I definitely support doing the waves differently. I know I'm in the minority, but I work weekends. I understand that I'm pretty much always going to get the short end of the stick in that regard, but at least longer (announced) waves would give me time to plan ahead (which night would I rather stay up late? will I be home early enough on Sunday to battle?)

I got into the top 10 in my tier with less than 30 losses this time, but I don't really feel like I did anything. And next time there will probably be a lot more people with better weapons in tier 7 to compete with; it'd be nice if I could still have a chance at top 10 (and I could get a score I could maybe be proud of)

The only feedback I have about this, is that it wasn't clear that there would be prizes based on how much damage you did on the boss. I've been in several gelatin wars, and completely forgot that prizes were based on amount of damage. It's my fault, but a reminder in the news post would have been nice, and might have made me participate more. For people who participated in the war for the first time, they definitely wouldn't have known.

the fair way to give those smaller pets a fighting chance IS top 10/1 prizes for each tier. now perhaps it shouldnt exactly be a core for t1-7, but certainly something that could hold some value and be useful for them.

And to anyone complaining that they could never get to the top of the top, lots of us started getting into battling late and worked our way to the top. There's BQs, there's autotraining, boosters etc. Sure it takes some sP investment and some time investment to do things to make sP but if you're not willing to do that, don't complain about not competing with people who are.

it was announced what, 3 hours ahead of time on the forums? I did ping both battle and tinyupdate so people could see it, but if you're in neither of those groups, you're out of luck. I think announcing the waves in the news ahead of time would be a good idea, because if you do miss out on the first wave, you are out of luck too.

you got it right! (people spell it wrong all the time so I don't even care if you got it wrong) but you're absolutely right about me, as long as I'm not busy somehow, I will be fighting the full time and be miserble while doing it also

I was pretty happy with how the war was structured this year. There were enough waves and they lasted long enough for me to grind my way to achievements, and I love that there are tier prizes available for folks who aren't super uber tier 13.

I really liked that they announced the second boss ahead of time; even for a non-optimal release I got up early that morning and still had 3 hours of battling time. No release is going to be perfect for everyone, but I really enjoy that we get warning and can plan for it.

I actually like that a certain number are released per wave - it gives it a sense of urgency but at the same time the numbers are high enough that they aren't gone in 20 minutes. I thought the balance was pretty good this year, especially for those of us who had trouble grinding fast enough in years past to even make it close to achievements before they were gone.

I guess it's about time i joined battle :D I'm a member of news but not tinynews, blarg. thank you for attempting to spread the word though!

battle is a good one to join because that's what the BAs ping if they do announce something (and remember to ping) and I think they removed the restriction on it so they don't need to accept people to join any more. it took me literally months to get accepted into the group. tinyupdate is a group that I ping when there's a small change and there's no siteupdate ping about it.

I agree with the general theme and disappointment voiced repeatedly throughout this thread. I also like the idea of announcing ahead of time how prizes will be distributed so people know and can plan accordingly, if there will be breaks, and so on.

For what it is worth, I would also like for totals/standings to be posted. It is a public, site-wide event and those who participate know that. It would be nice to see how you did in relation to others.

I'm not a veteran battler but I do battle when I get the chance and had been training my pet since starting subeta (although not religiously). Since seeing these boss battles, I was never really keen in participating as I felt I wasn't good enough. But since Tempest and slightly the temple guardian, I started to have an interest in these battles. It was Kiyo last year that made me want to make an effort (as there were so many items that I wished I received).

But I admit, I found this boss battle really disappointing. I received the exact same 3 Hydragellos items as I had two years ago and I did more of an effort and a lot more damage (well to my standards and getting on with life). And strangely with Kiyo last year, I did about 18K worth of damage and received 4 items as I did with Hydragellos this year and did 42K which is a huge difference. Seeing the score boards made me realise that it would've been better to use my second battle pet as there is less competitiveness in that tier which I think is a little sad for non veteran battlers out there and also quite discouraging. The positive things about this gelatin war, I like how we were told in advance when the boss will arrive and with the smaller gelatins, I liked how beyond 10 defeats you receive a small amount of exp from the battle update a year or so ago. It's more encouraging when you're reaching for those really long achievements and I'm also glad that I was able to beat the turtles this year. The tier prizes are nice too but giving a high tier weapon to someone who was top tier 1 is pretty strange.

Seeing some suggestions on the board, I appreciate the idea of bosses having 5 waves over the spread of 6 hours without the health limit. I think this would work really well for those who live in different time zones and the final blow thing. Also I think maybe seeing how much damage in total while the boss is still about (I've done it on pen and paper but it's quite a long process when you're still wanting to battle it more) Seeing the prizes and how much damage you need to do to get that is a nice idea too as I didn't quite know where I was at and motivate people more to reach for them. I don't know why the smaller gelatins have limited numbers, I think it makes it harder to achieve but the balance for this years numbers aren't too bad.

of course they do, but by giving cores to the lower tiers, it's effectively taking them away from the higher tier people who actually want to use them as a weapon. I like the top 10 in your tier prizes, but having a good weapon go out to the lower tiers does not make sense to me. getting a top prize should not be easier the weaker you are. I feel like some of the more dedicated battlers are very discouraged seeing someone with a low tier getting a core but they couldn't, even though they spent a few hours battling. I don't really think a tier 1 pet should be profiting from battling, as they've spent no effort training their pet.

you may or may not have seen this on SS

I completed them all last war :(

I got my core, I'm very happy I did. I think things were okay, some of the cons I bring up are less important than the others, but I wanted to just voice everything in my head so maybe next time will be better overall for everyone, even the very dedicated battlers.

Wow thanks so much for this post. Idk what else to say just that it's cool to have a battle admin explain things about a battle event, I'm always left a little confused after these things (and during and before haha) and all these little official explanations are great.

You battle people are always going on about how you've spent millions of SP over so many years to earn the right to get top prizes, if you're gonna make that point prepare to pay up! You should be used to spending loads at this point from us lucky randos who get the odd valuable battle item.

Not to mention getting a great item at lower tier can encourage people to continue battling, in a battle system that often can seem rewardless for those who aren't already at the max tier.

I am teasing (hopefully it is coming off as jovial as I feel) but it does seem weird you're here arguing against giving good rewards to lower tiers, like come on we gotta have some kind of carrot to chase after, we're working at this battle stuff but it takes a looooong time.

I read just that one, but it's mostly so I'm informed. I don't have a tumblr, I don't ever post or contribute. I think it's a good reflection of how people are feeling about things. Sure things may be a bit overdramatic and not stated in the best manner, but they are how users on this site are feeling.

My problem with it is that it won't encourage people to keep battling. Things were MUCH easier to earn at the lower tiers than they were the higher tiers. That may be because people at the lower tiers didn't know they had a chance so they didn't try, or just that people only fought with their highest tier pet. I find it weird that someone with 4 battles got the same "top 10 in your tier prizes" as someone with 138 battles, with a difference of 41208 stats between the two pets (excluding level) and 98971 times less damage.

read that before the edit, it did come across a bit hostile but I do read into things too much :p I'm not against giving good rewards for lower tier pets. I really like the tier prizes. I find the lack of competition in the low tiers this time really watered them down though. I'm against giving the top prize to low tier pets, yeah. it's a top prize. as a battler, I spend all year training and working on my pet. I spent an entire year training Wuf from tier 12 to tier 13 so I could be stronger and do better in wars. Why should someone who has started training their pet under a week ago (it takes like a week to get from t1 to t2) get a top prize? if I happened to have been busy during one of the waves, I may not have gotten a core. I should have a clear advantage being the 32nd strongest pet on the site.

My biggest issue, as I mentioned before, is the issue of time zones. I think it's highly unfair that I only get to battle both waves if I was able to stay up from midnight till 5:30am for the first wave.

Unless you can find a way to make sure it's an equal battle for all, then there's no point taking part. My tier 12 pet needed to take part in both, not one. So yea, a complete waste of time taking part in the second. Or, I just don't bother battling with my strongest pet, which seems stupid as I put a lot of time/effort into training him.

Oh, and the argument of 'you could have stayed up if you wanted to' is not helpful. At all.

Do you know it doesn't? It's encouraging me.

Which is why I'd have liked to know how the system worked ahead of time, which said would be different next time.

And I recognize the frustration with the lopsided scoring, but I mean... battle events have been awkwardly lopsided for subeta's whole history. Top tier battlers aren't the only ones who feel that way. I'm liking what Cranberry is saying in her last response post about knowing how the battles will go ahead of time. And maybe with more battles like this it will encourage people to train multiple pets and have a "battle team" etc that can add more depth to the current battle system and events. I can only hope the system continues to improve and give lower tiers something fun to do, so we don't keep "taking [your prizes] away from the higher tier people who actually want to use them as a weapon".

Haha I read before your edit too, ahh. Well my general feelings are "the battle system is broken and unfun and it seems like its become less broken and more fun and we will just have to wait and see much like many other things on subeta" so I'll stop posting for now. :P

Are you more encouraged to train knowing that it's a lot easier to get a top prize at a lower tier? Boss battles have always been motivating to me, but they were motivating to me when I was weaker because the only way I could do better was to become stronger. Now I could feel fine staying where I am if all I cared about were boss battles, because I know as long as I try, I might get a top prize (if they decide to include them in the tier prizes again) of course I'm not actually like that and I'd train my pet no matter what, but I'm sure there are people who don't care about battling that much and only care about the potential $$$ from boss fights.

Yeah, I agree with you there, if more people knew about it, I think it might have been more competitive.

Of course I felt differently two years ago when I was like 5 ranks from a top prize at tier 11. But that's just it, I was tier 11 and I tried really hard. I wasn't tier 1. I wasn't a low tier expecting to get the best prize. Top prizes should go to the top I feel, giving them a bit to everyone waters it down. I actually don't like how people can get multiple sets of prizes with different pets, I think it would be simpler if you could only get prizes with one. It would be more fair too, though I can see the argument for people with multiple pets, they spent the time training them, they should reap the rewards. I see this as a battler focused event, the one time a year where battlers get something cool that they don't need to pay for, and it's the one chance to earn a weapon that will come in handy. a lot of battlers aren't loaded and aren't able to afford the top prize if they don't earn it. I'm not actually sure what tier I'd cut the top prize off at, mid tier probably but the exact tier I'm not completely sure. Most of my feelings from this just come from seeing good friends of mine being very disappointed. Obviously I did okay during the event, I didn't miss out on anything, so I don't feel like anyone personally wronged me or anyone stole my prizes. I hope you can see how I'm looking at this though. and by the time I'm done writing this, you probably have an edit in response to my edit :P

[edit]

I get that, and for a lot of people, yeah. at top tier, it's still broken and unfun. there is nothing fun about sitting in one place for 12 hours and dying over and over again. of course no one is forcing me to sit here for 12 hours, but that's really what it takes to get all the prizes at tier 13. I probably could have gotten an hour or two, maybe three more of sleep, but I didn't want to risk anything because I know how close and competitive it can be

I agree with a lot of your points. I know for me it less encouraging to train up knowing I can get the big boy toys at lower than higher tiers. I don't mind the same top 10 per tier prize, even though it does hurt a little seeing someone with 4 losses and a ton less damage get the same thing as Mala. However, I feel like that can help a newbie battler with training up their pets. What I don't like is giving low tier pet owners the big boy toys when they are several months/years away from using the toys themselves. It defeats the purpose of training. I was diappointed because I couldn't earn a core during my first jelly war and I was encouraged to train up so I could earn one since that was the only way. I did earn a core the next war and was proud of the effort made. This is also a double edge sword as well wouldn't it? Some battlers with big pets could just choose to wreck with the lower tier babies because they know what to do and have experience with equipment/scrolls. So newer battlers with less to work with still can't earn the big toys. Sure, this could open up some spots for other pets in the higher tiers but they could have earned it anyway since they have the training. So the big boy toys stays with the big pet owners. There already are people saying that they'll battle with the lower tier pets instead of their big pets next time, not a good sign. This is not the best alternative at all.

I think many bigger battlers are thinking that way now... but of course, if they decide to focus on a lower tier instead of tier 12/13, doesn't that open up more prize spaces in the higher tiers, and spread battlers out over a few different lower tiers?

But then we're taking prizes away from amateur battlers and we're back to top-tier battlers taking all the good prizes.

I'm ok with the idea of tier-based prizes, but only if they make sense for battlers of that tier. Encouragement is good, but does it really need to come in the form of one of the most sought-after weapons out there? If you give a tier 6 weapon to a tier 4 pet then they still get that "carrot", and you don't have to worry about the core drawing crowds of top-tier battlers down to the lower tiers.

Thissss. It doesn't make sense to discourage people from using their strongest pet.