Does this sound about right?

[Aheadatime]

Well i finally reached the top 100 in both FFA and H2H, but its hard to get much further than that. I win usually about 4 or 5 games in a row, followed by an inevitable zulu/american loss every now and then, than back to winning. However, it seems as though that one loss always takes me down 10 to 20 spots in the leaderboard, and the wins move me up maybe 2 spots, sometimes i get lucky and move up like 5. It seems to get into the top 10 i need to win lik 40 straight, no losses. How do all you guys do it so easily? Win streaks? Or do your losses not ravage your rank like mine do for some reason?

[MorteEterna]

Well i finally reached the top 100 in both FFA and H2H, but its hard to get much further than that. I win usually about 4 or 5 games in a row, followed by an inevitable zulu/american loss every now and then, than back to winning. However, it seems as though that one loss always takes me down 10 to 20 spots in the leaderboard, and the wins move me up maybe 2 spots, sometimes i get lucky and move up like 5. It seems to get into the top 10 i need to win lik 40 straight, no losses. How do all you guys do it so easily? Win streaks? Or do your losses not ravage your rank like mine do for some reason?

I had a more than 100 win streak (FFA), against a lot of top players. I lost like 3 games in 2-3 days to an aztec player (King Mobeus), an american player that got march knight (from KT) and I don't remember the other loss. However, the answer is win streaks. But.. last games I have played, I've got a lot of loss (thanks, connection, and freezers), and, I usually get 1 point per win (FFA). Really, fromm 0 to 1. I usually get 0 and the last 2 games I got disconnected, I went from 2406 to 2377 if I'm not wrong

[Grayson]

Well, if you are winning 4 out of 5 of your matches, you should still usually be staying put or moving up. My win rate right now in H2H is 86%, and I've been steadily moving up. If you are somewhere around 70-80% you should be moving a lot higher than the top 100 in H2H. In FFA, it just matters what place you are coming in.

Of course, the biggest factors are who you beat and who you lose to, and when you get those wins and losses. If you are at your peak rating, and lose one or two in a row, then you'll take a big fall, unless you're playing highly rated players.

I get on streaks of about 10-15 in a row (I'm on 30-40 game streak in FFA right now I think, though), and then I'll lose a few in the same night. In H2H, it's usually pretty easy to make up for those losses, as most of my games will last only about 20-30 minutes.

FFA can be very slow moving, sometimes taking a long time to move out of an area of the leaderboard, and then all the sudden, you'll get some good matchups and be able to make bigger leaps. But, since the games are longer in FFA, and there's disparity between the starting rating (1200) and what it takes to be in the top ranks (rating around 2000), you get a lot less points a lot of times, because chances are, you're going to have 1 or more of the 4 human players being rating really low. It makes it easy to gain points at first in FFA, getting 20-30 points per win till you get around 1600, then it slows down. Now I get between 1-5, sometimes a little more. Rarely more than 10 points.

In H2H, once you get above 1400, you won't get many matchups where you'll get more than 10 points for a win. If you do, that usually means you'll have to beat a ratings-inflated power civ user, or a good player. But, if you happen to lose a game, which luck can play a larger role in H2H, even a noob can walk in on you, then you'll drop 20-30 points.

If you really care about ratings, then don't quit out until you really know that you are beat. Make the other guy prove they know how to expand, and can deal with the simplest of tactics. Most players can't do one or the other. Either they don't know how to expand, then you can beat the crap out of them in the long run, or they know how to expand, but don't defend and can't deal with rushes.

You should know by now a lot of the good players, and who is ranked high and who isn't, and know when lots of points are on the line and when they aren't. Beat a few good players, lose less to the low rated players, and you'll move up. You should be able to do better than top 100 in H2H. FFA maybe a different story.

[Aheadatime]

Well, if you are winning 4 out of 5 of your matches, you should still usually be staying put or moving up. My win rate right now in H2H is 86%, and I've been steadily moving up. If you are somewhere around 70-80% you should be moving a lot higher than the top 100 in H2H. In FFA, it just matters what place you are coming in.

Of course, the biggest factors are who you beat and who you lose to, and when you get those wins and losses. If you are at your peak rating, and lose one or two in a row, then you'll take a big fall, unless you're playing highly rated players.

I get on streaks of about 10-15 in a row (I'm on 30-40 game streak in FFA right now I think, though), and then I'll lose a few in the same night. In H2H, it's usually pretty easy to make up for those losses, as most of my games will last only about 20-30 minutes.

FFA can be very slow moving, sometimes taking a long time to move out of an area of the leaderboard, and then all the sudden, you'll get some good matchups and be able to make bigger leaps. But, since the games are longer in FFA, and there's disparity between the starting rating (1200) and what it takes to be in the top ranks (rating around 2000), you get a lot less points a lot of times, because chances are, you're going to have 1 or more of the 4 human players being rating really low. It makes it easy to gain points at first in FFA, getting 20-30 points per win till you get around 1600, then it slows down. Now I get between 1-5, sometimes a little more. Rarely more than 10 points.

In H2H, once you get above 1400, you won't get many matchups where you'll get more than 10 points for a win. If you do, that usually means you'll have to beat a ratings-inflated power civ user, or a good player. But, if you happen to lose a game, which luck can play a larger role in H2H, even a noob can walk in on you, then you'll drop 20-30 points.

If you really care about ratings, then don't quit out until you really know that you are beat. Make the other guy prove they know how to expand, and can deal with the simplest of tactics. Most players can't do one or the other. Either they don't know how to expand, then you can beat the crap out of them in the long run, or they know how to expand, but don't defend and can't deal with rushes.

You should know by now a lot of the good players, and who is ranked high and who isn't, and know when lots of points are on the line and when they aren't. Beat a few good players, lose less to the low rated players, and you'll move up. You should be able to do better than top 100 in H2H. FFA maybe a different story.

Good points. Perhaps it just happens because im losing to 'low' rated players, which sounds fishy to me. Lets say The player i lost to was good, but had recently lost a couple of times and his rank is now lower than mine, though were equal in skill. Or, lets say its a good player with a new account. Either way, the rating of the player doesnt always equate perfectly to skill level, which can be a pain. I dont care so much about rank like i used to, but i think it would be nice and satisfying to hit the top 10 in any category, probably H2H since its so much easier than FFA.

[Alitaba66]

also, i think if you last longer in FFA than other players you don't drop as much even if you still lose. So even if you know the uberpowerful american is going to destroy your lowly french, keep playing. if he takes everyone else out, or they quit first, you shouldnt drop as much. Plus, as happened to me in my last FFA match, you may get just the right combo of techs to fight his late game onslaught off and win!



thats right. french cannons and riflemen beating down american tanks and knights with cruiser backup. soooooo sweet!

[Aheadatime]

I had a more than 100 win streak (FFA), against a lot of top players. I lost like 3 games in 2-3 days to an aztec player (King Mobeus), an american player that got march knight (from KT) and I don't remember the other loss. However, the answer is win streaks. But.. last games I have played, I've got a lot of loss (thanks, connection, and freezers), and, I usually get 1 point per win (FFA). Really, fromm 0 to 1. I usually get 0 and the last 2 games I got disconnected, I went from 2406 to 2377 if I'm not wrong

I would have beat you in that FFA if you didnt disconnect =]

[Jackoneill]

In h2h for me if i get beat in one game i tend to lose 20 to 30 points.When i win i usually win 2 points to around 10 or 12 points.Its all depending on who im playing.

[MorteEterna]

I would have beat you in that FFA if you didnt disconnect =]

What FFA game do you mean?

[elthrasher]

It took me 23 games (21 wins, 1 loss, 1 disconnection) to climb from somewhere in the 20s to #10 in H2H. I believe two of my wins were against players who were ranked higher than me (until that match at least, heh), so that helped. At 90% winning, you're pretty much always climbing. At 80%, it depends on where you are, who you play and who the losses are to.

It wasn't really that tough getting to the top 10 in H2H. A lot of my matches were pretty easy and I didn't have that many bugs or freezes, nor play any cheaters, but that's just luck. I might have an easy time holding my position by beating noobs for 1 or 2 points now and then or I might get a freeze or a loss to a skilled but low-ranked player and have a huge freefall of points.

[Jackoneill]

It took me 23 games (21 wins, 1 loss, 1 disconnection) to climb from somewhere in the 20s to #10 in H2H. I believe two of my wins were against players who were ranked higher than me (until that match at least, heh), so that helped. At 90% winning, you're pretty much always climbing. At 80%, it depends on where you are, who you play and who the losses are to.

It wasn't really that tough getting to the top 10 in H2H. A lot of my matches were pretty easy and I didn't have that many bugs or freezes, nor play any cheaters, but that's just luck. I might have an easy time holding my position by beating noobs for 1 or 2 points now and then or I might get a freeze or a loss to a skilled but low-ranked player and have a huge freefall of points.

Im finding it hard to climb up in ffa.Due to cheats and freezers.You are right in saying h2h is more stable.The connection cheat doesnt get the win which helps in h2h.But ffa ive lost so many games due to connection cheats and when i do win its against low ranked players.So i dont get alot of points.

[Aheadatime]

What FFA game do you mean?

My chinese your romans. Zulu was buggin us both early on, but my horsearmies took care of him.

[Aheadatime]

It took me 23 games (21 wins, 1 loss, 1 disconnection) to climb from somewhere in the 20s to #10 in H2H. I believe two of my wins were against players who were ranked higher than me (until that match at least, heh), so that helped. At 90% winning, you're pretty much always climbing. At 80%, it depends on where you are, who you play and who the losses are to.

It wasn't really that tough getting to the top 10 in H2H. A lot of my matches were pretty easy and I didn't have that many bugs or freezes, nor play any cheaters, but that's just luck. I might have an easy time holding my position by beating noobs for 1 or 2 points now and then or I might get a freeze or a loss to a skilled but low-ranked player and have a huge freefall of points.

Yeah i guess im just not as good as you guys yet. My streaks dont hold out as long as yours do, and its probably for reasons i can avoid. Ill just keep working on it. Im liking H2H though, much more 'stable' than FFA. Less cheaters, freezers, connection problems, and rank problems.

[vanchinaman]

H2hH definitely lets you climb faster, but if you lose in second place in FFA it doesn't seem to hurt as badly. I've been in h2h top 10 a few times, but not quite with FFA. For a long time FFA were the matches I didn't really care about, and never sweat losing. Gradually - much more slowly than H2h, I found myself in the top 20, and then started getting more intentional about the games. Just stick with it, learn from legit losses, and try not to let disconnects and freezes bother you too much. Everyone faces them, so it probably evens out in the rankings anyway (well, except for intentional freezers, but who cares about them).