a change in pve slice1 scoring

jredd

when i started playing pve i chose to play in slice 4 which ended at 9 PM my time. as i started to get more competitive i was doing 7 clears right around 9, which my wife really loved... i even almost quit once, but i found that by switching slices to slice 1 i could do most of my clears through the day and keep mpq to a minimum at night. not playing optimally landed me in the top 100, usually in the 75-90 range and that was ok. 

then came the end of tapping and my same efforts in slice 1 now landed me consistently in the top 50 (30-40). which was great cause for the same effort i was getting an extra 4* cover most events. 

something has changed over the past 7-8 events. now my efforts are placing me outside of the top 50 again (aside from the PX 5* essential event). i'm not sure if there is some form of tapping going on again or if (probably the most logical explanation) some folk have realized there are covers to be had and are playing in s1 now. if the latter is the case than so be it. i can't change the way i play. but if something a little more fishy is going on hopefully it can be detected and fixed.

has anyone else noticed a change? 

bluewolf

I might ask if you are bothering to wait for flips at all (not starting play right as the event opens).  If you are joining right away, you could wait a bit later in the day and catch the second flip (usually does so around 9-10 AM EDT for Slice 1 - AKA 2-3 hours after start) or the 3rd, which probably/usually flips very late in the first day.

Doing that will push you out of the group that cares most about placement (top alliance players) and you'll probably be able to do better with relaxed play.

There isn't any mechanism for tapping anymore, or any way to "cheat" or game the system in PVE.  People could be moving around a little.  Schedules change, summer is a different time etc and obviously all it takes is a couple dozen players to move you down from T50 if you are playing really non-optimally.

Borstock

Like bluewolf said, if you're playing non-optimally, you want nothing to do with the first set of players. Try to find a more reliable entry around a flip time, and 2-3 hours after the PvE opens is usually a good time to catch one. That's how I play in slice 3, anyway, and I can usually cruise control to t50.

PiMacleod

Just reading the OP, i identified with this.  I normally dont care about placement, so i never researched it.  I just do full progression.

But i notice trends all the same.  Hes right.  And ive read these posts, but never seen it in this light.  It makes sense.

...just another part of this match 3 game that a player wont understand without researching it online.

JSP869

For the most part I do play optimally. Typically immediately after a Flip (I have sources) I do my 4 clears as quickly as I can (~30 minutes), then at the end of the Sub do my 3-clears + loaner node, then 4-clear the next sub's nodes, and so on.

But lately the competition has started to get a little tougher.

I used to easily be able to make T10, now I'm sometimes in danger of getting pushed out of T20, and there's unfamiliar names vying for the T10 spots. The top guys are still the same, but the chaff from 6 downwards often include unfamiliar names. Yes, I'm serious. When you've been T10 for as long as I have and not just in the same slice but often the same bracket, you become very familiar with the names of your biggest competitors.

I don't believe this is people cheating. I think it's just more players improving their rosters and taking their game to the next level.

Just like when I (& others) joined the ranks of the 5-star players last year.

beyonderbub

Those who know the correct order to clear nodes at the subevent start and how to grind nodes to zero at subevent end will always have an advantage over those who don't. just watch who is at the top of your leaderboard after every subevent end or event end and you'll see what I mean. The same people are consistently beating out stronger rosters who clear nodes faster. PVE slice 1 has always been uber competitive. Also everyone is keen to catching flips/later brackets for easier paths to placement so all you need is a couple optimal players running late and they'll be in your brackets securing top 5.

I can't say I've noticed a change like a mass migration from other slices to s1 pve. Too focused on continually losing placement in s4

Bowgentle

S1 is a beach vacation compared to 2.9.
Try that sometime.

beyonderbub

Bowgentle said:

S1 is a beach vacation compared to 2.9.
Try that sometime.

I would try if I wasn't at work. But I still be on the outside looking in when it comes to placement. I trust your opinion above.

ursopro

is the power of the new engine

HoundofShadow

Could it be they've gotten some pretty good support that enable them to clear PvE faster? I believe many players stored a lot of Support tokens and recently, Support store was updated. Could it be a possibility?

jp1

Reading this thread it becomes crystal clear to me why I will never make placement under the current conditions. 

More power to you fellas, but the moment the game starts to even remotely dictate the time of day I must pick it up and play is the day I retire. 

Line, Discord, Flips, Sources, etc...

”Get off my lawn” 

Maybe I’m just too stubborn for match three games in the current climate. Thanks for making me feel old.

shardwick

ursopro said:

is the power of the new engine

And possibly Juggernaut. In pvp I've been getting hit by players with 500+ level 5s using their newly champed Juggs so I wouldn't be surprised if he's helping to speed up pve.

The rockett

I am always in 1.9.1 and start right from the start, unless I get drunk the night before and enter 1.9.2 when I wake up.   I am 99.9% of the time in the top 5 so I am not sure of any difference in scoring. 

What I can tell you is that 1.9.1 95% of the time flips to 1.9.2 before the start of the event.  1.9.2 flips around 8:30-9am EST for 1.9.3.  1.9.4 opens up between 2-5PM EST.  1.9.5 could event open before the sub ends.  

A lot of this also depends on what event, we have SIM coming up and that is one of the slowest flipping events since it is harder.  

What you also have to take into consideration is what are the Essentials and more specifically the 5E.  If it one that is a classic, normally this is an event that has higher participation then if they are in latest.  Just some information for you. 

shap328

I've definitely noticed something different lately. I do the 2am EST time, and I went from usually T100 (I do all 6 of my clears in about an hour at like 10pm) and went from T100, or sometimes T50 to T200 always. 

I tried the 11pm once, going for optimal, didn't like the pressure of needing to play at a specific time.

Sounds like I need to join as I start sub 1, like 9-10pm that night, instead of signing up beforehand and just starting the clears whenever.

beyonderbub

shap328 said:

(I do all 6 of my clears in about an hour at like 10pm) 

This, right here, is the main reason why you are in t200. any one with time to break it up and do 4x at start and wait until points build up and then do 2x-3x will score higher than you. 

shap328

beyonderbub said:

shap328 said:

(I do all 6 of my clears in about an hour at like 10pm) 

This, right here, is the main reason why you are in t200. any one with time to break it up and do 4x at start and wait until points build up and then do 2x-3x will score higher than you. 

I know that's mostly my problem, unfortunately it's not something I can readily change right now. I wish it told me what my actual placement was in the subs so I know how far out I am.

Based on some of the comments above, sounds like I might have better luck, given how I play, joining late and hoping. For 48 hour subs, I do the 4+3 thing and that leads to consistent T50, so there's that at least.

Daredevil217

I know for me, I’ve probably played in 4 of the 5 slices throughout the duration of the summer and have dabbled in both 8 and 9. So I’m sure I’ve been a new name atop the leaderboard in many brackets. As work starts up though my options will be much more restricted unfortunately. But it could be summer shifting people’s schedules as was mentioned earlier. 

JSP869

For 48-hour subs you want to do 4 + 1 + 3.
You do 4 clears at the start of the sub (but only 2 for wave nodes, if any), 1 clear at 24 hours, or when each node's points have fully regenerated, then 3 clears of each node (including any waves, and the loaner) at the end of the sub.

Almost everyone in T50 is clearing this way on 48-hour subs, and 4+3 clears on 24-hour subs, and while some may not be quite as fastidious about clearing right on time, they're still clearing fairly optimally and so they're typically still holding onto a T50 spot.

beyonderbub

shap328 said:

beyonderbub said:

shap328 said:

(I do all 6 of my clears in about an hour at like 10pm) 

This, right here, is the main reason why you are in t200. any one with time to break it up and do 4x at start and wait until points build up and then do 2x-3x will score higher than you. 

I know that's mostly my problem, unfortunately it's not something I can readily change right now. I wish it told me what my actual placement was in the subs so I know how far out I am.

Based on some of the comments above, sounds like I might have better luck, given how I play, joining late and hoping. For 48 hour subs, I do the 4+3 thing and that leads to consistent T50, so there's that at least.

Totally cool with doing what works for your schedule. sometimes we just play when we want or when we can. Just passing along why folks "mysteriously" spring ahead in overall score. I hope you find that happy medium that affords you better placement

abmoraz

shap328 said:

beyonderbub said:

shap328 said:

(I do all 6 of my clears in about an hour at like 10pm) 

This, right here, is the main reason why you are in t200. any one with time to break it up and do 4x at start and wait until points build up and then do 2x-3x will score higher than you. 

I know that's mostly my problem, unfortunately it's not something I can readily change right now. I wish it told me what my actual placement was in the subs so I know how far out I am.

Based on some of the comments above, sounds like I might have better luck, given how I play, joining late and hoping. For 48 hour subs, I do the 4+3 thing and that leads to consistent T50, so there's that at least.

Beyond that, the playerbase is shrinking.  The people who are quitting, for the most part, aren't the ones that were scoring better than you.  Doing the same "less than optimal strategy" is going to find you placing lower and lower.

shap328

So I think I found something that might work for me, mostly bc 4* Juggs is beastly and made my clear times in Webbed Wonder shrink. I did my first 4 clears when I woke up on the weekend around 9 and did my first 4 clears, and did my final 3 clears around 11. 

First 4 clears with Grocket/Gamora/Juggs took me like 45 mins. Final 3 clears took about an hour and a half in SCL8.

Finished T50 across the board and got my 4* Torch.