The Future of Ranked Play
It’s been a while since we discussed Ranked play. We’re always trying to improve Deceit, and whilst we’ve debated internally on the right direction for this particular aspect of the game, we’re here today to hear what you think. We’ll start by sharing a proposed plan for the future of the ‘Ranked’ queue and listen to your feedback to help us in this process.
In the early days of Deceit, we added Ranked so skilled players can compete with each other for the top leaderboard spots. Inspired by similar and popular games at the time, we thought a ladder-style system would work best. If players showed promise, they’d be able to climb. This system served us well at that point and we definitely saw players shine. Some even created their own tournaments that were very entertaining to watch.
However, we’ve increasingly noticed that the system isn’t rewarding skilled gameplay as it should, and isn’t very inviting for a lot of our current player base, which has in turn created a bit of a divide. The identity of the Ranked queue doesn’t seem to match the game as it has evolved; having a strict hierarchy of skill in a game that should be about immersive horror and social deduction doesn’t really gel.
Aside from the Ranked system, there’s a bunch of other issues that we’re aware that we need to improve:
With all of this in mind, we want to propose a new approach that we believe will clear up the current issues.
Today we’re really excited to share with you a new system we’re considering for Deceit! This is something we think will appeal to more players whilst satisfying the high-level community, breathing life into the competitive side of the game. This system would replace the current Ranked system of climbing the Bronze to Diamond ladder.
The Ranked queue will become known as Hardcore!
Upon becoming eligible for playing Hardcore (level 20 & any DLC) you may begin your new competitive journey. At the start of each Season you will be faced with a test: Can you be on the winning team for 10 consecutive games? If you lose a single game, you’ll have to start your win streak again. If it sounds hard, that’s because it is! If it feels like it might be too difficult, we’ve engineered some ways you can protect and boost your streak. We want it to feel challenging, tactical and fresh.
If you’re skilled (or maybe just lucky) enough to complete the test, you’ll get a new status for the rest of that season, similar to how Diamond rank functions now. A new leaderboard will show players progressing towards their 10 wins. Above that will be the top players who have passed the test, ordered by a new MMR formula that will be used for matchmaking players.
We want it to be seen as a challenge, but one that more people are likely to get involved in. Everyone should be trying hard to win, and Quickplay should be used more for a casual experience. This will also be framed in our new narrative expansion that we’re currently working on.
Hardcore will not just include the test - there will be some changes to the gameplay. This could include things like making it feel scarier, limiting the user interface, taking away some information given to players about the state of the game… any way in which we can make the experience feel hardcore, we will do. Our aim is to give you a pulse-thumping, tense and dramatic game experience; hopefully it’ll be bloody frightening too!
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our plans. Specifically, we want your answers to these questions:
Once we have gathered feedback we can determine if we should go ahead with this plan or whether we should go back to the drawing board. If players respond well to this then we should be ready to get rolling straight away and we’ll aim to have a release in Summer, if not slightly later in the year.
Whatever the solution, we are committed to supporting the competitive side of Deceit - and you, our players - in whatever way we can going forward. We do listen and read what you’re saying, and spend a significant amount of time figuring out what is best both for the game and for you. Sound off in the comments - we want to hear from you!!
WHERE WE'RE AT
In the early days of Deceit, we added Ranked so skilled players can compete with each other for the top leaderboard spots. Inspired by similar and popular games at the time, we thought a ladder-style system would work best. If players showed promise, they’d be able to climb. This system served us well at that point and we definitely saw players shine. Some even created their own tournaments that were very entertaining to watch.
However, we’ve increasingly noticed that the system isn’t rewarding skilled gameplay as it should, and isn’t very inviting for a lot of our current player base, which has in turn created a bit of a divide. The identity of the Ranked queue doesn’t seem to match the game as it has evolved; having a strict hierarchy of skill in a game that should be about immersive horror and social deduction doesn’t really gel.
Aside from the Ranked system, there’s a bunch of other issues that we’re aware that we need to improve:
- Improvement - from a gameplay perspective, it’s not always clear how you can brush up your playstyle. We’ll be working on this in upcoming updates
- Entry requirement - playing in the queue has a low bar of entry, which defeats the object
- Sudden Big Changes - we shouldn’t drastically alter the game mid-season as this can disrupt expectations, tactics and playstyles
- Visuals - we want to improver banners, icons, leaderboards and more
- Awareness - we need to shout louder about the start and end of each season
- Communication - actively sharing the leaderboard results and making our top players feel awesome is a really important part of Ranked play
- Scams Unlikely - queuing in different geographical regions needs to be improved so players can’t manipulate their wins and losses
- Diamond refinement - the formula for Diamond wins and losses needs to be improved to be clearer and fairer for all
- Polish - end of season rewards feel a little stale and need a new lick of paint
- Seasonal Changes - we feel our seasons aren’t currently the right length, this will change depending on the Ranked system we have in place
- Narrative - we’d love for the Ranked queue to make more sense within the world
- Community Outreach - we would love to get more involved in tournaments, either ran by ourselves or supporting the ones created by you
- Showing Off - the profile doesn’t showcase your achievements well enough, especially your historical success within Ranked seasons
With all of this in mind, we want to propose a new approach that we believe will clear up the current issues.
INTRODUCING HARDCORE
Today we’re really excited to share with you a new system we’re considering for Deceit! This is something we think will appeal to more players whilst satisfying the high-level community, breathing life into the competitive side of the game. This system would replace the current Ranked system of climbing the Bronze to Diamond ladder.
The Ranked queue will become known as Hardcore!
Upon becoming eligible for playing Hardcore (level 20 & any DLC) you may begin your new competitive journey. At the start of each Season you will be faced with a test: Can you be on the winning team for 10 consecutive games? If you lose a single game, you’ll have to start your win streak again. If it sounds hard, that’s because it is! If it feels like it might be too difficult, we’ve engineered some ways you can protect and boost your streak. We want it to feel challenging, tactical and fresh.
If you’re skilled (or maybe just lucky) enough to complete the test, you’ll get a new status for the rest of that season, similar to how Diamond rank functions now. A new leaderboard will show players progressing towards their 10 wins. Above that will be the top players who have passed the test, ordered by a new MMR formula that will be used for matchmaking players.
We want it to be seen as a challenge, but one that more people are likely to get involved in. Everyone should be trying hard to win, and Quickplay should be used more for a casual experience. This will also be framed in our new narrative expansion that we’re currently working on.
Hardcore will not just include the test - there will be some changes to the gameplay. This could include things like making it feel scarier, limiting the user interface, taking away some information given to players about the state of the game… any way in which we can make the experience feel hardcore, we will do. Our aim is to give you a pulse-thumping, tense and dramatic game experience; hopefully it’ll be bloody frightening too!
WHATS NEXT?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our plans. Specifically, we want your answers to these questions:
- Does this new ‘test’ sound ‘hard’ enough to keep the best players around? If that’s you specifically, what would you like to see?
- What variables do you think we should be including when calculating MMR gain/loss?
- How long should a season be? What do you think would add more interest every season?
- How do you think players should earn rewards in the queue?
- What kind of rewards do you want to see? Cosmetics, tokens, emblems, profile additions? If you had to choose one, which one would it be?
- How should we reward players who attain the top ranks for multiple seasons?
Once we have gathered feedback we can determine if we should go ahead with this plan or whether we should go back to the drawing board. If players respond well to this then we should be ready to get rolling straight away and we’ll aim to have a release in Summer, if not slightly later in the year.
Whatever the solution, we are committed to supporting the competitive side of Deceit - and you, our players - in whatever way we can going forward. We do listen and read what you’re saying, and spend a significant amount of time figuring out what is best both for the game and for you. Sound off in the comments - we want to hear from you!!