Inactive players hogging the top of MP ranking board

I am glad this is finally getting changed! Back when I got rank 1 in February I made a post about it http://forums.cardhunter.com/threads/suggestion-rating-decay-for-inactivity.6938/ but nothing happened so I stopped playing except for league games.

Also, please go with 1 week rather than 1 month. The goal it not just to show a leader board of active players, it is to encourage the top ranked player to play the game, and it seems much more fun to have the top ranked player playing games weekly than monthly.

 

Have you considered a monthly rating reset like hearthstone ( NEW RATING = ( ( OLD RATING - 1000 ) / 2 ) + 1000 ), potentially with some rewards to the top placed people each month? From my personal perspective it seems like the version which will get me to play the most, and monthly battles over first place seem like fun. This also seems much easier to implement than rating decay based on inactivity.

At least for me though, even just hiding people will be enough to get me to play. I view being rank 1 on the leader board is the goal of multiplayer. This means while I am first, I will play enough games to keep myself visible on the leader board. Maybe even consider requiring 3 games a week.

 

I think that monthly reset you suggested sounds good.

The problem with leader board reset is .. you just log in and in Lobby you have your old rating ..

 

The main problem with a rating reset like I described is that ratings points would leave the system, so over time the average player rating would get lower and lower. However, I think if cardotron just had a fixed rating at 1400 that didnt go up or down based on wins and losses, this would allow a path for rating points to be added back into the system over the course of the month and we would reach an equilibrium.

 

You probably noticed that, but in case you didnt -> now first 3 players are hidden .. but rank of visible ones starts from number 4 ...

 

You guys do realize everyone started with 0 rating, right?

 

I'd vote against a monthly reset. Maybe once every 4 to 6 months at the lowest. As for not showing those who haven't played for a few weeks, that sounds fine to me.

Farbs, any chance you could increase the time it takes for a guild to become inactive? 10 days is pretty short for someone who goes on vacation (holiday) and doesn't get a chance to play for a week or two.

 

I think an "inactivity" pull from the rankings should be at 2 weeks. Often people will go away for a week at a time I know I played only a handful of matches in the past 3 weeks but I doubt 2 weeks have gone by.

Just so I am clear this would only mean being dropped from the leaderboard, but the rating would be restored post ranked match (based on the result of course).

As for a "ratings decay" I am not sure how wise this would be. I would almost be tempted to stay away let my rating tank a little, which this game has try to avoid (ratings tanking). If, IF I could keep my collection but come back with a rating sub 1200 it might be a fun ride for a while.

 

Thanks for the MP leaderboard fix!!! Although now I had some time to think about it, I do think 28 days before they get hidden seems a bit too generous.

As even 1 game (10-15 mins) will bring the person back to their previous spot on the board, I'm thinking maybe 14 days before name gets hidden might be more reasonable? Since most working ppl's vacation generally don't last more than two weeks, I think 14 day would be a better balance.

Thoughts?

 

I agree 2 weeks (or even 1) seems reasonable.

 

Nope. I think it is fine the way it is. People who want to keep their rating by playing a single game a month is fine. Those who are TRULY inactive won't be coming back in a month. A week or two is vacation (holiday) for many.

 

In other news, the number of accounts on the ranked standings list drops from 100,000+ to 3000+

 

Thats good to know that there are only 3000 active players. I would like to see a monthly reset of ratings. Put everyone back at 1000 and have prizes for the top people after each month. When I was lower rated I played more. When I get into the 1600s I play less. Anything that would keep me having to earn my rank rather than just sit on it would make me play more. When you have a full collection and a high rating what is there to play for, the game becomes all risk little rewards. If you have good collection and low rating you won't get to farm lower people for long as you're rating will rise. This would also encourage build testing as if you know you're not likely to face a pro your more likely to try that new deck your making. It would definitely add hours to my game time each month........also with monthly resets your medal should show for all the current month what your final rating was last month. Example if your 1600 rated this month, next month when your rating resets to 1000 for all of next month you show the 1600 medal

 

That is problematic for people who aren't good and have to deal with being crushed by top players over and over until they get back to their Elo. Maybe once every 6 months or a year... but once a month is a bit excessive.

 

Agreed. I'd rather not be crushing newer players over and over again every month.

 

And I'd be a permanent 1000 player!

 

I agree although I would openly welcome the chance to be matched up with N00Bs... In fact I DISAGREE. MONTHLY RESETs for all (sorry for shouting I got a bit carried away there).

My off the cuff idea is a monthly ranked adjustment... a net change in rating based solely on win-loss and not rating. 1st of each month a players rating is adjusted by their net Win-Loss record. So if I play 100 matches in June and win 51 of them my rating would go up by 2 (51-49 = 2). This way you get extra credit for wins and losses and more importantly....

A monthly wins leader board with a prize for the top 3 in net wins each month. This will favor newer players more and be an exciting way to make every match count and since it would be for net wins and not total wins it wouldn't reward a spamming type of approach where you quit matches whenever you think you are at a disadvantage.