Time for the skip tax to go the way of the dodo.

zonatahunt

Why the skip tax still exists is bewildering to me. It's the Frankenstein's monster of times long gone by. It was originally implemented as a deterrence against cherry-picking much weaker opponents. However, with the many tweaks they've made to their match-making algorithms, its persistence in PvP is completely unnecessary. The three main reasons the skip tax needs to be eliminated from the game are:

1. The functionality of the skip function has always been, and is still, utterly broken. As players we are charged 10 ISO to skip opponents (both friendly and unfriendly). However, what generally occurs 99% of the time is we are only given the option of skipping over the same five opponents. It realistically can cost into the thousands of ISO to ever be presented with fresh opponents. Furthermore, the skip function is so badly engineered that with frequent regularity we will skip an opponent, only to have that same opponent be our next match option! That's not a skip, it's a broken function that is literally stealing our precious ISO from us.

2. ISO is a mythical in-game resource. The devs refuse to slow the pace of new toons. They refuse to address to their loyal customers why they are being so frugal and stingy with ISO, so with every skip the loss of ISO really stings.

3. As I initially stated, the problems that existed in-game they led to the creation of the skip tax really no longer exist. With matchmaking being so much more evenly balanced, why are we continually being punished by an outdated function. The player base simply shouldn't be punished like this.

Until the developers can truly allow us to "skip" an opponent to where we don't see them again for an extended period of time, we should no longer be penalized by the inclusion of such a poorly developed in-game feature. I think most of us are simply numb to our ISO being stolen from us, but that's not a good reason to remain quiet. We shouldn't have only five opponents to choose from. We shouldn't have to play a 3 health pack match every match because the skip button only pairs us with opponents that will throttle us relentlessly every match. I understand wanting to deter people from clubbing baby seals, but that match making environment no longer exists.

I'm pleading to the development team to please kill the skip tax function and let your player base have a little more fun with your game. Please, if you're not willing to abandon such a poorly developed feature, please explain to us why it must stay.

Please help me get the devs attention and get this topic into the green.

emaker27

alphabeta

Part of me agrees but I worry about the post removal of skip tax world - snipers will be able to sit there all day hitting skip looking to target people

simonsez

alphabeta wrote:

Part of me agrees but I worry about the post removal of skip tax world - snipers will be able to sit there all day hitting skip looking to target people

If they want to find you and hit you, the 10 ISO isn't stopping them.

apmonte

I could care less about the 10 ISO tax, but having the same five teams rotate is total ****. I broke 600 points in the latest PVP, looking to move past 650, but got stuck on rotation of five much higher level teams that I really didn't want to fight. In the meantime, I get hit for 61 points (two losses) and am still stuck with the five team rotation that I refuse to play (read lose to). I fail to see the point of the five team rotation, especially at that low of a point and position value. Want to talk about a non-value added, frustrating part of the game... this is quickly moving up my list. I've rarely experienced this on other PVP events, so I'm not sure **** is going on with the current duck event, but if it keeps up such that it's going to artificially cap how far I can progress, I'll find something better to do with my time.

xidragonxi

Hear, Hear, down with the skip tax! No taxation without representation!

(Please keep the 30 bonus, though. Every last drop counts.)

fmftint

I wouldn't mind the skip tax so much if I could actually get matched worth playing, but skipping the same 4/5 opponents, all worth less than 30 points is intolerable. Sure they are winnable, but I'm not too fond of serving up +40 retals

nic13

So that it doesn't cost for cc-users to skip for cc? How much more advantage do they need?

mpqr7

I feel that it should be free to cycle to the same 5 opponents and cost 10 ISO to actually skip to a NEW opponent.

simonsez

nic13 wrote:

So that it doesn't cost for cc-users to skip for cc? How much more advantage do they need?

Stop the cc whining, for ****'s sake. It doesn't take that many skips to find someone who calls a cc. People spend a **** lot more iso skipping past the **** matchups that the devs seem to think we want to see.

fmftint

Either get rid of skip tax or queue jail. There's no reason for both to exist

LXSandman

nic13 wrote:

So that it doesn't cost for cc-users to skip for cc? How much more advantage do they need?

You realize that there is no "advantage" to cc-users? Everyone can hit a CC ... The advantage is using line to know when a CC is available. In that case the skip tax isn't really that big a deal.

Getting rid of the tax would actually benefit people (like myself) who don't use line to communicate. I look for CC's all the time, but it costs me a lot more to find them then the average line user.

Smudge

nic13 wrote:

So that it doesn't cost for cc-users to skip for cc? How much more advantage do they need?

How much more disadvantage do the rest of us need? I'll gladly foot them an advantage if it eliminates my crippling disadvantage from not using line.

JVReal

Be careful, they may "Fix" it by removing the skip function all together. There you go, no more skip tax.

Nellobee

It is way past time for them to remove the ability to fight someone who is shielded. Just saying.

LXSandman

JVReal wrote:

Be careful, they may "Fix" it by removing the skip function all together. There you go, no more skip tax.

Ouch... now that would hurt. Can you imagine the screams?

LXSandman

Nellobee wrote:

It is way past time for them to remove the ability to fight someone who is shielded. Just saying.

What are you saying? That someone should disappear from your queue as soon as they shield? I'm not sure what that has to do with this topic. But if they did do that it would definitely have a huge effect on how the game is run.

Punisher5784

No this picture has nothing to do with this conversation

zonatahunt

Giving this a bump for the devs...seeing as how there's a new thread titled "skip jail".

The skip function truly is a massive in-game problem, are the developers ever going to man-up and address the issue with their customers? Judging by their abhorrent lack of communication regarding issues like this I think not.

JVReal

If you capped the penalty for losing a fight to a very small number like 5 points, I think people would skip less and hit the teams that are lower points without fear of the retaliation.

So many things can be fixed by doing this. Very little skip jail, because you could hit that 15-25 point team without fear of losing more than 5, still a net positive gain on the fight.

Less of a need for so many shield hops because you'd be able to float a little longer because you're losing 5 instead of 70 or 75... less need to bake cakes and people could climb using actual A or B teams (not that I'm opposed to cupcakes).

Fewer people shielding means more targets to skip through if you so wish.

Would make it tougher on bigger alliances that have truces since they may have their queues clogged with friendlies, but for the masses, I think it would be an improvement.

HaywireII

To me the penalty for losing a match is 3 health packs. That hurts a lot more than the points. The reality is that I'm either under 600 and can generate points pretty easily or over 600 points and will get hit by multiple other players unless I'm shielded.