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MAG |OT| 256-Player Battles, Lots of Teamwork, Not So Much Auto-Aim

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Victrix said:
Second impressions:
Spawn, run, run, run, die
Spawn, run, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, die

I'm not a big current gen FPS player, but I find this mentality comes over from other games of the MW2 type. Up to 'spawn, run' you're fine, but after that MAG really becomes a game about knowing the map. You have to know where you're safe and where you're not. You don't just run around blindly looking for people to kill. Assuming you're on offense, pretty much every map involves you attacking a defended point. Defenders (and snipers) know where you're coming from. They know the maps, they know where to catch you. MAG requires you to creep, elude, basically just be aware of your surroundings. Also moving in a group is the best option always. Wait for the rest of your team to spawn and listen to orders. If your group or frago is going to a completely different point than you are, that's a problem. MAG definitely requires a bit of patience. Eventually when you learn the maps and turret/sniper locations, you know what you can get away with and where you can just sprint like a madman. But it really is a thinking man's FPS..almost half RTS.
 

Sorc3r3r

Member
worldrevolution said:
I'm not a big current gen FPS player, but I find this mentality comes over from other games of the MW2 type. Up to 'spawn, run' you're fine, but after that MAG really becomes a game about knowing the map. You have to know where you're safe and where you're not. You don't just run around blindly looking for people to kill. Assuming you're on offense, pretty much every map involves you attacking a defended point. Defenders (and snipers) know where you're coming from. They know the maps, they know where to catch you. MAG requires you to creep, elude, basically just be aware of your surroundings. Also moving in a group is the best option always. Wait for the rest of your team to spawn and listen to orders. If your group or frago is going to a completely different point than you are, that's a problem. MAG definitely requires a bit of patience. Eventually when you learn the maps and turret/sniper locations, you know what you can get away with and where you can just sprint like a madman. But it really is a thinking man's FPS..almost half RTS.

He's right.
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
Victrix said:
Second impressions:
Spawn, run, run, run, die
Spawn, run, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, die
Could be worse...it could be like Warhawk.

Spawn, Jump into plane, explode within seconds.
I love Warhawk.
 

jayb

Member
IPoopStandingUp said:
Could be worse...it could be like Warhawk.

Spawn, Jump into plane, explode within seconds.
I love Warhawk.

that's exactly why I only use a Warhawk to get from point A to point B.

... followed by landing and exiting the warhawk, grab enemy flag, switch to my knife to go off the radar, cower in a corner inside a building for a few minutes waiting for the right time to make a run for it, run outside, and die instantly.



It's still fun though.
 
Victrix said:
Second impressions:
Spawn, run, run, run, die
Spawn, run, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, die

Tips:
Don't run out and try to get 20 kills in one life. Stay back, support your team with revives, heals, and cover fire.

Stick by your team mates. Never try to go lone wolf until much later when you've learned maps, and have the equipment t be a useful lone wolf.

Use the heavy armor.
 

Click

Banned
Victrix said:
Just started playing tonight with a friend for the first time

First impressions:
Cool music, UI looks good

Second impressions:
Spawn, run, run, run, die
Spawn, run, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, die

Third impressions:
Take sniper rifle
run, run, find perch, snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe

Need more playtime to form a more detailed feel for the game. So far I like everything about it except the, you know, actual gameplay. Need to see how the other game modes play once we unlock them.

Your first mistake as a newbie to MAG is to run around everywhere. I've said this countless times in this thread already: DO NOT RUN AROUND if you're a newbie. Not even veterans of MAG run around if they're a lowbie without a Sensor Jammer. If you use sprint without a SJ, 120 health, and medium or better armor, you're going to die... over and over and over and over. It's your fault for playing this game like other (TDM-based) shooters where the brainless players blindly rush each other all game.

Your second mistake is to grab a Sniper Rifle and snipe as a newbie. You're never going to learn how to properly play MAG, nor are you going to get enough XP to level as a sniper. You're also not going to help your team out at all.

Upcoming rant...

Speaking of sniping, OMG are those skills overpowered. With the increased damage to all weapons and the fact that it takes only 2 shots (most of the time, 1-shot with the T3 SR) to kill anyone with any Sniper Rifle, (newb / n00b) snipers are once again plaguing MAG. They are fucking everywhere in almost every game I play. The good snipers are giddy because they now have an auto-fire 2-shot Sniper Rifle to own people with. The refire rate skills and reduced recoil skills are absolute bullshit and should have never been implemented into the game. It's extremely frustrating to have to attack or defend objectives short-handed, when you see an entire squad or more of retards sniping on top of some roof, platform, or worst of all... at the redline / spawn.

I really don't understand why Zipper loves making such drastic weapon changes in almost every patch. Instead of buffing (or nerfing) the weapons that need work, they dramatically change all weapon categories across the board everytime, forgetting the previous issues with each weapon category. Random bullet spread was implemented on every weapon when only the LMGs needed it... actually, it needed realistic recoil and less accuracy, not random bullet spread. Now, they've decided it'd be a great idea to buff every weapon's damage by 10% and give every weapon category reduced recoil skills and almost every weapon category (except Assault Rifles) increased fire rate skills. Whomever is responsible for balancing weapons and maps at Zipper needs to be fired. They need to hire people who are actually competent at doing this extremely important game-changing job.

/rant.
 

J-Rzez

Member
Click said:
Speaking of sniping, OMG are those skills overpowered. With the increased damage to all weapons and the fact that it takes only 2 shots to kill anyone with any Sniper Rifle, (newb / n00b) snipers are once again plaguing MAG. They are fucking everywhere in almost every game I play. The good snipers are giddy because they now have an auto-fire 2-shot Sniper Rifle to own people with. The refire rate skills and reduced recoil skills are absolute bullshit and should have never been implemented into the game. It's extremely frustrating to have to attack or defend objectives short-handed, when you see an entire squad or more of retards sitting on top of some roof, platform, or worst of all... at the redline / spawn.

The old sniper rifles sucked hard. Especially T3 when it didn't do enough damage that a maxed out player would eat two anti-material rounds. Snipers were free kills before, unless they were really skilled, now they're finally more balanced. It takes 2-3 shots from the T1's, it takes usually 2 painfully long shots from the T2's (including that new junk sniper they're putting in), and the T3 takes 1-2 shots. The T3 has limited magazine size, along with number of rounds to help balance that out.

Of course it sucks when your team is filled with snipers that are not active, as you've seen how I play on offense where I'm overwatching by moving up with my squad to give support. On defense, sure, you can expect me to cover the zones where they're saturating with an offensive attack, trying to lock down said zone to funnel them to where the majority of the team is at. Bad snipers are bad for your team, good snipers are invaluable.

I agree though they need to work on recoil and firing physics instead of the random bullet spread though for the other weapons.

Victrix said:
Just started playing tonight with a friend for the first time

First impressions:
Cool music, UI looks good

Second impressions:
Spawn, run, run, run, die
Spawn, run, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, get sniped
Spawn, run, run, die

Third impressions:
Take sniper rifle
run, run, find perch, snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe snipe

Need more playtime to form a more detailed feel for the game. So far I like everything about it except the, you know, actual gameplay. Need to see how the other game modes play once we unlock them.

Spawn, run, run, run, die.
Spawn, run, run, run, get blown up.
Spawn, run, run, run, get killed from a computer controlled deadly accurate vehicle.
Spawn, run, get killed by an auto turret.
Spawn, run, run, get nuked.

See how that works? Rambo players always feel sad when they realize they can't run around like idiots without a care in the world. They get sad when they have to use cover and strategy with a dash of teamwork. Snipers are a great support class, plain and simple. I'm picking off people trying to plant charges, I'm sniping that sniper that's about to split your wig, I'm saving your ass from that corner jumper in the heavy armor about to shotgun your face.
 

Victrix

*beard*
You guys are reading a lot into an hour of gameplay from a pair of newbies.

I like how the responses range from: "Here's some advice" to "Here's some advice that doesn't apply because you don't even have these unlocks" to "You're criticizing my precious game rawwarwwrg" to "I have no idea how you or your friend play, but clearly you're doing <this> and not <this>" :lol

Relax, it's first impressions, not a detailed critique of the game as a whole. We'll be diving into it more later, since both of us had some fun with it. Best part of the game? My friend hearing on proximity voice 'COME OUT YOU TUNNEL NIGGER, FIGHT ME'. I think he killed that guy six times over, he was so furious at my friend because... actually I'm not sure what he was so furious about. Something involving the tunnel he was in, I guess.

At least we feel right at home, it's just like playing on XBL!
 
All right, relaunch thread is live:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=23699398#post23699398


I wanted to keep it very simple, but any suggestions would be appreciated. I'll review it early tomorrow morning with anything I find to be constructive criticism.


@Click
GAF has been enforcing the new-thread-for-big-news policy for some time. MAG has been getting huge chunks of updates & content in recent times. A lot of people don't really visit this thread because they don't really know what's happening on the MAG scene. This is the aim of the new thread - to familiarize people with MAG and the huge support Zipper has been applying to their first PS3 game. If anything, at least we'll spread the word of how they treat their games and what kind of treatment will SOCOM 4 receive.
 

Click

Banned
J-Rzez said:
The old sniper rifles sucked hard. Especially T3 when it didn't do enough damage that a maxed out player would eat two anti-material rounds. Snipers were free kills before, unless they were really skilled, now they're finally more balanced. It takes 2-3 shots from the T1's, it takes usually 2 painfully long shots from the T2's (including that new junk sniper they're putting in), and the T3 takes 1-2 shots. The T3 has limited magazine size, along with number of rounds to help balance that out.

Of course it sucks when your team is filled with snipers that are not active, as you've seen how I play on offense where I'm overwatching by moving up with my squad to give support. On defense, sure, you can expect me to cover the zones where they're saturating with an offensive attack, trying to lock down said zone to funnel them to where the majority of the team is at. Bad snipers are bad for your team, good snipers are invaluable.

I've said this one of my posts a while ago, but the best sniper I've ever seen in MAG was able to go 50-1 in a Sabo. game. Then again, he was in a supergroup with the best Raven clan, spawn camping my shitty team with the T3 Raven Sniper Rifle. Now, he's switched to he T1 SR and 2-shotting everyone in 1 second.

Before 2.0, the T2 SR was my favorite because it's a guaranteed 2-hit kill on everyone (sometimes 1-hit), it fires relatively fast, has a decent magazine size, and doesn't cost as much CC as the T3 SR. The T1 SRs before 2.0 were nice to run and gun with because it was a basically a huge handgun that can kill people at medium/far. The times I used the SRs pre-2.0, I did really well with them.

My point is, the Sniper Rifles were fine before 2.0. They weren't overpowered like they are now. They were actually balanced and it took real skill to do well with a SR pre-2.0, which led to only scared bitches and talented snipers sniping before 2.0 went live. Now, every n00b and newb are grabbing a SR, especially the T1 and T3 ones because you no longer have to invest a billion skill points to get the T3 that can 1-shot anyone without Medium or better armor AND 120 health. They're using the T1 SRs as an auto-fire, 2-shot, long distance laser beam.

You know that I'm not criticizing you or any talented snipers in MAG. It just sucks that there are so many shitty snipers sitting back and not helping the team out, now that they know the SR is OP'd. Sure, every weapon category is OP'd, but when the SRs are OP'd too, it makes this game much less fun to play because there just aren't enough people attacking / defending objectives. Games either turn into boring redline camp fests or 3-minute attack wins. I'm saying this from playing on my alt., without my clan to back me up. Because with my clan, almost every game is a redline snoozefest or a quick attacking win. :lol
 

j-wood

Member
I just picked up MAG.

Can I jump into some GAF action or at least get some tips from you guys?

I know this is nothing like MW2 and you can't just run around, which makes this exactly the kind of game I want. One you have actually have to use cover and sneak around.
 

Eccocid

Member
oh i love the controls in MAG. I am not a big fan of FPS games but everything is so smooth in MAG! it is so fun to use sniper rifles and pop heads of enemy soldiers!
 
I just picked up Move and I thought I would go back and try Mag with it, and I am wondering if there are recommended control settings, because right now I am using standard and I cant do anything.
 

Das-J

Law of the West
TTP's settings are a good place to start:

Player rotation - 80
Player pitch - 80
Gesture Sensitivity - 65
Scope Sensitivity - 70
Normal play bounding box - Pitch 30 / Turning 0 / Pointer Sensitivity 40
Fixed Iron Sights - OFF
Iron sights bounding box - Pitch 40 / Turning 10 / Pointer Sensitivity 50
 
Anything new with MAG? Been about a month since I last played, probably gonna get back into it once my GT5 high subsides. Any new patches, maps, balancing issues?
 

Loudninja

Member
MAG Full Game Trial on December 21
Priced identically to its boxed “Greatest Hits” counterpart, the downloadable version of MAG (4.7 GB) will run you a mere $29.99 and come complete with all the bells and whistles found in our patches up to v2.10.

To celebrate its release, PlayStation Plus users can try MAG out for free with an exclusive full game trial! Members can play the game and any of its original modes at no charge for as long as their PlayStation Plus membership lasts, with their only limitation being a level 8 character cap. However, members will continue to earn experience as long as they play the game, allowing them to automatically receive credit for time played once they’ve purchased the full product.
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/20/mag-full-game-trial-on-december-21/#comments
Longest demo ever! ;)
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Effect said:
Can this be bought used or is there a code you have to put?
I cant say for sure how copies of MAG are being sold now, but when i bought MAG at launch, then i didnt have to enter any code to be able to play :)
 

fixuis

Member
Never stopped playing this since launch and loving it more day by day. What an amazing game as people mentioned in the kz3 open beta thread.

Not only a ton of people still play this but the user count seems to be increasing. I'm level 68 but sadly the gaf valor clan is long dead. Anybody know of a decent valor clan that is active and plays regularly?
 

jesE

Neo Member
I bought the game two weeks ago, looks great, happy to see a lot of people online, but not many players with headshets on a multiplayer tactical shooter..
 

RyuHayate

Member
So I just started playing the trial and this is one of the tactical shooters I've had the pleasure of playing.

Considering I wasn't fond of the beta last January, I'm incredibly surprised. Did it get a big overhaul or something?
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
RyuHayate said:
So I just started playing the trial and this is one of the tactical shooters I've had the pleasure of playing.

Considering I wasn't fond of the beta last January, I'm incredibly surprised. Did it get a big overhaul or something?

Around October MAG 2.0 was released as a free, massive update. Changed the game considerably including totally different character build system. Plus the game has undergone MMO+ levels of balance tweaking and modifications.

Probably the best support a console shooter has ever had.
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
RyuHayate said:
Nice! I'm mostly shocked about how stable the frame rate is now. From what I recall, it wasn't all that smooth previously.

It still gets unavoidably choppy during some situations but it's improved.

They also installed a new lighting system, redid visual effects, cleaned up models, etc etc etc.
 

ibu

Member
I shall be back on this game this week, ordered a copy from gamestation for £3.99 a bargain, I loaned out my copy and it went walkies. So I shall be glad to be back.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Just picked this up today. Any sort of link to a newbie guide or anything I can check out? Not very well versed in online FPSes. Would like some quick starter tips or whatnot before I jump in.
 

KiKaL

Member
Well first of all there is a new thread that has a lot of info to fill you in on MAG 2.0
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409329

My advice is to build up the medical tree first. It make's it easy to get a lot of points and level quickly. Resistances are also very important. I also recommend using a jammer and a silencer. I haven't played in a bit so I might be calling these things the wrong name but you should get the idea. I believe the GAFers are pretty spread out in the factions now. We attempted to make a new clan on Raven but I think it died out. My main is on Sver. Other then that it's a relatively simple game but it does seem overwhelming at first. Check out that other thread and post there if you have more questions.
 

maxxpower

Member
Seraphis Cain said:
Just picked this up today. Any sort of link to a newbie guide or anything I can check out? Not very well versed in online FPSes. Would like some quick starter tips or whatnot before I jump in.

Prepare for one of the finest online FPS experiences you will have. If you're using a mic filter out the jerks and you'll be fine. Prepare to die a lot at first but as you become better your kills will feel so rewarding.

I retired after a year of playing it, it's the one and only online FPS I have ever played and will ever play. To me no other online FPS has the charm that MAG has.

Enjoy!
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
MAG is right now now only 15 EUR or 12 GBP on the PSN Stores. Maybe there will be a small revival? I certainly bought it now so I don't have to swap discs. :-D
 

theBishop

Banned
I'm not a big current gen FPS player, but I find this mentality comes over from other games of the MW2 type. Up to 'spawn, run' you're fine, but after that MAG really becomes a game about knowing the map. You have to know where you're safe and where you're not. You don't just run around blindly looking for people to kill. Assuming you're on offense, pretty much every map involves you attacking a defended point. Defenders (and snipers) know where you're coming from. They know the maps, they know where to catch you. MAG requires you to creep, elude, basically just be aware of your surroundings. Also moving in a group is the best option always. Wait for the rest of your team to spawn and listen to orders. If your group or frago is going to a completely different point than you are, that's a problem. MAG definitely requires a bit of patience. Eventually when you learn the maps and turret/sniper locations, you know what you can get away with and where you can just sprint like a madman. But it really is a thinking man's FPS..almost half RTS.

Yes! This is a brilliant description. I watched a friend playing it for the first time, and could tell he just didn't have the "situational awareness" or something. He wasn't looking in the right places around a corner, or even something obvious like "Green smoke, run the hell out of there...". Dead.

And all that is happening alongside the pretty detailed objective dynamics. What order to take out objectives, and how that changes the progress of the larger primary objective. It's no wonder most players stick with Sabotage.
 
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