Even if one were to know the other player was doing this (lose 7 matches and do nothing, then go all out), you still will incur large costs and more importantly, lose 50-100 points in the standings. The qualifying round, to someone in the top few spots, generally deals about 7-10 dmg in medical costs, netting you 490+ gold for the round, and keeps you in the lead. I fell from 3rd to 17th because of that round. The quality of opponents that I have to face now is much, much higher. Generally in the top several spots you dont even have to enchant your weapons for Elim #1 either, saving even more money.


What is disappointing to me is that I will not be able to test whether the 4/3 setup on all characters, is superior or inferior to the 5/5/4 O, 3D setup that Gil is using (and that I used last month), because the path to get to the end will be radically different for us. I've won 6 times so I'm not so disappointed about not having a chance to win anymore, as I am about not being able to test these two strategies against each other.

There is one additional thing that is bad about this whole mechanic, and that is the large possibility for cheating. For example, one could create one, or even a half dozen characters, using different computers with different ip addresses, and have them all do nothing for 7 rounds. Then, in the qualifying round, the one that is paired against themself continues to do nothing, while the ones against opponents that they want to knock down go all out, with smart purchases and full enchants.

The person who knocked me out wasnt just some new player who didnt know what they were doing. The stuff they bought with their money (mid level, cost effective weapons and armor + upgrades, plus enchants), is the way to do well.

This sort of thing damages the integrity of the game, imo, which is sad.