[b]Pre-thread info[/b]: I suck at formatting, there are so many factors involved with a ranking system so please forgive me if my thoughts are all over the place. I will be making comparisons to past Bungie ranking systems. Now onto the thread. [quote][b]GOALS[/b][/quote]The simplest of goals is to make a ranking system that promotes competition, is based on skill, keeps players coming back and minimizes the problems associated with other/past ranking systems. [quote][b][u]Formula to Calculate Rank[/b][/u]: Win/Loss ratio x Score per Game Average[/quote]What this formula hopes to accomplish is players/teams going for wins over stat padding their kill/death ratio. This formula also rewards the players who are consistently at the top of their team. [b]Example[/b]: Alex and Bob both have a Win/Loss ratio of 4, but Alex has a score per game AVG of 5000, compared to Bob’s score per game AVG of 1000. While they both win and lose the same amount of games, Alex contributes more to the team and is ranked higher because of it. [b]Explanation[/b]: In Halo 3 winning was the only thing that mattered. You could be an awful player with an amazing team and reach top rank. Rank was based on overall team skill rather than individual skill. Players found this unfair, less skilled players would ride the coat tails of good players. This formula hopes to reward better players while keeping the focus on WINNING. [b][u]Problem with the Formula[/u][/b]: Each game mode/playlist has a different score cap. Control being 20000, other game modes being lower, some cases much lower, as low as 2000. If rank is calculated throughout all game modes people will gravitate towards the game modes that allow for the highest possible score. [b]Example[/b]: Cynthia plays Rumble and her score per game AVG is 1800, with a very low Win/Loss ratio as it is harder to win games in Rumble as opposed to team games, we will say her Win/Loss ratio is 0.5. David plays control and has a score per game AVG of 3000, with a Win/Loss ratio of 1. While Cynthia is highly skilled, her ranking compared to David’s would be much lower even though David is an average gamer . [b]Solution[/b]: Make each game mode have it’s own “rank”, so a player who likes Rumble will have a Rumble Rank and the formula doesn’t favour one game mode over another. [b][u]Visual Representation of Rank[/u][/b]: This is extremely important. Reach’s Arena failed because there was no in-game visual representation of rank. Being Onyx didn’t matter as it really had no meaning, no OOMPH, no “WOW” factor. You couldn’t brag in-game, players didn’t fear or revere you, you were just another indistinguishable player. Being an inheritor didn’t mean you were a good player, it meant you played a lot. [b]How Visual Representation of Rank would look like[/b]: - Rank should be easy to spot in-game without having to jump through menus, right above player level would make sense - Since each game mode has it’s own rank, each should be distinguishable from the others - There should be rank tiers, so you can easily tell the good players from the bad players, colour coding them would make sense - No arbitrary numbers, a 3 “star” system would work well [url=http://i.imgur.com/NrUrQxP.png]All Destiny ranks[/url] [url=http://i.imgur.com/fGgJMqG.jpg]Example of how players would look with their ranks displayed[/url] [b]Question[/b]: How does the game decide which rank is showcased? [b]Answer[/b]: The player does. The player decides which game mode rank they wish to showcase, or even if they want to showcase it. This way trash talking in minimized. If a player doesn’t like their rank, they don’t have to show it. Likewise a top tier player may not want to show their rank because they get flooded with messages. [url=http://i.imgur.com/Q1GRbMf.png]Example of menu options.[/url] [quote][b]How to fix some of Halo 3’s ranking system woes[/b][/quote]Halo 3’s ranking system wasn’t perfect. Certain factors led to alternate accounts, selling/buying accounts, boosting, deranking and other issues. Below you’ll read how I believe this ranking system will reduce or get rid of those woes entirely. [b][u]Progression based on skill is almost impossible to emulate[/u][/b]: Halo 3 did a pretty good job of it. Start at level 1, level up by winning. Until a certain point, where you are essentially locked in to your “true skill”. The problem is, this pissed off players. Players don’t like being told they are forever going to be “this good” or “this bad”. Halo 3’s ranking system didn’t really account for players getting better over time either. A player who constantly lost all his games at the beginning of his career, and eventually turned that around to win them all was stuck at a low rank. [b]Solution[/b]: SEASONS. Halo: Reach implemented seasons, but other factors kept it back. With seasons, a player can do bad one season, then get a fresh start in the next season. This emulates progression based on skill. You’re essentially never locked into ONE rank. Even if you are consistently in say, the blue tier ranks, every season you restart and you can do better next time. [b][u]Players become complacent with their ranks[/b][/u]: Ranks in Halo 3 were static. Once you achieved a rank, it was yours. The only thing that would change that rank is you winning or losing. This static rank made players wary of playing. [b]Solution[/b]: This ranking system is based on leaderboards. That means rank is fluid. You can descend or ascend based on the global population’s performance. If you suddenly drop rank because 10% of Destiny’s population just ranked higher than you in a certain playlist, than you’re likely to jump back in there and try to get some more wins. [b][u]Rank based on a limited performance[/b][/u]: A problem arises when a player is placed in a high tier/rank because they had an amazing winning streak. To be ranked high you should be consistently good. If a player is placed in the top tier because they had an amazing fluke of a win streak, they will stop playing so they can maintain their top tier spot. This problem overlaps with players becoming complacent with their rank. [b]Solution[/b]: For players to showcase their rank they need to play an average of “X” games per day. This way players need a larger pool of games to maintain their rank. This forms a pattern overtime, making outlier performances/streaks have less weight on the players rank. Rank will be based on a players consistency. This also keeps players interested and playing the game over time, coming back. It’s just another reason to hop on Destiny and play some games. [quote][b]Destiny Ranking System Mock Up[/b][/quote] [b]Seasons are 2 months long[/b]: This allows for a period not too long so that players don’t feel like they are trapped in their rank, but not so short that they end up not caring about their rank as it has little meaning if it disappears after such a short period. [b]Average of 3 games must be played a day[/b]: If a player plays 30 games on day one of the season, his/her rank will be visible for the next 10 days regardless of whether they play or not. If a player jumps into a season 10 days in, he/she will have to play 30 games before he/she is ranked. [b]Rank/Tier is based on leaderboard percentiles[/b]: - Top 1% *** Gold - 2-5% ** Gold - 6-10% * Gold - 11-15% *** Purple - 16-20% ** Purple - 21-25% * Purple -26-32% *** Blue - 33-39% ** Blue - 40-46% * Blue - 47-54% *** Green - 55-62% ** Green - 63-70% * Green - 71-80% *** White - 81-90% ** White - 91-100% * White [b]Bungie.net catalogues your rank for each season[/b]: Instead of permanently losing your progress after each season, you keep a memento of how well you did on Bungie.net. These figures are subject to change, and should this system be implemented, it SHOULD be changed based on player feedback or any unforeseen problems/issues arising such as player boosting or this being a detriment to the game’s overall fun. I leave this in Bungie’s hands. Free of charge ahahaha. I just want to see Destiny be the best game it possibly can be, and for it to have a healthy/competitive population throughout the franchise. Thankyou.