vet games:blind pick

[Helios.]

vet games would be hugely improved if the lobbies were blind pick. mechanically this means you get to see the name of the enemy players and not the ship and the loadouts.

build your team around what YOU are doing, your teamwork, your plan. dont just hardcounter their team in the last second. vet games are being seriously poisoned by these late switch tactics. if you want to try hard and win, great lets bring up the quality of play! if you want to smack down people so you can laugh at them, go away!

actually most games would be improved this way, and would allow for more cool and crazy builds if you didnt have to play the hard-counter to your innovative build... the meta is built around ships that cant be hard HARD countered.

[MightyKeb]

I think we'd rather focus on making vet games an actual thing in the first place, there's no point in making blind picks for a gamemode that noone plays.

[Helios.]

maybe people WOULD if there was an actual difference between regular and vet

[Spud Nick]

Most of the vets that want a challenge will sign up for the SCS. The vets that don't just want to pub stomp with a good crew.

[Kamoba]

Most of the vets that want a challenge will sign up for the SCS. The vets that don't just want to pub stomp with a good crew.

I know many who don't sign up to SCS because of time issues or other commitments who would enjoy matches other than pub stomps.

I wouldn't mind Blind Picks being an option for vet lobbies..

[GeoRmr]

Vet games should be decided by a coin flip.
I see nothing wrong with this; by the power of Ragnaros I have the power.

Tbh, I wouldn't mind if there was an option to use blind pick when creating a lobby - but only if it was not by default.

Edit: Wait a minute, you're actually able to play vet games regularly? What time zone are you?

[Helios.]

it is not as reliable as i would like, but even when it's 'available' it just means that 50 people with a lvl higher than 30 are online. it doesnt mean they are all looking for vet lobbies, in fact, mostly it means that there are some people pub-stomping hardcore somewhere.

my point was that if people liked blind pick matches, then there would be a reason to wait just a minute longer to get into a vet game, rather than now, when it's just a vaguely higher level of play and the opportunity to win a few achievements...

honestly im really annoyed with counterpicking in general, and feel like at the highest level of play, it is too dangerous to run certain ships because they are too easy to counter if you know its coming.

its also more in keeping with the overall idea of the game, i think. imagine that you are flying your cargo through a canyon, and then you get ambushed. your convoy escorts move to engage, but they have what they brought, they can't emergency trade out the galleon for a squid, your ships were chosen and outfitted without the knowledge of the ambushers (if there even are any!) the complete lack of ANY fog of war is not only a problem in terms of making the game (and especially that first exchange and encounter) less tense and fun but also it makes no sense in the light of the larger world and with the nature of some of these conflicts.

[Dementio]

I have nothing against it being an option.

What I do fear is that blind pick doesn't allow for more ships outside the Meta and if more specialized ships do get chosen, they may just fail horribly, because the enemy had a team had everything, but the one thing that the specialized ship would work decently against. Now that is the worst case scenario, but it isn't a fun one.
And vet games, the only place where one could afford running specialized ships and loadouts, without allowing said specialization? Maybe some don't mind it and for some that do want it, competitive may or may not be an option.

[Helios.]

i feel like the meta is built around the fact that anythign that is too easily countered isnt viable. if the enemy wasnt hardcountering your picks though, they might be very vulnerable, to a very hard hitting class cannon spire for example, where in a game where any seriously specialized ship can be specially countered.

the ships we see now, especially in the competitive scene, are heavy control ships designed to counter reactive ship builds like the junker or galleon. if you couldnt be sure what the enemy was bringing, then you couldnt be sure that your very specialized control mobula would be appropriate, so you might brign somethign more rounded. you might also decide that a risk would be fun, adn fly a ship that is so absurdly topheavy in some respect that anyone with 5 seconds could counter it easily if they brought the right build, but agains't anything else was very powerful (im looking at you hellhound/mine-spire....) Galleons, spires and junkers more generally have very little showing in competitive scene because its too easy to shred them at long range, but there would be some trepidation before bringing a control mobula if you couldnt be SURE no hwacha fish or disable squids were going to come ruin your day.

another point id like to make is that both sides would be equally blind, so balance wouldn't be any kind of issue, except that players that win a lot due to hard counter-picking might not win as much, and that is perfectly alright with me....

[Atruejedi]

I would play vet games if this "blind pick" existed. Seriously. That would be a blast.

[Spud Nick]

I don't think that most vets will like the blind pick option. Nobody wants to be hardcountered but every likes to counter. It's a big part of the game.

[Helios.]

you are saying people want to hardcounter people for easy wins more than they hate having it done to them? thats a pretty stinging indictment of the vet community...

[Spud Nick]

Players will use any advantage to win in a competitive game. It's no different in this game. Players will counter pick if it gains them the advantage in a match. Some of the vets will keep the same ship but swap out the weapons depending on the map and the ships they fight.

My favorite ship is the Junker and I will change the loadout depending on maps and ships I fight. I will often fly a munker when I have a good crew even if I am countered. I don't always win but I learn a lot about how I can engage in future matches. I also think flying in these mix matches makes me a better pilot.

[Helios.]

would it really be so bad if captains had to build their ships and build their teams based on only each other and the map?

[Spud Nick]

would it really be so bad if captains had to build their ships and build their teams based on only each other and the map?

No it would not be bad. That is what Clan Clan does for the SCS.