🎮 Splinterlands Ranked Battle Overhaul: My Thoughts 💭

Hi guys, by now most of you probably already know me and my thoughts on the matter, im a fairly vocal person on Discord. But, I wanted to write this post to gather my ideas on what should be done in ranked in order to improve it.

This is NOT a post about leagues—I'll probably make another one about them a bit later. This is a post about the FLAT rating system that was implemented almost a year ago. I create this post so people can talk about it and debate whats the best course forward.

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📜 What Changed?

Before the change we used to have something calle an ELO system, the amount of rating gained or lost in a match depended on the relative ratings of the two players. If you defeated a higher-rated opponent, you earned more rating, and if you lost to a lower-rated player, you lost more rating.

This was changed mainly because some players (a real minority) complained about losing a lot of raiting when losing against a lower ranked opponent and since a lot of matches in splinterlands were decided by luck that would be "frustraiting" for top players.

Earning and losing 3 raiting for a top player was brutal. But still in a system like that the top players were the top players and the bottom players the bottom players. These changes only caused a worse gaming experience for the majority of the players while making life a little bit easier for a few top players.

Now, under the new system, every match results in a flat gain or loss of 20 rating points regardless of the opponents' ratings. This change was intended to "simplify" the system and make it easier for players. However, the reality is far from ideal. 😔

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🚨 The Issues with the 20/20 Rating System

1. No Catch-Up Mechanism
   The flat rating system makes it nearly impossible for lower-rated players to catch up to higher-rated players. At the end of the season, the leaderboard gaps are massive, sometimes exceeding 1,000 rating points. Considering you only gain 20 rating points per win, catching up is unrealistic.
   

2. Lack of Risk for Higher-Rated Players
   High-ranked players risk nothing when playing against lower-ranked players. Even if a 5,000-rating player loses to a 3,000-rating opponent, they only lose 20 points. This system heavily favors leaderboard players, making it feel unfair to the majority of the player base.

3. Linear and Boring Gameplay
   The system's linearity has removed much of the excitement from ranked battles. Winning or losing always results in the same outcome: 20 points gained or lost. There's no sense of progress or stakes, making the ranking system feel uninspired.

4. Encourages Overplaying
   High-ranked accounts can play far more matches than regular accounts by purchasing energy. This allows them to dominate the leaderboard simply by volume, further alienating casual players.

5. Poor Comparisons to Other Games
   Theres a reason in most competitive games, the rating system includes diminishing returns for beating lower-rated players and higher rewards for defeating stronger opponents. This dynamic encourages fair play and rewards skill. The 20/20 system lacks this nuance, making it one of the worst changes Splinterlands has implemented, in my opinion. 😠

6. Splinterlands and RNG
   The fact that splinterlands is a game where RNG plays a crucial role doesnt make splinterlands special at all. In most games theres always some degree of luck involved. The only exceptions I can think of is Chess or Go but those are just completely diferent types of games.

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🛠 Suggestions for Improvement

To address these issues, Splinterlands should consider reintroducing a dynamic rating system where:

• Players gain more rating for defeating higher-rated opponents.
• Lower-rated players lose fewer points when losing to stronger opponents.
• There are diminishing returns for defeating much weaker players.

Additionally, league resets should remain a consistent mechanic. They create a fair cycle for all players, ensuring that no one stays permanently stuck at the top or bottom.

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❤️ Final Thoughts

I want Splinterlands to thrive and for our assets to grow in value. However, the current ranked system has made that goal feel more challenging. While the overhaul aimed to simplify gameplay, it has instead created a system that benefits only a select few.

I think the game is in a critical state and if we dont change whats wrong while focusing on other important things (like mobile development, onboarding, marketing) we just wont make it.

I really hope the team revisits this decision and introduces a more engaging and fair system in the future. We dont need to go back to exactly what we had before but something better can be created out of this. But it needs to be something dynamic where defeating a stronger opponent actually has some sort of meaning. Let's work together to make Splinterlands the best it can be! 🌟

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I would love to open this debate and hear what is your opinion of the current 20/20 rating system. Leave me a message or dm me if you guys feels I should pay close attention to your thoughts! ⬇️