Bracket Sniping, Sub flips? what does that mean?

bob554

Hi all, sorry for posting a n00b question but I just need to know. I have looked through the FAQS but can't seem to find a straight answer.

What does bracket sniping mean? and what does sub flip (in the context of PVE) mean?
Does bracket sniping apply to PVP as well as PVE?

Thanks in advance,

Quebbster

A PvE bracket has room for 1000 players. Once it is full a new bracket is started. This is the "flip". The less players are in the bracket when you enter, the more of an edge you have since you'll be able to rack up more Points by playing optimally and thus you'll get better placement.

Bracket sniping basically means waiting until the end of the event, enter a fresh bracket, and getting good placement rewards with very Little work.

Magic

And to add to that - to make it a viable strategy you need out of the game coordination (many players use Line to communicate with others). Using that you can get a tip that the bracket has "flipped" and if you are ready to join - you play in a fresh one with a good chance for high placement. Without the communication you need luck. Sometimes you will join a bracket in teens and sometimes in 900's. That means it's not a guaranteed strategy.

For PvE you can also refer to the Events forum (http://forums.d3go.com/categories/mpq-events-tournaments-and-missions) where players try to help out (for example: http://forums.d3go.com/discussion/64241/thick-as-thieves-2017-05-07-to-2017-05-11-bracket-size). It's not as active as it used to be but still very useful. 

Ruibarian

Sub Flips - Blocks of 1000 players compete during events. When each block fills, this is called a "flip." The "Sub" part of this comes from PvE "Sub-Events," which are the breakdown of events into their time periods in either 24-hour or 48-hour increments.

Progression Rewards - Rewards given at point intervals during the event.

Ranking Rewards - Rewards given at the end of the event based on your position relative to all other players.

Bracket Sniping - Jumping into the very last flip during an event to have an easier chance at getting higher ranking rewards by sacrificing progression rewards. Generally players that do this do so because of real life time limitations.

Hope this helps. There's a lot of jargon around the game - Don't be afraid to ask.

bob554

Thanks everyone for the advice! I tend to play for progression instead of placement, so I guess it's not for me, but thanks to everyone for the help!

MarkersMake

Progression is a good goal, Bob, so I'm assuming you are doing 4 clears of each node for full progression. But sub placement can also be an easy way to make extra HP. In SCL 8, a top 50 sub finish is worth 100HP. Placing 51st gets you zero HP.  If you join a later, less competitive bracket, you could get a top 50 finish with the same 4 clears of each node that might only get you a top 100 finish in an earlier, more competitive bracket. 

And because you stay with the same group throughout each sub in the event, this can pay off by making things easier for every single sub. That's a potential 100 extra HP per day for the same amount of play, just by joining the event a bit later on the first day. Not a bad deal. 

bob554

MarkersMake said:

Progression is a good goal, Bob, so I'm assuming you are doing 4 clears of each node for full progression. But sub placement can also be an easy way to make extra HP. In SCL 8, a top 50 sub finish is worth 100HP. Placing 51st gets you zero HP.  If you join a later, less competitive bracket, you could get a top 50 finish with the same 4 clears of each node that might only get you a top 100 finish in an earlier, more competitive bracket. 

And because you stay with the same group throughout each sub in the event, this can pay off by making things easier for every single sub. That's a potential 100 extra HP per day for the same amount of play, just by joining the event a bit later on the first day. Not a bad deal. 

Thanks! I actually play for and get T50 rewards in SCL8 in almost all events and I play pretty optimally (4 initial clears, 3 in the final 2 hours), BUT i also really want all the progression rewards, so waiting for a sub flip is pretty anathema to me.

But it's something to think about going forward especially when IRL events start to come into play. 

When it comes to joining, are you locked in once you select your SCL and slice? If bracket sniping does that mean literally wait before even looking at event rewards and choosing your slice?

MarkersMake

Oh, you can look at the rewards any time you want. But as soon as you select your SCL and slice and hit Join, then you're locked into whatever bracket is currently active for that SCL in that slice.... and that sounds ridiculously complicated, lol. 

On a 4 day event (and you obviously can for a 7 day), I believe you can skip sub 1 entirely and still make full progression as long as you are willing to do the 7 clears you said you normally do. But you just can't make up that deficit on a 3 day event.

Sometimes it's worth it for the 4* t10 placement covers -  and sometimes you're just busy IRL, and can't play. 

bob554

Update: Thanks everyone for the advice! I still don't do any out-of-game co-ordination save for a look at the forums every now and then. But I stress less about ideal starting times for PVE, mainly because a few times when I join late I get a lucky flip, and when I don't get a lucky flip I tend to play enough for T50 anyway

CT1888

Take a look in the event sub forum - there is normally a post about bracket sizes for each pve. This used to be done by comments posted as people entered brackets or saw them fill, now it's linked to a spreadsheet updated from Line communication.

https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/66786/webbed-wonder-2017-08-03-to-2017-08-06-bracket-size#latest

bob554

CT1888 said:

Take a look in the event sub forum - there is normally a post about bracket sizes for each pve. This used to be done by comments posted as people entered brackets or saw them fill, now it's linked to a spreadsheet updated from Line communication.

https://forums.d3go.com/discussion/66786/webbed-wonder-2017-08-03-to-2017-08-06-bracket-size#latest

LOL CT1888 I can see you literally two spots above me in the Walk in the Park Sub right this very moment  

That was one of my lucky (ie without checking the forums) bracket entries, but thanks for the info !

alaeth

Bracket sniping does also apply for PvP, same concept - trying to hit high placement by taking a "fresh slice"... used especially frequently on new character releases (like the Weapon Tex-Mex that just finished - top placement earns another Mockingbird cover)

bob554

alaeth said:

Bracket sniping does also apply for PvP, same concept - trying to hit high placement by taking a "fresh slice"... used especially frequently on new character releases (like the Weapon Tex-Mex that just finished - top placement earns another Mockingbird cover)

Thanks, I might try it some time for PVP! In hindsight I could have done it for this Colossus PVP...I am not enjoying it so far