57 replies to this topic

[ReploidX9]

Ok, so, as a (relatively) new player, I have to ask; what is up with the way players play the game? I've had more games than not where Assaults (not even full LRM boats) will just sit in the back hiding all or most of the game, popping off the occassional shot. I've also had (more times than it should happen) people just straight up empty an LRM/ERLL volley into my back whilst I'm standing still. I've been standing there a few seconds before they shifted to where they fired from, so it's not like I backed into them (I play in third person, I'd see if that was the case). Is this what QP has always been or is it a new(er) thing?

[Anomalocaris]

Welcome to the merge where everyone gets thrown into the pool to see who gets eaten last.

[ReploidX9]

Weeny Machine, on 08 May 2020 - 11:58 AM, said:

Nevermind though, it gets more and more ridiculous. I just had a match were 3 people "DCed" once they realized that the other team had a 4 men group (also a behaviour which was normal in the above mentioned games).

Yeah, I've also experienced people D/Cing, worst one was where an assault had stealth armour(?) and had walked over to the enemy base and d/c'd. Nobody could find him so I called him out otherwise we'd have to wait 8 mins

[JediPanther]

Before the great purge err i mean merge solos and groups were not forced to fight each other in qp. The game has been made worse for the casuals,solos and the odd two-persons trying to play with a friend. This [Redacted] was "just a four weeks" test. Knowing how bad pgi are from the past seven years I wouldn't be surprised if their test was permanent.

Qp use to be where you could experiment a lot with builds,run subpar aka non-meta mechs and just skill out a mech. If you wanted group play and meta there was fw for it.

I pretty much gave up mwo as I find posting here to be more entertaining and fun dropping only when I have that want-to-play-mech itch. I never bought into mw5 since the bait and switch on epic. When it gets to steam for a 80% or so sale I might pick it up there or on gog.

[Alan Hicks]

Combining solo and group playing, because seal clubbing at Faction Play was not enough

Quick play was bad, really bad, but now is WORSE. Some of PGI staff and their wonderful changes.

They did it in the past and they do it now, their motto must be: how can MWO be degraded even further? Easy, just don't listen to the community, even when the actual players have better and more practical ideas that could help to REALLY improve the game. Same story as always, they just ignore the mayor feedback, look the other way and keep doing their thing...

Balance is nearly gone and stomps are frequent.

I just hope the time remaining for the test goes over quickly.

[Black Caiman]

The new queue has led to an increase in cowering from what Ive seen so far. Im a fairly aggressive player and the amount of times I find myself out in front with various teammates hiding has definitely gone up. It doesn't matter if Im attempting to drop call or not. Trying to encourage them to move forward has little effect. Im not sure why this is, but it is a trend Ive noticed.

As for groups, "seal-clubbing" isnt something I have seen on a consistent basis. Does it happen? Sure, but Ive also had a lot of good matches as well. I play as a solo player and in group queue and I can still have fun doing both. It helps if the group in your team will call shots and coordinate, but I also find that most pugs wont listen anyhow. Its just a new style of play and you have to adapt to the change.

[ReploidX9]

Black Caiman, on 08 May 2020 - 12:48 PM, said:

The new queue has led to an increase in cowering from what Ive seen so far. Im a fairly aggressive player and the amount of times I find myself out in front with various teammates hiding has definitely gone up. It doesn't matter if Im attempting to drop call or not. Trying to encourage them to move forward has little effect. Im not sure why this is, but it is a trend Ive noticed.

As for groups, "seal-clubbing" isnt something I have seen on a consistent basis. Does it happen? Sure, but Ive also had a lot of good matches as well. I play as a solo player and in group queue and I can still have fun doing both. It helps if the group in your team will call shots and coordinate, but I also find that most pugs wont listen anyhow. Its just a new style of play and you have to adapt to the change.

The cowering is something I don't understand in any sense. I'm not a super aggressive player, but I will push when I think I have the edge, either in numbers or health. I just find it odd that a lot of assaults hide, I thought they were meant to spearhead attacks? I may be wrong there, I'm new to this universe.

I've met some PUGs that do listen when shots are called, and that's great, but the ones who don't listen just end up making it painful for everyone

[Yozaa]

This cowering might also be what is called "trading" in this game, best practice according to the best players in the game.

Edited by Yozaa, 08 May 2020 - 01:59 PM.

[LordNothing]

Yozaa, on 08 May 2020 - 01:57 PM, said:

This cowering might also be what is called "trading" in this game, best practice according to the best players in the game.

its not trading if you lose all your forward armor on the first one and barely stub their toe, its suicide. seems no one can hit anything unless the enemy is within 100m and they have advanced zoom. and even then its questionable whether or not your typical t1 protato can actually hit the enemy. effective trading has probably been one of the hardest skills for me to learn.

its also not trading if you never shoot. the shooting is kind of important.

Edited by LordNothing, 08 May 2020 - 02:16 PM.

[LordNothing]

ReploidX9, on 08 May 2020 - 01:14 PM, said:

The cowering is something I don't understand in any sense. I'm not a super aggressive player, but I will push when I think I have the edge, either in numbers or health. I just find it odd that a lot of assaults hide, I thought they were meant to spearhead attacks? I may be wrong there, I'm new to this universe.

I've met some PUGs that do listen when shots are called, and that's great, but the ones who don't listen just end up making it painful for everyone

assaults in particular have to be extremely cautious as they are the ones most likely to be stuck in the open and for longer periods of time. like 90% of effective assault piloting is positioning, with a fair bit of squirrel avoidance thrown into that. you need to have excellent map knowledge, and when you do get into the fight it helps to have good heat discipline and gunnery. new players make the mistake of thinking bigger is better, and it can be in the right situation with the right skill set, but its really a good idea to get started on heavies and mediums to develop that skill set. these classes are significantly more forgiving.

[Knight Captain Morgan]

Assaults refusing to assault has always been par for the course. Some assault pilots hiding in the drop zone while their teammates soften up opfor so they can come in later for some easy kills is also fairly typical but has been excascerbated by the merging of the competitive premade farm team que with the casual solo pug que.

[ReploidX9]

LordNothing, on 08 May 2020 - 02:31 PM, said:

assaults in particular have to be extremely cautious as they are the ones most likely to be stuck in the open and for longer periods of time. like 90% of effective assault piloting is positioning, with a fair bit of squirrel avoidance thrown into that. you need to have excellent map knowledge, and when you do get into the fight it helps to have good heat discipline and gunnery. new players make the mistake of thinking bigger is better, and it can be in the right situation with the right skill set, but its really a good idea to get started on heavies and mediums to develop that skill set. these classes are significantly more forgiving.

The "bigger is better" trap I get, but why run an assault with small/micro lasers and an lrm 5 then proceed to stay riiiiiight at the back? Idk.

Also, as for trading, cowering is different to trading. Trading in my books involves firing/returning fire (and taking hits as is occassionally part of the process), not sitting in a corner somewhere and not helping in any manner. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Since we're here, is it normal for people to completely ignore the call for help as well?

[R79TCom1 Night Lanner]

I do not know what it is, but I have noticed it too since coming back. In the past I played tons of Group and Solo Drops and have never seen Assaults, or any 'Mech for that matter besides the odd poorly piloted LRM-Boat or "Sniper", hang back like I have seen recently. I have seen 5+ 'Mechs just standing in the back for no reason while the remaining 7 engage with the enemy. And it is not trading, you have to be in effective weapon range to trade and share some armor to do that properly.

It was so bad I was beginning to wonder if this was the new "meta" since I have not been playing regularly for over a year, so I am glad I am not the only one who noticed. Fortitude up, MechWarriors, and push with the rest of your team.

[ReploidX9]

R79TCom1 Night Lanner, on 08 May 2020 - 02:58 PM, said:

I do not know what it is, but I have noticed it too since coming back. In the past I played tons of Group and Solo Drops and have never seen Assaults, or any 'Mech for that matter besides the odd poorly piloted LRM-Boat or "Sniper", hang back like I have seen recently. I have seen 5+ 'Mechs just standing in the back for no reason while the remaining 7 engage with the enemy. And it is not trading, you have to be in effective weapon range to trade and share some armor to do that properly.

It was so bad I was beginning to wonder if this was the new "meta" since I have not been playing regularly for over a year, so I am glad I am not the only one who noticed. Fortitude up, MechWarriors, and push with the rest of your team.

I play a sniper myself, but even in my VEagle I'll reposition because it makes sense to me to keep your position hidden by changing regularly. Also great for getting good angles for those disarming shots.

[bilagaana]

Quote

I just find it odd that a lot of assaults hide, I thought they were meant to spearhead attacks? I may be wrong there, I'm new to this universe.

Your observation is correct. Unfortunately for their teams, the most timid players in this game always choose to pilot assaults, hoping the extra armor and weaponry will compensate for their lack of skills and, shall we say, testicular fortitude. Add to that the fact that the majority of them take LRMs (the weapon of choice of the cowardly and slow-witted) as their primary weapon and you have the abysmal state of match play evident at present.

[LordNothing]

ReploidX9, on 08 May 2020 - 02:51 PM, said:

The "bigger is better" trap I get, but why run an assault with small/micro lasers and an lrm 5 then proceed to stay riiiiiight at the back? Idk.

Also, as for trading, cowering is different to trading. Trading in my books involves firing/returning fire (and taking hits as is occassionally part of the process), not sitting in a corner somewhere and not helping in any manner. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

Since we're here, is it normal for people to completely ignore the call for help as well?

taters gonna tater. its the way of the pug lotto.

[ReploidX9]

bilagaana, on 08 May 2020 - 03:06 PM, said:

Your observation is correct. Unfortunately for their teams, the most timid players in this game always choose to pilot assaults, hoping the extra armor and weaponry will compensate for their lack of skills and, shall we say, testicular fortitude. Add to that the fact that the majority of them take LRMs (the weapon of choice of the cowardly and slow-witted) as their primary weapon and you have the abysmal state of match play evident at present.

Haha, with regards to LRMs, I always call them zero skill because people always ask other mechs to lock for them. Run your own TAG!

[John Bronco]

Black Caiman, on 08 May 2020 - 12:48 PM, said:

The new queue has led to an increase in cowering from what Ive seen so far. Im a fairly aggressive player and the amount of times I find myself out in front with various teammates hiding has definitely gone up. It doesn't matter if Im attempting to drop call or not. Trying to encourage them to move forward has little effect. Im not sure why this is, but it is a trend Ive noticed.

Some of this might be related to all the tier mixing going on, as lower tier games tend to be played more passively. Also may be part of the reason for less nascar.

[ReploidX9]

I thought tiers were split atm? With T4/5 being one pool and 1/2/3 being their own ones?

[Thorqemada]

ReploidX9, on 08 May 2020 - 04:35 PM, said:

I thought tiers were split atm? With T4/5 being one pool and 1/2/3 being their own ones?

Afair it was your Tier and then 2 Tiers difference, so Tier 3 would play all Tiers for example.
And then there were time limits that when broken had the matchmaker start a match with anyone available be it Tier 1 or 5.
But i dont know how it was handled lately...

Edited by Thorqemada, 08 May 2020 - 04:59 PM.