151 replies to this topic

[Kynesis]

Let me lead by saying that I'm not being mean in any way.

It's disheartening to hear people say things like "**** this, I'm going back to (some other game)." Player retention has always been a core issue for MWO, it seems reasonable to try to mitigate it where we can.

I see a lot of people who fundamentally don't understand or can't cope with the complexity of the game, and they're competing with people who do. To some extent that's inevitable and healthy.
I think we all know people who we might like to encourage into playing MWO, but who are intimidated by it and would absolutely not cope... it's a shame they can't at least try it out with other such players.

I also say this because I frequently see people die extremely quickly, immediately shifting the balance and pushing games toward snowball while the rest of each team has barely begun to fight, or instances where mid game, several such players just get deleted because they've encountered someone who knows what they're doing.

Tier 5 protects these players from Tier 1 & 2 players but I don't think that's enough. It was noted some time ago that population forces have compressed the 'average' PSR toward the lower end of Tier 3, which means that players who may have in years gone by been in higher tiers are mixing with players they would formerly have been protected from.

The players I have in mind are even less likely than others to visit the forums or spend much time here to speak of their experiences or concerns. For all I know, they're fine with things as they are.
I can't imagine that people who have builds that are just a jumble of 'stuff', fire one weapon at a time, don't look at their mini-map and so on, are having much fun when they're playing at such a disadvantage though.

Ideally we'd take measures to teach those people, maybe even give them some kind of handicap, but maybe a bare minimum given the current state of the game might be to extend the tier system (which given population pressures would of course be a bandaid as over time the mean is pressed further toward Tier 4).

Maybe a better answer is some kind of casual queue just for T5 or new players to opt into?
Maybe use the event queue to somehow match up low tier players with people willing to tutor them?
Maybe PGI could work with streamers / YouTubers on some kind of tutorial scheme that proactively helps players?
Maybe I'm the only one who thinks there's an issue? I can only go by what I see as an individual.

[martian]

The total number of active MWO players is not high. The number of active MWO players at any given time is much lower.

The more various separated Tiers, buckets, queues, etc. you create, the longer waiting time for getting a game you can expect. But people do not like waiting ...

Thus, the undesired side effect of your idea could be a further loss of players.

Also, do not forget to count in the effect of the premade groups enjoying the formerly casual "Solo" queue.

[LordNothing]

why, it would just show up in matches with t1 when all the valves open.

[Leadpaintchips]

As others have pointed out, the population isn't big enough for that. Feels like one of those catch-22 moments, where because the population is so low we can't throw those who are trying to come to grips with, well, everything, in their own area to figure things out, and having someone delete them in like a second constantly drives away newer players that we need to get the population big enough to give them that time and space to figure things out.

[LordNothing]

thing is when the top predators leave, the next level down arises to the top. im 2/3ds the way to t1 right now. a month ago i couldnt stay in t2 for more than a week.

[Saved By The Bell]

Tiers should be reduced to cadets, regulars, veterans. Player base...

[martian]

Saved By The Bell, on 09 May 2023 - 12:31 AM, said:

Tiers should be reduced to cadets, regulars, veterans. Player base...

This is not so simple:

• I have seen some new players moving up to the higher Tiers quickly.
  
• I have seen some veterans with thousands of games, still struggling with the basic gameplay tasks.

The current Tier system is not ideal, but it is still better than its previous version, when the PSR bar was essentially working as experience bar.

[PocketYoda]

Remove groups and the match maker will work better..

[martian]

PocketYoda, on 09 May 2023 - 06:37 AM, said:

Remove groups and the match maker will work better..

I do not expect that PGI will do that.

[Duke Falcon]

PocketYoda, on 09 May 2023 - 06:37 AM, said:

Remove groups and the match maker will work better..

Not think it would insta-solve troubles. Some groups are a bunch of T5s, some mixed. If you prevent friends from the same tier to play together they may left the game. Mixed groups is another question well "out of boundaries".
But no. Remove groups not really solve matters. Doubling the population\playerbase may would but we all know that would hardly happen!
+ The playerbase's number is incorrect because some players have alt accounts and despite all their alts they still a single person. But not really understand why worth an alt account but that is my personal problem (maybe not play this game long enough to understand)...

[Saved By The Bell]

• I have seen some new players moving up to the higher Tiers quickly.

Those are not cadets. I looked some B33f videos, he used many accounts. Killing stupid Tier5 for "easy game, easy". Yeah its fun.

[Teenage Mutant Ninja Urbie]

Saved By The Bell, on 09 May 2023 - 09:17 AM, said:

• I have seen some new players moving up to the higher Tiers quickly.

Those are not cadets. I looked some B33f videos, he used many accounts. Killing stupid Tier5 for "easy game, easy". Yeah its fun.

exactly the point and problem in that other tier-related thread right now, and the B33f is certainly up there on that list.
not saying some of his "pranks" ain't funny, but he's usually on alts, handling a not-so-good time to fresh t5s.
and yet, the vast majority here likes him for what he does; go figure


on tiers:
don't think that a t6 will change the game in any way right now; MM-gates will open up and it won't matter if the victim-of-the-day will carry a t5 or a t6 badge.
what COULD work imo is the reverse; do a tier1+ and ++, give those up there more 'weight' when the matchmaker slaps things together; make tiers public before the match so that a higher tier is "desired" for bragging rights.
will also give those in the lower tiers more incentive to climb up, instead of farming what's down there.

[SafeScanner]

teir 6? no Add a cadet teir for their first 50? when possible put all the cadets into one match or upto 70% with the rest teir 5 if not its buisness as usual

[Djinnhammer]

martian, on 08 May 2023 - 08:44 PM, said:

Also, do not forget to count in the effect of the premade groups enjoying the formerly casual "Solo" queue.

STOP.

[105howitzer]

I'm happy being a solid tier 7 player.

[LordNothing]

Saved By The Bell, on 09 May 2023 - 12:31 AM, said:

Tiers should be reduced to cadets, regulars, veterans. Player base...

it effectively is, where those corelate to 5, 3 and 1 respectively. tiers 2 and 4 are pretty much buffer zones for transitions between tiers. you are either pulled one way or the other.

Edited by LordNothing, 09 May 2023 - 12:38 PM.

[ThreeStooges]

Most people have no map awareness even when you have a blant always-on-middile-screen-mini-map. I'm one of the worst players in the game yet even I can use a map and sneak one of the biggest and slowest mechs around.

[sycocys]

Yes they need more tiers, but not at the bottom, and smurf alts should be deleted.

[Ihlrath]

I have been seeking the mythical Tier 6 since I started.

The legend of my sucking out loud at this game has only yet begun my friends.

[pbiggz]

If you're asking for t6 it kind of reveals that you don't fully grasp how the PSR system works.