Posted 14 December 2015 - 08:36 PM

Now, what I'm actually personally interested in, stat wise, is what group distribution looked like in individual matches. Some points of relation:



- How often did 12 man vs. 12 man happen?



- How often were 12 man teams all of the same unit?



- How often did 12 man teams of one unit go up against 12 man teams of varying units?



- How often did a 12 man team of one unit go up against another 12 man team of one unit?



Now the reason I ask about these points isn't to gripe about balance or what-have-you. Teamwork truly is OP and it should remain as such . . . it's after all, a team game (coming from a unitless PUG, no less). The reason I ask is because when you look at the number of participating units, yes there are some big units out there (some too big, but that's personal opinion), but there were a lot of tiny units out there. At a glance there is decent unit distribution, but when looking at unit sizes, it really does make you wonder what the truly organized population distribution looks like.



For instance, Kell's Commandos is extremely small, but that's one of the most hardcore of hardcore MWO units out there that put absolutely obscene amounts of time into the game . . . and they have every right to do it. That's what makes them good. After all, 39 total participating members only makes 3 consistent 12-man teams . . . but those teams had a near flawless win rate. That's a truly organized and competitive unit.



On the other hand, Mercstar wins by sheer volume. With 212 active participants that's upwards of 17 12-man teams, but only an ~88% win ratio. On the same token the just as massive Star Wolves only had 133 active participants (just over 11 12-man teams) but a paltry 50% win ratio. However, with their total populations you'd have thought these units would be pumping out almost 100 12-man teams, combined. Sadly, though, even with these large numbers, the sheer volume of players in these units is even more massive . . . so why be a member of a unit when you're not even going to participate in the truly unit based game mode? Unless, of course, those people just want to ride coat-tails when there's a reason for controlling a planet.



Then we have all these units that are so tiny one couldn't even really consider them a unit, so much as a couple of friends that decided to tack a unit tag to their names. Most of these units also had relatively abysmal win/loss ratios. After all, how are units that can't even field a full 12 man team going to be truly competitive in a game that requires a 12 man team on the field?



So, what makes a truly competitive populace? Personally, I'd argue smaller units that can become tight cohesive groups (thusly why I personally argue for size restrictions). That creates tight, well-organized units that can create the best per-match experience and thusly the most competitiveness (I'm sure those units that already fit this mold will do well in the first international MWO tournament). However, in events like this one can see that factions which were able to have sheer volume of players win the day. Kell's Commandos impeccable win rate meant next to nothing compared to the sheer volume of match output by Mercstar. Which begs the question, is it truly competitive or is it just gaming the numbers?



Personally, I do hope that this brings about unit size limitations and helps enforce some better competitive play. One can even see that with massive units does not mean massive participation. What's the point of having a 500 person unit if you're only playing with 100 of them in the game mode that units are meant for? For all the backlash that was brought about against Russ in the October Town Hall, this event really does serve to prove the points he made, there.



Quality should trump quantity in a game of this type. Otherwise, they should have made Tukkayid 100 zones and let the sheer volume of force that the IS was able to field flood the planet (the clans would NOT have been able to keep up with the constant large volume of IS teams waiting to drop . . . and hey, that would have been more lore-friendly and accurate).



Thusly, PGI, and the player base, need to ask themselves a very heartfelt question: Do we want better in-match gameplay and competitiveness or allow sheer volumes of players to decide how events like this are decided?



However, that question isn't just for events like this. Remember, when CW Phase 3 hits, there will be reason to own planets; and the owners of planets are going to be decided in the same fashion that the most valuable units and factions were decided for Tukkayid 2. Thusly, no matter how good Kell's Commandos is -for example- their performance won't matter if Mercstar is on the same side, also vying for the planet, and gets more wins by sheer volume (Which, funny enough, touches on Russ Bullock's point about the most competitive teams not facing each other, but I don't think that needs to be covered . . . the stats have already spoken for themselves).



The one thing that this event tells me is that things need to change; and numbers alone cannot be permitted to rule the day if we want a truly competitive atmosphere.

