33 replies to this topic

[-VooDoo-]

I am hoping to entice some of our more skilled players to respond in this thread in an honest way should they choose, not to divulge their secrets of course if they don't want to. I, like many people, enjoy watching skilled players on YouTube etc (Rkshz, Yondu, and many other talanted people) and decided recently to try and take note of what I saw was different about their gameplay versus the average Joe. Please feel free to correct any of my observations if they look like they are not accurate.

One of the first things that stuck out to me is that the highly skilled player seems to engage in fights from non-traditional spaces. Everybody knows the maps, and everybody knows where people tend to congregate to fight... I noticed there is a high percentage of the time where these skilled players are not in these territories but decide to fight from a different location. Which leads me into the second thing that I've noticed, not always...but a fairly high percentage of the time these players engage with enemies when they are engaged with someone else. They try to not do the face tank thing unless they feel it's absolutely necessary. I also see very little 'pop-tarting', usually when these people poke up...if they are noticed they would rather move positions then take the shot. Obviously there are exceptions to all these things that I've stated, but I think as a generalization it holds true.

Several Sears back my unit QQ was a highly rated unit comparably speaking, and I enjoyed playing with them very much. I was invited to join not because I was highly skilled but I think they just enjoyed my personality. When the skill tree changed a few years back my unit fell apart and I've been pretty much playing alone ever since, so while I was getting better playing with excellent players in the past... that's not so much the case anymore. I am in my 40's and will hopefully find a unit with skilled players that I can play with on a casual basis at some point. Whether or not that happens, I am hopeful and looking forward to the advice that may be posted on this thread to raise the game of myself and others.

I appreciate all honest feeback. : )

[pattonesque]

skilled players are constantly maneuvering with the intention of being able to engage from a favorable position

unskilled players are constantly maneuvering with the intention of not engaging. If you spectate them this is very apparent -- they will pass up easy shots, look away from enemies (not twisting, turning away and running) and in general try to delay the time between the start of the game and when they actually shoot/get shot as long as possible.

[Moldur]

Mobility and range directly relate to how much sway you have over controlling/setting the position of your team / the fight at the beginning of a match. Medium mechs and faster heavies probably have the most responsibility as far as putting the team in the right place. If you disregard having 5 assaults on your team, and choose to constantly rotate at 95+kph, then it'll be your fault when your team's tail gets sacrificed to the rotation, your assaults get sub 300 damage, and you have no arms to bear when you're in a super sick flank. with a 2-9 kill split. Everyone has a responsibility to read the room and too many times I see people rage because they did something that was literally incompatible with their team's mech composition.

[YueFei]

Some things I've noticed that good players are doing:

• Movement up/down ramps tends to be done diagonally instead of straight up and down, introducing an element of lateral motion.
  
• Good habits with reticle placement, in particular coordinating reticle placement with their own peeking, so that when an enemy appears they don't have to jerk the reticle as far in order to place and land the shot.
  
• Use of legs combined with torso twisting when shielding/twisting incoming fire.
  
• Striking a good balance between wider-peeking with perspective advantage for see-first -> shoot-first, versus being too far back and completely out of cover and exposed.
  
• Good ability to navigate the map without needing direct vision of the path they are taking. They can keep their eyes focused on the relevant sectors whilst picking their way through the obstacles on the map to reposition.
  
• Taking an extra bit of time to aim when afforded the luxury to do so, with careful shot placement instead of just shooting on cooldown into shield arms or dead shoulders. Sometimes with movement and a slight shift in position to do so, in order to obtain the desired shot angle.
  
• Constant bits of micro movement, stutter stepping, little fidgety turns, so that incoming damage spreads more even if not fully shielding. Like if they're about to go from shielding to swinging back to aim and shoot, they'll also simultaneously accel/decel and turn in order to shift and prevent enemies from isolating the desired hitbox. In contrast I often simply just turn back to shoot whilst still holding the same course and speed, and if I'm facing more skilled opponents they'll still probably hit me where they want to.
  
• Use of the VOIP to help provide info and directions to teammates.
  
• Game sense. I can't explain it, because I don't have good game sense. But I can tell it's there in a good player's decision making. The problem is, I see them make a decision but I don't know why they did it. I can't tell what info they were operating off of, or what their thought process was, but they sense danger or opportunity ahead of time and begin moving to 20+ seconds in advance.

I think (1), (2), and (3) are basic things that anyone can learn to do, it doesn't have a high mechanical skill "gate" that would prevent anyone from doing those things. The other things are harder to do and I struggle with these, but it's fun to try and improve.

[-VooDoo-]

Nice feedback so far...

[pattonesque]

Another thing:

Skilled players look at the minimap and react accordingly. Unskilled players either do not look at the minimap or do not register what the information on it actually signifies.

[feeWAIVER]

[RickySpanish]

Shoot more. That's it. It's all you got to do - heat is a resource and every moment you spend with your heat bar nominal you are wasting it. If you increase the useful damage you do each match you will be more effective.

[Bamboozle Gold]

Peek when your enemies' weapons are on cooldown / jammed.

[PocketYoda]

feeWAIVER, on 03 October 2021 - 06:21 PM, said:

Now that skilled player must kill two.. and the team is down one.. hence the death spiral. And the skilled player is asking why they are losing..

In my opinion you have put the skilled player tag on the wrong team.

Edited by MechaGnome, 04 October 2021 - 12:24 AM.

[GuardDogg]

Their is no skilled pilots in MWO. The so called skilled players do not even use lance formations, toy with the enemy and more. Lances are scattered, and a pilot stating what they are going to do individually (if so). Hence the word; "Individually". Myself is a lone wolf "Pug", and so are others in MWO. I will be surprised if all three lances could use "formations" and do battle formations different parts of the map. MWO turns into a video game for most, since the numbers are more important at the end of a round.

Edited by GuardDogg, 04 October 2021 - 12:40 AM.

[Rkshz]

Bullvii, on 03 October 2021 - 11:29 AM, said:

I, like many people, enjoy watching skilled players on YouTube etc (Rkshz, Yondu, and many other talanted people)

GuardDogg, on 04 October 2021 - 12:36 AM, said:

MWO turns into a video game for most, since the numbers are more important at the end of a round.

really? I thought we were playing football
so it turns out MWO is a video game? omg, I didn't know that, we were deceived... that's enough for me, I delete my account

[GuardDogg]

Rkshz, on 04 October 2021 - 12:44 AM, said:

really? I thought we were playing football
so it turns out MWO is a video game? omg, I didn't know that, we were deceived... that's enough for me, I delete my account

Some, like myself MWO as a simulator, you can make it a arcade or console if you like.

[Rkshz]

GuardDogg, on 04 October 2021 - 03:50 AM, said:

Some, like myself MWO as a simulator, you can make it a arcade or console if you like.

personally, you (anyone) can come up with any pink pony - but MWO is a first-person shooter (FPS), a video game where some players kill other players... but that is it the combat robot (mech) simulator is already a marketing wrapper for fans
in Quick Play the skill (efficiency) of players is measured by the number of wins and kills
in Competitive Play players fight for top places in tournaments and in order to get into Division A (become an elite)
you can agree or disagree with it - but it's a fact

[caravann]

Experienced player understand that there is no tactics and only the numbers can survive.

Never should anyone walk alone because your own part is 8% of the team, your performance increase
Once you have a corporative your performance increase to 16% part of the team and there's where most
Do a critical mistake of isolation where duels are made when you should be doing any of that
because dueling with another mech is a matter of chance for success since you do not know your opponent

[pattonesque]

GuardDogg, on 04 October 2021 - 12:36 AM, said:

Their is no skilled pilots in MWO. The so called skilled players do not even use lance formations, toy with the enemy and more. Lances are scattered, and a pilot stating what they are going to do individually (if so). Hence the word; "Individually". Myself is a lone wolf "Pug", and so are others in MWO. I will be surprised if all three lances could use "formations" and do battle formations different parts of the map. MWO turns into a video game for most, since the numbers are more important at the end of a round.

does using lance formations help a player win more?

[LordNothing]

i prefer to play aggressive, but ive been training myself to range trade so i can be useful in situations where yolo is not the answer. team bogs down in a hole i can fight, team pushes i can fight. if you cant fight, rethink your build, and if that fails, your skill set. still sometimes i want to have fun and do something stupid.

[Curccu]

GuardDogg, on 04 October 2021 - 12:36 AM, said:

Their is no skilled pilots in MWO. The so called skilled players do not even use lance formations, toy with the enemy and more. Lances are scattered, and a pilot stating what they are going to do individually (if so). Hence the word; "Individually". Myself is a lone wolf "Pug", and so are others in MWO. I will be surprised if all three lances could use "formations" and do battle formations different parts of the map. MWO turns into a video game for most, since the numbers are more important at the end of a round.

What is this epic power called lance formations that not even skilled players have achieved? does it automatically win a game?
I'm pretty sure time has passed old good roman formations and more flexible tactics usually wins, or maybe this year you can show at championships how this lance formation wrecks those so called skilled players.

[Curccu]

caravann, on 04 October 2021 - 04:18 AM, said:

Experienced player understand that there is no tactics and only the numbers can survive.

Never should anyone walk alone because your own part is 8% of the team, your performance increase
Once you have a corporative your performance increase to 16% part of the team and there's where most
Do a critical mistake of isolation where duels are made when you should be doing any of that
because dueling with another mech is a matter of chance for success since you do not know your opponent

Alone can be good, if you know what you are doing and have good awareness that you don't get ganked.
And dueling is also very legit, if you know you can do and what your mech can do and you most likely should know enemy mechs loadout before going for it.

also most good players recognize other good enough players in the game by name, this is old ish game with pretty small playerbase and I dare to claim that there isn't many new players that become top5-10 percentile aka good skilled players..
Sometimes unit tag can give a hint if opponent is potato/average or maybe some formidable comp team player.

[Teenage Mutant Ninja Urbie]

the only place where you move as a lance is (was!) scouting - because you just had a single lance there.
and gangig up for a possible 4<>4- was a sound concept there most times. very beginner-friendly, and efficient enough.
now that scouting is gone.. nah.

the closest thing to a formation in this game is a mob of mechs, moving in for a good time, in FW. but that's it: a mob.
in QP not even that is existent, except in a blind&deaf-form, and that's not efficient at all.


No; when you're worth your salt in QP, you accept that there's ~20 people in the match that don't actually care, and you work with/against with those who do in mind.
-going back to 'shield' a guy who ends up doing 120dmg is detrimental to your personal performance as well to your teams chance of winning,
-and the same goes to presenting yourself too much and get your mech halfed for a red-kill that does those 120dmg at the end, if you leave him alone otherwise.

in other words: everything is highly situational - the key is to read the situation right and act accordingly. as usual.

Edited by Teenage Mutant Ninja Urbie, 04 October 2021 - 07:44 AM.