So here I sit, at 8:30 PM on Wednesday night, knowing I have three hours at most before I go to bed, and looking at the 5-and-a-half hours remaining in the Divine Champions event.
I’m currently ranked #50 in my bracket and that’s a precarious balance. If I climb 4 more ranks, I’ll be in danger of winning a Punisher. If I slip 25 ranks, I won’t get what I’m in this tournament to win - the blue cover for OBW that I have been chasing for weeks. Every day I drop 100 HP on the Daily ** Deal, but nothing. Every Heroic token I cash in, every random draw I take, I hold my breath and end up selling another Modern Hawkeye or Classic Storm. And now that prize is there, dangling, and the balance I need to secure it is even more delicate than the battle for the top few spots.
If I were gunning for the Punisher, I could still be at it, fighting my way up through the roster and amassing points, building my lead and then popping a shield before bed with a decent chance of holding my position overnight. But I’m not. I’m after a high mid-range tier prize with a 30 slot window. Just 11 points more than I have now and I’d be out of Black Widow land and into Punisher territory. 20 points less…just one decent loss…and the Blue Cover slips my grasp once again.
This means I’m not playing the game, even though I want to. It means I’m not gaining progression rewards, even though I’d like them. If I pop a shield, chances are the ratings will push me out of the tiny window I’m trying to remain within. I would so much rather be playing to win instead of wasting this much energy on remaining mediocre.
So, I’m suggesting the option to downgrade your reward. If I were to qualify for a Punisher cover, then I would like to be able to forfeit that cover and redeem it for a lower level prize. After all, I have already demonstrated my ability to earn it…why force a player to walk a tightrope to secure a prize of lesser value?
As players begin maxing more and more of their roster, I suspect the desire for “missing” covers will become more of a driving factor than placing #5 or #10 for something they already have. Those people won’t be playing the game as intensely as they would probably like, which harms enjoyment and lessens the addictive nature of rolling from one match to the next. And if people are hanging back, the battle at the top becomes less competitive as well. I’m not saying the battle for the middle will ever be more coveted than the top, but there will be those of us who need the mid-tier prize more than the top, and those people may begin glutting the median with scores that differ only by single digits and rarely increase.
But with the ability to downgrade our reward, suddenly there’s no reason for anyone to hold back. The battle for top dominance can be about the thrill of competition for some and about grabbing that top 1% brass ring for others. In short, it adds more ferocity to the fight by taking the leash off some of the dogs who are watching from their marked territories and wishing they could play.
