3-player Arena

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Ginooo
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 March 2020, 15:07

3-player Arena

Post by Ginooo »

Hi all,

as a well experienced Catan player (over 20 years of experience and a lot of tournament experience) it is a total desaster to see Arena change to 3p... I somehow managed to be first at the end of Season 9, but i really have to say that i will not continue to grind Catan if the settings are set to 3 player.

I don't know where this decision comes from changing the player number from 4 to 3 (are there already Gurus in Catan??) but as a tournament player 3p-Catan is just boring. The map is way to big for 3p and there are no struggle situations or hard decisions you have to make. 3p is sweet for beginners or player who dont like to play "long" games ("long" means arround 1 hour) but in a competative environment we really need 4p-Catan in the Arena. There is a reason why all official tournaments are played as 4-player-games.

On top of that it really annoys me that the standings continue but the arenasettings change... How do you want to find an Arenachamp of certain settings when you change the settings in the middle of the whole periode??

Is this player count a final decision or is there any possibility to set it back to 4p if there are enough people who think the same as i do? Im really curious to hear other opinions too.

Best regards
Ginooo
Last edited by Ginooo on 12 July 2022, 21:16, edited 1 time in total.
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sorryimlikethis
Posts: 220
Joined: 16 September 2021, 13:04

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by sorryimlikethis »

Agree on your points that 4p is superior to 3p, but it won't change now that the season has started. There are Catan gurus (I am one, but did not vote) who have voted 3p in. Just have to wait for next season to make it 4p again.
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Tens0r
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Joined: 27 February 2020, 18:04

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by Tens0r »

Wholeheartedly agree. Unlike some games that are playable with a "non-standard" number of players, I feel like 3p Catan is poorly balanced and not enjoyable. Many of the tactical aspects of the game fall by the wayside due to the abundance of space, and when playing at a high level, random chance tends to take over as the sole determiner of the winner. If someone places well in the opening and has rolls running in their favor, the massive amount of space to expand all but ensures their victory.

I'm not quite a top tier player (hovering a bit under 300 ELO average on here after 10ish games) but I'll definitely be sitting out of the season if BGA commits to 3 players.

I'll also add that I don't think it's such a horrible idea to revert to 4p "mid-season", given we already reverted from 4p to 3p with our current arena standings maintained. If anything, 4 player is the "status-quo", in the sense of how the game is typically played. It's also the status quo on BGA, given that everyone has reached their current ELO rating playing 4 player. Switching back to 4p now only leaves a small 3p blip on the radar for the season.
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Yuriy R
Posts: 2
Joined: 08 March 2021, 17:01

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by Yuriy R »

sorryimlikethis wrote: 12 July 2022, 16:12 Agree on your points that 4p is superior to 3p, but it won't change now that the season has started. There are Catan gurus (I am one, but did not vote) who have voted 3p in. Just have to wait for next season to make it 4p again.
Wow, I'm really surprised that at least one vote from a player who knows Catan well went for 3p as competitive mode. Sad to hear that is won't be changed. I had a great time climbing ranks. Probably will have to switch to something else as arena game now. Through the Ages maybe. And will play usual non-arena Catan games.
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DVC
Posts: 22
Joined: 20 May 2020, 19:57

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by DVC »

I absolutely agree with you - disastrous decision. I’ve been trying to argue the case in the thread on the change announcement.

I’m a long-time tournament player and have also played thousands of games online over the years. For the base game, 4p is ALWAYS best - for balance, strategy, nuance and, well, fun. 3p is quicker, sure, and is OK for a casual game, but it ruins competitive play, which is surely the raison d’etre of Arena?

I really hope they reconsider and switch back to 4-player, or I’m probably done for the season.
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bobthebandit
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Joined: 24 June 2022, 22:26

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by bobthebandit »

Agree with everyone here. I was very surprised and disappointed to see Arena was set to 3p this season. Big mistake and missed opportunity vs Colonist, just when BGA Catan was about to take off.
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Han Shot First
Posts: 25
Joined: 11 February 2016, 20:35

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by Han Shot First »

I have zero interest in playing 3 player Catan and was shocked that it went from 4 to 3 players in the middle of a season. I feel lucky that I only played 1 game before the change and 1 game after. I will not be playing any more and would have been gutted if I had devoted significant time into gaining shields before the change.
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jirrit
Posts: 5
Joined: 19 February 2020, 16:21

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by jirrit »

I gotta agree with the premise that 4 player >>>>>>>> 3 player bigtime. The random factor gets bigger and the field's too big for it to be a challenge to play.
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DVC
Posts: 22
Joined: 20 May 2020, 19:57

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by DVC »

sorryimlikethis wrote: 12 July 2022, 16:12 Agree on your points that 4p is superior to 3p, but it won't change now that the season has started. There are Catan gurus (I am one, but did not vote) who have voted 3p in. Just have to wait for next season to make it 4p again.
But you have just changed it, mid-season! We had about 2 weeks with 4-player games, and it was great. Challenging to advance, but properly competitive. On July 12 you kept the rankings (which is normal for a newly listed game) but changed it to 3-player without any visible consultation. It is a completely different game now, yet the 4-player rankings still stand?

It’s not a case of changing it, mid-season - it’s a case of restoring it to the way it has been running up to now.
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sorryimlikethis
Posts: 220
Joined: 16 September 2021, 13:04

Re: 3-player Arena

Post by sorryimlikethis »

DVC wrote: 17 July 2022, 01:50
sorryimlikethis wrote: 12 July 2022, 16:12 Agree on your points that 4p is superior to 3p, but it won't change now that the season has started. There are Catan gurus (I am one, but did not vote) who have voted 3p in. Just have to wait for next season to make it 4p again.
But you have just changed it, mid-season! We had about 2 weeks with 4-player games, and it was great. Challenging to advance, but properly competitive. On July 12 you kept the rankings (which is normal for a newly listed game) but changed it to 3-player without any visible consultation. It is a completely different game now, yet the 4-player rankings still stand?

It’s not a case of changing it, mid-season - it’s a case of restoring it to the way it has been running up to now.
I didn't change anything. "Gurus" are just people who have played the game a lot recently. I don't play arena mode so didn't vote for any option because it doesn't affect me. I'm not an admin, just a regular dude who plays Catan.

The arena season for every game finished a few days ago, so all arenas got reset and if new game modes or player counts were voted in they got implemented. Catan just happened to come out of beta towards the very end of the arena season which is why the "sudden" change. I don't know if they reset the arena rankings given it was only out of beta for a few weeks.
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