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Super Monday Night Combat for Beginners

Uber's free-to-play competitive MOBA-shooter-hybrid is way more fun than all that jargon lets on, but it helps if you know what the hell is going on.

Apr. 9 2012

Posted by: Ryan

In This Episode:

Super Monday Night Combat

62 Comments

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Syndrom

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Edited By Syndrom

Game looks great, loved the first one

god damnit, so frigging close :(

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TheYear20XX

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Edited By TheYear20XX

I still don't know what a MOBA is, but danged if I don't like me some MNC.

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TheCreamFilling

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Edited By TheCreamFilling

I'm liking this trend of free-to-play online games.

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Porkellain

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Edited By Porkellain

got mnc as a gift from the steam gift pile but never played it. how's the server situation?

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PhilipDuck

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Edited By PhilipDuck

Does look like good fun, i'll see how it plays.

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CaLe

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Edited By CaLe

Why won't they let me play it? They are letting other people play it but not me. I am despised, that's why.

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Deusx

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Edited By Deusx

I played the game... Didn't like it that much really. Maybe it's just because I'm not that much into MOBAs.

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ItBeStefYo

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Edited By ItBeStefYo

Truth Siren

There are too many people that are already VERY good at this game for people like us to have a chance.

THE GAME IS BUILT THAT WAY. If you play badly, you dont get upgrades and the person that kills you gets upgrades.

And these people have played alot which means they have lots of bonus's. YOU DON'T.

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ashcrack1087

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Edited By ashcrack1087

I've got 4 SMNC Beta keys if anyone wants one, pm me or whatever. Keys be all gone.

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seannao

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Edited By seannao

MOBA is a funny word, like FLAN.

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MrHero

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Edited By MrHero

Man do I love me some Super MNC but if you're not already part of the community already then it's extremely hard to get into. New players will join games and get crushed every time by the veteran players due to the small population of people playing right now. Hopefully at some point his game gets the community it deserves once it opens to everyone.

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JamesJeux007

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Edited By JamesJeux007

@seannao: FLAN is a pretty funny word xD

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sammo21

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Edited By sammo21

I've been playing this game since December and I LOVE IT. Seriously, one of the best games I played from last year.

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deerokus

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Edited By deerokus

I found the beta of this infinitely more intimidating, confusing and unfriendly to new players than the first MNC. They went from a fairly accessible shooter with light tower defence elements to going full MOBA, unfortunately. It's probably a great game if you like MOBAs, or at least have the slightest clue what's going on. The weapons do pretty much no damage!

I was really disappointed.

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Kill

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Edited By Kill

@Ashcrack1087: I'll take one if you still have any! Super curious to try this out...

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G0rd0nFr33m4n

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Edited By G0rd0nFr33m4n

I've been in the beta for awhile, the game is great, but at the end of the day... not as good as TF2 in my eyes, so after playing it for like 50 hours, I just deleted it :/

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l3reak

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Edited By l3reak

Game is awesome fun and looking fantastic, but I'd suggest staying away from the beta right now for new players. They *just* turned on matchmaking, and they've got a bit of a ways to go before you're going to actually get reliably placed into a fair, fun match. ;) This means that even though the game itself is really great, it's hard to get a really fun game running. Give it another month, should be a bit more evenly baked by then!

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smiddy

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Edited By smiddy

Played in the beta a few months ago and found it to be very different compared to MNC and not in a good way. It felt like there was much less to the experience. Less interaction with turrets, bots, endorsements and the team composition was locked, making each game feel like luck of the draw.

I'd have liked it if they just made MNC free to play and added vanity items etc for people to spend money on.

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Rayeth

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Edited By Rayeth

Everything everyone is complaining about is STANDARD for MOBA games. Go play some HoN or (god forbid) Dota 2 and enjoy the same thing. Those games are very unfriendly to new players as well. Sadly, to increase friendliness means losing the more competitive aspects of those games (See League of Legends vs Dota 2) and changing the games entirely. Something that those communities won't stand for.

I am betting the same thing happened here from MNC to SMNC.

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Kidavenger

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Edited By Kidavenger

Sounds like Gir at the end of the video.

I like the bonus for staying the entire match, but it will probably just mean more afk bots instead of reducing the rage quits.

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CableCarrier

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Edited By CableCarrier

Just started playing this again a couple of days ago. It's a really good time!

And you can play as a gorilla in a pinstripe suit that carries a tommy gun around. Great!

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returnofjake

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Edited By returnofjake

Been playing this for a couple months. At first I got stomped but I kept at it and it got a lot better. Like other MOBAs there's a learning curve, but it's totally worth it in my opinion.

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deactivated-6610658acf7f5

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I've already put dozens of hours into this game, and I highly recommend it. My only complaint is the lousy matchmaking; every match seems to snowball in one direction. Hopefully, this problem will dissipate given time.

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deactivated-6418ef3727cdd

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@CaLe said:

Why won't they let me play it? They are letting other people play it but not me. I am despised, that's why.

I have an extra invite on Steam. If you're interested pm me your Steam ID.

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Allison

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Edited By Allison

@Rayeth: It has less to do with "friendliness" and more to do with "accessibility."

League of Legends is accessible because if you want more health you go to the store, click Armor and Health and then double click the armor that gives you more health. Dota 2 is inaccessible because if you want more health you (and I had to look this up despite playing several rounds of Dota 2) buy items that increase your Strength or Health with little wherewithall as to where those items are.

Likewise, Super Monday Night Combat is incredibly inaccessible. People keep saying that when it opens maybe the games won't snowball one direction; no, this will keep happening. As more experienced players spend more and more time playing, newer players will be easily discouraged from playing when they lose all the time. Really all Uber is doing is feeding more flesh to the pits.

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mbkish

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Edited By mbkish

@returnofjake said:

Been playing this for a couple months. At first I got stomped but I kept at it and it got a lot better. Like other MOBAs there's a learning curve, but it's totally worth it in my opinion.

I still suck, but at least I have fun and don't hinder my team =D

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retrovirus

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Edited By retrovirus

There's a Luchadeer skin in the game for one of the competitors. What more needs to be said?

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Taklulas

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Edited By Taklulas

Love how they didn't tell you that you have to buy pros. Good ol' marketing!

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CableCarrier

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Edited By CableCarrier

@Taklulas said:

Love how they didn't tell you that you have to buy pros. Good ol' marketing!

You can always use the pros that are available for free that particular week, as well as use in-game currency to unlock pros permanently. If you put enough time in, you don't have to spend a dime.

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chubie

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Edited By chubie

Been in the Beta since January. It is by far my favorite game of the year, despite its harshness to new players (which they are currently working on).

Give this awesome game a chance, just be aware that there is a scary high learning curve at the moment.

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chubie

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Edited By chubie

@Taklulas: You can buy every character without paying a thing, and there are 7 free pros available at any give time.

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IamTerics

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Edited By IamTerics

I've been playing this with a friend and it can be very fun, but their is no way to match noobs to play against each other. This does make the game incredibly frustrating to play. Its not that its super complicated its just that the veterans are so much better then everyone else.

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5eNintendan

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Edited By 5eNintendan

Have over 100 hours into this, love it alot!

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Rayeth

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Edited By Rayeth

@Allison: At least to be fair to Dota 2, Valve has planned to have several tutorials (there are spaces in the UI for tutorial games, play with a mentor, and a whole tab dedicated to learning outside of actual games) which aren't implemented yet.

I have no idea if there is anything similar in SMNC, but again the snowballing effect is directly related to being a MOBA game. The very design of games like this cause the snowballing. It becomes very difficult to come back form any kind of loss (be it money or XP) without playing very cautiously and executing a huge turn around. Watching pro level Dota and Dota 2 matches bears this out. 90% of the time the team that gets into a Gold/XP lead (they tend to go hand in hand in Dota), will win. Turning a gold/XP disadvantage around usually involves patient play and lots of defending and turtling in base. Not something that the usual shooter player is great at or lead to what most people consider "fun". So your point stands.

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Jimbo_Slice

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Edited By Jimbo_Slice

Everyone needs to stop throwing around the word MOBA and trying to identify vastly different games to be similar. Comparing this to DotA is like comparing DotA to Call of Duty just because they both require teamwork. Yes, both games have severe learning curves. Watch videos, play solo games, try to learn the game before trying to just jump in and you won't get flamed for being a retard. It's not that hard to figure out that dying is bad and you'll probably die if you jump off the ledge or try to chase someone into their base at level 3.

On an upnote, SMNC is a fun game which can be a great game with friends. I like what the producers are doing and I can't wait to see the final product.

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EmoMcGee

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Edited By EmoMcGee

Tried this yesterday. Game itself seems fun, but the UI is a tragedy.

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Huey2k2

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Edited By Huey2k2

If anyone is looking to get in on SMNC, I have 4 (I think) gift copies on my Steam account and none of my friends want them. Feel free to inbox me your Steam info and I will toss you a copy.

Also if you need some help and someone to show you the ropes I am more than willing, the community is generally open to helping new people, you just need to ask. Also prepare to be crushed a lot in your first few games until you figure out how things work.

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Taklulas

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Edited By Taklulas

@chubie said:

@Taklulas: You can buy every character without paying a thing, and there are 7 free pros available at any give time.

Yeah I know, and I dislike that. But I guess not every game can be like Dota 2/TF2 and give you every thing for free(beside cosmetics)

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uberexplodey

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Edited By uberexplodey

GO TEAM UBER.

#jokes

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Spoonman671

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Edited By Spoonman671

That was one serious info-dump.

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bubba1287

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Edited By bubba1287

At the moment the game is still in beta. they have implemented matchmaking but it is still being improved. since it is a beta and they havent sent out invites in a while there is a somewhat low player count. the game at the moment isnt very new player friendly due to no tutorial (this is a step in the right direction). I would say for people who are interested in trying the game should wait till release or if you got a beta key then give it a try and if you dont find what it is like currently then come back once the game has released and the player base and matchmaking have fleshed out more.

the game is pretty fun once you get the hang of it and has alot of potential. Really looking forward to release.

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bubba1287

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Edited By bubba1287

the guy with the wings that shows up for one second in thetrailer is a new pro that got added in the last week or so. He's a clone of Leonardo da vinci.

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Nux

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Edited By Nux

Man I love me some MNC. I could mot stop playing it on the 360.

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coaxmetal

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Edited By coaxmetal

I would prefer that, instead of using the silly term "MOBA", people used the proper term for the genre: "Lords Management"

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Y2Ken

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Edited By Y2Ken

Thanks for the video, it's pretty helpful. Recently started playing League of Legends and having fun with that, so definitely interested to try out some other different MOBAs. Smite looks pretty cool.

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namesonkel

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Edited By namesonkel

What if I want to juice use? Could I do that?

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MeesterO

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Edited By MeesterO

But I already know how to play! 100 hours and counting!

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vinsanityv22

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Edited By vinsanityv22

They, and anyone else making a competitive shooter, should do more stuff like this. But how about an interactive tutorial? This kind of thing, informationally, but done in a sort of Mission Mode to teach new players these techniques firsthand? A sort of "Noob 101" mode, to get people acclimated to the game properly? Videos are fine, but playing is how you learn guys...

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Tiago

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Edited By Tiago

I needed this video when I was playing the game... now I'm not playing it.

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gaminginpublic

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Edited By gaminginpublic

looks uhh.. lame