Point inflation in PVPs and season

woopie

drcassino wrote:

woopie wrote:

Pongie wrote:

Magic wrote:

I aim for 1k in PVP (usually slice 3) and I have yet to see a cupcake team. After 900 i don't have time to skip that much so I attach the first target I can beat with enough points. So cupcakes are a unicorn for 4* transitioning team.

They only appear for less than a minute. So unless you're in on the baking, the possibilities of seeing one in the wild is almost zero.

Not necessarily, you just need to be refreshing during the hot spots - 8 hours and 3 hours before the end of the PvP. I pulled 3 75 point cc's in the Hood PvP without checking any rooms on line. My worst luck comes when I'm aware of the baking, I always seem to pull their A team and not the cc

If you're not in one of the rooms where baking is announced, remember the names of frequent bakers, watch for them to hop in the last 24 hours (they'll generally be close to the top of the leaderboard), and once you q them, check every minute until you find the cc or they shield. You can do it this way, but it's very ISO-intensive. In general, if you're not in an affiliated chat room, just rise as high as you can, and take the ccs for the gift that they are.

And a last note, if you do get a cc, don't be a db and hit them right away. Give them a minute to shield up.

TxMoose

I average 2-4 ccs/event. you don't HAVE to be in a BC to get them but it sure makes it easier. otherwise takes lots of iso. spend enough time at the top and you know the names to look for when they unshield. cycle some at the right times. did I mention it takes iso?

SnowcaTT

simonsez wrote:

nic13 wrote:

I'm surprised no one mentioned "cupcakes" yet

simonsez wrote:

an increase in cooperative play

I guess I was too subtle

Yep....getting rid of this round-about would be a way to lower points for sure.

But I'm not sure D3 wants to do that. To have this "cooperative play" at best, you need to go out early and shield often - along with spending lots of ISO. Lots of ISO? Lots of HP? Doesn't sound like something D3 wants to shut down.

Although they often give side-talk about not wanting "out of game communication needed" - HAH! Needed more now than ever! Another way to lower points? Make all attacks blank of name and alliance (not allowing attacks on your own alliance). That won't end it but will slow it for sure...but that would take time out of their busy "Crank out next garbage character" schedule.

WelcomeDeath

Just a thought. If higher tier players are scoring more, it's more points to go around into the bracket, making progression easier in that bracket. I just switched time slices this past season and went from barely getting 1000 per pvp to breaking past 1300 every event. Those 75 pt targets you get to go from 1000 to 1300 in 5 matches are from the people scoring so high (who also use a lot of hp on shields). I'm grateful to those players as my roster has developed more this season than any other.
Also, let's not forget, before the scoring changes you couldn't queue up a 70+ pt target, or even 37 for even level (think it was 25), so naturally scores will be higher.
Edit: Also don't forget the scoring changes stopped people in alliances from "losing" to 1000 pts.

Salgy

OJSP wrote:

Season by Season Data Excel File by Salgy and the thread

thanks for the plug OJSP... i have updated that thread with season 21 stats...

if anyone wants to take a look at it, here are the Unadjusted & Adjusted season data files... (note: adjusted data makes every season a 10 event season (plus sim), the unadjusted is more accurate, the adjusted makes for prettier pictures)...

GrumpySmurf1002 wrote:

The thing that stands out so far, the gap between top 50 and top 100 was getting steeper, and now fell off a cliff.
Season 18 - 8.8k gap
Season 19 - 6.3k gap (short season, prorates to 9k)
Season 20 - 12k gap
Season 21 - At least 26k

it was actually much higher... the score difference between 50-100 was 30k...

if you go back further, it gets even tighter... it was 5k in season 15... looking at all the data, it looks like the #1-25 alliances are steadily increasing their scores (increase of 90k over last season for #1 and 23k for #25), while the #50-75 section have plateaued (roughly 6k for #50 & 350 points for #75)... i dont know the reasoning behind it, but alliance #100 was a full 11k lower in season 21 vs season 20...

i think that there has to be a number of people burning out and the pool of alliances is condensing. there has to be less transitional players filling these 50-100 alliances... i would be curious to see the next set of data points, ie the same data i have just for alliances # 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250... the problem is, i doubt all the data is available...

Salgy

Welcome Death wrote:

Also, let's not forget, before the scoring changes you couldn't queue up a 70+ pt target, or even 37 for even level (think it was 25), so naturally scores will be higher. Edit: Also don't forget the scoring changes stopped people in alliances from "losing" to 1000 pts.

this would have zero affect on this past season... if memory serves me correctly, the retreat boosting nerf and scoring changes were put in place before season 15...

amusingfoo1

woopie wrote:

Pongie wrote:

Magic wrote:

I aim for 1k in PVP (usually slice 3) and I have yet to see a cupcake team. After 900 i don't have time to skip that much so I attach the first target I can beat with enough points. So cupcakes are a unicorn for 4* transitioning team.

They only appear for less than a minute. So unless you're in on the baking, the possibilities of seeing one in the wild is almost zero.

Not necessarily, you just need to be refreshing during the hot spots - 8 hours and 3 hours before the end of the PvP. I pulled 3 75 point cc's in the Hood PvP without checking any rooms on line. My worst luck comes when I'm aware of the baking, I always seem to pull their A team and not the cc

It definitely isn't that low. I ran into five of them in the Thor event this season. I think I've only hit one outside of that event though.

dudethtsawesome

I have recently transitioned to a 3* team and still find it hard to finish with 800 without using shields. I have managed to recruit every 4* that's currently available so I'm not as hard up on hp as I once was but it is frustrating that no matter how much I play, 7500 is the best I can do .

Unknown

Salgy wrote:

but alliance #100 was a full 11k lower in season 21 vs season 20...

Oh, they're dropping now? eeeeeeeexcellent.

Unknown

I'll speak from a much lower perspective. I've never been in a 'strong' alliance. I've got the strongest roster by FAR in my alliance and I only have 3 usable 4*s (209 XFW & XFDP, 188 Fury 176 IW). My roster is pretty tapped out at 3* land - I'm a mostly casual, sometimes serious player stuck at trying to transition to 4*, but not enough free time to get there (can't get covers).

Over the past two seasons, the lower alliance rankings feel like they have TUMBLED. I know some of it is me, I've been a huge crutch for my alliance, propping them up, so me playing minimally the past couple of months sure hasn't "helped", but our rankings are T-5000 all the time now. People keep talking about how the pool of points is larger now, no its only larger if you have a roster that can take advantage of it. IF you don't have JG/IM/IMHB etc, it just isn't "accessible" as described here. In a poor bracket I can get to 1k without issue. In a fat bracket I can get to 1k with no issue, but 1300? I've gotten there a couple times, trying to get T-5 placement (HA), but its not really something I can consistently aim for as my roster will take too large a hit trying to get through the teams on that end of the spectrum - its not that I won't beat them, but trying to get around any team with JG is like dealing with Cage or Loki in a match, it just drags out - and by the time you're done.

OH THERE GOES 180 POINTS LOST!

I'm only mildly sour about that experience - but as someone in an alliance that doesn't do outside communication, and with middling and sometimes poor rosters? There aren't "more" points to be had. On top of it all, from an alliance angle - as I noticed when I was planning on leaving my alliance (decided to stay due to burn out, didn't want to have to meet expectations) - a lot of the top 100 alliances have 3-4 *other* alliances and are growing "more" so it isn't that there is (1) X-Men, but there are like (5) now, all getting high scores, pushing that alliance creep further out.

To sum it up cause that was kind of long winded
-Top scores are inflating more than bottom scores
-Top alliances are multiplying, creating more top alliances
-Talent is pooling, the strong are getting stronger while the middling and weak get weaker
-Oh and the hunt for LEgednaries have inspired more people to chase higher scores
- Unreall

Pongie

woopie wrote:

My worst luck comes when I'm aware of the baking, I always seem to pull their A team and not the cc

It's the same for me. I'm just happy enough to find 70+ targets. Any cupcakes I treat it as a bonus.

Note that you have to be a certain point to see them as well. I was told 850 many times but I always have a hard time finding them when I'm below 950. For some reason, their A team comes up after skipping 50-100 times (possibly when they finish their last battle with their A team. While they are in this battle is the only time you can queue their cupcake team.). I assuming the MMR is taking into consideration, your roster, their roster and your points as well as their points. Nobody knows exactly.

WelcomeDeath

Salgy wrote:

Welcome Death wrote:

Also, let's not forget, before the scoring changes you couldn't queue up a 70+ pt target, or even 37 for even level (think it was 25), so naturally scores will be higher. Edit: Also don't forget the scoring changes stopped people in alliances from "losing" to 1000 pts.

this would have zero affect on this past season... if memory serves me correctly, the retreat boosting nerf and scoring changes were put in place before season 15...

I agree, definitely no affect on past season, just a comment on point inflation.over the time period described in OP.

GrumpySmurf1002

Salgy wrote:

Welcome Death wrote:

Also, let's not forget, before the scoring changes you couldn't queue up a 70+ pt target, or even 37 for even level (think it was 25), so naturally scores will be higher. Edit: Also don't forget the scoring changes stopped people in alliances from "losing" to 1000 pts.

this would have zero affect on this past season... if memory serves me correctly, the retreat boosting nerf and scoring changes were put in place before season 15...

It was before 16, that's why the consistent drop shoots back up. Then for 17 they added the 1300 reward and things have skyrocketed since.

mpqr7

woopie wrote:

And a last note, if you do get a cc, don't be a db and hit them right away. Give them a minute to shield up.

This is so important. Wait before eating that cc! Don't make the baker bitter by hitting them unshielded when they're doing you a favor.

For me personally, I don't always hit the cc teams, but it's good to know when people are shielded, so I can hit them without causing problems. Sometimes someone makes a CC, but I see their A team and just go for it anyway, once they've shielded. Now that I have a 5*, most 4* teams are not so bad, even the jg/hb ones.

XandorXerxes

Salgy wrote:

i think that there has to be a number of people burning out and the pool of alliances is condensing. there has to be less transitional players filling these 50-100 alliances... i would be curious to see the next set of data points, ie the same data i have just for alliances # 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250... the problem is, i doubt all the data is available...

It probably also depends on the progress of the players. This season was much harder for me than the previous seasons for no real apparent reason. Usually I'd get to 500 or so before the 4* teams / max-boosted 3* teams came out, now it's right out of the gate after the seed teams.

Not sure if there was a change in their algorithm or what, but it seems some other people on the forums have similar experiences which means there is probably a chunk of people not on the forums having the same issue. It definitely killed my momentum and desire to play, so I wouldn't be surprised if the burnout is higher for other 4* transitioners too.