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[Deathlike]

I know telemetry is thrown around enough times... whether it is a balance discussion or population talk, it's actually important to know "what that data means".

For the purposes of this topic though... it's about balance.



It's been said many times by myself that a lot of the game is balanced by Tier 5. Whether that will stand the test of time (maybe someday it won't be the case, but it's going to hold true for quite a bit longer) is another matter... but knowing how things works is important... just as well as knowing where the data is coming from.


I won't choose to guess the numbers of those in Tier 1, let alone Tier 5. I don't have the numbers.

However, isn't it a fair assumption that those that are top tier (comp tier or otherwise) probably are the minority of the playerbase? I mean, we might as well be a vocal minority (of a minority), which is fine and dandy.

That would imply however that the average player isn't that good at all... but of course... that depends on how you would wish to define it.


Let's just use Streaks as a simple example.


Now let's remove the idea that comp players run Streaks... because there are better/efficient tools than Streaks to do the job of attacking Lights. Let's just focus on the higher tier players that use Streaks.

Let's assume that 98% of them equip BAP (both IS and Clan) when they use Streaks in a match. (These are made up #s for the point of this exercise).

For the lower tiers, let's just assume 80% of them use BAP (both IS+Clan). Is that a product of knowing or not knowing the benefits of BAP when it comes to ECM? It's a likely situation, and you could easily reaffirm this if you asked people.


Now let's say that the majority of the top tier players running Streaks happen to be running a Mist Lynx (let's humor the absurdity of that claim though). If you didn't already know the Mist Lynx had a hardwired CAP, then you'd understand this influences this particular telemetry point.

Do you omit the MLX in the CAP assessment? What if the MLX is somehow optimal for running Streaks (assuming quirks and a "magical build" were involved)? If there are multiple outside factors that influence the telemetry, it has to be looked into. It's very similar to looking over Adder telemetry before the mandatory/hardlocked CT Flamer could be removed. It's easy to skew "flamers are being used often", and yet ignore the Adder as the penultimate exception to that analysis.



When it comes to telemetry, you have to look at all sides of the problem.. and not just the average. It is hard to "get over" the Dire Wolf not getting quirks... considering its super-niche use in comp play. You have to look over multiple different nerfs to see how and why the Dire Wolf hasn't even been a legitimate alternative to the Kodiak... specifically the KDK-3.

If you don't understand cause and effect (or causation and correlation), it's hard to grasp what's actually going on... and in comp... it becomes very obvious to most of them... whereas it is very hard to get a feel at lower levels of play... whether it is knowing how to use a weapon or chassis... or knowing when to use it.


Anyways, the point is that balance through telemetry only makes sense if you look at the TOP tier in addition to the average. When you try balancing for the average... the top tier players will use and abuse every benefit you give them. I'm not saying balancing for the top tier will be perfect, but it's more than the average player isn't really caught up with the meta until months later (likely 60 to 90 days) because it's not obvious until they get smashed by it.



There are many ways to balance the game... but not understanding the telemetry is a sure fired way of being out of touch with specific variants, weight classes, comparisons and just balance in general.

[El Bandito]

Yep. I am abusing the **** outta the KDK-3 right now.

And once the PTS weapon changes makes to live, you bet the comps players will pick up on the juiciest parts, right away.

Edited by El Bandito, 11 November 2016 - 06:26 PM.