Chapter 263: Tournament (7)

This was not all that the developers had shared with this post. They had also explained how they planned to shift through these points, and later create ranks to separate the player base. Much like how most competitive games have ranks that would not just indicate your ranking, but also who you would come to face in the future. 

For this, they explained that while the system message indicated that this point system would only be used for the first day, that this would actually be used for a week. After this, they hoped that everyone would have managed to have gained points in relation to their actual skill level. Which would eliminate much stronger teams from bullying weaker ones. 

From the next week, the people you would come to face will become limited to within your rank, or close to it. In this case, the Tier point system will still be used as it is an indication of the raw strength of parties and individuals. Though for individuals the points gainable and losable are simply 1 to 4 depending on Tier difference. Similar to the team calculations. 

At the point where ranks are used, the point rewards will be multiplied if a lower-ranked lower-Tiered team/person wins against a higher-ranked higher-Tiered team/person. And vice versa, naturally. 

Ultimately these arenas are also going to be kept open later on when the game comes online again, and as such players are encouraged to make use of them. Both as training and to keep their rank for when the next year's tournament will be held. 

"That's simple enough, it seems that the most important thing is actually not losing, as doing so results in a much heavier penalty than the reward for winning is," Elizabeth said as she finished reading, the others all finishing around the same time. 

"This still doesn't change a thing. In fact, gaining points would likely be easier later on, as the ranking will most likely be dominated by stronger teams. I feel like there must be quite a few full Tier 3 teams." Nikki said after a little contemplation. 

"Right, in any case, we have no real way of knowing what we are going to face. Luckily once the ranking system comes up, the total Tiers of the opponent will be shown before the fight. So then we will be better prepared, unlike the last fight." Therdul said, everyone now knowing that the team they had nearly lost against was certainly far stronger than them. 

This had made everyone much less opinionated at how each other had messed up, and more impressed at Eldrian who seemed to not even care who he went up against. Everyone seemed to be the same against him, but one spell from death. 

"So, are we going to join the queue?" Judith asked, actually having taken her time to understand what was happening for once. While she didn't care about much, this was one thing she knew she needed to know. Especially for the individual matches she planned to do later today. 

"Wait, before that," Erik said, "Last time we had no way of defending against range. What is our max range? If we run into a team of eight archers, how are we going to reach them without dying?"

"Well, I can accurately hit at between twenty and thirty meters. Though if the target is moving that is more like fifteen and twenty." Zyviss replied, wishing he had actually used a bow IRL.

Having learned from scratch he was still quite new, and his bow not nearly as nice as a compound in reality. If he was just aiming at a target then he could actually say fifty meters, though as soon as the opponent started moving it dropped sharply. 

"I'd say at best my spells can hit at 20 meters, but most of them aren't all that fast. Normally I would use them at ten meters, the charging time for my spells make it too easy to dodge if I am further back." Ilmadia added.

Hearing this Eldrian was quite shocked at how limited she was, "Really? How long does it take you to cast Frost Needle?" He asked, knowing that it could fly for at least thirty meters with good penetration still.

In fact, Eldrian could keep control of his spell up to ten meters, after that he couldn't fully control how it needed to move. He would still be able to change direction slightly after that for up to fifteen meters. 

The only reason he hadn't been fully using Frost Needle was that he didn't want to fully dominate the field. He wanted to learn where he stood among other players and what they were capable of. More importantly, he didn't like fully relying on magic, he knew he already relied too much on it. 

Not that that was really wrong, one had to do everything they could to survive and win. He just felt like he had one trick at this point and he hoped to better his spear skills while losing wasn't too bad. In-game at best he could spar against others, but then he couldn't use magic nor Aoidos. If it wasn't a spar, then generally it was a fight for survival. 

The spars were always until the first hit, or at best first vital hit. Hence it never took into account dying moves and desperate acts of bravery. Eldrian really wanted to learn what fighting till the end meant, without having the danger of not resurrecting, at worst, or losing XP at best.

In most cases, dying would also mean he couldn't help those he had been fighting with anymore, something he truly did not wish to let happen. For once, he wanted to feel more like a normal player. To have death mean little to nothing. 

"It takes just a second, but that is enough in most cases," Ilmadia replied after a moment of trying to recall. Not having used Tier 1 spells since she had reached Tier 2. 

"I remember last time we fought you stood still, why? Can't you move while casting?" Eldrian asked. 

"Well..." Ilmadia paused as she became embarrassed, "That is because I normally fail in creating the spell module if I shift my focus to moving and casting."

That doesn't make sense,  Eldrian thought and said just that, "How can you actually use Tier 3 spells and not be able to move and use Tier 1 spells?" He asked, knowing now how large a difference there was in Tier 1, 2, and 3 spell modules.

Tier 2 was basically twice as complicated as Tier 1, and Tier 3 again twice as complicated as Tier 2.  Hence even if she can barely cast the last, then she must be able to cast the first with little to no effort.

"I-I, I've never really tried again... The difference in damage is so much that I thought Tier 1 spells were simply useless." She replied, her cheeks turning red as she realized how narrow-minded she sounded.

She had placed all her attention on learning higher and more complex spells, never looking back once she had upgraded.  This was largely why she was already Tier 3, but now she realized that this limited her too. 

"I'll try to move and cast in the next match." She said with fists balled and determination burning. She did not want to be useless, and if that meant doing less damage but surviving, she was for it. A small contribution to the team was better than none. 

"Alright, then let's..."

"Wait!" Erik interrupted Elizabeth, "We have yet to determine what we would do against eight archers."

Hearing this everyone frowned, if everyone had a shield they might have been able to completely block from all angles. But parts of them would still be visible past the shields, and they wouldn't really be able to move all that well. 

"It isn't that hard." Eldrian said, "At best I can hit people at thirty meters with Forst Needle. Though I can send Floga even further, it doesn't do any damage..." Hearing this everyone looked at Eldrian as if he was a freak. Not only was his reactions insanely fast, along with his accuracy being pinpoint to the point that he often didn't need to confirm the hit. He even had insane range.

"But I don't want to do that since I want to use this as sparring practice, not target practice. So if that comes up, then we just act defensively. I am sure if we hide and chose our shots, we can whittle them down." Eldrian finished, everyone nodding as they also didn't want him to just kill everyone from range. 

While they wanted to win, they also wanted to improve themselves. Unlike most players, they were fully committed to improving and trying to make a name for their guild. Not knowing that the guild leaders actually didn't like that they were doing this without their influence and help. 

With that settled they all finally joined the queue again, this time waiting two minutes before being teleported. This time the terrain they arrived in was a rocky outcrop, the perfect place for hide and seek tactics. 

They started behind a large rock formation, their opponents not in sight. The terrain terrible to walk as pieces of rocks were scattered throughout, each step needing to be carefully chosen.