Other Rift matchmaking based on power level is backfiring in upper ranks

Liam · May 15, 2019 at 12:52 PM

Brother Null said: ↑

It would be nice to turn on a Rift-style AI for practice. I need a chance to fight at this level without feeling the anxiety of perfect play.
Click to expand...

I have a lot more to say (I'll be back!) but real quick - DUEL is exactly what you're describing. You fight against the highest level of AI for 0 energy. Go find a Diamond in chat and ask them to set a specific Fighter you want to practice against!

Jaz00 · May 15, 2019 at 1:13 PM

Liam said: ↑

I have a lot more to say (I'll be back!) but real quick - DUEL is exactly what you're describing. You fight against the highest level of AI for 0 energy. Go find a Diamond in chat and ask them to set a specific Fighter you want to practice against!
Click to expand...

This requires that I turn chat on and socialize! *gulp
I imagine that once we get the Guild feature it would be easier to coordinate these things!

Liam · May 15, 2019 at 1:14 PM

Jaz00 said: ↑

This requires that I turn chat on and socialize! *gulp
I imagine that once we get the Guild feature it would be easier to coordinate these things!
Click to expand...

You can arrange the duels in the Skullgirls Discord and then ask to meet them in a channel. That's what I do sometimes.

Yujipooji · May 16, 2019 at 8:32 AM

Brother Null said: ↑

I have to agree 100% with this post.

So I have been writing a series of articles titled "Getting to Diamond", in which I describe the process of improving your team and Rift map for the final push into the very highest levels of the game. I haven't posted in a while. Really, since the upgrade to 3.2.

Why did I pause? Because I would have to post the following article: "Getting to Diamond: I Have No Idea." I am a Gold 1 now. First time since Rift began that I have ever missed the cut.

So, am I a terrible player? Well, maybe. We have to consider that possibility. We also have to consider the possibility that the structural changes to Rifts have had some unintended consequences. Here is what I have found, after four weeks of flailing around in Rifts.

1) I know that I am not the best technical fighter in the game.

I *know* this, but Rift Battles have been a source of sublime pleasure for me, even as I get my hat handed to me. You see, by knowing my limitations as a technical fighter, I could compensate by building a powerful team that would assert a dominant presence over the match. I had most every power variant at diamond, and I had a wide base of defenders at diamond to make the battle difficult.

That's no longer an advantage. I am matched with people of "similar team strength", so I no longer get to assert this power. All my planning has backfired.

2) Catalysts are of outsize importance when team strength trends towards the mean.

I can't emphasize this point enough. With team strength acting as a secret tier (fight only those players who have a team value similar to yours, and *don't ask* how that number is calculated), your defensive team is no longer your strongest advantage. The most effective component to a Rift match becomes the defensive catalysts. They are a good to great idea in a vacuum, but with this secret tier system in place they become the most accurate forecast to the outcome of the match. I ran into a player with *seven* Armor Ratings in their defensive map. It wasn't even a contest.

3) Skill is important, but there is nowhere to practice.

Rift Battles are insane. The AI manages feats of timing that frankly feel like wizardry. I would be okay with this level of trickery if it were found anywhere else in the game. It isn't. Rift Battles are at a skill level that is never seen elsewhere in the game, so the only way to learn the patterns of play is to play.

These three effects have caused me to lose my grip on the top of the pig-pile that is the diamond tier. I do not get to pair up with teams that I know I can beat, even as I see them ascend into Diamond tier themselves. (I mean no ill will, many of these people are my friends) I would *love* to match up with them, but I cannot because I have a secret tier that pushes me to fight only the very biggest teams. I have poor catalysts, even after buying three bundles. I have struggled to keep my emotions positive as I lose six out of seven matches on a weekly basis, and so I do not get in any more practice.

Rift Battles may be great for Silver and Gold, but as a former Diamond let me say this: I am not playing Rifts again until something is done.

Remove the secret tier system of "team strength". It is awful and backwards. (If you don't agree, then explain a numerical measure for team strength that factors in every component to a Rift Battle). Replace it with something a little more thoughtful, like the above proposal or even a short-hand variation that does not reduce the complexity of an interdependent team to a single numerical value.

My own idea: have the second tier system be a single calculation: (wins - losses). If you are +2, then you get paired with other +2s in the same neighborhood as your score. If you are -2, then you get paired with other -2s. This system, while not perfect, does let those with no luck find one another for a better chance at victory, and it pushes the winners into direct competition. You can still have "a bad week" but you are far less likely to have a relentless losing streak, and the eventual winner of Rifts will have earned it from fighting the best.

I love catalysts as a rule, but they need to be tuned. There are some obvious winners and losers in the catalyst game, and if you want a good list of all the bad catalysts just take a look at my inventory.

It would be nice to turn on a Rift-style AI for practice. I need a chance to fight at this level without feeling the anxiety of perfect play.

Of all these possible fixes, removal of the "team strength" tier is the most important. It has sucked all the joy from the game for me.
Click to expand...

I’m glad to see players speaking up about this.

FYI the suffering works on both ends .. i’m currently diamond 1, and i am constantly getting matched with the top players and losing 14-15 points. Then i match with another really strong player who is 100 rift points below me, and even if i do barely win, i earn 7-9 points and if i lose (very likely because they’re strong), i lose like 18-20 points. Meanwhile i see people climb to d1 or higher and have never met any of the top players (nothing against them, but this is just wrong)..

Climbing is really difficult when you have a strong base unless you are in gamma, odd or gunz’s position where they can beat practically everyone. Even then some players have it easier than them, because they get matched with each other quite often and it becomes a tossup.

Jaz00 · May 16, 2019 at 11:14 AM

Yujipooji said: ↑

I’m glad to see players speaking up about this.

FYI the suffering works on both ends .. i’m currently diamond 1, and i am constantly getting matched with the top players and losing 14-15 points. Then i match with another really strong player who is 100 rift points below me, and even if i do barely win, i earn 7-9 points and if i lose (very likely because they’re strong), i lose like 18-20 points. Meanwhile i see people climb to d1 or higher and have never met any of the top players (nothing against them, but this is just wrong)..

Climbing is really difficult when you have a strong base unless you are in gamma, odd or gunz’s position where they can beat practically everyone. Even then some players have it easier than them, because they get matched with each other quite often and it becomes a tossup.
Click to expand...

Similar situations here last week and this week. I kept getting matched with the same couple of Gold 2/D4 players with stronger base than mine. It’s a lot of efforts to beat them to earn 8 points or so. Then I’d lose a bunch of points to Megatron because he’s in high 1900s :/

Other Rift matchmaking based on power level is backfiring in upper ranks

Liam !Robot
Hidden Variable Dev

Jaz00 Active Member

Liam !Robot
Hidden Variable Dev

Yujipooji New Member

Jaz00 Active Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches

Other Rift matchmaking based on power level is backfiring in upper ranks

Liam !Robot Hidden Variable Dev

Jaz00 Active Member

Liam !Robot Hidden Variable Dev

Yujipooji New Member

Jaz00 Active Member

Share This Page

Liam !Robot
Hidden Variable Dev

Liam !Robot
Hidden Variable Dev