Frontlines: There should not be ANY rewards for 2nd or 3rd place

[Menriq]

How so, please describe how you see this playing out?

Have you been in a CC where one side has destroyed the other, so much so that they just wait in the spawn for the match to be over? This is what is going to happen. They won't leave because of debuff, so they'll just sit in spawn and not even try. Maybe it's just you, but I have rarely seen people just give up in FL. Take today for example. We went up against a premade, and we were in 3rd place. We were too far behind, so we made it our goal to not let the premade win, and we did that. In your scenario, the non-premade teams would have more than likely not tried to work together and just waited for the match to be over since there is no incentive to even try for 2nd in your scenario since it's winner take all.

[TofuLove]

We were too far behind, so we made it our goal to not let the premade win, and we did that. In your scenario, the non-premade teams would have more than likely not tried to work together and just waited for the match to be over since there is no incentive to even try for 2nd in your scenario since it's winner take all.

I don't think coming 2nd is an achievement, sorry. I have reported people for encouraging "throw so we can get out faster" in frontline or "lets feed first place so we get out".

You'd hope if winning was higher stakes, more such teams would be formed. I know this forum and community has weird fixation on premades being to blame for everything in frontline, so I don't want to go down this pit. My opinion which i voiced before on this forum - you fight fire with fire, and you'd hope more premades would be formed to not have 1 team dominating every game. We had this on Light around mid last year - it was pretty good.

[edit]
If you want to come 2nd, you just start being 3rd, and go after 2nd team that's trying to win. BAM! You are now in 2nd.

[Exmo]

The premades on Light were agonizing for everyone not in them. It was an absolute nightmare of a time.

[TofuLove]

The premades on Light were agonizing for everyone not in them. It was an absolute nightmare of a time.

Yes yes, you made a thread about it...

[Menriq]

I don't think coming 2nd is an achievement, sorry. I have reported people for encouraging "throw so we can get out faster" in frontline or "lets feed first place so we get out".

You'd hope if winning was higher stakes, more such teams would be formed. I know this forum and community has weird fixation on premades being to blame for everything in frontline, so I don't want to go down this pit. My opinion which i voiced before on this forum - you fight fire with fire, and you'd hope more premades would be formed to not have 1 team dominating every game. We had this on Light around mid last year - it was pretty good.

[edit]
If you want to come 2nd, you just start being 3rd, and go after 2nd team that's trying to win. BAM! You are now in 2nd.

I don't think my point is coming across. If you think people aren't trying now, they aren't going to suddenly try harder if it's winner take all and the other two teams get nothing. People will either give up quicker, or they won't queue at all. If there was a ranked versus of FL, then I would be a lot more willing to have higher stakes. In the casual mode we have now? I don't think there needs to be any changes to the rewards.

[Infindox]

Seems punishing for people who queue solo for Frontlines in particular. You can be the best player in the world, but be unable to get first place in a match because you either get a poor team, or your team is decent but one of the others teams is better in every way. Having no rewards for an average of 66.6% of your tries MINIMUM is the fastest way to kill any interest in a mode for most people.
There's already rewards you can go for that only count wins.

[AmiableApkallu]

Frontlines: There should not be ANY rewards for 2nd or 3rd place

...

Over the period that I played this mode (around 2 years almost every day, chain queueing), I noticed a lot of players who come for EXP via daily roulette "throw" matches, to get it over with quicker - dying or going after 2nd/3rd place to let the 1st place win quicker. This is all just to get EXP rewards and Tomes quicker. There is almost no incentive to try to play better.

As a counterproposal, I'd nerf the guaranteed daily EXP roulette reward, and then add to it a bonus for being on the team that comes in 2nd or 1st, perhaps scaled on relative performance.

Twenty minutes for half-of-a-level for a job that you don't even have to play inside the instance is just too good to pass up. Set the guaranteed EXP closer to one of the roulettes where people often go, "Skip this one if you're trying to level; it's not a good use of your time."

No one will queue for a roulette without some guaranteed reward. But set that guarantee small enough, and provide a bonus for Performing Well(tm), and I would make a small wager that that will be enough to increase the dedication of those who continue to queue for the roulette.

[Raraka]

As a counterproposal, I'd nerf the guaranteed daily EXP roulette reward, and then add to it a bonus for being on the team that comes in 2nd or 1st, perhaps scaled on relative performance.

This would make Frontline actually a viable way to level up a class, so im all for it, great suggestion!

[TofuLove]

I'd nerf the guaranteed daily EXP roulette reward, and then add to it a bonus for being on the team that comes in 2nd or 1st, perhaps scaled on relative performance.

A good suggestion. I would only give it to 1st place however. 2nd place is too easy to farm by being annoying to 3rd place - this would result in a situation where games are being thrown for the sake of exp.

[TofuLove]

I don't think my point is coming across. If you think people aren't trying now, they aren't going to suddenly try harder if it's winner take all and the other two teams get nothing. People will either give up quicker, or they won't queue at all. If there was a ranked versus of FL, then I would be a lot more willing to have higher stakes. In the casual mode we have now? I don't think there needs to be any changes to the rewards.

I don't think they will give up quicker. I would hope it's the opposite - they would fight a bit harder as now they aren't relying on a consolation prize...
Unfortunately there is no way we are going to find out which one would turn out to be correct - this is the question of human psychology. The suggestion above of increasing 1st place prize to a degree where the difference is significant is not a bad one however.

Seems punishing for people who queue solo for Frontlines in particular.

The intention is actually the opposite - to elevate the solo experience. If currently you roll a bad team - ok that happens, you can kinda encourage them and maybe coordinate a bit. If you roll a bad enemy who only seems to have eyes on you - tough stuff, you can't do anything. If the game encouraged "sportsmanship" in this mode you might actually win more games.