The end of queue dodging
by Amanda Dean 
May 3rd 2008 at 2:00PM
Drysc updated his post on the official forums regarding Season Four Arena changes. It looks like Blizzard is working to put an end to queue dodging and thereby stifle the practice of win trading. Drysc quoted the revised arena rules, "If a team does not enter an arena match that is starting they will lose points equal to the amount that would have been deducted if they had played and lost." With this augmentation, players will no longer be able selectively battle only teams that have agreed to a loss.
Since the Arenas began, there have been many underhanded methods players have used to inflate their ratings and gain access to the latest and greatest gear. Blizzard continues to intervene in order to fix the flawed system. Season four will include a few more changes to make things fair:
- "If a character's personal rating is more than 150 points below the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating instead of the team rating."
- "If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a game is more than 150 points below the team's rating, the team will be queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal rating."
These changes have been implemented to make point and team selling practices less lucrative. With these changes combined with personal rating requirements, it seems the developers really are interested in making people earn their keep as PvPers. This leads me to wonder what they will think up next. Whatever it is, we'll keep you posted.
Filed under: Items, Ranking, Blizzard, News items, PvP, Forums, Arena
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tridus May 3rd 2008 6:02PM
This seems to be the most substantial of the changes they've made so far to fix these problems. Good to see it.
Garter89 May 3rd 2008 9:27PM
There's just one problem with a change like that. There were a few times when I used to arena where a member of my team would drop connection just as the queue popped so my team would decide to just not enter the queue. What happens to the people who have legitimate reasons for not entering?
Freehugz May 3rd 2008 10:56PM
Another scenario that really blows is when someone disconnects while zoning in. They'll reconnect and not be able to zone in even when there's plenty of time left before the round starts
Shilkanni May 4th 2008 8:20PM
I think that's why they originally set it up the way they did, they didn't want to punish disconnections.
Bottom line is... people making a genuine effort to enter every arena game won't be punished as much as people who are not making a genuine effort.
Realistically, the people clever/dodgy enough to 'game' the current system will catch on pretty quick.
Ciacco May 3rd 2008 9:45PM
One loss shouldn't affect your rating negatively in the long run; If the problems are persistent it's best to postpone for a short while.
PeeWee May 4th 2008 7:27AM
If this puts a nail in the eye of the cheaters, at least I'd take one loss due to DC. If I bothered to waste my time in the Arena at all, that is.