Grand Arena Matchups
When players received GP to give a value to their inventory strength, some players, like me, maxed out all of their characters' levels, gear levels, and mods. The increased GP gave players better rew...
Forum Discussion
"Nikoms565;c-1866066" wrote:"Liath;c-1866052" wrote:"Nikoms565;c-1866044" wrote:"Liath;c-1866032" wrote:"Nikoms565;c-1866021" wrote:"Liath;c-1866020" wrote:"Nikoms565;c-1866014" wrote:
All of that presumes they actually care enough about GA to make the matchups as even as possible. Which is also questionable.
It also presumes they believe making the matchups as even as possible is an appropriate goal, which is entirely separate from whether they “care enough.” I believe that would be a terrible goal.
Why would making fair matchups be a terrible goal? It has always been my understanding that making the matchups as even as possible was the goal of GA. GA was seemingly meant to be a 1 on 1 version of TW - which, also seeks to make the matches even.
Uneven matchups and "keep up with the Jones'" is the function of the two arenas.
We’ve had this conversation a dozen times, do you really not remember the answer? First of all you said “as even as possible,” which you are now conflating with “as fair as possible,” but those are not the same thing. Arena simply matches people on a different metric than GA (time played vs GP). Different matching metrics can be fair without creating matches among identical rosters.
My opinion is that making matches as even as possible (which can only be accomplished by matching people with basically identical rosters, since anything less will continue to lead to “fairness” complaints) is terrible because it means I can never improve my chances of winning by improving my roster. If I plan really well and am one of #the882 can I be excited that I will do better in GA? Nope, I’ll only face other people who got Malak too, whereas I’d I hadn’t bothered I wouldn’t have had to face him. If I get that unicorn +25 speed mod can I be excited that it will help me do better in GA? Nope, I will get paired against somebody with the same number of +25 speed mods I have. For me, personally, this would remove a lot of enjoyment.
How does this encourage people who have DR/Malak (or whatever the current OP characters are) to improve if they are consistently matched up against inferior rosters, so all they have to do is out their OP team on defense and relax?
I presume that CG wants the different game modes to function differently. Not simply have every single game mode boil down to a "Malak check". If their intent is as you suggest (i.e. make everyone have Malak or lose) then that is really poor game design, as it simply boils the game down to "do you have the recent OP team?" - just changes the conditions under which the question is asked. That would remove all enjoyment from the game - for both those that can answer yes and those that have to answer no.
I've been on both sides. I've had GA matchups where I have JKR, and the other player doesn't. I won easily and found it terrible boring, as it was a forgone conclusion. The same holds true when facing rosters that have DR/Malak when I have neither. Unless they play absolutely horribly (or forget to play at all), it's simply a boring foregone conclusion for both of us.
I can't speak for other players, but I spend money to support a game when I am enjoying myself. GA, when the matchups are uneven, is not enjoyable - no matter which side of the advantage you are on. If you of the opinion that GA should be a boring, foregone conclusion, to somehow encourage spending, then I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Especially when the rewards for a several day event are so paltry, it doesn't do that.
Do you think that every person with Malak now goes 3-0 in every GA? Or do you recognize that it’s not that simplistic? There were what, like 15,000 people that got Malak? (I might be mixing that number up with DR but it’s some number of thousands.) People that got Malak will face others who got him in addition to people who didn’t get him. People who got him can still lose GA due to a variety of factors. In fact one of the most talked about subjects people in my guild have gotten excited about lately is beating people who had DR and/or Malak when they didn’t.
People with Malak are encouraged to improve because they know they might face somebody else who also has him. They are encouraged to improve because they know one team is not sufficient to guarantee wins against otherwise strong opponents. And to the extent that they do win matches more easily, they are encouraged to shell out money and/or saved resources again next time for the next OP character in order to retain that advantage.
Also, there is a lot of room between “as even as possible” and “every match is a foregone conclusion.” The devs have announced an intention to make the matchmaking more even than it currently is. That can be done without making it “as even as possible” like you demand.
I think we can be done with this topic. We're splitting hairs now. You seem to think that the devs announced intention to make matchmaking more even somehow doesn't include my points regarding Malak. And on the other hand seem content to cast my points in the most hyperbolic extremes you can come up with.
I am pleased that you at least acknowledged the developers intention to make GA more even - as the DR/Malak situation in GA is clearly the most glaring (and most posted about) example.
I very strongly disagree that this is a matter of splitting hairs. Those hyperbolic extremes are direct quotes from your posts. I don’t want matches to be as even as possible. I think that goal is terrible. That’s where my participation in this conversation started.
The devs haven’t said anything about planning to pair people with DR/Malak only against each other, so there is no evidence that is their intent, and even if they do that I can still express my opinion that their decision is a poor one.
