Mechanics, one mans take...

Now, bear with me. This is a combination of a year playing the game and reading the forums... I am not an avid poster, for the simple reason I only give out well reasoned, fully formed thoughts. I have spent the last year not only enjoying the game immensely, but also studying it and the people who play it; both from the players perspective and that of the game designers.

What I write here has no purpose other than for me to have my two pence worth, based mostly on what many other people have already posted.. Love it, hate it, add to it... It's all gravy!

I have read a great many things in the forums, spoke to many people in game and made lots of observations. The thing that intrigues me the most are the 'mechanics', the secret formulas and systems that are the veins of the game. These mechanics mean little to the new starters, but as people get more involved, they become the holy grail... How do I improve my rank? What makes me stronger? Etc etc. and of course, drives a lot of players crazy!!!

I have always been an avid 'watcher'.. I watch the system work, take note, try to understand, test theories... But, ultimately, most of what I 'think' is supposition and assumption... However, I believe I come from a place of simple common sense for the most part..

'strength'.. I have read so much, even more so recently about ranking system. Yes, the formula that ultimately decides your rank is secret, get over it! The factors that make it up can be determined, but the % each of those factors play a part cannot be. What I know is this.. The leader board for players is ranked in strength. The player at the top has a higher chance of beating the player below them in a straight fight. The greater the gap between 2 players fighter, the greater the probability of success/loss. Yes, pots and mith can alter that outcome. But in a straight fight, the higher the rank, the stronger. People comment a lot on the mechanics changing, and having less success hitting a lower ranked person.. Actually, what I've found is it hasn't become harder to hit a weaker person, that persons 'rank' has changed. These people commenting are looking too much at the stats they can see, and not enough at the ones they can't. What they aren't taking into account is the 'other' factors that increase a players strength, and these factors (weather you like it or not) do enter into the ultimate magic formula when entering into a battle, and the odds of success are calculated.

'battles won'. What this means, simply put is experience. It influences your rank on the lb, which is in fact ranked on 'strength', ergo.. The more battles you have won, the stronger you are!! Next time you fail an attack on someone, consider that..

'value'. Crazy possibly, but does this influence your 'strength'? It certainly appears to...

If you assume the 3 additional ranked statistics next to the overall lb influence your main rank, then consider this fact again.

Just because there are only 3 factors there, don't assume there aren't others that effect your rank, and ultimately strength. I keep bringing this up, because this is what I keep coming back to.. Lb ranked on 'strength'. We may not agree with the factors that make it up, but they are there regardless...

I also heavily believe activity weights your current rank, or at the very least changes the weighting system in your favour. The reason I believe this is from an outside point of view. This is a game, but primarily it's a business. For a business to be successfully, it's product has to be popular.. More than that, it has to 'grow' and increase in popularity. Once a new player is into the game, for the most part they are driven by growing.. Players will always buy crystals, pro packs and nobility.. But more players = more £££'s. I get it, it makes sense to my business head.. But if you can't keep a player, and encourage more, your business dies.. An un-obtainable leader board rank kills this game! Players coming up fast through the ranks should, in the scheme of things have no chance against thousands of players who have had more experience.. If the sole lb factors are stats, battles and allies, the top players would just extend their lead, the new players would see no opportunity to make impact and leave.. How have the devs countered this mathematical problem? I believe the heaviest weighting factor into the myth of rank, and ultimately strength is activity.. Maybe hits per day, and it's probably a compound effect.. The more active you are on a regular basis, the more it amplifies your other stats..

Ultimately, the devs have to keep people playing and spending, that is their goal, and everyone should understand that.. The people at the top of the leader board should be the most vulnerable, if they get complacent and slow down, they lose that factor.. Maybe it's based on a rolling 6 months, to weed out the innactive players.. It's a secret we will never find out, but that's my belief, made up from some understanding of the game, but ultimately some common sense and a lot of observations..

Clan rank is garnered from both strength of it's members and activity in a (undefined) period of time.. And I believe, so is the lb.

When you say the mechanics have changed, of course they have!!! As the game evolves, so does the design behind it! But, I don't believe the fight mechanics have, just the ranking system, which makes it look like the battle mechanics.

And before people start quoting stats, I 'get' them.. Raw stats, bfa, bta, dynamic stats, bonuses etc.. I understand them all. What this post is about is simply to try and take it back to its simplest level. Lb is ranked on 'strength'. ie, number 1 is stronger than number 2. Now, if you actually compare some people on there, and without knowing their rank, you would guess their order on the lb wrong. This is because of factors we don't know, or at best can only guess about. This is about an 'educated' guess... Your strength, as we all know, is not made up of a single factor. We know some, but I promise we don't know them all! What I do know, is that if you face off with someone in battle, at full troops, no mith or pots, you have a greater than evens chance of beating someone below you. That hasn't changed, how we are ranked is. And I believe that ever changing factor is activity... If you think about it, I mean actually stop and ponder the issue, both from a players and a game designers point of view, it makes perfect sense. After years of the game, how do you give players just starting a chance to grow their kingdoms and push up the leader board? And before you say it, yes, they should have chance. Without that chance, they won't stay, they won't tell their friends, and this game you love ceases to be! That chance has to come from the one thing they can influence over and above the people who have been playing it for years.. Activity! Play it more, or show more growth in a pre-determined period of time, and you are rewarded.. And yes, this mechanic will clearly be tweaked time and time again.

The best example I can give is to simply say, anyone that plays golf and understands the handicap system will get it.

You will love it, hate it, or care little about this thread... Comment, ignore or abuse. Like I said, this is a post made up from a lot of time observing and reading. I can and will respond to questions, or add more thoughts, but only when I have considered my responses carefully. I don't post simply for the sake of it 