11 replies to this topic

[Konseq]

Hi everyone,

Before I get to the things I'd like to see changed, let me introduce myself to give some context to what I say:
I started playing MWO 3 months ago and I still consider myself a noob. I started because a friend recommended it to me and he kept playing with and teaching me. WIthout that support or encouragement, I would have quit playing after just a few days or even hours. I also chose to be a loyallist on Clan side because of my friend to be able to play with him.

I own one each of the following mechs:

• ACH: A, C, Prime
  
• HBK: Standard, A, B
  
• VPR: C
  
• TBR: A, D, S
  
• MAD-IIC: Standard

In an average faction play I deal between 500 (bad, lost matches) 1000 up to 1400 damage (good, won matches). I consider myself still a noob, tho I am not an absolute beginner anymore.





Since I started playing I noticed a lot of things where I wondered why it is not implemented differently or at all. Also I drew comparisions to other games. Please bear in mind that the things I'd like to see changed is from a noob's perspective.

Without any further intro, let's get to the things I wondered about or would like to see changed:


1. Menu accessibility during match search
Especially searching for faction play sometimes takes up to 10 minutes. Why is it not possible to access the mechlab, skill tree, drop deck, store or any other of the menus? Once I enter the lobby I can change and even edit the dropdeck. So why isn't it possible to do the same or even more during match searches? I'd love to browse the store to search for the next mech I'd like to buy or tweak my mech in mechlab.
Currently I am forced to do nothing or do something else all together (browsing for e.g.) as the game isn't offering anything interesting during the search.


2. (More) sorting functions in the store for battlemechs
Currently the only sorting functions that are implemented are by class or by chassis name (and by hero and champion). As I chose the Clan side for faction play (because of my friend) I am only interested in buying Clan mechs. I would like to have a sorting function to only display Clan or IS mechs.
Especially in the beginning I really struggled to know what mech is available for IS or Clan. At first I used an external site that listed builds for Clan and IS seperately but that site is not up-to-date so the latest mechs are missing. Later (and after a google search) I found out that I can check the weapons in the loadout if there is a "C" for clan before the weapons name to know what side the mech is for. Tho I still think this is overly complicated.
I do understand that long-time players do know what faction each mech belongs to, but for noobs like me such a sorting function would help a lot.


Edit:
Please see Metus regem's answer to this section (first comment in this thread). I drew the false assumptions to the total costs of IS mechs because I never bought one myself and only looked at prices in the store. Tho I might add I might not be the only new player drawing the same false assumption.

3. Why are Clan mechs so much more expensive than IS mechs?
I do understand there might be some lore reason, but since the lore is not explained a lot ingame I do not know those reasons. One thing I noticed early on in the store are the vast price differences between Clan and IS mechs. If I started the game all over again I would choose IS instead of Clan simply because the mechs are so much cheaper. Not only the prices are different, there are also a lot more IS mechs available in total, thus a lot more options to choose from. Building a full dropdeck of owned mechs takes longer on Clan side. Pretty much every Clan mech costs double the price of comparable IS mechs.
To me it feels like new players are encouraged to choose IS side over Clan side because of said reasons.
If I were to decide I would offer more Clan mechs in general and some cheaper options to encourage new players to join both faction in equal numbers.

/ Edit


4. Display how much damage I am currently doing
I'd love to be able to see how much damage I am doing while I am alive. Why are the only times I am able to see how much damage I did after I died or after the match ended? If I were able to see how much damage a shot did I would be able to adjust my aim, distance, etc. much easier. For a long time I was unaware that weapons can crit. If I saw how much damage a shot did.
Other games do display the damage, so you can adjust. Borderlands and WoW display every hit. Even World of Tanks displays damage numbers. In World of Tanks I am able to adjust my aim once I see my last shot didn't do much damage, so I am going to aim for a different part of the tank.
I do understand that displaying the damage the way Borderlands or WoW do would be messy and blocking the view for other important information.

My suggestions on displaying the dealt damage are:

• Display it like in Borderlands but make it an optional feature (or)
  
• Cumulate the damage every 2 - 5 seconds, then display it (or)
  
• Only display a cumulative damage count in a corner of the screen

I think the instant feedback on how you currently perform would help players to improve a lot. It will allow you to evaluate different weapons, builds, mechs, etc. while you are playing. It will allow you to adjust your aim. It will allow you to adjust your distance to the target because you are able to see that your Large Laser is only dealing 1 damage instead of 10. You will be able to see that only 2 of your 10 rockets have hit the target. Only judging by the red damage indicator you aren't able to know that.






5. A smaller skill tree

• The current skill tree is massive and you could even call is confusingly complicated. I do prefer the new skill system over the old one (that required 3 mechs of 1 mech type to fully skill). But I think a skill tree 1/3 or 1/2 of its current size would be much more overseeable.
  
• For example there are 14 Heat Gen nodes. Each of them reduces Heat Gen by only 0.75%. Skilling one node does not make me recognize any effect. What if there were only 4 Heat Gen nodes? Each would reduce Heat Gen by 2.625%.
  
• Same goes for Radar Deprevation: currently 5 nodes, 20% each. Make it 2 nodes 50% each instead.
  
• Make a skill tree that does the same, but is much more overseeable. I would prefer a skill tree were each used node makes you recognize the difference instead of minor changes each node.

6. The steep learning curve


Without completing the tutorials you are basically unable to play this game. And even after finishing you are barely understanding how to play. There are so many more things you need to learn as a new player to deal any considerable amount of damage and to not get crushed in seconds every time. If it wasn't for my friend teaching me how to play I would still be much worse.
Let me name a few things I feel the game doesn't teach new players well or are difficult for beginners:

• Different play styles and how they work
  
  • Brawling, Lurming, Sniping, Poptarting, Boating. I'd like to have a tutorial on each of them, teaching the basics on what weapons you need for them, where to position yourself, how to move in a combat environment etc.
    
  • At the beginning I didn't know what each of them is and didn't understand how they work. I ended up getting to close with long range mechs or too far away with brawlers.
• Mech buying and building dropdecks
  
  • What mech to buy? There are so many mechs available and some offer stronger builds than others. If you don't want to end up buying the worst mech of a class type you are forced to research it yourself or ask others. For the research you can check youtube videos (thank you Snuggles) or other external sites (for example metamechs.com). The problem is those sources might not be up-to-date because since their last update new mechs have been introduced leaving you wondering if those new mechs are any good.
• Weapons variety and how each of them work
  
  • There are 5 different type of energy weapons (Tag, Flamer, Laser, Pulse Laser, PPC), 5 different type of ballistic weapons (LB-X, AC, Ultra-AC, Gauss, MGs), etc. Each of them works differently and require different play styles.
• Mech building
  
  • What weapons fit together well?
    
  • How to build a mech that doesn't overheat all the time?
    
  • What upgrades should I use? Standard armor vs ferro fibrous? Heat sinks standard vs double?
    
  • What engine? Standard or XL? As a new player you might not even notice that there are different engine types at all, not even taking about the fact that XL engines extend to the torsos and that you die instantly if you lose them.
    
  • What are omnimechs? You can switch parts in omnimechs? It took me weeks to realize. It is such a minor detail that has such a major effect.
    
  • The problem with mech building is not only that there are so many options and things you have to consider, but also that trying out all those options is very expensive. Simply changing the engine often costs half the price of the mech itself. As a new player you are regularly broke after buying a new mech. Not only that, but you also earn considerably less C-Bills compared to experienced players. You won't be able to test those options yourself any time soon.
• Aiming
  
  • In the tutorial you are taught that stripping an enemy mech of its legs or headshotting will kill it instantly. Doing that in the tutorial is easy because the mechs are close and not moving. Once you enter real combat this becomes much more difficult. I often end up hitting all of the enemies components instead of focusing on one, tho I am working on that.
    
  • Finding the perfect mouse sensitivity. After realizing that I should focus my aim on one component at the time, I started working on my sensitivity and ended up lowering it. But now it is harder to twist it fast enough if quickly needed for example for shielding or to follow a light mech running around me quickly.
• Movement
  
  • Positioning: I often find it difficult to know where to position myself on the different maps and also in respect to my team to be able to deal damage myself but also not to be shot dead instantly because I peaked the wrong position and solo faced 5 enemies.
    
  • Torso twisting, using shoulders as a shield. Just recently I learned that if I shoot a destroyed arm only 40% of the damage is damaging the torso making it ineffective. Also I still struggle to use torso twisting / shielding myself.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't want this game to be extremly easy or casual. MWO should remain a title that requires skill and is hard to master. I don't want the play styles, mechs, weapons or anything to be different. What I would like to have are in-depth tutorials on improved tactics and easier access to the deeper game knowledge.





Comparing MWO with other competitive titles that are skillbased and hard to master, I would say MWO has a much steeper learning curve, being much less forgiving and less teaching on what you have done wrong. To me it is the worst not knowing what I have done wrong and not knowing how I am able to improve. Gaming simply isn't fun if it feels like playing against godmode enemies.

The steep learning curve is the main reason why I would have quit the game early on, if I wasn't encouraged by my friend to keep playing.


7. A more balanced faction play

• Mixed teams vs single unit teams:
  
  • Playing isn't really fun, if you are dropping each time you queue with a wildly mixed team against a (more or less) full single-unit team. And it is even less fun if that happens for 3 or even more nights in a row. It's frustrating because you basically lose every single time, getting rushed and crushed without the slightest of a chance.
    
  • In wildly mixed teams there is a big lack of communication. And even if somebody tries to take command and calls, often people are not listening, creating a big disadvantage against coordinated teams.
• Drop zone / spawn camping:
  
  • Once the enemy team has managed to camp a drop zone 1/3 of your team is basically instant dead because they are able to neutralize 1 mech each at a time.
    
  • I have seen games were up to 4 players are dead after 5 - 10 minutes simply because their drop zone has been camped. Once 1/3 of your team is dead the enemy has gained a major advantage not because they were more skilled, but because they used a lame tactic.
    
  • In my opinion spawn camping shouldn't even be remotely possible in any competitive game that wants to be taken seriously.
    
  • Dropping mechs should be able to regroup safely and be able to get back in formation with the rest of the team.
    
  • My suggestions are: The dropship should hover longer over the dropzone. Maybe 30 seconds or even longer. It also should have stronger turrets. There also should be less hiding spots for the enemies right outside the dropzones.

I know this has become a very long text, but those are the things that keep coming back to my mind over and over again when I play. I like MWO, but I also think it can be improved and can be made more accessible to new players. In the long run even the experienced and pro players should have an interest in an accessible game or else the player base will shrink in the long run.





I don't want to change MWO in it's core gameplay and features. But I think the addition of some new features and subtle changes here and there can improve the game a lot.

Thanks for everyone willing to read this long text and willing to contribute to the discussion!


Edit:
The editor keeps messing with me. Some of the blank lines are not as I intended. Each time I try edit it, it ends up being the same again.

Edited by Konseq, 09 June 2017 - 01:03 PM.

[Metus regem]

Konseq, on 09 June 2017 - 10:11 AM, said:

3. Why are Clan mechs so much more expensive than IS mechs?
I do understand there might be some lore reason, but since the lore is not explained a lot ingame I do not know those reasons. One thing I noticed early on in the store are the vast price differences between Clan and IS mechs. If I started the game all over again I would choose IS instead of Clan simply because the mechs are so much cheaper. Not only the prices are different, there are also a lot more IS mechs available in total, thus a lot more options to choose from. Building a full dropdeck of owned mechs takes longer on Clan side. Pretty much every Clan mech costs double the price of comparable IS mechs.
To me it feels like new players are encouraged to choose IS side over Clan side because of said reasons.
If I were to decide I would offer more Clan mechs in general and some cheaper options to encourage new players to join both faction in equal numbers.

There is a bit of false information in this section...

A lot of base IS mechs do not come with things like doubt heat sinks (1.5m upgrade), Endo Steel (variable cost upgrade) or XL engines.

For example:

Stock CN9-A
CN9-A

3.7m C-bills seems reasonable right?

Upgraded useful CN9-A
CN9-A
Note that is a CN9-A I acutally use in game

11m C-bills, in other words I had to spend an additional 7.3m C-bills to get the mech to a playable level, not counting skill point costs.

By comparison to Clan mechs, the IS mechs seem to be less expensive, yet once all required upgrades are done, the costs are actually very similar.

Another thing worth keeping in mind, is that even a 'bad' clan mech is better than an average IS mech, simply due to the virtue of having clan tech.

[BARegulator]

Not being able to mess with your mechs while playing search warrior online is something I would like changed as well. I can understand not being able to edit mechs that are in your current drop deck as they are already going into a game but you ought to be able to do something.

The whole UI needs some work though but this is pretty obnoxious.

[Konseq]

Metus regem, on 09 June 2017 - 10:27 AM, said:

By comparison to Clan mechs, the IS mechs seem to be less expensive, yet once all required upgrades are done, the costs are actually very similar.

Okay, thanks for the information. I edited my post accordingly. It was just the false assumption I drew from what I was able to see in the store. Since I never bought any IS mech and only bought Clan mechs for Faction Play. Tho I might not be the only new player that draws the same false assumption.

Edited by Konseq, 09 June 2017 - 01:04 PM.

[Metus regem]

Konseq, on 09 June 2017 - 12:59 PM, said:

Okay, thanks for the information. It was just the assumption I drew from what I was able to see in the store. Since I never bought any IS mech and only bought Clan mechs for Faction Play.

No-problem, I was just trying to clear up some misinformation.

[Konseq]

Metus regem, on 09 June 2017 - 01:04 PM, said:

No-problem, I was just trying to clear up some misinformation.

As you can tell it is still a learning process for me.

I hoped there would be more of a discussion tho.

[Monkey Lover]

Lots of good stuff here most of it just was never added because of programmer resources over the years. I hope they will at some point. Only one I never see happening is the damage level as this would give live feedback to bad hitreg. No way will they add this.

Edited by Monkey Lover, 10 June 2017 - 07:29 AM.

[Konseq]

Monkey Lover, on 10 June 2017 - 07:29 AM, said:

Only one I never see happening is the damage level as this would give live feedback to bad hitreg. No way will they add this.

Hahahahaha

For me this is the feature I really would like to see. At least give us a cumulative damage counter that I can check every now and then.

[TheArisen]

Some fair points. The learning curve is definitely quite steep.

[Cy Mitchell]

PGI does not do a great job of providing training to the new player. However, the community does. Just about every one of those tutorials that you suggested have been covered by a community generated Youtube video. Many times there are multiple videos covering the same subject. We also have other community developed resources like MetaMechs. A google search can get you a wealth of information on almost all things MechWarrior Online. Even though much of it is unofficial, there is an extensive library of MWO knowledge available at your fingertips for anyone interested in MWO.

[Kanil]

Konseq, on 09 June 2017 - 12:59 PM, said:

.... what I was able to see in the store.

If you want to see the price difference (or lack thereof) more clearly in the store, compare the Orion and the Orion IIC. The standard engine Orions cost a similar amount to their Clan counterparts, and the one XL engined Orion costs a similar amount to the XL IIC ones. There's still a bit of a cost difference, but it comes down to Clan weapons being lighter -- Clan missiles weigh half as much as IS ones, so fitting two launchers to your 'mech costs twice as much as just fitting one.

You're probably correct that some players will choose IS over Clan simply because IS 'mechs have cheaper initial prices, but PGI typically only sells 'mechs in their lore configurations, so there's not a whole lot they'll really be able to do about that.

Edited by Kanil, 11 June 2017 - 05:24 PM.

[Relishcakes]

I only have one bit to add here. I dont feel like the skill trees are all that difficult to comprehend.

Maybe its just me and the fact that my main hobby(apart from my family) is video gaming but if you look at something like previous wow skill trees, or even something like league of legends, they are similar in comprehension difficulty to this one but with less wording. Each node on MWO is easier to understand because they cut straight to the point, laser duration decrease by X percent as compared to giving fluff mixed in with the effect.

I would like to see a preview option before i actually lock my skill in, but thats just a minor gripe.
Either way, I suggest doing a quick google search as i am certain there is a tool out there that will allow you to put skill points in and then use it as a template for in game point distribution similar to the tool that i dont have the link for that allows you to save mech builds.

You just have to decide what you wanna do and what size mech you want to do it with.
Example: My Raven 4x carries 2x MLAS and 2x Machine Guns with an AMS. I took the AMS overload, ALL of the laser duration reduction nodes, leaving me with 25% laser burn time reduction) all of the range, and cooldown nodes i could find, all of the speed tweaks, must go faster!
Most of the stuff in these is easily avoidable if you dont need it, unfortunately they did leave some dud nodes in the way so maybe we should get some poor intern on node clean up duty?

Basically what I'm saying is take your time with the skill tree as that **** is expensive and please god never use the respec button but mostly just have fun, if you run a build that people hate but you love to hell and back, like my locust with 2srm 2's and 2 srm 4's, then you do you, Robo-Blood for the Robo-Blood god! Myomers for the Myomer throne!