Matchmaking and Related PvP Changes

[Cosmos]

Cross-posting from the Official Wizard101 Twitter Page...

---

PvPers unite!

Ben "Ratbeard" Durbin, Lead Designer on Wizard101, has written up a new dev diary post about the Matchmaking system. Have a read as he goes into detail on what's been done and what's being considered: https://wizard101.com/game/dev-diary/matchmaking-pvp-changes…

[Patrick FairyStalker]

Super cool! I love these posts. It really helps players contextualize the care that developers put into the game, especially the unseen.

[JaredSpellFrost]

As some of you may have noticed, players have some ability to “manipulate” their Tier – but not really in an advantageous way. There’s low level gear available that may give you “early access” to Crit or Shadow and, if you equip this gear when you queue up, we’ll sort you into higher Tiers, as appropriate. In any case, when you queue up, we’ll tell you what Tier you’re queueing for, so you’ll have a chance to change your gear before you queue.

Wait, so my Level 3 Storm Wizard whose Pet failed and got a Critical talent at Mega can be matched against Level 60+ Wizards!? And no, I can't just "change [my] gear" because I don't have any other good Storm Pets.

Or will my Level 3 noob only be put into matches with Wizards who are in his "level band"?:

The character's level and level band (a group of 10 levels, eg level 1-9, 10-19, 20-29, etc.)

Tier, Rank, Rating, and Level Band are the major sorting criteria and almost all matches will be created (and in all likelihood, determined...) based on these criteria. However, we have defined some additional, more “creative” sorting criteria to serve as a tie-breaker.

I would hope that Wizards under level 9 would only face other Wizards under level 9, regardless of what my Critical stat is (It is 5% for those who are wondering). There is a vast gap between Levels 1-9 and 10-19- I hope that KingsIsle understands this power imbalance like I do.
Hopefully, we will all only face opponents in our level band. This would be the best case scenario!

---

At a glance, these changes are quite satisfying to see! I do wish that we had time to try them out in Test Realm, but they do appear to all be positive additions... I must admit, I am happy to see that Ice Wizards won't be getting a hard cap on their resist!

[Oxnhorse]

I don't know much about the mechanics of PVP, but I did try it on 16 Aug 20 to obtain the elusive Participation Trophy and failed to do so.

In the process, I experienced an odd experience. From the start of the duel, every odd turn the wizard can choose which card to play and on every even turn they are locked out of making a selection, with the feeling of being a sitting duck unable to defend or attack my opponent.

Timothy Pearlflower, L130 Ice

[SeptenaryRavens]

... I must admit, I am happy to see that Ice Wizards won't be getting a hard cap on their resist!

It is quite good to hear that, yeah. Like the devs said, stats need to be proportional for all schools, not just for one school. If Ice were to have a resist cap, then where would be storm's critical cap?, fire's damage cap?, life's outgoing cap?, etc...

Just a side note too, KI explained the reasoning for having the higher hpp on healing spells was to deal with the 2-mob sigil fights in PvE. With that, I kind of understand why they nerfed the life Majoris robe from 41% outgoing to 27% around when Mirage came out. In PvP, if the opponent were to wear the original 41% Majoris robe, on top of equipping the critical guitar wand and other critical gear and pets, healing for that opponent would outweigh the wizard's damage 2- or 3-fold. It's a few years later, and I no longer use that robe on my life wizard, but back when it was a 41% outgoing boost, you can bet that was the go-to life robe for healing in both PvP and PvE.

[Eric Stormbringer]

Wait, so my Level 3 Storm Wizard whose Pet failed and got a Critical talent at Mega can be matched against Level 60+ Wizards!? And no, I can't just "change [my] gear" because I don't have any other good Storm Pets.

Or will my Level 3 noob only be put into matches with Wizards who are in his "level band"?:



I would hope that Wizards under level 9 would only face other Wizards under level 9, regardless of what my Critical stat is (It is 5% for those who are wondering). There is a vast gap between Levels 1-9 and 10-19- I hope that KingsIsle understands this power imbalance like I do.
Hopefully, we will all only face opponents in our level band. This would be the best case scenario!

You'll automatically be sorted into tier 2 if you have any critical so I recommend you work on a different pet. You'll be sorted into tier before you are sorted into level band so your only hope of matching someone similar level if you are running crit stats on a low level is if another low level running crit stats is also in queue.

- - - Updated - - -

I don't know much about the mechanics of PVP, but I did try it on 16 Aug 20 to obtain the elusive Participation Trophy and failed to do so.

In the process, I experienced an odd experience. From the start of the duel, every odd turn the wizard can choose which card to play and on every even turn they are locked out of making a selection, with the feeling of being a sitting duck unable to defend or attack my opponent.

Timothy Pearlflower, L130 Ice

Ranked PvP operates in a turn based system which is much fairer than typical W101 combat as it allows both players to have perfect reaction. A consequence of this turn based system is that both players have a "standby phase". During this standby phase the only actions you can take are discarding and drawing from your side deck.

[JaredSpellFrost]

You'll automatically be sorted into tier 2 if you have any critical so I recommend you work on a different pet. You'll be sorted into tier before you are sorted into level band so your only hope of matching someone similar level if you are running crit stats on a low level is if another low level running crit stats is also in queue.

How on earth can KingsIsle justify this? It should never be possible for a Level 3 Wizard to be matched against a Level 60! @Sparck, please tell the Devs that this needs to be changed.

I am suddenly reminded of High Voltage Amethyst Kroger Jewel. This is a Level 15+ Jewel that gives Maycast Wildbolt and Critical, the lowest level Jewel that gives Crit. It seems odd to me that KingsIsle is now driving Players away from purchasing and using this Jewel at levels under 60, and although this is most likely an oversight- it should be addressed. It goes to show that there are still flaws in what appears to be a functioning system overall.

Personally, I think that you should be matched against opponents based on your level and rating, with the added consideration for "gear milestones". A Level 29 Wizard should never face a Level 30, because the second wizard will have access to Olympus gear. A Level 59 Wizard should never face a Level 60 Wizard, because the second wizard will have access to Waterworks gear, etc etc. And a Level 3 Wizard should never be able to match up against a Level 60 Wizard!

[Eric Stormbringer]

How on earth can KingsIsle justify this? It should never be possible for a Level 3 Wizard to be matched against a Level 60! @Sparck, please tell the Devs that this needs to be changed.

I am suddenly reminded of High Voltage Amethyst Kroger Jewel. This is a Level 15+ Jewel that gives Maycast Wildbolt and Critical, the lowest level Jewel that gives Crit. It seems odd to me that KingsIsle is now driving Players away from purchasing and using this Jewel at levels under 60, and although this is most likely an oversight- it should be addressed. It goes to show that there are still flaws in what appears to be a functioning system overall.

Personally, I think that you should be matched against opponents based on your level and rating, with the added consideration for "gear milestones". A Level 29 Wizard should never face a Level 30, because the second wizard will have access to Olympus gear. A Level 59 Wizard should never face a Level 60 Wizard, because the second wizard will have access to Waterworks gear, etc etc. And a Level 3 Wizard should never be able to match up against a Level 60 Wizard!

It's just a matter of fairness. Those at low levels should have access to low level stats. PvE allows some bleed but I am glad they are addressing this in PvP especially since those advanced stats are completely within control of the player. Don't want the chance to match a lvl 60-then don't wear crit giving gear.

[Patrick FairyStalker]

How on earth can KingsIsle justify this? It should never be possible for a Level 3 Wizard to be matched against a Level 60! @Sparck, please tell the Devs that this needs to be changed.

I am suddenly reminded of High Voltage Amethyst Kroger Jewel. This is a Level 15+ Jewel that gives Maycast Wildbolt and Critical, the lowest level Jewel that gives Crit. It seems odd to me that KingsIsle is now driving Players away from purchasing and using this Jewel at levels under 60, and although this is most likely an oversight- it should be addressed. It goes to show that there are still flaws in what appears to be a functioning system overall.

Personally, I think that you should be matched against opponents based on your level and rating, with the added consideration for "gear milestones". A Level 29 Wizard should never face a Level 30, because the second wizard will have access to Olympus gear. A Level 59 Wizard should never face a Level 60 Wizard, because the second wizard will have access to Waterworks gear, etc etc. And a Level 3 Wizard should never be able to match up against a Level 60 Wizard!

I find it unfair for wizards to have critical gear...when equal level opponents have no opportunity to have critical block. KI has laid out your options here, so the easy solution is to use another pet. Critical has no place in level 3 PvP.

[JaredSpellFrost]

It's just a matter of fairness. Those at low levels should have access to low level stats. PvE allows some bleed but I am glad they are addressing this in PvP especially since those advanced stats are completely within control of the player. Don't want the chance to match a lvl 60-then don't wear crit giving gear.

I find it unfair for wizards to have critical gear...when equal level opponents have no opportunity to have critical block. KI has laid out your options here, so the easy solution is to use another pet. Critical has no place in level 3 PvP.

The solution cannot be "then just use a different pet"- creating a new pet is a long and arduous task, and requires a healthy amount of infrastructure (Gardens, gold, mega snacks, etc) to even start. This hardline response from KingsIsle will only serve to frustrate and drive Players away from the Arena, and subsequently, their money... There is a much more Player-Friendly solution to this dilemma!

I whole heatedly agree that Critical existing in PvP below level 50* is a problem. Players can technically defend against it by using a Pet with Block and/or using the Level 15+ Frozen Solid Jewel which gives Block, but saying: "Oh, just use a different Pet with Block if you don't like it," doesn't sound quite right.
IMO, KingsIsle should just make Criticals impossible below Level 50* in PvP. Even if you used gear that gave you Crit, you wouldn't be penalized for it- and neither would your opponent! KingsIsle has already coded this into the game too- Criticals in PvP do 1.3x Damage, so it should be possible to make that multiplier 0x for these level brackets.


*I say Level 50 and not 60, because there is gear that gives Crit before 60 (Like the WinterTusk crafted gear). It would be more appropriate to have this level be equal to the level that mainstream gear starts giving Critical, but I am unsure as to what that is.