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Originally Posted by Linedan
So I've been playing PS2 since late beta, and played PS1 for a year or so when it first came out. I also played WWII Online for several years.
And I was, and am, awful at all of them.
I'm not a multiplayer FPS guy, never have been. I dabble in a lot of MMOs but they're all RPGs or games in which I do pretty much PvE only--WoW, SWTOR, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, etc. I even played EVE for a few years off and on and rarely PvP'd there. I have never been into COD or BF-style lobby shooters the least little bit. They hold no appeal to me, and honestly, from what I've seen of the communities in those games, I'm glad of that.
And yet there's something about the persistent-world MMOFPS that appeals. I love working together with a squad or platoon to accomplish a goal even if it's just a big zergball. I love the unpredictability, the teamwork, the fact that there's not really a "score" or "ladder" to worry about, it's just all about accomplishing the task in front of you, attacking or defending a base, clearing a point, securing a ridgeline so the guys behind can pass through and advance.
There's just one problem with it. I suck.
I'm pushing 47 years old. I never had the twitch reflexes of a 20-year-old even when I *was* 20 so you can imagine how I do in a game where the skill floor is fairly high, the TTK is measured in fractions of a second, and most of the rest of the playerbase have vastly more modern FPS experience. I conservatively estimate I lose 95%+ of the gunfights I get into. I routinely get the drop on people, open up, shoot them in the back, and then have them turn around and waste me. In a 1v1 CQC "dance-fight" I will lose, either through not moving enough or not turning and aiming properly or just derping and having my hand slip off my mouse.
My main is a BR 55 NC who plays engineer 90% of the time. His K/D, as you see below, is 0.63 lifetime. That's inflated by almost 550 Bouncing Betty and tank mine kills, btw. I have no Auraxium medals (210 kills to go on my Gauss Compact S). I have four other alts on various servers, BR 27 down to BR 14, and all have K/Ds under 0.80. I just spent a frustrating 10 minutes playing at lunch (I work from home) on my BR 27 TR alt on Waterson, trying to keep two NC from taking a Tawrich satellite. And failing. Three of us, two NC HAs, and we got owned. I went, I think, 3-9 against them and one of those was a mine kill. It didn't matter whether I was HA or engineer, even using my UBGL on my TRAC-5 S, even getting the drop on one of them. No luck. I just fed them kills.
It's the story of my PS2 career. A lot of shouted curses (hopefully not loud enough for my daughter to learn new words from Daddy) and slammed headphones and ragequits. A lot of sighs and looks from my wife and comments of "why do you even still play that game, as much as you sound like you hate it?"
Because I don't hate it.
Because I'm in an awesome outfit full of cool people who understand my limitations and appreciate me for the engineer I play and the ammo and repairs I do, and don't worry so much that I'm the old fart that can't shoot straight.
Because on some nights I might go 8-31 but we hold off a VS zerg twice our size to defend a base and the fight is absolutely epic.
Because every now and then, just when I'm starting to think I need to say "screw it," drop my membership, and head on down the road, something magical happens. And I'll be in a Lightning and get three headshots on infantry in a row with an AP cannon. Or I'll lay some tank mines perfectly and pump my fist as an enemy Sunderer blunders into them. Or follow a MAX from one end of a biolab to the other as he gets kill after kill after kill, keeping him repaired. Or I'll be on my baby TR alt as HA trying out the T32 and somehow go 32-14 attacking a base, which is a world record for me. Or just take a second to stand on a balcony at Indar Excavation and watch dozens of VS or TR ants swarming across the desert toward us and think, "holy CRAP that looks amazing." (Right before I get sniped.)
Those moments are what keep me coming back. There's no other game out there that provides them.
So to my fellow bads, a few words of advice:
1. Find your niche. So you aren't MLGprol33t with a gun clearing a room. Grab a repair tool or a medgun, or a tank or a fighter or a sniper rifle. Follow the stone killers and keep them going, spawn Sunderers, provide air cover, ride the top gun in a tank. You'll get some certs and kills out of it, don't worry, and have fun doing it.
2. Join a good outfit. This game sucks to play alone. Do some research and find an outfit that fits you. They're out there. This community is better than it looks at first glance, but you will probably have to shovel through some manure to find that pony.
3. Be the best bad you can be. Read tips threads here on the forums. Do some research. Ask questions. Just because you're not naturally gifted at a twitch shooter isn't an excuse to not know what you're doing or not learn.
4. Eff the haters. Don't even respond to them. If somebody feels the need to rag on you because you're not "good" in their eyes or not playing the "correct" way, that's on them, not on you.
5. Be ready to walk away. Someday I may get so pissed at this game that I put it down and walk away, and if I do, I'll do it without regrets. It's a game. It's not worth getting but so stressed over. If you're not having fun, stop doing it. Life's too short. (Especially here.)
And remember. If it wasn't for us bads, you guys wouldn't look as good as you do.
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2013-07-21, 12:16 PM
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