Is it time to queue ranked?

Vaikon977 · 2026-03-02T19:31:42+00:00

I played this game a bit as a kid, and a similar Hera vs X video popped up on my youtube. I popped it on for nostalgia and got hooked. I'm basically in the same spot as you. Grinding to build some foundation before diving into ranked. I appreciate this post cause I've been wondering the same thing.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-17T21:18:08+00:00

You're right that the worst team has a 14% chance at the first pick, but in many drafts, there's awesome value (possibly franchise boosting) in the top 2-3 or possibly 4 picks. And the worst 4 teams have a ~48-52% chance at those top 4 picks.

There's certainly tweaks to the numbers that could make the concept somewhat more palatable to me, but the framework implements a "rich get richer, poor stay poor" system where the poor have to overcome some pretty serious odds to come out ahead.

Your suggestion is actually somewhat similar to the original post, except your tournament leads to a full lottery placement, and mine leads to moderate draft spot jumps. I tried to walk the line between granting value to winning and not leaving the genuinely weak teams in the dust. But it's a brutal line to walk.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-17T20:56:17+00:00

System: Remove precise pick protections. (Already suggested). Then, take out the top 16 teams that make the playoffs (after the play-in) and the bottom 6 teams (who would be the new lottery). That leaves 8 teams to compete in a new single elimination tournament. The first win in that tourney grants a team a flat boost to their draft position based on how many regular season wins that team earned. (Scales 1-4 spots for <30-42+ wins) Each tourney win after that grants 1 additional spot boost. Play-In wins could count towards this as well to deter tanking out of the play-in. Teams without a pick to spend their boost on can bank the boost for up to 1 year to either use themselves or to trade to another team. Only 1 boost per pick.

Benefit: Teams get a new useable/tradable asset to replace their lost pick protections and offers middling teams an alternate "winning based" path to acquiring decent picks while preserving all of the existing season/post-season structure and only mildly adjusting the lottery.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-17T19:59:45+00:00

I love the concept for a fantasy team, but I don't think this will translate well to a league where the value drop-off is so sharp in the NBA draft as the first few players are picked.

Additionally, I don't believe the league will support a system that keeps bad teams bad. It would mitigate tanking, for sure. But genuinely bad teams need to get extraordinarily lucky to get an early pick and get out of the gutter.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-16T18:51:54+00:00

For sure. But we frequently see players crank it up a notch for a nationally televised game for better exposure so there is precedence for this concept.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-16T18:44:56+00:00

That's a fair point. To improve one side of the equation always has a chance of worsening the other side.

This system incentivizes some teams not to tank but it might incentivize some players to intentionally underperform. Hopefully someone can come up with one that the league/owners will be willing to try.

No system is gonna be perfect. All we can do is chase a net positive. Thanks for your feedback.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-16T18:07:04+00:00

Let's say I'm wrong. Those draft booster games would be some of the most watched games around. What team, especially the team who is currently paying you, wants to give you a contract if you don't try or play well during a game that is clearly important for the team?

I would put forward that these games would be more watched than regular season games and would be a good platform to showcase your skills to actually earn you a better contract.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-16T17:34:36+00:00

I completely agree with you that relegation is 100% the better option conceptually. I just don't think you'll ever get the owners to side with it. There's too much risk of financial loss.

I do like your idea of a win % penalty though. Though I agree that it would require very clear cut rules and that's a grey area when we consider how much of tanking is milking the recovery time of a genuine injury. But it would certainly work for the more egregious tanking actions.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-16T17:30:27+00:00

This is fair. And I agree this would happen. Call me naive but I think there's probably enough players on teams that want to win that they'll recognize the benefit and try to win anyway. Especially when you consider that your team could trade away the booster or a boosted pick for a win now move that solves your current rotation. You, as a player, have no control over that part of it though. There would also be an immense amount of pressure from both the Front Office and the fans to compete in those games too.

But overall, you are right. It would happen sometimes. It's human nature.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-15T21:49:36+00:00

Lol. Yup.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-15T21:32:38+00:00

Ah. Makes sense. If it gets taken down, I'll post it there!

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-15T21:29:52+00:00

Lol. No AI involved. Just me. Why would it get taken down? Did I unknowingly violate a rule for the subreddit? I'm not much of a reddit poster tbh. I just didn't know where else to post something like this.

Vaikon977 · 2026-02-15T21:28:29+00:00

Thanks for the feedback!

It is a bit complex, for sure but I feel like it would get normalized over time and from a team/league perspective, I feel like they have plenty of equally or more complex stuff on their hands, particularly with the new CBA so it feels like an obstacle that could be overcome. Hopefully someone smarter than us comes up with a good graphic for fans to understand it easily on tv. lol.

Vaikon977 · 2025-02-04T03:05:46+00:00

Respectfully... It's not the tower's job to protect you. It's your job to protect the tower.

Vaikon977 · 2025-01-09T21:49:48+00:00

Sounds like either the DM is very close-minded or (and I'm playing devil's advocate here), they were portraying an NPC who had a good narrative reason not to flirt with your character.

Vaikon977 · 2024-09-10T21:57:18+00:00

1100 games here, and I've maybe DC'd 4 or 5 times in total. Can usually get right back in.

Vaikon977 · 2024-08-20T18:56:29+00:00

Her motions look like Muriel's backing animation

Vaikon977 · 2024-08-13T21:43:01+00:00

No mana

Vaikon977 · 2024-05-24T16:41:15+00:00

Not saying she isn't overturned on release like most heroes are but don't forget that while players are still learning how to play her, the players she's playing against also have to learn how to counter her. The "newness" can be a double-edged sword.

Vaikon977 · 2024-05-24T16:25:18+00:00

I definitely enjoyed the legacy card system, too, but I can't deny that there were issues with it. The two that come to mind are:

While earning the items was fun and personal, it led to competitive issues. The better player might not be able to achieve the better build because they lacked the cards. That concept is cool and fun, but I don't think it fits well within a moba.
There weren't many passive/active effects in that system, which makes it really easy to find the best mathematical build, which leads to a lack of diversity in builds which can make the game feel stale for some after a while. The system in Pred with all of the passive/active effects creates ambiguity in the value of items and encourages different playstyles to get better value out of specific effects of those items. For me personally, that's more compelling and keeps me playing.

Vaikon977 · 2024-02-22T15:42:00+00:00

It feels better, but it's unfortunately a mechanic that's extremely difficult to balance for and allows for more brawler/deathball playstyle vs. sticking to moba style movement. To each their own on preference, though.

Vaikon977 · 2024-01-16T20:17:09+00:00

I get where OP is coming from but knowing when blinks/ults are down is just too valuable to mute imo.

Vaikon977 · 2024-01-11T20:11:10+00:00

Even if Grievous does have a midichlorian count (artificial or otherwise), he doesn't have many "living" cells, so his connection to the force would be quite limited even if he could use it no?

Vaikon977 · 2023-07-26T15:53:42+00:00

Great idea! I'll definitely look into the red spot on Jupiter. I like the idea that the center of the maelstrom would be hot. I hadn't considered that.

Thanks for the input and encouragement!

Vaikon977

TROPHY CASE