Warrior General Games

I had a brief email exchange and I thought this topic should be addressed. It's been talked about in the past, but I don't remember a recent thread.

Ladder vs. League games - Which should I care about? Which do I (currently) care more about?

If you're a lurker on these forums and don't post much for whatever reason, please post on this.

I think there are a lot of players/agents/teams/people who care more about League games than Ladder games. I don't think that's the frequent posters on the forums, but rather the non-posters/lurkers. I'm making a guess here and I'm not trying to speak for anyone. Rather, I'm encouraging you to speak!

So what does the GLB2 agent universe think? Are League games more important than Ladder? Are Ladder more important than League? Do you have questions? Are you not sure?

This isn't intended as a negative thread, but rather as a positive discussion. I'm not looking for negativity but rather understanding (and maybe some enlightenment down the road) and positivity.

It's Christmas after all. HO HO HO!

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So I'll start. Ladder games matter more than League games. If you have a different thought, post it. Or ask a question. I'd rather address a specific question than ramble on about the topic.

But I worry that these forums are posted on and read by those of us who are playing the Ladder game and not the hundreds/thousands of agents that are more focused on League games.

for me teams are the most important factor. I dont care if your 2 on the ladder, if i can farm you for wins its not fun. I like teams that always test me and make me work for my wins.

Both matter, but people probably put a bit more into league games since they have playoff implications involved. By mid-season, most teams are still in the post-season hunt, while essentially having no chance at winning their ladder.

I think I lean towards where the discussion is at. League forums are pretty quiet these days, so I invest a little more into the ladder.

Towards the end of the season it's all about that league championship though.

League.

League games matter more to me. It sucks having to wait 3 days in between games because you sucked in the regular season.

Ladder games are fun crapshoots but are unrewarding to me but thats probably because i suck at the game. It could also be because of how rookie ball plays and thats where 60% of my owning experience has been in

#allgamesmatter

If you are an elite team then ladder, if you are a solid/good team then league. That's how I feel most look at it.

personaly, I think league games matter more. Mainly for championships. However, i put more effort in to ladder matches simply because I won't be as familiar with people outside my league.

I never cared much about ladder, even when we were top 15 back in season 8 or so. I Always wanted to win the League. Only worked once

I prefer League over ladder but I also only see myself as an ok/decent defensive coordinator. I'll explain what I like and don't like about ladder games.

1.Ladder games can be fun for the fact that you get to face many top opponents, usually in a given league you only see a few top teams, quite a few mediocre teams then quite a few poor teams, so as an inexperienced DC it can give me more learning opportunities on how to hang with better teams.

2. Due to my own personal time contraints however, I prefer to have only league games because sitting in front of a computer heavy game planning for teams for both of those days can be taxing and take up too much time, but maybe that's just me being inexperienced that it can take a little bit to game plan.

3. My issues with ladder mixed in with league - Many times have I seen this issue when I get a game plan all set for a good team in league taking all that time then you load up the defensive playbook and tactics feeling fairly proud and confident, Then the very next day you see the ladder team pop up and who you have to play. Many times have I run into a situation where both teams play somewhat similar (Thanks to those *cough* wonderful spamming pass/run as well as spam defensive plays) However since the ladder game plays first I go in and heavy game plan for that team and say I beat the good ladder team?? Now my defense I had set for the League team is exposed and I have no idea what to change it to because I had it set for a purpose, and that purpose was to stop what I felt was the offense they were going to use. But now that The League team has scouted my ladder game they say, well shit! I'm totally switching it up and not running what I had, How many times have you guys had it all set then same instance as me that League team come up with a completely different offense?? When say that league team was running a similar offense all year, 7 games in then they switched it up completely. I don't find that dumb luck or just coincidence...I highly believe it's because of that ladder game that was scouted and now you are exposed.


Anyways Please feel free to respond back, any of you? I don't post much but I am glad Xars started this thread and would like to hear everybody else's opinions.


As a note, I personally think scouting for ladder should be taken away because I feel it highly affects a league game.

That depends on the quality of opponents. If you are in a strong league where you see more top teams in league play than ladder. Then league. If you are in a weak league where the only top teams you see are in ladder, then ladder. Basically whichever one gives you the best match-ups. But it is always fun to go through several seasons in the same division with a similar strength team to help build a rivalry.

#allgamesmatter

I'm with jag on this. If you want to get into the top 10 at Vet, (which I do) then you can't slacken for ladder games and your league draw can play a massive role on what matters when. In my most recent run from Rookie to Vet I was in a league with Bronx Bombers, Hostile Takeover, and Central Falcons so I was playing for the Wild Card every season - made it a couple of times too - and managed to beat the brilliant Central Falcons twice. We were nowhere near touching the other two though. The league really mattered, I really wanted that lol Wild Card, but when I didn't get it (Damn you NW Storm!), I'd focus on improving our ladder position and we hovered just outside the top 10 till Vet. Then we changed leagues in our last season at Vet, still had to deal with Central and Hostile, but it was much more competitive with the guys who came through from Pro. After a wild 7-0 start we slipped and stumbled to the back end of the top 20 as I recall. Time and real life meant that dotball got only limited attention at times and we just weren't good enough in whatever areas when it mattered. And it's the end of the season when the ladder games matter most.

In amongst that final season were some significant match-ups in the Ladder game. It's good to know you've been respected by your opponent because they show you another face in any game, but especially the ladder (so I take another view to SithLord, above), so if you do beat them, it's because you played them, not just because they left their default in. As for 'exposing yourself', well, if you're up against a knowledgeable coach, there's only so much you can hide, after all, you can either pass it, or run it, or run it and pass it, and, only some of the offensive plays actually work (hence the spamming). Plus, it's a dice game, crossed with Top Trumps, crossed with Rock/Paper/Scissors. There are too many perms to consider to worry about being exposed, as such. Rather, save your 'hidden' playbooks for the playoffs whilst developing a few 'looks' on O through the season, so you're always in the process of developing new playbooks would be my sage advice, not that you or anyone else is looking or asking for it - but there it is. I think it's worth the effort. Also, for my money, and because #allgamesmatter, it's having a bespoke D for every opponent where you can have the most fun playing this game.

The opposite is horrible. Hostile Takeover ran a largely static O and a 'sort of' static D. We could neither stop it or get past it. "Fix Ur Builds.!"

Totally agree with TMonsta - when you're in a league with similar strength teams, this game can be super fun.

I don't know if the ladder still sucks in Seasoned?

I also love those ladder games where you play the top bracket of the division below. Don't want to lose them. I work for them. It also introduces you to the personalities of some of the teams who you'll meet later, esp. when you're in Vet and they're in Pro. Love those match-ups. Looking at it from the other perspective, I've caught a few teams with their pants down, too.

Thus - NO. Do not ban scouting. (Even though I disagree with SithLord, I plus-oned his comment in the spirit of Xars OP. It's Christmas and it's a time for sharing)

Win or lose though, it's about finding what your dots can do and fitting that into the available schemes in a way that works for your team. I play at my level and enjoy the game. Hell, I've even got a stupid 2nd team full of perversely built dots who are not remotely competitive, but I'm learning stuff about the game mechanics and how those numbers on your player's chart translate into performance on the field. We're all guessing, the elite players have got their guesses down thus far, but the game keeps evolving and changing and it's great to see some new players coming through.

Every game matters to me, but until the ladder system is a little more refined I'll tend to lean towards league play.