Here we go again...

[MaroonAlberich]

Originally Posted by All_Elite_Stank

I'm in the same boat, i keep getting bounced and i try my hardest to have different players than everyone else and get better but it's tough. I want to do a full rebuild and auction off my stars (couple 100's and about 15 diamonds) but i feel the only ethical way is to wait until Saturday night so i don't ruin the league by having a dud of a team.

If i subbed out my team with cheap Gold's ($1-2K each) is that tanking? i mean i'm not going iron or bronze's but i think it would really ,make people mad

I faced the same question myself a week or two back. I had insane luck and made Diamond pretty quickly but, once there, stagnated. I think three seasons I finished as the last team not relegated, wasn't making any PP, and couldn't earn much in the way of PP (being stuck at home with a three year old possessing boundless energy saps time and energy!). Decided to do a rebuild, sold off a lot of underperformers and played golds the last two months. Now I'm finding ways to use the PP wisely to become more competitive while building a roster that isn't a carbon copy of every other roster out there in the mid-levels.

I certainly didn't view this as tanking, as I didn't just bench my higher players and play the scrubs, I set myself a challenge of rebuilding the team. Couldn't bring those (underperforming) @#$*#^#$%s back if I wanted to anyway! Doesn't help that this is my first go-round at PT, but it's certainly a lot more enjoyable now that I've decided on this approach. When I win, it feels great. When I lose, I shrug and wonder how much fun people are having running out rosters that differ from other rosters by a card or two.

[PocketsAintFull]

When I read the thread title I keep singing ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake.

[DonMattingly]

Originally Posted by PocketsAintFull

When I read the thread title I keep singing ‘Here I Go Again’ by Whitesnake.

Here I go again back in Gold
Only 2-10 my team is getting owned
Perfect Team just won't throw me a bone

[All_Elite_Stank]

I figured but since i just put my top 5 performers up for auction which should get at least 150k, i assume i'm going to get pounded on by whoever i play today at least. I just fear being reported even though i mean well. I just get sick of seeing everyone have the same guys. I hope i can do what you did and also fight the urge to just blow my PP and go back to "trying" to compete even though i know i will never beat the top tiered owners. thanks

[Orcin]

Losing on purpose is tanking. Rebuilding is not tanking.

[2tango2]

*

[2tango2]

Originally Posted by All_Elite_Stank

I just get sick of seeing everyone have the same guys.

Yeah is weird seeing that.....

[MrPibb]

Day two losing skid continues. My Jeff Bagwell isn't as good as their Jeff Bagwell. Somehow my Barry Bonds is hitting a robust .171

[2tango2]

Originally Posted by MrPibb

Day two losing skid continues. My Jeff Bagwell isn't as good as their Jeff Bagwell. Somehow my Barry Bonds is hitting a robust .171

Take solace you are not alone in this

[MaroonAlberich]

Originally Posted by MrPibb

Day two losing skid continues. My Jeff Bagwell isn't as good as their Jeff Bagwell. Somehow my Barry Bonds is hitting a robust .171

You're probably playing clean ball. Give Balco a call and get some cream and clear in there quickly!

[All_Elite_Stank]

Originally Posted by MaroonAlberich

You're probably playing clean ball. Give Balco a call and get some cream and clear in there quickly!

I know right? All star's at every level until they hit your team, then it somehow turns into playing like you have 2020 Live Card Pujols playing 1B. I ended up going full rebuild and pulling 190,000 PP out of my guys with my big guns ending in about 6 hours. Hoping to mimic some of the top teams in my Gold league's roster build. Not players, but going to attempt to mimic the skill sets with some different, not so cliche type players. Maybe a similar early 1900's player somewhat close to Bagwell.It's fun to search and compare. Might not be when i pile up another 105 loss season lol.

[Charlatan]

It’s been said a number of times but when you play the collection rewards on your team you will do great at lower levels but as you get higher and higher, those reward card’s flaws will become more and more obvious. So for instance you might need to platoon some guys did fine at lower levels. Or maybe their defense just isn’t quite up to snuff anymore. Or maybe there is a high-priced card who can replace your guy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that at higher levels average team quality is higher so while you might have been able to beat up on a few teams at the lower levels when you get to gold and diamond almost all the teams are going to have many good players on it so even the teams that are doing poorly can spank your team.

At higher levels you will also run into teams that are effectively using their ballpark dimensions to favor their team and disfavor your team. So look at what your competitors are doing with their ballpark and see if you can understand their strategies better. For example, one fairly common strategy is to have all left handed starting pitchers and adjust your ballpark to suppress right handed batting. That means when your team visits their ballpark you stick in your right handed batters against their pitching and they play left-handed batters so they have an extra advantage in hitting against you.

Lastly, since OOTP has restricted teams getting into perfect that means the competition at diamond and gold is going to be that much tougher. In PT20 when a team was really loaded it would shoot up to the perfect league quickly. Now many of them get stuck at diamond so you’re facing a lot of loaded teams in diamond who just can’t win the World Series to get promoted.

So the bottom line is, it gets more difficult to higher you go and requires you to think about your team a little more carefully!

[BigRed75]

Originally Posted by MrPibb

Somehow my Barry Bonds is hitting a robust .171

Check his cap size. Does it start with an 8? If not, sounds like you got scrawny Pittsburgh Barry...

[Maxfire5]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Plenty of teams competing in diamond level without spending a dime.

Even one in Perfect without spending a dime. And then a second team that has minimal in it in Perfect too. Neither are doing great in Perfect, by any means (in the bottom 6 teams in the league, but then again, 12 get relegated of the 20 so it's not a huge loss).

Lot of F2P teams are doing really well in Diamond. Know some OL people with me who are doing very well, and then there's the BFF group too.

[andybax]

Originally Posted by MrPibb

I guess I didn't realize how P2W this game is. Was I wrong to expect more from something that I had to shell out 40 bucks for?

I have yet to spend a dime on any team dating back to OOTP18 days. I've made it to PL each year quite easily. It just requires patience and the ability to work the auction house.

[MrPibb]

Originally Posted by andybax

I have yet to spend a dime on any team dating back to OOTP18 days. I've made it to PL each year quite easily. It just requires patience and the ability to work the auction house.

I don't care so much about making it to the PL as much as I just want to have a chance against equal teams. It's just odd to me that guys like bags and bond can bat 330 with 40 home runs one year, and then both hit <250 when I get bumped up a level. It's happened every time.

Makes no sense to me. I realize talent gets better, but there are 15+ bagwells at the top of the leader boards.

[bailey]

Originally Posted by MrPibb

I don't care so much about making it to the PL as much as I just want to have a chance against equal teams. It's just odd to me that guys like bags and bond can bat 330 with 40 home runs one year, and then both hit <250 when I get bumped up a level. It's happened every time.

Makes no sense to me. I realize talent gets better, but there are 15+ bagwells at the top of the leader boards.

In my league I see SE Jackie Robinson (500K card) always above .300 in 4 seasons with 1 team (and with ballpark factors gimping hitting) while in another 4 seasons on another team has not hit .300 even once (with neutral ballpark factors).

[HelpDodgers]

I've given up playing any more than checking now and then. I did spend a 200$+ early to do missions. Then notices every person in my league did same thing.

I do not believe in the random luck with packs. In the perfect league of the PL there is one guy who has 2 teams.

So, I may log in to randomly say hello, and I will probably check my teams, but there is no playing any more. No switching things around. I opened around 200 packs at one times and and got a 97 Randy Johnson. Last year I didn't get my DiMaggio until late.

So, I call BS on anything I read here. The job of OOTP is to make money and if they have to do a little seeding (I believe now it happens) or give certain 'friendly' people great teams so others will think it is possible for them; well, I understand now. I enjoyed the money spent. Sadly, I cannot in good conscious spend any more.

So, have at it if you want to hammer me. Sadly, there is no way to know if the people hammering me are real or being paid to attack.

So OP is right, there is something wrong and it isn't you.

[bailey]

Sorry to see you go. You do realize that if everyone had an equal chance then you would win a championship just as rarely.

Edit: After herculean effort to crawl back to .500 in D357, I face 11 games in a row against teams with average winning percentage north of 85%. How unfair.

[dkgo]

We will miss your stellar contributions accusing people of hacking the auction house and rigging packs when in reality you just don't understand how anything works.