Loki.1763

Somehow I allowed myself to be convinced to return and play this current season. Initially I thought the only feedback I had was about the timing and tweaking of balance patches. Then I played through my placement matches.

While hope springs eternal, with the response to this thread we may start to see some real balance, a few other thoughts sprang to mind. Balance is important, but no matter how "balanced" the builds are, that won't fix stupid. Nor will it stop bots, afk's etc. When considering the state of spvp, balance is only one part contributing to the "unfuness".

There also appears to a push by Anet to make core builds competitive against elite specs. I'm not specifically against this, but makes it easier for people to bot on a F2P account with little to no consequence.

Basically, balance is a starting point, but it will not "fix" spvp.

"Be careful what you wish for."

How long have we been waiting for build templates? And look what happens when we get them! Utterly dismal implementation by Anet. Does nothing to assuage my complete lack of faith for the future of spvp.

Taken a long break from spvp, and don't believe there is anything I can say that hasn't already been said. BUT.....

The one thing I would ask for is to stop dropping balance patch mid season. You get 8 weeks of seasonal play to determine balance changes needed. Balance patch should drop immediately at end of season, to allow players time to muck about & familiarise with new builds. It also provides a two-week window to wind back any changes if necessary.

> @"Trevor Boyer.6524" said:

> >

> This is how much of a difference that lag makes:

> * A player normally plays 1600 with 70 ping in NA.

> * If his NA ping were 200+ however, he would quickly drop and begin playing more around 1450-1500.

You now know how Aust/NZ/Oceania players feel. I think I'm lucky if my ping is only 250

As for the OP's suggestion: can't see why it couldn't be made an option. Similar to choosing a WvW server.

> @"huluobo.7036" said:

> I really want to know how developers play pvp (ranking arena).

> Where can I see the video? I want to know how he handles career balance when he encounters 1vs2.

Devs don't play pvp. They used to, but not anymore. If they do, I too would be interested to watch the matches.

What does it say about a player's skill if they have to use exploits to get a spot on the leaderboard? I mean it's not like we're playing for anything real, it is all virtual rewards. How frail must some ego's be if the need the buffer of multiple alts to keep their main account "safe".

> @"shadowpass.4236" said:

> > @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > also they duo q with a way lower rank so they get placed in easier games.

>

> Matchmaking uses the higher duo's rating when placing them in matches.

>

> For example, a legend and bronze que together. Matchmaking will use the legend's rating.

Not true. I played in the final week with a Top 10 Plat 3. https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/83854/how-does-top-10-player-appear-in-gold-1-match

No F2P in Ranked

No rewards for losing

Appreciate the walk down memory lane of Anet's previous responses. Just a reminder the player in question was not Legendary & neither was their duo partner.

TBH I don't know what is worse....That Anet allow this to happen, or that the general response has been apathetic & resigned to the status quo.

> @"Multicolorhipster.9751" said:

>

> Not that the person in your video is doing that of course! I only mention all of this as a theoretical explanation to the problem you encountered, so that hopefully this undisguised exploit gets addressed.

> @"Crozame.4098" said:

> Also, there are plenty of alt accounts. For example, you saw the other team has a scourge but no support and the scourge is not on the leaderboard. But you find it never dies, kite like hell, and does a lot of dmg. Later you found on the twitch that the scourge is Posi's alt and he was duo quing. This is just an example. But yea, but this kind of games will get you a 50-500 game and get -13 or even -16.

>

I've got plenty of theories about the who/what/why of this match. But I think the real question is how does Anet allow this to happen?

> @"MrAmputatoes.6031" said:

> This is why you kinda just play. The populations too low for any meaningful rating system.

I couldn't care less what the number is beside my name. I'm happy with my level of mediocrity. However, I'm sick to death of being force-fed BS that the MM is "working as intended".

Can anyone at Arenanet explain how a Top 10 player with a rating of 1789 (teamed with a partner who is not in the top 250), ends up in match with Gold 1 ranked players?

I was under the impression that where there was a difference in duo partners ratings, the duo would be placed in a match at the higher rating. If that is incorrect, then what will it take for it be a reality? To date, I have resisted the temptation to whinge & moan about the matchmaker. I understand a decreasing playing population and time of day has a major impact on MM quality. But seeing this happen is basically the straw that "broke the camel's back" for me. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should this match have occurred.

Just for the record, I was on the winning team, a team that had an unfair advantage. I'm not accusing any individual player of anything. But I am accusing Anet of, at best, poor administration of the sPvP game mode. At worst, the circumstances which allow this to happen might indicate a blatant disregard for the player community and the not unreasonable expectation of a fair match up.

> @"Starbreaker.6507" said:

> > @"Heaven on earth.6249" said:

> > Will you fix the number of bots in ranked as well?

>

> Those are called CI Chaos Mesmers and they're a feature.

Yeah, I'm sure an actual human is racking up >2500 matches. Couldn't possibly be a bot.

A whole lot of folks were very vocal in their whining about not enough maps for Ranked. Skyhammer got reworked (not for the better IMHO) and added to rotation. There is so much about this map I don't like, but I'm not gunna write of a wall of text that will bore everyone.

> @"Chilli.2976" said:

> I'm in New Zealand (OCX) and its just become impossible to climb, unless I play during NA prime time - which is very late for me.

> I've got my top 25 title a while back, though its just becoming impossible to climb during my peak hours.

> If i'm platinum 3, I end up in platinum 1 by the end of the night. Low population and low rated players = impossible, unless I play during NA prime.

> Is there anything ArenaNet can do to fix this, or is it too late..?

Aussie player here, I feel your pain. Seems like match ups have been particularly bad this season, which I imagine is a result of the queuing issues. There is already a low player population and with the added frustration of queue issues, I've had more blowout matches than usual. This is an observation I can't prove.

Playing during NA peak times is only an option for me occasionally. Without attracting new players in droves, I can't see this situation for OCX is going to change any time soon.

> @"bladezero.9470" said:

> >

> This sounds good, but what is going to bring the good players back to the game?

>

> Only balance and new modes can save us.

>

> Oh, and 5 man team queue.

I don't disagree. TBH I don't have any specific ideas on how to get players back. I think it's along the lines of "if you build it, they will come". Folks lurk on the forums, connect on social media. If pvp was improving and not constantly devolving, word would get around. Whereas currently, few people have anything good to say about it, myself included.

Frankly I feel like pvp is on life support, waiting for the plug to be pulled. Yet hope springs eternal :)

An adequate pvp tutorial has been requested repeatedly. Back on the old forums, I was involved with several players to put together a newbie-friendly guide. We couldn't even get Anet to pin the finished product as sticky post. As others have mentioned, there are plenty of resources "out there" if you bother to look. If a new player can't make the effort to find relevant info, then chances are they're not gunna stick around in pvp anyway.

Prohibit F2P accounts from entering Ranked and raised the PVP Rank requirement to enter Ranked would go a long way towards improving matches.

A lot of people have a lot of gripes with the state of PvP these days. While many gripes are L2P issues, there are just as many genuine complaints. Rather than be sulky and salty, why don't we as a community put together our Top 10 or Top 5 issues for Anet to run a poll? Keeping in mind the issue must be something you can vote yes/no.

If we can present Anet with a list of priority issues, we have more of a chance of them being addressed. As opposed to our current system of crying boo-hoo on a multitude of different threads.

It's like a particpation award getting pips and progression for a loss. If all folks wanna do is "participate" do it in unranked. I've no doubt a reduction in the ease of rewards in ranked would see a further drop in player population, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Oh please don't get me started on map selection. Oops, too late. My issue with map selection is why we bother voting when a map with one vote gets selected. What is the point in voting?

> @"sephiroth.4217" said:

> > @"AngelLovesFredrik.6741" said:

> > > @"Loki.1763" said:

> > > Remember the bad ol' days of esports and class stacking was taken out of the equation? Someone here will remember the stunt pulled of a team going in all on one class to prove the point of how bad it was for matchups. And yeah, still waiting for that to flow through to ranked.

> >

> > Like when 5 Celestial ele randoms beat abjured?

>

>

> [put tin foil hat on] Maybe this is how the top players stay at the top, by nerfing anyone who can compete with them.. [takes off tin foil hat]

>

> (seriously though, they didn't nerf that because of top players did they? they were really easy to take down if you had some CC)

I honestly can't remember which team it was or what class they stacked, but it happened way back when class stacking was raised as an issue. It was during one of the pro lan events, and the pro's had been saying class stacking was a problem it needed to be gone. Anet did nothing. So, during one the of the events they went in all on same class and made a complete mockery of the tournament. Shortly after that a new rule was introduced to the pro events that a team had to be made up of 5 different classes. The expectation was that it would flow-on to regular pvp play, but obviously it never did. I also remember the wave of optimism when we thought it was gunna hit pvp and the inevitable disappointment when it didn't.

Alot of people did alot of complaining while esports was a thing, but what they fail to consider is how much the pro's pushed for balance and general improvements in pvp. Without the pro's being vocal, we may as well be pissing in the wind. But I guess that is a discussion for another thread.

> @"phs.6089" said:

> Sometimes I wonder why my party targets necro, when there is a FB or druid or tempest or all 3 of them babysitting necro. WHY???

What I find more incomprehensible is why teams don't focus a target at all.

My main is on NA and I've stopped playing pvp on that account. In my experience EU is hands down better than NA.

Remember the bad ol' days of esports and class stacking was taken out of the equation? Someone here will remember the stunt pulled of a team going in all on one class to prove the point of how bad it was for matchups. And yeah, still waiting for that to flow through to ranked.

Mesmer main looking for team for tournies and/or duo partner for ranked. Can also play ranger/druid if needed, but prefer mes. Available to play most days from mid-afternoon onwards.

Hit me up here or ingame. Cheers :)