Acute Shortage of Baby Seals

[Bumblegoose]

According to conventional wisdom, the lower tiers have an abundance of novice potato players, baby seals just waiting to be clubbed in random matches. These players are supposed to be easy prey and this is meant to be reflected in their lowly winrates.

Having completed about 1000 random matches in the lower tiers, mostly on the Asia server, I have very rarely encountered such baby seals - maybe just once or twice, from memory. Rather, the vast majority of players have not just hundreds, but rather, thousands of games under their belt and frequently experience across a wide range of tiers. I also don't see a preponderance of lowly winrates. Looking at the last 200 randoms I have played in Tiers 2 and 3, for example, the average winrates of players both friends and foes is 49.4%, which is pretty close to 50%.This would of course need to be extended to a much larger number of randoms to become definitive.

Which leaves the question begging. Where are the baby seals? Do they simply belong to WOWS mythology, or have they actually been clubbed to extinction? Do we need to set up baby seal nurseries, so that seal clubbers will once again have baby seals to club? Or is seal clubbing also nothing more than another enduring aspect of WOWS mythology?

Edited March 17 by Bumblegoose
typos

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

11 minutes ago, Bumblegoose said:

According to conventional wisdom, the lower tiers have an abundance of novice potato players, baby seals just waiting to be clubbed in random matches. These players are supposed to be easy prey and this is meant to be reflected in their lowly winrates.

Having completed about 1000 random matches in the lower tiers, mostly on the Asia server, I have very rarely encountered such baby seals - maybe just once or twice, from memory. Rather, the vast majority of players have not just hundreds, but rather, thousands of games under their belt and frequently experience across a wide range of tiers. I also don't see a preponderance of lowly winrates. Looking at the last 200 randoms I have played in Tiers 2 and 3, for example, the average winrates of players both friends and foes is 49.4%, which is pretty close to 50%.This would of course need to be extended to a much larger number of randoms to become definitive.

Which leaves the question begging. Where are the baby seals? Do they simply belong to WOWS mythology, or have they actually been clubbed to extinction? Do we need to set up baby seal nurseries, so that seal clubbers will once again have baby seals to club? Or is seal clubbing also nothing more than another enduring aspect of WOWS mythology?

Players with less than a certain number of matches AND who have not reached tier 5 get protected match making.

[I_cant_Swim_]

Maybe, for the sake of sustainability, for every seal you club you need to introduce a new one into the wild.

[Bumblegoose]

1 minute ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

Players with less than a certain number of matches AND who have not reached tier 5 get protected match making.

Yes, this is true. Yet there are meant to be young seals in these lower tiers who recently completed their 200 games, still with wobbly legs and relatively easy prey. I don't see them.

 

[HogHammer]

9 minutes ago, Bumblegoose said:

Which leaves the question begging. Where are the baby seals?

Sadly, from experience in Tiers above T5. I've seen the same on an NA server account used for training and, more recently, a new account I set up in a different region.  New-to-game players, in the vast majority of cases, have little interest in the early-tier grind (up to T4) and want bigger, more powerful, and faster ships.  

[HogHammer]

6 minutes ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

Players with less than a certain number of matches AND who have not reached tier 5 get protected match making.

Having one NA account still in protected mode and another EU (now out of protected mode), I was a little shocked at how few players take full advantage of that mode of play. It is very common to have one real player on the green side and one real player on the red team, with the remainder filled in with bots.  And that is on a unified server that covers all regions!

[Gillhunter]

37 minutes ago, HogHammer said:

Having one NA account still in protected mode and another EU (now out of protected mode), I was a little shocked at how few players take full advantage of that mode of play. It is very common to have one real player on the green side and one real player on the red team, with the remainder filled in with bots.  And that is on a unified server that covers all regions!

That's on WoWs for wrecking the low tier economy. The game wasn't like that when I started. It was lots of fun in the lower tiers. Now it's pointless.

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

1 minute ago, Gillhunter said:

That's on WoWs for wrecking the low tier economy. The game wasn't like that when I started. It was lots of fun in the lower tiers. Now it's pointless.

Personally, I think WG wrecked low tier rewards to try to hide the fact that they are not actually attracting many new players.

It's not that the players are racing to higher tiers...it's that there just aren't enough new players.

Edited March 17 by Daniel_Allan_Clark

[Aethervox]

5 minutes ago, Gillhunter said:

lots of fun in the lower tiers. Now it's pointless.

Not quite.  I'm seeing somewhat of a resurgence of players in the low tiers. There are many players who like to play, at least, a little in the lower tiers as they are 'Flub' & reworked CV free. Plus, some players only play in the low tiers. Too bad there are no rewards there but then that's on War Barf. 

Edited March 17 by Aethervox

[palestreamer]

My guess would be that the seals want to get to tier 5 and above so they can start earning the rewards.

[Yedwy]

1 hour ago, Bumblegoose said:

According to conventional wisdom, the lower tiers have an abundance of novice potato players, baby seals just waiting to be clubbed in random matches. These players are supposed to be easy prey and this is meant to be reflected in their lowly winrates.

Having completed about 1000 random matches in the lower tiers, mostly on the Asia server, I have very rarely encountered such baby seals - maybe just once or twice, from memory. Rather, the vast majority of players have not just hundreds, but rather, thousands of games under their belt and frequently experience across a wide range of tiers. I also don't see a preponderance of lowly winrates. Looking at the last 200 randoms I have played in Tiers 2 and 3, for example, the average winrates of players both friends and foes is 49.4%, which is pretty close to 50%.This would of course need to be extended to a much larger number of randoms to become definitive.

Which leaves the question begging. Where are the baby seals? Do they simply belong to WOWS mythology, or have they actually been clubbed to extinction? Do we need to set up baby seal nurseries, so that seal clubbers will once again have baby seals to club? Or is seal clubbing also nothing more than another enduring aspect of WOWS mythology?

Make a new account and go for say Miinekaze ASAP and enjjoy the 200 farming runs

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

Now, we go to tier 10 to farm the seals...that and tier 5.

[Bumblegoose]

1 minute ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

Now, we go to tier 10 to farm the seals...that and tier 5.

Thanks for the helpful advice. It looks like I've been fishing in the wrong pond!

[Wolfswetpaws]

I do occasionally venture into Tier 1 through Tier 4 games, either for "fun" or to earn stars in my Naval Battles grid on weekends (when feasible).

While I haven't been in "protected matchmaking" for a long time, I still feel the game-play is fun.
 

[Aethervox]

1 minute ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

to earn stars in my Naval Battles

I find doing NB battles in the low tiers quite feasible too 😁 (in the correct circumstances).

[Justin_Simpleton]

I just noticed on my new EU account that if I play tier 4 or less, the random line-up has just 1-3 human players on each side.  I bought tier V New York and the first battle was against tier VI CV and sub and the roster was full with a division on each side.  I've been low tier in 3 of 3 battles thus far.  

Another thing I noticed is that you can select three campaigns when you have premium time but all three are active even when you don't have premium time.  Add a campaign mission when you get the free day of premium.

Edited March 17 by Justin_Simpleton

[Gillhunter]

15 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

I do occasionally venture into Tier 1 through Tier 4 games, either for "fun" or to earn stars in my Naval Battles grid on weekends (when feasible).

While I haven't been in "protected matchmaking" for a long time, I still feel the game-play is fun.
 

Oh my. Are you a "Seal Clubber"?

[thornzero]

I am almost finished with the second campaign - having done most of it in co-op. I ran the potato alert for sh and giggles just to see what is there and these players you do not want in randoms. 3o%ers some 4o%ers and hardly any random battles and this is in the higher tiers. Be glad - the MM could be much worse I think. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

13 minutes ago, Gillhunter said:

Oh my. Are you a "Seal Clubber"?

If they're matched with me in a battle, then they're no longer "baby seals".  They're "fair game".  🙂 

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

25 minutes ago, Gillhunter said:

Oh my. Are you a "Seal Clubber"?

Play long enough and every tier will have seals...

[Asym]

The Cruiser Line split, back in whatever year that was long ago, "ate" so many seals that the word was, back then, leave the lower tiers...  Radar division of Barney level players simply decimated tier 5.  It was so bad, many of newer players never, ever went back.   I haven't played more than 10 sub-tier 5 since then...... 

It was that traumatic..  An entire year group of the Cruiser Line Split time line "left the game..."  I almost did.  The only thing that saved me was joining close friends I knew from other games and joined their Clan....  Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.......no joke.  Even tier 6 back then, wasn't any fun with the proliferation of Radar.  The entire PVP Destroyer meta simply died.  I was a DD main.  There was no reason to play DD's in PVP anymore and, my clan mates and I simply reverted to PVE...  Why waste our 2 hours a day (if that) since we were working or at the University working on yet another degree.....  It was sooooooo bad.

Seal clubbing is what "eats game confidence" and sets up most games that experience it, to what becomes an Exodus period several years later...  That hopelessness seems to remain in the memories of those players and another "meta change" usually sets them off.  In our game, the CLS and then, Update 8.0 really killed an entire generation of players.....

[Gillhunter]

10 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

If they're matched with me in a battle, then they're no longer "baby seals".  They're "fair game".  🙂 

You know I'm just kidding you. LOL All kidding aside, one of the huge complaints by many of the players early on was bitching about experienced players in low tier matches. A lot of "shaming" going on in the forum. I thought it was all BS. 

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

5 minutes ago, Asym said:

The Cruiser Line split, back in whatever year that was long ago, "ate" so many seals that the word was, back then, leave the lower tiers...  Radar division of Barney level players simply decimated tier 5.  It was so bad, many of newer players never, ever went back.   I haven't played more than 10 sub-tier 5 since then...... 

It was that traumatic..  An entire year group of the Cruiser Line Split time line "left the game..."  I almost did.  The only thing that saved me was joining close friends I knew from other games and joined their Clan....  Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.......no joke.  Even tier 6 back then, wasn't any fun with the proliferation of Radar.  The entire PVP Destroyer meta simply died.  I was a DD main.  There was no reason to play DD's in PVP anymore and, my clan mates and I simply reverted to PVE...  Why waste our 2 hours a day (if that) since we were working or at the University working on yet another degree.....  It was sooooooo bad.

Seal clubbing is what "eats game confidence" and sets up most games that experience it, to what becomes an Exodus period several years later...  That hopelessness seems to remain in the memories of those players and another "meta change" usually sets them off.  In our game, the CLS and then, Update 8.0 really killed an entire generation of players.....

Indeed.

WG though basically encourages this kind of rich and or skilled dominate the weak mentality as a core aspect of the gameplay.

Heck, the first iteration of the brawls mode was intentionally setup to give clans a mode to dunk on seals.

WG has very little interest in non-toxic game models, it would seem.

[Wolfswetpaws]

2 minutes ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

Indeed.

WG though basically encourages this kind of rich and or skilled dominate the weak mentality as a core aspect of the gameplay.

Heck, the first iteration of the brawls mode was intentionally setup to give clans a mode to dunk on seals.

WG has very little interest in non-toxic game models, it would seem.

It might be "just me", but when I was a new player, I would often get sunk and then spend the rest of the match watching in spectator mode.
Why?
Well, I enjoyed watching better players (better than me at least) score hits from the extreme range of their guns.  Or I'd observe the pathing they chose to sail.  And I'd watch them perform WASD maneuvering or set-up torpedo attacks from stealth or torpedo ambushes from the other side of islands.
Essentially I enjoyed learning from what they'd do.  And in the process I'd add to my own repertoire.

[Asym]

6 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

It might be "just me", but when I was a new player, I would often get sunk and then spend the rest of the match watching in spectator mode.
Why?
Well, I enjoyed watching better players (better than me at least) score hits from the extreme range of their guns.  Or I'd observe the pathing they chose to sail.  And I'd watch them perform WASD maneuvering or set-up torpedo attacks from stealth or torpedo ambushes from the other side of islands.
Essentially I enjoyed learning from what they'd do.  And in the process I'd add to my own repertoire.

Unfortunately, you are unique.  The rest of your mates simply realized they were pocked....  And, left the game.  We had an entire Clan that was just starting to get into this game leave....  The CLS was deja vu that we experienced in the game we just left after it imploded.  We were not alone....  Word got out on the internet !  Those "clans" that play multiple games at the same time reacted and placed this game as "no go" terrain....  Don't go there.  And, as usual, I stayed as a scout.....  So far, there is no reason to call them back.  To this or two other games that imploded...  

That could change !  Unfortunately, our host simply wants an "Arcade" P2P first person shooter......with zero new content.....the era of the Clones is locked in.  They must not have the Revenue, since the Divorce, to create new content (new campaigns - new maps to reflect the inclusion of more carriers and subs - no new modes of play - etc...)

You reap what you sow.....