April 14, 2022 April 21, 2022

5th Age PvP Leagues

With PvP reincarnated for it’s 5th Age, a new feature has been added into Ranked PvP. Introducing Leagues – a new way to divide up the queue and help players find the specific area of competitive play they are looking for. This new change is one of many from the Spring Update, and has many implications for the overall pvp experience!

What is a League?

A league is a new gamemode with a specific rule set. Each league will be able to target a very specific type of play and set of players. Rulesets can include the addition, limitation, or removal of certain stats, spells, gear, or any other feature. Let’s look at some examples to really grasp what this means as there is lots of room for interpretation.

PvP players have frequently provided feedback expressing a desire for a return to a meta similar to 1st and 2nd Age PvP. While the devs did not want to shift all of pvp in that direction, PvP Leagues can create this environment. This is one of the frequent examples the devs have provided in recent months. A league could be set up that only allows spells that were available during 1st Age PvP. Similarly, gear and stats that were not present during the 1st age would be banned or disabled from this game mode. This will effectively recreate the 1st age pvp meta, and time will tell how much popularity this league could gain.

Another option will be lower level leagues. Following 1st age and 2nd age, as more and more levels and features were added to the game, Low Level PvP emerged. This was an effort to avoid certain aspects of max level pvp or certain issues players found with one level range or another. That essentially sounds like the unofficial, less efficient version of a league. So in this case, a League could be created that removes critical and shadow magic but still allows some of the other likeable additions from max level. It could then limit participation to a specific level band.

Now the last two additions have really capitalized on limitations or removal, but to show you all the possibilities let’s explore another idea. For those of you familiar with tournaments, you may remember that some of these tourneys come with certain rules much like leagues. A popular one includes giving players +10% universal damage every round and +20% base universal pierce. This is known as the Quick Match Tourney. Leagues should be able to create game modes like this as well. There’s no telling what kind of fun we’ll be getting into in the future of 5th Age PvP.

The possibilities are endless. A league could allow PvE only spells that have previously been banned. It would certainly be fun to see what pvp looks like with the level 75 minions in play. Maybe the now PvE-only Scion spells. The fun doesn’t stop there. The only limitations to leagues is your imagination (and the developers willingness to fulfill your vision).

Diving into PvP

All ranked play will go through a PvP League. Players will have to look at the ruleset and determine which league they want to play. After selecting a league, players can queue up.

Starter PvP Leagues

When Leagues arrive in Live Realm, players will have a couple options right off the bat. There will be 4 starter leagues. There will be a Premiere League (level 140-150), an Exalted League (level 100-109), a Legendary League (level 60-69), and a Master League (level 40-50). These 4 leagues will shape the start of 5th age and be the standard for ranked competition. Unfortunately, these 4 are level restricted and players will have to meet the requirements to enter one of these options. This does not mean there will never be leagues for other level ranges. If you’re looking for a reliable pvp environment, then it might be time to call one of these leagues home.

Finding a League

Within the PvP section of the Arena resides four kiosks. Interacting with the kiosk will pull up the League selection Screen. This Menu currently displays one option but it’s likely to feature others in the future.

Notice on the right hand side a Win/Loss count is displayed. Just under that is the player’s rank, Recruit, which is the new starter rank. Simply click on that option to view more details for that league.

Next will be the League Rules. The list of rules and requirements resides in the middle.

In this case, players must be levels 40 through 50. Critical and Block are disabled in this league. Also Pre-Enchanted Cards are not allowed. Again your record, rank, and rating are also displayed on this page. On the bottom left players can find the Leaderboard for this league along with options to open the Ranked Queue or the Practice PvP Queue.

Next will be the League Rules. The list of rules and requirements resides in the middle.

In this case, players must be levels 60 through 69. Critical and Block are disabled in this league. Also Pre-Enchanted Cards are not allowed. Again your record, rank, and rating are also displayed on this page. On the bottom left players can find the Leaderboard for this league along with options to open the Ranked Queue or the Practice PvP Queue.

Next will be the League Rules. The list of rules and requirements resides in the middle.

In this case, players must be levels 100 through 109. Shadow Pip gain is disabled to keep out Shadow Magic. Also Pre-Enchanted Cards are not allowed. Again your record, rank, and rating are also displayed on this page. On the bottom left players can find the Leaderboard for this league along with options to open the Ranked Queue or the Practice PvP Queue.

Next will be the League Rules. The list of rules and requirements resides in the middle.

In this case, players must be levels 140 through 150. Also Pre-Enchanted Cards are not allowed. Again your record, rank, and rating are also displayed on this page. On the bottom left players can find the Leaderboard for this league along with options to open the Ranked Queue or the Practice PvP Queue.

Queuing Up

Upon clicking on the Ranked option, player’s should be greeted with the familiar sight of the Ranked Queue from previous ages.

The spectator mode is located on the right hand side to view current matches and the Quick Join option on the bottom will throw players into the queue to find a match. The only notable difference is the removal of all Team PvP options in ranked. Not to worry, the Practice Queue will still offer that experience to players.

Leaderboards

Additionally, with this new separation of Ranked PvP, each PvP league will also have it’s own leaderboard. No more being outplaced by someone competing at an entirely different level!

PvP Leagues and the Effects on Gameplay

Each league will have its own rating system. This is a good change allowing players to venture out into different leagues without worrying about affecting their ranked in the main league. If a player is frequently doing Premiere League PvP, they will be able to venture into another league, when available, and compete there without messing with their max 1v1 rating and record. This change will also make it very clear where players are getting their pvp experience. As of right now, the pvp rank badges encompass all ranked pvp, including any level and team pvp. This has been abused a lot in the past to achieve a warlord rank via boosting in the dead queues of 2v2+ or ranking up level 1 characters.

Final Thoughts

Overall, leagues are a great addition to pvp. Custom rulesets will really help players find their preferred pvp experience. Furthermore, future changes within pvp can be restricted to specific leagues or tested in custom leagues, allowing the devs to avoid affecting all players. The possibilities are endless. It will be exciting to see what types of leagues we see throughout 5th Age!