Some Thoughts on Metal Gear Online 3

[darkhaven3]

400 hours into MGSV. Here's some disorganized thoughts on the online mode:

1) I think the Combat Knife alt-stab while laying prone is incredibly overpowered as-is. The current dominant strategy in CQC matches is to quick-dive which can cause either a brief stun or a knockdown, and is easily followed by a foot-stab that seems like it can one shot even Snake and Ocelot, who have the highest health in the game (by a factor of at least two).

2) The poor netcode amplifies the previous problem a lot. Because of latency, I can Fulton Punch someone a good several seconds before they "force pull" me into another location with CQC, which seems to end up in me getting KO'd every time. Sometimes, I'll get KO'd and then they "receive" my Fulton Punch. You can imagine how upsetting it can be to clearly slit someone's throat, but because of lag, their "super footstab" takes precedence and you die from what seems like 20 feet away on your screen.

3) The stock game modes and maps leave a lot to be desired. As much as I love this game, Black Site Night is the only good map (can't say for the DLC levels that just came out). Gray Rampart is shit. Amber Station is meh. Red Fortress is only good for CQC matches because whoever is on the team that spawns inside the fortress will always win, since all of the original game modes are basically Team Deathmatch.

4) The weapon variety is lame. There are a total of two rifles worth using: the AM MRS-4 and the UN-ARC. That is also 2/3 of all the assault rifles in the game. There is one lethal handgun worth using at all out of two I've seen, and there are only two non-lethal ranged weapon options, the Wu-S and the Bullhorn. And the Bullhorn got a serious nerf on 1.07 IIRC. There are other "unique" strategies you can employ and they do work, like throwing empty magazines to stun people, but this is just a stop-gap solution to the problem that this game seems to have everywhere: content is missing.

5) Infiltrator is the best class. Enforcers are slowed down far too much for their marginal health increase to be worthwhile in a firefight, and Scouts are just babby's first infiltrator minus the FULTON+3 ability.

EDIT: 6) Host migration is an issue the industry solved last decade. But for some reason, if you've got a good streak going and you happen to Fulton the host and he gets mad, he can quit the game and everyone in the match loses all earned XP and GP. Make of that what you will.

Anyone else have thoughts on MGO3?

[Big C]

Yeah, all those sound about right. I think all the real effort on the game's multiplayer elements went into the FOB mode, for better and for worse.

[lizardcommando]

Three iterations of MGO later (four if you include Peace Walker) and they still haven't found a way to deal with the shitty lag. It's ridiculous. You shoot a guy in the face and kill him but one second later you're dead.

The new maps aren't really that great. The Mother Base inspired one is kinda neat. I haven't even been able to use any of the special characters.

[darkhaven3]

Looks like it's just a slightly modified Base Development platform. These new maps suck too. Also, notice there are only two ways to get to any one part of the map. If you situate four of your team members along the ends of the bridges (there is a top and bottom level on them), you can suppress everyone on the map from moving anywhere except in their spawns.

[lizardcommando]

Yeah, now that you mention that, that is practically what happened during a recent match, lol. It would be nice if there was a larger version of the map. The current size works alright in Rush mode. I wish they released maps based on the older MGO maps or even stuff from MGS and MGS2.

[BFG]

I didn't even know there was a Metal Gear Online 1+2, the last one I played was Sons of Liberty and it had a good enough conclusion not to play anymore. And I don't think I could take this franchise serious anymore after seeing screenshots of him alongside Pikachu in one of the Smash Bros sequels.

[darkhaven3]

Yeah, MGO1 was included with MGS3 Subsistence and was only available for something like one or two years after the game's launch. MGO2 lasted quite a bit longer and was included with MGS4. A lot of people will argue that MGO2 has been the best one to date, myself included. If you have a CFW PS3 you can apparently still play it.