Why do people play for second?

[Romain672]

When watching the Olympics the OP is presumably confused about what the other two people are doing on the podium and why they have a silver piece of metal and a bronze piece of metal hung around their necks for absolutely no reason.

With what you said the 4th/5th/6th/7th/50th are all tied. That's not the case here.

I believe I personnally prefer a ranking like +5/+1/-2/-2/-2.

But it's hard since it depend so much of the game, how much 1st place can be known by advance, how much playing for second is strong, how much you can finish 2nd if you are atm 5th and so on...

[Solarman9]

When watching the Olympics the OP is presumably confused about what the other two people are doing on the podium and why they have a silver piece of metal and a bronze piece of metal hung around their necks for absolutely no reason.

The olympics is a tangible reward that people train their whole life for and there is a substantial cash reward in the United States also involved. I am sorry that you think playing a board game to earn virtual points is the same as playing in the Olympics. The fact that you even pretend the equivalency makes me wonder if you can even argue intellectually.

[Solarman9]

What exactly do you get for second....meaningless points, or less lost points on a website?

Arena is literally the part of the site where points matter. I'm sure you understand why people play for second when they (maybe even falsely) believe that first is no longer in reach. It's just that you don't like being the target in that situation.

Playing for second is just part of arena. For me it seems like a natural thing to play for when you're not winning. If the behavior bothers you that much you could also stick to non-arena games?

I play arena to play better players, not to get imaginary points that mean nothing. I prefer playing in real life because I know you virtual warriors would not play the same. You go ahead and skip every other action to make the game take an extra 15-20 minutes so that you can brag to your online friends that you have more virtual points. You would never do that to your friends in real life, or maybe you are that inconsiderate. I guess you are right, I should play non arena games where half the people don't know how to play and the games are easier. I should lower the challenge so that I do not play against cut throat people only wanting second place. I am glad there are people like you who would settle for second place, never achieving your goal of having your name displayed for no one to care about for the next 90 days. You'll never be first if you only try for second,,,,but I guess that is all you want. Have fun second place.

[HighlanderKG]

With all due respect to all Arena players, if you want to play better players you shouldn't play Arena.

There is less than 10 players that are top 30 in Arena within top 30 all time list. And there are like 50 more players that don't have time to grind up the ladder, and they are better than most of the players ranked in top 30 in Arena.

[RoyalRook]

With all due respect to all Arena players, if you want to play better players you shouldn't play Arena.

There is less than 10 players that are top 30 in Arena within top 30 all time list. And there are like 50 more players that don't have time to grind up the ladder, and they are better than most of the players ranked in top 30 in Arena.

That's not true, I am better than everyone currently on the ranking in 2p, my real rivals are not playing on BGA yet, it's not our fault that those players would rather cheat on steam app by installing 3rd party mods than competing fairly here on BGA. And the only thing they can say is that well if other players install the mod as well, and if we all cheat together then it's fair....WHAT? How can you compete fairly with illegal mods while gaining most of your elo through open hosting against unexpected players? So if they decided to stay in the darkest corners of the internet and not competing fairly in the open with the largest board gaming communities, then forget them. There will be better and younger players on BGA in the long run.

2p is far easier to build up your elo than 3p, because for me 2p is mostly free comparing to 3p which I have higher chance to lose. The 2p players plays far more games than most Arena participants, sometimes 10 to 15 games in a roll while playing for air and grind for elo that decays. They are not playing because they never bother build up their 3p tempo, which are different than 2p. It takes more work, works that the top players in 3p Arena has been doing the past 3 seasons.

Do you think you have any chance of winning 3p arena? No right? Not because you are not one of the top players in the world nor having the potential, but because you missed out on obtaining the skill set to win 3p arena over the years. I am good with 3p because I was extremely bored winning 2p, doesn't care jack about elos and started getting good at 3p years ago. Why? Because I love the game, and I get to lose more often in 3p, rather grinding out another 100 pointless games in 2p for elos. Arena competition is far superior because we have a deadline, and everyone plays in the same format. It's a better test of skill rather than a blobs of general elo from any formats that decays over time.

[HighlanderKG]

Arena is won by fairly solid player who have time to play. I would be number 1 overall as well if I had time to play more than 2-3 games per week. Elo on BGA just works like that. 3P is not the best competitive format for almost every game, including this one. Arena 3p is borderline irrelevant when it comes to skill. Every player ranked in top 50 here who doesnt play Arena would do well while not all top 50 arena players would do well in 2p. I didn't talk about other apps (although what you say is clearly untrue), only on BGA you can check the elo of season ranked players, there are a ton who are howering around 300, while there are 50+ 500 elo players who never play arena. Those are just facts, global list is much stronger. Which means Arena settings should change.

[RoyalRook]

Arena is won by fairly solid player who have time to play. I would be number 1 overall as well if I had time to play more than 2-3 games per week. Elo on BGA just works like that. 3P is not the best competitive format for almost every game, including this one. Arena 3p is borderline irrelevant when it comes to skill. Every player ranked in top 50 here who doesnt play Arena would do well while not all top 50 arena players would do well in 2p. I didn't talk about other apps (although what you say is clearly untrue), only on BGA you can check the elo of season ranked players, there are a ton who are howering around 300, while there are 50+ 500 elo players who never play arena. Those are just facts, global list is much stronger. Which means Arena settings should change.

Because they have no chance winning 3p arena Highlander. They are specialized for 2p for years, they know it, and I know it. It's much easier and comfortable to grind for 2p than competing in the 3p arena. It's much harder to win a 3p arena than 2p when you are higher skilled. Try to play 2-3 games per week and get top 20 in 3p arena first. Many in our steam community tried and realized it's not that simple, I talked to them, and they all say wow, it's much harder than I originally thought.

Not to mention 3p prelude is more balanced than 2p prelude, but I am not getting into that rabbit hole. The general arena participants' elos are lower b/c it's much harder to build and maintaining elo when playing frequent 3p matches. What I said about other apps is CLEARLY untrue? Why don't you tell others how the 3rd party mod for the app track drafts seed and scores while competing with others who are playing blind in open hosting, lolz. You keep on grinding that.

I love when a person say, hey I will be certain something something had I tried, I am just not motivated, I just don't have the time, this setting is just not my preference, the system is rigged, you don't understand me, I would be number 1 overall as well, bla bla bla bla bla BLA BLA BLA.

[bwalsh96]

Yeah, I agree with Highlander on this one.

[RoyalRook]

Yeah, I agree with Highlander on this one.

That's fine, but you also not active in arena and come from the steam, so . You can still elaborate though.

[HighlanderKG]

It is obviously not because they can't win in 3p. The game is the same, the only tweak you do is optimize the play for 1-1.5 generations less on average, and play more carefully on awards especially if the level of one of your opponents is lower, that opp will be last and kingmake one of you two. That's basically it, the rest is the same, just need to reevaluate the cards in a different format which honestly doesn't take two seconds.

Personally, I don't play it because I don't like the format, and I don't care nor have time to grind the ladder just that someone random online thinks I'm good. I got past that 20 years ago when I was playing Warcraft. For me it is more important that I win cash prize OTB tournaments almost every time I play, in 3p and 4p btw

The statements you make are getting silly, so I will respectfully bow out of this conversation.