"Improved the matchmaking in live events"

[Gabee1611]

My guess is you will have to spend 300-400 gems per day in order to unlock Dead End when he is brand new.

Right now it will cost you 2-3 recharges to get top 5 in the event will no new transformers.

[aloc]

Agree. It is not point to update my TF.
If they believe same level players should complete in the same group, they should increase the bonus for high level group.

It makes me think they just want us spend more money. Sorry for my poor English

[Gabee1611]

My new strategy is “Pray I encounter Unicron and that the tf I am using can actually defeat him”

I hope Dead End is the last new tf that they offer until they fix the tournaments back to the old matchmaking. The only way that they will change back the matchmaking is if they old system had player use more gems then they will now. We would basically need a gem boycott.

[Cynical Bird]

LOL at spending 300-400 gems a day. At that rate play whatever recharges we get, collect the default tokens and then just pay the deficit for Dead End with gems, it’ll probably be cheaper.

[jasebree]

@sickcyn not this go round. I already have all the items for sale, so I’m just using the comp for daily mission totals

[Aledromo]

@sickcyn I got first today by playing all free charges starting last night – took 7 hours off to sleep and get ready for work. I let them build during low yield blocks (hi, Ultimate Megatron for +20%!) and did all I could during a few high yield ones. When the bonus bot was lame I unleashed Energon Starscream for a run or two to keep the counter going. Did one recharge at the end. Only reached the 50 token level. Not sure if this will be a viable strategy, but since I’m only in it for two or three of the accessories it’s a low stress experiment.

[Cynical Bird]

@aledromo What level are you? At what time did you start, like how long from the start time?

Same for anyone else answering:

What level are you? What time (hours from the start of the competition)? Amount of recharges? Where did you place at? What score did you have and possibly the other competitors? Especially first place.

[Aledromo]

I’m level 380. Finished with about 29,000. Started about an hour into the competition period and again, just played steadily through. I had about a thousand more points than the second place guy and also: just the one recharge.

N = 1, so I’m very suspicious that this was just a fluke based on how other days have gone.

[TNTitan]

They should have several reward levels from which to choose when you start the challenge. Something like 1000, 750, or 500 tokens for first place. If you choose the higher reward level, you’ll obviously run into tougher competition. If you choose the lower level, you’re more likely to be able to win without spending too many gems, but the payout is smaller. Seems like a better way to improve grouping than by forcing you to play only similarly ranked players (who might have started long before you did).

[acwb16]

I have to agree I don’t like this new matching system. I’m not playing very seriously, as I caved and bought the bundle (I really liked the Halloween challenge, and $5 meant I could focus on other things this week) but I doubt it would make a difference. I wish Rovio would say how they’re making the groups because either some people have maxed out their bots or are spending gems like crazy.

If they are basing it on level, it is a penalty on those of us who’ve been playing for a long time. I understand wanting to give new players a chance, but why penalize your most loyal customers?

If they want to mix up competition winners, I suggest limiting which bot groups are used in the competition (like right now). I’ve been playing for about two years, and guess what? The bots in use this time aren’t the ones I’ve spend the time and resources on to upgrade as much!

[MillForce2k]

I think this new matchmaking make it more fair to the newer players. It does make it more challenging for us seasoned players, but we should have more of a challenge.

With this matchmaking, it is possible to get onto a board a run or two behind the leaders, particularly if you start way late in the event day. I’m ranked 599, Aquaspeeder, and did a run almost 14 hours after the event day start and was 7th on a board of 11. I watched the board and after a minute or two it went up to 15 players on the the board and then to 20 a couple minutes later. When starting early in the event day, 20 players of the same rank (or range of ranks) should fill a board in a relatively short period of time and everyone should be on their first run.

[Geli]

If the reason for the matchmaking is to give newer players an opportunity to “win” a day, so be it.

Doing a bit of a comparison

On 11-6 at US 1900 EST I did 2 gem recharges with 85% bonus after starting in the first few minutes of the event. It was immediately competitive and high scoring, sitting in 8th after 13 runs. That included 2 gem recharges in the first 2 hours. 2 of us hit the 550 token level (Ib did a total of 4 gem recharges) with 6 others at 450 level 2 minutes before the end

On 11-7 I started 2h 20m into the “new” day. Did 1 gem recharge and did not play overnight. Thus far no one is going crazy in scoring terms. Currently in 2nd with a bit over 9 hours left. Do not intend to do a gem recharge until late, if at all. Will see how this cohort shakes out in terms of competition and obvious gem recharges.

EDIT IN: Interesting result. Did 2 runs with 6h 12m left, setting 2nd at the end of those runs.
Did 4 runs with 57 minutes remaining. Was in 3rd at the time; at the end of the 4 runs I was in 1st and had reached the 60 token level. After those 4 runs I was 1st and finished that way.
No gem recharges except for a 10 gem recharge in the first hour.

Largest change was a player that went from 11th to finish 4th and one that went from 14th to 7th. The 7th place player with 9 hours remaining fell to 12th. The bottom 10 saw little change with the exception noted above.

As @phillips notes in the post below this, starting later may be an option if seeking the 1000 token bonus with minimum gem recharge if willing to forgo reaching the 550 token level.

[Phillips]

@geli Always seems to be the case that the really competitive people start in the first hour. Others are willing to wait a bit.

[Cynical Bird]

@millforce2k Then I recommend you don’t level up anymore, I’m at L612 and the competition is impossible to get top 3. At one point I was 20th, how fun. I start about 8 hour until the competition ends.

[Nightcrawler]

I have a feeling this guy is a cheater

[Cynical Bird]

@geli What is your level? Like I’ve said before I’m at L612 and the competition is always hard. I start 8hrs before the end I haven’t come in top 3 and it would take 3-4 REcharges to break the top 3. I haven’t spent it because I only needed accessories and I got them already, so I’m playing to see how it goes to prepare for Dead End. But I suspect that will be even HARDER for us maximized or near maximized players. Anyone near my level probably scores top 3 in competitions. If we’re all lumped in together there can only be ONE of us at each spot. So there will be MANY of us getting screwed.

[Geli]

@sickcyn Level 477 here. Not top level, nor a n00b level. Call it 2nd tier.

Generally Start challenges when I get the opportunity to spend a few minutes doing mindless stuff. Started today with 19 hours left.

I’m not &$)#%+€£ about being in a competitive group. I have a meager amount of gems to spend on recharges. I recoup them in the lab, but have not had a 1000 gem stash. Ever. I Started playing after storage level and lab results were nerfed last year.

My post above Arose from curiosity re: improved match making. Agreed that starting in the first minutes of the first hour usually requires gems to place well.

[Cynical Bird]

@geli Ok, I believe most of us that are at issue with the new system are probably around 600+ level. Even under the old system I’d have to recharge 2-4 times to come in first. As I’ve said I start about 8 hours before the competition ends.

By your own account you don’t or barely recharge and come in first at L477 (from your day 2 account). Your day one account is consistent with ANYONE starting at the start time of the competition. But now starting at anytime if you’re L600+ you get a competition group as if you were starting in the first few minutes of the competition. You’re not seeing what higher level players are seeing. In the facebook group someone posted the scores in their group what they showed in place 10-20 would come in 1-5 in the old system.

My advice don’t level up anymore. Don’t start at the start and you’ll come in first easily. Your bots aren’t any stronger when they level up, gone are the days of being to kill a pig with 1 hit at max level or a mortar tower in 1-4 hits depending on the bot. It’s all “normalized”, it sucks and it’s stupid.

[Phillips]

@sam-spargo How do you suspect 1st is a cheater at only 5,300 in front of 2nd? That isn’t even a full recharge or if you get Unicron and defeat him with the bonus your 5,300 is practically covered.

So sick of reading people claiming that because they aren’t first the other people must be cheating (or are bots). There is also addiction some people have to finish 1st so they will spend unnecessary amounts of gems like crazy just to ensure they get 1st.

[Nightcrawler]

@phillips I posted that around 3 hours after the challenge started and most people on my board were under 10000 points at that time

[Phillips]

So opening hours there is a big squad bonus so probably did a few recharges to get maximum effect from the bonus as they probably can’t/don’t want to play all day.

[Geli]

@sickcyn Thank you for your enlightening response, especially your comments re: what People are experiencing at the 600 level. Makes sense to me, and I’m old!!!_

On those occasions that I start in the opening minutes of an event, I accept the challenge I face, having to play tough with the big boys, even with a small gem cache.

BUT… Don’t level up anymore??? Good grief, that means I’m stuck with only 2 level 15 and 2 level 14 characters! I’m doomed! ;-)

[ArmourBender]

@sam-spargo Hi Dr Booger,

Thanks for the note, sorry to miss it. Well better late than never!

Nice to hear that you’re real and I’m real and not a BOT. ;) ;) ;)

If I was a bot, you’d probably get a quick automated reply ;) ;) ;) hahahaha

@rlcoone, they don’t need to be BOTs, they could be some folks with multiple devices under Rovio / Exient’s directives.

[ArmourBender]

I’ve noticed with this new matchmaking, it’s a bit more forgiving?

In “Time to Brawl and Bludgeon”, the game tends to give me more unicrons and big boss if I keep gem recharging and play too fast / keep on playing.
Which is good if I had the transformers to overcome the big boss missles.

So by taking 2 hour breaks from playing to recharge 2 bars, I notice that on the leaderboard, the players tend not to move up as fast (a couple of hundred points).

Although towards the end of the day’s challenge -> nearing 00:00 GMT the players get more active and boy, they get agressive and JUMP up the leaderboard once I finish playing a round by 1,000 to 2,000+ to even 4,000+ points.

[rlc]

@armourbende That might account for some of what everyone is seeing but not for the multiple, daily accounts of suspicious activity. Everyone trying to find some obscure method of attaining those huge jumps forgets Occam’s razor where the simplest explanation is usually correct. Since the scoring anomalies tend to make people spend gems to try to catch up, the purchase of which is beneficial to Rovio, the simplest explanation is that Rovio is using bots.