No Clans in Newbie matches?

[Simplex FourOhNine]

Hi folks,

I'm a newbie, still trying to figure out the actual mechanics rather than cunning strategies and the like, and when it's a newbie flagged match with one team of pug's and the other three ships of a well coordinated clan it's pretty disheartening, frustrating, and not much fun...

Maybe once someone is flagged as in a clan, prevent them from joining newbie matches? Something anyway, as it's really not at all new-player friendly in such circumstances.

[Alistair MacBain]

Being in a clan and adding a clantag doesnt mean you understand the game.
I cant join beginners matches and so does everyone with a class at lvl 4 or above. And the only thing that clans at such a low lvl might be good at is coordinating their ship.
I see so many clans and dont know most of them and i see them fail as often as nonclanguys fail. So i actually dont see the point of restricting this.

A clan from a different game could actually just play a bid of goio and start with the game but still wear their clantag from another game so having a clantag says nothing about skill or knowledge about the game.

[N-Sunderland]

What Alistair said.

Also, if you think that one side is too strong, you can easily go and find another match.

[Simplex FourOhNine]

Sorry, I think I made a fuzzy point there; I have no problem playing against clan members at all. It's good to see an active clan member of low levels.

What I don't really appreciate is having to face off against a well coordinated team who know each other and work together, presumably all communicating across ships. The other side has three ships crewed with people who have never played the game before. Who do you think's going to have fun there? Certainly not the pugs, they're just there as a shooting gallery.

N-Sunderland; I do. However if the first time I'd played it had been that sort of matchup, I don't know if I'd have stuck around - it's a pointless one-sided slaughter.

Anyway, I just wanted to raise a concern. Might be driving new players away to have them utterly beaten and humiliated 5-0 in their first dozen matches. Losing is one thing but being someone's whipping-boy is no fun.

[The Djinn]

What I don't really appreciate is having to face off against a well coordinated team who know each other and work together, presumably all communicating across ships. The other side has three ships crewed with people who have never played the game before. Who do you think's going to have fun there? Certainly not the pugs, they're just there as a shooting gallery.

The problem is that it's hard to stop people who are friends and/or coordinated from playing together, clan or not. I know I was doing well against level 4-6 captains with a crew of level 1 buddies on a voice-chat and a talkative allied captain, and there's no way to really stop that from happening.

My recommendation is to use voice chat and coordinate your team, or (and this might be preferable) do some non-beginner matches, find some friendly captains, and run with them for a bit. They'll help you learn the ins and outs of the game.

[Byron Cavendish]

I still don't understand the point of this thread. A real beginner match is defined as those marked levels 1-3. No clans go in there. Everything else is fair game. Secondly, if a clan has a few full ships of members they aren't moving from lobby to lobby looking to pub stomp. They sit in their own lobby waiting for a decent opponent. We don't enjoy pub stomping newbs. Third, if you feel frustrated either leave, or try to encourage improvement on your side via communication. Remember, each team has an x and a c.

[The Djinn]

I still don't understand the point of this thread.

I believe he's running into teams of level 1-3s who have chosen a clan tag (likely due to being RL friends) and are therefore in good communication.

[Andika]

I believe the reason why those folks succeed is not the fact that they are in a clan, but the fact that they communicate very well and use a good strategy, and that is something that can happen regardless of clan tags. You cannot really disqualify people from playing in a beginner match just because they do what the game is about, that is, good teamwork, even though I understand that it can be frustrating for the other side of the lobby. Also, not everyone who is in a clan will always play with their clanmates, so banning people with clan tags from every beginner lobby would make playing and levelling up quite difficult for them, since they could never play in lobbies meant for their levels.

Try encouraging good communication on your team as well, for example, tell the captains how important it is to discuss strategy instead of just readying up mindlessly. Maybe they will listen if they realize that the team gets better. If it doesn't work, maybe try searching for another lobby where teammates understand the importance of communication.

Also, you will find such unbalanced matches on higher levels too, where one team will constantly wreck the other side, so it has nothing to do with being in a beginner lobby.

[HamsterIV]

I have ran into many low level players with clan tags in the non beginner games. They still play like low level players. If a player with or without a clan tag is playing well in the beginner games they will get levels and elevated out. If you want an advantage in the game, you have come to the right place. The forums are filled with guides and discussions on the best builds and strategies.

[Piemanlives]

And pretty much all the most experienced players tend to hang around and may answer your questions.

[Cheesy Crackers]

There's also the issue of simply getting rid of your clan tag then joining a match.
I'm not going to repeat what the others said but you really cant stop a group of friends working together and coordinating, or just generally having a clueless pilot flying you around.