UI still sub-par 2 years later. Why don't we care? - Page 64

While I doubt that this will ever be implemented, a system similar to W3 is the only way to handle a competitive ladder. What Blizzard has currently implemented DOES work, but returning to the previous system will clear up most problems regarding Grandmaster League and league functionality. Bizzard can integrate ideas taken from the current ladder system for their next rendition, such as the MMR rating, and switch over to a giant regional ladder. There is no other way to handle competitive play that can be as efficient or authenitc. Blizzard seems to care more about their bottom line in the interest of attracting what customers they can, even though their business model dictates otherwise. But a bronze player near the bottom end of the ladder will not care about whether or not he is near GM level players or not (who with a regional ladder should ALL be pro players).

Blizzard can use their current masking devices (removing the idea of compartmentalized leagues) in order to create a sytem that makes lower tier players have a 50 percent win ratio and feel as though they are playing well, while also allowing for long term improvement. An MMR rating with certain bonuses can allow for acceleration of the laddering process until each player finds a position that lends to a 50 percent win ratio. Inactive players can be compartmentalized into a seperate ladder and returned to a position a few degrees below their previous upon reactivation in order to make up for a decay in skill level.

The change to a regional single ladder system will provide for an authentic matchmaking system that will allow a aspiring players to reach the top and let lower tier players enjoy the game in their own way.

[As an addendum] Grandmaster League should be based off of the top 200 players in the regional ladder, and should be hand "groomed" in order to prevent hackers or spammers from entering it. It needs to be a competitive environment for pros to play on the ladder, in order to test builds against a wide variety of players and have a practice system outside of team practice sessions. There is NO OTHER REASON for a GM league to exist. Currently, it exists for no other reason than to showcase the players who laddered the most during the two weeks at the beginning of a season, and there is nothing for a player to strive for after creation of the league. The system needs to be revised for it to have any meaning at all.

There needs to be an active decay on GM account ratings (similar to the 150 bonus pool system) that will send players to the inactive ladder and drop them to master league upon reactivation. Players on the doorstep of GM League should be able to enter the league during the season, (meaning, they should have more opportunities to get into the league than if a player is kicked out due to inactivity) and the league should constantly be fluctuating until the last TWO WEEKS of the season, where it can be locked to showcase the true top 200 players of the ladder (frankly it should be extended to 300, no?) The rules regarding GM league need to be STRICT, and need to favor PRO PLAYERS. That is what GM League is all about.

This is another necessary step which needs to be made in order to have the best ladder system possible. Blizzard, to some degree, has already demonstrated their willinglness to involve themselves in the ESPORTS scene through their constant patching of the game based on current events, and to a lesser degree, facilitating the use of Korean made maps in the ladder.

The use of maps made by a third party are specifically what I want to emphasize - Blizzard should ONLY use maps made by a third party, and should choose three of these each season in order to have a "fresh" ladder with the current pro-level maps. Blizzard has consistently demonstrated that they are for the most part incapable of creating maps that cater towards balanced gameplay. Mapmakers are still working to determine the best size of maps for competitive play/expansion locations/etc, and improvements to these are necessary to create a more balanced game. Blizzard has shown that they are willing to make this change with 1.4.3, and should continue to do so in the future.

That's all I have to say on those subjects, as any more would rehash more of what others have already stated. I desired only to phrase my complaints in my own way.

This needs to be done, sooner rather than later. I would rather that Blizzard not wait until HOTS to make this change, as it will require all relative timings to be adjusted (Banshee ZvT, DT, etc). It will also show correct APM values in replays, something that many players have requested be done.

I am not going to go on a rant about why I think the EPM reading is so flawed, so I will summarize it in two sentences. Spamming clicks on a single location is inefficent and bad, yet registers as repeated actions with EPM. Tabbing through camera keys, production structures, and other movements are good, yet do not register at all.

That is a flaw with the reading, and I would rather it not be there . Blizzard should stick with the original APM reading alone, modified with a real time minute timer. This will give the most accurate reading.

APM is a metric that can demonstrate improvement in a player's gameplay over time. If people want to spam to artificially increase this metric, then it becomes useless in terms of improvement. LET THE SPAMMERS SPAM (sounds like a tongue twister). For a player that is actively working to increase speed and actions completed by the realtime minute, APM is a useful metric that can help one gauge his/her improvement.

APM is a useful metric, and should be kept. Unless EPM is revised heavily, it should be removed (and frankly it should be removed, because calculating purchases/rallies without tabbing/general management is useless, and if the system is useless, then it should not exist).

Yes, this is not realistic given the timeframe, but it can and should be done, and the earlier the better. Why wait until HOTS to provide a feature that should have been implemented in the first place? Obviously to bolster the features of HOTS to pave the way to a better sell-through, but other than that there is no good reason to implement replays with friends other than technical issues.

If the issues are technical, and the current replay format needs to be changed and the size enlarged, then I am deeply disappointed and can only hope that RWF can be implemented in the future.