21 replies to this topic

[Distilled Mojo]

I've been stuck at the boarder of rank 4 rank 3 for a month now. Every time I rank up to 3 I invariably encounter a string of stinging defeats. What do I need to work on to master rank 3+?

[Gagis]

Make sure your mouse sensitivity is low enough to let you target vulnerable components

Stick together with your team

Focus fire on what others are shooting

[martian]

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 03:22 AM, said:

I've been stuck at the boarder of rank 4 rank 3 for a month now. Every time I rank up to 3 I invariably encounter a string of stinging defeats.

Remember that your Tier is no "reward" to be achieved. Your Tier's primary purpose is to serve as the matchmaking tool.

Essentially, you have two options:
a) If you do not care about Tier placement so much, then simply continue playing as usual and wait what happens.

b) If you do care about Tier placement, then perhaps it is the right time to revisit your 'Mechs and your tactics. For example, short range brawling is less viable in higher Tiers than it used to be. Some 'Mechs are less viable in higher Tiers than they are in Tier 4 or Tier 5, etc.

In Tier 4 you have been more or less protected - you have met the top players only rarely. In Tier 3, you must expect to face them more often. Plus, you will face some more competent premade groups.

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 03:22 AM, said:

What do I need to work on to master rank 3+?

Why exactly do you wish to move to Tier 3?

[Distilled Mojo]

Quote

Why exactly do you wish to move to Tier 3?

Natural progression I guess. I have noticed that most of my builds are too slow to keep up with the pack. Some games everything dies before I can get into the fight. =\

[martian]

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 08:37 AM, said:

Natural progression I guess.

Are you aware that in T3 you would face more skilled opposition than in T4?

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 08:37 AM, said:

I have noticed that most of my builds are too slow to keep up with the pack. Some games everything dies before I can get into the fight. =\

What are you running? 30 km/h assault 'Mechs?

[Void Angel]

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 08:37 AM, said:

Natural progression I guess. I have noticed that most of my builds are too slow to keep up with the pack. Some games everything dies before I can get into the fight. =\

Often that can be solved with pathing, depending on what exactly you're building. I've run a lot of Atlas builds, and many of the times I see Assaults complaining about being "left behind," it's because actually, they fell behind, and then stopped to try and fight in place when a Light with an ER laser shot at them.

That being said, there were also times when assaults (myself included) just couldn't get to the team, or both teams kept on rotating around the central map obstacle - I find that Light Fusion Engines and newer weapons and 'mechs have alleviated that problem somewhat, but there are also toxic Youtube-aping light builds like the Prianha that will pounce on any slow 'mech they can find.

SO! What you want to do is to... iterate. The bare minimum you should be going is 48kph (because Dire Wolves don't do cardio,) but if you're running that or faster, you need to start a testing/feedback process:

• try to pick your route to minimize the amount of time it takes to get to the fight;
  
• give it a few matches, and if this does not work reliably, rebuild/pick a faster 'mech, and go back to line one.
  
• Repeat until desired results are achieved.

Edited by Void Angel, 30 November 2022 - 02:03 PM.

[w0qj]

I'm a T4/T3 player myself... and actually do not care about MWO PSR Tiers...
I can get to T2 if I play only my favorite mechs... but the perpetual stream of Platinum mechs for skilling up and *cough* dying prevents me from achieving this

I personally divide the PSR Tiers into just 2 parts:

T1/T2, and
T3/T4/T5 (note that while in T3 you have 50% chance of playing vs T1/T2 opponents in QP!).

T1/T2: You need to kill opponents outright, target/destroy weak/exposed torso parts, and mechs are generally 52kph or faster due to NASCAR. Less LRM in this tier. ECM less useful here; players know where to look on the map for enemies. Players race for the next best sniper spot during NASCAR. Be prepared to be wiped off the carpet with top players like Baradul, TTB, DATA

T3/T4/T5: Concentrate on doing 500+ damage, 8+ Kill Assists, and that should get you to top of T3. It's that simple!
Damage contributes about 50% to your match score. Kill Assists also contribute greatly to your match score.
The actual Killing Blow does very little to your match score unfortunately. As such, piloting a Heavy/Assault mech gives you an edge here, lots of damage easily! For T4/T5 Tiers, I feel the minimum Assault mech speed is 48kph, otherwise you get isolated and get eaten alive by Light mech(s)! Finally, do try to stay alive until the end of QP fight... your mech tend to deal more damage this way!
ymmv

Good luck!

Edited by w0qj, 30 November 2022 - 06:23 PM.

[w0qj]

Perhaps you can flatten your MWO learning curve by joining a MWO Team (Guild), one that is willing to suggest better and quicker builds to your mechs, and perhaps even that occasional play training together!

Our [SSBH] Team is one that fit such a description, albeit based in the European timezone, but can still communicate offline via Discord. We tend to share mech build ideas via MechDB 2.0 links like this. A few players in T1/T2, others in T3/T4. And we are passionate about MWO mech builds!
https://mwomercs.com...-are-recruiting
[SSBH] Leaders are Faboss & TheDeathCrepeer

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 03:22 AM, said:

I've been stuck at the boarder of rank 4 rank 3 for a month now. Every time I rank up to 3 I invariably encounter a string of stinging defeats. What do I need to work on to master rank 3+?

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 08:37 AM, said:

Natural progression I guess. I have noticed that most of my builds are too slow to keep up with the pack. Some games everything dies before I can get into the fight. =\

Edited by w0qj, 30 November 2022 - 04:52 PM.

[Void Angel]

w0qj, on 30 November 2022 - 04:32 PM, said:

The actual Killing Blow does very little to your match score unfortunately.

It still gives more reward than an assist, because you always get a component destruction along with the killing blow. So it's not as inconsequential a reward as it looks on paper, if memory serves. A caveat, though; this was true of the cbill reward system, but reworks of PSR during my inactive period may have changed this principle. We'll have to do science to it! But not tonight. =)

[Duke Falcon]

Quote

I'm a T4/T3 player myself... and actually do not care about MWO PSR Tiers...
I can get to T2 if I play only my favorite mechs...

T4 may be the best I could aim (once accidentally reached it) and not higher (considering my performance in FP). Mostly because not see the point. In T5 I could play against a wast-n-wide variety of players (sometimes T2-T1 groups also appear). For higher challenge I torment myself in FP.

Tiers not matters. Fun to play the game matters. The rest are details not importances.

Quote

Our [SSBH] Team is one that fit such a description, albeit based in the European timezone, but can still communicate offline via Discord. We tend to share mech build ideas via MechDB 2.0 links like this. A few players in T1/T2, others in T3/T4. And we are passionate about MWO mech builds!

Luckily I have a team what is also acceptable (or I have some good point at our commander not to poke me every second week to do something). Teams could be good to drop together for better chances. But as much as I read around some teams have certain demands toward their members. Force things not a good way or at least not something what may worth being in a team.

Edited by Duke Falcon, 01 December 2022 - 10:08 AM.

[Void Angel]

In Tier 5, the highest you will be matched against is Tier 3.

[Duke Falcon]

Void Angel, on 01 December 2022 - 11:21 AM, said:

In Tier 5, the highest you will be matched against is Tier 3.

Theoretically...
If groups not kick up the table.
I remember two times get into a same QP match with martian (check even here, he is T1). Once in the same side and once against him (did a pretty swift job on my Rifleman 2c ). Also faced various players I also met in FP and sure T2-1s themselves. Not frequent though but sure happened and happens.
So, yepp, MM could not handle group drops usually despite the fact you mentioned.
Sometimes it is just happens. Rarely but happens.
And I also noted that if I join to a group I also more often face with higher tier foes even if many states that the "lowest tier player" determines the pool level for MM. But only if MM also wants so!
Hard truth that MM is flawed but try to get the best out from the "available" material. If it mean to break some "rules" it would done! Because there are sure lot of exceptations in the code not you nor me may even suspect.
Not complain. Just noted

[Void Angel]

I know there are "release valves" and settings they can tweak - maybe it was a group and they used average PSR, or there are exceptions at certain population levels they haven't told us are active.

[Sawk]

hmm ok i can help you, i once played with TIER 1 and 2s, but went SILENT, after my house burnt down, and was lucky to save 1 high speed computer, i had to share the one, AND 1 time ZONE, BEING EASTERN TIME from 7pm to about 11 12 pm if i was lucky.
NOW it been 3 years, 5 years since the FIRE, i finally hit rock BOTTOM of tier 5 in late JUNE, --- YES it took 2.5 years to bottom out, the first two weeks of the PSR i went from rank 2.8 to 4.8 many did not play, teams and went a played poker for a month.
SO you need to find a team, you need to find a team that can play in TIER 3 and 2 and 1, and you need to prove to them you CAN ALSO .

OR you need to BUILD a team that can, but if NO TEAM ---- NO SPEAK you will join me in tier 5

SAWK CLANNER

[Tarl Cabot]

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 03:22 AM, said:

I've been stuck at the boarder of rank 4 rank 3 for a month now. Every time I rank up to 3 I invariably encounter a string of stinging defeats. What do I need to work on to master rank 3+?

Play in a group instead of solo.. Does not guarantee a win but may more likely have a "better" team experience. Plus, if dropping with more experienced players, they would also be able to provide more hands on guidance but with your current average MS, the real issue is your Win/Loss Ratio.. I will provide an example below, but first, you play primarily heavies and assaults vs I play primarily mediums with some mixture of the other classes. You should post what mechs/builds you have using. You do not HAVE to play meta but having builds close to meta, as well as using them appropriately, placement, situational awareness goes a long way. And builds that may be good in the lower tiers do not always translate being as effective in the higher tiers, so there is a learning curve, starting with the mechlab, such with armor and front loading torso sections, leaving fewer points on the backside. Taking care NOT to strip too much off the legs, while the arms.. it really depends.. since for most mechs, even if not equipped with weapons, can act as shields, helping to soak up incoming damage while torso twisting.

An example At first I was lookin at his average MS and comparing it to my alt (My main I dont play enough games per month (10 QP games/month) to register). My alts average MS is currently 3 points less than the OP but the main differences between us is the the W/L ratio, OP is was at 0.92 verses my 1.09 when I checked earlier today, and my alt stays primarily in Tier 2, but will bounce to Tier 3 for 2-5 drops then back up to Tier 2. There has been a few times where I reached Tier 1 (non-grouped) but then would drop back down.

Thus, the primary difference between us is the W/L Ratio since Tier movement up/down uses PSR points generated by a player's matchscore, that is then slightly modified for the winning team, ie 276 MS on a win, the player may see the UP arrow while a player with a 328 MS on a loss may see an equal sign or a DOWN arrow, even though with that down arrow the actual PSR pt lost may be a point or two, as it really depends matchscores for the other players on both sides. As a reminder, the only constant would be you in each drop, unless you are actually dropping as part of a group.

Anyhow, think of tiers as placement, which the current version is closer that the original setups.. Green, Militia, Regular, Veteran, Elite in Battletech terminology. Just have fun.

Popping between Tier 3 and Tier 4 isnt bad, as previously notated it is about placement, and how the Matchmaker utilizes Tiers and tonnage to form teams.

Void Angel, the revised PSR formulary to calculate the number of points one moves up or down in Tiers is dynamic, while the previous PSR range was quite static, allowing almost anyone who could draw a breath move up in Tiers.

[Void Angel]

Tarl Cabot, on 01 December 2022 - 05:21 PM, said:

Void Angel, the revised PSR formulary to calculate the number of points one moves up or down in Tiers is dynamic, while the previous PSR range was quite static, allowing almost anyone who could draw a breath move up in Tiers.

Oh, I knew about that; I was more thinking about matchmaking changes that may have gone in with the PSR revamp.

[VeeOt Dragon]

you honestly don't need to concern yourself with Tier much. you also don't have to group up to rise in tier, i have never and likely will never group up. (to many units being toxic put a bad taste in my mouth for such things. well that and none of my friends play this game.)

mostly it just sounds like you need some tweaking on tactics and builds a bit. not sure what advice i can give because my build parameters are much different than most meta players would recommend. things like shooting for a heat management of 1.40 or always having energy weapon backups. (i also don't play lights other than Urbies since over 100kph gives me a headache). i also tend towards more back armor than others though till lowered from stock.

[Sawk]

HMM there is 1 more thing, IF you play eastern time, and have a TEAMSPEAK i can get that, i know DISCORD but the one on this COMPUTER is CURSED, and programmed, i had to turn OFF stuff, then turn it back on, for others, so i went silent, but if you play 7 PM to 10 PM eastern time, have a teamspeak, there are free ones out there.
I can play all classes of mechs --- mostly CLAN -- i always plan on getting 1 kill per drop, or finding a leader, maybe a shot caller, WHAT ARE YOUR NEEDS.

SAWK CLANNER

[TheCaptainJZ]

Distilled Mojo, on 30 November 2022 - 03:22 AM, said:

I've been stuck at the boarder of rank 4 rank 3 for a month now. Every time I rank up to 3 I invariably encounter a string of stinging defeats. What do I need to work on to master rank 3+?

Since you can't pick your teammates, you can only control your mech and builds and tactics.

Sounds like you're playing an assault. Without team cohesion, you are likely to be less effective than you otherwise should be because you have no one providing counters to your mech's weaknesses.
If you have a heavy mech, I'd suggest playing that for a while and compare your results? You will be able to move faster but still have most of the heavy armor and firepower of an assault. I also find medium range (300-700 m) to be the normal distance fighting occurs. And of course, each mech is different so your results may vary greatly depending on chassis, variant, and loadout as well as how you play.

In general, you should try not to lead or lag behind your team. Try to be in the middle. Keep an eye on your minimap to track where your team is and where they are repositioning to. They might relocate and leave you behind if you're not watching. ALWAYS press "R" to target enemies and the command wheel to highlight important enemies (or ask for help). You'll have to learn how to pick your targets. On one extreme, you can pick and focus down an enemy. This usually leaves you open to ignoring other enemies that might be bigger threats, but if you're going to die anyway (you've found yourself in a bad position, etc.), you might as well try to destroy a major threat for your team in the hopes they win. On the other extreme, you can swap targets frequently if they are open. This usually results in spreading a little damage to a lot of mechs, but not doing enough to reduce any of them as threats. In reality, you'll probably be focusing on a few big targets most of the time and taking shots of opportunity against the rest as you are able.

Building an effective mech loadout is important. Is it too hot? You won't be able to fire as often as you should. Is the armor nearly maxed out? Do the weapons compliment each other? A jack of all trades is master of none. Find weapons you like and are effective at using, then find a mech that can be built around that system (either one big weapon or "boating" them in any number). Depending on your choices, you might have a primary and secondary weapons group. These should be complimentary with similar ranges and cooldowns, if you can. For example, a hunchback with AC20 and medium lasers but not ER medium lasers is more complimentary because the effective range (default) of both is 270m, but you can absolutely go with ER mediums if you want (I think the 4G is quirked so the AC 20 has a higher range), but this does come at the cost of higher heat so you have to see what your overall cooling difference is and how much of a difference that makes in battle. However, pairing the AC20 with small pulse lasers is not complimentary because the range is so much shorter on the lasers. There are still justifiable reasons to do something like this (usually big mechs that want to use the small lasers as tonnage fillers and backup weapons for lights) but not in this example. Medium lasers are great weapons for any kind of backup or secondary weapons because of their decent range for 1 ton. But a single medium laser is pretty much meaningless so if you have 1 ton left over, put in a heat sink, BAP, or a targeting computer.

If you can tell us what mech and variant you have and your loadout as well as what you like and dislike, we can provide suggestions on improvements or alternatives that may be more effective.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 06 December 2022 - 08:46 AM.

[-Winter]

Don't play Assaults solo unless its a fast mover. Concentrate on damage output and match score. This is going to sound mean, but use your team as shields or else they're using you. If you're above 700dmg usually even if you lose you move up. I think 500ish is double yellow. It really is move with the team, take off components, do damage, and survive. Winning helps ha.