Well I have to be fair: I haven't yet had anyone tell anyone else to go kill themselves, which is a pretty dramatic improvement from most F2P multiplayer experiences.
Honestly the community in MWO seems pretty good for the most part, but I think PGI really needs to get ahead of the curve here and implement systems for easily reporting toxicity before it metastasizes. This is how problems like widespread toxicity develop: the developer ignores it for too long because it doesn't seem like a big deal at first, then that culture of behavior takes root and suddenly you can't play a game without someone raging.
As every other F2P publisher has learned, it's very time consuming and very expensive to fix it later if you don't lock it down from the get go.
EDIT: That aside, I have to say that I don't have many complaints about MWO in it's current state. Damn this game has come far since I last played.
Yeah, the balance isn't great, but I think a lot of the math problems can be overcome by good piloting. I have some quibbles about the way lances are made (I find that the game tends to group weigh classes together instead of creating mixed lances that could theoretically operate as self contained units, which really encourages people to just kind of blob-up into a mega lance and / or split off entirely to just do their own thing. Like, last match had a lance that was 3 Assaults and a Heavy. ) and I can see why Ghost Heat has a negative reputation, but I'm having a great time (which says something, because I do not normally enjoy shooters at all).
Well I have to be fair: I haven't yet had anyone tell anyone else to go kill themselves, which is a pretty dramatic improvement from most F2P multiplayer experiences.
Honestly the community in MWO seems pretty good for the most part, but I think PGI really needs to get ahead of the curve here and implement systems for easily reporting toxicity before it metastasizes. This is how problems like widespread toxicity develop: the developer ignores it for too long because it doesn't seem like a big deal at first, then that culture of behavior takes root and suddenly you can't play a game without someone raging.
As every other F2P publisher has learned, it's very time consuming and very expensive to fix it later if you don't lock it down from the get go.
EDIT: That aside, I have to say that I don't have many complaints about MWO in it's current state. Damn this game has come far since I last played.
Yeah, the balance isn't great, but I think a lot of the math problems can be overcome by good piloting. I have some quibbles about the way lances are made (I find that the game tends to group weigh classes together instead of creating mixed lances that could theoretically operate as self contained units, which really encourages people to just kind of blob-up into a mega lance and / or split off entirely to just do their own thing. Like, last match had a lance that was 3 Assaults and a Heavy. ) and I can see why Ghost Heat has a negative reputation, but I'm having a great time (which says something, because I do not normally enjoy shooters at all).
1) The moderation/reporting shit is a relatively recent introduction.
2) Yes it can be overcome by being a good pilot. But its bullshit that an idiot in a clan mech is, at worst, the equal of a solid IS pilot.
+1
MortiousThe Nightmare BeginsMove to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
So far I've only gotten about 2.5mil of my possible 11mil bonus event monies.
I shouldn't have wasted so much time losing through the FP event portion.
Man, I haven't even started the event yet. Light, Medium and Heavy class won't be a problem. Assaults will suck though. I don't think I have time to put in 80 matches anyway. I'll be lucky to get 20 in. Need to grind it out.
2) Yes it can be overcome by being a good pilot. But its bullshit that an idiot in a clan mech is, at worst, the equal of a solid IS pilot.
This is a big exaggeration. A real idiot in any mech will get clowned on by a good pilot, IS or otherwise. Player skill matters a great deal in MWO, much more than the numbers on your equipment.
Not that I don't agree that balance could be better. No game gets it exactly right, and MWO is probably average at best in this regard. It's just not on this level where it's a massive handicap.
I should get some Assualts though. Stalkers are IS right?
They are. They're the only assaults I've ever piloted so I can't compare to others by personal experience, but I will say that I like them. The 4N and 5M are both very good at their respective jobs (laser vom and SRM brawling respectively). I also have the Misery, which is only so-so. If there were a ballistics option that was solidly worth mounting as an unquirked one-off it would be better.
The best IS Assaults at the moment are the Stalker, Battlemaster, then the Zeus, King Crab, Mauler, Atlas, then the Awesome, Banshee, then the Victor, Highlander
The best IS Assaults at the moment are the Stalker, Battlemaster, then the Zeus, King Crab, Mauler, Atlas, then the Awesome, Banshee, then the Victor, Highlander
Consensus I've seen is that the Battlemaster, King Crab, Atlas, Stalker, and Banshee (at least some builds) are the good ones. The Mauler seems like it might be decent too. Zeus, Awesome, Victor, and Highlander all have a rep for being mediocre. But as with anything else, it's all about what works for you.
2) Yes it can be overcome by being a good pilot. But its bullshit that an idiot in a clan mech is, at worst, the equal of a solid IS pilot.
This is a big exaggeration. A real idiot in any mech will get clowned on by a good pilot, IS or otherwise. Player skill matters a great deal in MWO, much more than the numbers on your equipment.
Not that I don't agree that balance could be better. No game gets it exactly right, and MWO is probably average at best in this regard. It's just not on this level where it's a massive handicap.
I've seem completely incompetent, disorganized clan teams steamroll a very strong IS team in CW far to many times for it to be anything approaching an exaggeration.
As to assaults.
Stalkers are very much one trick ponies and very meta.
Awesome can be fun, but they are as big as a broadside of a barn and very shootable.
Zeus is a small assault that can tank probably better than most other IS assaults, plus it has some devastating loadouts (especially the variants that have the 3 missile fist. 3xSRM6+Artemis = Doomfist)
King Crabs have the awesome problem of being a big target, and has low hardpoints and suffers from having the bulk of its firepower (for most sane builds) in the arms, but in the right hands that motherfucker will clakclak the shit out of the enemy.
Maulers can be nasty and have a good mix of hardpoints.
But I, and others, believe theres a bug affecting IS assaults that makes anything in their STs (and only their STs) super super critable, even through armor, so until this is acknowledged and fixed I'd steer more towards arm heavy mechs like King Crabs, rather than ST heavy mechs like Atlas and Mauler.
Gaaaaaaah I could help myself! I wanted a Vulture! It was my favorite MW2 mech ever!
You'll just have to wait a while, Dragon. I'll buy you next time.
I regret nothing!
I run a similar load but with 4 cSRM6s and 4 cERMLs, and it's a can opener. I actually run three mechs with pretty similar loadouts, a Stormcrow with 4 cERMLs and 3 SRM6s and a summoner with 2 cERLL and 3 SRM6s.
BTW, i rarely post here but I read this thread regularly its difficult to find decent quality discussion anywhere else
Gaaaaaaah I could help myself! I wanted a Vulture! It was my favorite MW2 mech ever!
You'll just have to wait a while, Dragon. I'll buy you next time.
I regret nothing!
I run a similar load but with 4 cSRM6s and 4 cERMLs, and it's a can opener. I actually run three mechs with pretty similar loadouts, a Stormcrow with 4 cERMLs and 3 SRM6s and a summoner with 2 cERLL and 3 SRM6s.
BTW, i rarely post here but I read this thread regularly its difficult to find decent quality discussion anywhere else
You should post more, don't let the salt get to you.
The best IS Assaults at the moment are the Stalker, Battlemaster, then the Zeus, King Crab, Mauler, Atlas, then the Awesome, Banshee, then the Victor, Highlander
Wait, wait. Wait wait wait wait. Wait.
I legit need you to explain this to me. Slowly. Using small words. I'm seeing what you typed, but it's just not making any sense.
I honestly thought it was all salt, face-plants, and 1k damage e-boners around here.
Eh, its all in one place and its easy to follow some days that's all you can ask for.
+4
MortiousThe Nightmare BeginsMove to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
I guess I'll do the Stalkers then for my assaults. The other mechs listed don't appeal to my sense of aesthetics (which is the main criteria for selecting a mech)
So I've been playing the trial Shadowcat for the event.. And I have to say the gauss feels really whimpy. Like - it doesnt need to be a crazy OP through-and-through death cannon, but it seems like an opening moves annoyance at best.
"Hey, want a Skull Servent? He's Evil." XFIRE:redspo0n (Yep, Zero in there) XBL: Pinkspo0n
So I've been playing the trial Shadowcat for the event.. And I have to say the gauss feels really whimpy. Like - it doesnt need to be a crazy OP through-and-through death cannon, but it seems like an opening moves annoyance at best.
Its probably because most people are walking around with max armor. In TT gauss is great because most mechs are no where near max armor, that and its the longest range gun in the game and has no heat.
Gauss used to be borderline absurd in MWO; PGI then nerfed them a little too harshly.
It's kind of unfortunate that they haven't been able to find a middle ground for such an iconic weapon.
Them and PPCs both!
Weren't they going to reduce the cooldown on Gauss a tad though? Did I imagine that, or did it happen but fail to make a big difference?
I've done okay with Grid Iron packing a Gauss, but that thing gets a cool 30% cooldown reduction with quirks. That seems to be what it takes to make a single Gauss even moderately effective. Not great still, just OK.
Ok, calling it quits on the event. Didn't do a full three days like I thought, but 1.5 days of grinding for 5.5 mil c-bills is good enough for me. Plus Elited my Hunchback IIc (O) so it wasn't a complete waste. Wished I had more time to level up my Warhammers and Marauders though.
Take 3 capture points. Start ticking towards victory from a high ground defensive position in River City.
Watch 2 lances charge into an ambush to die attacking gamma when they could have been defending.
conquest.txt
I really, really despise that map mode. I mean, it could, theoretically, be cool... but this is with PUGs, mang. Objective based maps just don't work IMHO unless you're with a premade.
Take 3 capture points. Start ticking towards victory from a high ground defensive position in River City.
Watch 2 lances charge into an ambush to die attacking gamma when they could have been defending.
conquest.txt
I really, really despise that map mode. I mean, it could, theoretically, be cool... but this is with PUGs, mang. Objective based maps just don't work IMHO unless you're with a premade.
Usually it ends up being a brawl at one capture point anyways with maaaybe two lights running off to cap the rest of them for one team. Then it usually comes down to those two lights being the last ones alive and the other team either being a huge blob that spreads out to capture all the points or those two lights end up winning by a small margin.
Take 3 capture points. Start ticking towards victory from a high ground defensive position in River City.
Watch 2 lances charge into an ambush to die attacking gamma when they could have been defending.
conquest.txt
I really, really despise that map mode. I mean, it could, theoretically, be cool... but this is with PUGs, mang. Objective based maps just don't work IMHO unless you're with a premade.
Usually it ends up being a brawl at one capture point anyways with maaaybe two lights running off to cap the rest of them for one team. Then it usually comes down to those two lights being the last ones alive and the other team either being a huge blob that spreads out to capture all the points or those two lights end up winning by a small margin.
Or, if the map is large enough and the lights have done their job, a totally morale-destroying blowout. Unfortunately, that means at this point we're basically talking about Polar Highlands, Terra Therma, and maybe Tourmaline. But there really is nothing so satisfying/soul crushing, as watching a team get to 11-X on kills, fail to snuff out the rabbit, and have said rabbit steal the game from the "winning" side with like a margin of like 750 vs. 300.
For straight-up Solo Queue pug matches, this really only happens if you've got a Light pilot that goes in with the intent to win on caps. For most players, damage dealt and kills are still driving most of their desire to play (shooty shoot bang bang fun, and getting awarded fat C-bills for it) even in Conquest, so cap running is an actively lower-value proposition.
At least in Group Queue matches, yeah, you can coordinate and make a judgement call with your lancemates when to peel off and try for the cap win. Sadly, being the rabbit in these cases usually means you get a shit payout for your trouble.
there's no reason to lose on caps when you won the shooting battle that decisively though, unless you won it by piling up in a corner of the map and being ultra-passive
in which case I mean, play the objective a little bit? That's why it's there
hold your head high soldier, it ain't over yet
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
With that said, the best matches I have had on Conquest is when the teams cap 2 nodes each and brawl for the last one. That way everybody gets a chance win on points or win by defeating the enemy. Everybody wins on this route since even the lights get some money.
Which is why I always see the matches vote for Skirmish unfortunately which 5% ends up having one light run off and everybody have to play hide and go seek.
So I am hearing rumors that PGI wont be touching balance again until after their new heat system gets implemented. I really hope that isn't true, because they seriously fucked things up with the IS energy range nerf combined with the TBR, SCR, DWF buff.
MWO: Adamski
+2
NipsHe/HimLuxuriating in existential crisis.Registered Userregular
So I am hearing rumors that PGI wont be touching balance again until after their new heat system gets implemented. I really hope that isn't true, because they seriously fucked things up with the IS energy range nerf combined with the TBR, SCR, DWF buff.
Unless there's a legit PGI source for this, it sounds like more fearmongering than anything to me.
Wish the weekend contest had given you a CW reward and a reward from the light/medium/heavy/assault pile. Earning up to 5 rewards would almost make up for the fact that most CW games last about 6 times as long as a Public match, and I hate the Public Queue so much.
I spent a couple hours in Public and got about 2mil bonus cbills which is better than nothing I guess. Between hit registration issues and the general lack of quality matches I gave up pretty quick. Didn't help I was stuck in the Heavy queue with my Bounty Hunter.
So I am hearing rumors that PGI wont be touching balance again until after their new heat system gets implemented. I really hope that isn't true, because they seriously fucked things up with the IS energy range nerf combined with the TBR, SCR, DWF buff.
Unless there's a legit PGI source for this, it sounds like more fearmongering than anything to me.
Russ said they wouldn't be tweaking the archer for balance until the new heat thing they'll inevitably and inexplicitly make worse than the current thing they are replacing.
Posts
Well I have to be fair: I haven't yet had anyone tell anyone else to go kill themselves, which is a pretty dramatic improvement from most F2P multiplayer experiences.
Honestly the community in MWO seems pretty good for the most part, but I think PGI really needs to get ahead of the curve here and implement systems for easily reporting toxicity before it metastasizes. This is how problems like widespread toxicity develop: the developer ignores it for too long because it doesn't seem like a big deal at first, then that culture of behavior takes root and suddenly you can't play a game without someone raging.
As every other F2P publisher has learned, it's very time consuming and very expensive to fix it later if you don't lock it down from the get go.
EDIT: That aside, I have to say that I don't have many complaints about MWO in it's current state. Damn this game has come far since I last played.
Yeah, the balance isn't great, but I think a lot of the math problems can be overcome by good piloting. I have some quibbles about the way lances are made (I find that the game tends to group weigh classes together instead of creating mixed lances that could theoretically operate as self contained units, which really encourages people to just kind of blob-up into a mega lance and / or split off entirely to just do their own thing. Like, last match had a lance that was 3 Assaults and a Heavy.
1) The moderation/reporting shit is a relatively recent introduction.
2) Yes it can be overcome by being a good pilot. But its bullshit that an idiot in a clan mech is, at worst, the equal of a solid IS pilot.
I shouldn't have wasted so much time losing through the FP event portion.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
Steam: betsuni7
After that it'll be medium. Need to get ~10k more exp to master my last Griffon, so it'll probably be that followed by my Arrow.
I have 1 light and 0 assaults, and probably wont do those.
I should get some Assualts though. Stalkers are IS right?
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
The miasma of reality drowns the light of hope.
This is a big exaggeration. A real idiot in any mech will get clowned on by a good pilot, IS or otherwise. Player skill matters a great deal in MWO, much more than the numbers on your equipment.
Not that I don't agree that balance could be better. No game gets it exactly right, and MWO is probably average at best in this regard. It's just not on this level where it's a massive handicap.
They are. They're the only assaults I've ever piloted so I can't compare to others by personal experience, but I will say that I like them. The 4N and 5M are both very good at their respective jobs (laser vom and SRM brawling respectively). I also have the Misery, which is only so-so. If there were a ballistics option that was solidly worth mounting as an unquirked one-off it would be better.
MWO: Adamski
Consensus I've seen is that the Battlemaster, King Crab, Atlas, Stalker, and Banshee (at least some builds) are the good ones. The Mauler seems like it might be decent too. Zeus, Awesome, Victor, and Highlander all have a rep for being mediocre. But as with anything else, it's all about what works for you.
I've seem completely incompetent, disorganized clan teams steamroll a very strong IS team in CW far to many times for it to be anything approaching an exaggeration.
As to assaults.
Stalkers are very much one trick ponies and very meta.
Awesome can be fun, but they are as big as a broadside of a barn and very shootable.
Zeus is a small assault that can tank probably better than most other IS assaults, plus it has some devastating loadouts (especially the variants that have the 3 missile fist. 3xSRM6+Artemis = Doomfist)
King Crabs have the awesome problem of being a big target, and has low hardpoints and suffers from having the bulk of its firepower (for most sane builds) in the arms, but in the right hands that motherfucker will clakclak the shit out of the enemy.
Maulers can be nasty and have a good mix of hardpoints.
But I, and others, believe theres a bug affecting IS assaults that makes anything in their STs (and only their STs) super super critable, even through armor, so until this is acknowledged and fixed I'd steer more towards arm heavy mechs like King Crabs, rather than ST heavy mechs like Atlas and Mauler.
I run a similar load but with 4 cSRM6s and 4 cERMLs, and it's a can opener. I actually run three mechs with pretty similar loadouts, a Stormcrow with 4 cERMLs and 3 SRM6s and a summoner with 2 cERLL and 3 SRM6s.
BTW, i rarely post here but I read this thread regularly its difficult to find decent quality discussion anywhere else
You should post more, don't let the salt get to you.
Steam: betsuni7
Wait, wait. Wait wait wait wait. Wait.
I legit need you to explain this to me. Slowly. Using small words. I'm seeing what you typed, but it's just not making any sense.
Yay! We produce quality discussion!
I honestly thought it was all salt, face-plants, and 1k damage e-boners around here.
Eh, its all in one place and its easy to follow some days that's all you can ask for.
It’s not a very important country most of the time
http://steamcommunity.com/id/mortious
Wub wub wub wub wub.
XFIRE:redspo0n (Yep, Zero in there) XBL: Pinkspo0n
You can only do so much at times, but its crazy when you have a marauder and king crab turn their backs on a double gauss hunchback
First match in, and ran out of ammo...
Steam: betsuni7
XFIRE:redspo0n (Yep, Zero in there) XBL: Pinkspo0n
Its probably because most people are walking around with max armor. In TT gauss is great because most mechs are no where near max armor, that and its the longest range gun in the game and has no heat.
It's kind of unfortunate that they haven't been able to find a middle ground for such an iconic weapon.
Them and PPCs both!
Weren't they going to reduce the cooldown on Gauss a tad though? Did I imagine that, or did it happen but fail to make a big difference?
I've done okay with Grid Iron packing a Gauss, but that thing gets a cool 30% cooldown reduction with quirks. That seems to be what it takes to make a single Gauss even moderately effective. Not great still, just OK.
Stripped Atlas 2016.
Yep, wub wub wub, or like mine, 6x MLAS, LL, and an LBX10. It has tons of quirks for the MLAS.
MWO: Adamski
Steam: betsuni7
XFIRE:redspo0n (Yep, Zero in there) XBL: Pinkspo0n
Watch 2 lances charge into an ambush to die attacking gamma when they could have been defending.
conquest.txt
I really, really despise that map mode. I mean, it could, theoretically, be cool... but this is with PUGs, mang. Objective based maps just don't work IMHO unless you're with a premade.
Usually it ends up being a brawl at one capture point anyways with maaaybe two lights running off to cap the rest of them for one team. Then it usually comes down to those two lights being the last ones alive and the other team either being a huge blob that spreads out to capture all the points or those two lights end up winning by a small margin.
Steam: betsuni7
Or, if the map is large enough and the lights have done their job, a totally morale-destroying blowout. Unfortunately, that means at this point we're basically talking about Polar Highlands, Terra Therma, and maybe Tourmaline. But there really is nothing so satisfying/soul crushing, as watching a team get to 11-X on kills, fail to snuff out the rabbit, and have said rabbit steal the game from the "winning" side with like a margin of like 750 vs. 300.
For straight-up Solo Queue pug matches, this really only happens if you've got a Light pilot that goes in with the intent to win on caps. For most players, damage dealt and kills are still driving most of their desire to play (shooty shoot bang bang fun, and getting awarded fat C-bills for it) even in Conquest, so cap running is an actively lower-value proposition.
At least in Group Queue matches, yeah, you can coordinate and make a judgement call with your lancemates when to peel off and try for the cap win. Sadly, being the rabbit in these cases usually means you get a shit payout for your trouble.
in which case I mean, play the objective a little bit? That's why it's there
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Which is why I always see the matches vote for Skirmish unfortunately which 5% ends up having one light run off and everybody have to play hide and go seek.
Steam: betsuni7
MWO: Adamski
Unless there's a legit PGI source for this, it sounds like more fearmongering than anything to me.
frankly even their official twitter isn't all that reliable
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
I spent a couple hours in Public and got about 2mil bonus cbills which is better than nothing I guess. Between hit registration issues and the general lack of quality matches I gave up pretty quick. Didn't help I was stuck in the Heavy queue with my Bounty Hunter.
Russ said they wouldn't be tweaking the archer for balance until the new heat thing they'll inevitably and inexplicitly make worse than the current thing they are replacing.
Ghost Heat is the penalty you get warned about in the Mech Lab regarding firing too many of the same weapon at once, correct?