Arena rating decay for inactivity

[Silene]

So many people against this lol. Hmmm, I wonder why? The lack of competitive integrity from some of these players just makes me sad.

Many people are against it because decay would LEAD TO lack of competitive integrity

[FSKFSK]

There already is Arena decay - at the end of a season.

I actually would make a case for ELO, if you haven't played a game in 6 months, you no longer count towards the ELO leaderboard.

[aesche]

I actually would make a case for ELO, if you haven't played a game in 6 months, you no longer count towards the ELO leaderboard.

Anyone who doesnt play a game for 2 months IS removed from the ELO leaderboard already…

[Sayoria]

How so? It's true. It's dumb.

[sesc]

I almost always play turn-based here. Can't even remember when I played the last realtime game on BGA.

So there come a few questions in regards of the planned decay and turn-based gaming:

1. How do you define inactive? Is it no game was started in that period? No game ended in that period? No move was made in that period? Especially some long-running games will take more than 5 days to complete. So would I be inactive during that time?
2. I think this one was already mentioned: Turn-based arena closes several days before the offical season end. At least no new games can be started there. So when I only play turn-based I am more or less forced to be inactive at the last days of a season. It seems unfair this will force me to lose points due to decay then.
3. Is the "parking" even such a big problem? I find it hard to believe that there are so many players that go for first rank in Arena and than just don't play anymore. Where is the fun in that? I have the hope that most people play here for the fun, and not playing to keep your score doesn't sound like fun.

[T72on1]

I almost always play turn-based here. Can't even remember when I played the last realtime game on BGA.

So there come a few questions in regards of the planned decay and turn-based gaming:

1. How do you define inactive? Is it no game was started in that period? No game ended in that period? No move was made in that period? Especially some long-running games will take more than 5 days to complete. So would I be inactive during that time?
2. I think this one was already mentioned: Turn-based arena closes several days before the offical season end. At least no new games can be started there. So when I only play turn-based I am more or less forced to be inactive at the last days of a season. It seems unfair this will force me to lose points due to decay then.
3. Is the "parking" even such a big problem? I find it hard to believe that there are so many players that go for first rank in Arena and than just don't play anymore. Where is the fun in that? I have the hope that most people play here for the fun, and not playing to keep your score doesn't sound like fun.

1. I would assume 'inactive' means you didn't make any move for that particular game. The other things you mention would indeed come with some potential problems.
2. I'm pretty sure BGA wouldn't put a system in place where you are forced to play real-time to not be considered 'inactive'. At least I hope they wouldn't !
3. I, like most people here, I assume, indeed mainly play for fun. But ... there's only 1 game I'm really competitive at, and I must say that, as much as I like it, I also like to get that number 1 Arena spot at the end of the season. So I definitly am inclined to park there at times, when I'm firmly in the lead. Something tells me I'm not an exception.

[Jellby]

I don't remember if it has been mentioned before, but as an alternative to Arena decay, I would suggest to base the Arena rankings not on your current AES, but on your highest score (during the season). Then the only incentive to "park your score" would be giving other players fewer chances to earn a higher score, but at least there would be no direct loss for yourself.

[FlyingArrow]

Arena scores reset every 3 months. That's sufficient decay.

Then again, for some less popular games it can be literally impossible to find an arena game near the end. That's a problem more than the idea of someone getting a competitive advantage for parking.

[OEJack]

Parking is definitely an issue. Research it if you have doubts. Look up the number of arena games played by players in the top 10. The numbers go weeks without moving. I cannot comment on the motivation, simply that it happens.

I don't think the proposed decay is aggressive enough ( -1 point per day after 5 days). I lost 32 points losing a single game yesterday. I would propose -2 points per day after 5 days. That would take 3 weeks of inactivity to equate to a single loss. I think that is fair and would allow active players more of a chance to climb the ladder.

[frogstar_A]

Parking is definitely an issue. Research it if you have doubts. Look up the number of arena games played by players in the top 10. The numbers go weeks without moving. I cannot comment on the motivation, simply that it happens.

I don't think the proposed decay is aggressive enough ( -1 point per day after 5 days). I lost 32 points losing a single game yesterday. I would propose -2 points per day after 5 days. That would take 3 weeks of inactivity to equate to a single loss. I think that is fair and would allow active players more of a chance to climb the ladder.

Parking definitely HAPPENS - I do it myself every season. But that doesn't mean its an ISSUE.

I'll repeat what i said above - why should good performance earlier in the season be penalised compared to the same performance later in the season?

Why does me parking stop you climbing the ladder after me? I had to beat people to get to the top - so will you if you want to.

If you introduce rating decay all I'll do is not bother with arena at all until the last few weeks, so you still won't get to play me any more often. I'll just play the last 3 weeks instead of the first 3.