9 replies to this topic

[Whompity]

Got to thinking about this while grinding my first assault...

It can take a bit of time to get your ELO in a given class up to where you normally play. What would happen if there was a "decay" on your ELO so that if you didn't play a given class for a length of time, your ELO would slowly sink back to default.

I guess it depends on if it's better to jump back into games with "high" ELO opponents when you haven't played a class in months... Plus "maintaining" high ELO's in all of your classes might spur people to play more often.

Dunno if this'd be good or bad... but I admit starting a new class down with the lower ELO brackets is kind of nice for a change.

Another effect this would have is that if you stepped away for the game for a length of time, you'd come back and get to warm up again... not having to immediately play at the more "difficult" level.

[Stoicblitzer]

our elo scores are bugged. they will be working as intended™ at the end of the week.

[armyof1]

I guess it really depends on how quick you'll get your game on again after a longer break. But really now when I fully understand the basics of the game, I don't think it would take me many games to get back close to where I was even after a month or two off. It's really the initial period in MWO that is really tough to just learn the movement and aiming if you're not used to the whole walking and torso direction being separate. And back then there were no testing grounds either!

Edited by armyof1, 15 April 2013 - 11:18 AM.

[von Pilsner]

She makes an interesting point, it sounds like a workable idea as long as it does not drop you so far down that it makes pugstomping easier...

[TruePoindexter]

ELO decay only makes sense when the ELO rating is also tied to your overall ranking.

A good example is the MMR system in WoW where people get to a very high rating for the weapons and then sit on the rating. This makes it harder for other people to raise their rating as the people they should be playing are not so they continually play against people with low ratings slowing their advancement tremendously.

As MWO's ELO is not tied to a ranking you can have multiple people at tremendously high ELO and there's no barrier to entry to the upper tiers just because the current upper tier is not playing. In the end I don't see it as necessary.

[NinetyProof]

First off, let's not make suggestions to change a system that is not even working correctly yet.

Should ELO decay? As a general point: No.

To decay ELO is to say you are *less* likely to win a game. If you stop playing the game entirely, this might make sense.

In your case, your just changing chassis. This means your continuing to play the game which, theoretically, should make you a better player in general. What *rust* you gather on the old chassis should balance out with the new "perspective" you gain from your time in that new chassis.

You could almost argue that by playing *other* chassis, your ELO should *un-decay*, in that you will be more aware of the new chassis weaknesses and be able to exploit them in your old chassis.

I would not go that far, but you could make a strong case of "Un-Decaying" ELO the more Mechs you play.

[FunkyFritter]

Elo decay and having different elo ratings for each weight class are two very different ideas. I can't tell which one you're asking for.

[Whompity]

FunkyFritter, on 15 April 2013 - 02:53 PM, said:

Elo decay and having different elo ratings for each weight class are two very different ideas. I can't tell which one you're asking for.

The first one, as we already have the second one.

[Davers]

I could see it if you haven't played at all in a long time, like 6 months. But you shouldn't be able to 'reset' your Elo at base level no matter how long you have been away.

[NRP]

Seems like people would exploit it so they could PUG stomp easier.

If you're away from the game for a long enough time that your skills decay, you should get your butt kicked upon return until your ELO adjusts to your new skill level.