Clan Griefing? You'd "Beta" Believe It

Greetings Mechwarriors,

Here we are, somewhere between May and June in 3050. This timespan marks the Second Wave of the Clan Invasion on Inner Sphere space. While being almost a full year from the beginning of the Invasion, this period showed only muted evidence of the Clans slowing in their advances. The Clans undeniably had superior firepower and superior combat training. They seemed to have the upper hand at every turn. That is, until the IS learned a lesson or two and was able to start to turn the tide. None of this would matter, of course, if it wasn’t for the recent release of the Community Warfare Beta in MWO.

Oh, Community Warfare, why do you hurt me so? As an Inner Sphere pilot, I am currently at the mercy of Clan Jade Falcon. House Steiner, of which I am contracted to, is currently losing ground against the Clans and is having a hard time maintaining any of its borders. Why am I at the mercy of the Clans and more often than not left licking my wounds (read: rage quittin’)? Well, that’s a complicated question and one that PGI may or may not be interested in addressing.

I am not alone when I feel unfairly treated by CW. There are many, many posts on the MWO forums that are a wealth of bickering between Clan and IS pilots. After giving it some thought and some research, like some other players, I see that the issue here is lore accuracy. How does a game developer handle a situation where, in order to be lore friendly, one group of players has to have the upper hand? Well, maybe make up their mind on how committed to lore to be?

During the Clan Invasion, and what would eventually lead to the end of the Invasion, Clan pilots were unprepared for the type of warfare being waged. Clan pilots were trained to fight with honor and a certain amount of respect for their opponents. The Clans never attacked their opponent’s supply chains and would typically engage their opponents one at a time. A Clan company consists of two “Stars”, for a 10-pilot configuration, where an IS company consists of three 4-pilot “Lances”. It was over-whelming numbers that gave the IS a fighting chance against the Clans. None of this, however, is reflected in CW.

I think that CW would be more balanced if the IS was able to face the Clans in a 10v.12 pilot match. If PGI wants to make Clan tech accurate, then they also need to address Clan tactics. This approach would also account for the Clans potentially losing a supply chain. PGI claims that building a 10v.12 match is overly complicated to accomplish with their matchmaking code. They also claim that complicated coding is the reason why no one has received any rewards from participating in CW. Rewards for taking part in the Beta aside, the root cause is the same. This leads me to believe that PGI is currently either understaffed or uncertainly managed.

*sigh* But hey, this is still Beta, right? This all being said, PGI is taking player input seriously. Of course, some of my criticism spawns from the frustration of hopelessly trying to drive out Clan Jade Falcon. When it comes down to it, what is “wrong” with CW? Is this a product of poor coordination during each attack, a product of poor map design, a product of PGI rushing their content, a product of poor coordination amongst our House Units, a product of superior Clan firepower, a product of overblown confidence, or a product of the PUG? I’ve honestly written this post from a different angle four times now. What is “wrong” or “right” about CW is a complicated, and maybe over-complicated, topic.

Good luck and good hunting, pilots.