Ever wonder why so many people don't play unless it's a ladder match? Read this article for an in depth view at how 2v2 Risk online relates to Ladder.
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Ladder is almost as important to 2v2 as the game itself. The ladder is what keeps the 2v2 community strong, it's what keeps people coming back everyday, it creates competition and gives people goals to set. Players like to keep track of their win percentage and climb in rank. Many people enjoy following the ladder like a sport, it's a good way to keep track of who's doing good and who's doing bad.
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Ladder is especially important for 2v2 Risk online players because many people like to look up someone's record before having them as a partner. No one wants to team with someone who only wins only 40% of the time! The ladder also eliminates quitters. No one wants their game ruined by someone who quits, and ladders greatly reduce that factor since quitters are penalized. Ladder is like a safety filter for 2v2 players, it helps keep out quitters while insuring only quality players join the game. The more ladder games you win without quitting, the more credit you will acquire. The more credit you have, the more likely people will invite you to their games. These are some of the most obvious reasons 2v2ers like to play Ladder, but it goes much deeper.
There's an element of luck in 2v2 online Risk. Although rare, sometimes a game is unwinnable even for the best players. In contrast, sometimes a game is impossible to lose, even for the worst players. Sometimes a weak 2v2 Risk player can win a game with horrible strategy by getting lucky dice. Other times bad players will get amazing placement, good cards, or a skilled partner to save them, but does that mean they will win consistently? Poker is a good comparison. Sure, a poker newbie can go all in before the flop and hit four of a kind on the river to steal the pot, but can he do that consistently? Of course not, he'll go broke soon using that strategy of counting on luck. Poker pros use math and knowledge to be consistently profitable, luck is not part of the equation to being a winning player.
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Ultimately in 2v2 Risk online, these types of players who depend on luck will never win more than 50% of their games, they'll never be profitable. Skilled 2v2ers don't depend on luck, for them it's just a bonus when they get lucky. Skilled 2v2ers depend on their knowledge for a profitable win percentage on Ladder, because over a long amount of time, Hasbro Risk2 is programmed to give everyone the same luck. That's why you can't depend on luck to set you apart from anyone else. Everyone gets the same dice over a given amount of rolls according to the game's programming, which actually means there is no such thing as luck at all when we are talking about win percentages over hundreds of games on Ladder. Your knowledge is the ONLY thing that will set you apart from the others, not artificially programmed luck which is in fact an illusion. Your skill is what will make you or break you.
Average 2v2ers win around 50% of their games. All competitive 2v2 Risk online players should aim for a 60% win ratio, which is as good as can be expected. The best players sometimes achieve 61%, but not much higher. If you can squeeze out that extra 10% of wins to set yourself apart from the crowd, that is what will determine if you're a truly great player. The only way to win more than you lose when your luck is programmed to be the same as everyone else over a long period of time, is to be more knowledgeable and skilled than the other players.
Just because you might defeat a skilled 2v2er once, you have no right to claim 2v2 is easy until you can win 60% of the time consistently! In poker, no one hand determines if you're a good player. The same thing is true with 2v2 Risk online. For this reason, most players like to use Ladder to record their win percentage because competitive 2v2 Risk is a game of averages. Anyone can win once, but can you win more than you lose? I've seen many 40% winners claim 2v2 is easy, but I've never seen a 60% winner make that same claim. 60% winners appreciate the finer aspects of 2v2 because they've learned the secrets to success that 40% winners aren't even aware of!
It can't be emphasized enough when discussing 2v2 Risk online ladders, that everything is even between players except for their talent. First of all, there are no hidden alliances like in classic Risk. You have the same chance to win as your opponent. Your skill is what will determine the outcome. Your enemy will sometimes get lucky dice, placement, and cards, but over the course of 100 games the luck factor will always even out for everyone. The only thing that will not be even, is your skill! Your skill is what will determine your win percentage, not luck. Ladder keeps track of that win percentage.
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Don't fall in the newbie mindset of blaming your poor 45% win ratio on bad dice. It's important to remember that everyone's dice are even over a long period of time. The game doesn't play favorites, it can't tell the difference between two people. Hasbro Risk2 operates off of computer code. The code is programmed to make people go on hot dice streaks and cold dice streaks to create an illusion of randomness, but as we all know, computers can't be truly random. Over a long stretch of many dice rolls, the game is programmed to give everyone 50/50 dice. In light of this fact, Hasbro Risk2 is actually more fair than real life!
In real life, random luck is always a factor when rolling dice. True real life random luck never leads to 50/50 dice, that would be impossible. Real world random luck is closer to 55/45. In real life with truly random dice, certain people get more lucky than others because life is not fair. In Hasbro Risk2 however, the game has no choice but to give 50/50 dice because Hasbro cannot program true randomness! They must create the illusion of randomness by giving people hot and cold streaks, but it will always even out over the course of many games. In reality, 2v2ers who only win 40% of their games don't have bad luck, THEY HAVE BAD STRATEGY. Don't ever claim to have bad luck when discussing 50/50 computer code, it's ignorant. The next time you hear a newbie blaming their poor win percentage on bad luck, inform them that Risk online is actually much more fair than real life randomness!
Another important thing to understand when discussing 2v2 Risk on Ladder is that rank does not necessarily determine skill. It's fun to challenge people and climb the ladder to become number one, but rank is a far better indicator of activity rather than skill. Some of the weakest players have a good rank because they play more often, while some of the stronger players have a lower rank if they haven't been online to climb the ladder. Don't forget, even the weakest 2v2ers have a 40% chance to win against a skilled person, so that means everyone has a decent shot to climb in rank if they remain active and play daily. Playing everyday won't increase your win percentage though. For that reason, win percentage is a far better indicator of true talent. The next time a newbie claims to be good because of their rank, inform them that win percentage is much more important when determining skill!
2v2 is a beautiful variation of online Risk because everything is even. A hidden alliance is impossible and the game's coding has no choice but to give you 50/50 dice over the span of 20 games. Over a long amount of time everyone ends up getting the same cards, placement, and partners too. Talent is the only uneven variable in 2v2 when it comes to Ladder.
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If there's only one thing you should take from this article, it's that long amounts of time erases the programmed illusion of luck and magnifies a person's true skill. We use Ladder to keep track of a person's record so we can view long amounts of time, see past the programmed illusion of luck, and magnify a person's talent which can only be determined after recording many games. It's a lot of fun to fight for rank too! Can you achieve a 60% win ratio? How long can you hold rank one for? Join a 2v2 ladder today and find out! Good luck, have fun!
General_Oz