Split PvP to brackets

[Pasa]

(Hm, what happened to the cool reply-creating-new-topic function? this spins from Avoid the MPQ path - #2 by sethrogensbackhair)

@Jainus

Could one solution be the idea of extra ‘banded leaderboards’ - as I suggest earlier, as follows:

• no change to the current pvp matchmaking system or pvp play in general
• points awarded tally up on the general leaderboard as per now
• in addition, we have ‘banded’ leaderboards for every hundred levels, say
• so (for example), in addition to being 35th on the global leaderboard, I am 7th on the level 1000+ leaderboard

Hard splitting by levels does little sense especially by hundreds as those have very little correlation to anything interesting. And once a split happened the “global” leaderboard makes no sense as it would mix incompatible points.

But the idea of split is definitely worth exploring as it may work around more problems than it causes and has good potential for a more fun environment. While the basic version is trivial on implementation costs. It might be even run as experiment and falling back to the one bracket system if people like it less.

I’d start 3-5 brackets with /voluntary/ assignment. Meaning before the first pvp game in an event the player choses a single bracket and is bound to it till the event ends. The brackets have can have a level threshold or even a ceiling, but everyone but lowest levels should have a choice.

Each bracket has a different prize structure matching its audience – i.e lowest level could drop minor TS and some R/UR/E cards, while higher ones arcanes, etc. So ideally higher level players would not want to join a lower bracket for the prizes.

Beyond that everything is the same as now, just for everyone the player pool is filtered to the bracket. For implementation it is a single number on the profile and the choice screen – beyond the filtering itself that is no big deal.

The number of brackets, join restrictions and prizes are really the trickier part to decide but it can be adjusted after every event once the infrastructure is in place.

This system would split the meta a bit and create more chance for low level players to fight peers without much magic in the matchmaker algo. Also would serve as incentive for development and become eligible to play in the further brackets.

[FremdWelt]

From the same thread even:

@Sirrian

Oh - and banded leaderboards aren’t on the agenda at the moment, since they promote all sorts of bad play patterns with players attempting to slow-level in order to maximize their gain at lower levels.

[Pasa]

@FremdWelt

From the same thread even:

@Sirrian

Oh - and banded leaderboards aren’t on the agenda at the moment, since they promote all sorts of bad play patterns with players attempting to slow-level in order to maximize their gain at lower levels.

That is a pretty poor reason in abstract, the differing prize structure is the very counter to that. Obviously running brackets to grant the SAME prizes – the MPQ way – is as braindead as it gets.

The infant should not be poured out with the bathwater.

[Kharybdys]

@Pasa is making a good point. Splitting into brackets can be made to work, just not if it’s on something like levels that can be metagamed.
What he describes where every bracket has different price structures, could be an option.

However, what’s the chance people will simply pick the one with the highest rewards and then fail? The eye is always greedier than the stomach…

But, perhaps something like promotion/demotion between brackets? First split into 25% randomly (with equal prizes this round) then promote top 25% to next bracket and demote bottom 25%. From that point on the brackets ought to have slightly differing rewards.

It does sound as a lot of work though, I would personally prefer that they first finish the Guild improvements before attempting something like this.