AP Gains’ solution to GAC matchmaking…

"Kathark;c-2342853" wrote:


So glad you asked. It would probably take me a while with the data to come up with an acceptable rubric for comparing rosters. (I know ppl will always complain). Once you have a system, the key is that divisions are decided, not by “skill” rating (or any other metric that takes your performance into account) but by adjacent roster. Then within a division you have a skill rating over the course of the entire season and can rise or fall within your division. The next time you enter a GA season you are re-divisioned based entirely on your roster, not your “skill” from last season. So if I decide to spend $1000 between seasons I automatically get bumped up to compete with similarly equipped players. Or if I take months of f2p to get to that level of roster the it takes months to get re-divisioned.

As for forfeit penalties I suggest a limit of 2 forfeit losses per season. Clearly life might prevent you from playing once. If you lose by forfeit twice or more in a season you lose all the season rewards, get banned from the next season, and your account gets flagged. Maybe after 3 flags you get banned forever, just spitballing. But if the re-divisioning was by roster, and something like the original floor suggestion went into effect then I think it would go a long way to preventing sandbaggers in the first place. It’s not like they are automatically enrolled. You want to play great. If you just want to sit in the lowest level and collect the pity crystals then don’t sign up.

The problem with brackets based on GP (as has been stated before many times) is that this re-introduces the element of roster bloat being a bad thing. That's why CG probably won't ever do this. They WANT people to expand their rosters - that's the whole premise of the game and a key component of how they make this game profitable. Discouraging everyone at or near the top of their bracket from continuing to spend money and develop their roster is directly opposed to their primary goal, which is making a profit. It's a great thought exercise to try to come up with a different way to do this, but ignoring a fundamental guiding principle of the people that are actually making the game doesn't get you closer to a workable solution - it's just daydreaming, which is fine but not constructive or actionable by the responsible parties (CG devs).

For the same reason, forfeit penalties that lead to season long or lifetime (?!!!) bans will almost surely never, ever happen. All this does is give players a sense that they aren't wanted or are being punished for not engaging 'properly' in a single game mode. This further discourages spending and in the case of a lifetime ban, ensures that that player will NEVER feel any pressure or desire to spend money to improve that aspect of the game, should they ever decide to engage 'properly'.

I don't know what your life looks like, maybe you've got lots of time to play and that's great - but I know I don't always have time to devote to GAC. Work and family obligations are a thing (which is why I chose a mobile game to start with). Add conquest, LSGeo, or TW on top of that, and the chances that I'll have to skip out on an attack phase are even greater, because if I have to choose - I choose my guild over myself any day of the week. But as I said in another thread - I'm certainly not going to go without my daily crystals just to prevent a smaller roster from fasing my account. I'm giving them an easy win if I don't engage - I really don't see the problem there. It's a game, but it's not the olympics. Things like lifetime bans, or barring players from engaging in an entire game mode is not good for the players, or for CG.