Perception of General Skill Level/Quality of Play (Not Good)

I generally play this game 'PUG' style, so I'm always playing with different, random people. I'm still astounded at how poor the general level of play is. I don't mean technical ability to do the 'right' thing (handy with the sniper, good at getting backstabs etc.) but the general ignorance of what success in this game requires.

Even when placed on a team of level 40+'s, most players will very rarely:

a) build turrets
b) build the right turret for the location
c) heal/overheal their teammates, turrets or bots (bad Support players)
d) pick up the goddamn money lying all over the ground after clearing out bots/Jackbot
e) pick up the goddamn juice boxes lying all over the ground after clearing out bots/Jackbot
f) play their class reasonably. It is highly aggravating to watch an assassin try to kill a bot line right infront of an enemy Gunner who's about to shred her. It is highly aggravating to watch support players choose not to support their team and resources around them, opting instead to run about with the shotgun. It is highly aggravating to watch Gunners forget that they have a mortar which is much better at taking out bots and turrets than the mini-gun. etc. etc.
g) spend money on extra bots, turret upgrades or the Annihilator
h) not quit within two minutes of the match starting, their team already significantly behind because they have done A through G above

How long will it take for the majority of the player base to realize that to win requires a balanced team, investment in infrastructure, and creating and maintaining bot pressure? Killing 'pros' is probably fourth or fifth on the list of things to do to win consistently, but it's the only thing many players consistently attempt.

Does anyone think the general quality of strategy/tactics is or will be getting better?

Eh, depends.

I usually forgo building turrets personally. I usually push hard on one side spending all my money on bot summons and annihilator.

Only case i build turrets is if i miss the annihilator. Because otherwise, i dont let the enemy bots reach my base (for the lane im in).

Right, of course it depends. But my interest and questions refers to the 'in general'. I can think of games/teams of randoms I've been on that have done none of the wrong and bad things I listed. But, in general, those people are a distinct minority.

I'm confused as to why so many people are so bad at this game, and by bad I mean bad at making defensible decisions. I like this game because there's enough of a genuine strategic element that you can identify a situation and say, "Well, that was a bad decision." For instance, you say you don't build turrets. This is a bad decision, because a Longshot turret will earn you more money than you spent on it in a very short period of time (assuming it doesn't get taken out within a minute or two).

It's regrettable that MNC debuted on Xbox Live, home to some of the most ignorant mouth breathers on the planet.

Crossfire is not Blitz. Various turret layouts work better against different teams.

Only slightly. Once Reach is released, the tards will migrate to the latest brainwreck. However, don't expect too much from what remains. The average console gamer has a mind like a steel trap...full of mice.

Yeah, because everyone who likes playing halo is a tard.

nice logic bro

I have seen both sides of this particular coin. Some games i have an awesome team with supports manning the base,hacking turrets ya know stuff they should be doing while other team mates are pushing lanes and building smart turrets. On the other side i've seen many people run past bots to get to the enemies base and put longshots where it just shoots into a wall.
So there are good people and bad people its just really depends on your team. I try to play with friends and my wife when i can so i know i at least have a couple decent people on my team.

Sure, me too -- I've played on teams where not only was there a solid mix of classes, which means having at least one Support, and everyone played to their classes strengths AND invested in the team's infrastucture etc. But again, in general, I would say that is not the case. Am I right? And if I am right (i.e. if your perception accords with mine) then why are so many people who play this game playing it so badly? Why are they ignoring what amounts to 3/4 of the game that is there to play (i.e. everything except trying to directly kill other pros)?

I think alot of it stems from current gaming trends and stuff like that. For a lot of people(kids) they have only played Halo or Cod competitively. So coming from that they think...what is my objective?...to kill other players.

So they run around looking for pros. This is not really how this game is played so it might take awhile for people to get it and play accordingly. Also while the tutorial is great it really doesn't explain key things to playing a Crossfire match.

Most people just want kills and dont really care if they win or if not that think kills equals a win...which is def. not the case in MNC.

Stick with the Europeans and the Japs in the early hours.

Agree 100% TC.
Im new to this game and still notice all the above.

With the obvious exception of Forum-Goers what I initially wrote back in September is still true. I'm astounded at the number of Supports who favor their shotgun to the exclusion of their heal gun, fail to hack turrets, and don't heal constantly for juice and success. I'm astounded at the number of Assassins who still attempt face-stabs against tanks, and the number of Assaults who will happily sit in a bot lane rat-tat-tatting against bots while enemy gunners mow down their squad's Supports and Tanks.

While I'm all for encouraging the joy of exploration/discovery, I strongly encourage the inclusion of a more thorough tutorial in Uber's first full/retail (and fully deserved) release as this is a great game crippled by 90% of it's user base.

Noobs say the darndest things.

There's more then one way to play then just building turrets and sitting on them. A good offense lets you control the arena much easier.

I have 149 "the me in Team". u mad? I'd like to see you build turrets while I'm shooting you in the face. See how it all works out?

Yeah i ma pissed at the lack of brains ppl have hwo playign this game...earlier today was a 3v3 and me and this other dude was gunner both low health and our other team mate who was a support just runs right by us with shotgun out and i just said **** it and left...if you dont want to use your brain watch TV or otherwise GTFO

I have over 300 of those.

after all the years of the halos and CODs its no wonder why the general population is not that smart in the game.. it will change over time but just a lil more time than normal.

Yesterday, I was put on the same team twice. That team built Longshots and Shaveices under the spawn ring when the Rockits got destroyed. sigh.

I build a shaveice in the spawn ring during overtime if one becomes available. It gives me an advantage with crowd control. As a tank, I don't need a turret to lower their health, I need them to stand still so I can grenade/charge/grapple them.

Point being, while most of the players of this (and every!) game are somewhat clueless, many of the things listed in the original post are situational. I don't hit the annihilator as a tank unless I just happen to have a lot of excess cash and be right there, but as assassin I try to make sure I'm there every time it come available.

If you're going to play the pubs without a team, you've just got to expect that you're going to have to fill several roles on your own. Some day I'm going to write my "Z Bear's guide to doing it all yourself" so all you tryhards (first use of the word, somewhat satisfying, but makes me feel a little dirty) can learn from my greatness. :lol:

Chapter 1: You can't do it all yourself as a gunner.

Stop the press! Z Bear just called us tryhards?! Now take a shower and wash all the grit and grim off.

I see these "Supports should heal and build turrets" threads frequently. While that sounds logical, sometimes it just doesn't make sense. Yes, it's a jackass move to run past two low-health gunners with your shotgun out only to get smoked by whatever was shooting them.

I just don't see the point of these rants. The people who are here reading them, probably already do the right thing.

I agree, the average player is beyond retarded when it comes to playing and I'll never be able to understand what's going through their mind that makes them do what they do. Maybe it's lack of experience, maybe they don't understand the game enough to choose the best option in each particular scenario. But it's not just in MNC, it's in every game. Morons are everywhere.


- As for the annihilator and extra bots, you'd be surprised how good they can be if used correctly. I always buy the annihilator, why? Because it gives my team a chance to push our bots in much easier and it also prevents the other team from making a comeback or pushing into our base by using it. Sure you could just control the map, the bot lanes and out slay the other team but the annihilator is cheap, gives you a few assists, and speeds up the bot push. $250 is easy to earn, especially if you're doing well. As for bots, you'd be surprised how good, gremlins, gap shots, and buzzers can be when used at the right time. Spawn a few gremlins at the start against a team who stays on the high ground and away from their base, and you've got yourself a enemy base with no turrets. Have a team with a few weak enemies in the middle of battle our some snipers with poor awareness? Spawn some buzzers. Want to help overwhelm a team that is stuck in their base and your bots/teammates are pushing in? Spawn a bunch of gap shots.

My point being, the annihilator and bots aren't bad buys. When used at the right time. Used randomly and without coordination, sure they're useless.