73 replies to this topic

[Stealthrider]

I don't know if I would call myself "good," but lately I've been getting friend requests after pugging FP matches. Sure, as someone who tries to drop call pugs I'd get more than a few requests from my teammates, but lately I've been getting them from opponents, too. Earning the respect of an opponent definitely makes a person feel like they've gotten good, or at least gotten better.

So that's what I'd say it comes down to, 'cause at the end of the day being "good" is relative. Striving to be better than you were yesterday is what matters, and recognition from an opponent is a good sign of progress.

[ANOM O MECH]

Well tonight in CW in my F2P IS account I encountered an outstanding player, who actually kind of illustrated what I was saying to Mischief.

Actually I recognised three names but it is actually kind of intimidating when one of them is Vxheous....

So at the end of the game, Vxheous in a Mistlynx has no arms, legs open, only one torso, his centre is insanely cherry and his only only torso is only slightly less red.

Potato me is in a fresh LVOM Whammy chasing his one touch @#$ all over as he jumps and twists and absolutely refuses to die.

I laughed at myself thinking how I didn't deserve the kill and just in awe at the guy who is on a whole other level than I am.

Survival is one of the most vital aspects of this game that I don't hear people talking about often enough. Survival is an entire suite of skills that include positioning, twisting, aim, using cover, movement, map awareness, mech knowledge....

Watching Proton and how he positions his Dragon is a good example. The direction of his legs and how he protects that gun arm, and protecting it against folks that can really shoot.

In my opinion what really separates the good from the bad is knowing how not to die. You just can't kill things when you're dead.

[xRatas]

tker 669, on 06 January 2018 - 11:59 PM, said:

We'd all be speaking german, and the world would have a lot fewer people on it.

You say it like it would be a bad thing?

Good player hates losing so works harder for win.

[Y E O N N E]

xRatas, on 07 January 2018 - 11:29 PM, said:

You say it like it would be a bad thing?

Jesus, that's one hell of a tone-deaf statement and I'm being generous.

[Burning2nd]

A good clear mic, the ability to make calculated info on the fly..
a good understanding or your targets.. there configuration and what they can possibly be caring

target priority and team work

I had a guy in the middle of the round call me out for calling the round, I told him to stfu i know what im doing.. the team followed my call.. we won... In the middle of the round he thought it would be appropriate to come here to the forums to find my stats (like that some how indicates pilot skill)

which then the whole team jumped on him.. because we won.. but the point is.. stats dont mean anything, this is a video game.. and most of us dont play for stats.. thats childest call of duty type bs

hell ill throw a game if i dont like how my team is walking, It doesn't matter to me.. ive got like 50 other mechs and i can be in another round in 30 seconds


dont focus on stats, focus on team work... use your mic, listen to your team.. transmit technical info of target accusation

[Water Bear]

Notions like "team work" are ill-defined, subjective, and high-level. I think it would be possible to write down some of the behaviors that lead to victory, possibly in the form of a decision tree. For example, stay out of sight of the entire enemy team. When you expose yourself to take a shot, do so by using cover to block LOS from the entire enemy team, except your target, if at all possible. If possible, find a position to fire on the enemy from which none of the enemy team is facing. Etc.

Following rules like these in certain contexts results in people declaring vigorously that you are a team player.

[Sjorpha]

OrmsbyGore, on 05 January 2018 - 09:43 AM, said:

OK, that's cheating, you're defining being good as driving wins, with no explanation of what it is that drives wins.

It's not cheating at all, there are so many different things that might drive wins which means there are a lot of different ways to be good at the game.

Driving wins is the only common denominator for good players, so it's the only way to know if someone is good. If you still win a lot after reaching tier 1 you're good, if you don't you're bad. The detailed reasons behind that goodness or badness might be different, but it doesn't change the fact that you need to consistently drive wins to be a good player.

[Daggett]

A good player basically only needs the will to analyze and improve his own performance. Everything else will come naturally.

When a good player was beaten he/she will first look what he could have done better. He will often not start the next match right away but rather think a while about what exactly went wrong last match and how to avoid it next time.

A not-so-good player however first looks at his team, suspect hacks, accuses the enemy of using 'cheap/skilless tactics' (guided missiles are very prone to this for example), blames the MM or writes a forum post about "X is OP".

The good player however knows that X almost never is OP in a way that it threatens to destroy the game balance. He knows that something will always overperform statistically but he will also search for and usually finds at least one counter to X if necessary.

So the good player usually won't write forum posts hoping the devs will nerf X, he/she will rather improve himself to deal with those problems.

That's why you almost never see top players like Proton complaining here on the forums. While we scrubs are discussing if (gauss) laser-vomit, or the MG-spamming MLX is OP they are already developing tactics to do well in any given meta. They adapt themselves instead of demanding the game to adapt.

Edited by Daggett, 08 January 2018 - 04:16 PM.

[ANOM O MECH]

xRatas, on 07 January 2018 - 11:29 PM, said:

You say it like it would be a bad thing?

Good player hates losing so works harder for win.

Being sane and not a giant dbag yes I am saying it is great Germany lost in WW II.

Glad you stepped up with this comment however as I now know to completely ignore anything you might have to say.

[Daggett]

xRatas, on 07 January 2018 - 11:29 PM, said:

You say it like it would be a bad thing?

I'm very glad that we germans lost WW II and also very sad that right-wing nationalist movements are on the rise throughout europe again. Those people have learned nothing from history.

Edited by Daggett, 08 January 2018 - 09:41 AM.

[Sjorpha]

I'm really sceptical to the idea that germany lost ww2 because the allies were somehow "more competitive", it was because they became increasingly more outnumbered and made the huge mistake of attacking Stalingrad.

[Xiphias]

Daggett, on 08 January 2018 - 07:06 AM, said:

So the good player usually won't write forum posts hoping the devs will nerf X, he/she will rather improve himself to deal with those problems.

That's why you almost never see top players like Proton complaining here on the forums. While we scrubs are discussing if (gauss) laser-vomit, or the MG-spamming MLX is OP they are already developing tactics to do well in any given meta. They adapt themselves instead of demanding the game to adapt.

I think the #1 trait of a good player is adaptability. If a player can't adapt they won't stay "good" for very long. Adapting to meta changes, adapting to what the enemy brings, adapting to how your team is playing, adapting based on the damage that you have taken.

At the core being able to respond quickly and effectively to change is what makes a player good. A good player will be able to pick up a new map quickly. A good player knows how to position and how to change that positioning based on the position of the enemy team, friendly team, and weapons being run. A good player can go from a light to an assault and back and use the skill of one to improve the play of the other. A good player can go from lasers to gauss to SRMs to dakka depending on how the meta changes.

Rigidity of thought is the opposite of being good and it's what makes the truly bad "career potatoes" what they are, a refusal to adapt and play the game how it is, instead playing the game as they want it to be. This doesn't mean accepting rubbish ideas in the the name of being "adaptable", it means being able to critically evaluate things and adapt what is good. It's not being rigid to try a weapon, decide that it is bad and maintain that view. It is rigid thinking to be shown valid evidence to the contrary and refuse to adjust your views based on the result.

[ZippySpeedMonkey]

Situational awareness above all.

The number of times I’ve played with people who don’t look at the maps in front of them and don’t react to red triangles behind them is astounding...

[KevinZhang]

If it is a name that I fear on the opposite team then I consider them a good player.