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TCGPocket is Ruined (Discussion)
It saddens me to even be typing this as someone who has so many hours into this game, but this rank system is so beyond manipulated it's crazy.
First i'll start by saying this current 'meta' of whoever gets a rare candy first wins in 2 turns has ruined the competitive aspect of this game. Everyone plays the same 3 decks, the fun part of this game has died in my eyes. How do you guys even seriously host tournaments for money ?
Second, the ranked mode for sure has a skewed advantage / disadvantage system that incentivizes players to continuously grind and spend time on the app for 0 reward. Once you hit Great Ball there's 0 win streak bonus, and you'll go from a 70-80% win rate down to ~50%. This is done on purpose as it is in games like Marvel Rivals, which in the end lost over 1/2 of its playerbase.
The game will detect you're on a win streak and purposely pair you against counter decks once it notices you're climbing too fast. It gets to a point that no matter what, even if you play perfectly, swap decks , make changes etc you'll still end up going 5/5 win loss ratio in the end. It's such a terrible ranking system and will if anything cause people to just quit playing in general, me being one who at one point loved the game and has even sunken money into this game.
The goal is they want everyone hard struck in Great Ball with an illusion that you can advance but the system works against you so it takes ages. +10 with a -7 loss and NO win streak bonus is just a downright bad system. How is it that there's 3-4 popular decks, tournament winners going 10-1 with the same deck you're playing, and you're lucky to get a 60% win rate. System based RNG, terrible systems that will have you lose turn 2/3, terrible systems that don't draw basics or evolutions many turns in when over half your deck is pokemon , but your opponent has rare candied two basics on his second turn.
Fix the ranked mode or watch your playerbase diminish more than it already has.
Also, there are so many downright silly cards in this game now. Cards like Tsareena are a non ex card that does a Zapados EX move in 1 turn, how does that possibly make sense? I went against one that rolled 10/12 heads, AND it has a Mallow , 2 Lillies, capes, Pokemon Center Lady.
TLDR: The balancing in this game is absolutely terrible and the ranked system is a sham illusion that punishes players for win streaks.