First, I want to say thanks to all the beta testers who contributed so much to a pre-release community that was vibrant and fun.
Second, I would like to plea with the expert level regulars to stop using multiple accounts in ladder play. Others have commented on how this phenomenon of "avoiding other experienced players in ranked play" is detrimental. I can understand why some experts who play frequently desire to use secondary accounts if they are less likely to be paired due to rating differences. However, it kills any hope of a future vibrant community (in my opinion) for these reasons:
- Newcomers don't mind being run over by a name they recognize from past tournament streams or youtube videos. However, I know from experience (as a former RTS stategy gaming website staff member) that multiple account using by the top players is more often than not used to "protect" a top ladder ranking. There is a reason why this is banned by the admins of strategy games which hope to have a shelf life longer than 6 months.
- Intermediate players who are playing against 'unknown' accounts have a natural expectation of winning more often than not. A expert who has played 1500 hours and is using a second account is ruining the fun for these players.
- Expert players may know some of the tendencies of other experts, which encourages a deeper level of tournament strategy. But, if multiple experienced players are hiding their 'moves' by using second accounts, the game will never reach the depth of strategic planning common in games like Chess.
Whatever people's excuses are for using multiple accounts, I assure you... the only thing you are accomplishing is to help the game's competitive community die faster than you probably desired.
