So, I’ve been playing a lot of PVP lately, and first, let me say, I enjoy the game. It’s generally well thought out, with good synergies that are very interesting, and there are a variety of unique strategies that allow you to be successful with different team compositions.
That said, the main gripes I have with PVP are: (1) heavily min-maxed teams (I faced a team in the 35K power range where all of the players were at least 7 stars. I think bucket was level 42 with 8 stars…cmon); and (2) Ronin, who is fairly overpowered, and can be severely abused if the right characters are put around him.
I don’t have the answers to solving min-maxing, and wish like hell you guys would nerf Ronin. But if you don’t want to do that, could I suggest that you limit the number of times I can lose to the same opponent in 1 day? On Saturday, I faced the same Ronin team 3-4 times, and he destroyed me every single time. On Sunday, I faced the same min-maxed team 3 times, and I was destroyed every single time. There’s literally nothing my team can do against these teams (and I like to think I’ve got a pretty well thought out team with some good synergies). I don’t mind losing to these guys every once in a while; the game is super complicated and some strategies (that I think are abusive) may emerge and not be prevalent enough or simple enough to fix. I get that. But I don’t want to lose to what I see as a team running an abusive strategy 3 times in a day. It is insanely frustrating.
I understand the frustration you have. It’s a problem well known and widely despised. While I do agree that Ronin promotes min-maxing, nerfing him might make him totally useless. I feel like others should be buffed to counter him, but that’s my opinion. I would say that you should try to avoid being part of the problem to help minimize it as much as possible.
No screenshots. I’ve got 2 teams I’m using that are, I think, OK.
All plat:
Mauler/Ronin/Matador 6 stars
Caine/Moss 5 stars
My win% is probably in the 90%+ range with this one, probably boosted by how ridiculous Ronin is.
I also use:
Mauler/Halo 6 stars
Caine/Moss/Vanguard 5 stars
I’m probably more at like 80% with this team. It’s basically a gamble on whether my Mauler gets flash powder within the first 3 bursts. If he doesn’t I have a problem.
If you’re losing to the same team repeatedly and you’re not changing up your squad, that’s largely on you.
You’re using a team that is specifically weak to a high-energy-dps team (eg. Ronin). If you’re facing tons of Ronin teams, your natural response should be to change to a team that is strong against it. Ronin will flatten Mauler teams easily.
On a semi-related note; your Mauler team is not going to be nearly as strong as it used to be following the most recent update. The nerf to the length of his disorient has an exponential effect when they need to stack in order to proc a stun. The effective loss of his stunning is around 65% - or basically 1/3 of what it used to be (And yes, that includes with the crit bonuses offered by Caine & Moss).
In summary; while Ronin is indeed unusually susceptible to matchmaking abuse (sandbagging, min-maxing, etc), the real reason you appear to be struggling against him is that you have failed to adapt to the changing landscape of the PvP meta. Using an outdated and now weak Mauler team is not doing you any favors when you consider that the meta has shifted to being largely occupied by Ronin-Flat comps.
I have to say I respect a man who uses Matador on his PvP team. His recent buffs have seriously helped his and other teammates survivability. Mauler is however elementary weaker than ronin making him easy to wipe out. Strong mech dps’ers should help eliminate Ronin.
Yeah, I’m exploring additional team comps now, and I agree that my Mauler team is weak against energy DPS. But I’ve beaten plenty of Ronin teams with it; it’s only when Ronin’s by far the highest level player on his team and everyone else is based around keeping him alive that I stand no chance. And unfortunately, Ronin’s a perfect player to use that strategy with.
Yeah, I’m a pretty big Matador fan post-buff. With lifetap on, Matador’s almost strong enough to last as the only frontline character, which opens up a lot of room for me to play around with mid and backline guys. Unfortunately, his damage is really weak even at platinum level with Moss and Caine giving him crit boosts. I really thought he’d be better in that department when paired with Moss and Caine.
I highly recommend him. Don’t concern yourself too much with damage with him tho. I use him to shred cover and get shields up, not so much deal damage. Only problem is his large frame.
Yeah, he’s probably one of the better tanks these days. He doesn’t add as much to early survivability as a Drake or Phalanx, but he charges up bull rush and a shield mighty fast. He’s the MVP on my team pretty frequently, and that’s on a team with Moss’s lifetap going off constantly, and Ronin having 3 stacks of honorbound.
Here’s a picture of the team that I lost to on Sunday. Couldn’t scratch him, even with Ronin. I had a Halo Mauler setup before, and I came surprisingly close to taking down their bucket, but that was it. Like what am I supposed to do against this team? And if min-maxing is too complicated an issue to fully solve, can we at least make it so I can’t play this team multiple times in a day? It’s incredibly frustrating.
Yeah that’s rough. If you find yourself fighting min-makers that are the same power as you, target the weakest first. Adjust your strategy, and try to wipe the weak ones first. I find that to help me a lot.
