Your problem, PGI, with MWO continues to be the continued mismatch of players exacerbated by group drops in soup queue. Case in point, multiple matches recently where Tier 1 players and groups dropped with Tier 4 and 5 players. Obvious match scores resulted - 12-0 to 12-3. On both winning and losing sides, it was highly frustrating either way. Winning, yeah, but when the match is over essentially before you can fire 3 alphas, that's no fun. Groups with high tier players essentially rule every match one way or the other. They generally pick the map and match type. Then they either cause the win or a loss from tanking or bringing non-competitive mechs (all lights, for example) on a brawling map.
The second issue is the presence of OP mechs, esp legendaries that evoke a pay to win intention. Honestly, in what MechWarrior universe does a Scaleshot out brawl a brawl build Stone Rhino with 3x the armor? But I've seen that happen. The latest darling, the Bullshark is way OP. Lots of things to fix for balancing matches, but No.1 is balancing teams and player experience including groups.
And don't give me the old canard about it being due to a decreasing player base, because you can try to rebalance around it at the match level. Handicap Tier 1 players, or reduce player count of Tier 1 teams - maybe make them go 10 v 12. Use variable quirks assigned by the matchmaker to low rated players. Lots of possibilities. So far, I've seen no attempt to address this issue. For now, if I see a Tier 1 group of multiple players on the other side, I pretty much check out of the match.
Edited by PCHunter, 10 June 2024 - 04:35 PM.