Custom CC Games are way better than Ranked

[Bonoki]

I'm not sure why OP is getting such hate. While I personally don't care for custom matches, I think the effort by OP is positive.

I don’t know the OP or have experience with their community, but I want to offer some perspective on why promoting a community might face resistance. This isn’t about OP or their specific group—it’s a broader issue that some people have with communities.

There’s a perception among some players that communities can sometimes feel more like businesses disguised as social spaces. Instead of existing purely for the community, some groups have been known to use their platforms to promote themselves, often to grow into something bigger, like a Twitch brand or even a professional-level organization. Custom matches and events can sometimes feel like stepping stones for self-promotion, and while that’s not inherently bad, it can leave a sour taste for those who’ve seen it happen before.

The concern grows when these groups expand to the point where they influence how the game is played on a larger scale. For instance, if someone joins a community but doesn’t feel like they fit in, the group’s continued growth can still make it the dominant voice for a specific part of the game. Eventually, that influence might extend to solo play expectations, too—similar to how PF stratigies from certain Discords have become the unspoken expectation when playing in Party Finder.

For some, this kind of dominance feels stifling. They worry that as these groups grow, they’ll dictate the norms, strategies, or even culture of areas of the game that they’re most passionate about. It’s not about animosity towards the group or its members—it’s about a fear of losing autonomy in a space they deeply care about.

Again, this isn’t to say OP’s community is heading in this direction, but it’s worth understanding why some might approach these efforts with caution or skepticism. It’s rooted in experiences and concerns that are very real for many players.

[Soxforrow]

There’s a perception among some players that communities can sometimes feel more like businesses disguised as social spaces. Instead of existing purely for the community, some groups have been known to use their platforms to promote themselves, often to grow into something bigger, like a Twitch brand or even a professional-level organization. Custom matches and events can sometimes feel like stepping stones for self-promotion, and while that’s not inherently bad, it can leave a sour taste for those who’ve seen it happen before.

The concern grows when these groups expand to the point where they influence how the game is played on a larger scale. For instance, if someone joins a community but doesn’t feel like they fit in, the group’s continued growth can still make it the dominant voice for a specific part of the game. Eventually, that influence might extend to solo play expectations, too—similar to how PF stratigies from certain Discords have become the unspoken expectation when playing in Party Finder.

Hi Phoebe! I'm glad you pointed this out because this is something I have been personally grappling with on my own. If you've ever watched a big Crystalline Conflict tournament on Twitch during Endwalker, I was probably either streaming, hosting, commentating, or playing in myself. During this time I put a great deal of personal investment into the game mode while trying to stay out of the limelight for fear of coming across as self-centered.

This backfired a bit. Sure, events were successful, and I got a great deal of good feedback and it was nice to be praised, but that's about where my own personal gain ends. When not hosting a tournament, I stream on Twitch for 0 viewers. I gained no followers on any social media, and people have no idea who I am. SE themselves have pointed out that they know who I am but would never invite me to anything like a Community Championship or Crystalline Conflict Regional Championship (CCRC) because I'm a nobody.

So it's hard, because I poured so much of myself into that and got burnt. With that, I realized that the most fun I have had in this game is my thousands of casual matches of Rival Wings and Frontline with my friends where we are just messing around and having fun in a low stakes setting. Introducing people to PvP and showing them how it can be fun in the same way something like Mario Party would be fun is what excites me.

Now, I don't speak on behalf of all the leadership at Revival, but I believe they would agree with me that PvP is at its best when it is inclusive and welcoming to new players and not forcing people away with things that you mentioned previously, so we will take steps to make it just like that.

Forgive me if this was a bit rambling- this is something that has been on my mind quite a lot in the past few months.