How to get a 100% win record in random 2v2

[phineas94]

For those of you who don't have the time or the inclination to read the whole thread it can be condensed to:-

If you are about to lose a random 2v2 game due to your partner timing out or consistent bad play by your partner simply invite them to a 2v2 game before the first one has finished. Both games, on their conclusion, will then be recorded as the first 2 of 5 placement games in the matched pairs 2v2 category therefore not affecting your random 2v2 rating whatsoever.

This post has been several weeks in the making so apologies for the TLDR effect.

I can't remember my exact record in my 5 placement games for random2v2 but it may have been 5 losses or thereabouts due to partners timing out or generally bad play. So Fluffy league it was. Hey ho, let's work our way out of here.........not a chance! I reckon I was on about 40/60 win/loss ratio with all the usual R2v2 problems and was resigning myself to never getting promoted.

However, after many months trapped in Fluffy, I came across a solution. I was playing a random game with a good partner and we decided to start another game before the random game finished. The random match finished with a win, but to my dismay, it was counted as a placement match so no points or recorded win for my R2v2 record. Gutted! I didn't twig right away, but then it dawned on me "Could I try this on a game that's going to time out?". So I tried, and hey presto, both games were recorded (as far as I could tell) as placement matches.

I then imposed a code of conduct on myself and this was;

1) Only use this "invite" system if It looked like my partner was going to time out or my partner kept on making dreadful moves
2) I would always play the invited game to the best of my ability (unless it was for a partner who had timed out on me, in which case I would quit after the first game had timed out, sending my apologies to our opponents) and keep on chatting with my partner as I harboured no ill feelings towards any of them. Invariably we would win the second game

I was happy to take losses if we were just outwitted or I felt I had played badly and, of course a few games slipped through the net when partners quit the game out of the blue. Happily though I only had to "invite" random partners twice before the miracle happened and I was promoted to Clever! Happy days .......NOT!

I was still being partnered with players completing their placement matches or players with 3 wins (or bizarrely players with hundreds of wins but still in fluffy 1v1). It was not through lack of trying on my part to get these players to hang in there and give the game the time but all of my many chats obviously fell on deaf ears. So, I continued with the invites. According to my records (and I've posted every replay on OSN) I had to "invite" 6 more partners before I was promoted to Gifted. If you are bothered, and want to check on OSN (Although this is dependent on believing that I posted all my replays ), any game that doesn't have a ,, symbol next to mine and my partners name are the times I've used the system ( Although the odd misread league game has posted as such but not often).

So, now I'm in Gifted and so far have only been placed with Gifted partners and have not had to "invite" anyone. So could this be it? No more games like these

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20YmsSJAww

or these

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20Y8L2KAww

and this one had to come with a transcript of the "in game chat" just to show you the level of chat I try to employ in games where my partner is relatively inexperienced

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20Y7vWUAww

Sorry rubbish first move for me. Wasn't concentrating
Lol, no worries at all!

If blue hasn't spawned a medic and boosted bramble you can take it out with 2 runners. Hopefully green runner won't block.

We've gone level on rubbish moves tho you could've had bramble last turn
Sounds good. I couldn't see it until I killed the bramble. I only saw it after
It happens

What happened? Why didn't you kill the bramble?

Right, this time, move forward with your sniper kill thorn nearest bramble kill bramble with runner. PLEASE!
The thorn next to the soldier
Or kill the other thorn nearest bramble without moving sniper and kill bramble with thorn attack. Both cost 2 wits but I think the thorn attack option is stronger. Please chat if you need to
I am not sure what you are saying. I don't see how I can kill it
Shoot thorn nearest bramble without moving sniper. This will get rid of the other thorn because if you kill the parent thorn all of it's children also die. Then use 2 wits to move your thorn next to their bramble and sting bramble with the thorn that ends up next to it. Does that make sense?

I tried

Oh well . When I say bramble that's the thing you spend 7 wits creating from your spawn tile. The thorn is what the bramble creates and spreads all over the map
Oh, my bad. I couldn't reach him with my sniper anyways
Your sniper didn't have to "reach him" your sniper didn't have to move but just shoot the thorn nearest the bramble
Right, we have one more chance.......posiibly. Move runner from your spawn tile, spawn a soldier move soldier next to 2pt thorn and kill thorn.
No, forget that, the last time we had vision down there they had 2 soldiers. How many wits do you have?
Ok, you can still kill the bramble if you follow these instructions.
Your thorn furthest to the left is next to a 2pt thorn. Attack that thorn with your thorn bringing it down to 1 pt. Then you need to retract that thorns parent which is the thorn 2 hexes above your spawn tile with the runner on it. Tap on this thorn twice. This will make it and the thorn you've just attacked with disappear. Now move your runner from your spawn tile next to their 1pt thorn and attack and kill it. Then from your thorn to the left of your medic grow a chain of thorns (jumping 2 hexes at a time) until you are next to their bramble. Kill their bramble! This will cost you 5 wits. Do something clever with your remainder. Please say you understand
No, you are kind of confusing. I haven't had a problem before. I feel like you are playing my game for me and I can't understand your instructions. I feel like I have made a bunch of silly mistakes trying to understand what you are saying
Sorry you feel like that but it is a team game so yes I was trying to help our cause. You could have killed their bramble on 3 different turns. I'm sorry if my instructions made you do something you didn't want to, that was obviously never my intent. I still don't get your frustration with me. Look at turn 8 again when all you had to do was spawn another runner and kill their bramble with 2 runners
Sorry, just looked at the replay and you could have killed the bramble on each of your last 4 turns! Look at the replay and chat if you're still confused

And then they quit. Lingling had 256 wins to their credit although they were still fluffy.

and of course this old favourite

outwitters://viewgame?id=ag5vdXR3aXR0ZXJzZ2FtZXIRCxIIR2FtZVJvb20YovD0Agw


Apologies to all players featured in these games who may take offence to them being posted here. I appreciate that there are valid reasons for not making your move and not letting your partner know...yeah, right! And other games were chosen at random just to highlight certain problems encountered during 2v2 random play. I have tried to maintain my humour and understanding at all times when the possibility that my partner is a 10 year old who doesn't speak English. The above transcript is as cutting as I've ever got.

I did have doubts about posting this thread in case unscrupulous players used this system to extremes but figured that seeing as it's only random 2v2 and also seems to be fairly redundant once you hit Gifted it probably wouldn't do any harm. In fact it may become a great aid when used solely to prevent loss of hidden ranking in the event of your partner timing out on you. If any player were to use this system to try and achieve Supertitan I believe there would be enough active forum members to spot this and make it known. No great shakes I know but something nonetheless.

On a side note, there has been one recurring thought on my journey from the netherworld and that is that OML are losing vast numbers of potential players by allowing complete newbies access to all forms of the game. In my experience over half of all new payers I met who were completing their placement game timed out. My suggestion would be to only allow 1v1 games to be chosen until you have 10 wins, this would then unlock 2v2 matched pairs. After another 10 wins random 2v2 is unlocked. This wouldn't turn every new player into an Outwitter's addict but it might claim a few.

[GreatGonzales]

Haha, must be frustrating to har such uncooperative partners

[Alvendor]

The true skill of 2v2 random is the ability to prevent yourself from bashing your head in with a rock

[Gavin Wins]

(04-15-2013 11:25 PM)Alvendor Wrote:  The true skill of 2v2 random is the ability to prevent yourself from bashing your head in with a rock

Agreed. 2v2 random is trash. I played three random 2v2 games probably a year ago, and that was it. Two of the games resulted in my partner timing out, and the other resulted in one of our opponents timing out. Never again. What an abortion.

[Mag!cGuy]

I disagree, I'm in gifted now and my battles are pretty interesting, you guys would be surprised to see how some players who are ranked gifted in 1v1 can make great cooperative moves

[phineas94]

(04-15-2013 11:58 PM)Mag!cGuy Wrote:  I disagree, I'm in gifted now and my battles are pretty interesting, you guys would be surprised to see how some players who are ranked gifted in 1v1 can make great cooperative moves

I agree, no problem with being matched with gifted random players. Interesting games and learning from them. Before that though (fluffy and clever) all rocks had to be kept under lock and key

[Norahsul]

Totally made my day!!

[Mag!cGuy]

Oh my godness the last replay shocked me. As beginner as you are you don't play like that, he must be a troll, or he is completely brainless, it's like he played against you xD did you have a conversation?

[phineas94]

(04-16-2013 12:49 AM)Mag!cGuy Wrote:  Oh my godness the last replay shocked me. As beginner as you are you don't play like that, he must be a troll, or he is completely brainless, it's like he played against you xD did you have a conversation?

My first chat was "what are you doing?" to which they replied "what?" They had wins to their credit so knew how the game worked. I completed the game just to see what level they would sink to. I'm amazed it finished actually.

[Mag!cGuy]

Why do you say "they" ? ^^