TT_TOURNEYS FAQ---Come One And All!

##Special Thanks##

Yes. I put this first. If anyone feels like he or she or collectively has been given short shrift, sorry. Want to get this finished and it just occured to me to make this section. I also apologize for how long it's taken me. Thank you for your patience everyone, particularly Ness and RM.

u/GenerallyObtuse - He provided anecdotal evidence that synced join times work all the time (near all we're learning but margin of error is smaller rather than large). We couldn't do this without that so thank you man. Last time I'll call you out unless you like occasional kudos :)

u/Ness839 - He got this place running, keeps it running and is an all around cool cat. May he have luck in tourns. and in all endeavors outside of anything TT oriented. :)

u/RepetitiveMotion - Dude brings the ice when things get too warm. There's a balance needed in making these ties of benefit to people here and benefit everywhere. He keeps the boundaries clean as to where priorities lie.

u/colblitz - You are the ModFather! Gave us tools to build this up, an outside eye for things in general and keep the channels that u/biehn (Thank you!) opened up---open---in the parent/older sister sub: [Tap Titans] (https://www.reddit.com/r/TapTitans/)

Anyone who captains: Organization is predicated on leadership. Leadership needs a leader. You are those leaders. Thank you :)

Anyone who participates: We each get what we want when we have the numbers. It takes time but it will happen and continued joins together do that. So thank you for being a member here or an ally as the case may be.

Introduction

What is this place about?

TT Tourneys is a sub that exists to create the most favorable conditions possible for the greatest number of people possible, done through matching players with the most similar Max Stages into groups. The members of each group will then join the tournament at the respective time decided for each group and attempt to tie at the agreed upon MS tie points, which will hopefully be of great benefit to all taking part in the tie.

How can you possibly hope to accomplish this goal? Do you know what goes into making the brackets that tournaments are based on?

While there has been speculation a-plenty about what elements create brackets, there is no definitive answer. Before the genesis of this sub formally and the informal tests before the sub existed at all, there were many separate elements that were suspected to play a role in their creation.

We (the Tap Titan community at large---not just members of TT Tourneys) thought Max Stage was the defining factor; we thought weapon sets were the defining factor; we thought Max Hero Bought was the defining factor; we thought Tourney Points were an important contributing factor; we thought a lot of things that likely make up the picture in truth when taken as a whole.

All of the speculating was and is an interesting diversion at best and a maddening equation with no solution available at worst. At TT Tourneys, the solution is not in trying to seek what elements *might* make a bracket. Our method is in using the propsed elements above to simulate *our own brackets* as best as we can.

We do this through synchronized join times as well as things that will be mentioned in short time below.

Joining Up

Sounds good. What do I do to join?

A player will go to the sign-up sheet and answer two basic questions: one's IGN (In-Game Name) and MS (Max Stage).

We used to ask a third question---whether one would be willing to captain but not many volunteered. I want to mention here that the captain position is important and it should be occupied by someone, particularly in lower MS groups where change occurs most frequently. No-one (veterans and new people) will or should expect perfection from a volunteer for this position in a first, second or even third outing and any help required in the midst of helming such an effort will be provided either by [u/RepetitiveMotion](/u/RepetitiveMotion) or [u/ness839](/u/ness839) or [u/Calrabjohns](/u/Calrabjohns) as availability allows.

Once the MS and IGN information is assembled, the moderators here form groups of people with a MS disparity no greater (ideally) than 60 stages, which have designators like "Alpha" for participants with 2925-3000 Max Stage. Once the groups are formed, players need to share when they will be available to join the tournament in question. For example, let's say the group reaches a consensus that T-8 hours is the time for everyone. This is the final step in simulating a bracket with the preceding time as an example.

You click the blue tournament button like normal and look at the countdown timer. When it reads 8 hours left to join, you click start. This will get you in the same tournament as other people in your group. The choice of 8 hours left for the example doesn't mean it's the only hour that works. Every hour or half-hour or unit of time in general will work.

In the last two tournaments for Group Alpha [July 14th/15] and Bravo [18/19] respectively, our group [A] splintered when we joined both around a minute *before* and a minute *after* the agreed join time [7 Hours to Join] and Bravo had a person miss join-time too. I have to note that someone joined Bravo 4 minutes *after* appointed join time and made it into the main group but this can't be depended on.

At this time, I am suggesting that the protocol to follow is to join *before* or *exactly on* the appointed hour or fifteen minute interval as agreed upon. If at some point, it is found that *after* is the best time to join, that information will be updated here and in its own thread upon learning such information. Please check this section periodically. The change will be italicized should there be one.

Please explain what IGN is and why you need this from me.

IGN is In-Game Name, the name that will show up in the tournament during the progression up the ranks. We need this information from the outset because the rate that players climb through is different for everyone. Also, we need to know that everyone has successfully reached the agreed upon tie stage and the IGN is integral to this knowledge.

Are there any restrictions or preferred names for use in a TT Tourney group?

If you've decided to look in our past match-ups, you might have noticed that some players are not sporting a /TT/ name. In general, we strongly urge that you take the time to join TT LIST, which was created and continues (afaik) to be compiled by u/Psychocane

The above list was made far before the formation or thought of conception of TT Tourneys or tying in general in mass. It signifies belonging to the parent/older sister sub of Tap Titans and suggests a larger degree of respectability and trust for whoever holds it that is official. You might think this is needlessly exclusionary or snobbish but that is the general consensus of belief.

Please explain what Max Stage (MS) is to me.

It is firstly the maximum stage a player can reach comfortably within the 24 hour period, not what a player could push to within the 24 hour period. When a player is registering, we want to know the "easy" MS. The easy MS is the one we almost always use when deciding tie points. There's more than one reason but this is the one to keep in mind: group cohesion is paramount and the only guarantee to this standard is in using the posted, agreed upon MS used during the tournament sign-up. This is the one that a player is confident he or she can reach all the time. If you decide to volunteer your "push" MS because it will afford the group a greater prize, more power to you. However, there is no pressure to do so and you should never feel that way. If you aren't confident you can always reach it, do not volunteer it. Only provide what you know you can reach.

Max Stage And Tying Protocols

What constitutes easy and what constitutes a push?

This can vary between the different Max Stages but speaking in very general terms, your easy Max Stage is still one that will require you to trigger all of your skills to kill enemies and bosses. It's not so much easy as it is constant and the time it takes to reach the MS is not prohibitively difficult. I'll give you an example:

My flair is listed at 2940 currently as that's my push stage where in previous tournaments I have hit 2925 max. I've opted to list my push stage so that people I might group with can know that is the absolute wall for me. However, I might sign into an upcoming tournament by saying 2925 is my "easy" stage. This is what is "easy" for me:

Stg. 1-2300: *Hour 1 to 2.5/3*- I tap to Stg. 11 and use gold from first ten stages to get Main Hero to Level 100 and trigger SC for 13 minutes (at present) to build up gold and continue to buy MH skills as they become available. This usually terminates at Stg. 160 or thereabouts and I've earned 45(ish) hh. I get applicable heroes (Eistor is last I can buy for that moment) at that point and jump them from 1-1K with minimal taps for purchase and skill buys. Continue buying and leveling in 9 taps with SC running 13 minute intervals until I've reached Chester and ss gold. 

By that point, Takeda-Eistor are 1K'd, Flavius is 700 and Chester is 300. Buy heroes as normal and level until DL. Jackalope is either 500 or 600 if I delay getting DL. By the time I get DL to 800 or 900, I will level all skills except Cry and Midas for MH as high as I can. Before this point, I've left them at 1. The leveled SC will maintain the pace of 1 Shots without interruption.

Stg. 2300 to 2835- *Hour 3 to Hour 4/4.5*- Evolve DL at Stg. 2364. The SC has no problems and it becomes a matter of repurchasing the character skills until 2700-2720. By 1800, I begin to level DL by the x10 rather than 100 to keep SC working but it begins to slow down at 2740s unless a Berserk drops. Tend to tap rather than depend on SC and I can generally get to 2835 without *having to* trigger skills.

Stg. 2835-2880: *Hour 4.5-5*- Trigger skills for first time and it carries me to '80. 

Stg. 2880-2925: *Hour 5-6*- Skills are constant need now. GS is needed by this point or I can expect Hero Death by the handful. But I can progress still by average of ten stages every skill trigger.

Stg. 2925-2940- *Hour 6/6.5-8/9* This is what you're used to doing already outside of a TT Tourney. The frenzied tapping to get to a maximum possible for best positioning. Because we usually arrange ties at one relic breakpoint away at least from this stressful point, it's a non-issue unless an opportunity presents itself where reaching X higher will get you a higher tie. My time jumps from 6-7 hours to 7-8 or even 9 hours depending on the stress of my hands and wrists.

Your pushing circumstances are unique and can't be typified but I hope this is an illustrative example of the different definitions of MS and why we lean to the "easy" classification. It can generally be reached with 1/3 less time and doesn't risk injuries long term. That said, teammates will usually offer to help you tap to X stage as it's in the interest of everyone. No shame in getting help and that is one of the reasons we organise like this :)

Why do you pick X as your tie stage sometimes? I can reach Y.

We generally pick relic breakpoints as tie markers because a person not inside of the TT Tourney group will understandably be thinking about how many relics can be brought in during the duration of the tournament. Arranging a tie at a relic stage like 2805 instead of 2800 or 2810 shows we're observant of the desire to progress and will tie accordingly.

With the right tie, a player outside of the group will feel his time has been sufficiently rewarded with decent relics and whatever prizes accompany the stage that the tie in question rests in. It is rare for a tie to be broken for the sake of a few more relics (one breakpoint) but this is relative on a case by case basis. Also, if there is a tie that has formed organically and it doesn't land on a breakpoint, stick to that rather than trying to adhere rigidly to BP tying. The tie matters more than any conventions proposed here as to where they usually take place.

You seem to only host tournaments with 2700 and upwards. Does that mean you won't accept me? My MS is XXX or XXXX.

It's not for lack of desire! We have had a couple near DL Evolve groups but whether it was the results of the tournament, failings on our part to facilitate the groups to continue, a mixture of the two things or something more---whatever it was, the groups did not last. We need the bodies. If you are willing, we will make room for you. Obviously this stops at a certain point. There's 24 hours in a day so at peak capacity we should stop at 24 groups but that is the extent to which I will entertain such a wonderful nightmare.

I am unsure of the value in people below Mohacas coming here. When you are first starting out, you need the room to win by whatever margin possible and your MS is constantly growing. The group would not remain stable for long and for that matter---Mohacas and upward will change in shorter time than one might think.

Part of the reason we've had so many members in 27 and up is the plateau people reach and the relative slow growth that can occur and we try to combat by getting as many weapons as possible for players (diamonds and TP too but the gems can be obtained elsewhere and TP only gets so many material things so---yeah its weps.). 

All of that being said, we *will* host any group that is made at pretty much any stage. It could be great fun for people to climb every step of the way with one another and who am I or who are we to dispute that :)

The Captain and Regular Participant

What does the role of captain entail exactly?

Once the group has been assembled according to optimal stage matching, the captain (whosoever he or she is) is responsible for the creation of the group thread or threads as the case may be. In the thread, the captain first needs to nail down a join time that everyone can use when clicking the "Start" button. This is one of a few steps but it is vital. The existence of the group depends on this early synchronized point.

Once a join-time is established, the next order of business is deciding upon the first tie point. Let's say there's three people for the sake of argument. Captain can hit 2715, Player A can hit 2700 and B can hit 2670. This group's termination stage is 2670.

*A group's final tie stage is whatever the lowest Max Stage is in the group as a general rule. If there is any doubt whatsoever that there is room to move otherwise, this is an ABSOLUTE rule.*

However, how does this captain decide the initial tie point? It's dependent on what the captain believes is the best starting strategy when the decision needs to be finalized. But to start, the captain needs to ask the rest of the group where it is best to place initial tie point. We'll return to our three person group for illustration purposes. Enjoy the scintillating exchange :p

*Captain: I think we should go to 2655. Send a strong message.*

*A: Sounds ok with me, skipper.*

*B: I don't know. It's still something of a climb for me. Could we start lower for now? Maybe 2625 if we're stuck on relic points?*

*Captain: As a tie point, I think that will get quickly overtaken. We don't want to climb from a position of weakness or catching up. How do you feel about 2640 to start? We've got a reasonable bit of stages between your MS and this point to work from should the tie be broken.*

*B: Seems reasonable if still a little bit of a hike. If this is what's best though, ok.*

*A: I still think 2655 is a good start-off point but there's no point rocking the boat. We're committed to 2670 as final stage right?*

*B: That's how it has to be or I can't be in the tie anymore. Sorry :(*

*Captain: No need to apologize. We're all here for the same thing. It's decided then. 2640 is our start point and we end at 2670. May we get a tie on or before then team :)*

Aaaaand scene! Heh. But you should get the idea of what a tie conversation will be like minus the charm of whatever idiosyncrasies your teammates will bring to the conversation instead of **one** "Platonic ideal" of this conversation.

Besides creating the thread, getting the join time fixed as meets the needs of all players and making the final decision on tie points, a captain also has to maintain the lines of communication. Whatever stage the captain occupies at the time of playing, it behooves him or her to make updates to the thread as necessary to apprise players of the goings on of the tournament at hand.

These updates can be as frequent or infrequent as time dictates but the following is bare minimum: you make an Hour 1 update where the player count is established. Players could have somehow missed the join or they could have possibly ghosted (this will be explained later). You make a final update at finish of tournament that states where your group ended in positioning, the place you all got. In an ideal tournament, this is only going to be one number (a high number one hopes). There are ways this can dissolve though and lapsed communication is one of them.

In-between your first and last update, it would be good to notate whether a tie has been broken in X hour. You can also use the updates (and may need to) as a means of asking player Y where he or she is if they haven't sounded off in awhile. All of these observations and questions add to a fuller picture that other players in the group can read and then offer an opinion as to how to proceed if such applies.

While I do not count myself as the best captain around (the highs and lows are too sharp in as honest an estimation of my tenure as I can stand to mention in passing), I am putting the link of a decent captaining effort because I can explain the choices I made in Original Post and its composition should there be any questions.

One thing to keep in mind if you do check out the link: that OP was constantly being edited. It does not spring neatly and fully formed and is the result of doing this a few times or being witness to many other instances. You write whatever feels right. Thank you to any future captains.

[I'M A PREV. TOURNAMENT EXAMPLE- CLICK ME!] (http://www.reddit.com/r/TT_Tourneys/comments/3a3uda/june_17th_group_a_the_misfits)

I plan to be a captain. Is there any advice you can give me on how to organize the thread, make suggestions for tie points or any information that I need to best assume the role?

All of these things will be stylistic choices you make as you go along but there are things that can be done for clarity:
Stagger Tie Points vs. Hit MS Immediately: The use of stagger might seem like a bias to the other strategy of how best to decide on a tie point but it can be very much a situational thing.

Stagger, in a wholly positive use, could be employed when the captain is concerned that the lowest MS member may have trouble reaching a proposed tie point. Even though the preceding stagger use is unlikely, it would allow everyone to hit a relic point (or somewhere else if you decide) or two before the max and gauge where everyone is at. As a group, you might decide it best to camp and then move to MS. Maybe someone not in the group is slowly edging forward and not willing to meet at X stage. If you decide to do this, you might want to use the Cloud Save trick below in case you have to jump back to climb.

Max TP on the Quick: If you have the time amongst you as a group, consensus and confidence---this is the way Alpha Team has and is currently operating. A quick arrival allows for time to spin more prestiges, which in turn will provide more strength for tournaments to follow. That logic is simple and never changes. Also, it leaves no room for ambiguity. One stage; it's always that of the person who holds lowest MS. Dealing with multiple tie stages might create room for confusion.

This section will be updated as opinions or more elaborated upon information come in about the efficacy of one strategy over the other.
Updating The Thread As Needed: Aside from writing the decided join-time, getting a tally of people who've joined successfully and results, there might be occasion for other information to be posted in the OP for visibility and possibly urgency. A method I've been using now is stacking the updates as they are made, with the most recent on top and the others stricken through as they become outmoded if they aren't to be deleted entirely. So---

Hour 20- Aw crap. TP broken. Climb if we're climbing!

~~Hour 7- All have reached tie point.~~

~~Hour 1- All present and accounted for.~~

You'll land on a method of update that works for you but that's one idea for presentation. You do strike through by putting text in-between four of these ~. Two on the left and two right with no spaces and all text in middle.

This will be updated as needed with feedback so check back if there's doubts.

I'm not a captain. Just an ordinary person. Sweet! Join, play, profit. No obligations for me, thank you very much.

This is categorically false and it hurts that you've even said such things. I think we need space. Think about what you've said and then we can talk.

...ok we can talk now :p

In all seriousness, a regular participant still has responsibilities if he or she intends to continue being a member of these tournament joins. Communication is what it comes to down but specifics are the following:

A member must clearly state the time he or she can join. If there are extenuating circumstances that make taking part in the tournament difficult or impossible, you must post something in a timely fashion or do your very best to do so. Your absence can leave the group stymied as to action that can be taken. It is of equal importance that the captain recognizes when such a communication has taken place.

A corollary to this is to speak up when the tie points and any strategy is being devised in the group. Tournament groups highlight that the beginning is filled with energy to reach a certain point at a quick time and then the middle hours are still followed by an end period that make you miss the calm of the middle period. Movement at any juncture can only be done with clear group consensus.

The responsibility of the captain is to do what is best for the group. If lack of communication from one of the participants inhibits the ability of the captain to act on what is best for the whole, you can expect the captain to make the best possible decision. Don't make this decision difficult with your presence being an absence or one of silence.

To make this more positive, your role may swing the tide with the right placed suggestion. Be present and attentive. The rewards should follow in short order :)

Sundry Considerations

What is ghosting exactly?

Ghosting is a phenomenon that we believe to be caused by a player progressing too quickly through the ranks and results in the player being ejected from the synchronized join tournament. However, this "ghost" isn't ejected from tournaments altogether. He or she is still in competition with other people. The IGN of ghosted player no longer shows up in leaderboards with rest of tournament compatriots and the actions taken cannot affect any ties in progress. This player becomes autonomous, as if proceeding alone. This could be good or not sometimes but generally you don't want to seek this out.

It's also entirely possible that the ghost player will still be in your leader board rather than a new one but this does not change his/her corporeal state of being. It does mean that you still have that player's eyes should anything change though and this is the "ideal ghost."

Our resident ghost [u/Enigma07](/u/Enigma07) or rather---the person who has ghosted most (he has come back from the "dead" and does not always reside on other side :p) plans to do some testing as to how to avoid this phenomenon. When there are results, they will be posted here.

Are there any tricks to success besides hoping that my group will be fortunate enough to get a good tie?

There are two that I personally use and several that I plan to use or try in short order. They are listed below:
Cooldown (CD) Trick: A big mover in being able to progress in tournaments is the availability of your Hero skills. Obviously, the longer your durations (skill timers), the better off you are. Ideally, your skills will be 5 minutes in duration (at least) and you will have all CD artifacts maxed. Regardless, this is the trick in essence.

Your HS (Heavenly Strike) is generally the skill with lowest CD. If you have permaclone at 5 min., you don't have to think about that. Don't trigger HoM (Hand of Midas) or WC (War Cry) unless you need to. This leaves CS (Critical Strike) and BR (Berserker's Rage).

In latest stages, the important skills are CS and BR but you need HS for its small timer. Trigger CS and BR as normal. Use HS last and put 30 seconds or so between triggering it and the two important skills. If you use others, trigger them at same time as CS and BR. Always use HS. However, the more you use, the greater danger there is in not being able to pull off trick (in my experience).

When your timer for skills are near the 1:20 mark, switch to Perks tab and carefully scroll down, obscuring Guardian Shield. Make sure Skills Countdown is the topmost button showing. Keep tapping and also keep a watchful eye on the Skill CD button. If you've done this right, the timer should be ticking down at a relatively slow pace; it should be a pace that will make it possible to purchase CD at less than 10 diamonds and when you really get the hang of it (along with high skill durations), you'll be able to cool skills with just 1 Diamond.

Short Version: The cooldown button gets fixed on HS as the skill ending soonest assuming your other skills have longer durations than 5 minutes and your CD artifacts are maxed. The longer the duration, the slower the Perk clock will go if you trigger Tap Skills and then HS with 30 sec. or more apart.
Daily Dungeon Day 3 Trick: u/Nexwell brought this to my attention and I always use it now. The following will get you the perk of your choosing whenever you want on DD 3.

Cloud save before entering the dungeon. Fight the boss. If you don't get the Perk you wanted, reload the cloud save. Do not manually exit at any point during this process. Keep entering dungeon and fight until you get the drop you want. This will save 50/1-200 diamonds a week depending on when DD 3 lands and what perk you go for.

I haven't bought a GS except for when I have no choice in matter. This trick helped immensely and it is not a cheat in the strict sense that you will not be marked as a cheater. The relative morality (if you want to use such a strong word) of fixing what perk you get, thereby potentially limiting need to buy diamonds, is your concern alone and will dictate whether this is cheating or not. Compared to what is out there, this is nothing imo.
Cloud Save To Hold Tournament Position: This one is a little weird and I've yet to pull it off successfully. However, u/arie1223 has done this one and recommended others as well that definitely hold some promise; one addition to cloud-save position trick and another way to do CD. The instructions are verbatim from arie and spaced as such: much appreciation for these :D. My small questions that might add context are the italicized portions of the quote (still getting used to formatting---sorry!)

Once you reach your max tie point, you'll probably want to prestige and level up while waiting. However, circumstances can change and you may need to climb to higher tie point if possible. How do you do this if you've prestiged already?

To make this work (on android, idk about ios) you need to disable the cloud save by signing out of Google Play. You can access that by going into the upper righthand corner to go into the Leaderboards and click settings to sign out. Be sure to save to the cloud prior.

Otherwise, you can save to cloud and load it up on an old/another device. If you need to restore it, go to the old device and play it from that save point or load the old version back onto cloud and transfer it onto your main device.

So if you want to save in middle of tournament but you forget that you've turned off cloud save, does the manual exit and save get picked up? Is there any issue with the manual save when cloud save gets reactivated in your experience?

If you manually save it, you're reconnected with the google play store so you're good to go. If you close the game but didn't save it, as long as you aren't loading from the cloud, the game should still be the same so long as the device hasn't crashed or anything. Also, there shouldn't be any issue with loading from a saved game. You can reactivate the google play store by manually updating the saved file on the cloud or loading from the cloud anyhow.

Another tip/trick to note is that if you don't have a shield and still want to progress in the tournament without it (knowingly killing heros): save the game, deactivate auto-save and click away. When you load the old version, your new position is still saved in the tournament. <- did it once by accident when trying to reload a fallen hero but it worked.

Another CD Trick: One more tip to add. If it's in the late game where you have to tap but can't and have skills available, activate the skills and go into the leaderboards. This freezes the game so that you can return to tapping and the cool down would have already started when you activated it.

So it works in the same way that exiting the game works in that the CD timer is still running except the leader boards are in-game. Huh. Good to know.

My question isn't on here right now.

This will be an evolving document. I apologize for the lateness of its posting and will endeavor to update it as becomes necessary. Also, Ness and RM have been doing this from the start and may update as needed and there are several TT Tourney veterans that can explain the ins and outs should this be lacking somehow.

Thank you for reading. Have a cookie on us! :)

Posted Jul 21, 2015, 9:36 PM UTC

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