Episode 30: Patch 2.5.0.2 Opinions and the Destiny Championship Series (Ft. FarCognitions)

Are you looking for a taste of Ranked Destiny PvP, and a chance to truly become legend?

Destiny Championship Series

If so, you're in luck! FarCognitions, in association with Solid E-Sports, Planet Destiny, Battlefy, and more, have been working tirelessly behind the scenes for months to bring you what we feel is the "next gen" platform for competitive Destiny. Introducing, the Destiny Championship Series!

Since our last tournament, we've been listening to you, the community, and have changed a few things that we think will help to improve the overall experience for those participating.

We've addressed:

  • Regional and Console Exclusive Play
  • Season Ladder/Ranked Play
  • Team Requirements
  • Schedule Balance
  • Official Rules
  • Seasonal Persistence

REGIONAL AND CONSOLE EXCLUSIVE PLAY

We've heard the concerns and frustrations of dealing with playing teams from the other parts of the world. Even the most level headed player can be triggered with lag and latency, so we feel that region exclusive play is the best solution at this time. Yes, this may break up a small number of international teams, however, in the grand scheme of things, this will allow for the best overall experience possible! Right now, we have leagues planned for both EU and NA on PS4. Are you on Xbox, or in Latin America or Australia, and you want to participate? Sign up, and encourage other teams to do so too!

If enough teams join for your region and console it will be unlocked, and PvP Legends will devote resources to provide it with the Destiny Championship Series. And, since the amount of money allocated to each prize pool is directly associated with how many people sign up, the more teams that register for a specific region and console, the more money in the prize pool! You, the community, will decide where we will focus our resources at PvP Legends.

Additionally, for each region/console, there will be 8 well-known, top-seeded teams who have been invited, and will go directly into the Finals Qualifier.

SEASONAL LADDER / RANKED PLAY

As you may have seen in the promotional video, we are introducing a Seasonal Ladder/Ranked Play aspect to the DCS. Teams will compete in pre-season qualifiers to determine which Division they'll be placed in.

Currently, the Divisions are:

  • Ladder
  • Challenger
  • Champions.

The Ladder division will not have a monetary prize pool attached, and is meant to be seen as a place to practice and breed new talent. For the Ladder, anybody who wants can join at anytime and play as much as they want, provided they register. PvP Legends has its own App that will matchmake you with other teams in the Ladder, and the more you play and win, the higher you'll climb in the rankings! It's divided up into five tiers (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond), and will be tracked with leaderboards on the PvP Legends website using a combination of ELO, TruSkill, and GLICKO algorithms. Although you have to register and search as a team of four, the performance rankings are given individually. That means you're free to change teams once every 24 hours, or stay with the same group for the whole duration, but teams will be locked the day the season ends. This is in preparation for the Relegation Event, where the four teams that have the highest collective rankings will get to battle it out against the four lowest ranked Challenger teams to take their place.

The Challenger Division is the hot zone for up and coming teams and players that want a shot at hitting the big leagues, getting noticed, and competing for prize money. With 32 total teams, the top 16 will get to play in the Challenger Cup for a cash reward and bragging rights, and the top four teams will be offered the chance to win their way into the Champions Division.

The Champions Division is the highest ranking in the DCS. With 16 total teams, it's where you'll find the likes of BSK, iAM, and Primal battling it out for glory and the largest prize purse the DCS has to offer. The top eight will participate in the Championship Cup, but only one will emerge victorious.

TEAM COMPOSITION

LADDER DIVISION

The ladder division is a free flowing, come-and-go division. Players are able to form and try new teams of four to find the most competitive set of players for their fireteam. Team compositions are locked for 24 hours once registered, but after that timer expires they're free to change their roster as they see fit until the end of the season.

CHAMPIONS AND CHALLENGERS DIVISION

Every team will REQUIRE at least six players on the roster. With matches scheduled every other weekend, there will be the inevitable need for a sub, and we don’t want to see teams forfeit due to lack of players, or have opposing teams sitting around waiting. Once the season begins, your team will be locked.

  • Roster changes will not be allowed until the season is over.
  • Teams will be allowed a maximum of seven players on the roster.

SCHEDULE BALANCE

Wait wait wait… So exactly how much time am I committing to?

Great question! One of the frustrations we've witnessed in the past is just how LENGTHY a single game-day in the tournament can be. That's why our new format for the Challenger and Champions divisions will be only THREE (3) series (three rounds of best of five) matches scheduled every OTHER Saturday. This will alleviate a tourney day eating up 12 hours on a Saturday like it has in the past. For the Ladder teams it's even more accommodating, since they can choose to play whenever and however much they'd like, once the qualification rounds have passed.

SCHEDULE

Prior to the start of DCS Season 1 teams will duke it out in a series of qualifier events. The qualifiers will determine which teams are placed in either the Challenger or Champion division. All remaining teams from the qualifiers and all future teams will play in the Ladder.

  • Feb 18: 1st Qualifier
    • Signups are capped at a 256 team limit and available to anyone, in their respective region, on a first come first serve basis. The top 12 teams will be guaranteed a spot in the Qualifier Finals.
  • Feb 25: 2nd Qualifier
    • A second chance for teams who failed to advance out of the 1st Qualifier. Signups are capped at a 256 team limit and available to anyone in their respective region who hasn't already qualified for the Qualifier Finals, on a first come first serve basis.
  • Mar 4: Qualifier Finals
    • The top 12 ranked teams from each Qualifier will battle versus each other and the eight invitiational teams to fill out the 16 spots in the Champions Division, and the top 16 spots in the Challenger Division.
  • Mar 5: Ranking Release Day
    • The 16 highest ranked teams remaining from the combined 1st and 2nd qualifiers will fill out the bottom 16 teams of the Challenger Division.
  • Mar 11: Season 1 Week 1
  • Mar 25: Season 1 Week 2
  • Apr 8: Season 1 Week 3
  • Apr 22: Season 1 Week 4
  • May 6: Season 1 Week 5
  • May 20: Relegation Event (Ladder -> Challenger)
    • The top four ladder teams with the highest combined scores will play the bottom four teams from Challenger. Winners move into Challenger for Season 2, losers are relegated back to Ladder.
  • June 3: Season 1 FINALS!
  • June 10: Relegation Event (Challenger -> Champion)
    • The top four teams from Challenger will play the bottom four teams from Champion. Winners move into Champion for Season 2, losers are relegated back to Challenger.

PRIZES

Due to the restrictions Bungie has placed on events and prize monies, you the community will directly dictate how the prize pool is diversified among the different regions and consoles. The percentage of registered teams for each region/console will directly correlate with the percentage of the prize money that will be awarded the winners of that market. Promote your home and your console to buff that potential prize!

OFFICIAL RULES

The ruleset is the one devised by the sweat council and organized by Fallout to fit the needs of the competitive Destiny community, and the full write-up can be found here: https://www.pvplegends.com/destiny/ruleset

SEASONAL PERSISTENCE

Challenger and Champions rankings will carry over into the second official season, giving people a continued reason to fight to be the best!

AND THAT"S IT!

Hopefully, all of the of the major questions have been answered. Please stop by the PvP Legends discord if you have anything further.

If you'd like to register, you can do so here: https://www.pvplegends.com/region/

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