Zev

You guys are killing your own game, please take the time to read this. Nobody that grinds Master+ feels validated when their LP number goes up by a digit. Whether you’re 200 LP, 600 LP, or 900 LP, you’re still masters, and you don’t feel more gratified simply because the number is higher. The fact that Rank 1 is unachievable for almost everyone due to MMR differences between players also makes you feel even less rewarded for playing the game because say you are able to hit Challenger, why should you continue grinding when you’re gaining +18 at 1100 LP and someone else is gaining +23 at 1900 LP? I understand that you’re worried that some casual players who are currently Master+ will feel frustrated at the fact that their LP is reset, but I can guarantee you that your only alternative is that the entire Master+ ladder smurfs on different accounts since playing on their mains isn’t even worth it anymore and infinitely more casuals are going to get frustrated and/or quit as a result. The solution is simple. In a few weeks, “season 1” will end. When it does, market an event that the entire Master+ ladder is going into ‘Gladiator Mode’ for the rest of the season where every player, regardless of how good or bad they were in the past, will have an equal shot at getting Challenger and/or Rank 1. Then, do the following changes; Master+ LP gain +/-20 Grandmaster +18/-22 Challenger +16/-24 For years the high end ladder used to always have negative gains and nobody cared, the only reason it’s different nowadays is because carryover MMR makes it so you feel like the only way to compete with the likes of Viper is to go fresh account and get such high MMR once you’re masters that you can actually go higher. If LP gains are fixed and cannot be changed, no one will even want to Smurf anymore. Also, limit DuoQ to a certain % of games once you reach thresholds above Challenger to actually make things fair, and base it not on rank but cutoff LP so people can’t abuse it. If you go through with the idea of 4000 LP to hit Rank 1, I guarantee you will kill off your entire high elo playerbase and make smurfing way worse than it already is for the next 7 months at least. Take this seriously.