**Mastery Loadouts**
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
Due to issues related to the release of Mastery Loadouts, the "free swap" period will be extended.
The new end date will be May 1st.
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I am a veteran, endgame player. I’ve put more hours into this game than I’d care to ever think about, and I’d like to think I’m pretty decent at it. I crafted the best deck that I could for the content using exclusively my 6* r3 and r4 champions. I made it through the entirety of the Victory Track with only three matches lost.
This is not meant to be a brag, as I’m sure there are many players who cleared VT long before I did with the same number or even fewer losses, and they also did so without sandbagging because they are skilled, knowledgeable players.
I don’t fault anybody for trying to push higher in the VT as clearing each threshold gives a substantial reward, but I do fault them for using a tactic that prevents other players from being appropriately matched and being able to enjoy the game. I’ve seen players argue that it doesn’t matter if a sandbagging Paragon matches with and bullies an Uncollected or Cavalier because they’re all going for the same rewards and they’re fair game. This is not correct.
It *feels* correct because both players are getting the same number of tokens for clearing the tier. But the Paragon player can buy far more valuable material with their tokens than the Uncollected or Cavalier player can. They are different economies, and therefore should not be competing with each other.
As for the question of the Solo event, that has less to do with winning matches than it does the use of Elder’s Marks. Nothing is stopping some Uncollected player from whaling out and playing countless matches using Elder’s Marks and taking the top spot in the solo event. They don’t even have to win a single one. You get more points for a win than a loss, sure, but if you play and lose 101, you’re gonna place higher than a player who played and won 50. The solo event is a competition of who can sink the most time and resources into the mode, not a measure of anybody’s skill.
After the draft you each end up with two top tier defenders with no great counters.
You select first and pick your best defender and so does he. You end up squeaking out a win in Rd1.
In Rd2 he puts his other top defender first. You know that if you hold onto your 2nd best defender for Rd 3 and throw Rd 2 you can win so you put a random defender down. You lose Rd 2.
You put your top remaining defender down for Rd 3 and win easily giving you a 2-1 match victory.
Now my questions to the "sandbagging is wrong" group:
Is purposely placing a lower defender to lose a round to increase your chance of winning the match cheating or just good strategy? And if your answer is "good strategy" please explain how that form of sandbagging is ok but putting some 1* champs in your deck is cheating.
What you are describing is two evenly matched players who both brought their best to the table, tried their hardest, made strategic choices, and one player won. All strategy was done within the match itself. You matched up with an equal strength opponent and outplayed them. That’s what’s supposed to happen.
Sandbagging takes the even match out of the equation. You aren’t strategizing against your opponent, you’re strategizing against the game mode itself in order to get weaker opponents. You are then bullying them and keeping them arbitrarily low because they can’t get matches with people of their own tier, and you are climbing artificially high because you’re using a bunch of ranked up 6* champs to punt some 4* and 5* champions.
The key difference is that in the first match, you are paired up with somebody on your level. They have access to all the same tools and information you do. It is a fundamentally fair matchup. In the sandbag match, you are manipulating the process to be paired up with somebody weaker than you. They do not have the same tools and likely have far less game experience than you do. It is fundamentally unfair.
Sandbagging sad we have already discussed is lowering the rating of your deck by putting in 15 of your strong champs and then putting in a pinch of 2 stars in as well so that you fight weaker opponents in order to climb the ranks. I’m not sure why you keep trying to twist the definition of sandbagging.
- All Champs in your deck are not selected equally
- All Champs have an equal effect on your deck rating or deck prestige (1/30th).
Imagine a Baseball Team with 9 MLB Players and 16 Little Kids vs a team with 25 high school kids. The average age of each team may be the same but we all know that these teams aren't equal because those 16 little kids (1/2 Star Champs) likely won't actually play (get drafted). The best players (champions) are far more important than the rest.
We're not saying you can't sandbag. We're just saying the quality of your opponent should not be weaker because of it. You should just continue to fight stronger opponents until you have a roughly 50% win rate.
I’m sure you already know this and are just trying to twist it, but sandbagging is a term that specifically refers to methods used to artificially lower how the game reads your account’s strength. It has nothing to do with in-match behavior in a match that you are trying to win.
Either way, there’s nothing further to be gained from this conversation.
Sandbagging specifically refers to loading your deck with low tier champs to manipulate the matchmaking into giving you a lower tiered opponent. It doesn’t involve any actual strategy as you’re basically just tricking the software into giving you a weaker opponent that doesn’t stand a chance against the champs at the top of your deck. While I understand that there will be the occasional match where a lower tier player will randomly match with a higher tier player, sandbagging takes advantage of the matchmaking system to force these fights. Why should sandbaggers be rewarded for punching down on lower tier players to rise through the ranks, when other players are willing to fight evenly matched players (or even higher tier players) to advance?
Half of the Paragons can’t make it to GC because they face only other Paragons.
My main account of 3.5mil rating struggles to go above Vibranium, while my mini account was in Gladiator Circuit from week 1.
Same person, same skills, similar champs just in lower rarities.
My main is punished in VT for being developed.
And punishing progression, in a game where it should be rewarded in order for business to work, seems like a suicide business tactics.
That’s says a lot of how flawed is current matchmaking in VT and gives literally easy rewards to lower accounts.
Head start based on prestige and full random matchmaking (within same tier of course) it’s an easy solution, good for all players.
People wouldn’t benefit from lowering decks and sandbagging would be eliminated.
Current matchmaking is AW prestige matchmaking all over again 😠