118 replies to this topic

[Ruccus]

I throw Dim Sum, on 30 January 2019 - 08:51 AM, said:

...and a raven with ac20.

While the Boom Raven can be fun, it can be feast or famine because of its brawl-centric nature. Try out something like this RVN-4X build (MRM40 based), or this one (MRM30 based). If you don't have the right engine just use an engine you own and tweak the build to your liking; the key is an MRM30 or MRM40 and at least three tons of ammo.

With the introduction of MRMs some old Inner Sphere mechs have been transformed, and with its 15% missile cooldown quirk the RVN-4X can unleash a solid amount of damage during a match.

[I throw Dim Sum]

i got no money (thank god a somebody told me about the events). i spent it all on weapons and engines. Plus i have to go farm some mech bays apparently as im maxed at 4.

[Phoenix 72]

Every now and then there is a sale when mech bays are 50% off. That's when everybody tends to grab as many as they can. Otherwise, 300MC will stack up quite fast. And it takes quite a few events to fill back up, if you do not want to spend money. Still, keep the Bushwacker and Crab in the back of your mind. Eventually, you will get more mech bays, after all.

[Kynesis]

For what it's worth, I found that initial progress with a limited number of mechs & possible configurations was a huge grind. It's always been a major roadblock for getting people interested in the game - sure you can try out the trial mechs, but half the game is creating a build that suits your tastes & proficiencies... and ideally, styling. Trial mechs would be a great way to at least occasionally show off available patterns and help new players feel a little less like outsiders.

As everyone else has said T5 games tend to be a bit chaotic, with teammates running weird builds & dying unexpectedly.
imho it's best to be very zen about wins and losses early on, it's difficult for average players (as most people are) to have a decisive impact on a regular basis.
To really make progress, I'd recommend not worrying about end scores and whether you won or lost but instead focus on improving core skills - protecting damaged components by twisting and positioning, aiming at and reliably hitting the components you're aiming for, choosing high value components and targets to aim for, _consistently using the mini-map_ to see what your team is doing and to get an idea of what enemies are doing, picking good fights rather than just shooting whatever pops into view.

As the games population is fairly low, you'll often be mixed in with high tier players, but again as others have pointed out the tier system is little more than an XP bar. With limited builds available to you there will be times that you're just totally out-classed or run into skilled players who sweep through half your team while you're peeking and duelling.

As much as possible, just try to do your best and where possible, try to help your team work as a team. It's easy to say 'don't be salty' but that would be enormously hypocritical coming from me... I barely ever even grumble at crazy traffic, but seeing my MWO team nascar into a ditch... So yeah, be better than me - games come and go, each is just a few minutes of your life.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Darakor Stormwind, on 30 January 2019 - 09:23 AM, said:

If you are looking for suggestions, I myself am highly partial to the Crab. I own at least one of pretty much every chassis. They are very good for teaching some of the basic skills required to be successful in MWO like twisting, etc. It is fairly tanky and well suited for beginners.

Here a suggestion for one of the builds.



I myself prefer the Crab 27 with double AMS, but the 27B is quite nice as well. Also, the Buswacker X1 and X2 are quite sturdy medium Mechs.

I was originally a fan of the Crab but its lost its luster and I just can't make them work for me anymore. Now the Bushwacker on the other hand. Amazing mech. It might even be best in class be it IS or Clan. I am partial to the P2 myself. I run 4xMPL, 2xMRM10, 2xLMG equipped with a 280 LFE for that extra bit of durability. That doesn't sound like much but it tends to tear through the enemy. In any case, the Bushwacker, whatever variant is chosen should be a must have target for any new player. Hell I might even recommend them as a 1st choice buy for a new player.

[LowSubmarino]

I throw Dim Sum, on 26 January 2019 - 07:31 AM, said:

How many games does it take to get out of tier 5 !?! Why am I stuck with these guys who can't even turn around when they are getting shot in the back.

damn, I just caughed and spit my tea all over my keyboard.

Give some warning before you say such things. You do have a sense of humor though. I appreciate that.

My man.

If you believe that players in tier 1 do any better, than you will be in for a surprise. There is literally no difference between any of the tiers. You have ppl that have never once even played a video game in their entire lifes in what is called tier one in mwo. And that is no joke. That is reality.

[Phoenix 72]

Angel of Annihilation, on 30 January 2019 - 06:37 PM, said:

I was originally a fan of the Crab but its lost its luster and I just can't make them work for me anymore. Now the Bushwacker on the other hand. Amazing mech. It might even be best in class be it IS or Clan.
...
Hell I might even recommend them as a 1st choice buy for a new player.

Well, when you have improved as a player, chances are the Bushwacker will outperform the Crab by quite a margin in most matches. The Crab absolutely comes with some drawbacks that limit it in higher skill matches. As in, when your opponents have higher skill.

But when I recommend Mechs for new players, the Crab is usually my first choice, followed by the Bushwacker. Every new player should own both as part of his first 4 Mech (before he has to go buy new mech bays). Just my opinion.

I tend to recommend the Crab 27 with 2 AMS, 2LL and 3ML, 250 Standard Engine, because it teaches a number of game concepts quite well, grants some team utility and is sturdy enough to survive some bad positioning (most new players are either too timid or too aggressive). It gives you a decent range to fight from, you do not need to worry about side torso loss heat spikes, or ammo and can stay active pretty much forever, because the only thing you will run out of is AMS ammo. So you can concentrate on learning parts of the mechanics, without having too many things going on at once to distract you. If people are consistently getting sub-average match scores, this mech can push them at least into the average range.

My Bushwackers average a lot more damage than my Crabs, but at the cost of team utility. I personally feel it is better suited for people that already have experience with a number of things in this game and no longer need to work on the very basic stuff. But hey, play what you enjoy and what works for you.

Despite the limitations, I am planning on buying (and skilling) the last Crab chassis I am still missing. The build won't change much, but a Crab with JJs might be fun. Will probably kill my MS for a season or so, but at this point, who cares? Having fun > match score.

[OrmsbyGore]

Angel of Annihilation, on 30 January 2019 - 06:37 PM, said:

Now the Bushwacker on the other hand. Amazing mech. It might even be best in class be it IS or Clan. I am partial to the P2 myself. I run 4xMPL, 2xMRM10, 2xLMG equipped with a 280 LFE for that extra bit of durability.

If you haven't already, you should check out the huntsman; they are pretty devastating boatong srms, and as omnimechs they have some pretty awesome build versatility

[Ruccus]

OrmsbyGore, on 30 January 2019 - 10:54 PM, said:

If you haven't already, you should check out the huntsman; they are pretty devastating boatong srms, and as omnimechs they have some pretty awesome build versatility

The Huntsman is a nice versatile mech, but since he belongs to House Laio and his other mechs are Inner Sphere a Bushwacker might be a better option. The 275XL engines that are in the c-bill Bushwackers will go nicely into his Raven as well.

[Tarl Cabot]

Ruccus, on 30 January 2019 - 11:50 PM, said:

The Huntsman is a nice versatile mech, but since he belongs to House Laio and his other mechs are Inner Sphere a Bushwacker might be a better option. The 275XL engines that are in the c-bill Bushwackers will go nicely into his Raven as well.

I love the Huntsman, as it plays similar to my Shadow Hawks, both energy/srm and ballistics/srms.

[Shuma-Gorath]

I throw Dim Sum, on 26 January 2019 - 07:31 AM, said:

How many games does it take to get out of tier 5 !?! Why am I stuck with these guys who can't even turn around when they are getting shot in the back.

Instead of whining... try enjoying your time in t5. T5 is the most fun bracket cause you can do anything and play anything while carrying. As you climb youll start seeing the meta showup and games will start falling apart cause one person made a simple mistake like turning a corner wrong, didnt twist properly, went ahead of a teammate slightly, or didnt make a proper call.

If you want to play at higher brackets you can join me. Just add Shuma-Gorath.

[TrowaBarton]

This seems to be the latest thread for this topic. So I started a new account just to get out of tier 5. Results. Within 2-3 games had enough cbills to buy a mech. Within 10 Games had my weapons of choice and doing 300 to just short of 500 a match. 1-2 kills a match. popping UAVs wherever I could. using cover. not jumping into loads of enemies. fighting smartly. I never died more than once or twice without rotating armor until at least 400-500 armor damage had been accumulated over an entire game.

Every team loss was PSR loss even if I scored over 500 damage and did all of those other things. And the losses come in multipes in teams filled with cadets, LRM campers that sit 5 minutes doing nothing until somebody gets them a lock, hiders that finally fight at the end after avoiding combat the entire game put their reticle on the enemy and can't fire fully functional weapons groups, disconnects, AFK's, etc. One game my team had 2 discos. every game at least 2 newer players suicide toward the enemy.

The bar slowly moves left and unfilled despite doing everything right simply because of a team loss from these other things mentioned. So at this point, it appears to be pure luck as to people claiming to get out of tier 5 within a few matches because they were lucky to hit a win streak. I hit a 2-3 match win streak doing absolutely nothing different getting decent numbers.

So, it just appears that if you're in tier 5 you're probably never get out no matter how you perform unless maybe you jump in with an assault mech and just get insane damage every game so that a 3-5 loss streak has no effect. get over the hurdle, no longer with 2-5 brand new players that cannot hit the broad side of a barn or get a kill to save their life.

At this point I honestly hope they game loses popularity so there will be fewer newer players and at least people playing that took half a year or a year away from the game might have a little clue how to play. I hear a lot of "I got mine, the heck with you" in nicer words. I don't mind having fun games despite other players being clueless, but I would once in a while like to not have the norm be 2 disconnects, 2 cadets, 3-12 losses where the kills are mostly mine, and people hiding in corners of the map. It just begins to be not fun as hard as you try to make it fun when you're fighting with half a team at best

Edited by TrowaBarton, 16 January 2020 - 12:33 AM.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

1. Your first 25 matches are weighed heavier when it comes to the Tier progression bar. I have an alt, with exactly 1 game under its belt, that is T4. All it took was a single decent match (410 Matchscore)
2. Progress/Regress is tied to your personal performance in a match and whether you win or lose

• Win: MS<101= no change / 100<MS<251= slight progress / 250<MS<401= moderate progress / MS>400 = largest progress
  
• Loss: MS<101= biggest regress / 100<MS<251= slight regress / 250<MS<401= no change / MS>400 = slight progress

3. I'm not the best player by far, took me almost 2 years and about 5k matches to reach T1 (where I don't belong) after a bad start going in blindly.

[MisterSomaru]

I got out of tier 5 in 4 matches on my alt that I use gamepad only with. This game is so abymsally easy that I wonder how people are still stuck in Tier 5. I imagine it's all the misinformation shared, using joysticks, people sticking to lore for how they play, or every combination possible.
When getting advice from anyone, look up their Jarls List stats. If it's below 80%, chances are quite high they're talking out of their *** and will not bring you any positive results. The population is too low to actively trust anyone that consistently performs at least at a 300 average match score.

cannot edit from mobile, I mean is NOT at least capable of a 300 average match score.

[Kodyn]

You don't in any way need to be great(or even that good) at the game to progress in Tier. That said, Tier doesn't matter anymore. I'm an exceedingly average player, borderline crap. I have plenty of experience, horrible twitch reflexes, arthritis, etc. Yet I'm maxed out T1. Just play. Unless you're literally suiciding early every match or teamkilling, you'll eventually go up in tier- which won't matter because the MM places T5-T1 all in the same matches, and most of the T1 players in this game are even worse than I am.

You're not missing anything by being at a lower tier. You're likely facing the same players, 75% of people in any given match will play like their monitor is upside down and they're using a joystick with their feet, at all tiers.

The time of day you play at will have more of an effect on the potatoes you're dropping with than anything else. If you're playing during daylight or after say 3am EST, you're going to see some really, incredibly stupid things. About 6-7pm EST to 2am, that seems to be the sweet spot, where players are actually trying, might communicate a little bit if you're lucky, and matches might feel less masochistic. I play during the off-times frequently, which sometimes allows me to farm morons, but mainly it's just kind of painful.

One good thing I guess- once you max out T1, it's almost impossible to ever drop Tier again. In fact, I'd have to hear of someone doing it in order to believe it was possible. I can lose game after game after game, level terrible mechs, have poor performance, get terrible teams- that bar stays firmly maxed. It really doesn't give you a higher quality of match. I know I'm going to have a better match when I see more names I recognize on my team than the OPFOR- that's what dictates ability in this game- Most players are absolutely awful, a small chunk can carry their weight, and a select few can carry even sub-optimal teams. Watch some videos from the more popular streamers(which for MWO isn't saying much), pay attention to what the last few guys alive in a match are doing, compare that to what you saw from YT and Twitch, see whether they were lucky or doing it right, and eventually you may get there.

TLDR: You don't need to be great to progress in Tier, but Tier is also all but pointless. Just play the game and get better, try to enjoy what you can.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

Kodyn, on 16 January 2020 - 03:13 AM, said:

... which won't matter because the MM places T5-T1 all in the same matches ...

I'm 99% positive that this is a false statement. Tiers get matched in a range of +/-2

[MisterSomaru]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 16 January 2020 - 03:22 AM, said:

I'm 99% positive that this is a false statement. Tiers get matched in a range of +/-2

It's SUPPOSED to, but after a long enough search, it stops caring.
75% of tier 1 play like they just played a video game for the first time anyway, with builds often even worse than stock.

[Kodyn]

I'm 100% positive I've seen T5 players in my matches, frequently. People I can quickly confirm Tiers of.

But as I said, most T1 players in this game are absolutely terrible, so it really doesn't matter much. Tier is not really a good indicator of anything, and I don't think the remaining population is enough for them to even use the Tier system in MM any longer(not that this particular iteration of tier system was ever much more than worthless).

[Horseman]

TrowaBarton, on 16 January 2020 - 12:30 AM, said:

So, it just appears that if you're in tier 5 you're probably never get out no matter how you perform unless maybe you jump in with an assault mech and just get insane damage every game so that a 3-5 loss streak has no effect. get over the hurdle, no longer with 2-5 brand new players that cannot hit the broad side of a barn or get a kill to save their life.

I was T5, back in 2016 or so. Took me a while to dig myself out, the answer in low tiers tends to be just to get as much damage out as possible (which means that yes, LRMs can work if you're not terribad with them... and I've seen pilots who are. Locked-arms-stand-still-and-fire-lurms-straight-into-a-rock-thats-right-in-front-of-them bad.

Quote

At this point I honestly hope they game loses popularity so there will be fewer newer players and at least people playing that took half a year or a year away from the game might have a little clue how to play.

Newer players are not as much of a problem as eternal bads stuck in their habits and unwilling to listen to reason. You've surely seen plenty of them on these forums.

Quote

I don't mind having fun games despite other players being clueless, but I would once in a while like to not have the norm be 2 disconnects, 2 cadets, 3-12 losses where the kills are mostly mine, and people hiding in corners of the map. It just begins to be not fun as hard as you try to make it fun when you're fighting with half a team at best

True, but the hiders aren't cadets. They're typically career bads.

MrSomaru, on 16 January 2020 - 03:23 AM, said:

75% of tier 1 play like they just played a video game for the first time anyway, with builds often even worse than stock.

That's casuals for you. shrug

Kodyn, on 16 January 2020 - 03:30 AM, said:

But as I said, most T1 players in this game are absolutely terrible, so it really doesn't matter much.

QFT.

Edited by Horseman, 16 January 2020 - 04:22 AM.

[Tarl Cabot]

Kodyn, on 16 January 2020 - 03:30 AM, said:

I'm 100% positive I've seen T5 players in my matches, frequently. People I can quickly confirm Tiers of.

But as I said, most T1 players in this game are absolutely terrible, so it really doesn't matter much. Tier is not really a good indicator of anything, and I don't think the remaining population is enough for them to even use the Tier system in MM any longer(not that this particular iteration of tier system was ever much more than worthless).

Only way to confirm tier will be if they are setup to show their Tier on the forums.. otherwise Jarl's list cannot be used to guessamate a player's tier. I am aware of several Tier 1 and Tier 2 players who have an average 170+ MS.and average MS below that.. Sort Jarl's List by games played.

Regardless of the number of Tiers being used, the real culprit is the way the PSR is setup to calculate movement itself. PSR thresholds have both a fixed and low thresholds. Followed by the MM using Tiers to group teams instead of avg MS once a player has graduated from the beginner pull. I mean, if one side's has an overall avg 350 MS and the other side overall avg is 200 MS that is a large gap.