What exactly is the point of losing costing you rank?

[Subtext]

It's a frustrating system somewhat but I am not sure what else you can do given you're being matched with randoms. I'm pretty much hard stuck in Gold and I could tear my hair out over that. I'm hardly top tier in PvP but the amount of utterly BAD teams I get matched with is frustrating. And I am not speaking just being a bit worse than the other team...that happens. I mean getting facerolled, I mean people greeding like no tomorrow, ignoring any designated target, hyper focusing the paladin, charging in 1v5 etc etc.

I seem to get dogpiled on a lot early in the game. That's fine, guard through it, try to survive as long as possible and hope for the trade to end up favourable for my team. But in 4/5 cases, it's not happening.

I do wish we get a few additional communication methods. The preset messages are sorely lacking and I suppose being able to set up at least some rudimentary strategy early on would help a lot.

[JanVanding]

The main thing I'd note about the ranking system is the team up variance appears to be much too wide.

It's strange to me seeing a team of Golds with a single Plat 2-3 matching against a team with one Gold and four Plat 1-2s.

I get they prioritised queue times but there's an entire chasm of skill difference between someone in say Gold 3-4 and someone at Plat 1 pushing into Diamond.

[ThaCa]

The system places you against your own rank +/- 1, if you win or lose streak hard enough it can go to +/- 2.

For example as I was winstreaking from unranked through silver I got put into full Plat game to try and stop me.

Sometimes the teams are absurdly badly balanced, but you should get on average as much good and as much bad teams and getting good ones on streak can push your rank even if you play suboptimally. Your own input definately matters over time but losing your ranking up match several times because of horrible team composition and lack of teamplay is rough.

You definately don't need to play top meta picks if you play decently (though I recommend those for low ranks to climb to at least Gold), I finished my grind to Crystal on SCH/BRD.

[Risvertasashi]

Do you think this is fun though?

Some people do, some people don't. If you don't... um, don't play a competitive* mode?

Yeah, you can't get everything, but that's like complaining that you can't get the savage raid weapons without doing savage raids, or ultimate weapons without doing ultimate, etc. Of course each content has its own rewards. But anything you really need to get by is accessible to everyone.

Which, by the way - You're basically complaining about not being able to get a portrait frame with zero gameplay impact, and exists literally so people can brag with it: "Hey I got to crystal/diamond/platinum/etc in pvp!"

All the other stuff - which is a lot, everything from Garo to the new glam gear and a lot of older ones and some reappearances - can be earned even if you do nothing but lose all day, and no matter which form of pvp you play. The only exclusive rewards are bragging-rights portrait frames.

Now in the past when SE put story-related stuff in top 100 rewards, that I can kinda get people being ticked about. But, again, portrait frames that are designed solely around pvp content's themes... I mean. Are you also upset that ultimate exists? or Eureka, Bozja, and so on?



* I use this term very loosely.


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So ultimately if you don't find a competitive ranked mode fun, just... don't play it. Play casual, or play frontlines, or rival wings, or skip pvp entirely if you don't want the battle pass rewards/garo stuff/other pvp rewards.

[KageTokage]

I think the key difference with PvP vs. PvE content is that "success" more often then not feels like a total crapshoot and there's only so much you can contribute as an individual to helping your team win.

I feel like lowering the derank threshold to within your same number tier would make losing streaks a lot less dejecting.

[SamiMoshantu]

My problem, personally, is that 1. It's not really competitive, or skill related. With the current rampant cheating, insane balance, and the randomness of your team's performance, it's more luck than skill if you win any given match. If the ranks don't correlate to skill then why have them?
And 2. It's currently starting with portrait frames. But if we start getting stuff more like the Feast, with mounts or glam locked behind a mode where advancement is basically down to luck or cheating/win trading, then I'm just going to be sitting around pissed that I didn't yell about it more. I'm really sick of these rewards being impossible to get later, which differentiates it from the ultimates/savages/etc mentioned in that if you don't get it now, then it doesn't matter how skilled you get later, you're SOL. Just about every other piece of content in the game you can get years after it drops, hell even with seasonal events you can get stuff later. They even brought back the GARO event for Twelve's sake, but I can't get a cool floating magitek chair ever?
I just don't want to see ranked become the same shitshow that I hated about the Feast.

[Qeilos]

My problem, personally, is that 1. It's not really competitive, or skill related. With the current rampant cheating, insane balance, and the randomness of your team's performance, it's more luck than skill if you win any given match. If the ranks don't correlate to skill then why have them?
And 2. It's currently starting with portrait frames. But if we start getting stuff more like the Feast, with mounts or glam locked behind a mode where advancement is basically down to luck or cheating/win trading, then I'm just going to be sitting around pissed that I didn't yell about it more. I'm really sick of these rewards being impossible to get later, which differentiates it from the ultimates/savages/etc mentioned in that if you don't get it now, then it doesn't matter how skilled you get later, you're SOL. Just about every other piece of content in the game you can get years after it drops, hell even with seasonal events you can get stuff later. They even brought back the GARO event for Twelve's sake, but I can't get a cool floating magitek chair ever?
I just don't want to see ranked become the same shitshow that I hated about the Feast.

They could let top 100 have titles and just tie the mounts etc to GETTING to diamond or crystal, thats something you can slam your face against and absolutely noone can gatekeep. Sure more people would have it but it would be utterly impossible to keep people from getting there.

[Risvertasashi]

My problem, personally, is that 1. It's not really competitive, or skill related. With the current rampant cheating, insane balance, and the randomness of your team's performance, it's more luck than skill if you win any given match. If the ranks don't correlate to skill then why have them?
And 2. It's currently starting with portrait frames. But if we start getting stuff more like the Feast, with mounts or glam locked behind a mode where advancement is basically down to luck or cheating/win trading, then I'm just going to be sitting around pissed that I didn't yell about it more. I'm really sick of these rewards being impossible to get later, which differentiates it from the ultimates/savages/etc mentioned in that if you don't get it now, then it doesn't matter how skilled you get later, you're SOL. Just about every other piece of content in the game you can get years after it drops, hell even with seasonal events you can get stuff later. They even brought back the GARO event for Twelve's sake, but I can't get a cool floating magitek chair ever?
I just don't want to see ranked become the same shitshow that I hated about the Feast.

This I do agree with. I don't anything story related to be tied to a top 100 reward, if it has to be in pvp at all. And I'm not a fan of FOMO design in general.

[SamiMoshantu]

They could let top 100 have titles and just tie the mounts etc to GETTING to diamond or crystal, thats something you can slam your face against and absolutely noone can gatekeep. Sure more people would have it but it would be utterly impossible to keep people from getting there.

As long as they don't become unavailable forever you can lock them behind being #1 among every data center for all I personally care, it'll still be a prize to work towards, a goal I can strive for.
What I'd like to see is for the rewards to remain static, a show that you made it to, say, crystal rank, at some point.
But if you're going to lock anything behind these you should probably fix the insanity going on right now. Hopefully SE addresses some of this stuff, but given their track record with anything involving player competition (the Feast, Ishgard Restoration Rankings), I'm not hopeful.

[RyuDragnier]

I'm really hoping the rewards for all future season rankings are the exact same rewards as this time, with no special title or mount. Why? Because then there's no point in cheating your way to the top, you don't get anything really special for it, except your name on a list that nobody will remember come the next season.