There are many ways to manipulate points. As anyone will tell you, to increase your rank you not only need to play well, but you also have to limit your game selection. For example, if you pick any general in the game right now, and have them play 50 public sequential terminator games with say 5 or 6 players, and not play anything else to supplement the point loss, they would no longer be a general, probably not even a brig.
So, it's safe to say that to move up the scoreboard you cannot just be a good players, you must also manipulate points. I will list several ways. Part of the reason for this is that people keep complaining about farming. I do not farm, but at the same time I don't see any reason to complain about it, as anyone above say major, has probably done things to manipulate points, or just happens to like the setting that help you move up.
I would like to not before I continue, that points don't mean everything, but they do mean something. Not everyone can make General, but at the same time some who play well enough to make General, have not. At any given moment, the best player on the site could be a major, or even lower if he is playing freestyle doodle to get a medal.
So here is the list of how to manipulate points.
1. Private games: In private games you can avoid loosing 100 points in a game. You can insure that you get more than 4 points from your opponent if you win. There are many former conquerors who are majors or captains (it is my firm belief that the best players will level off between captain and colonel if they just play whatever games and settings they feel like). Private games can avoid you having a noob in a 6 player std. esc. game attack you and cause you to loose, something that can happen for no reason in a public game.
2. Avoid high ranked partners: As I have said, majors are usually as skilled as generals, (i.e. depends on the individual), so if you team with Generals (I have many times), you don't usually gain many points. Better to team with majors and get the the skilled partner for half the cost.
3. Team with low ranks: You can find a skilled players who's dropped rank going for a medal, and is a sergeant and play with him and get the skills at an extreme discount. Another option is to play with low ranks who do what you tell them. I admit that I do this, I teach a lot new players how to play dubs and in the process get the low points on my side.
4. Play trips and quads: In trips and quads you have enough turns on your side to overcome a lot of bad dice. Your high ranked team can even play 3 stripers, lt's and captains, (the guys you don't get much points off of because of the ratio of points/skill on their side). And often times 3 stripes and Lt's aren't coordinated enough to win trips and quads. This was the method of choice to make conqueror before the speed setting came out.
5. Farming: New recruits have a 1,000 points, and yet their skill level could be at 300 or 400 points. Not all, but some. Plus many deadbeat. So the average points/skill ration is really good to play against over a large number of games. This is exacerbated if you play freestyle speed because almost no question marks will have clickies in addiction to not understanding map and game. This a popular way right now to make conqueror. Note: you can play against others and make conqueror, if you know your map and are fast enough with clickies, although some do foe other fast players.
6. Foeing: This method I really don't like, but I had to put it on the list. If there are 5 or 10 people who are the best at what you play, and they maintain a medium or low rank, then they will take points whenever they play you. I once had a player say that if I joined his freestyle speed 1v1 again that he would foe me. I was hunting for assasin medal and was a sergeant I think, at the time. He said "I don't play skilled lower ranks"
7. Playing games with minimum points: Often times high ranks will ask for dubs teams with equal points, so that they can win or loose 20 points. After all, if 2 generals team together and play 2 majors, after 10 or 20 games the generals will have lost points, unless the majors happen to be clueless at settings or map.
Also you can have 6 players games like in the 2,000+ thread or the 2,500+ thread. I join these some times. You don't join these games for the skilled competition, you join them for the points. No brig is going to go join 20 or 30 public 6 player singles games and not loose points.
(notice I always say over a number of games. Obviously in one or two games the higher rank can win 1 or both games, but over a large number of games the points spread is too much to overcome in a game that is partially based on luck).
So what am I trying to say here. Well mainly, its doesn't make sense to criticize how people get there points. Anyone who consistently maintains a rank above captain or colonel does at least one of these or something similar, so why criticize what method they use. The moment you start making private games because you can't get your points any higher in public games, then you are manipulating points.
I apologize to anyone who may be offended, I'm not saying anyone is wrong for what they are doing, I'm just pointing out that this is the way to get above major, we all know it. You don't go joining public escalating singles games and make brig. You don't make brig by playing ass doodle. It just doesn't happen. Being able to get to general does show skill, but it doesn't neccesarily mean that you are more skilled than a colonel.
Examples:
Big Whiskey is a captain, does that mean that he has gotten worse at the game since he was a general and #8 on the scoreboard? Of course not, he is clearly one of the best in the game. It just means that he plays whatever games and settings that he wants now.
sjnap is a major. Did he suddenly loose his skills, he was conqueror for a good amount of time. No, he just plays different games, different settings and so one. He is still a great player, one of the best, but he is just not focused on points anymore.
JOHNNYROCKET24 is a major. Here's another former conqueror.
karelpietertje is a major. Another former conqueror.
alstergren is a colonel. Another former conqueror.
Blitzaholic is a colonel. He was conqueror with something close to a 1,000 point lead over second place if I'm not mistaken. Did he forget how to play? No, he just stopped playing all trips with his team.
All of these are great players, notice how they have leveled off to somewhere around major, some have dipped down to striper while playing certain settings and game types.
Bottom line, its impressive to be able to reach a rank, but there has to be some point manipulation to do it. You can't play top players who have lost all of their points, you can't play public terminator, you can't play small maps, you can't team with generals in dubs consistently.
Anyone at the top knows that you have to play with someone to tell if they are good, and any major could be the best player on the site. So there's no reason to keep complaining about how people get there points. I believe that there is enough luck in in this game that you cannot move above major and stay there consistently for a long time, without manipulating points.
If anyone wants to prove me wrong, play public terminator games. Play public doubles games with a partner who has over 4,000 points. And play them all with sequential turns. You simply cannot play these types of settings repeatedly and stay over 3,000 points.
I believe that all high ranks will agree with this.
