Arena Mode Setup

[sprockitz]

Just interested in what other players think the ideal setup for arena mode would be. Here is my vote

4 players
extra town tiles - YES
map - original (rotate by season)
landscapes - NO
Auction - YES
Variable player order - YES

I think auction is needed to make things the most fair in a competitive environment. I think 4 is by far the best player number...at 4 player the extra town tiles are a big plus. Landscapes in general are not favored by most in the big community as they are unbalanced...but with auctions on they can at least be taken into account, so I'm not as strongly against that one. VTO is an absolute must, clockwise is really just unfair and takes a ton of strategy out of the game.

[Zoras]

I agree with all the main points here, but have a different opinion on the following two, which are minor:

- I think players of this site took a general liking for landscapes, and though they are not perfect, I would prefer to play with them.

- I agree that season 1 should be played on the original map, and don’t mind rotating with lakes for the following season. However I would say we should leave the revised map out of the rotation, as it this map is a disaster and not much used.

[cs2376jr]

I would agree that we should start with the base map, but disagree that we should rotate the map. The revised map is bad and not balanced whatsoever and rarely even played here on bga. On the note of lakes, the problem with playing that map in a highly competitive mode is that there are so many available starting spots that people don't know what spots are good. I may start somewhere knowing that you should start next to me, but you start on the other end of the map and you have just lost, it doesn't even come down to skill. That doesn't happen on the base map because there are only 2-3 good starting spots for most factions and you are able to predict everything a lot better. Because of all that, it doesn't make much sense to me to use a different map in an ultra competitive mode.

On the note of landscapes, they don't change a whole lot, just make the weaker factions just a little stronger, and they don't really even change how a faction is played. They are widely liked by most players on bga and because of that, I think they should be used in arena.

Everything else I agree with and is almost necessary. You can't play without promo because then most likely someone will not get a town they setup for and that is a heart breaker. You need auction because that is the only way to make a balanced game and that is what we are going for in arena mode. 4 Players is no doubt the best way to play the game and finally you need variable turn order to, again, make the game balanced.

Tell me what you guys think about all that. As a side note, landscapes are fine to be played without, but I would like to see them in.

[MikaelWolfYOUTUBE]

Speaking for myself, I'd like the original map only, and I didn't learn yet the new landscapes so of course I would prefer without... but if Zoras and higher ranked players think we should use the landscape I probably would vote for those aswell. But I think we should definetely set the rules fast so we can practice and learn the new rules before the arena mode

[cs2376jr]

Speaking for myself, I'd like the original map only, and I didn't learn yet the new landscapes so of course I would prefer without... but if Zoras and higher ranked players think we should use the landscape I probably would vote for those aswell. But I think we should definetely set the rules fast so we can practice and learn the new rules before the arena mode

unfortunately, we do net get to chose the arena mode settings, bga does. They probably won't tell us what the settings will be until arena mode comes out so I would just play with what we think it will be. I think it'll be base map, var turn order, auction, mini expansion, and as for landscapes, if you aren't playing with them, I would start playing with them just in case they are in arena mode.