4 replies to this topic

[Zsword]

Now, I'm no technical or balance mastermind, I play the game highly casually and have just come back from a, iunno, 3ish year break? (when was Urbanmech new?) but this map singlehandidly has me borderline regret the decision to come back.

First of all, no one likes this map. I have never heard or seen someone on coms go 'yay! Polar highlands!' Yet for some reason people vote for it. Honestly makes no sense to me. I see people go yay for Solaris, yay for HPG, yay for Forest Colony or Viridian, yay for Terra Therma and Caustic Caldera. Each generally has a different reason for it, but I've never heard someone say 'yay Polar highlands!'.

The map is a chore, it's a massive flat plain that has some minor divots that barely count as cover, and the team with the most LRMs/PPCs wins. There's no question or doubt or mix up or gameplay, it's just 'okay, who has more LRMs?' That team, will shell out the enemy team until there's not enough of an advantage and then they just clean up.' There's no counterplay, just counterbuilds, if that. If your in say, a King Crab, and this map rolls up, your team loses cause they're down 100 tons.

It's such a long boring slog that it starts to get League syndrome, where, because we're spending the full half an hour of map time with each other, and as such, one wrong misstep gets insults slinging -everywhere-.

Yes, this is a salt inspired rant of a topic, but it's spawned when I dusted off my King Crab to get the assault damage for the event, and when engaged on, stood and fought and had 3 other people on my team yell at me for it, cause a borderline Shop-fresh king crab is totally able to just, disengage, especially on a map this barren and flat.

Edited by Zsword, 03 January 2020 - 09:48 PM.

[Zsword]

Okay, salt diluted with some tasty fries, let me follow up with some more actual criticism and stuff.

I did read 'shpuldn't exist' through entirely, and there's some really good points to and for this map.

While this would be best put in as additions to that topic, well, I took the time to make this, time to put my time to worth.

Ultimately my view on Polar Highlands is that winning or losing is too dependant on the external builds, if you come to this map as a 250 range brawler, it's entirely likely, nigh on guaranteed, that you won't get within 500 meters without being seen. There are some trenches and ravines to walk through, but even most of those are so shallow that your head pokes up and anyone taking the brief moment to peak will spot you. There's just not enough cover to reliably break locks if the enemy remotely attempts to maintain the lock after you poke your head up. Several of 'lows' also just kinda, dead end into a smooth ramp that could easily be horseshoed by enemies. (Think the center ramp in Canyon Network/Hibernal Rift, but it's the entire map.)

As such, you're extremely dependent on things like ECM, AMS, and Skills to break locks and the like, and it's entirely possible your team just doesn't have any, or any snipers, while the enemy team has it all, which means you just lose, because Polar Highlands has the lease potential to use 'Get Gud' to win the game, on even the slightly more open maps (river city, crimson straight, caustic caldera) There's enough reliable cover and holes in the LoS that if you play the map well, an entire team of brawlers can close the gap on a team of snipers and punish them for their long range antics.

I do think Polar highlands has a place in the game, but as it's victory is very meta dependant, and stands as an outlier to what meta builds are better on it to others, that place is not in quick play. As I understand it, Faction Play 100% knows the map before stepping in, and can make changes based on the map, so there's definitely some worth there, particularly since faction play tends to also be much more coordinated in it's strategies compared to Quick Play

[Leone]

Zsword, on 03 January 2020 - 09:48 PM, said:

First of all, no one likes this map.

You are incorrect. I love this map for brawling.

~Leone.

[MW Waldorf Statler]

Never Play Meta (heavy or Medium) and most not LRMs and have good wins of the Map with Teams thats plays tactical, use focus Fire, not plays in slow Monsters or have nothing Tactical Awarness =play as Team

Edited by MW Waldorf Statler, 20 January 2020 - 03:11 AM.

[General Solo]

Zsword, on 06 January 2020 - 01:10 PM, said:

Okay, salt diluted with some .......Ultimately my view on Polar Highlands is that winning or losing is too dependant on the external builds, if you come to this map as a 250 range brawler, it's entirely likely, nigh on guaranteed, that you won't get within 500 meters without being seen. There are some trenches and ravines to walk through, but even most of those are so shallow that your head pokes up and anyone taking the brief moment to peak will spot you. There's just not enough cover to reliably break locks if the enemy remotely attempts to maintain the lock after you poke your head up. Several of 'lows' also just kinda, dead end into a smooth ramp that could easily be horseshoed by enemies.................

Its possible dude even with srm.....Theirs cover which won't make up for a bad playing/team work. Team work makes the dream work.

In a brawler you have to pick your moment to strike and draw fire without getting rekt before that time, so you have enough armour for your moment.