Knockout system for hourglass PvP

HG matchmaking is pretty good right now different tiers etc are just going to ruin queue times again after largely being fixed. I don’t feel like going back to that.

@theblackbellamy
They did introduce Cross-stamp months ago.
WHAT HG needs is region though, for example Merge All NA East coast servers together instead of having a Chicago/NY stamp on EAST, then a Central and West stamp on NA. There's probably 5-7 different regions with their own stamps on it.
There's to many regions (Not stamps) in NA that even with cross migration theres not enough crews to support it especially for Galleon Queues.

EU should have two Server Regions with their own stamps that being EU East and West. Eastern Europe and Western Europe, that would be ideal.

Last time I played sweaty HG high MMR months ago it was dying fast moreso because of patches nerfing PvP moreso then the gamemode.

Peak HG was at the start and 6 months into it.
Imho it was the most fun and most active of good crews playing since then, now you have the same 5 Galleon EU crews fighting each other that no one cares about anymore.

It's now been exactly a year since HG came out? It's hasn't received any big updates outside of small tweaks and the big one that introduce barrels rising up from sunk ships and the stamp migration.

HG needs to be rejuvenated. More rewards etc. Because it has become extremely stale to the point the ones that have 2k+ levels are people who are addicted and have no lifes on SoT. (Srs)

@jumbie7311 sagte in Knockout system for hourglass PvP:

@gooru72

What is the significance of facing off against another player who has a streak equivalent to yours though? Is it that we throw away the ELO rating in favour of matching with anyone who has the same streak number?

The knockout system is not perfect. It certainly doesn't solve the problem if too few players want to participate. The ELO matchmaking would indeed be abandoned, that's correct. The downside would be that in the lower brackets, different skill-level opponents may face off against each other, for example, if a strong player joins or re-enters after being eliminated.

The advantage would be that it's essentially a endless tournament that self-adjusts in size.

Caution: "Math incoming"
Let's say we have 63 participants playing.
The system then has a stable point that looks like this:

Streak 0 - 32 participants (16 battles)
Streak 1 - 16 participants (8 battles)
Streak 2 - 8 participants (4 battles)
Streak 3 - 4 participants (2 battles)
Streak 4 - 2 participants (1 battle)
Streak 5 - 1 participant (cash-out and start over)

After everyone has fought once, it becomes:
Streak 0 - 31 losers (from all 31 battles) + 1 participant from streak 5 starting over = 32 participants
Streak 1 - 16 winners from streak 0
Streak 2 - 8 winners from streak 1
Streak 3 - 4 winners from streak 2
Streak 4 - 2 winners from streak 3
Streak 5 - 1 winner from streak 4

Any given start combination converges to this state (I'll spare you the math behind it). When new participants enter, the size adjusts automatically.
Math end

Of course, in the highest streak, the crew won't find suitable opponents anymore, but that's just how it is when you've prevailed against all opponents. This is no different in the ELO system. As "compensation" for not getting any more fights, the "forced" cash-out at the end could also be doubled and tied to a 5-level commendation. This would also motivate participants not to drop out voluntarily when the opponents get tougher.

As I said, the knockout system doesn't solve the matchmaking problems when there are too few opponents. But it also doesn't make them worse. However, it gives things like winning streaks a real purpose.

@ian333333 sagte in Knockout system for hourglass PvP:

While it would result in closer ranked crews facing off against each other it also would significantly increase the waiting time for matches at higher streaks

Yes and No.
There is the range where the waiting times become (too) long. But this range is not "The Problem," but rather the objective of the tournament, so to speak. If you manage to reach it, you receive your prize and commendation and start the next round at the bottom (with short waiting times).

@lleorb sagte in Knockout system for hourglass PvP:

I reached level 1000 in both factions and I only have 7 or 8 champions sunk for both

Finding someone with 3 or 4 streaks is VERY rare, maybe once a week or every two weeks you see a champion. Either because they sink or reset with 3 or 4 wins.

This presents yet another issue within the current system.
The reward for continuing after the second win simply doesn't justify the risk.
After two wins, your hourglass is valued at 22,000, which you have to put on the line. The third win only yields 16,000, making another 50/50 battle not worthwhile.
XP gains follow a similar pattern. Furthermore, it only worsens from there.

Therefore, anyone not resetting after two or three wins is essentially forfeiting gold and XP.
Making adjustments here would not only enhance the quality of battles but also make them more rewarding overall.

@scaryfawn235336 said in Knockout system for hourglass PvP:

Actualy I dont understand how newcomers can play this mode with current matchmaking. Even having more than 2000+ hours in game exp and arena exp it can still be a struggle.
Arena was more newby friendly as you could at least make smart delivery of chest (arena 1.0 was completely newby friendly as you could dig lots of chests)

HG is nearly entirely mindset. Hg burned out veteran players just like it did new/casual players.

It rewards a bit for losing which makes it a better deal than most other risk/reward in the game.

The strategy for most players, whether new or highly experienced, should have always been moderation, efficiency, and treating it as a goal/fun/practice rather than an ego thing or treating it like it needed to be done quickly.

Quick supping (if at all), dive, keep the fight time minimal, meaning take the easy wins, take risks to avoid hour long fights/chases, and just rinse repeat in an amount that is sustainable for a person. Rushing for cosmetics is what makes it unsustainable for a lot of people, letting ego get involved makes it worse.

It's just time consuming with an efficient strategy, less harsh than a lot of what exists in random adventure.

I know casual players that made huge leaps during the extra rep times.