The reason a lot of people like MLG is because they're competitive. I used to play hockey, but I broke my collarbone 5 times, and honestly, I was sick of not being able to play while I was hurt so I just stopped. I started playing Halo in place of the times I would have been playing hockey, and it filled the competitive void that not playing hockey had created. Whenever I go into Social Slayer and get matched up with all brigs and colonels on my team and beat a team of 5 generals, it feels good. I know that might sound "geeky", but it's true, you feel good when you win a close competitive game. Winning in hockey or football, or basketball can be the same as Halo. Just a few hours ago I was playing some Team Slayer with some people from school who are low level 20's, and everytime there would be a 50, or even a high 40 on the other team my friends would say "Oh crap, these guys are good!" and it would feel even better than a normal win, because you know that you had to beast on the other team to win. Some people like being competitive, and there's nothing wrong with that. In Halo, the best players all play MLG, so it's natural for everyone to want to play MLG for the best competition. As for using the BR and not vehicles, Halo is a Shooting game, not Destruction Derby. I know that might sound harsh, but Halo was meant for shooting, not driving vehicles around destroying things. If you want to do that, there's Chromehounds, which I heard was actually really good. tl;dr: People like playing MLG because they're competitive, and MLG is the most competitive aspect of Halo. Also I find it funny that everyone saying they don't enjoy MLG post one-liners, while people who do enjoy it type full essays about it, haha.
Aside from the ignorance, and biased opinions, I shall continue. MLG has many definitions, but one word that is emitted from that single foreground, is competitive. Major League Gaming is obviously derived from any other professional league, like Major League Baseball, or National Hockey League. Hence the major league, it requires 'professionals' to par-take in the competition. MLG holds brackets, where teams of 4 play against one another. All gametypes/maps are MLG custom variants. I believe there is only 4 events for the entire tournament, each 4 events ranging froms 2-4 days. Competition for me is interactment. What would competition be playing against an AI character? Having determined paths, and noticeable traits can't spawn genuinty, and spontanious actions, such as people competing. While trash talking, tea-bagging, and all the other frustrating endeavors people accomplish during a game, make it ever so better, in retro-spect. From a video-game, to a basketball court, the interactment with an oppenent, or a team-mate, makes the enterainment threshold increase. While enjoyability may be limited, it can still spawn fun moments, and periods of time where a player is thrououghly enjoying him/her self. Which is why it frustrates me seeing people critiscizing MLG for it being a video game, when in light of things, a baseball game is un-predicatble, hence making it a 'player on player' match, equaling MLG. A bit off topic, but why create a thread steered by opinions? It was obviously going to tick someone off, which it did, but why create a biased situation, rather then actually examining it?
I know exactly what you mean. I'm a 44 in doubles, yet I still did the same thing your friends did up until recently, seeing a 50 on the other team and thinking 'oh crap'. Yes I'm a 44, specifically not a brig , but when me and my two friends (one of whom being the guy who I got my 44 with in dubs) got put against a party of 3 in TS, 2 levelers who have their 50's and are working up experience, and the third guy is clearly a new account leveling with his friends, he has a 6 but hasn't dropped a game. None of us are generals, one friend is quite cavalier and the other was pretty rusty at Halo having been on GoW2 much more recently (this is my dubs partner). Yet we nail them. Before the match me and the cavalier guy were quaking in our boots after seeing 2 low experience 50's, but my dubs partner (who's more of a Halo vet than us 2) just tells us to chill out, they're a team of 3 just like us, we'd been on as a 3 that night and, whilst they're clearly good, they're people just like anyone else and we'll just play as hard as we can regardless. He totally kept our heads in that game and we nailed the other guys. They were actually very gracious about it, saying that they'd hoped they'd had that game in the bag but we really pulled together as a very solid team. But my friend totally made a point to me that day, it wasn't even very long ago but I've taken it to heart, that match felt so good to win. I tend to agree, but don't discredit Halo's credentials as a vehicle shooter. Introduction of vehicles in such an integrated fashion to the core gameplay mechanic as achieved in Halo is a marvel imo. Vehicles are actually integrated with on-foot combat, the interaction of advantages and disadvantages between on foot and vehicle combat is amazing. This is most apparent in on-foot vs vehicle situations, I may hate using vehicles and hate getting pummeled by them even more, but I love taking them down on-foot, and this is testament to how well I think they're integrated in to standard competitive Halo. The fact that beatdowns and assassinations become a real possibility with a not so smart vehicle driver, as well as the beautiful balance along the central scale of explosives and, more specifically, grenades like stickies, show how amazing the implementation of vehicles into Halo truly is. But I do clearly see why they aren't in MLG, they have no real place there and the swings offered by their presence (as well as the maps that allow for their proper implementation), alongside the power-weapon incentive factors already mentioned, make them unsuited to the purpose. Just saying, don't sell Halo short in vehicle terms, sure I may loath them myself, but it's still a marvel even to me.
Sorry for the bump, but it's already on the first page, so... I like MLG for the competition. Everyone knows that MLG is said to take the most skill, and it's true. Now, to the inexperienced player, MLG seems to be like normal slayer but with BR's and fewer weapon. WRONG. MLG is so much more than that. Things like map control, power weapon/ power up control, predicting spawns, forcing spawns, team positioning, strats, jumps, aim, knowing where to run the flag, and communication are all very important things to learn. To the non-MLG player, what it takes to be good at MLG isn't comprehendable. You HAVE to have a good team, and you need to be able to perform under pressure. The gametype's themselves are also very important. All of the "noob" weapons have been removed, and equipment is gone. All power weapons are placed on drop spawn as well. This creates a very balanced gametype. Extra damage makes the BR feel sooo nice. Default BR feels clumpy. MLG fixes this. The games tend to be faster paced, and you really have to play smart and use your head. Not everyone who plays MLG is a jerk. Just play with your friends. You can learn together, and you'll have a lot more fun. I may not be an MLG pro or anything close, but MLG is definitely where it's at. I don't play it very much, but it's always fun when I do.
There are two things that really annoy me with the MLG community. The first is that its seems everytime someone is killed by someone not deemed fit by them, its either lag, host, or bullshit.... The second is that many belittle people who dont play regularly in mlg playlist. According to them, they can have a 35 in mlg and you could have a 50 in team objective or team slayer and they are still better than you...
MLG is simply another way of playing the game that favors skill and teamwork. Players of all skill still play it, and often find themselves overpowered by a team of (thought to be pros). The people who play this playlist who are good usually play with the same teammates over and over again, and only ever go in as a party. Same goes for all the other hardcore playlists. Going in as a merc is not ideal considering that your allies generally will not be favourable. I never go into the MLG playlist with less than 3 people. MLG is very fun and enthralling to go into as a party. Remember that there are hundreds of thousands of unique gamertags online in halo 3 at a time, and at the most 80 of them are MLG pros. And usually they would have better things to do than go into the MLG playlist as a party and destroy a team of randomly bunched social gamers. The people who are good at MLG are good because they play it a lot, most of the time with friends.
Mikeblair hit it perfectly on the first sentence. MLG is just another way to enjoy the game competitively. While many aspects of Halo are removed, they maintain balance on their maps and gametypes, which all have a ton of work put into them to ensure quality. To me, MLG is a way to prove that I can do something, even if it's in the minority. I tend to go towards sports that are less common, excluding soccer, which I've played since I was 6. However, overall, there are a lot of bad players there (unsportsmanlike) who tend to give the community a bad name, just like what happens here. The trick is to pry the right oyster open and find the pearl. I'm primarily outside of the community, though. Sure I check the site every other day, but I sure don't post on the forums (the only forums I check there are Halo 3, Halo 3 Forge, and Shadowrun anyways). So I primarily focus myself towards the map and gameplay, which I find to be really refined. That's a very nice thing about the game. We can edit things to an almost limitless amount, and that made the game one of the best competitively. Events are very fun to attend as well. I have a load of fun there, whether I'm watching the pros play, trying my hand at FFA, or even finding my clanmates there (we actually do have an eventing team, they do very nicely from what I've seen). It's a great way to truly enjoy gaming, and it isn't even that expensive, as these events can go.
I won't ramble with a post about topics already mentioned, but I'll give my two cents. The MLG playlist is full of trash-talkers in the lower levels. From 1-30, I experienced trash talk for going -1 in Slayer, but really, level up past 31 and you find some great players. I don't mean people who go positive every game and can absolutely destroy a team by themselves while their team is away, I mean socially. I played 10 games in a row one day with some cool guys I met in the playlist and after every game, no matter whether we won or lost, every player said "good game". It's a matter of who you play with. I recently have been playing with a "Semi-pro" team INvy, and 4v4 customs have been more serious than ever. We, a group of MLG fans, are subscribers of Twizted Khaos on Youtube. Together, a site was formed and INvy went to the Meadowlands. They placed 147th, but were a little disapointed. I'm trying to help them place better as a team in '09 at Columbos. So, it's all a matter of who you play with. Play with friends, say good game, congratulate the opponents on a nice victory, and move on. Don't get too worked up over it, just enjoy the game.
I actually go in by myself most of the time and have a 47. Idk, I guess I'm just good at working well with random people opposed to a team.
My experience has always been that you get more of both the good and the bad, with less and less bad as you rank up. And with the party up option, once you get in a group of those good, fun to play with guys, you can just press X and not worry about d-bags anymore.
^^^i totally agree with that. it seems that people would rather whine and cry to someone else then simply mute the person who they have the problem with... and honestly, most of the time the kids who talk the most trash arent that good. when you get up into the higher levels, everyone knows that the other team is probably just as good as them if not better, so they are less likely to be assholes. you need to remember that it is just a game though, if someone insults you, so what? you will probably never see them again. anyways, back on topic: i love mlg because it is team-centered. if you go out by yourself, you are dead. without teamwork it is almost impossible to win, which i find awesome! to me the difference between regular mm and mlg is the difference between a pick-up game of soccer and playing on a team. it is less showy and a lot more difficult, which in the end makes it more enjoyable to me. thats not to say that i dont love regular mm too, sometimes its fun to take a break from serious playing and just hang out with some friends. i definitely feel that people put way too much emphasis on rank though. all the time when im in a party people im with will look at the other team and be like "oh look at this trash". honestly, you dont know how good they are until you play them...my old account i was only a 45 and i had lost a little less than half my games, but that was because when i started, i wasnt that great, but as i played more i got better, and i dont really care what my rank is. i am as good as i am, my skill doesnt change if im a 30 or a 50. maybe it will take a game to show people that but honestly i dont care enough to let their trash talking bother me. also i take that attitude towards other people too - never underestimate people. i dont get frustrated when i lose 1. because i dont care if my rank goes down, if my 30 in mlg goes down to a 29 its not like i actually get worse... and 2. because i always assume that the other team is better than they are. all in all - mlg is an awesome gametype, but people need to just chill out and enjoy the game. what is the point in playing if you are just going to get so mad that you hate it??
Ok You don't know much about MLG, do you? Geek? Look at Walshy and say that again. Walshy is a successful business man who runs a company known as Kiaeneto and is a clothing company for gamers. It's motto is "Revolution of a Different Kind". MLG is a rising "sport" as some may call it with it's features on ESPN and events hosted in the U.S. Kiaeneto is a really nice clothing company that I'm getting into and it does not have a geeky feel. The designs are clean and new and Walshy created the company. I ask you this: "how do you consider a successful business man who has made millions playing Halo 3 a geek?" Surely he plays a ton, but that's what he's good at. Walshy makes money playing this game for a living, but runs a company too. He has a girlfriend and owns his own house. Now back to the original post of trash-talking in MLG: That's very stereotypical. I could ask any of my friends and I'm guessing none of them would consider me an ass. I looked at your rank in MLG and I see a '2'. That's not much experience in MLG... Take me for example: I am a 40 in the MLG playlist and I don't trash talk much. Trash talking is fun when you're playing with friends and playing competitively, but it's nothing to be offended by. If you are offended by someone over Xbox Live criticizing you by the gametypes you like or don't like or how well you play these games, maybe MLG isn't right for you. I play MLG for fun. It's the competitive fun that I enjoy and I always will. I'll be online and want to play to win, so I invite Xanon and Phreakie and we go play MLG. If you don't appreciate competitive gaming, don't take part in it. To wrap this up, MLG is a competitive playlist and a company that hosts some of the most competitive gaming there is. Pro gamers like Walshy, Neighbor, or Snip3down practice what they're good at. You don't get anything out of hating MLG. Players can make large sums of money and start a good life, like Walshy has. He takes his passion, then turns it into something he can work with later in life. Kiaeneto.
TBH, my poblem with MLG is not that it is competitive nor is it the trash talkers. I love competition. I love it so much! Probably about equal to Pegasi's love for following competition. I love watching competition too and I love discussing the strats. I always follow the strats of my competitive game of choice. I do this exact thing with Red Alert 3 and while it is an RTS, and may be slightly different to an FPS. I watch every VoD I can find and I love watching FPVoDs. I've always kept track of the latest strats and I remember them all. From Foxboxxes Harvester rush, S.Boys Cash Bounty MCV sell all the way to the combo Foxboxx/Cidu Dojo/Prism rush and that is where I probably find MLG severly lacking. The variety. In MLG, gameplay is centered around 1 of Halo's weapons with an off center focus on power weapons and certainly on Team work and Map control. Every opening will involve grenades and BRs and perhaps some flanking. As far as I've been willing to see, that's it. When we compare this to some other shooters, the openings are a lot more varied by adding in more factors that are possible, wether these factors are from the map or to player models themselves. I'd love to see MLG get a little less traditional with their maps by maybe changing rules a slight bit or maybe getting rid of power weapons on one map and adding equipment as a power weapon or somethig that makes each map have a completly different feel to one another where you are still playing MLG but a slightly different taste of it. That's just the way I feel from my experiance with MLG. Maybe I just haven't been looking in the right places or something else that could have possibly happened.
Thats an amazin idea of using equipment as a power weapon. Do you mind if i take that idea and use it in one of my maps.
MLG has nothing to do with wasting your life being a geek and stuff...You are grouping yourself in with the stereotype of professionals. When in fact that stereotype is actually wrong. I bet you spend just as much time on Halo as MLG Pros. I am actually friends with a lot of them and they are not on all the time or even that much. Most of the pros are not assholes as well which is another stereotype that is made up from the people who have never talked to them before. In my opinion, mind you, my opinion, the people who don't like MLG are the people who do not like competition and have a little more of a struggle playing Halo 3. I hope this is not offensive, just based on my opinion from what I see every day. They usually have a problem starting with BR but will not admit it since that is what all higher skilled players love. I don't know how to make it sound any nicer...Feel free to flame me lol.
MLG has extremely strict rules to what is allowed to even be in MLG. The fact that no maps have equipment means that there shouldn't be any. MLG can be defined as MLG based on what is on the map. No shotty's, needlers and other random stuff goes on them because it is a rule.