What does "meta" mean to you?

fanghoul

So as someone that's relatively new to the forum, I keep seeing the term "meta" thrown around in reference in to the game, but I can't really get a grasp on what people mean by it.

I mean, in a general sense, the game in this case would be leveling your characters using powers and matching 3, and the meta-game would be things like knowing what different PvP slices are good for, or how to snipe a slice. That doesn't seem to be how it's used on this forum though.

Some recent examples that confuse me:
(1) "re-balancing of the rewards structure to account for a full 4* meta"

(2) "Like I'm not saying he is the next top tier god, or a meta changer like Peggy"

Thanks in advance!

TxMoose

general term to describe the very top of the game. for example, the 'meta' of the 4*s for a while has been the 'big 5' of imhb, jean, ice, rulk, and cyke. some recent ones will be joining that group and older metas like hb and jean might drop off the group at some point. but the new good ones aren't covered by most, much less leveled.

the 'meta' game in pvp means hopping to scores well above the 1300 pt progression. 'meta' in pve means following the schedule of the system and maximizing scoring (to the extreme).

basically the best, whether that is characters or methods of play. others might have other thoughts but those are mine.

revskip

The meta for MPQ refers to the characters and strategies that predominate play. For instance at one time Hood and Ragnarok comprised one of the most used and most difficult to beat combinations of characters. Once they were nerfed other groupings and strategies appear. The current meta according to most folks on the forum revolves around OML and Phoenix.

jobob

I guess I look at it as "the view from 10,000 ft" that takes everything into account, not just an individual change. It includes not just a character, or roster... but everyone's roster and all characters. Comments about the "meta" try to factor in how everything in this game is interconnected... an adjustment to the amount of HP given out in SSim may affect the scores in PVP... or the addition of a new game mechanic may make a mediocre character top tier and thus everyone adjusts their rosters.

So in your examples:

(1) "re-balancing of the rewards structure to account for a full 4* meta" ...I would take that to mean that, overall, the player base has shifted towards 4* rosters as opposed to 3* or 2*. So the rewards structure that was put in place for a primarily 2* or 3* game has become outdated; it needs to be adjusted to give more 4* covers, more legendary tokens, and more ISO... rewards catered towards the 4* crowd.

(2) "Like I'm not saying he is the next top tier god, or a meta changer like Peggy" ...Again, looking at Peggy not just as a single character, but how she fits into the entire game, and how she likely changes the way that rosters are built or matches are played. She has a major effect on low-AP skill characters like Ice Man or IM40. If she becomes more prevalent, you may see PVP teams shift more to include anti-Peggy teams, or you may see players spend more on damage boosts to whittle her down with match damage quicker.



...That's my thoughts. But I'm not one of the people who talk a lot about the "meta," so take it with a grain of salt.

PeterGibbons316

jobob explained it perfectly. It's basically the strategy for how to play the game based on all factors both internal and external to the game.

Nellobee

The meta game is the game outside of the game. LINE, for instance, has a huge impact on the game...

fanghoul

Thanks all, things are starting to make a lot more sense to me now.

ClydeFrog76

revskip wrote:

The meta for MPQ refers to the characters and strategies that predominate play.

That's the accepted definition for every game.

Vhailorx

Meta-data is information about some other set of data (so alphabetical order is meta-data about an alphabet).

The meta-game (I.e., the meta) is the game about the game. So for mpq, that means the resource management, team builds, character builds, play schedules, and roster strategies that allow players to excel.

So assume you could pick 1 5* to have at champion level right now. Picking which one would be a meta-game decision (it's a decision about how to play the game mpq, So one level of abstraction above the game itself). (and hint: take OML!)

Sorry if that explanation was excessive or redundant.

Jarvind

Nellobee wrote:

The meta game is the game outside of the game. LINE, for instance, has a huge impact on the game...

Not to be that guy, but I'm gonna be that guy - "metagame" would more accurately mean the game within the game, or the exact opposite of this.

Personally I hate the term because using a prefix as though it stood on its own as a word is absurd. However, I believe it probably originated from the idea that within any game with a roster-building sort of mechanic, there are going to be a few units or characters or whatever that stand out. Those at the top of the heap will invariably just be slugging it out with those units, because the advantage they provide outweighs any potential benefit from using any of the others.

Once you get said units (In this case basically any decently covered 5* other than Cap or Surfer), you're essentially playing a different game from those who don't have them - the "game within the game."

fanghoul

aesthetocyst wrote:

Nellobee wrote:

"Meta" is used a bit weirdly in roster games, but (to me at least) it means the prevailing top strategy/strategies that are somewhat widely available. So, not the bleeding edge, as recently released characters are not widely held enough to define the "meta", but definitely what the top players are playing with.

This makes me wonder if the term hopped over from the tabletop RPG world, because there, one aspect of meta-gaming (which is kinda looked down on) is building your character to be as powerful as possible, without regard to RP in RPG. The jump would make sense, in that playing in a meta way is similar for both a tabletop and roster system, even if calling it meta doesn't make much sense in for a roster system, because trying to maximize your character's performance is entirely what a game like this is about.

El Satanno

Vhailorx wrote:

Meta-data is information about some other set of data (so alphabetical order is meta-data about an alphabet).

The meta-game (I.e., the meta) is the game about the game. So for mpq, that means the resource management, team builds, character builds, play schedules, and roster strategies that allow players to excel.

So assume you could pick 1 5* to have at champion level right now. Picking which one would be a meta-game decision (it's a decision about how to play the game mpq, So one level of abstraction above the game itself). (and hint: take OML!)

Sorry if that explanation was excessive or redundant.

Nailed it, right there. For further inquiry, try this wiki article. Mind you, the contemporary use of the prefix as a term in and of itself is more than a bit of a bastardization and therefore subject to greater interpretation.

jobob

Jarvind wrote:

Nellobee wrote:

The meta game is the game outside of the game. LINE, for instance, has a huge impact on the game...

Not to be that guy, but I'm gonna be that guy - "metagame" would more accurately mean the game within the game, or the exact opposite of this.

If you are going back to the oldest roots of the word, maybe. But more commonly "meta" means above or beyond. I think this is the way it is being used here... and so it more accurately means the game beyond the game, and one could certainly argue LINE is a part of that.


I guess boiling down my original post, I would define "metagame" as everything beyond the basic gameplay mechanics that still affect the outcome.

So everything from resource allocation, to roster builds, time slice selection, strength of other players' rosters, alliance membership, when to enter an event, LINE, buy clubs... all of that can fall into the realm of "meta."

thanos8587

old meta logan

amusingfoo1

After. (character min padding)

JVReal

mpqr7

The meta matters much more in pvp than pve. The meta team in pvp must be one that wins matches quickly AND is great on defense. Or mostly important that it's good on defense, because most good defense matches will be good offense as well.

But most good offense matches are terrible on defense. There are certain amazing offense players such as 3*DP (insta-kill!!) and GSBW ( leads to !!) that are terrible on defense. On defense, 3*DP won't do the instakill whales, plus he'll suicidally jump in front of every massive attack. And robot GSBW has no idea how to pull off successfully.. she'll just change a bunch of random tiles to green, instead of focusing on creating numerous match-5s and match-4s.

Plus these days, any 3* can be crushed by a 5* or boosted 4*. So 3*s are considered cupcakes, even tough ones like 3*cyc.

In PVE, the meta is less important, because you just use teams that don't die and switch out characters as necessary, when their health gets too low, and that's how you save on health packs. The main meta of PVE is Winfinite, simply because it wins matches quickly and easily in most cases. But really OML + two others will be fine.