What is the punishment of derankers? | Forums

[ScottOld]

started the event at 7012... finished event at 7349.... everyone else is using it, its the same boat, there was a SH event last month where I got some practice in, so knew more or less how towork it, was surprised also at things like toolshed dealing with GWC lol

[Hanmann]

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So I can't get into the full details of how we're looking at this issue but I can say that so far the punishments we've given for deranking (or sandbagging) is essentially this:

1st offense- Written warning (Play the game correctly or you'll get a ban)
2nd offense- Temp Ban and written warning for further punishment (1 weekend usually)
3rd offense- Temp Ban and written warning for further punishment (1 week)
4th offense- Banned permanently

I think it is really unfair to punish people for deranking or "not playing the game correctly". What does that even mean? Derankers don't cheat, they just use the game mechanics as they were designed. Maybe we can have players vote on wether we think having a deck with 2 dougies is "playig the game correctly"? And then punish people who break that rule.

Also what can be considered deranking is not always that clear. My minimum ELO is about 6650. For this event I have made an 8 point deck consisting of all the event super hero cards and a Canadian Knight Ike. My Super Hero epics are max lvl 3. I don't stand a chance of winning when my opponent uses a normal deck. So I start a match, play normally for half a minute and when I notice my opponent has a normal deck or one with much fewer super hero cards, I just let him win. So currently I'm constantly close to or at my minimum ELO. Is that deranking? I supose so, but can anyone really blame me? A bunch of people in my team refuse to use this method because they are scared of dropping out of legendary and not getting back in, but they have also said they won't be playing this event. Playing the game "correctly" I would have to make a 1 or 2 point event deck and grind 100 or 50 victories. 100 victories takes at least 8 hours of playing (losses included)!!! No way I'm going to spend 8 hours of my weekend grinding out this event.

If you want to stop deranking, change the way players are rewarded! Make it less about winning matches and more about just playing and the rank you reach.

[ScottOld]

and yet I started the event at 7012 and reached 7300s with my superheros...

so you see it as OK that people going around calling themselves "gatekeepers" and blocking people getting into 7k? for example? or the one guy posted in my line group who has a 24 NK multiple level 4 legends level 5 epics and 6 rares.... at 6496, who I have seen myself recently also.

[Hanmann]

and yet I started the event at 7012 and reached 7300s with my superheros...

so you see it as OK that people going around calling themselves "gatekeepers" and blocking people getting into 7k? for example? or the one guy posted in my line group who has a 24 NK multiple level 4 legends level 5 epics and 6 rares.... at 6496, who I have seen myself recently also.

The idea that derankers act as gatekeepers is total nonsense.

1. You can find derankers at any level of ELO not just 7000. And they give as much as they take. In fact, they give actually more ELO then they take because if they hit their minimum ELO, they pump new ELO into the system.
2. The previous ladder system gave players a season reward based on their final position. I remember that back then players were complaining that they were being pushed down at the end of the season because players who had been deranking all season were moving up the ranks. So that means that people were able to reach a higher position during the season thanks to others deranking, not the other way around. With the current reward system, that is a big benefit for these players.

So the only logical conclusion is that derankers actually allow others to get better season rewards then they otherwise would have had. That's probably the reason why RL is only just now starting to punish people for it, because it actually allows more people to get better rewards.

[ScottOld]

erm, the player name hinted as much they were gatekeeping, as it was in their name.

[camelchasers]

erm, the player name hinted as much they were gatekeeping, as it was in their name.

I know the player you're referencing Scott, his name is 7000gatekeeper. He does it as a joke near season end, but he's actually not deranking at all. Just playing his matches as normal and that's where he "belongs" on the ladder. He just likes to get a rise out of people, and apparently it's working

[Dweebso]

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So I can't get into the full details of how we're looking at this issue but I can say that so far the punishments we've given for deranking (or sandbagging) is essentially this:

1st offense- Written warning (Play the game correctly or you'll get a ban)
2nd offense- Temp Ban and written warning for further punishment (1 weekend usually)
3rd offense- Temp Ban and written warning for further punishment (1 week)
4th offense- Banned permanently

Hi Buck,

Thanks, this is the answer I was looking for. That something is done. Looking at the replies of players like Dawnclaude in this thread.... It might need some finetuning. But posting that here is a bad idea indeed. Then they will play (abuse) the system with the parameters you give.

[Dweebso]

Also what can be considered deranking is not always that clear. My minimum ELO is about 6650. For this event I have made an 8 point deck consisting of all the event super hero cards and a Canadian Knight Ike. My Super Hero epics are max lvl 3. I don't stand a chance of winning when my opponent uses a normal deck. So I start a match, play normally for half a minute and when I notice my opponent has a normal deck or one with much fewer super hero cards, I just let him win. So currently I'm constantly close to or at my minimum ELO. Is that deranking? I supose so, but can anyone really blame me? A bunch of people in my team refuse to use this method because they are scared of dropping out of legendary and not getting back in, but they have also said they won't be playing this event. Playing the game "correctly" I would have to make a 1 or 2 point event deck and grind 100 or 50 victories. 100 victories takes at least 8 hours of playing (losses included)!!! No way I'm going to spend 8 hours of my weekend grinding out this event.

Maybe try with 5 point deck and it will be easier?

Yes you can lose some ELO if you have some power lvl cards in your deck. And you can have a discussion if it is good sportsmanship if you quit the game without a fight (personally think 30 seconds is really quick, what you seen then... 2 opponent units?... maybe you have the anti deck and could have had an easy win instead?).

And with 5 points, you are done with 20 wins... so with your calculations just under 100 minutes.

But I encounter about every 7th game a player not playing at all. And that can’t be only relatief to connection losses... Seeing that same player steamrolling me (with a lower ELO) once he decides to play again.

[Cural42]

Maybe try with 5 point deck and it will be easier?

I went the opposite way Hanmann did, using a 3 point deck without any superhero cards. 4 wins in, probably 8 - 10 matches total, I was up to 12 points, 88 more to go, I did some quick math, and realized even if I won 50% of my matches, I would need to fight 60 more matches just to finish! I immediately went to the deck editor and built me a 6 point superhero deck, and probably won slightly more than 50% of my matches, so fewer than 30 more matches in total.

Yes you can lose some ELO if you have some power lvl cards in your deck.

I dropped from 6500s to around 6200s before I started getting consistent wins with my superhero deck, and never dropped from legendary the whole time through to completion. While trying to earn extra points for the team, I dropped to just above 6000, so decided it was time to switch back to my main deck and build my SR back up. The very first match after switching, I get steamrolled 0-3 by a silver player who should have been a good 200 - 300 above me, so I got my tier 5 season end pack stolen from me by this deranker! Luckily, I've worked my way back to tier 5, so all is good, now.

And you can have a discussion if it is good sportsmanship if you quit the game without a fight (personally think 30 seconds is really quick, what you seen then... 2 opponent units?... maybe you have the anti deck and could have had an easy win instead?).

Back in my earlier days of playing the game, I admit I resorted to this tactic, and would derank. This was in the old ladder system, and I was deranking because I was afraid the next tier was too powerful for me. Then I started frequenting the forums, and read many posts both for and against deranking, and decided to stop. As I got closer to 50, I still had to derank at times just to be able to get wins, as I just didn't have a strong enough deck to get into legendary, though I kept trying for it. Also, once I got in, I often couldn't win anything until I deranked to around 14000 or so. But at this stage, the deranking was more thrust upon me than voluntary.

When I stopped deliberate deranking, I also stopped quitting matches by closing the app. I actually only ever did that in the first place if faced with an opponent who was also deranking. Now, I don't tank a single match. Every match I start, I am in it to win it, and I don't stop trying until the 3rd phone is busted or the timer runs out, no matter how badly I get steamrolled. I admit to being naive and stupid in my early days playing the game, and now I am more cognizant of how things work, so I refuse to give less than 100% in each match. I wish I'd done so from the beginning.

[Feco.-]

This has got very bad with this event. RL, you are not only allowing this bad kinda forcing many to derank and climb back to finish cumbersome token events with mediocre packs...
You do need to fix this as this started to totally demolish the gaming experience and the fun many still seek when playing this game with SP IP. I agree with many who said that this game without SP IP would have most likely died already bc of the many weak things everybody keeps mentioning on all the forums.