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For more information about drop deck set up and choosing mechs check out these guides;
https://mwomercs.com...n-faction-play/
https://mwomercs.com...ion-play-guide/
(The second one even goes over some of the maps you may not be familiar with.)
For further Tactical considerations check out this one.
https://mwomercs.com...rimer-by-leone/
Or, if your not sure you're ready and want to go over the basics again you could check this out.
https://mwomercs.com...-playing-guide/
Alright. First off, I'd suggest grabbing a book, or maybe alt tabbing out to read the forums whilst launching. Ten minutes waiting for matches is a thing that can happen. Granted, it's often best to find friends and team up to chat and talk mechs whilst waiting, but if not, be prepared.
Second, understanding and reading the Faction Queue. Spoke to a few new folk this week who didn't know this bit. So yeah, maybe you've seen the little red call to arms on the bottom right and clicked on em, picked a side and launched, only to get a timer and have nothing launch when it finished counting down? Well, that's 'cuz we need twenty four players to launch a game, and the faction queue lets you know how many folk are already queued up.
So if it's showing 12 / 8 that means there's a full team waiting to fight, and one side just needs four more to get going. Might wanna queue up whilst you can. On the flip side, if it's showing 0 / 1 you might be on at a slow period, or maybe a match just launched, but if you wanted to tweak mechs, that'd be a fine time to do so. And if you keep seeing it showing 9 / 26, that means one has two full teams ready to fight but there aren't enough folk queuing up for the other side, and maybe you should switch sides to get more matches in?
Alrighty, once in game, since your new, I'd suggest sticking with your lance, and if they split up, stick with someone whose talking. Sure, sometimes they'll offer bad advice, and you may have matches where your team gets run over by a more cohesive force. But you know, six mechs following a bad plan is often better'n twelve mechs with no plan at all. To get into further depth, check out the tactics thread, but at the beginning, just work on being a teammate.
So, There are two threads I linked on deck building and mech builds, but the best advice I've heard given to new folk is pick mechs you're comfortable with. Using mechs you know'll serve you best for learning a new game mode. I started with simple one or two button builds, to ease into it. Basically though, for deck building we like to drop slow and heavy first, longer range mechs at the beginning, closer and faster to finish up..
Alrighty, last, and not least, talk to your team. Just a quick 'Anyone calling shots? No? Let's meet up over here then.' can get your team working together, and at best you'll find a vet willing to show you the ropes, maybe even invite you to group up if you mention you're new. The good teams either've played together a bunch and know how to work together, or they group up and make plans while waiting to drop. Communication is an often unused tool.
~Leone, of Kell's Commandos.
Edited by Leone, 25 May 2020 - 12:45 PM.
