Premium Matches and Hotzones in Battle for Empire City

[Bolt]

With this update came two new features for Battle for Empire City.

Premium Matches. Premium matches are automatically enabled when a match is particularly closely matched: if syndicates are very close in rank and power. When that happens a premium match is triggered which lets you gain up to double the points for each attack on an enemy. There is no limit to how may times premium matches may occur. There are three levels within the Premium Match-up: Premium, Epic and Legendary. The closer the Syndicates are, the better the matchup and the more intense the scoring will be.

6-18 Update: Shoreline Shootout will have premium matches enabled and only rank will be a factor.

Hotzones. Hotzones are periods of time in a war where a player can gain a defense reduction bonus against opponents. They are triggered by attacking the Headquarters. Players will know when they are in the hotzone in order to take advantage of it; flames burst in an animation when it is activated. Once activated, they will last for the duration of that battle. Only the player who activated the hotzone will see it and benefit.

http://i.imgur.com/BU6weEel.png

http://i.imgur.com/1ODsP4Zl.png

http://i.imgur.com/sT2zKlIl.png

http://i.imgur.com/mTfOn8Dl.png

http://i.imgur.com/W15f2C3l.png

Adjust your strategies accordingly, the next Battle for Empire City will be extra 'hot'!

[cooch]

Cool. Did you beta test? Hope rollout isn't glitch city

[fan139]

sounds decent, hope it goes well

[Weasel]

If it ain't broke...

[Stubby1113]

When will update be out

[Dipstik]

what is the safe house? Headquarters?

[Garland Greene]

AWESOME!!

These new additions sound great, can't wait to experience them in my favorite event.

[Dklv]

Can we get a grammar check on the second picture.

[Captain Torgue]

So what happens with teams that get matched with the mollies since no one can beat us?

[Seany527]

Can we get a grammar check on the second picture.

Wow. How embarrassing.

[Dipstik]

It's not embarrassing. People have pretty much gotten used to being pwned by the mollies.

[Ninja☆Smoke]

I can't knock it until I try it, but....Strong But(s)...most Top 50 keep scores close and try to blitz at end...Could result in some lopsided ip scores...also the definition of "close score" vastly differs depending on team. Well at very least if prizes do not improve to match production of RB or EB, it's all for not.

[1Shot]

Interesting, this change seems kind of cool honestly.

[Captain Torgue]

Interesting, this change seems kind of cool honestly.

No it doesn't.

[John_Locke]

Only the player who activated the hotzone will see it.

Does this mean that only the player who activated the hotzone will benefit, or will the player have to communicate with their team that they've activated the hotzone?

[Weasel]

Does this mean that only the player who activated the hotzone will benefit, or will the player have to communicate with their team that they've activated the hotzone?

"Players will be aware of the hotzones in order to take advantage of them;... Only the player who activated the hotzone will see it."

People will be aware of it, but only one people at a time will actually be aware of it. Clear as mud.

[Kitty McPurr]

The "Hotzone" description did say that a PLAYER would gain a defense reduction...not the whole team. From what I read it seems like that is a random reward for wall hitters. I use the word "random" in a double meaning.sense; it seems randomly generated if you will get the bonus, and it seems like a randomly beneficial prize (since wins are not a strict attack vs defense = win.)

[Kitty McPurr]

It also strikes me that the "premium matchups" function would work better if the bonus received was proportional to how over matched a team is, for example an even matchup (top 49 v top 50) should result in zero multiplier to influence gains, and a highly overmatched team (top 50 v top 5) should result in the top 50 getting a larger multiplier on their influence gains. I don't say this in the hopes top 50 teams will start creeping into top 5, but rather from a business perspective for GREE because a top 50 team will probably spend more gold if their multiplier is higher against a top 5.

[Sleazy_P_Martini]

Aren't battles supposed to be closely matched anyways? You're not implying that you purposely mismatch battles are you? Such as to kill streaks.

[Jeronimo]

If you want to be taken serious, please consider taking a course in English grammar. I thought this game was run by a 'professional' company, not by a bunch of uneducated schoolboys.

[Nighteg]

A clever way to make 2 teams spend more gold in the most boring event we have.

p.s. nothing will help wars until you change the formula that punishes high lvls for playing this game too long.

[fuzzy]

Is this going to fail like Accomplices?

[-Batman-]

Is this going to fail like Accomplices?

Was just about to post the same, next fubar after accomplice mess up

[Winnson]

I don‘t get it.

[fuzzy]

This will hurt those top teams that lie low for streaks the first 2 days or so and get easy syndicate wins back in the 200/300 rankings. Then when they go for there last day push back into the top 25 they will have harder hill to climb from those teams that got Premium, Epic and Legendary battles all weekend with double the points.

Is this another way to kill streak teams?

[Blaggard]

This will hurt those top teams that lie low for streaks the first 2 days or so and get easy syndicate wins back in the 200/300 rankings. Then when they go for there last day push back into the top 25 they will have harder hill to climb from those teams that got Premium, Epic and Legendary battles all weekend with double the points.

Is this another way to kill streak teams?

It will just mean they will go huge in the Epic/Legendary battles they get final day.

[sister morphine]

B
This will hurt those top teams that lie low for streaks the first 2 days or so and get easy syndicate wins back in the 200/300 rankings. Then when they go for there last day push back into the top 25 they will have harder hill to climb from those teams that got Premium, Epic and Legendary battles all weekend with double the points.

Is this another way to kill streak teams?
Gree corporate strategy is to discourage players from playing strategically. Just the same with how they ended farming Demons in SA. Mindless tapping is the one true path.

[Weasel]

A clever way to make 2 teams spend more gold in the most boring event we have.

p.s. nothing will help wars until you change the ******* formula that punishes high lvls for playing this game too long.

Quoted for truth. If the Battle for Empire City event is in need of saving, and this is some attempt at saving it, it will make no difference if player level continues to play a factor in the point scoring formula.

To state it simply for Gree, all players, regardless of level, should play by the same rules. You seem to have realized this for Street Assault, Raid Boss, Lockbox events, the most recent Epic Boss, Limited Time Buildings, Limited Time Quests, and Syndicate Limited Time Quests, yet stubbornly shove your heads further and further with regards to the Battle for Empire City event.

And the spelling/grammar mistakes make it safe to assume there will probably be other "oversights" that affect gameplay. There's always something anyways, and it's always more pronounced with anything new.

[!Radar]

I'm being told this is an idea from "Criminal Legacy", another Gree app. Didn't that one get shut down?

[Weasel]

I'm being told this is an idea from "Criminal Legacy", another Gree app. Didn't that one get shut down?

It did get shut down. If this is true, maybe it would be a good idea for Gree to allow ideas to die with the unprofitable games hurt by said ideas.

[Dipstik]

I'm not really seeing a downside here. If you're trying to keep your points low to get your streaks, you'll find it easier to find "premium matches" because everyone's points are closer down there, but you won't benefit from them because you're not trying to score lots of points. If you're competing for top ten, it adds an element of drama and importance to getting a matchup against a rival. Getting the bonus is dependent on a lucky matchup, but presumably you're matched against a close rival, which means they get the same chance as you. I guess it would suck to be in a 3 way race for tenth place and watch your other two rivals get a premium match while you get paired against #1, but that's not much different from what we have now.

I'm still not sure what "hitting the safehouse" means, but it looks like it will give people a chance to get a defense bonus during those matches when they have no one to hit. That seems harmless with a potential upside.

I really don't see how this "kills streak teams," but I don't see a problem with Gree wanting to put a stop to a strategy aimed at deliberately scoring as few points as possible. They've been trying to subtly fix this issue for a long time by changing the matchup algorithm and reducing the importance (bonuses) on the streak prizes.

[Blaggard]

I have noticed no change in the matchup algorithm for streak teams.

[Dipstik]

I haven't been a streaker in a long time, but the matchups were originally based heavily on points. Then they tweaked it so overall team strength played into it more, and I'm POSITIVE they added something to screw you over when you were on the last match of a streak. They might not have changed in a long time, but they did make changes early on to stop everyone from hovering as low as possible.

[Evan1000]

This is a cool idea. The battles for the T50 and more T20 I can imagine are going to be all hell breaking loose because people are going to be saving gold until these double point battles. Who would spend 50 gold for let's say 4k points when you can spend 25 for the same during a matchup like that?

I don't get the defense bonus though, trying to get people to hit the safehouse? I always have targets and am usually not a target because of my level so I'd rather hit a person for ip than the HQ for next to no ip but a defense bonus.

[!Radar]

It did get shut down. If this is true, maybe it would be a good idea for Gree to allow ideas to die with the unprofitable games hurt by said ideas.

Didn't take you long to pick up what I was laying down.

[AZZ.]

DON has a lot of gold!

[Bolt]

Does this mean that only the player who activated the hotzone will benefit, or will the player have to communicate with their team that they've activated the hotzone?

Edited for clarity. Only the player who activates it sees it and benefits from it. Added one more image related to hotzones.

[Winnson]

Why is lvl 53 B-Money the DL? He's level 52 and has a mafia of one.

Are his stats way better than YES, who has double the mafia?

Are they a 2 member strong syndicate and B-Money camped?

So many questions!

[b-w]

what is the new cooldown period for matching?

[plavine]

This worked out pretty good at KA :
The only questions were :
1) we all only got legendary matchups , no epic or premium.
2) the matchups were completely random at the end
is every guild getting the same number of premium matchups ( in relation to the number of wars they enter).

[cooch]

This will hurt those top teams that lie low for streaks the first 2 days or so and get easy syndicate wins back in the 200/300 rankings. Then when they go for there last day push back into the top 25 they will have harder hill to climb from those teams that got Premium, Epic and Legendary battles all weekend with double the points.

Is this another way to kill streak teams?


You bet. Don't think they noticed most teams are streaking? Or at least get gold out of most of them if they streak

[TZora]

wow, sounds interesting.. so play the battle, shell out $. play the premium matches, shell out $. so gree was like, we put matches in ur matches so that u buy more and more gold.

well played sir! :D

[ohlo-00]

Just give us better loots for rank

[TheJess]

This will hurt those top teams that lie low for streaks the first 2 days or so and get easy syndicate wins back in the 200/300 rankings. Then when they go for there last day push back into the top 25 they will have harder hill to climb from those teams that got Premium, Epic and Legendary battles all weekend with double the points.



Interesting read. Seems directed at SAS 1

[lewnbec]

With this update came two new features for Battle for Empire City.

Premium Matches. Premium matches are automatically enabled when a match is particularly closely matched: if syndicates are very close in rank and power. When that happens a premium match is triggered which lets you gain up to double the points for each attack on an enemy. There is no limit to how may times premium matches may occur. There are three levels within the Premium Match-up: Premium, Epic and Legendary. The closer the Syndicates are, the better the matchup and the more intense the scoring will be.

Hotzones. Hotzones are periods of time in a war where a player can gain a defense reduction bonus against opponents. They are triggered by attacking the Headquarters. Players will be know when they are in the hotzone in order to take advantage of it; flames burst in an animation when it is activated. Once activated, they will last for the duration of that battle. Only the player who activated the hotzone will see it and benefit.

http://i.imgur.com/BU6weEel.png

http://i.imgur.com/1ODsP4Zl.png

http://i.imgur.com/sT2zKlIl.png

http://i.imgur.com/mTfOn8Dl.png

http://i.imgur.com/W15f2C3l.png

Adjust your strategies accordingly, the next Battle for Empire City will be extra 'hot'!

Just another way for Gree to get people to buy gold.

[lewnbec]

"Players will be aware of the hotzones in order to take advantage of them;... Only the player who activated the hotzone will see it."

People will be aware of it, but only one people at a time will actually be aware of it. Clear as mud.

It also clearly states that only the person that activates the hotzone benifits.

[John_Locke]

Just another way for Gree to get people to buy gold.

That is what businesses usually do.

[b-w]

Has the cooldown period changed please..?

In other words how long before you can match the same team in hours?

[Winnson]

I am pretty sure I will have figured this out by the 2nd day of the War if I get enough sleep.

Until then, I'm not going to worry about it too much. I just figured out (I think) the EB after all.

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/3d/3db355e3b5858b31383166da7dc9cd298a5e4ed9a35309e989 aa715e501417f9.jpg

[Dipstik]

Keep tapping?

[sister morphine]

Keep tapping?
Quoted for truth. We had one in MW yesterday and the cry "burn gold" went up in chat ;) we ended up with a 1.5 mil score, but the effect was to lift the faction into a tier where the other teams are far too strong for us.

The only right time will be for the final battle, but what are the chances of that!

[Vile Lynn]

Looking forward to this in CC!

KA just had another "premium war" with the new battle types & hotzones.
It was so-so ok, but premium matchups were too rare and there were issues with triggering a hotzone.

[cooch]

Looking forward to this in CC!

KA just had another "premium war" with the new battle types & hotzones.
It was so-so ok, but premium matchups were too rare and there were issues with triggering a hotzone.

Yeah but ka hit #51 on tunes sales rank. First time I have seen ka in top 150 in so long. So must be working. Will keep that game alive if it continues

[Vile Lynn]

Yeah but ka hit #51 on tunes sales rank. First time I have seen ka in top 150 in so long. So must be working. Will keep that game alive if it continues

That's good news for KA! I hope GREE is paying attention. More premium matches mean more IAPs.

Side note: In KA, GREE drops a lot of health refill items during their events. Many farm them, myself included. Considering what cooch posted about KA's increased sales rank, giving out health refills doesn't seem to reduce sales. So, give us more in health refill items in CC, please!

[Mirakulix]

Looks good ��

[Greeny1]

Anyone got a match up yet?

[Sideline Sal]

I've heard speculation that the Premium match is not active this war...truth?

[cooch]

I've heard speculation that the Premium match is not active this war...truth?

Seems that way. However do many teams trying to drop low in rank so who knows. Scores r really low so far

[gunny22]

I've heard speculation that the Premium match is not active this war...truth?

Being r6 we just fought r7. You can't get any closer than that, right? No Legendary...

Anybody had a hot zone, yet?

[Jeronimo]

I've only seen and heard of the x2 bonus for destroying the wall so far...

[b-w]

I've only seen and heard of the x2 bonus for destroying the wall so far...
thats always been like that

[sir don john]

not had one Premium matches

[sister morphine]

Being r6 we just fought r7. You can't get any closer than that, right? No Legendary...

Anybody had a hot zone, yet?
You have to hit the HQ to activate a hot zone. The effect is a random reduction in rival defence for you (not the whole syndicate). Only worth it if you have no targets.

[cooch]

You have to hit the HQ to activate a hot zone. The effect is a random reduction in rival defence for you (not the whole syndicate). Only worth it if you have no targets.

Think official gree mod says not working this event. Called it something else besides hot zone.

[Dat Guy]

Is this live or not? I think Weasel was right. Sometimes no information is better than bad information.

[Demolisher VFF Rebels]

It is not live it's been cancelled according to relic for this Wde

[Vile Lynn]

Hey all,

An update for you - there also will not be hotspots in Fairview Freakout, just to make everyone aware.

Thanks!
^from http://forums.gree.net/showthread.php?115955-Tomorrow-s-Battle-for-EC-Fairview-Freakout
Post #7

Yeah, she called them 'hotspots' but meant hotzones, pretty sure.

Not sure if anything worked.
Did any syndicate get a premium matchup?

[Jeronimo]

^from http://forums.gree.net/showthread.php?115955-Tomorrow-s-Battle-for-EC-Fairview-Freakout
Post #7

Yeah, she called them 'hotspots' but meant hotzones, pretty sure.

Not sure if anything worked.
Did any syndicate get a premium matchup?

They forgot to put premium battles in the special tab of the store, so nobody could purchase them.

[quityourwhining]

hot spots are like santa, the tooth fairy, and accomplices - they don't exist. just forget about all that nonsense and send a check or money order payable to GREE.

[Bolt]

There were some last minute issues and Premium Battles and Hotzones were not enabled for this event. Next Battle for Empire City should see them enabled.

[Dat Guy]

There were some last minute issues and Premium Battles and Hotzones were not enabled for this event. Next Battle for Empire City should see them enabled.

Thanks for the update!;)


https://youtu.be/gqQ99s4Ywnw

[Dipstik]

Spambots are getting pretty good these days.

[Sideline Sal]

Is there a GroupMe channel already set up for coordinating declare times within ranks to get premium matches for this weekend? (if they have it live)

[Sideline Sal]

Also, any confirmed word from a mod that this will be implemented this weekend for the 5 day battle?

[Vile Lynn]

Also, any confirmed word from a mod that this will be implemented this weekend for the 5 day battle?

Re-read post #70.

[Sideline Sal]

lol, yeah, I did....don't really trust the word 'should' work with a new release

[Vile Lynn]

Haha, same here... not much I trust about GREE info here either... pity.

I figure IF premiums & hotzones are enabled, we'll know it a few hours after war begins.

[Bolt]

This Battle for Empire City, Shoreline Shootout, will have premium matches enabled and only rank will be a factor. Hotzones will also be enabled. I will update the original post to reflect this.

[Vile Lynn]

http://forums.gree.net/showthread.php?116105-Premium-Matches-in-World-Domination-Securing-Sweden

This World Domination: Securing Sweden will feature only one criteria for Premium Matches:

Faction Rank

There are three kinds of Premium matches:

Premium: Warring factions are 25 ranks apart. Factions will score 25% more points

Epic: Warring factions are 10 ranks apart. Factions will score 50% more points

Legendary: Warring factions are 5 ranks apart. Factions will score 100% more points


Make sure to coordinate with your faction and crush your enemies!

^^from MW forum. Same thing for CC?

[Sideline Sal]

Thank you for the confirmation Bolt

[Dipstik]

Considering the diversity of opponents is so limited in the top 25 or so, I suspect that if you're in the lead early you'll be in an almost constant state of premium matches. Seems like this would make it very difficult to catch up if you're outside that group. Seems bad.

[Sideline Sal]

we were just discussing the same thing in our officers group

[Vile Lynn]

Yeah, pretty much reserved for golden customers.

It should be a wonderful waste of real money. Can't wait!

[Dipstik]

Actually, I bet it will result in less revenue for Gree. Once the teams figure out how to use it, what it will do is stratify the rankings. The higher your ranking the more premium matches you'll get, and it will be easier to protect your lead without spending as much gold.

I thought this was supposed to work by giving teams who are close in TOTAL POINTS (proportionately, I assumed)... that would drive up spending because each of these matches would be between competitive rivals, and it would be evenly distributed up and down the rankings. 5th place might think they're safe until teams 9 and 10 get a premium match and a chance to jump up the rankings with double points.

[LeatherKicks]

I like it. Enough said. C;

[jfgarzon]

We have been ranked in the 30s and only see it when we face sas who were ranked 2 and 3rd when battle started. How close in rank are you supposed to be? We fought someone with onky 1 rank difference and nothing.

[Dipstik]

Looks like there's also a random factor. Good.

[PrHarry]

I've been sent an email from a developer that completely contradicts how premium battles are enabled.

What are the rules of posting the email on here?

[Dipstik]

You can't post the contents of any private communications from Gree staff. At least that's the rule that's always been in place. I'd be the first to admit that the rules are kind of ad hoc around here these days.

[Vile Lynn]

I've been sent an email from a developer that completely contradicts how premium battles are enabled.

What are the rules of posting the email on here?

Paraphrase it.

[PrHarry]

Essentially saying it wasn't solely to do with rank but to do with how close the synds were in overall power too.

Matches are based on syndicate power, number of members & syndicate rank

Premium match - within 20% of overall power
Legendary match - within 1-5%

That's pretty much all I can say without posting the text

[Blaggard]

Essentially saying it wasn't solely to do with rank but to do with how close the synds were in overall power too.

Matches are based on syndicate power, number of members & syndicate rank

Premium match - within 20% of overall power
Legendary match - within 1-5%

That's pretty much all I can say without posting the text

I believe that's what it was before they changed it to current specifications.

[Vile Lynn]

Essentially saying it wasn't solely to do with rank but to do with how close the synds were in overall power too.

Matches are based on syndicate power, number of members & syndicate rank

Premium match - within 20% of overall power
Legendary match - within 1-5%

That's pretty much all I can say without posting the text

Thanks, PrHarry.
Typical for GREE... GREEdies like vague & misleading info if you haven't noticed; posting old info is unfortunatley a common excuse around here.

Syndicates are still matched based on rank, size & stats, but the matching info you recieved for Premium Battles is apparently outdated.


I believe that's what it was before they changed it to current specifications.

Blaggard's right according to OP.
Syndicates are still matched the same way, rank/size/stats. To get a premium match, only rank is used.

OP update:
6-18 Update: Shoreline Shootout will have premium matches enabled and only rank will be a factor.


However, any of this is can be changed for the current cycle without notice, and we won't know until war begins.

Some customers have posted that there might be a random chance factor for getting a Premium Battle, too. IOW, Syn #10 vs #11 might get a Legendary battle; it's not automatic, even though Bolt's post makes it sound automatic.

[PrHarry]

I've just received a further email that now states that 'premium match ups are by rank only'

Typical Gree, not knowing their elbows from their............