I know this is
most likely in the works but since the arrival of the new Skill Rating and Leaderboard system, I personally think the entire
Divisional System needs to be reworked.
Division 1: This would probably be a tough one due to it being the introductory division when joining into the ranks and tournament scene. The current start in difficulties for Division 1 is 15. While that eliminates new players from safely joining (and by new I mean literally new people who get 30 goods on Free Space), we as in FFR have witnessed that in this time period, players are getting really good.
Division 2: As mentioned by Icyworld, the skill rating requirements should be dropped and from PrawnSkunk's post, it has been. This division recognizes patterns at this point, as well as what is considered dense at a low skill level (stream with jumps, as well as 1-2-3 patterns). I can't really say much about changing it because it already has been changed to a point.
Division 3: This is a huge challenge to rework. D3 is one of the three divisions that suffer from a large skill gap from newer players in the division to veteran players in the division. The Skill Rating gap between D3 into D4 is also too large imo. There's been a large trend of tournaments being considered to not be in "protocol" difficulty ranges for all divisions; in fact lower than the average difficulty range for all divisions. The Skill Rating for each division should reflect that should it become an actual trend.
Division 4: Easily hitting the nail on the head. Division 4 doesn't need to be reworked as desperately as the other ones. There's a slight skill gap but between most players in D4, they are for the most part pretty equal. Of course though, you'll have those high tier D4 players who cannot make it into the next division due to their own reasons.
Division 5: As mentioned in D3's section, this is one of those divisions that has an inane skill gap between newer players and veteran players. I remember from my own experience that being in D5 takes longer than any other division. Once you cross that border into D6 territory, obviously there is no going back but being dropped in the fray if you're inconsistent would probably ruin your courage into venturing further into the Ranks.
Using a post from Icyworld in the Skill Rating and Leaderboard Discussion thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by icontrolyourworld
Right now it looks like it's set at
8650 for d7
7600 for d6
6450 for d5
5550 for d4
4650 for d3 (not fixed yet)
2300 for d2 (fixed)
0001 for d1
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If these skill ratings are true to get in the divisions, even getting into D5 is awkward. I remember not only getting Oni to be in D5, but also having to AAA a bunch of 66s to actually be in D5. The skill rating shows getting an average of 64-65 blackflags and AAAs to get into D5.
This should be changed. D5 players going into D6 also have to get an average of 76-78 scores to get past 7600 Skill Rating, which iirc is completely inaccurate. D6 is supposed to be no less than 79, and as high as 89. /end rant on D5.
Division 6: Mentioned from D3, this is the third and last division that suffers from a large skill gap. D6 needs to be changed to 79-89 in their range. That range is where their skill shows. Now looking at that range, you would think to yourself that it's a pretty short range right? Not as short as D7's range. There are roughly what? 250 songs in the 79-89 range? We as players understand that getting hard tier songs with decent playable charts without crossing that terminal11 boundary is a difficult challenge for the Step Artists. This is where SoTW comes into play. Most of the time there's nothing harder than 75 into the new SoTW batches. There was one like a few weeks ago but that's it. There needs to be more harder tier songs coming in for higher tier players because without more, the skill rating gets flawed. I can go even further into D6 but I'll stop the /rant for now.
Division 7: Skill Rating to get in @ 8650? Uhh no. D7 is considered the best of the best of FFR. Getting an average SDG score on 86-88's imo aren't D7 material. In all honesty that's the highest D6 could hope to go. I think the skill rating for D7 should be pushed to
8900. I can't say too much about D7 because it's literally an outcast division and they all are in a tight niche with each other. It's honestly up to them to call the shots because nobody else has a say in the matter.