Guild Wars 2

As a long time GW player and first time Ranked Season player I wanted to put something up here about what I have seen and think so far about this matchmaking.

1.) Helpful Forum People: Thanks to those on the forum who have been helpful. Those who haven’t trolled and tried to walk me through how this system works. I have been patient and playing my heart out, and as the season continues I am seeing myself climb (albeit slowly) up the ladder and the quality of my matches go up. The evenhanded responses helped to keep me focused on getting better and trudging through the first week of bad matchups.

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has, in my opinion, been the worst part about the matchmaking. Having someone stop at 250-300 to type out angry comments to others about how we are all ‘Bads’ and ‘Noobs’ because we didn’t take mid fast enough or let ourselves be 3 capped is demoralizing and, takes away from time we need to be working to make up the point loss. I’ve come back from plenty of times being down because we put the work in and pushed through. I know the matchmaking can’t stop this, but I think by design as we climb the ranks the new players in bronze will constantly be paired with these ‘self saboteurs’.

I would be interested in getting some sort of ‘BAD SPORTSMANSHIP’ report. . .though I don’t know if it would be abused or help at all.

3.) Blaming New People: New people aren’t the problem. . .not saying old people are, but blaming new people who had -no- input in to this matchmaking and are trying to learn their way through the ranks is only discouraging those of us who would like to make this game our PvP home. . .thus making your community smaller, Q’s longer, and experience worse. I’d say if someone is new it might be best to just answer their question instead of flaming at them for being Noob Kitten Bads.

4.) If EVERYTHING is OP, Nothing is: This week I have heard nerfs called for Elementalist, Guardian, Dragon Hunter, Necromancer, Thief, Ranger (Druid), and Engineer. . .So. . .everything but Mez and Rev. . .Pretty sure that means Mez and Rev just need a buff. Like I said, I am new to the league thing, but having been on several different games in PvP I would say the only class that seems to be badly balanced right now is Rev, and a GOOD Rev can be pretty scary.

Will probably have more thoughts later, but thought it would be nice to drop something here not blaming the devs or the game from someone at the bottom.

Bardly.2571:

As a long time GW player and first time Ranked Season player I wanted to put something up here about what I have seen and think so far about this matchmaking.

1.) Helpful Forum People: Thanks to those on the forum who have been helpful. Those who haven’t trolled and tried to walk me through how this system works. I have been patient and playing my heart out, and as the season continues I am seeing myself climb (albeit slowly) up the ladder and the quality of my matches go up. The evenhanded responses helped to keep me focused on getting better and trudging through the first week of bad matchups.

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has, in my opinion, been the worst part about the matchmaking. Having someone stop at 250-300 to type out angry comments to others about how we are all ‘Bads’ and ‘Noobs’ because we didn’t take mid fast enough or let ourselves be 3 capped is demoralizing and, takes away from time we need to be working to make up the point loss. I’ve come back from plenty of times being down because we put the work in and pushed through. I know the matchmaking can’t stop this, but I think by design as we climb the ranks the new players in bronze will constantly be paired with these ‘self saboteurs’.

I would be interested in getting some sort of ‘BAD SPORTSMANSHIP’ report. . .though I don’t know if it would be abused or help at all.

3.) Blaming New People: New people aren’t the problem. . .not saying old people are, but blaming new people who had -no- input in to this matchmaking and are trying to learn their way through the ranks is only discouraging those of us who would like to make this game our PvP home. . .thus making your community smaller, Q’s longer, and experience worse. I’d say if someone is new it might be best to just answer their question instead of flaming at them for being Noob Kitten Bads.

4.) If EVERYTHING is OP, Nothing is: This week I have heard nerfs called for Elementalist, Guardian, Dragon Hunter, Necromancer, Thief, Ranger (Druid), and Engineer. . .So. . .everything but Mez and Rev. . .Pretty sure that means Mez and Rev just need a buff. Like I said, I am new to the league thing, but having been on several different games in PvP I would say the only class that seems to be badly balanced right now is Rev, and a GOOD Rev can be pretty scary.

Will probably have more thoughts later, but thought it would be nice to drop something here not blaming the devs or the game from someone at the bottom.

2) I can understand their frustration, even in platinum it is incredibly triggering to watch some one clearly not use their map, not follow targets, and not play the game in general. Which is RAMPANT in the lower divisions. If u dont like something some one is saying, then block them. That is what the feature is there for.

3) New players are ABSOLUTELY a problem. Ranked is NOT for learning. Go to unranked and/or hotjoin to learn. Do they deserve to be verbally abused? Of course not, there’s a block feature.

4) Balance is rock paper scissor, X build counters Y build. If you AREN’T making use of the classes ur given, ur a detriment to the team. And to reiterate, LEARN in unranked/hotjoin, COMPETE in ranked.

Agreed, I will contribute more thoughts from the bottom. Disclaimer: I am not only a noob in GW2 and PvP, but a noob in gaming in general. And I am well into my adulthood. It is implicit that I am a terribad player, technically, stragically, awareness-wise… and as if that was not enough, I happen to main one of the classes that seems harder to learn in PvP (Mesmer).

Now before you scream “get out of ranked”: I have been playing unranked for 4 months now and there is only so much I can learn from these matches if I want to improve. And because I throughly enjoy the game mode, I want to improve. So this is my first ranked season.

Placement matches put me somewhere in bronze, where I am happily going up and down tiers ever since, having interesting matches that I feel are appropriate for my “skill”-level and that are largely close in points. As opposed to unranked, there are very rarely afk players and I have rarely experienced any type of rage from other players. I often had helpful teammates laying out a strategy or guiding the rest of us if we (I) were disorganized. I am pretty sure that these players climb their way out of bronze because they made an impact on teamplay and made the difference it needed to win. So as far as I can see from the bottom, this system is working. Good communication is key, toxicity on the other hand acheives the exact opposite.

Maybe I am just very lucky or bronze is not a “hell” after all. Are you NA or EU, OP? I am on EU and I am pleasantly suprised how “civilized” my matches are.

(P.S: on point 4) Sure Mes needs a buff, I would suggest a general DH trap immunity for starters :P)

It would be nice if anet allowed you to rate teammates. Not so much so you wouldn’t get the people you didn’t like, since that can be abused, but to promote good sportsmanship. Obviously there would need to be some sort of practical consequence to being a highly rated or poorly rated player in order to mean something.

2.) Frustration is normal, taking time out of the match to type and whine instead of playing makes them a bad player.

3.) New players aren’t a problem, they are -new-. If the system allows them in to ranked they are a part of the system. There is a period you have to play in unranked before you play ranked, but you can only learn so much from unranked. A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked, especially since unranked doesn’t have a restriction on how many can Q.

4.) I don’t have a problem with the classes, it’s the seasoned vets complaining about every class that do, not sure I was clear what I was getting at there.

Kuya.6495:

It would be nice if anet allowed you to rate teammates. Not so much so you wouldn’t get the people you didn’t like, since that can be abused, but to promote good sportsmanship. Obviously there would need to be some sort of practical consequence to being a highly rated or poorly rated player in order to mean something.

I agree. Several systems at least have an MVP type thing you can assign, that would really be nice in a game like this.

Exploitation is bad though, and is part of the reason I don’t just block everyone I see that I don’t like playing with. Everyone is allowed a bad week right, but its hard to tell who is going to be problematic right off, especially your first season.

Kir Sakar.3647:

Agreed, I will contribute more thoughts from the bottom. Disclaimer: I am not only a noob in GW2 and PvP, but a noob in gaming in general. And I am well into my adulthood. It is implicit that I am a terribad player, technically, stragically, awareness-wise… and as if that was not enough, I happen to main one of the classes that seems harder to learn in PvP (Mesmer).

Now before you scream “get out of ranked”: I have been playing unranked for 4 months now and there is only so much I can learn from these matches if I want to improve. And because I throughly enjoy the game mode, I want to improve. So this is my first ranked season.

Placement matches put me somewhere in bronze, where I am happily going up and down tiers ever since, having interesting matches that I feel are appropriate for my “skill”-level and that are largely close in points. As opposed to unranked, there are very rarely afk players and I have rarely experienced any type of rage from other players. I often had helpful teammates laying out a strategy or guiding the rest of us if we (I) were disorganized. I am pretty sure that these players climb their way out of bronze because they made an impact on teamplay and made the difference it needed to win. So as far as I can see from the bottom, this system is working. Good communication is key, toxicity on the other hand acheives the exact opposite.

Maybe I am just very lucky or bronze is not a “hell” after all. Are you NA or EU, OP? I am on EU and I am pleasantly suprised how “civilized” my matches are.

(P.S: on point 4) Sure Mes needs a buff, I would suggest a general DH trap immunity for starters :P)

In NA, also welcome to the game. Most of the people aren’t toxic, but the vocal minority are -particularly- vocal.

I’ve been doing team sports and squad based military drills my whole life so I find the teamwork in PvP fun and engaging…just hate getting flamed when I didn’t read the -veterans- mind when he decided to go to far instead of home.

Bardly.2571:

2.) Frustration is normal, taking time out of the match to type and whine instead of playing makes them a bad player.

3.) New players aren’t a problem, they are -new-. If the system allows them in to ranked they are a part of the system. There is a period you have to play in unranked before you play ranked, but you can only learn so much from unranked. A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked, especially since unranked doesn’t have a restriction on how many can Q.

4.) I don’t have a problem with the classes, it’s the seasoned vets complaining about every class that do, not sure I was clear what I was getting at there.

2) That doesn’t make them a bad player. They have no other means of communicating with their team. Sometimes, some one telling u what to do, isnt attacking u, they are just telling u what to do. If you aren’t going to listen to them, then u better be assuming the lead role, because ur actively stopping them and the rest of the team from playing TOGETHER. I see this a lot actually, one person makes a valid statement, another person tells them to stop typing, now there’s a conflict. Instead, try just doing what they said, if it doesn’t turn out the way u hoped, oh well, at least u made the attempt to play like a team; and u can go back to playing solo within the team.

3) The barrier of entry to ranked is so low, that a player COULD NOT learn everything they needed to by the time they went from fresh account to able to queue for ranked. It’s an issue that has had to be addressed before, and im sure, will be addressed again. “A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked,” what stratagem would those be? The limit on number queuing together has nothing to do with that.

4) Many people have issues with Paper Rock Scissor balance approaches, one that was said to NOT be the case when gw2 was released. I’m one of those players, after 16k games I’m a little tired of knowing exactly what build the enemy will be running, and respeccing to accomodate, or straight up switching to a hardcounter. That’s a very static approach to a very dynamic game.

Random comment from my own experiences: I try to wish everyone a good game in map chat prior to match starting, and one person said to me “don’t wish them luck, we aim to win”, to which I responded with “-shrug- sportsmanship” and got a blank “?” in response.

We lost that match, but still.

Vicariuz.1605:

Bardly.2571:

2.) Frustration is normal, taking time out of the match to type and whine instead of playing makes them a bad player.

3.) New players aren’t a problem, they are -new-. If the system allows them in to ranked they are a part of the system. There is a period you have to play in unranked before you play ranked, but you can only learn so much from unranked. A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked, especially since unranked doesn’t have a restriction on how many can Q.

4.) I don’t have a problem with the classes, it’s the seasoned vets complaining about every class that do, not sure I was clear what I was getting at there.

2) That doesn’t make them a bad player. They have no other means of communicating with their team. Sometimes, some one telling u what to do, isnt attacking u, they are just telling u what to do. If you aren’t going to listen to them, then u better be assuming the lead role, because ur actively stopping them and the rest of the team from playing TOGETHER. I see this a lot actually, one person makes a valid statement, another person tells them to stop typing, now there’s a conflict. Instead, try just doing what they said, if it doesn’t turn out the way u hoped, oh well, at least u made the attempt to play like a team; and u can go back to playing solo within the team.

3) The barrier of entry to ranked is so low, that a player COULD NOT learn everything they needed to by the time they went from fresh account to able to queue for ranked. It’s an issue that has had to be addressed before, and im sure, will be addressed again. “A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked,” what stratagem would those be? The limit on number queuing together has nothing to do with that.

4) Many people have issues with Paper Rock Scissor balance approaches, one that was said to NOT be the case when gw2 was released. I’m one of those players, after 16k games I’m a little tired of knowing exactly what build the enemy will be running, and respeccing to accomodate, or straight up switching to a hardcounter. That’s a very static approach to a very dynamic game.

2.) We have no other means of communicating either, but assuming you know why something is failing in the first minute or so of a match without having any idea what is going on and blaming everyone else isn’t productive. Yes, sometimes it’s productive, and that is always appreciated. I’m talking about the “WTF Stupid Kittens how u no take mid yet”. Playing like a team doesn’t mean doing just whatever the first person to get annoyed enough to type says. Teams can move around without voice and see what the others are doing by watching their map, this happens a lot. Saying something like “gg noobz” at 120-210 is pointless and not helpful and, while my opinion may be wrong, yes. . .makes them a bad teammate.

3.) The barrier for entry being low is not the new peoples fault. If you guys have brought it up and they haven’t changed it their might be a reason for it. And yes, in unranked the strategy is mostly Zergs and simple rotations. In my first few games in ranked I was already exposed to several different types of rotations people seem to be using, as well as expanded use of the NPCs and equipment in the areas. There is a reason there are different levels of ranked. I would agree that new people don’t belong in platinum or gold, or maybe even silver. . .but Bronze is a fine place for people competing their first time.

4.) If you decide to take a static approach to the game by playing what you find on metabattle and countering with what you know the counter is that is your thing. You don’t have to play the same thing everyone else is playing the same way they are playing it. If you can’t manage to make something that isn’t optimized work in a way that will surprise your foes and be affective I’m not sure what to tell you. . .make your own meta?

Rashy.4165:

Random comment from my own experiences: I try to wish everyone a good game in map chat prior to match starting, and one person said to me “don’t wish them luck, we aim to win”, to which I responded with “-shrug- sportsmanship” and got a blank “?” in response.

We lost that match, but still.

I’ve seen the same sort of thing come up. A lot of the people seem to take their PvP seriously but not grasp how to be competitive without being a jerk to the people around them. There are people like that in real sports as well, but it kinda is what it is. Even easier when people can be all anonymous and such.

And clearly you all lost the match because you wished them luck lol

Vicariouz

“A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked,” what stratagem would those be? The limit on number queuing together has nothing to do with that.

I have the same experience as Bardly. Because in unranked there is no real competition (no incentive to push for win), a lot of people just have fun there or try new builds and classes, which is perfectly fine in my opinion. But real rotations or organized play rarely happen there.

Another big problem is that because beta-maps and other maps are tested in unranked, I have played ~75% of my matches on Coloseum and Capricorn. Since knowledge of the map and the terrain are so crucial for tactics and kiting, I would never get enough practice on the “serious” maps if I stay in unranked. There is nothing you can do about it. For some reason people love the Coloseum above all and it gets picked all the time.

Bardly.2571:

2.) We have no other means of communicating either, but assuming you know why something is failing in the first minute or so of a match without having any idea what is going on and blaming everyone else isn’t productive. Yes, sometimes it’s productive, and that is always appreciated. I’m talking about the “WTF Stupid Kittens how u no take mid yet”. Playing like a team doesn’t mean doing just whatever the first person to get annoyed enough to type says. Teams can move around without voice and see what the others are doing by watching their map, this happens a lot. Saying something like “gg noobz” at 120-210 is pointless and not helpful and, while my opinion may be wrong, yes. . .makes them a bad teammate.

3.) The barrier for entry being low is not the new peoples fault. If you guys have brought it up and they haven’t changed it their might be a reason for it. And yes, in unranked the strategy is mostly Zergs and simple rotations. In my first few games in ranked I was already exposed to several different types of rotations people seem to be using, as well as expanded use of the NPCs and equipment in the areas. There is a reason there are different levels of ranked. I would agree that new people don’t belong in platinum or gold, or maybe even silver. . .but Bronze is a fine place for people competing their first time.

4.) If you decide to take a static approach to the game by playing what you find on metabattle and countering with what you know the counter is that is your thing. You don’t have to play the same thing everyone else is playing the same way they are playing it. If you can’t manage to make something that isn’t optimized work in a way that will surprise your foes and be affective I’m not sure what to tell you. . .make your own meta?

2) I agree overall, however, playing silently is objectively less effective than using communication, regardless of the outcome.

3) Ur right, it’s not their fault that anet set the bar SO LOW, but they are indeed the ones pressing the queue RANKED button. There is not 1 strategy that works in unranked that would not work in ranked, because they are the same maps, played by the same array of professions and specs, sans unrank specific maps. I also agree that bronze is a great division for first time participants, again however, they are starting at a set average rating, and in people’s placement matches, being queued with and against platinum level players and higher. Dragging down teams, when they could all be playing in the same matches, since they are all similarly skilled (new) instead. Do not forget that on your way downward through divisions, u are taking players with u.

4) If u are not playing to win, using counter builds, then ur playing casually. Can u still do well? OFC, look at the leaderboard. Zeromis was r1 with power shatter, that is NOT meta. His skill allowed him to climb the ratings, along with his team being ABLE to play with a power shatter mesmer, something distinctly different than meta mesmer. What I’m saying is, it’s boring to see a class icon and go, oh yeah its X build let me switch to Y to completely hard counter it. As far as not playing what every one else plays, there’s a reason meta builds are meta. They aren’t the be all end all, but that is a plateau that all other builds for that class need to measure up to. Sure niche builds are fun, u can even win games with them, but i promise u, if ur not running a viable -> competitive build, u will be blockaded quite early.

Kir Sakar.3647:

Vicariouz

“A lot of the strategy employed in season play isn’t what you see in unranked,” what stratagem would those be? The limit on number queuing together has nothing to do with that.

I have the same experience as Bardly. Because in unranked there is no real competition (no incentive to push for win), a lot of people just have fun there or try new builds and classes, which is perfectly fine in my opinion. But real rotations or organized play rarely happen there.

Another big problem is that because beta-maps and other maps are tested in unranked, I have played ~75% of my matches on Coloseum and Capricorn. Since knowledge of the map and the terrain are so crucial for tactics and kiting, I would never get enough practice on the “serious” maps if I stay in unranked. There is nothing you can do about it. For some reason people love the Coloseum above all and it gets picked all the time.

I can understand this, my issue is, ur not going to be seeing “high lvl strategies and rotations” pulled off in anything but legend division, because they simply are not “high lvl” to begin with. The maps with achievements are limited time, thats why they are chosen the most, but yes I can appreciate the point u make regarding unranked map selection.

There is a very real difference between a rotation by helseth and one by X random gold division mesmer (or below).

Bardly.2571:

As a long time GW player and first time Ranked Season player I wanted to put something up here about what I have seen and think so far about this matchmaking.

…

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has, in my opinion, been the worst part about the matchmaking. Having someone stop at 250-300 to type out angry comments to others about how we are all ‘Bads’ and ‘Noobs’ because we didn’t take mid fast enough or let ourselves be 3 capped is demoralizing and, takes away from time we need to be working to make up the point loss. I’ve come back from plenty of times being down because we put the work in and pushed through. I know the matchmaking can’t stop this, but I think by design as we climb the ranks the new players in bronze will constantly be paired with these ‘self saboteurs’.

I would be interested in getting some sort of ‘BAD SPORTSMANSHIP’ report. . .though I don’t know if it would be abused or help at all.

…

Will probably have more thoughts later, but thought it would be nice to drop something here not blaming the devs or the game from someone at the bottom.

Very much agree with this. If anything leaves a bad taste it’s a pointless comment during or at the end of a match.

Firstly, ubers get at least 1 minute at the start of a game to speak up and dispense their wisdom. In one pip bronze this is extremely rare, so why comment half way thru a game or log with a smart-* quip?

Secondly, ubers seem to forget if their comment doesn’t name a player all four feel the hate.

Thirdly, it usually comes over as self-centred as no person is going to see all the combat nor is everyone necessarily fluent in the same language as the uber.

All I ask of teammates is that they are trying to win and this is usually always the case except for 2 or 3 ubers who have gone in a huff and stopped playing at some point during the game.

BTW: At these low levels it’s now quite rare for the losing side to score less than 250 – based on my ranked 35 or so matches – there has been about 4 or 5 matches where the difference was under 10 points.

Regards “Unranked is where you learn”, I am afraid that is not so, there are far too many grievers in unranked who get their jollies from blowing out the other team. Unranked is now a very hostile place to play and certainly not for new players.

I play chess and assuming the ranking is based around the ELO chess system then there is not reason whatsoever why new players should not play ranked. Indeed if this season is as successful as I feel for lowbie players such as myself I see not reason for unranked games. Anet should consider removing them to avoid bad experiences for new player w.r.t. PvP gameplay.

Bardly.2571:

As a long time GW player and first time Ranked Season player I wanted to put something up here about what I have seen and think so far about this matchmaking.

1.) Helpful Forum People: Thanks to those on the forum who have been helpful. Those who haven’t trolled and tried to walk me through how this system works. I have been patient and playing my heart out, and as the season continues I am seeing myself climb (albeit slowly) up the ladder and the quality of my matches go up. The evenhanded responses helped to keep me focused on getting better and trudging through the first week of bad matchups.

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has, in my opinion, been the worst part about the matchmaking. Having someone stop at 250-300 to type out angry comments to others about how we are all ‘Bads’ and ‘Noobs’ because we didn’t take mid fast enough or let ourselves be 3 capped is demoralizing and, takes away from time we need to be working to make up the point loss. I’ve come back from plenty of times being down because we put the work in and pushed through. I know the matchmaking can’t stop this, but I think by design as we climb the ranks the new players in bronze will constantly be paired with these ‘self saboteurs’.

I would be interested in getting some sort of ‘BAD SPORTSMANSHIP’ report. . .though I don’t know if it would be abused or help at all.

3.) Blaming New People: New people aren’t the problem. . .not saying old people are, but blaming new people who had -no- input in to this matchmaking and are trying to learn their way through the ranks is only discouraging those of us who would like to make this game our PvP home. . .thus making your community smaller, Q’s longer, and experience worse. I’d say if someone is new it might be best to just answer their question instead of flaming at them for being Noob Kitten Bads.

4.) If EVERYTHING is OP, Nothing is: This week I have heard nerfs called for Elementalist, Guardian, Dragon Hunter, Necromancer, Thief, Ranger (Druid), and Engineer. . .So. . .everything but Mez and Rev. . .Pretty sure that means Mez and Rev just need a buff. Like I said, I am new to the league thing, but having been on several different games in PvP I would say the only class that seems to be badly balanced right now is Rev, and a GOOD Rev can be pretty scary.

Will probably have more thoughts later, but thought it would be nice to drop something here not blaming the devs or the game from someone at the bottom.

Dear sir,
Don’t give up. What most of the Vet players who are hating against new players don’t realize is they need you. They need you to keep trying. They need you to not leave after the season is over. I want you to like PvP, I want new players to stay and I don’t blame them! I have started a thread aimed at asking people to help each other and I don’t care how much people come there and complain about new people to me, at the end of the day we all want the same thing.

What many don’t understand is this season we are transitioning, from one system to a new one. What was once, is not now. Alot of people were placed higher in seasons then they should of been and now are actually dealing with seeing that number. It hurts, thankfully I lost that illusion of being a elite player along time ago and recognized that I was unable to commit to the time it takes to become a pro player. I let that go and decided to have fun, PvP in its good moments doesnt need any rewards at the end of it as the thrill of constant battles and match ups is quite addictive. However I am so happy to see it is finally getting the rewards it needs to build a new strong PvP community.

I am happy to help anyone whose new and would be glad to take them into unranked and give them pointers. And please, your not at the bottom, its just a number that will improve over time as you improve.

Thats the big issue here that people don’t get. You can’t spam a mindless number of games to make that number go up. You have to switch classes, change your rotations and win fights. You have to improve your own game play and not be concerned with the behaviour of others. Sometimes match making gives you a raw deal and you need to take that as a learning experience and try your hardest still.

Take care,
Happy Holidays
Aggie

Hey Op. I agree with you on most of your points. All but the last one, but I don’t think you are wrong. What’s overpowered is usually a matter of perspective. Something may feel overpowered to me, but another person running another build may not think so at all. With that said, there is some merit in what some are calling overpowered. And I’m not at the top. I’m sitting comfortably in the middle and I can tell you that I do feel like some builds are definitely overpowered.

And bad sportsmanship is something I talk a lot about. And you will experience it in every bracket. As you probably already know, even in UNranked gameplay poor sportsmanship is an issue. There are some games I literally just turn off the entire chat because it is demoralizing. And if anything, it’s upsetting.

And the part about blaming new people or PvEers I agree with strongly. I hope everyone reads what I say in this paragraph. Spvp, and this game as a whole, will die without new players and people from other modes venturing into other game modes. New players and other people trying out new game modes is a great sign! It means it is growing. And that is good for the overall quality of the game. What ruins the overall quality of the game are people who treat new players or PvEers like kitten for wanting to join in. If anything, we should be encouraging bad players to play MORE, not play less, so they can improve. And no, they don’t have to go to unrank. And no they don’t have to go to custom games. They can go to any mode they choose cause they paid for this game like everyone else. And if they find themselves in ranked while still learning, the mmr system will placed them where they belong. That’s all there is to it. Be nice to the new guys. Spvp community getting larger and the game population getting bigger is a very good thing.

There’s always 2 sides to everything. I agree that toxicity and flaming in chat are both unproductive and immature. Rather than screaming at their team mates these players should be giving instructions or strategy to help turn match around.

I’ve found that players who bark the most in chat tend to be mostly mediocre at the game and are likely used to being unwittingly carried by better team mates. So when things don’t go well, their natural inclination is to blame everyone else.

That being said, it’s extremely frustrating to have inexperienced and unskilled players on a team. A bad player is far more detrimental to a teams chances than a skilled player is to improving them. Ranked tournament matches are really not an appropriate venue to learn pvp or try out new builds. I dont expect my team mates to be highly skilled or elite players. I just want a functional level of competency that gives the team a solid chance of winning.

Bardly.2571:

4.) If EVERYTHING is OP, Nothing is:

False.

I think being able to drop divisions has become a real eye opener for a lot of people. Also, watching your MMR drop can hurt and be a reality check. There are no more safety nets. If you weren’t sure of how good or bad you were before, you are now…

mrauls.6519:

I think being able to drop divisions has become a real eye opener for a lot of people. Also, watching your MMR drop can hurt and be a reality check. There are no more safety nets. If you weren’t sure of how good or bad you were before, you are now…

One of the best things about this season. No more safety nets which enable “rank inflation” . Now you play bad you go down. Play good you go up. (ofc your team has to play good because one person cant carry the whole team)

FYI number lock is the default for running thus freeing you up to type.

Also most people who game can pretty much type a quick sentence in like 1 second.

Not all people who type are toxic and most people won’t type unless they really have a,legit reason. A legit reason is definitely telling 3-4 teammates who lose to 2 ppl they need to play better.

Spartacus.3192:

mrauls.6519:

I think being able to drop divisions has become a real eye opener for a lot of people. Also, watching your MMR drop can hurt and be a reality check. There are no more safety nets. If you weren’t sure of how good or bad you were before, you are now…

One of the best things about this season. No more safety nets which enable “rank inflation” . Now you play bad you go down. Play good you go up. (ofc your team has to play good because one person cant carry the whole team)

I agree that it is nice not to have safety nets and it will determine peoples skills better. But the system has flaws that cannot be ruled out. Since my rank got determined from the first 10 games, I dropped over 200 points because most of my games I have people quit, give up or just dc. You can say I suck, and everything but the system isn’t perfect. Your rank doesn’t just reflect you and how well you play, it also reflects how well your team does.

NA is toxic. Lots of disgruntled players thinking they should be ranked higher than they are. Others frustrated because they placed better and are falling due to luck of the team draw. Loss typically equates to a greater loss in points than a win. Game team chat is toxic when you don’t do what is assumed to be normal or make a mistake. First couple minutes if it looks like a loss, player(s) start to AFK out because it is a no-win – or so they think.

There is skill, no doubt, but I think luck of the team draw far outweighs skill in bronze and silver tiers. You can’t carry mean spirited players throwing games in spite, you can’t carry a game when it looks bad at the start and they just stop playing or trying. You can’t carry 3 or more unskilled or unaware, or uncaring players. Period. Good, or better, is only going to take you so far. Back to the toxic comment…

Non spvp players did enter the meta to do dailies but it didn’t matter or show has much. With the introduction of ascended gear, and chests, it brought in the PvE crowd has another option to obtain quick and easy set of ascended (although I would think pve players would have ascended gear coming out the wazoo but maybe not).

My own personal opinion thus far is that it is toxic and not has much fun. In fact, unenjoyable comes to mind. Just one mans opinion.

Crapgame.6519:

NA is toxic. Lots of disgruntled players thinking they should be ranked higher than they are. Others frustrated because they placed better and are falling due to luck of the team draw. Loss typically equates to a greater loss in points than a win. Game team chat is toxic when you don’t do what is assumed to be normal or make a mistake. First couple minutes if it looks like a loss, player(s) start to AFK out because it is a no-win – or so they think.

There is skill, no doubt, but I think luck of the team draw far outweighs skill in bronze and silver tiers. You can’t carry mean spirited players throwing games in spite, you can’t carry a game when it looks bad at the start and they just stop playing or trying. You can’t carry 3 or more unskilled or unaware, or uncaring players. Period. Good, or better, is only going to take you so far. Back to the toxic comment…

Non spvp players did enter the meta to do dailies but it didn’t matter or show has much. With the introduction of ascended gear, and chests, it brought in the PvE crowd has another option to obtain quick and easy set of ascended (although I would think pve players would have ascended gear coming out the wazoo but maybe not).

My own personal opinion thus far is that it is toxic and not has much fun. In fact, unenjoyable comes to mind. Just one mans opinion.

I agree completely, and I would say even in gold

Rashy.4165:

Random comment from my own experiences: I try to wish everyone a good game in map chat prior to match starting, and one person said to me “don’t wish them luck, we aim to win”, to which I responded with “-shrug- sportsmanship” and got a blank “?” in response.

We lost that match, but still.

Lol well ill be candid. I was raised to always thank your opponent for a game but i was taught not to lie in competition. If I won because the other team was horrible i would never say good game, because it wasnt. I’ll say thank you for the match. Sportsmanship does not equal coddling. At the start i dont say good luck because your goal is to win. Its just words BUT it does say alot regarding the competitive nature of the player. I dont really talk at all during matches unless its to nail down a strat. But then again im usually teetering between gold/plat and i dont really have to type in a match. You can be competitive and have integrity and be polite. But no ill never wish the opponent good luck

Bardly.2571:

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has to be the single most important and frustrating issue from your list.

GW2’s PVP is an incredibly casual affair and still people get worked up over it like there’s no tomorrow. People with a lot of apparent experience or time spent in PVP (judging from skins, titles etc.) will pause mid-match to scream insults, or simply stop playing, or generally behave bad enough to warrant a block and a report.

Experienced players should be happy that their game mode is getting an influx of players. More activity, shorter queue times, and – if they’re actually as good as they think they are – cannon fodder in the form of newbies. Instead, it’s a never-ending torrent of negativity.

When will people learn that casual and competitive don’t mix? Gw2 supposedly being “casual friendly” (when they only really ever said you don’t have to do runescape-like grind) is such a sorry tired excuse.

Bardly.2571:

2.) Bad Sportsmanship from “Good” Players: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in Bronze 3 right now. Through my fights I have found myself paired up with a lot of Dragon Finishers, many of which have a very negative attitude at their placement and seem determined to ruin things for everyone else trying to work their way up through bronze.

This has, in my opinion, been the worst part about the matchmaking. Having someone stop at 250-300 to type out angry comments to others about how we are all ‘Bads’ and ‘Noobs’ because we didn’t take mid fast enough or let ourselves be 3 capped is demoralizing and, takes away from time we need to be working to make up the point loss. I’ve come back from plenty of times being down because we put the work in and pushed through. I know the matchmaking can’t stop this, but I think by design as we climb the ranks the new players in bronze will constantly be paired with these ‘self saboteurs’.

I would be interested in getting some sort of ‘BAD SPORTSMANSHIP’ report. . .though I don’t know if it would be abused or help at all.

3.) Blaming New People: New people aren’t the problem. . .not saying old people are, but blaming new people who had -no- input in to this matchmaking and are trying to learn their way through the ranks is only discouraging those of us who would like to make this game our PvP home. . .thus making your community smaller, Q’s longer, and experience worse. I’d say if someone is new it might be best to just answer their question instead of flaming at them for being Noob Kitten Bads.

4.) If EVERYTHING is OP, Nothing is: This week I have heard nerfs called for Elementalist, Guardian, Dragon Hunter, Necromancer, Thief, Ranger (Druid), and Engineer. . .So. . .everything but Mez and Rev. . .Pretty sure that means Mez and Rev just need a buff. Like I said, I am new to the league thing, but having been on several different games in PvP I would say the only class that seems to be badly balanced right now is Rev, and a GOOD Rev can be pretty scary.

Will probably have more thoughts later, but thought it would be nice to drop something here not blaming the devs or the game from someone at the bottom.

2 thinking that someone with a dragon finisher is a experienced player is an error, rankfarm exist

3 lol mez have the most broken hab in this game(moa): but is not “the mode” complaining about it, and rev is broken til launch, but continuos small nerf put it a litle in place

Crapgame.6519:

NA is toxic. Lots of disgruntled players thinking they should be ranked higher than they are. Others frustrated because they placed better and are falling due to luck of the team draw. Loss typically equates to a greater loss in points than a win. Game team chat is toxic when you don’t do what is assumed to be normal or make a mistake. First couple minutes if it looks like a loss, player(s) start to AFK out because it is a no-win – or so they think.

There is skill, no doubt, but I think luck of the team draw far outweighs skill in bronze and silver tiers. You can’t carry mean spirited players throwing games in spite, you can’t carry a game when it looks bad at the start and they just stop playing or trying. You can’t carry 3 or more unskilled or unaware, or uncaring players. Period. Good, or better, is only going to take you so far. Back to the toxic comment…

Non spvp players did enter the meta to do dailies but it didn’t matter or show has much. With the introduction of ascended gear, and chests, it brought in the PvE crowd has another option to obtain quick and easy set of ascended (although I would think pve players would have ascended gear coming out the wazoo but maybe not).

My own personal opinion thus far is that it is toxic and not has much fun. In fact, unenjoyable comes to mind. Just one mans opinion.

I completely agree with this here. New players should have a place in GW2 PvP I welcome them with open arms. However a new player with little to no PvP experience has absolutely no business in a Ranked Match. They should be still gaining experience from unranked lots of experience is needed to be successful in Ranks.

My personal opinion of a Ranked league is competition and bragging rights. In GW2 in the Bronze and Silver division it’s nothing more then a coin flip carebear daycare center. One where you mix players who are trying to train and learn how to PvP through ranked because of the rewards. Players who don’t care about their performance or if or not they win or lose because of the rewards. Then you mix them in with players who are trying to compete and advance thru the rankings but finding it nearly impossible or nothing but grinding matches in the hopes of getting a string of teams that actual cares.

I’ll be the first to say for the first two groups of players, I show absolutely no mercy what so ever. If you want to troll me and the people who are actually trying to win and what not. You absolutely deserve every bit of salt that gets thrown at you. Because you are not helping PvP grow you are simply just making other actually PvPers just wish they can reach thru the screen and pull you out and do awful things to you.

Ranked again is not the place to train. There a Unranked queue, or else ANet just might as well just delete Unranked and have everyone playing Ranked since it’s become the daddy daycare anyways. unless you start in gold or above.

First, thank you new player for sharing your thoughts. I will not chase away or scapegoat new players, they are PvP’s future. I welcome them. However, as a veteran of 4 years, I need to say this.

New players, first and foremost, need to learn to play if they want to compete on ranked. You guys cause problems if you don’t know the basics! I notice a lot of you guys are from PvE. Let me ask you this: When you guys play dungeons, fractals and raids, what do you request on the lfg? “lv80s” “gearcheck”
“EXPERIENCED ONLY” PvP players deserve at least that much from you new guys. You all need to concede to veterans on this one.

Second, please try to understand the veteran’s point of view and the PvP system. Some of us have played for years, yet we are stuck in the bottom. Thanks to matchmaking, veterans are constantly matched with new players, people below our skill level. This is on both sides. With the exception of matchmaking RNG, there’s no way for veterans to advance. This is the root of the anger. ANet deserves criticism after five league failures.

Third, yes OP I concede to you there. Veterans have NO business scapegoating new players. I don’t support that. Unless, they’re trolls, PvE farmers, griefers or afkers in which I have NO MERCY for and deserve all the venom they get!