You don't need this stuff, of course, but people (who don't play games) love to dismiss these things as if they don't matter.
You don't need this stuff, of course, but people (who don't play games) love to dismiss these things as if they don't matter.
The rise of those things you describe matched the decline of my interest in any form of online multiplayer.
The problems start when everyone cares about their damn ranking. And yes, even casuals care about that crap. Everybody follows the same strategies, everyone is whiny and annoying because losing means your ranking is damaged.
Back in the day nobody cared. A match went awry because someone did a completely retarded build on their toon, or didn't know how to play with the class they picked? Oh well, game is over, you find a new one.
The ranking itself is meaningless, the only thing important is that it accurately represents my skill so that it can be used to find a match.
It sounds like I might play different kinds of online games than you… I mostly play sports games, which don’t have the issues you describe.
I mean, I know the answer, it's because doing both would be significantly more work for unproven returns, but still, a guy can dream.