Huge drop in number of high ranked players playing games

[Calmdown]

Glorious suggestion Kyle. New set/bug fix = new climb to the top with new challenges.

Wins for everyone!

Give some credit to whoever suggested seasons, actually.

Not sure about wiping every set though. Most games that run seasons dont wipe every patch or change, more like every 2-3-4. At the rate we're getting patches (which is quite fast!) it'd maybe be a bit too much. Maybe every patch when they slow down.

[Kadun]

+1 for the idea of "seasons".

[Kingedhorn]

Actually I'll do a 180 and say that I can envision ranking resets at each release... Because with bug fixes, balance changes, and new cards, people really should start fresh and have a reason to play.

I have to say I agree with pretty much everything Calmdown said in this thread. Why have rankings at all if they aren't legit. Ranking were put in this game to improve pairings and so players could earn their way into an elte tier. From a keeping hard core players engaged stand point this is great. But without adjusting for cheaters and exploiters the ranks are meaningless. Now I personally don't play enough PvP to worry about my rank but as someone who has competed in ranked play in other games I sympathize.

All that said there have been numerous good ideas posted in this thread to adress the problem. Kyle, your last idea is great! The only issue is that, if I read that correctly, your rank hungry players are going to have to wait until the next release at the earliest to see results. As I said it effects me very little but by waiting don't you risk alienating a large group of your biggest supporters? There is already a large chunk of the top 10% that are dead accounts holding rank spots. The problem will only magnify when another 10% leave out of frustration.

I agree with the notion of a simple release in the home page of the site or a mass email to active account holders saying, "Effective immediately all rankings have been reset to 0. This has been done to address the increasing number of inscribe high-rank accounts as well as to address the growing concerns of our players. We apologize for any inconvenience but ensure that the result will be a more balanced/competitive experience"

[bob21218]

Actually I'll do a 180 and say that I can envision ranking resets at each release... Because with bug fixes, balance changes, and new cards, people really should start fresh and have a reason to play.

Hmm... Liking or disliking this idea depends in part on the frequency of a "release." If releases are relatively rare, a reset might be ok, but if they are frequent enough to fix bugs quickly, then a reset seems less desirable.

It appears that you have some constraints as to release cycle time through Apple, but I'm not sure why you couldn't push faster bug fixes through the channels you do control, with less frequent updates through the more cumbersome channels. Faster bug fixes might reduce some of the clamor for massive resets. You could
- snapshot the ratings periodically, incorporating them into a hall of fame , so folks don't lose their moment of glory
- implement a decay, perhaps aggressively weighted against the top guys, basically saying something like: "Your were the champion of 1.24, but if you want to stay on top, you need to put yourself on the line, frequently, or your rating will fade"
- offer other views of ratings: by hero, most improved (today, this week, this release, etc), filtered to levels of activity (here are the top 20 players among those who played at least N games this week). These views will give people more targets to get their name in lights without totally trashing history.

[Thuull]

Give some credit to whoever suggested seasons, actually.

I think that was Drakkon. I adopted it and put a little flesh on it.

[Anurak]

Some time ago, Kyle in one of his posts had mentioned that the max rating the system would allow would be 500. Anyone knows if they changed something in the system to keep the players below the 500? If my guess is correct, then the program won't allow any more ratings above 500. I notice most of the players above 500 dropped, and those who didn't, propably haven't played since v1.24 is out. Can someone who is above 500 confirn if he gained rating after v1.24?

[pottersmash]

How about a rating refresh every other release?

[bob21218]

Can someone who is above 500 confirn if he gained rating after v1.24?

Saw this earlier:

http://www.shadowera.com/showthread....3872#post23872

[Raverbasher]

I agree with the notion of a simple release in the home page of the site or a mass email to active account holders saying, "Effective immediately all rankings have been reset to 0. This has been done to address the increasing number of inscribe high-rank accounts as well as to address the growing concerns of our players. We apologize for any inconvenience but ensure that the result will be a more balanced/competitive experience"

It'll still piss off a lot of people. I think emailing an announcement that rankings get reset on patches/releases, putting it somewhere obvious and in the faq, then releasing an update soon would be better. Keep everyone happy.

[Calmdown]

Just do it Kyle. Wipe ratings tonight. You've fixed the system, now put it back to status quo, and give us the weekend to get things to where they *truly* should be!