We received a suggestion form a player, Bookie. It's a big change to the gameplay mode, so we want more feedbacks from players. Whether it will be changed in future update, depends on you.
This suggestion is to allow players to enter the game mode without the first round of cards preselected. What this means is I could play pro mode without preselecting the first 3 cards. Players are then matched up and see each others names and then the first round of card selection begins..
i. Most matches are the same players playing each other. The base is so loyal that everyone in the top 100 all know each other and have played each other a hundred times. Many of the games begin to look a like and have a lot of similarities because we are only picking the final 4 cards, not all 7. This would allow more variety in the games and every game could truly be different.
ii. The current setup is to pick a 3 card start that you feel will do good overall. Now every 3 card start has good matchups and bad matchups. Vs the good matchups you have a head start against your opponent and vs the bad matchups you are having to play catchup. This would eliminate good and bad matchups and put every matchup on an equal footing.
iii. The player can still pick the same 3 cards every time for their start if they want to so this does not change if they don’t want to. You can have a “repeat” button for this. If you matchup to someone new you can stick to your standard 3 card start.
iv. This eliminates advantage players get by “watching games.” Often we watch games and see what cards top players are playing and intentionally start different cards that intentionally let us start with an advantage. While some have complained this is cheating in the past, others have claimed that this should force a player to mix up there starting hands to keep this from happening.
v. The problem with putting spells and traps currently in the first 3 card selection is solved. Ok, if you audit the game and look at the top 10 players playing pro mode you will notice one thing. Almost all these players start with 3 units. Why? This is because if you start with a spell and someone has watched your games in the watch game section then they will know ahead of time you are playing a spell and now they can know to play Magic Overwhelm or Sabotage or Trap Detect if they watch and you’re starting a trap.
vi. Same applies to the Hardcore Mode Format. One can cater their starting decks to the player. Currently you can use watch mode and design a deck that completely obliterate another players first deck. This mean currently you can gain a 3 decks vs 2 advantage vs the top players in the game that you are watching and trying to defeat.
LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
Re: LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
Hi thanks for posting this momo. I have thought about this for at least a year now and know that not all players may necessarily agree with this. The general proposal is this:
How can the card selection be modified in some way that allows the first round of card selection to vary?
Some may not find this a problem at all simply stating you can already pick the first three cards and choose any you want. The proposal here though is to allow you to make the selection after you see who you are playing. The trap now is that we are picking our first three cards based on what matches up vs everyone. This broad strategy of trying to be able to defend everyone forces a conservative initial card selection. For most top players this means playing three well rounded creatures. Starting a spell is risky because if you are playing this every time then people will know and play sabotage or magic overwhelm.
There are other ways also to allow players to vary their first hand. For example allowin player to store up to 5 starting hands. When match begins you make your initial three card selection by picking one of the five saved starting hands. My next post about playing a 2 out of 3 format will also attempt to solve this problem.
How can the card selection be modified in some way that allows the first round of card selection to vary?
Some may not find this a problem at all simply stating you can already pick the first three cards and choose any you want. The proposal here though is to allow you to make the selection after you see who you are playing. The trap now is that we are picking our first three cards based on what matches up vs everyone. This broad strategy of trying to be able to defend everyone forces a conservative initial card selection. For most top players this means playing three well rounded creatures. Starting a spell is risky because if you are playing this every time then people will know and play sabotage or magic overwhelm.
There are other ways also to allow players to vary their first hand. For example allowin player to store up to 5 starting hands. When match begins you make your initial three card selection by picking one of the five saved starting hands. My next post about playing a 2 out of 3 format will also attempt to solve this problem.
Re: LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
I think it would be great to do that to give everyone a change I love this game to lets just see what happens
Re: LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
Well it good and all that help out the new players of this game what about the old players everyone has to start from the bottom and work there way up it needs to be even help us all out not just the new players to me its not far if u helping the new players just say ing that s all
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ECB-Bookie
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:59 pm
Re: LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
LONG TERM STRATEGY OF BALANCE FOR NEW PLAYERS
Each season that passes does see the old players getting stronger and stronger as they get more and more cards to max level. I think for this reason momo should be thinking of some large change at some point that can help offset this to a degree. I don't think this post specifically addresses that, however, I made two other posts that attempted to address this as well. You can view them by looking up active topics, but I will quickly address them here:
SOLUTION 1:
Do nothing. Not everyone thinks that long term there is a problem. A free player who has grinded a lot of rubies might be resistant to a balance change here. Also, some players have told me personally that the cap max of 45 is achievable by all players after just a month of play. However, we all do know that to achieve the max level of card takes much longer, really a solid 6-12 months to have most the cards you use at max level.
SOLUTION 2:
2 out of 3 Mode. Each player in pro plays each time best 2 out of 3. Each match is worth DP. If first round card selection is allowed in each match then this gives the new/free player at least 2 chances to try to best the veteran player. In the second match the new/free player can take a lot of risks, especially if they get to pick the first round. They also have just played the veteran and maybe loss the first round. Since a new player is not familiar with all the names they are at a disadvantage. But if they get to play 2 out of 3, then the new player get some advantage back, because the rematch is right away and they now have some better idea of what the veteran player will do.
SOLUTION 3:
2 out of 3 Mode with increasing CAPs. Each round features different CAP limits. For example,
EXAMPLE 1
Round 1: CAP = 40, Round 2: CAP = 45, Round 3: CAP = 45 (this version the first round only is reduced CAP to allow the beginner/free player some lessor disadvantage in the first round
EXAMPLE 2
Round 1: CAP=35, Round 2: CAP=40, Round 3: CAP =45 (this version would force a round 1 to be played probably without epic cards and few legends. It would be a large game change dynamic because you are talking about a first round game played with a lot more silver and gold cards and it's possible many old players will not like this change. Very likely that some older players with top cards would be upset with this change, but this also is most radical and helps the new player out the most)
EXAMPLE 3
Round 1: CAP=40, Round 2: CAP=45, Round 3: CAP=50 (this version is a compromised solution). It gives the new player a slightly less disadvantage in the first round, but to compensate it gives the veteran player that advantage back in the 3rd round.
EXAMPLE 4
Round 1-3: CAP=45, However, Round 1, All cards are played as Lvl 1 cards. Round 2 and 3, normal levels the current way. This version would probably be the most radical at attempting to address the large level difference between a new player and players who have been playing for 2 years straight now. This could do a lot more for the free or new player than all the above suggestions, however, it is unknown to me if this would be receptive by older players. I suspect there would be at least a couple people who major complain about this, but I also suspect there would be a lot of free players who would openly receive this.
SOLUTION 4:
Solution 4 does not involve implementation of 2 out of 3 rounds in pro mode. Instead, it introduces a daily tournament format that is more balanced than pro ladder and is worth some ladder points at stake.
EXAMPLE 1: Each day at a set time the tournament registration begins and last 10 minutes. All players who register are put in a queue. Once registration ends they play in a single elimination tournament with a new game beginning every 5 minutes for winners who advance to the next round. The first round consists of randomly matching up the players. Winners from previous rounds are randomly matched up with winners from prior rounds until only 1 player is left. All cards in the tournament are played as level 1 cards. A 256 player tournament in this format lasts approximately 40 minutes and consists of 8 consecutive games. Each round is worth DP ladder points and uses up same mana as a PRO ladder game. There is coin rewards based on placement like in arena. A new player could fair better here and even have a chance to win since only 8 consecutive victories are needed to win and all cards are played as level 1. After tournament ends, there will be a new one the next day at a different time of day to accomodate players from around the world. Leftover mana can be spent in regular ladder mode playing hardcore or pro ladder. The tournament accomplishes several things. 1) It is a more balanced competition mode where all cards are played as level 1 so even a new player in this mode is at less a disadvantage than regular ladder. 2) Winning the tournament is possible for a new player. Whereas winning the ladder is unlikely because one must perform extremely well over a 250 game stretch, the tournament is more realistic to win for a new player since it is only 8-9 games. 3) The format is exciting so players will come back each day to play. The new player has a realistic and achievable goal to stick around and try to win a daily tournament.
Each season that passes does see the old players getting stronger and stronger as they get more and more cards to max level. I think for this reason momo should be thinking of some large change at some point that can help offset this to a degree. I don't think this post specifically addresses that, however, I made two other posts that attempted to address this as well. You can view them by looking up active topics, but I will quickly address them here:
SOLUTION 1:
Do nothing. Not everyone thinks that long term there is a problem. A free player who has grinded a lot of rubies might be resistant to a balance change here. Also, some players have told me personally that the cap max of 45 is achievable by all players after just a month of play. However, we all do know that to achieve the max level of card takes much longer, really a solid 6-12 months to have most the cards you use at max level.
SOLUTION 2:
2 out of 3 Mode. Each player in pro plays each time best 2 out of 3. Each match is worth DP. If first round card selection is allowed in each match then this gives the new/free player at least 2 chances to try to best the veteran player. In the second match the new/free player can take a lot of risks, especially if they get to pick the first round. They also have just played the veteran and maybe loss the first round. Since a new player is not familiar with all the names they are at a disadvantage. But if they get to play 2 out of 3, then the new player get some advantage back, because the rematch is right away and they now have some better idea of what the veteran player will do.
SOLUTION 3:
2 out of 3 Mode with increasing CAPs. Each round features different CAP limits. For example,
EXAMPLE 1
Round 1: CAP = 40, Round 2: CAP = 45, Round 3: CAP = 45 (this version the first round only is reduced CAP to allow the beginner/free player some lessor disadvantage in the first round
EXAMPLE 2
Round 1: CAP=35, Round 2: CAP=40, Round 3: CAP =45 (this version would force a round 1 to be played probably without epic cards and few legends. It would be a large game change dynamic because you are talking about a first round game played with a lot more silver and gold cards and it's possible many old players will not like this change. Very likely that some older players with top cards would be upset with this change, but this also is most radical and helps the new player out the most)
EXAMPLE 3
Round 1: CAP=40, Round 2: CAP=45, Round 3: CAP=50 (this version is a compromised solution). It gives the new player a slightly less disadvantage in the first round, but to compensate it gives the veteran player that advantage back in the 3rd round.
EXAMPLE 4
Round 1-3: CAP=45, However, Round 1, All cards are played as Lvl 1 cards. Round 2 and 3, normal levels the current way. This version would probably be the most radical at attempting to address the large level difference between a new player and players who have been playing for 2 years straight now. This could do a lot more for the free or new player than all the above suggestions, however, it is unknown to me if this would be receptive by older players. I suspect there would be at least a couple people who major complain about this, but I also suspect there would be a lot of free players who would openly receive this.
SOLUTION 4:
Solution 4 does not involve implementation of 2 out of 3 rounds in pro mode. Instead, it introduces a daily tournament format that is more balanced than pro ladder and is worth some ladder points at stake.
EXAMPLE 1: Each day at a set time the tournament registration begins and last 10 minutes. All players who register are put in a queue. Once registration ends they play in a single elimination tournament with a new game beginning every 5 minutes for winners who advance to the next round. The first round consists of randomly matching up the players. Winners from previous rounds are randomly matched up with winners from prior rounds until only 1 player is left. All cards in the tournament are played as level 1 cards. A 256 player tournament in this format lasts approximately 40 minutes and consists of 8 consecutive games. Each round is worth DP ladder points and uses up same mana as a PRO ladder game. There is coin rewards based on placement like in arena. A new player could fair better here and even have a chance to win since only 8 consecutive victories are needed to win and all cards are played as level 1. After tournament ends, there will be a new one the next day at a different time of day to accomodate players from around the world. Leftover mana can be spent in regular ladder mode playing hardcore or pro ladder. The tournament accomplishes several things. 1) It is a more balanced competition mode where all cards are played as level 1 so even a new player in this mode is at less a disadvantage than regular ladder. 2) Winning the tournament is possible for a new player. Whereas winning the ladder is unlikely because one must perform extremely well over a 250 game stretch, the tournament is more realistic to win for a new player since it is only 8-9 games. 3) The format is exciting so players will come back each day to play. The new player has a realistic and achievable goal to stick around and try to win a daily tournament.
Re: LADDER MATCH CHANGE SUGGESTION[Official]
I really like the idea of seeing the opponent before choosing cards. I think it would give more diversity and excitement to the game. The change would cause players to move out of their comfort zones and play more unique decks. (One thing I love about this game is all the cards and the beautiful artwork. It is one of the primary reasons I invest in the game.) Also, being that there would be a broader array of decks being played it would help with the monotony of the bots in game as well... I do however, believe it should be implemented on a trial basis in classic mode for a short time so players can give it a trial run. It is a huge change and a very risky one so the decision should not be taken lightly.