Gauging Interest in L56 4v4 Sewers Gear Only Tournament!

[Hahahahabirdy]

Hello everyone,

I have recently returned to PL after a long hiatus, and was happy to see the presence of a few tournaments open to everyone. I noticed, however, that these tournaments are largely limited to endgame PVP. This mirrors the PVP games seen in game, with PVP seemingly being limited to L40 and L110. One of my favorite level ranges to PVP at in the past was L56, due to the largely balanced nature of the gear and fair scaling of skills. This ties in with Balefort Sewers being thought of as one of the best caps in the history of PL.

In relation to all of this, I am considering hosting a 4v4 PVP tournament at level 56. Everyone would be required to use sewers gear (any gear received from the Balefort Sewers map), and enchantments would not be allowed. The removal of enchantments may be seen as a negative to some, but I believe that they must be prohibited in order for everyone to enjoy the balance of the Balefort sets that existed in the past.

I would like to ask everyone if they have any interest in a PVP tournament of this format. There would be a guaranteed gold reward provided by myself for the winners. I have not yet asked Cinco what he thinks about this format, as I wish to gauge interest prior to bringing this to his attention. I ran this idea by a few friends, and collected some common Q&As related to this tournament, and have listed them below.

Common Questions and Answers

Q: How will the no enchantment rule be enforced?
A: Rings and amulets will not be allowed, only base gear is available for use. A referee will be present on each side of every match. Every participant will be required to have their stats visible (and therefore visible in preview). At the beginning of each match, the referees will inspect each player in order to determine whether or not they are using a ring or amulet. Rule violators discovered at this point will be given a warning. Once the match begins, players are not allowed to open the general menu (any action that results in "Busy" appearing by their name). People who violate this rule will be given a warning and will immediately be inspected for rule breaking. Anyone found to be breaking the rule at this time will immediately be disqualified. As stats for sewer gear will be known by the referees, enchantments on armor and weaponry can easily be identified as well.

Q: How many warnings are allowed prior to disqualification?
A: I have no preset number of warnings in my mind that would be allowed. This is a number I would like input on, as I know it is often habitual for people to briefly go busy, and could lead to many accidental unintended warnings. I would like to think that the majority of participants would not try to cheat and will enforce warnings as such. If I find a large number of cheating attempts, the disqualifications will become more strict and allowed warnings will be lessened.

Q: Where would this tournament be hosted?
A: All matches will take place on the Shadow Caves map.

Q: What gear do I use?
A: The only gear players will be allowed to use is any gear found in the Balefort Sewers maps. In other words, you can use gear dropped in game for levels 51-55. To help facilitate identification of legal gear, there will be no vanities allowed. Gear is not widely available right now, thus creating a larger needs for sets as a whole. For this reason, I am announcing my intent to host this tournament now, and will give players 1-2 months to acquire the gear that they need. This also gives something to those that enjoy PVE more than PVP to do. Any PVE players looking for new items to farm, look no further than Balefort Sewers!

Q: Are there gear/class requirements?
A: After consulting some L56 PVPers, there will be one gear/class requirement. Mages will be allowed to use only INT sets, as DEX sets make them much stronger than all other classes. Otherwise, I do not see a need to limit gear to certain classes, or prevent other classes from playing. In this tournament, all classes would be allowed, and all classes would be allowed to use any Sewers gear they wish to use (OTHER THAN MAGES). Bears can use DEX sets, Birds can use STR sets, there are no limitations. In addition, each team can be made up of any class combinations they desire. If a team wishes to use 4 mages or 4 birds, they may do so. In relation to this, the Sewers cap is known for its non-useless non legendary items. If you wish to use a Drainer DEX set for its higher dodge rather than a customized set, feel free to do so.

With all this in mind, does anyone have interest in participating in this tournament?
Thanks for your responses!

[Congeniality]

I'd be excited Only question is whether I would need to get farming for a set or if there are enough to go around in the consignment shop :P.

[MageFFA]

Not to be a bearer of bad news but the 2016 gear and attribute nerf really did a number on the games stability. 56 dosen't play like it did during it's cap let alone after. Mages with custom crossbow will be dealing well past 400 critical on a daily, i play 56 still to this day in private lobbies with friends. I would advise to rethink having no gear specific rule for further balancing issues.

[dmt]

very interesting count me in

[jest]

Interesting i just finishef my set 55 i would probably take part in this tourney

[Hahahahabirdy]

Not to be a bearer of bad news but the 2016 gear and attribute nerf really did a number on the games stability. 56 dosen't play like it did during it's cap let alone after. Mages with custom crossbow will be dealing well past 400 critical on a daily, i play 56 still to this day in private lobbies with friends. I would advise to rethink having no gear specific rule for further balancing issues.

I discussed this with Quality in game. We believe that allowing mages to use INT gear only will revise this issue. Therefore, the rules will be edited so that mages are only allowed to use INT gear.

[MageFFA]

I discussed this with Quality in game. We believe that allowing mages to use INT gear only will revise this issue. Therefore, the rules will be edited so that mages are only allowed to use INT gear.

This is very helpful and will help the tourney run smooth.

[3pc]

I think this would be a fun idea to relish the past. @Cinco if enough are interested with his great scematics to have a referee on each team can you please sponsor this tourney? I think it would really reel players back to this level of PvP after the fact and give them some enjoyment of earning a prize.

[3pc]

I think everyone should all use their class specific gear. I love the idea of no rings/ammy just straight old school. 4-4 would be fun cuz its never really been done before with a ref on each team very smart. I just hope people can spread the news cuz this would be really fun! (People should receive one warning if anything and thats it just straight DQ, a lot can happen if you switch once as it is).

[Hahahahabirdy]

I think everyone should all use their class specific gear. I love the idea of no rings/ammy just straight old school. 4-4 would be fun cuz its never really been done before with a ref on each team very smart. I just hope people can spread the news cuz this would be really fun! (People should receive one warning if anything and thats it just straight DQ, a lot can happen if you switch once as it is).

I’m not too sure about class specific gear, as I know playing classes with different gear sets was quite popular and fun. This would probably be decided by the people who join the tournament via a poll.

Warnings are a nebulous topic that I had a rough idea of grading. If someone goes busy while dead or while far away from a fight, and their gear is unchanged, a simple warning will suffice (as busy is habitual for many). If someone goes busy immediately before or during a fight, that is much more suspicious and will result in a stronger warning (or possibly an immediate disqualification). Warnings could be graded on a scale of 2: simple warnings count as one point and strong warnings count as 2. If a player ever reaches 3 or more warning points, they will be disqualified. Any player found to be attempting to cheat via gear switching will be immediately disqualified.

[Spullllll]

My question is how can you know for sure people arent using rings or ammys

[Hahahahabirdy]

My question is how can you know for sure people arent using rings or ammys

Q: How will the no enchantment rule be enforced?
A: Rings and amulets will not be allowed, only base gear is available for use. A referee will be present on each side of every match. Every participant will be required to have their stats visible (and therefore visible in preview). At the beginning of each match, the referees will inspect each player in order to determine whether or not they are using a ring or amulet. Rule violators discovered at this point will be given a warning. Once the match begins, players are not allowed to open the general menu (any action that results in "Busy" appearing by their name). People who violate this rule will be given a warning and will immediately be inspected for rule breaking. Anyone found to be breaking the rule at this time will immediately be disqualified. As stats for sewer gear will be known by the referees, enchantments on armor and weaponry can easily be identified as well.

——————
Warnings are a nebulous topic that I had a rough idea of grading. If someone goes busy while dead or while far away from a fight, and their gear is unchanged, a simple warning will suffice (as busy is habitual for many). If someone goes busy immediately before or during a fight, that is much more suspicious and will result in a stronger warning (or possibly an immediate disqualification). Warnings could be graded on a scale of 2: simple warnings count as one point and strong warnings count as 2. If a player ever reaches 3 or more warning points, they will be disqualified. Any player found to be attempting to cheat via gear switching will be immediately disqualified.

[3pc]

Its fairly simple all the referee really has to do is write down the stats on each set and then write down what it looks like once its buffed, if they notice a “busy” sign next to their name real quick they just inspect their page and if the numbers dont add up then automatically should take a SS then DQ.

[Congeniality]

Happy to say that farming a set was extremely easy (I actually ended up having excess gear to sell). Super excited for this tournament should all the rules get fleshed out

EDIT: Getting the crafting materials requires doing the daily sewer quests and farming the Recipes, I just got Fury Fighter so far from farming.

[Peeweelee]

Yay! What a wonderful plan about making a tourney on L56 your idea sounds good but if you can make it more better it will turn to be one of the best tournament in game. Thank you for taking back this level birdy. So excited to join. ☺

[Faq]

Yes!! Makes me want to farm a set, let’s do this!

[Hahahahabirdy]

Happy to say that farming a set was extremely easy (I actually ended up having excess gear to sell). Super excited for this tournament should all the rules get fleshed out

EDIT: Getting the crafting materials requires doing the daily sewer quests and farming the Recipes, I just got Fury Fighter so far from farming.

I tried farming a set yesterday as well. Was able to loot full raid roach, mega mage, and a fury helm and shield in a few hours. Also dropped a large amount of duplicate items. I do not think farming a set will be too difficult either.

[Hahahahabirdy]

Yay! What a wonderful plan about making a tourney on L56 your idea sounds good but if you can make it more better it will turn to be one of the best tournament in game. Thank you for taking back this level birdy. So excited to join. ☺

Yes!! Makes me want to farm a set, let’s do this!

I’m happy to see your interest! Quite a few people have said they would want to join, so I plan on opening up an actual tournament thread with more developed rules in the next couple days.

[MageFFA]

Tbh. I don't know if there will be enough players for a 4v4. A 2v2 or 3v3 would be better for both player numbers and time zone management.

[Dolloway]

Tbh. I don't know if there will be enough players for a 4v4. A 2v2 or 3v3 would be better for both player numbers and time zone management.

I would say that there could be enough teams for a 4v4 if Cinco announces sponsorship for the tournament in advance and doesn't wait until midway or the end to do it like he has been doing. He can always revoke his sponsorship if the tournament fails, there is any drama, or if Cinco wishes to revoke it for any other reason.

Right now, there's a lack of interest for players to assemble at level 56 and spend time farming or acquiring sets because the level has been quite inactive for years, there's a lack of players at this level in general due to the changes made to pvp, and there's no incentive yet because we don't know if there will be sponsorship or if the tournament will get enough players to start.

By announcing sponsorship and allowing a month or so for people to farm and acquire sets, level toons, practice, and so forth, Cinco and Birdy could ignite renewed interest in the level enough for players to want to put in the amount of effort required to gear up and level a full team of 56s.