GET RANKED
MMR is everything.
GSA now has a ranked mode, and as a competitive gamer I am pumped! Gene Shift Auto now finally provides a true challenge, and this gives meaning to every single mechanic in the game. Sure, before you could "beat" the game and win a match.. but could you do it consistently? Can you do it with the highest win rate possible? Ranked mode now provides this challenge and lets us put our skills to the test.
Earning Trophies
The quest for the Holy Grail begins.
When you load into a match, you can choose between Casual or Ranked mode. If you select ranked mode you'll be able to earn Trophies. Trophies are awarded at the end of the match based on your score. First place gets 10 trophies, second place gets 8, third gets 6, and so on.
After 5 placement matches you will be given a rating and a corresponding rank. Your rating is based on your AVERAGE TROPHIES PER MATCH. This means that if you place poorly in a game (or quit early) your rating will go down. This makes rating an actual measure of skill, rather than who has played the longest.
Having said that, someone who consistently averages 1st or 2nd place over 100 games is probably better than someone who by chance happens to win 1 match. So our ratings initially start a bit lower and will approach towards our true average as we demonstrate our ability to win games CONSISTENTLY.
Monthly Leaderboards
The rating system is tied to the monthly leaderboards, where players can climb the ranks and see who can get the highest rating each month. When a new month starts, the previous month will be archived and winners will be immortalized in the previous month's leaderboards page.
Also, at the start of each month, everyone's rating will have a soft reset and be partially reduced. This soft reset allows new players to have a chance at the top spot, and also ensures that our ranks are up to date and reflect our skills in the current meta.
Climbing the Ranks
Of course, the most important part of any ranking system is showing off.
As your rating improves, so too will your rank. When your rating crosses over the next threshold you will get a new rank title and badge. Whenever you play a ranked match (not casual), this badge will show next to your name in the in-game scoreboards, letting everyone know who the real danger is.
As a final cool benefit, the game is now using the ranking technology to secretly determine player's skills behind the scenes, even when ranked mode is disabled. These hidden ratings will be useful to ensure balanced squads and potentially match making in the future.
Other Groovy Changes
Ranked mode is the big new feature that just dropped, but here are a few other smaller changes that have been released since the last major Steam announcement.
Stronger GTA Focus: There are new civilian missions, and a sense of exploration as you use vehicles to find them. We can also climb wanted levels much faster for those going a PvE farming strategy (is PvE the best way to win games? With ranks we can now find out!)
More Risk & Reward Mechanics: You now get bonus XP and cash for killing players during overtime, but this is the riskiest time to hunt for kills as if you die you can't revive. Likewise, supply drops have been buffed, but they now land just before overtime, increasing the risk.
Faster Gameplay: The game is just faster and crisper now. We move faster, especially during combat. This requires more skill to aim and lead targets. The TTK is also faster, and weapons are more differentiated.
More Features for F2P Players: Players without the DLC can now attempt 24 instead of 10 challenges from the challenge grid. Also, the ability to co-op with friends in survival mode is no longer restricted. Hardcore survival mode is also avaiable to F2P players.
Extra Powerful Lvl 4 Skills: It is now harder to take a skill up to max level of 4, but if you do it will extra powerful, as the 4th skill point is now worth double (as if it was level 5). You must get 10 skill points before you can take a skill up to max level though, so get farming!
Skill Balancing: With ranked mode, I needed to make sure the skills were ACTUALLY balanced, based on cold hard data. So I added a new stats tracking system to check the win rates and kill rates of each individual skill. It turned out that the passive weapon skills were mega OP, and many actives were underperforming (as they require more skill to use). So I've done the buffs and now the tricksy interesting skills are competitive.
There are a lot of other changes, small quality of life fixes, better graphics, more visceral level up and kill effects etc. There's too much to list but it's all available in the in-game changelogs.
Next Steps
Next version I will continue expanding the perks system and turn it into a full-fledged class system. By grouping the perks into classes we can buff the effects significantly while keeping them balanced. It will be easier than ever to switch between playstyles and live out your wildest warrior / assassin / mage / engineer / spy / outlaw fantasies.
Have fun getting ranked!
bencelot.
