Tactic Tip #109

State your intent


Many times in matches especially with 4 man premade and 4 pugs you have no idea what the pugs are doing (are they another premade?)
We have some guys that are fast typist can put in our intent in chat and can coordinate on the fly.  We tested this last week - our team running 4 fast mechs to cap their base while the rest distracted the enemy. Yes a fast cap and a cheap shot but a shot none the less ....they could have defend but chose to run at the 4 pugs.

The match before that we made a mistake of not telling our pugs what our intent was and they were really bend out of shape about it. We tried delaying the game to 10 minutes not killing them or capping just pure survival ...there were only 3 of us and only one pilot was able to survive ....he was still running when they gave up searching for him and capped instead at 13:23 minutes. The rest of our team was complaining that we should have told them and looking back they were right.

They would not have helped us but it made with good watching. we were cheering him on the whole time ...running and hiding in a awesome was funny.

State of the Game (MechWarrior Online)

TL;DR: It is still beta.

Details:
Right now, we have no repair or rearm bills. Once you purchase a mech (either with C-bills you earned or by dropping real money in game) you can play that mech without any penalty. This leads to some reckless behavior by some pilots. It also leads to some severe frustration when playing with people outside of communication.
There is a side of people trying to play this game as if it were solo ...they are very interested in their stats (either win loss ratio or kill death ratio or both). There is another set of people interested in playing a team game with comms that is learning to play using strategy and techniques. Then there are those who just play the game for fun they love the IP and will play just to pilot a 80 ton mech.
Now you can be a member of any of these groups or all of them but there are 2 pieces of information that are vital.
With so many gaming choices out there - Are you coming back to play this game?
What would you pay to play if they were charging or would you find something else?

Replayability is huge it keeps you drawn in and talk to your friends about it. It makes you stay for "just one more" when you are thinking about shutting down. It makes you say the next time I/We will win or at least take out an enemy before I/we am/are done for the night.

ECM is a problem.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/ECM_Suite
The game shows one mech umbrella covering all the mechs in 180 meter of the ECM. It is overpowered and with little negative repercussions. Sensors can sometimes override this jamming, though by that point the enemy unit is already within visual range and can track the opposition with their own eyes.
What this has led to is a game of who has more ECM in many cases.
My Suggestions:

• A huge cost for ECM if destroyed (100,000 cbills) 
• A large amount of heat generated while in use 
• Forcing the ECM mech to remain stationary while active (reducing the range while moving would work)

Stalkers are HARD to kill!

Image ripped from http://themittani.com/news/mwo-december-18th-patch-news

New announced hero mechs - Fang and Flame

This might be my first purchase of a hero mech. Looks really rad!

Tactic Tip #107

So the other day our team is in a huge heated battle in Caustic Valley. Caustic Valley is a horrible place and really not worth fighting for but that is for the policians to decide ...we fight.
We also are losing ...the enemy is down to 2 mechs both torn up really bad we are down to ONE.

We had all thought he was either disconnected or AFK because he wasn't moving. He was sittign as if he had just landed from the dropship. We announce over com ...he is afk or disconnected ...leg him and cap us.

When they shoot him suddenly he springs into action. Now thsi is just sick ...he destroys both of them and our team which had for all intents lost ...was victorious.

Was it a trick? Was he really afk? Did I inadvertently give false information?

I do not know if this guy was just waiting or was in another window however it reinforces 2 things:

1. Communications are vital.
2. Dis-information is valueable if not unreliable.

Quotable Wednesday version 6.0

Cain Marko: "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!"
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

With the 4 man lance we have been stuck with since the end of October. I have gotten to be pretty good with utilizing 3 other players and "hoping" the other guys either

1. act as a decoy
2. act as a meatshield
3. follow us and assist focus firing

The only issue with 4 man lance is someone taking charge. I get nominated by default from some of these guys ...I get a kick out of it because I never want to lead but I pop into the channel and they are like "oh cool you lead" lol Fine fine!
Focus firing is key. I am running my dual ac/20 cat ...if you get in my face I will kill you. I will also overheat LOL.

I have to get screenshots of some of these kills. I killed a jenner that had been harassing us in Forest City ...he had the unfortunate problem of coming around a corner and running straight toward me. I blasted 2 ac/20's at point lank range and killed him. BOOM like he was there then he wasn't there. It was kind of like Kirk demanding to be beamed up before some emergency killed him. The emergency happens and they are all screaming into the com ..." Did we get him?, did we get him?"

Tactic Tip 105

Orbit Orbit Orbit

It simply does not matter if you have 8 man premades (which I love and miss*) or 4 man lance. If you have one of the team in an assault calling targets and everyone else running around him protecting his back and watching the sides you may not win but I guarantee you a fun time.

* Supposedly the 8 man premades are coming back on Tuesday Nov 20th 2012.

Quotable Wednesday version 3.0

“Maybe we can build a fire, sing a couple of songs!” - Carter Burke - Aliens

Last night (Wednesday) was bad ...so bad I wanted to log out. A full group of guys (premade) and we were failed every drop. This guy is waiting for an open spot and chimes in to tell us all what we are doing wrong.

....Now I am not sayign he wasn't right ...mostly he was because he couldn't see what we awere doing but could tell we were failing so he made some suggestions. The problem is was though his approach.
He was an asshole.

We lost a few matches here and there but I would say 12 out of 16 drops were victories after he joined us. Calling out strats and (again) focus firing.

I didn't want to quit because we were losing or because he called out sound strats -- I wanted to quit because of his attitude.

I grew past it and ended up enjoying the night. He is still an asshole.

Tactic Tip 104

Leadership

The action of leading a group of people or an organization, or the ability to do.

So many games have been won by someone stepping up to take control ...even a hair-brained scheme different than the normal to turn around a potential loss.

We are down 6 to 8 in mechs
One pilot rallies us together ....go "C" line now to intercept ...everyone return to base to defend they are almost there! Jenner head to enemy base and help me out.
We stop firing on the mech that was heading in the Caldera and spin back towards base.
The leader is missing one arm and one leg of his mech but limping toward their base with one following him.
5 of us arrive back at our base just in time ..and we destroy them standing in our base.
We win as the mech chasing our leader has overheated and is destroyed by the jenner.

Leadership it is not for everyone but you should try it every once in a while ...most groups love to have someone else run the mission once in a while.

Targeting IRL

I played a little over the weekend not a much as I would have liked.

I noticed traffic was light on the way in to work. My wife and the ads in my inbox reminded it was Columbus Day. I just thought I was early to work lol.

Anyway I think I have been playing TOO much. I have noticed myself trying to acquire information about cars, people, pretty much everything.

I have heard some of the other pilots talking about seeing rectiles even outside of game so its not a rare occurance but its funny how you start viewing your world.

It is great being able to acquire information on potiental targets quickly. The scouts make the difference for the LRMs; while you will see otehrs zoomed all the way in to pick a mech apart with unlimited long range weapons like gauss or AC/10s. It is amazing to see a mech explode from a long way off.

 

I have started posting my videos up on youtube. Let me know what you think and subscrieb and leave comments.

 

Mechdaddy Youtube link.



Quotable Wednesday's Verison 0.1

If you happen to catch yesterdays post I was thinking about adding battletech history and info.

I have decided to make Wednesday a qay where I quote a clip from a book or movie that I think can apply to gaming (especially from a strategy standpoint).

Today's Quote:

"You want to learn the first rule you'd know if you ever spent a day in your life...you never open your mouth till you know what the shot is."

This quote is directed at a manager ...the manager was promoted over other way more expeirence people becuse of someone he knew.
How does this apply to gaming? Don't take for granted the knowledgeable people around you unless you know what the shot is if you are talking you are not listening to the plan. You are worse than the enemy.

Scouts balancing power and effectiveness.

Scouts are not rangers. Although they excel in nature, being a guide, being a teacher.

Scouts not archers. Although they carry the equipment and are precise in striking.

Scouts are not rogues. Although they are masters of speed and camoflage.

Scouts are not cartographers. Although they know the land and have memorized locations and landmarks.












The way I see it you cannot have a complete squad without a scout. It requires speed, spotting forces, cover, communication, diversion. Being a scout is in many ways like being a poker player.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When I was growing up my parents listened to different music but I had to listen to enough coutry music  that I would like to punch them for ingraining in me now. It did make it onto the pop charts peaked at number 16 (! omg it broke into the top 20) in 1979.
So thanks but that mom and dad ...however it did have one gem that stuck with me.
Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away, know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table,
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done"

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See the key here is a scout will have to learn to make the best decision typically at a moments notice. this applies to any game I have ever played and still play. I have been one and I typically enjoy it ...it has a defined purpose and has turned the odds in many games.



 



Do you get spam in your mail?

So yesterday, I see a tweet from Russ Bullock (President - Piranha Games Inc. - Developing MechWarrior Online ) that indicates that if you are not in the closed beta by now you are doing it all wrong.

"If your not in Closed Beta for #MechWarrior Online yet, why not? Is your Closed Beta profile at 100%.Make it so letting in huge numberss now"

Now maybe you did get in but it was marked as spam by your email reader so go check that first.

This leads me to a funny story (well atleast my friends think so) that we laugh about to this day.

When I say "we"; I mean "we" had this thing going about 3 years ago where a group of us from work played games together about once a week. We went through some games, if we liked it we kept playing but mostly each game lasted about 3 months. RL would get in the way or we would just get frustrated with trying to get together ...whatever, we burned out; collectively as a group.

We were playing Warhammer Online ...now its a great game, fun pvp, interesting classes, pretty easy to stay together. But it requires a lot of running back and forth if you want to stay in combat you must fight in one location and either sit and wait for combat or run to the next destination and pry it away from the other side. There is not much fun in waiting so you run.

We had just help turn the tide in a gruesome battle and were running to the next hotspot. Six of us ...on the way to the next location we stopped at a village to repair armor, bio break, grabbing a drink and whatnot.

Well you know how is it ...in a group ...one person is a bonehead. Todays bonehead was XXXXXXX (name changed to protect the innocent). It was an epic fail but everyone is getting ready to go we are all lined up to run to the next area. Except bonehead is not moving we are watching his icon on the minimap and he is just completely stopped. "Let's go," says our commander. Everyone says they are ready except bonehead. "Hey" he says "you get spam in your mail?!?" It makes me laugh everytime I hear someone say spam now ...it was aggravating then and it is funny as hell now (to us anyway).

Every once in a while while we are together you will hear someone say "hey, you get spam in you mail" for no reason at all. It is funny.

Founders Jenner!

AnkleBiter!

Tactic Tip 101

Rufus: Very basic strategy. If your enemies know where you are, then don't be there.

Rufus is played by Chris Rock in the Kevin Smith movie Dogma.
A recent reviewing of this movie I picked up on this quote and well ...its just too good to not be applied in PVP games.

So move swiftly and do not be where your enemy suspects you are. This will result in a retargetting or new acquision.

In call of duty a grenade thrown can signal your location so throw and move.
In WoW there was a battle in Alterac Valley where a team could raise a Avatar to destroy the enemy but this avatar was noisy ..your enemy would know what you were doing and would try and stop you.
Shooting from a tank or a rocket launcher is a dead give away of your location.

MOVE
MOVE
MOVE
COVER and HIDE
then light them up when assistance arrives :D

HUGE NEWS from MWO

MechWarrior® Online to Deploy Vivox’s C3 Voice Integration http://t.co/02OMy6aT

This is hugely important move for this game. Team communication is beyond vital for a winning strategy it is a bonding feature in team play.
Using teamspeak felt like such a gimmick for such a slick game. This is great news for all players and new people to the game.

Well done PGI!

Communications

ComOPEN:
Greetings Pilots
Today I wish to talk to you about Communications.
Sub-section: Listening
There are 5 types of people

1. I cannot hear you.
2. I am talking so you cannot talk.
3. I know what my role is and it has nothing to do with communication it has to do with X.
4. I am distracted.
5. I am listening.

1) Not hearing is a huge problem it leads to confusion and fearful reaction. If you cannot hear you you and your team are at huge disadvantage. Other forms of comunication are necessary but slower and can cause errors.

2) BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHnoisenoisenoiseBLAHBLAHBLAH A fools does not want to learn from others. They only want to tell their own ideas.

3) This is actually worse it means you are rogue and not willing to try someone elses point of view. This can lead to disaster for you or your team.

4) Effective listening skills require focus. If you are not following the plan you could get in a whole lot of trouble.

5) When you do listen it is not just to the team the more effective a listener you are the more likely you can hear and respond to calls, fire alarms, car alarms and with less panic. As a team, you can work the plan and plan the work. If you go out on your own things can fall apart.

Many times in my job I am required to sit in on meetings that have little to nothing to do with my day to day. Oddly enough people feel better when I am there - even if I don't speak. They know I am a listener. I can take a lot of abuse and I can dish it out. I am in the process of training my 8yo the virtues of listening because his problem is he is always talking (he is a #2).

This applies to real life and gaming.
ComOUT

#MWO #teams #MechWarriorOnline #Mercs #MechWarrior #listening #communicating