39 replies to this topic

[The Mecha Streisand]

Felix, on 10 December 2012 - 06:19 AM, said:

The game is not a level playing field when it tosses people randomly together.

Have 2 ECM mechs vs 2 ECM mechs on either side? That is fair even if ECM sucks. Random match making throws 4 ECM mechs on one team and 0 on the other? Thats is stupidly unbalanced.

Might be balanced if there was a lobby and you could join games and then pick your mech with your team even if you are all randoms, but as it stands no it is not a level playing field.

Uh, so don't PUG? Just sayin'...

[Joseph Mallan]

I have two Mechs and two Mechs without ECM. If I want to properly harass the enemy I run my ECMcada. If i wanna go Cav i run my Cent. I have a D-DCM and "Khankiller" My founders Atlas! I use them all equally,

[BoomDog]

Joseph Mallan, on 10 December 2012 - 06:34 AM, said:

I complained when Artemis made 90 degree turns in flight.

I grumbled over what ECM did to combat, But also claimed I would work with it to find how to defeat it. Check my post history.

I complained because people want to ruin a perfectly good Gauss. I was happy to see the former 20 point explosion returned!

I was unhappy playing wit 4 PUGs cause it acted as ECM with half my team.

My opinion stands, as there are more PUGs than Teams, I lay the whine at your feet.

I will not speak for all of ML, but on average i think my opinion is on par with most members. And those who disagree don't QQ. So laugh all you like sir, but read my post history to see my stance.

I honestly felt bad for the 8 man teams. PGI's solution to the pugfarming problem didn't make anyone happy.

I think people need to accept that when there's a blatant, or perceived, imbalance in the game, people are going to whine. I did during the LRM/Artemis "Dark Times". I've whined about the netcode. I whined about being a new player in a trial mech fighting 8 man premades with voip.

Now I'm whining about ECM. I don't feel bad about it. It's blatantly broke, and already being abused. I can see 8 mans using it effectively, but in a pug, if you don't have it, your whole team is at a disadvantage.

[PurpleNinja]

Easy to solve, drop with ECM.

[Schlaung]

BoomDog, on 10 December 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Wow, I was thinking the same thing about you! What a coincidence. Especially after claiming that everyone has access to it, if they go buy the correct variant and mount it. Only conclusion I can come up with is that we should all buy mechs that use ECM. Rather than either balance teams with ECM, or balance ECM.

2/10

[Badgerbanger]

Purlana, on 10 December 2012 - 07:39 AM, said:

Pretty soon everyone will run ECM mech...

That is my intention now...and I'll also be adding as many SSRM2s as I can. The patching things with a sledgehammer approach is badly thought out so I'm going to abuse the heck out of it while I can.

At least I'll have fun from now on..if you can't beat a FOTM...join it

[Tacophagist]

BoomDog, on 10 December 2012 - 07:37 AM, said:

Wow, I was thinking the same thing about you! What a coincidence. Especially after claiming that everyone has access to it, if they go buy the correct variant and mount it. Only conclusion I can come up with is that we should all buy mechs that use ECM. Rather than either balance teams with ECM, or balance ECM.

Seriously? You might as well start whining about differing tonnage and hardpoints, as that's where your half-assed rationale is heading.

[Stormur Herra]

30plusRAbbi, on 10 December 2012 - 07:40 AM, said:

Uh, so don't PUG? Just sayin'...

So, go play a different game? I mean, if the PUG experience sucks, this game won't have the player base to survive long.

[Wraith05]

PurpleNinja, on 10 December 2012 - 07:48 AM, said:

Easy to solve, drop with ECM.

Agreed, if you are going to pug you should realize that you are relying on 7 random people to bring something to the table to cover your weaknesses.

So if you don't want to rely on randoms bringing something you view as needed. Then bring it yourself. If that means you have to pilot a mech you don't want to. Then take your mech and make the risk someone else will bring ECM to the table.

I premade and pug. And rarely do I stick with an ECM group and I still do fine.

[Jakob Knight]

I think the OP is missing that this is what the devs intended. ECM was made as it is precisely to kill any mode of combat but brawling, and to enforce the need for players to find established groups in order to play the game (without the company having to do the work). In truth, if the devs didn't want this, they would have had to have been stupid and blind not to see what the contradictory natures inside ECM as implemented would do to the game.

Thus, ECM is working as intended, and the devs knew that they wanted MWO to become Hawken.

Edited by Jakob Knight, 10 December 2012 - 09:34 AM.

[The Mecha Streisand]

Stormur Herra, on 10 December 2012 - 08:15 AM, said:

So, go play a different game? I mean, if the PUG experience sucks, this game won't have the player base to survive long.

Or this will just encourage more people to go on TS and group-up. After all, with all this talk of MWO being a TEAM game, shouldn't we be playing as TEAMS, and not just gaggles of 7-8 unfamiliar, uncoordinated players?

[AlanEsh]

MM should always put 2 ECM mechs on each team and leave it at that. This goes for 8 man groups as well (max of 2 ECM units per group).

[Roland]

I'm honestly amazed how many folks are like, "OMG ECM".

Seriously, other than the streakcat, every other power-build that folks have complained about previously is essentially unaffected by ECM... Dual-Gauss, UAC5's.. these weapons just obliterate the variants that carry ECM.

So, given that previously folks cried that "everyone was running those builds", things really shouldn't be that different now. And indeed, they're not.

Oh man, that Atlas has ECM! Turns out, I can still see him with my freaking eyeballs, and can just as easily shoot his giant torso and burn through it.

That's honestly the best thing that ECM has added to the game... You actually need to use your EYES now, and visually scan around, rather than relying on the HUD to point out the targets to you.

[Pugastrius]

Sorry, this is the dumbest idea ever.

Quite Simply:

Quote

If the match-making system EVER has to take into consideration a single piece of equipment then said equipment is Overpowered.

It's funny how there are people in this thread that have prior posts saying "ECM is Fine" but are proponents of wanting MM taking them into account. Very odd.

[Stoicblitzer]

I'm surprised how many people are disregarding the OP's concerns.

[Pugastrius]

Quote

I'm surprised how many people are disregarding the OP's concerns.

If the ECM is balanced (it's not btw), but if it were, then you wouldn't have to worry about which team has more.

However, to play devils advocate. There are plenty of other "rationales" for why the team with more ECM's wins.

Quote

1) Better Players: Chances are the people that have ECMs already probably play considerably more (they would have had to buy or have an ECM mech in the first place) than the average player which is usually a pretty good indicator of skill.

2) Small Groups vs. PuGs: It is much more likely that a group of playerswill equip ECMs than the average PuG (the 8v8 scene demonstrates this clearly). They usually have more resources and usually a better understanding of the power the ECM brings. It's no surprise that a small group has a greater chance of winning than a PuG.

Most of the other explanations I can come up with follow my primary thought process (the ECM is strictly overpowered).

Edited by Pugastrius, 10 December 2012 - 11:15 AM.

[Mancu]

Roland, on 10 December 2012 - 10:23 AM, said:

I'm honestly amazed how many folks are like, "OMG ECM".

Seriously, other than the streakcat, every other power-build that folks have complained about previously is essentially unaffected by ECM... Dual-Gauss, UAC5's.. these weapons just obliterate the variants that carry ECM.

So, given that previously folks cried that "everyone was running those builds", things really shouldn't be that different now. And indeed, they're not.

Oh man, that Atlas has ECM! Turns out, I can still see him with my freaking eyeballs, and can just as easily shoot his giant torso and burn through it.

That's honestly the best thing that ECM has added to the game... You actually need to use your EYES now, and visually scan around, rather than relying on the HUD to point out the targets to you.

Yeah, I think its awesome that my 1,000 years in the future war machine is so advanced that my pilot has to open a hatch and look around for enemies...

[Universe Man]

I think the point is that when you enter a match, the only guarantee you have of getting ECM on your team is if you are playing with ECM yourself.

[Bagheera]

Wow, there are a lot of threads on this.

I'm not seeing the ECM dominance. Pug matches for me are about the same as before. One or two folks trying to work together, one or two folks AFKing or suiciding, and the remainder tromping off in 4 different directions at flank speed under radio silence. Everyone, myself included, periodically making a bad decision on their own or erroneous assumption about what their team-mates are doing.

Can't possibly be that's part of the problem or anything. The amount of silence in response to queries for plans/ideas or even to suggested plans at the start of the match is poignantly deafening.

I used to think that adding a voice client that automatically connects randoms when they are teamed via the launch button would solve the problem. Perhaps it is the frustration, but I'm starting to give up on that idea.

Edited by Bagheera, 10 December 2012 - 11:57 AM.

[Vizan Thalt]

Weighing in on this- ECM balance is all that is being asked for in the Match Making System. Stop loading one side with more than a 1:2 ratio. For those who can't grasp that this also means there would be NO 0 to 2+ matches with this ratio, I clairified.

While this topic has been buried for a while, it is still relvant, at least until the 2/19 patch when we will see if the Devs actually make the ECM pilots cry foul, when all mechs will try to carry either normal or ER PPC's so that they can CANCEL the ECM fields for a few seconds.