Changes to Rated Matches for October 2017

[Phantom]

Maybe A final rating reset due to people testing decks and etc.

[Gondorian]

Despite the fact that I would massively benefit from such a system, it shouldnt be implemented like this. Right now we have rating as a measure of skill and score as a measurement for activity. In fact high rated players already had an advantage by getting more points earned through victories,

The games has a problem with declining activity in QM right now. Removing the motivation of the top 50ish scored players to put time into QM to get some foils will not only hurt lower rated and newer players, but everyone who plays QM.

I would be in favor of replacing the current ranking system with the system you proposed. Judging skill based on winquote seems fair to me. Removing the activity rewards and make everything about skill cant be the solution tho, SE needs as many active players as it can get right now. Thats way more important than more rewards for topplayers, who already have several ways to earn rewards through the tournament scene.

There's a lot of people who don't go for Score because of the grind factor. By making it more practical, we encourage more people to go for it, so I don't agree that it's going to diminish activity and the intention is to increase it. Also, so many people just play for the joy of playing and getting better. The Score system at present does not appeal to enough players.

Score is intended to become the Ranking system btw. Just the old grind-based one will not be available or rewarded. And the Top 100 Rating will be unnecessary too. There will just be one leaderboard which is the new 50-game Score one, which will be geared towards achieving a high win ratio at high rating.

[Gondorian]

Maybe A final rating reset due to people testing decks and etc.

If you've harmed your rating by testing decks then you are going to have easier pairing. And if it's harmed so badly compared to where you should be then your win-rate will end up phenomenal with a Score to match.

This idea of "tanking" your matchmaking rating happens in all kinds of games and has pros and cons to it.

[Gondorian]

Are you serious no rating reset how is it enjoyed when you gain 1 pt of rating after win and it seems like score is more important than rating now

For more than six years, people have used Rating as the best measure (despite it not being a great measure). It's time we ended that. Score will indeed be what matters the most, but you can't get a high Score without being at a decent rating due to how Score is calculated.

[Kip thorp]

The best players will always play more than 50 games, it's fun to them (me to even though I'm far far farrrrrr from a best player)

I'm not honestly sure how the new system will shake out, but I think we should give it a chance , see if the top players really do rise and stay.

I do like the draws not counting, I think that helps a lot. Although I'm not sure how they really effected the ratings before.

[Harmony]

For more than six years, people have used Rating as the best measure (despite it not being a great measure). It's time we ended that. Score will indeed be what matters the most, but you can't get a high Score without being at a decent rating due to how Score is calculated.

Wouldn't a league system work better then like in new tcg this new system is simular to the new systems in other games buts with alot of odd touches to it don't confuse new players to much

[Dvsklown]

We need an unrated option, that would allow a random match up without risking rating. This change is going to force high rated players to only play competitive decks. Or make another account for experimenting or just fun. Doesn't seem to add anything so good to warrant the change imo. Just going to take fun away.

And I've spent the last month experimenting with new decks, and this is how my rating gets started?? No one month warning or anything??

[Kolodi]

Overall I'm rather happy to see changes. One thing I can add is: why not to reset only lambda at the start of the season?

[AmberFade]

There's a lot of people who don't go for Score because of the grind factor. By making it more practical, we encourage more people to go for it, so I don't agree that it's going to diminish activity and the intention is to increase it. Also, so many people just play for the joy of playing and getting better. The Score system at present does not appeal to enough players.

The grind factor is a 2 edged sword. On one hand it can make you not care about the score since you have to invest time. On the other hand it servers as motivation to put in more time because its like "im rank 50 in Score right now, if I came that far I can keep getting more and get rewards". I have been on both sides in the equation in the past. When I started playing I wasnt good enough to get to the top 100 rating, so I tried to compete in the score leaderboard and earn some foils. And thats exactly the problem in my opinion, who do you think will be able to get the best winquotes in those 50 games? It will be nearly exclusively the players who dominate the ratings right now.

New players who cant compete with them in terms of skillevel and are not super competitive get next to no return for the time they invest into QM. With the score system we have now newer players had a motivation to play since they knew their time investment gets rewarded even if they arent highly ranked. That also makes it more likely they get hooked and keep playing. Also I have a hard time seeing how the new system should increase activity. Sure in an ideal world where everyone is super competitive and trying to 1 up himself and others it could be true. But from my experiences it will be the opposide. The system introduces ladder anxiety. Most people who managed to get a good placing/winquote will be questioning themself if they should keep playing and ruin their score. Thats especially true for newer players who are not confident in their ability to just get the same placing again.

Also the grinders who made up the top score list are imo important for the game. SE doesnt have a huge playerbase, so having people who play alot is very important to reduce queue times and fill QM.

Score is intended to become the Ranking system btw. Just the old grind-based one will not be available or rewarded. And the Top 100 Rating will be unnecessary too. There will just be one leaderboard which is the new 50-game Score one, which will be geared towards achieving a high win ratio at high rating.

Yeah I got that part. I still think there has to be a reward for activity aswell, not only for being the best.

[Gondorian]

Serious question: Is the Gold and XP per win not high enough to encourage grinders? We could tweak that if necessary. There's also the possibility of enhanced rewards (e.g. random foil for 10 wins in a row with specific hero) and spot prizes. I could add those things in server-side during October.