1 reply to this topic

[Nor Azman]

So you're part of a jolly-go-lucky small mercenary band, starting out in Outreach with dreams of making a name. A small unit, no more then a lance or so. So one of the days, you're excited, login, ready for some mech glory but... none of your mates are around. So what does a lone merc to do?

Suggestion

Maybe lone mercs can play like lone wolfs? Taking up single contracts in the name of their merc unit when there's no one in your unit around for team play.

But what is this different from playing as a true blue lone wolf? So there should be penalties. You did sign up as a merc player and not as a lone wolf after all. So maybe XP/LP/C-Bills earned by a merc player playing single-take-up missions are 70%-80% of what a lone wolf player earns doing the same thing. On top of that, a percentage of your c-bills earned, say 20%, goes to your Merc Unit in whose name you're representing.

Also playing single is an option when your unit is not around. Say you're on a single-take-up mission and your unit starts to gather and about to start team-play-missions. The merc commander can issue a summons and all merc players on single missions have to (or have the option to) abort their current missions and report in. An ecape clause so to speak . (and a hazard for hiring single merc players as oppose to hiring lone wolfs - their ability to run, um, I mean abort, if need be.) This of course has penalites too. Merc units need to take up the tab of repairing mech damage received by their members during single missions when they are summoned out of them. Also demerit points are incurred to the merc unit's mercenary rating for exercising this escape clause.

I understand the the whole idea of mercenary units is to encourage team play. So merc players who insists on playing single-take-up missions even when their merc members are present need to face some consequences. No penalty if really you're the only one of your unit around. But the frequency of you as merc player playing single-take-up missions when your merc buddies are around will equal to some penalties you will receive within the merc unit or the rewards you will get for the single missions you do (less and less).

So, all in all, lone wolfs will still be the choice for single-take-up missions but there should be options as well for lonely merc players who want to play but none of his mates are around.

Edited by Nor Azman, 13 February 2012 - 01:31 AM.

[Captain Hat]

http://mwomercs.com/...forced-teaming/
http://mwomercs.com/...nment-solution/

Already been gone over in great detail and recently.

There is no good reason to make any special provisions for lone players and no way to do so that isn't either extremely unfair or open to griefing attacks. Lone players should be treated like any other merc- available for hire wherever there's a slot in a game that needs filling.

In the same way that giving lone players more options than anyone else is unfair, so too is penalising lone players for not having a group to roll with.

Edited by Captain Hat, 13 February 2012 - 01:37 AM.