damaged legs
  
• someone types a greeting and there's no reply
  
• one team has a bunch of unit tags from high profile units and the other does not.
  
• a player from such a unit is in a light.
  
• an (non-awesome, non-stalker) assault on your team proudly proclaims "LRM boat here".
  
• someone asks "plan?" and receives silence.
  
• half your team dies before you even get LOS on an enemy.
  
• half your team dies and not a single enemy gets locked, not even for a moment.
  
• it's conquest and people ignore one of the 'home' points, especially sigma on grim plexus.
  
• people waddle to their death one by one.
  
• you get into position and someone parks directly behind you
  
• you brought ecm/ams/candy and everyone hugs you
  
• there's a general lack of communication and cohesion

[Daggett]

Exilyth, on 31 May 2017 - 11:57 AM, said:

You might be in a bad spot when

• people did not press ready (if they can't be relied upon to press a button, you can't rely on them to pilot a mech )

The ready-button is a lie!
In case you are not kidding: It really does not matter if everyone presses it or not, thus many experienced pilots don't bother with it. I wonder why it's still in there...

Edited by Daggett, 31 May 2017 - 04:25 PM.

[Insanity09]

The point is not that the ready button doesn't do anything as far as the timer (it doesn't), but that it DOES signal to your team that you are ready to go, an active and willing player on the team, as opposed to possibly being afk and/or not paying attention.

Of course, pressing the button doesn't guarantee actual readiness, especially if you then wait another minute, but it can be step in the right direction.

[Insanity09]

I've got another one. This one has a fairly high correlation to a loss.

The team, en masse or just most of them, move to a location, often one that is theoretically a decent strong point, and without even engaging the enemy, just starts to sit there. Perhaps they start to aimlessly mill around, perhaps just sitting there like lumps.

Such a team is completely letting the enemy attack how they want, and is not even trying to figure out how and where the enemy will come.

This problem has been the cause of many, many heavy sighs on my part.

BTW folks, part of the point in my posting all these things, asking for insights from others, is that if YOU are doing any of these things, it might be time to change.

Edited by Insanity09, 11 June 2017 - 01:34 PM.

[S p a n i a r d]

One thing I've seen which is a sure-fire indicator of beginner players (not necessarily an auto-loss
coz the opposing team might be worse right?):

Players (light/medium mech pilots) whose first objective at the start of the match is to meet up
with the assault mechs instead of scouting/securing good firing positions. This one you can observe in
Mining Collective/Canyon/Grim Plexus maps. The said attitude indicates that they are not familiar with
the map and has little to no knowledge good positioning.

High chance of a loss

[Kaptain]

Mining collective-conquest and the assault lance caps that far left point where they nearly always get overrun and killed.
Alpine peaks domination and you get the bad side
Frozen city and you team splits
Polar Highlands and you don't have any AMS, ECM or LRMs on your team
HPG Conquest and you entire team decides to go to theta, despite protests.
Crimson Straight with DWs/Annis and the team pushes saddle leaving them behind to die
Any Map Conquest and the fast mechs refuse to cap

Edited by Kaptain, 26 July 2017 - 12:43 AM.

[Aggravated Assault Mech]

Kaptain, on 26 July 2017 - 12:35 AM, said:

Mining collective-conquest and the assault lance caps that far left point where they nearly always get overrun and killed.
Alpine peaks domination and you get the bad side
Frozen city and you team splits
Polar Highlands and you don't have any AMS, ECM or LRMs on your team
HPG Conquest and you entire team decides to go to theta, despite protests.
Crimson Straight with DWs/Annis and the team pushes saddle leaving them behind to die
Any Map Conquest and the fast mechs refuse to cap

+Alpine Peaks escort, and you're the defending team.

[Ertur]

Kaptain, on 26 July 2017 - 12:35 AM, said:

Alpine peaks domination and you get the bad side

This has actually been fixed.
I've spawned on Peaks from both sides now, from high and low and still somehow, it's Peaks' illusions I recall; I really don't know Peaks at all.

[Ukabix]

xSleeZyx, on 17 April 2017 - 03:02 PM, said:

Usualy like this, pay attention to the amount of unit players vs my own team.
Aswell as the mech setup.
It's not always the case but more often than not these kind of games usualy means quick loss.

You can also look out for badges on mechwarriors in the match. It is much more likely that players that are in an unit/have a badge are veteran enough to go beyond quickplay or play but do not pay anything concepts.

In Group play and in Faction play - seeing many players tagged as [223], [MJ12], [EMP], [21JM], [LORE] and many more is usually a sign that unless you got a dependable team, you are nothing more than a toast for them to bite on. A tasty toast