Shard Chats = cheating

It's always amazing how some of the folks participating in shard chats actually believe they are wholly engaging in the PVP aspect of this game.

"Razor053;c-1575324" wrote:
should these guys just roll over to some random who feels entitled to reach top rank with an inferior squad and mods.

The sense of entitlement cuts both ways, really. Some of you guys have colluded and hoarded the top spots so long, it's very obvious that you believe those Ranks are Yours.

And... if somebody can reach a top spot with an inferior squad and mods... so what? Boo hoo. They got there fairly by playing the game and out-playing better teams, rather than banding with a group of fellow whales to bump all the "randoms" who are trying to climb.

It's the reason I barely bother with arena. I play the game to play it, not to negotiate if it's okay that today I get the top prize and tomorrow the other guy does. I'm a devout socialist in everything that's important--but video games are dumb and silly and don't matter at all. (Besides, the leaderboard chat groups aren't social collectives working for the betterment of all, they're plutocratic syndicates working for the betterment of their own bottom line at the exclusion and detriment of the working class.)

And all that's fine. If you're so scared of that purple number going down--or, rather, going up but at a slightly less vertiginous rate than usual--that you're going to stifle competition and gatekeep, then fine. Video games are dumb and silly and don't matter at all. But when someone calls you out for it, don't act like you're standing on the moral high ground or that you're doing nothing wrong. The worst are the folks who brag about taking first place every day in General Discussion, like we don't know that would end the minute your cabal decides you aren't worthy any more...

Here is a simple solution. Randomize the displayed names of other players in Squad Arena, and shuffle the shards once. Done.

"NicWester;c-1575509" wrote:
It's the reason I barely bother with arena. I play the game to play it, not to negotiate if it's okay that today I get the top prize and tomorrow the other guy does. I'm a devout socialist in everything that's important--but video games are dumb and silly and don't matter at all. (Besides, the leaderboard chat groups aren't social collectives working for the betterment of all, they're plutocratic syndicates working for the betterment of their own bottom line at the exclusion and detriment of the working class.)

And all that's fine. If you're so scared of that purple number going down--or, rather, going up but at a slightly less vertiginous rate than usual--that you're going to stifle competition and gatekeep, then fine. Video games are dumb and silly and don't matter at all. But when someone calls you out for it, don't act like you're standing on the moral high ground or that you're doing nothing wrong. The worst are the folks who brag about taking first place every day in General Discussion, like we don't know that would end the minute your cabal decides you aren't worthy any more...

Let the proletariat eat cake

"Robotolove;d-165082" wrote:
When are the game developers going to do something about the PVP cheating rings (aka shard chats)?

You might be the biggest cry baby on the forums. If you are not good enough get better I battled my butt off 3 days in a row with refreshing and sniping. To get 1 in my shard and they didn't like it! So they reached out to me now I'm 1 every day you must be jealous. So stop crying and get better

I have joined a shard chat 3 weeks ago.
Apparently they have been looking for me bacause sometimes I may spoil somebody else's payout.
It is not as bad as how it is described here.
They are just regular nice guys just like us.
They don't kick newcomers out , in fact they reach out to other players.
The only ones who haven't joined our shard chat are mostly the ones who could not speak English.
What we do is watch out for each others' payout time.
Make sure that we are not making unnecessary attacks during somebody else's payout.
If people share payout times, they just try to stay away from each other.
Most people would not get rank 1 always because there are also some krakkens around whom not everyone could beat.

I am not arguing if it is right or wrong.
I would just like to say that these groups (or maybe most of them) are not as bad as they are described in this thread.

"Graives;c-1575467" wrote:

The sense of entitlement cuts both ways, really. Some of you guys have colluded and hoarded the top spots so long, it's very obvious that you believe those Ranks are Yours.

And... if somebody can reach a top spot with an inferior squad and mods... so what? Boo hoo. They got there fairly by playing the game and out-playing better teams, rather than banding with a group of fellow whales to bump all the "randoms" who are trying to climb.

Well the whales are fine to bump any they see fit tbh, that’s the advantage they gain by spending money on the game.
Shard chat or not they would be at the top bumping others regardless.
A lot of people don’t seem to understand this and just blame shard chat collusion for the reason they can’t break into the top/constantly bumped/can’t hold rank/sniped/blocked etc.
Just because you make a high rank doesn’t mean anything if you can’t hold it,
Shard chat or not

My shard chat is 80% about trying to stay out of each others way... And in the case of players in the chat with the same payout, sharing the top spots, and avoiding the need to be online 5min and spend extra attempts just to avoid sniping.

The only players that have been excluded are those that refuse to respect others.

"gufu21;c-1513121" wrote:
Even if just for the sake of keeping your opponents and fights fresh, I wouldn't mind a shard mixup (based on start date, of course)—I'm kind of tired of fighting the same people over and over. Breaking up the circles at the top would just be a side benefit.

First, think of why it's always the same people at the top (which isn't true as high as the 20-50 range). These are the people who put in the most time into the game, farmed the best characters, mods, zetas, gear (especially G12 pieces). While many of these factors can be overcome relatively easily, mods stand out as something not easily achievable by many, and that's the biggest difference at the top of the arena. If your team is poor, no amount of help will get you to the top.

You want "fresh" opponents, there is TW.

The "best" players in this game require a supporting cast of friendly shard mates to maintain the illusion of "best" and hold a top rank.

Start sniping some of the people in your shard chat who occupy your payout time, and see how long you can stay up there without the support.

"Geshtianna;c-1576495"If your team is poor, no amount of help will get you to the top.[/quote wrote:


If your team is the best, no amount of help should be needed.