Board Game Arena

The FAQ isn’t that clear to me. It says I gain 3 points for a win at same level but 2 points at +/-1 level. I can see why I only get 2pts if I win vs a lower tier player but why should I only get 2pts for winning against someone a level higher than me.

Is that how it really works?

The FAQ also doesn’t properly explain how many points I lose when I lose.

It's poorly worded - they really mean it's the same principle but in reverse with regards to winning against higher league players. So you get 4 points for beating a player of the league above you (can confirm this from my last Arena game), 5 point if you beat someone 2 leagues above you, etc.

I don't know about losing points though, sorry.

jesslc wrote: ↑13 July 2023, 14:43 It's poorly worded - they really mean it's the same principle but in reverse with regards to winning against higher league players. So you get 4 points for beating a player of the league above you (can confirm this from my last Arena game), 5 point if you beat someone 2 leagues above you, etc.

I don't know about losing points though, sorry.

Thank you for that. I think I have gained 4 or 5 points when winning from Bronze against high league players.

This from the FAQ could really do with a brush up!!

When you win a game in Arena mode, you gain Arena points. You gain 3 Arena points when beating an opponent from the same league, 2 points when beating an opponent from league N-1, 1 point for beating an opponent from league N-2, and so on (and the same for higher leagues).

When you lose a game, you lose Arena points. However, you cannot go below 0 points.

It implies for winning at N-3 there would be 0 points, N-4 would be -1 point

I think what's happening is this:

Win league N+5 = +8 (Bronze player beats Elite player in a six league model)
Win league N+4 = +7
Win league N+3 = +6
Win league N+2 = +5
Win league N+1 = +4
Win league N = +3
Win league N-1 = +2
Win league N-2 = +1
Win league N-3 = +1 (because I can't believe you'd actually get 0 points in the progression!)
Win league N-4 = +1
Win league N-5 - doesn't exist as Elite players not ranked on arena points

The flip for losing would be:

Lose league N+5 = -1 (Bronze player loses to Elite player in a six league model)
Lose league N+4 = -1
Lose league N+3 = -1
Lose league N+2 = -1
Lose league N+1 = -2
Lose league N = -3
Lose league N-1 = -4
Lose league N-2 = -5
Lose league N-3 = -6
Lose league N-4 = -7
Lose league N-5 - doesn't exist as Elite players not ranked on arena points

Apologies if this has been done before. I'm trying to get my head around the merits of playing wide variations in leagues. For players in higher leagues there may be limited upside benefit playing down too many leagues, and considerable downside in a loss.

JohnnyCyclops wrote: ↑13 July 2023, 18:57 This from the FAQ could really do with a brush up!!

Apologies if this has been done before. I'm trying to get my head around the merits of playing wide variations in leagues. For players in higher leagues there may be limited upside benefit playing down too many leagues, and considerable downside in a loss.

Yep, downside is large. I had my stars wiped out in Bronze thanks to bad losses and have simply stopped playing all Arena matches for good. It was a demoralizing experience of stupid rules. If I wanted to slog through long tedious grinds I'd go back to playing World of Warships.

There needs to be a ratchet effect where losses cannot drop you below your most recent high, meaning that (for example) if you have three stars, win a game and gain four stars, a string of losses cannot drop you below three stars.

There is already a "ratchet effect" with leagues. The problem (or one of the problems) with Arena is that it's such a different experience/challenge for games that last ~5 minutes, where you can just play (and win or lose) a dozen games every day, and games that last a couple of hours, where you can maybe play one or two a week...

JohnnyCyclops wrote: ↑13 July 2023, 18:57 Win league N-3 = +1 (because I can't believe you'd actually get 0 points in the progression!)
Win league N-4 = +1

I suppose you are in error because in the past, I have win with N-x guys several times and obtains no point because the level was too different.
So I have changed my parameters to have opposites which permits to win points...

mturton wrote: ↑14 July 2023, 00:07

JohnnyCyclops wrote: ↑13 July 2023, 18:57 This from the FAQ could really do with a brush up!!

Apologies if this has been done before. I'm trying to get my head around the merits of playing wide variations in leagues. For players in higher leagues there may be limited upside benefit playing down too many leagues, and considerable downside in a loss.

Yep, downside is large. I had my stars wiped out in Bronze thanks to bad losses and have simply stopped playing all Arena matches for good. It was a demoralizing experience of stupid rules. If I wanted to slog through long tedious grinds I'd go back to playing World of Warships.

There needs to be a ratchet effect where losses cannot drop you below your most recent high, meaning that (for example) if you have three stars, win a game and gain four stars, a string of losses cannot drop you below three stars.

The ratchet does kick in every 10 points, once you lock into the next highest level - I suppose they could lock-in at 7 or even 3 like you say but 10 seems like a reasonable stretch challenge as requires stringing a few consecutive wins together. I've very limited experience, only been playing for two weeks. In Bronze the most I think you could lose is -3 to another Bronze player. Losing to a higher league player would see -2 vs Silver or -1 vs Gold (and higher?).

menettm wrote: ↑14 July 2023, 12:31

JohnnyCyclops wrote: ↑13 July 2023, 18:57 Win league N-3 = +1 (because I can't believe you'd actually get 0 points in the progression!)
Win league N-4 = +1

I suppose you are in error because in the past, I have win with N-x guys several times and obtains no point because the level was too different.
So I have changed my parameters to have opposites which permits to win points...

I too suppose I'm in error because I wasn't getting +6/7/8 when as a Bronze I beat Platinum/Diamond/Elite players. I hope someone who knows might add to the thread. I have seen +4 and +5 I think, but I'm now Diamond in the main game I'm currently playing so can't check that.