Response to elo farming - an early guideline

Just so the community is aware, elo farming is not permitted.


TLDR version: (in 7 sentences)

A recent report was made regarding a high ranked duel farming elo from a clan mate (Rule 1.3 violation).

A total of 9 games were removed in this case.

The difficulty is defining when farming begins. No matter what, it's going to be arbitrary... so here is what has been done, but first, perhaps for next season, farming begins after 3 consecutive wins in a week.

i get there are valid exceptions to this that wouldn't be farming, and a more detailed reason will be provided. This is the tldr version.

LONG VERSION:

One of the difficulties mods have is deciding when farming begins and ends, which is why the mod intervention rules are so broad... Rule 1.3 states: The term "FARMING" is used to describe the process of exploiting the game to gain PC, SP or ELO. This may include using more than 1 account to win games or using custom maps made specificly for ELO/SP/PC gaining or sending protocoins to yourself. Moderators ultimately will take into consideration with what they believe is just and unjust.

Generally when it comes to duels, mods prefer the community police itself, and mod interventions are rare. However this report was precise, and while technically there was no official 'rule violation' there was a general consensus among the dueling community it was blatant farming.

I spoke with the player in question, and he provided examples of several other duelers playing more than 3 games in a row and winning all of them.

I looked at every top 12 players history, and to their credit, the majority are, imho, playing honourably, at least with respect to farming. 2 or 3 other top 12 players however went over 3, but none when over 4 that i saw.

So rather than take action against multiple players, i set the bar arbitrarily at 4 games in a one week period.

For those who have a strong history of not farming have received a small elo boost in recognition (there are 8 in the top 12). Credit where credit is due.

For next season though, i would propose the 3 wins in a row per week. I get that two honourable duelers could play 3 games, and even though they are evenly matched, one could be victorious three times in a row. As evidence, here is an example where there are 4 wins in a row, but overall, this top 12 player actually had a net loss of elo, so of course it can't possibly be farming):

If you are in the top 12, dueling someone else in the top 12, this guideline can be relaxed, at least for the first two months of the season.

However, given the season is ending soon, i had to make a decision and so 4 games is the bar for this season.

Please feel free to message me privately if you have major concerns, and i will post them here if there is something i have overlooked.

However, i don't want this to turn into a complaints forum, hence the lock. (Post your suggestions to improve things in the open thread! => https://atwar-game.com/forum/topic.php?topic_id=47833

Given recent interest in revamping duels, i'm bumping this thread ♥