9 replies to this topic

[Griffin839]

Hello Everyone. Im Griffin839 and I have been playing this game for many years now. These are some of the common mistakes I see people doing in PUG games and I wanted to share these here in the hopes that newer players learn to avoid them.

1. Alpha Striking when near max heat limit

There are two most common ways to fire weapons that players like to use. They either fire all their weapons at once for a giant punch, or they group fire individual weapon groups. The first way, called alpha striking, deals massive damage assuming the weapons all hit the target, and makes a ton of heat. The second allows for better damage over time and better heat management. Both have their benefits and downsides and its up to the player to decided what mode works for them.

The mistake comes when in the middle of pitched battle, the player panics and either loses track of their heat limit or hopes this one last alpha strike is enough to kill the opponent. Both situations often end in the player firing all their weapons before shutting down without killing their enemy, leaving them easy prey for the opponent.

When the computer voice warns you about your heat limit and the enemy is in front of you there are a couple ways to deal with this without shutting down:

-You can break away from them and get behind cover waiting for the heat to go down. Chances are they will chase you, but as long as you dont show them your back and keep moving, you will probably be fine. The time you gain by moving away is often enough to allow your heat to drop and let you continue the fight.

-Additionally, you can stay in front of the enemy but fire slower. You allow your heat to drop while you take damage, and fire only when your heat allows it. It lets you stay in the fight and hopefully your opponent is the one who panics and shutsdown. The downside of this way is unless you are good at torso twisting, you will take a ton of damage and could die.

-The final way is to use the backspace key to set your weapon group in chain fire mode. This way you are firing weapons 1 at a time at a faster rate, but hopefully less heat. It lets you continue to fight while losing heat. The damage over time is pretty good and often you can kill the opponent this way. Then when the enemy is dead you can set your group back to normal and fight on.

2. Not Torso Twisting While Being Shot

Torso twisting is a skill in which pilots look left, right, up and down, to move their torsos around. The idea is that if you spread a laser beam or a rotary ac burst all around your body, each armor section takes a little damage instead of 1 section taking a lot of damage. Its a very useful skill to have and experienced players can tank twice as much damage as other players, because they keep spreading damage around. If you have ever shot a guy over and over and over again and never destroyed a component or killed him, he was probably torso twisting to avoid damage.

The easiest way to torso twist is to first figure out what side of your mech is getting shot then twist accordingly.:

-If its straight ahead of you move your torso left and right like a boxer, this will spread the damage across your left arm, left torso, center torso, right torso, and right arm. The faster you twist the more the damage will be spread across these areas.

-If it is to your left side you want to twist left and a little right but not all the way. This will spread the damage across your left arm, your left torso, your center torso and some of your rear armor. The reason you dont want to go all the way right is you would show your back to the enemy and most people have very little back armor to spare. You want to put a little damage there but most of the damage should be on the arm and the left torso.

-If it is to your right side you want to mirror what you did before, twisting right and a little left. This will spread the damage to your right arm, right torso, center torso and some of the rear armor.

- Finally, if the damage is coming from your rear, you want to twist all the way right or all the way left, so that your rear armor is protected by your arm. Then you want to turn the entire mech in the direction you twisted. This will hopefully put your front armor in the way of the shots and protect your valuable rear armor. It will also hopefully put the enemy in your line of sight.

3. Not Using Their CB Bought Consumables Before Death

I have observed that players are dying without using their CB consumables. Notice I said CB Consumables. I am not encouraging people to waste their MC bought consumables, it is understandable that they do not want to waste those as MC is difficult to come by. CB Consumables however are pretty cheap, and there is no reason not to use them before you die. That air strike, arty strike, uav, and coolant flush, may not seem like a lot but their effects do add up over the course of a game. Try to be mindful of them and use them before you die to help aid the team as much as you can.

4. Not Using the Cover of Terrain

Anyone who has ever played on Polar and watched 23 people stand in the open middle and shoot it out while ignoring the rocks and buildings all around them can attest that this is a big problem in MWO. Terrain is there for a reason. The developers want you to use it. There is nothing holy about standing in the open and duking it out like an old west quickdraw contest. Terrain has a couple key benefits:

-It protects you from damage. While this one may seem obvious there are many people who take it for granted. A big bad assault mech may be able to take a lot of damage, but put it behind terrain and it becomes almost unkillable. Increasing survival is a good thing. The longer you stay alive, the more damage you can do, the more kills you can make, and the more you help your team out.

-It lets you break locks. If you have ever thought lrms were broken op cheese, then terrain is your best friend. Hiding behind it and shutting down is a great way to break locks. Against direct fire weapons it also distracts the enemy. If they cant see you they have no idea what side of the rock you will appear from. They have to keep their aim on you which means not shooting at your teammates. Sometimes your teammates will even shoot at them, which lets you move away from rock without being shot.

- It lets you outmaneuver your opponents. Big city maps are great for this. When the big brawl is occuring you can weave in and out of buildings to make your opponent lose track of you. Then you can come up to their side and rear to put the hurt on them. When they turn to face you, you can disappear behind the buildings again to rinse and repeat. Ive seen mechs go 1 on 5 in a city map and win because they use the terrain against their opponents.

5. Not Communicating.

MWO is a game of communication. Thats why they put out a handy pre-recorded message wheel. At the very least everyone should be using it to call out target locations and let their teammates know when they need help. Information is important and the worst thing that could happen is letting a team surprise your team. Keep communicating all the time. If you have a moment, type out what you want to say. The extra details are important too. If you die, become the communications guy for your team. Call out weak enemies and enemy locations. Help your team.

6. Nascar is Bad. Please Do Not Do It.

Ah yes the Nascar maneuver. Nascar is slang for a wheel like manuever in which an entire team moves around an area in a circle, trying to get behind the enemy team. The enemy team will see this and move in the same direction, keeping your team at a distance while simultaneously trying to get behind your team. What happens is both teams make a big circle while shooting at each other. This is one of the simplest tactical maneuvers and people tend to do it instinctively.

Why is this a mistake? Many Many Resons. Here are the biggest in my opinion

-Nascar shows your rear to the enemy. As the team makes its circle, any enemy units fast enough to be behind you are shooting you in the back. Like I mentioned before, most people do not have a lot of rear armor. So you are losing rear armor and sometimes components while running, not fighting or doing any damage to the enemy.

-Nascar sacrifices your teammates. A team is made up of faster mechs and slower mechs. As a team runs in a circle, it spreads out. The fastest mechs of your team end up engaging the slower mechs of the enemy team, but the same happens on the other side. Those big bad assults and heavies loaded with armor and weapons that you need to kill the enemy team are left all alone, and the enemy will surround and kill them. Without them backing you up, chances are you will die.

-Nascar is a selfish maneuver. If you play a lot of games the ones leading the nascar charge are players who do not play as a team. It is the people in the lights and mediums who do not want to take damage and want to make a lot of kills. So they nascar around an area of terrain to get at the rear of the enemy, without caring about their teammates. Their teammates die but they get 1 or 2 kills before the rest of the enemy team surrounds them and kills them. MWO is a team game and this is a strategy that is bad for team games.


That was a lot of words, and if you read it all I thank you. Hopefully this will be helpful to newer players or players looking to get better.

[Phoenix 72]

White I absolutely agree with everything Griffin posted, I want to add something. All of the above takes practice.Which takes time. And some things will become automatic fairly quick, while others may just be beyond you. I know it took me ages to get the hang of twisting and I am still not very good at it. So some additions from me to improve your gameplay while working on the above.

1. Alpha striking
Do not go all laser vomit until you get the hang of this. Even if you heard that THIS is the meta. Pick a Mech and build with a mix of weapons, some of them not producing heat, like the LBX10s for example. When you hear your Mech whining about the heat, just keep shooting the LBX/Gauss/whatever cold weapon you have. It will also help you with not producing as much heat in the first place.

2. Torso Twisting
Pick a tanky Mech that either makes twisting fairly easy (The Crab comes to mind) or pick a sturdy Mech with a facetime build. Bushwackers with RACs come to mind, among other things.

3. Nascar
Even if you are tempted to load your Mech with every single piece of weaponry it can carry, don't. You will need a good engine that will let you move at above average speed. Especially in the beginning you may not be able to notice the early signs of your team repositioning. Then you need to haul *** to keep team cohesion. This is more easily doable if you are not driving the slowest thing since molasses.

[Alphaeus]

7. Making Up Their Own Alphabet

Comms are only useful if you're saying something others can understand. "Bravo" is a lance or a map coordinate; "Beta" is a cap point. There is no "Beta Five" on the map. Ever. Learn the NATO Alphabet and use it.

And note: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "INDIGO."

[Mister Maf]

Alphaeus, on 13 November 2018 - 09:20 PM, said:

7. Making Up Their Own Alphabet

Comms are only useful if you're saying something others can understand. "Bravo" is a lance or a map coordinate; "Beta" is a cap point. There is no "Beta Five" on the map. Ever. Learn the NATO Alphabet and use it.

And note: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "INDIGO."

Indigo is used by British police in place of India. People really do need to stop conflating the Greek and NATO alphabets though; it muddies comms quite a lot.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Alphaeus, on 13 November 2018 - 09:20 PM, said:

7. Making Up Their Own Alphabet

Comms are only useful if you're saying something others can understand. "Bravo" is a lance or a map coordinate; "Beta" is a cap point. There is no "Beta Five" on the map. Ever. Learn the NATO Alphabet and use it.

And note: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "INDIGO."

[Elizander]

I'll argue against the random use of c-bill consumables. It can seriously hamper the earnings of a new player especially if it won't get them a kill or greatly increase the chances of winning the game. Unless the new player is running Premium and heroes, they are better off in the long-term with not using c-bill consumables in their Quick Play games.

I will usually just bust out the coolshots and such during events or when I'm already far ahead on c-bill earnings and I've bought what I need.

[CFC Conky]

Hello all,

Consumables, while useful, can also develop bad habits. In my opinion it’s better to learn how to manage heat through trigger discipline. Once you’ve learned how to manage heat and hit what you’re shooting at, then those consumables will be much more effective. I would argue that you don’t really need them in the lower tiers or solo pugging. Group play tends to be more organized, so using consumables make better sense.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

[Tesunie]

Alphaeus, on 13 November 2018 - 09:20 PM, said:

7. Making Up Their Own Alphabet

Comms are only useful if you're saying something others can understand. "Bravo" is a lance or a map coordinate; "Beta" is a cap point. There is no "Beta Five" on the map. Ever. Learn the NATO Alphabet and use it.

And note: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "INDIGO."

Personally, I got by the concept of communication. The very concept of communication is to relay information in an understandable manner. As long as your teammates can understand what you are relaying, then it's all fine. If someone wants to call out "Move to Indigo 5", then the point has still been relayed, move to grid location I5. Or India. Or some other word with a strong I sound in the front. (We aren't military, we are normal people playing a game to have fun.)

I would avoid some call slang such as Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Kappa, and Theta, as those can represent lance designations as well as resource points (unless you are, of course, referring to such things). It can be confusing to call out "Target Beta"... when there might be a Beta resource point (AKA: Move to beta?) or even a beta gate generator (Shoot Beta gate?).


Some of this argument is like saying one should(n't) use a comma for the last item in a list.
This, that and that. vs This, that, and that.
It's often such a minor point, it's normally not relevant.

---

8. Not having fun.

Too many times, I have seen people express to another to do or play something that because "it's more effective". All too often, I think people make the mistake of being too competitive, and forgetting this is a game to have fun with, and that different people have different ways to have fun. (Of course, within the perscribed rules of the game: AKA- don't team kill, even if it is "fun" for you.)

[Mechwarrior 37]

Griffin839, on 27 October 2018 - 08:38 PM, said:

Hello Everyone. Im Griffin839 and I have been playing this game for many years now. These are some of the common mistakes I see people doing in PUG games and I wanted to share these here in the hopes that newer players learn to avoid them.

1. Alpha Striking when near max heat limit

There are two most common ways to fire weapons that players like to use. They either fire all their weapons at once for a giant punch, or they group fire individual weapon groups. The first way, called alpha striking, deals massive damage assuming the weapons all hit the target, and makes a ton of heat. The second allows for better damage over time and better heat management. Both have their benefits and downsides and its up to the player to decided what mode works for them.

The mistake comes when in the middle of pitched battle, the player panics and either loses track of their heat limit or hopes this one last alpha strike is enough to kill the opponent. Both situations often end in the player firing all their weapons before shutting down without killing their enemy, leaving them easy prey for the opponent.

When the computer voice warns you about your heat limit and the enemy is in front of you there are a couple ways to deal with this without shutting down:

-You can break away from them and get behind cover waiting for the heat to go down. Chances are they will chase you, but as long as you dont show them your back and keep moving, you will probably be fine. The time you gain by moving away is often enough to allow your heat to drop and let you continue the fight.

-Additionally, you can stay in front of the enemy but fire slower. You allow your heat to drop while you take damage, and fire only when your heat allows it. It lets you stay in the fight and hopefully your opponent is the one who panics and shutsdown. The downside of this way is unless you are good at torso twisting, you will take a ton of damage and could die.

-The final way is to use the backspace key to set your weapon group in chain fire mode. This way you are firing weapons 1 at a time at a faster rate, but hopefully less heat. It lets you continue to fight while losing heat. The damage over time is pretty good and often you can kill the opponent this way. Then when the enemy is dead you can set your group back to normal and fight on.

2. Not Torso Twisting While Being Shot

Torso twisting is a skill in which pilots look left, right, up and down, to move their torsos around. The idea is that if you spread a laser beam or a rotary ac burst all around your body, each armor section takes a little damage instead of 1 section taking a lot of damage. Its a very useful skill to have and experienced players can tank twice as much damage as other players, because they keep spreading damage around. If you have ever shot a guy over and over and over again and never destroyed a component or killed him, he was probably torso twisting to avoid damage.

The easiest way to torso twist is to first figure out what side of your mech is getting shot then twist accordingly.:

-If its straight ahead of you move your torso left and right like a boxer, this will spread the damage across your left arm, left torso, center torso, right torso, and right arm. The faster you twist the more the damage will be spread across these areas.

-If it is to your left side you want to twist left and a little right but not all the way. This will spread the damage across your left arm, your left torso, your center torso and some of your rear armor. The reason you dont want to go all the way right is you would show your back to the enemy and most people have very little back armor to spare. You want to put a little damage there but most of the damage should be on the arm and the left torso.

-If it is to your right side you want to mirror what you did before, twisting right and a little left. This will spread the damage to your right arm, right torso, center torso and some of the rear armor.

- Finally, if the damage is coming from your rear, you want to twist all the way right or all the way left, so that your rear armor is protected by your arm. Then you want to turn the entire mech in the direction you twisted. This will hopefully put your front armor in the way of the shots and protect your valuable rear armor. It will also hopefully put the enemy in your line of sight.

3. Not Using Their CB Bought Consumables Before Death

I have observed that players are dying without using their CB consumables. Notice I said CB Consumables. I am not encouraging people to waste their MC bought consumables, it is understandable that they do not want to waste those as MC is difficult to come by. CB Consumables however are pretty cheap, and there is no reason not to use them before you die. That air strike, arty strike, uav, and coolant flush, may not seem like a lot but their effects do add up over the course of a game. Try to be mindful of them and use them before you die to help aid the team as much as you can.

4. Not Using the Cover of Terrain

Anyone who has ever played on Polar and watched 23 people stand in the open middle and shoot it out while ignoring the rocks and buildings all around them can attest that this is a big problem in MWO. Terrain is there for a reason. The developers want you to use it. There is nothing holy about standing in the open and duking it out like an old west quickdraw contest. Terrain has a couple key benefits:

-It protects you from damage. While this one may seem obvious there are many people who take it for granted. A big bad assault mech may be able to take a lot of damage, but put it behind terrain and it becomes almost unkillable. Increasing survival is a good thing. The longer you stay alive, the more damage you can do, the more kills you can make, and the more you help your team out.

-It lets you break locks. If you have ever thought lrms were broken op cheese, then terrain is your best friend. Hiding behind it and shutting down is a great way to break locks. Against direct fire weapons it also distracts the enemy. If they cant see you they have no idea what side of the rock you will appear from. They have to keep their aim on you which means not shooting at your teammates. Sometimes your teammates will even shoot at them, which lets you move away from rock without being shot.

- It lets you outmaneuver your opponents. Big city maps are great for this. When the big brawl is occuring you can weave in and out of buildings to make your opponent lose track of you. Then you can come up to their side and rear to put the hurt on them. When they turn to face you, you can disappear behind the buildings again to rinse and repeat. Ive seen mechs go 1 on 5 in a city map and win because they use the terrain against their opponents.

5. Not Communicating.

MWO is a game of communication. Thats why they put out a handy pre-recorded message wheel. At the very least everyone should be using it to call out target locations and let their teammates know when they need help. Information is important and the worst thing that could happen is letting a team surprise your team. Keep communicating all the time. If you have a moment, type out what you want to say. The extra details are important too. If you die, become the communications guy for your team. Call out weak enemies and enemy locations. Help your team.

6. Nascar is Bad. Please Do Not Do It.

Ah yes the Nascar maneuver. Nascar is slang for a wheel like manuever in which an entire team moves around an area in a circle, trying to get behind the enemy team. The enemy team will see this and move in the same direction, keeping your team at a distance while simultaneously trying to get behind your team. What happens is both teams make a big circle while shooting at each other. This is one of the simplest tactical maneuvers and people tend to do it instinctively.

Why is this a mistake? Many Many Resons. Here are the biggest in my opinion

-Nascar shows your rear to the enemy. As the team makes its circle, any enemy units fast enough to be behind you are shooting you in the back. Like I mentioned before, most people do not have a lot of rear armor. So you are losing rear armor and sometimes components while running, not fighting or doing any damage to the enemy.

-Nascar sacrifices your teammates. A team is made up of faster mechs and slower mechs. As a team runs in a circle, it spreads out. The fastest mechs of your team end up engaging the slower mechs of the enemy team, but the same happens on the other side. Those big bad assults and heavies loaded with armor and weapons that you need to kill the enemy team are left all alone, and the enemy will surround and kill them. Without them backing you up, chances are you will die.

-Nascar is a selfish maneuver. If you play a lot of games the ones leading the nascar charge are players who do not play as a team. It is the people in the lights and mediums who do not want to take damage and want to make a lot of kills. So they nascar around an area of terrain to get at the rear of the enemy, without caring about their teammates. Their teammates die but they get 1 or 2 kills before the rest of the enemy team surrounds them and kills them. MWO is a team game and this is a strategy that is bad for team games.


That was a lot of words, and if you read it all I thank you. Hopefully this will be helpful to newer players or players looking to get better.

I teared up a little......

[Renzor the Red]

How about scattering to the winds when the attack comes, letting the more organized enemy mob up on inferior numbers and crush the team?