[POLL] Rules for "Welcome To" in Arena Season 6

[Yellow_Snow]

After a while, the default base rules for "Welcome To" on Arena seem a little stale. This is a proposal to change things a bit for the next season

I would like to recommend "Advanced variant: yes, Expert Rules: no" instead of current settings: "Advanced variant: no, Expert Rules: no"

PLEASE RESPOND with your preferences

[aqualta18]

Thanks for making this thread! I think it's a good discussion to have. I see a lot of big tournaments using the advanced variant now.

I have pretty much only played the base game, so can't give a full view. But for me, the base game is already wonderful. There are enough possible combinations of city plans, and, more importantly, ways you and your opponents can respond to them, that the game still feels fresh for me after 400 plays. Luck is a factor, but you can play to give yourself the biggest chance of winning.

Based on a look at the advanced variant rules, the roundabouts are a very interesting addition. I do worry, however, that some of the new city plans will make the game depend even more on luck. The expert rules (which aren't in the poll, but let's mention them anyway) seem even more dependent on luck as you are at the mercy of the cards you draw from the deck.

I'm in favour of staying with the base game, but would be interested to hear from people who have played the advanced variant more.

[Yellow_Snow]

Thanks for responding with your perspective!

I discovered this game fairly recently and I do have a blast playing it. I do feel the difference between Arena and tournaments, though. Advanced rules bring more variety into the game, there are more options without making it chaotic (I tried "Welcome To Las Vegas" and was disappointed).
Expert rules - while draft is interesting, it removes one of the biggest advantages this game has - luck of the draw. Hence I am not proposing it right now.

I do hope we hear more from the community over the next couple of weeks.

[Pharaoh Silver]

I haven't played with a roundabout yet but definitely expert rules makes the game feel way more luck-based.

The roundabout sounds like it will make things more strategic. I dunno about the luck factor so much though.

[squeegy83]

Thanks for making the poll!
Having played >200 games now, and about evenly split between regular and advanced modes, I feel I have some input about this.

- I think there’s good evidence that Advanced entails less luck than regular mode. The players with the highest ELOs (with aqualta18 being a notable exception - kudos to your mastery of the game!) have high roundabout usage in their stats, meaning that they play a lot of advanced games. Game modes including more luck generally give lower ELOs, as luck would regress everyone closer to the mean.

- I can’t think of any advanced plans that depend a lot on luck. Even the “all pools on two streets”, which might be considered to involve luck, can be strategized with roundabouts and street selection.

- I don’t care for the “5xBiz” or even the “7xConstruction” plans, but the rest add quite a bit to the game. And when one of these two show up, the Biz one just gets ignored and the construction one can be strategized.

- The expert mode shouldn’t enter the discussion for the arena in my opinion. It adds a huge element of luck and I never play it anymore.

[Spectra207]

I am also in favour of adding Advanced, though for transparency I haven't played Arena games yet having only fairly recently started playing ranked games of Welcome To. I feel that the roundabouts alone add a large strategic element and it does appear that their use is correlated with higher rankings. The uninitiated might be put off by the score penalty for adding a roundabout, but used appropriately they allow you to more than offset the cost by completing more plans first.

[aqualta18]

Having played >200 games now, and about evenly split between regular and advanced modes, I feel I have some input about this.

I feel that the roundabouts alone add a large strategic element

Good to get more responses from people who have played both, and there's now strong support in the poll for using the advanced variant - guess I'd better get practising

The players with the highest ELOs have high roundabout usage in their stats

Not sure I agree with this logic specifically...at time of writing, half of the top 10 ELO (the same 5 accounts occupying the top 5 in Arena Season 5) have zero roundabout usage in their stats.

[Yellow_Snow]

Not sure I agree with this logic specifically...at time of writing, half of the top 10 ELO (the same 5 accounts occupying the top 5 in Arena Season 5) have zero roundabout usage in their stats.

My take is the top Arena players play Arena exclusively, and have no exposure to Advanced variant in their stats (which would mostly happen via tournaments).