Shammas' Competitive MNC Guide (11/18/13)

I think this is necessary with the activity in private matches lately vs. the overall competence of players. I want to keep the intro short, but I think it might be a good idea to make this a mandatory read for anyone who wants to play PMs. And I mean EVERYONE should read it, no one's above this.

FUNDAMENTALS- So I'll start with some "fundamentals", or basic general objectives that you should be consciously trying to accomplish throughout the match. The more you practice them, you'll eventually internalize them and it will become natural.
- Play the odds. It seems pretty simple, because it is. Make safe plays when you're ahead, and cash in on your opponent's mistakes. Use numbers to your advantage, and try and take favorable gunfights (2v1, In cover, shooting down at opponent's, using walls, etc.). Push when you're ahead in numbers, and just stay alive/hold when you aren't.
- Don't overextend (O.E.). This means charging into the enemy team as an assault or charging forward as a gunner, etc. This only works in unorganized private matches.
- Play for picks, then push. This ties into the last bit a little. If you're in a 6v6 stalemate, try and get a pick so you can push 6v5. It's mainly your sniper/assault/assassin's job to do this. Once you have numbers, then you advance. Trade kills 1 for 1 until only your team remains. I'm tired of seeing gunners mindlessly charging into a 6v2 for no reason.
- Play the three lanes. You should view the map as left, center, and right, and you should be sure to lock down all three. I'll explain this more in the next few tips.
- Play from your base. This doesn't mean to camp or turtle, it just means to clear out your base before anything else. Your ball can't go down if they can't get near it. A flawless match ends in 2 stages: The fight in your base, the fight mid-map, the fight in their base. If you're pinned in your base, push out to the middle of the map. Once you've evened the playing field, push them into their base. Once they're trapped there, drop their ball. Don't allow any holes in your defenses, sweep the map towards their base, and most importantly, keep the enemy in front of you at all times. The only exception to this is the assassin. Since they're so mobile, it's only necessary to worry about them if they're in your base and the rest of their team is spawn-trapped. You'd go crazy if you chased the assassin every time they snuck by, but it can still be prevented.
- Rotate. If 2 teammates die on the left side of the map, rotate over to keep the enemy back. Remember to stay alive if you're down a man or two. This is the easiest way to keep them out of your base.
- Play in pairs. I wish I had a diagram so I could explain this a little better, but here's an example. Try to imagine Steel Peel. Off the rip, your sniper and assassin go left, your gunner and support go middle, and your assault and tank head right. Let's say your sniper gets the enemy assault weak and he falls back. Your assassin can clean up that easy kill. Now you have one less player to worry about and the enemy pair's partner will retreat or die in a 2v1. Your sniper can now focus towards the middle and right lanes of the map to get an angle. These pairs are just an example, but I think they all work pretty well together. Playing in pairs is the easiest way to not have to fight 1v1s and still be able to lock down the entire map.
- Mind your juice. This goes without saying. One juice can win your team a push, so try and get it as much as possible. Make sure that you keep track of the enemy players' progress on juice as well. Most pushes will be lead by a juiced player.
- Lastly, keep your composure and don't try to do too much. Don't get antsy and make reckless plays, and don't stop making the right plays. Even if you're stalemate-ing the entire map, you'll eventually gain the edge.

CLASS BREAKDOWNS- I'll explain a little on how to play with each class and what your goals should be. It's in your hands to figure out loadouts and little tricks (charge jumping, grapple sniping), that should all be second-nature by now.
ASSAULT- Your main goal is to be like a handy-man that can help out anywhere at any given time. Your main job is chipping/cleaning up weak players and displacing players with bombs. You should try and play a little sneaky and in a position where you can strike a weak player trying to retreat, but still be able to escape. Since you're mobile, it's usually up to you to rotate first if your teammates die. Use cover to your advantage and act as a support slayer.
Vidoe-
ASSASSIN- Your job is similar to the assault's but more bot-oriented. Try and kill bots and build juice, but your main job after that is to clean up and harass weak enemy players who slip away. If you're doing your job right, you'll be in the enemy base most of the match so you have easy access to their players that fall back and trickle down. Stay alive and get juice as much as possible. Being able to juice so often, you're one of the biggest play-makers on the team.It's also your job to help in a stalemate by trying to get a back-grapple.
Video-
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1-NKx82Sw
GUNNER- You're the team's rock, the muscle, or the anchor. You just need to worry about scaring the enemy team out of crucial areas and locking them down. You should be the centerpiece of the team, not the first in or at the back. No one on the other team should be able to pass your area. Don't push, just hold until your team gets a pick or two, then unleash hell. It's important for you to have full health when you make the push.
Video-
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXAzI3zxum8
SNIPER- Pretty much the main slayer/play-maker of the team. With such a high damage output and a potential insta-kill at any moment, it's mainly your job to make things happen. Try and position yourself in safe areas with long sight lines, and try to get as many angles on the enemy team as possible so they're never safe. Your main job in a stalemate is to get the first pick, or to get someone weak enough to be cleaned up. Basically, you need to open up the map for your assault and gunner to be aggressive. Make good use of your flak for enemies in cover, and your ice traps for their multitude of uses.
Video-
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3OUpYY91FU
SUPPORT- The gunner is your main concern, but not your only concern. Always heal other players if they need it. You should position yourself similarly to your gunner so that you're in the middle of the team and can easily heal them if need-be. Your firebase is very important. You should treat it like a second gunner, almost like a marker that shows where your team is set-up in the map. Keep it in a short-ranged area with little cover for maximum effectiveness. Use those air strikes to dislodge enemies in a stalemate.
TANK- You're sort of like a gunner for the bot lane. Play near the back/middle of your team and peg enemies with rail gun bullets. Save your grenade for enemies hiding in cover for maximum effectiveness. Use your mobility to get good angles on enemies and keep them out of position. You should do your best to hold the bot lanes until a push is imminent, then lead the charge. You're also the most devastating class with juice when the pressure's on, so make sure to play for it.
Video-
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL1pavtI6UA

THE "X" FORMATION- Now that you've got a better grip on what should be happening, you can sort of visualize how your team should set up. Imagine looking at the map face down. Your players should outline a tightly-knit "X". The top two points of the X should be your assault and assassin (I prefer assassin left and assault right). The bottom two should be your tank and sniper (I prefer sniper left and tank right, but always sniper with assassin and tank with assault). And the middle should be your support and gunner. Don't take this literally and try and hold an X the entire match (LOL), just use it as a guideline. The only map on which this doesn't apply is Grenade 3.

CONCLUSION- I plan to update this a bit, it's hard to explain everything off the top of my head. If anyone has any questions, feel free to message me on XBL (Shammas x). It's a lot easier to explain this in a party chat and in game than it is to type. Hopefully everyone will read this and we'll have more organized and competitive private matches. One last word is to use this as a basis for your playstyle. There's no need to follow everything exactly, but it's a wonderful starting point.

Somehow i found myself bored enough to skim through this but im glad that I did. Im now aware of what class is the main slayer. Thank god, for I was under the wrong impression.

Glad to help. Hopefully more people will read this and get on the right track.

Funny how nobody understands my gunner. It's not all about map control.

For ex. If there assassin is spawn killing my bots and I'm gunner, I'll obv call it out but if no one is doing anything about it we will not win. I'll give up map control to kill the assassin. Then will I start to worry about killing people.

Like you said wait until my team has the drop on someone then I'll push. Some people think I play gunner wrong cause im not the first in the fight.

Hopefully people will stop telling me how to play gunner when they don't even know.

in a nutshell, but your strategy needs adjusting.

you first sentence made laugh. the last sentence made me laugh because of what you said in your first sentence.

Edit: Originally i was gonna tell you why your strat was bad but i decide id rather not waste the time when most likely nothing will change.

What would you adjust?

Well he's right about people who don't know how to play gunner correcting him. But it is mostly about map control.

Well this X formation of yours for starters.

The whole game is about getting your bots to the enemy ball.

It's the easiest way to understand where you should be on the map.

I really hoped I wouldn't have to tell people to kill bots in a guide in 2013. If that's the case, this game is done for.

nothing wrong with an OVERLOAD left or right..

especially on G3.. which imo should be played more

That's why I made a note for that, and it should def be played but people just aren't there yet.

Obv you don't understand. No point talking to you.

Alright so if they "arnt there yet" and we never play G3, are they ever going to understand or get better?... No

If we do play G3 is insta striking allowed? i feel like that would happen a lot

(hell i got Chron today like 5 times) haha sorry buddy

You didn't even attempt to explain yourself...

If they can't even understand or play all the classes or maps we play now, what makes you think they'll understand G3?