The Trophy Hunter's League

[olsen77]

In early 2010, we introduced our first trophy competition, TSL, to the site with the intention that it would become a regular site event. The first one, we enjoyed so much that we became extremely excited about the possibility of future events. It was so popular that it did change the way that some members played their games and got trophies. The second was something else though. Really, the only way to describe it is as an absolute, complete, total, and epic disaster. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong did. It took approximately one weekend for everyone on the staff (or what was left of it at that point) to hate the event. We closed TSL II with a promise, that if we didn’t announce a new one the next January, then it would be a long time until the next one. When people would ask about it, we’d say that we’re never, ever, ever doing another TSL.

A year and a half later, it’s back on July 1 in a new form with a new name, new rules, and new team running it. We have a very different community now than we did then, so it's worth trying again with a fresh start. First off, we’ll introduce the team running the Trophy Hunter’s League (THL). They’re a set of three that won’t just be running THL, but all site events, including game nights, tournaments, boosting nights; basically, if it’s posted in The Arena, they’re overseeing it. We’re calling them the Events Directors. All three are excellent choices since they’re all people that love the site events and are all eager to contribute in new ways. All three have proven themselves to be extremely reliable and will be great in their new roles. Splitting his duties between the events and moderating will be OnceFallen. He’s proven himself to be a source of great ideas for events, so he’s a natural fit here. Joining the staff after being such an enthusiastic participant in game nights is fletchar2. Over the last few months, he’s shown how reliable and excited he is by the site events. Last, and most certainly not least, tuffmuff is rejoining the staff. She’s been a part of quite a few game nights already and very successfully ran the Madden tournament last year. All three are extremely eager to contribute and we can’t wait to see what they bring to the site events.

Getting to THL, things will basically be the same as the previous trophy competitions, but there will be some noticeable changes. The idea behind the competitions is the same, earn as many trophies as you can. Each competition will last for two months (this one begins on July 1 with sign ups starting now). All teams will consist of four members and you have to make your own teams. We’ll have a team finder thread so that you guys that want to participate, but are unsure can get together. There will still be one award for the winning team and one award for the MVP of the competition.

All of the rules are outlined below, but there are some notable differences that bear mentioning. Each trophy counts as one point now. A lot of the problems from the past came from overvaluing platinums. Now, instead of worrying about the points, we’re only counting that big number that you see on your trophy cards. Also at the end of each regular season, there will be two weeks of playoffs between the top four teams. All scores will be reset to zero and the #1 team will be matched up against the #4 with #2 and #3 also being matched up for the first week. Whichever team gets the most trophies in those match ups will win. The winners of the first week will be paired against each other in the second week. If there’s a tie in either playoff round, then the first tiebreaker is the platinum count for the teams.

Seasons will also run into the next one with a two week break after each playoff round to allow for new sign ups for the next one. It’s set up to potentially do four a year and that is the goal now. We’ll see how this first one does, but that is the goal. Doing THL’s regularly will also not affect site events in any way.

The last big change is that each team will be designating a team captain. The captain will be responsible for all communication with the Events Directors and sign ups. All messages sent about THL related issues that are not from a team captain will be ignored and points may be deducted from your team’s total.

With all of that being said, look over the rules below. Sign ups are open now in The Arena's new THL subforum. We hope to see lots of new teams and maybe some old ones return. I know of at least one that is.

THL Rules & Regulations

General Rules:

• THL begins on July 1 at 8 AM PDT (Pacific Daylight) and ends on August 31 at 8 AM PDT.
• Signs up are open now and end on June 30 at 12:00 PM PDT.
• You must have 250 posts and have been a member for at least three months.
• Each team shall have 4 members.
• Each team shall designate a team captain. Only the team captain can contact an Event director with problems or concerns.
• Event Directors should be notified first of any concerns or questions regarding THL. Sending messages to non-Event Directors will be ignored. In the event that you have an issue with an Event Director you’re free to message a Super or Olsen.
• Any member caught cheating will be removed from the competition (and all subsequent THLs) and their points deducted from the team total. The team will have to go on short-handed. They can add a new member after the next session. Cheating includes but is not limited to: Buzz! trophy glitch, SOCOM/Fuel hacks, Someone else playing on your account etc.
• Vita/PS3 games that auto pop duplicate trophies on the PS3/Vita will not count twice towards your point total. For example - platting Motorstorm RC on Vita and then loading it onto your PS3 will cause the trophies to automatically pop, giving you double the trophies for playing the game once. In this case those trophies will only count as 1 point each and the additional list will be ignored. Games confirmed to have this happen are: Motorstorm RC, Stardrone, and Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. If other games are confirmed we will be adding them to this list.
• No complaining, whining, or flaming other members. This is a friendly competition.
• There will be point penalties for any complaining, whining or flaming. The deduction will be 100 points per incident. No questions asked and no warnings. This is a no bullshit competition.
• In the event that there is an issue, concern etc then that correspondence MUST BE sent via PM only, to an Event Director. Remember only the Team Captains are to contact the Event Directors. There should be ZERO complaining, arguing, flaming or accusations posted in the forums. If this happens your team will receive a 100 point deduction per incident.
• No soloists. You must be on a team to compete.
• No substitutions will be allowed within a session. Once a team is formed, no member can be replaced. If a member decides to drop out, the team will have to stick with the remaining three. A new team member can be added during the two week down time between sessions.

THL Regular Season Rules

• THL will be on going competition that runs every 3 months with a playoff portion. There will be a two week down time period between sessions where teams can rejoin, change etc.
• Each session shall run for two straight months. Session One will start on July 1st at 8:00 AM PDT and run through August 31st 8:00 AM PDT. Only trophies earned within this time frame will count. After each session a two week playoff period starts (see below)
• Each trophy will count for 1 point regardless of what it is. Bronze, silver, gold and platinum all have equal weight and count for 1 point. The Vita will be allowed and trophies earned from Vita games will count the same as every other trophy; 1 point.
• Upon signing up for the session the team captain will sign up their team and provide trophy cards for each member (PSNP for now; maybe also YGC pending their update)
• The log feature on PSNP will be used to determine the first trophy post the designated start date/time.
• You MUST sync regularly. Once weekly is the minimum. If a team is caught not syncing regularly a 100 point deduction of the team could occur.
• At the end of the regular season the top four teams will be announced and will move onto the playoffs (see below) – Any trophies earned post the regular season end date/time would count towards that playoff total.
• In the event of a tie most platinums will be the tie breaker. This will only apply to the top four teams.

Playoff Rules

• The top four teams will compete at the end of the two-month period in a playoff round. The first week will be comprised of Team 1 and 4 competing and Team 2 and 3 competing. These point counts will be separate from the regular season.
• The two winning teams of the first playoff week will compete the next week in a finals round. The winner will be deemed the winner of the first session.
• In the event of a tie during the playoffs – most platinums will determine the tie breaker.
• During the playoff session Event Directors will not be taking any questions/inquiries/suggestions etc about the next session. Those questions/concerns etc will be addressed during the two week down time.

[TheManUtdFan]

Good to see this again, wasn't here for the last two, it will be cool.
And congrats to OnceFallen, TuffMuff and Fletchar on becoming Event Directors

[Francofone]

Sounds interesting. I may have to partake in the partay.

[AndrewAnonymous]

It's nice to see the staff giving this another shot. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. Also, congrats to fletchar, tuffmuff, and OnceFallen on their new positions!

[olsen77]

And for those that want to participate, we're making a team finder thread in THL forum.

[Harry94]

Awesome! Glad this is back on. Congrats to the 3 as well, especially Fletchar

[Attack-Trik]

I never got the chance to participate in one of the first two so hopefully this should be fun (if I can find a team that is).

And congrats to Oncefallen, Fletchar, and Tuff I'm sure you guys will do a great job managing this along with your other event duties.

[blazenarutoshippuden]

Finally, I get the chance to join. wasn't an active member back then.

[FREDDIECRANE]

sucks that I cant participate coz I have only been a member for a short time

[Wozamil]

Its hard to believe that this post was actually made. There's been soooo much discussion amongst the entire staff for so long, that I doubted that it would ever happen. But thankfully things came together and now there's an excellent team in place to run it. Nice job of the ED's to put the final pieces together.