Arena Season 5: let's go!

[RedAlert39]

ElerCant is clearly abusing the arena system. I'm surprised they're even trying to defend themselves.

If you want to play with your friends, that's what the standard tables are for. The only reason someone would play arena like this is to cheat the system.

[twenty9oh7]

ElerCant was reported and is limited while mods are investigating. The limit ends tomorrow, so we will see what happens. For now, here are the other accounts (that haven't been removed yet) to avoid:

MotyaKot
Tim_Ka
Vya_ka
Lyu_kaz
NyaTim

[smci]

So I can join Arena Season 5 anytime, it's not a signup deadline 06/04/2021?

[Patrick of the Isles]

I know that the BGA administrators put a significant amount of effort into creating arena mode and making it an enjoyable venue for playing games over the past year. It would be great if we could get official answers to a few questions:

1 - How is it determined to which league a player in the elite league will be relegated? For instance, elite league players in Russian Railroads were downgraded from elite to silver, which is just one level. Elite league players in 7 Wonders were downgraded to gold, which is three levels (past platinum and diamond). What is the official rule?

2 - Do all players start the season with the same hidden Elite Arena Score, no matter which league they have been downgraded to?

3 - What are the specific player count thresholds that determine how many different leagues a game will have?

4 - The user Ghostly 1 raised the case of the Terra Mystica league earlier in this thread, where elite league players were downgraded more than gold league players. What are the reasons for the anomalies he notes? Are there other games with similar irregularities?

...the gold players did not go down to silver 1 but had the number of shields they ended the season with (ie gold 9 moved to silver 9 whereas the elite players moved to silver 1). Surely these changes are not intentional? They just don't seem right. Can it be fixed?

[ufm]

2 - Do all players start the season with the same hidden Elite Arena Score, no matter which league they have been downgraded to?

Yup, everyone restarts with 1500 EAS. No exception.

So I can join Arena Season 5 anytime, it's not a signup deadline 06/04/2021?

You may join anytime until the end of the season.

[themermaid91]

I have an Arena game from the last season that is still going... I thought that turn-based games that were not completed were supposed to end and the person with the most thinking time would lose?

The game is Letter Tycoon. It was started on March 31. I see there is a note in the timeline of the game moves that says "This is the end of the Arena season! The player who has used the most thinking time during the game loses." But the game is still going on and there is no winner.

Does anyone know what's going on here? It is Table #160303222.

[ElerCant]

ElerCant is clearly abusing the arena system. I'm surprised they're even trying to defend themselves.

If you want to play with your friends, that's what the standard tables are for. The only reason someone would play arena like this is to cheat the system.

I would be surprised if somebody wrongly accused wouldn't like to defend themselves...

Even if it looks like nobody actually cares to read any of those defense lines. Or even to think before commenting... Of course it shouldn't be allowed to create Arena tables for friends. And it's impossible, as far as I know. The system matches people who are qualified for Arena automatically. And if some games are not popular anymore - that means you'll probably never be able to play Arena mode in it unless you prearrange it with other pretendents.

And of course, it's never mentioned when you are and when your are not allowed to play with your friends. Even tournaments are not restrictive to this. There's a space for abusing it, obviously, but - once again - there's a replay system for those in doubt. Please check any of my Arena matches and specify if you find any ground for further accusations in kingmaking, ELO boosting or any other unfair game. I did found such an example in other current champion's replays, by the way, and it's a surefire for reporting...

[ElerCant]

I just noticed the same thing. And not just beating them,, but winning by conceding games...this is the definition of king making

Well, I guess I have to reply to this (and this only) and clarify - there was no kingmaking, for sure, in any of my Arena games. There's a system of replays available, so anyone in doubt can check easily - all my games were real, with real people, real moves strategy involving, and those in question were conceded when it was an obvious win. Like in Tablut - you don't have to eliminate all the whites to make king to move into the unavoidable capture, it's just a waste of time. And time is of importance on the last day, of course - I was just one or two games away from one more trophy.

By the way, two more trophies were lost to real cheaters in result... One of them is noticed blaming me here and might want explain the amazing fact of winning the game from a player who was CREATED some 90 minutes ago and boosted (by, one might guess, another fake account of a longer age) to be available at Arena.

At least all my opponents are real persons with a strong desire to win... just with much less experience in board games, sure
Not to boast, but if there's a way to see who else won a Nobel prize (https://boardgamearena.com/award?award=57) in a while? Somehow "latest winners" are not mentioned in this category...

Wow, a Sherlock detected... What a surprise to know that we also had quarantine lockdown here and had to sit in one place, using a Premium account to play together? I didn't care to check but pretty sure we couldn't play Arena that time anyway... Nowadays we can easily do it even while in different cities, yep.

[dencho]

Hi,
Is it normal to win an arena game, yet not to get a single arena point?

In my case https://boardgamearena.com/table?table=163025825 I remained stuck at Platine 9, and I found it particularly frustrating not to advance to diamond league!

Cheers!

[blahedo]

1 - How is it determined to which league a player in the elite league will be relegated? For instance, elite league players in Russian Railroads were downgraded from elite to silver, which is just one level. Elite league players in 7 Wonders were downgraded to gold, which is three levels (past platinum and diamond). What is the official rule?

I'm also wondering if it couldn't be spread out a little more. The idea of relegation is good, but the first week or two of an arena season is extremely frustrating if you're a good-not-great player (higher leagues or low-level elite): since evvvverybody is knocked down together, you get the double whammy of having a long way to go to regain your league and also it's harder because all the elite players are "silver" and don't even give you many points if you beat them. E.g. in Innovation, Elite (and maybe gold?) got knocked to silver—three levels—and everyone else to bronze. Most of the elite players are better than me, but I might only get three league points for beating one of them in the first week or two because they're all still "silver" in the system. Better if each level only relegated down one or two levels—it still bubbles down the ones who are resting on their laurels but makes the arena more fair for the people in the middle skill ranges.