ZOS's Excuse for Not Having a Visible Battlegrounds Ranking System No Longer Valid

TBois

So I have been wanting a visible Battlegrounds ranking system since they launched the game mode. I haven't made a fuss because I don't play as much anymore, but with the new reveal information this became low hanging fruit. So I'll take a swipe.

In the past, through an interview with a dev, ZOS has stated that the reason they don't want a visible Battlegrounds ranking system is because they don't want people to be bullied for it. During the ESO reveal event ZOS announced they would be releasing a card game within ESO next year. This card game will have a ranking system.

I think first and foremost when worried about something like bullying ZOS should rely on their TOS. This is what they already do for things like teabagging and chat harassment. If you have been keeping up with the WOW vs FFXIV stuff this is also a distinction many have made between how WOW handles their in game moderation versus how FFXIV does. WOW deletes a system that could possibly be abused. FFXIV takes each instance case by case. FFXIV has the nicer community not because the possibility of toxicity is removed but because toxicity is actioned upon. The bad apples are found and removed. The other players can see that being a [snip] has consequences.

So now that we are no longer worried about bullying because of a visible ranking system, can Battlegrounds get one? Bear in mind this rank could only be visible by the individual player, but I would argue that it should be visible to everyone they fight against because it allows players to set their expectations. As it is now a new player gets into a BG, and they might get deleted in a few second combo. They are more likely to quit if they think that this person could be just as much a noob as they are, but if they are able to see that this person is a high rank they are more likely to understand that the power comes from experience, practice, time to gear up, and skill. This may even give them something to strive for which is another reason to continue to play ESO, and as a company I would be trying to give my customers as many reasons to play ESO as possible.

The ranking systems that are currently visible in ESO are based on accumulated points. I started playing ranked PvP games casually in the past few years. Those being Pokemon (Yes, Pokemon Sword and Shield has an online ranked system) and Magic the Gathering Arena. Admittedly those games are different in that they are 1v1 and are strategy based, but I think some of the insight I have gathered with the systems still may apply. Their ranked system is based on wins and loses. Pokemon's weighs win streaks very heavily. MTG does not weigh them as heavily, but the basics are the same. You win you get points. You lose you don't get points or you lose points depending on what bracket you are currently in. This is an easy way to rank people. You can have various brackets, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, etc. In the lower brackets loses do not make you lose points. In the higher brackets loses make you lose points.

ESO could easily implement a system like this into Battleground, and this would still be new player friendly because there are three teams. First place team gets 3 points. Second place team gets 2 points or 1 point. Third place team gets no points or loses points depending on their current bracket. This means that 66% of players are gaining points each game. This is less hardcore than Pokemon where 50% of players gain points per match.

Also with a visible system, the flaws are apparent. With players being able to understand the flaws of the system, they will understand that it is not perfect, and it is not a pure skill ranking. Some players may choose to play off meta even if they are more skilled than a higher ranked player with a meta build. You can see this in MTG and Pokemon with some people bragging about how high they can get with off meta setups.

TLDR: With the implementation of a ranked PvP card game, ZOS should finally add a ranked Battleground system. If they are worried about bullying, they should rely on their TOS and take action on reports. A ranked system will be helpful to noibs by allowing them to set expectations and goals.

[edited for profanity bypass]

joseayalac

Battlegrounds are a big game system and they are in need of much polishing, ZOS should take better care of them.

Battlegrounds are a much bigger thing than any other system implemented in the last years.

McTaterskins

+1 for 1st place team.
0 for 2nd place team. (Still earn daily reward)
-1 for 3rd place team.

Increase daily rewards pot. Increase weekly rankings rewards.

Done.

Pepegrillos

Hear! hear!

TBois

A ranking system would also incentivize the deathmatch only people to play the objective if we are not going to have separate queues.

CyberOnEso

I would love some sort of visible ranking system for battlegrounds!

It would certaintly be a great incentive to play battlegrounds, even more so if similarly to Cyrodiil they said top 5- 10% ranked BG players/ teams received some reward at the end of each week or so.

redspecter23

I don't play BG at all and still think a visible ranking system would be a great idea. ZOS seems to think they can remove toxicity by removing visible information from players. I've never believed that to be helpful at all. Hiding information can still lead to toxicity in theory, but without any data to actually back that up.

I question the motivations of designing a system that uses MMR, but players aren't allowed to see the numbers. Why aren't we as players important enough to see the numbers behind the system? If they feel so strongly that we aren't deserving of that information, the question is, why?