15 replies to this topic

[Stridercal]

So i've been seeing lots of 'Gatekeeping' and 'No True Scotsman' BS lately, so i'd like to take a moment to say...

Don't be a ****!

Seriously, if you encounter someone new to this game, be nice, try to be helpful. Give them a chance to learn instead of just shutting them down and making them feel frustrated. We all know we have a player population problem, so don't discourage new players in any way, OK?

Case in point (humblebrag, i guess):

Found myself playing against a super green new player in Solaris. He was in a Bushwacker with three LRM5s, so i figured something was amiss right from the start. He then went about trying to shoot me with his AC but missed or clipped terrain constantly. And he never fired his large laser once.

So i decided i could try and help a little bit. First i cut off the AC5 so i have time to talk, then i asked if it was their first match, etc. I then took the time to explain the minimum range of LRMs, and told him how to assign weapon groups so he could start shooting me with his laser.

Once he was doing damage again, i gave him a merry chase for target practice for the rest of the 10 minutes.

(Of course, i'm not all good... as the clock ran down, i apologized via chat that i had to cut him down, then followed through. But at least i didn't just core him and move on, is my point, yes?)

[Kalimaster]

That was super cool of you. Giving you an A+.

If we are going to build a player base, and have the #1 awesome game, it is up to us, the players.

[mistlynx4life]

I've done similar things with folks as well. It's really important to aim our salt in the correct directions, lol. A+ from me too.

[kuma8877]

In General, I have found the MWO community to be very helpful and inviting compared to many others out there.

That don't be a d**k thing cuts both ways.

[El Bandito]

[Asym]

That was pretty neat ! Well done... Now, if there were only several thousand more of you, this game might just break even !

I wonder, what it will take to get back the hundreds/thousands that have left? I hope MW5 does something positive in the regard. S7 is helping it seems to retain some and drive others away? A mixed bag so far from the people I know who play this game. I'll continue to hope; and, play events as will most of the team I am on is doing it seems.

A great thing you did.

[Ghogiel]

[Pain G0D]

Please sir . I wanna blow the newbie up into bits an pieces in under ten seconds .

Edited by Pain G0D, 27 April 2018 - 01:50 AM.

[Luminis]

A lot of the frustration and hostility you see on these boards isn't really aimed at new players. Most of it, as far as I can tell, it's directed towards those guys with several hundred matches under their belt who refuse to learn and get better.

That said, mighty fine job you've done, OP. I try to be helpful in reddit and whenever questions pop up in the game, but I seriously doubt I'd spot a new player in need of help in S7.

[DarkFhoenix]

.......AND BUYING DISCOUNT MECHPACKS , MECHBAYS AND HERO MECHS.

Edited by DarkFhoenix, 27 April 2018 - 02:16 AM.

[Bud Crue]

Well done OP,but more importantly kudos to the person you were playing. It sounds like they were willing to listen and learn. Alas, for every one of these sorts of occurrences I would estimate a dozen where something like this occurs:

Watching a guy firing PPCs, or LRMs repeatedly from within minimum range and typing or VOIPing to inform them that they need to back up, etc. only to be responded with something like: "STFU I play my way you play yours", or my personal favorite: "I know what I am doing, it blinds them." (seriously, I have heard the latter or something like it several times).

Same thing occurs with: build advice on objectively bad builds, obvious mouse setting issues, firing at beyond max range (typically a LRM issue), people who rush out to die alone, people who rush out to narc when the team that may or may not have missiles is still 1500M or more away, people who just scatter, etc.

The far more common response to even the most politely phrased suggestion to alter an obvious bad habit or correct an error, is to be told in no uncertain terms that you should go commit sexually improbable acts with yourself, because they know better.

After a while of trying to help, and getting that sort of response over and over, it sort of breaks ya down to even wanting to help at all.

So yeah, congrats on the effort and good experience, but props as well to your "green" player for listening and hopefully learning from your tutelage.

[RogueFox]

Been away from the game for a long time. A lot has changed but my experience with the community so far has been very positive. Post like this let me know that I came back to a great game and great players.

[Alexandra Hekmatyar]

All players are forged in battle.
I throw my newbies to the wolves all the time I mean most of them will do as good as other Mariks I pick up for faction (which could use a lot of improvement on it's own).

[Cnaiur]

Luminis, on 27 April 2018 - 02:04 AM, said:

A lot of the frustration and hostility you see on these boards isn't really aimed at new players. Most of it, as far as I can tell, it's directed towards those guys with several hundred matches under their belt who refuse to learn and get better.

Hundreds? More like thousands or tens of thousands.

A big part of that is due to the fact that unless you’re prodigiously skilled, getting gud mostly involves using “good” builds and playing a certain way. Peek and poke. Win trades. Always use cover. Etc. And that’s not fun for a lot of players. So they just keep using crappy builds and suboptimal tactics. Which leads to losing, which also isn’t fun for them. I honestly think the kind of players we’re talking about really just want a PvE game.

[Eisenhorne]

Luminis, on 27 April 2018 - 02:04 AM, said:

A lot of the frustration and hostility you see on these boards isn't really aimed at new players. Most of it, as far as I can tell, it's directed towards those guys with several hundred matches under their belt who refuse to learn and get better.

That said, mighty fine job you've done, OP. I try to be helpful in reddit and whenever questions pop up in the game, but I seriously doubt I'd spot a new player in need of help in S7.

Yup. Unfortunately there is a "right" and a "wrong" way to play this game, and a lot of people seem to enjoy playing the "wrong" way, and have no interest in improving. They want to sit back at 1KM or so and lob LRM's ineffectively, or take poorly optimized bracket builds "because lore", or push over a hill by themselves into an enemy gunline and whine about how "nobody pushed with them". They are actively hurting their team by refusing to learn how to best play the game. If it was 12v12 with people that had a similar mindset it would be different, but it's not.

[Stridercal]

Eisenhorne, on 27 April 2018 - 06:48 AM, said:

Yup. Unfortunately there is a "right" and a "wrong" way to play this game, and a lot of people seem to enjoy playing the "wrong" way, and have no interest in improving. They want to sit back at 1KM or so and lob LRM's ineffectively, or take poorly optimized bracket builds "because lore", or push over a hill by themselves into an enemy gunline and whine about how "nobody pushed with them". They are actively hurting their team by refusing to learn how to best play the game. If it was 12v12 with people that had a similar mindset it would be different, but it's not.

Interestingly enough, i pretty much only play with lore mech builds (apart from one or two non-meta customs designs), and despite hamstringing myself with 'poorly optimized' mechs, i've managed to keep myself in the top quintile. Of course, Solaris is tanking my numbers, but yeah. It's not strictly about that.