Use of Multiaccounts in Heads Contest

[SoulTear]

What I am about to discuss is perfectly legal right now in the heads contest but the question is: Should it be?

This is the case of when two characters are the same person since multi accounts are allowed in this game and are using both characters to perform separate functions in the heads contest. One character gathers the heads and then when they get enough gives it to the other character who stays logged off with all the heads while the first character gathers more and then so on. The second character only has to log on for a little while every day to get scored and then log off before anyone notices. This way a player can gather a large numbers of heads without exposing themselves to any danger of losing them.

I'm bringing this up because I'm pretty sure dst and Venger were doing this by observing their behavior. Which means they are either working together or are the same person. This is especially unfortunate since dst won already so he can't win again but he could use his first character to get his second to win without much risk or perhaps that of a friend or family member.

It goes without saying that those that do this have a tremendous advantage over all other players in the contest not only can they use one character to gather heads without danger in the first stage of the contest but they can take heads in the second stage and log out to keep them out of play so the first character does not have to worry about any one catching up with him thus nullifying the purpose of the second stage. I wouldn't be surprised if the reason most of the heads in MP5 are out of play in the second stage is because of people using this tactic. Right now there are not enough heads in play for the second stage of MP5 to make any difference at all in the current ranking.

[Lulu]

Well, that might be a bit unfair but I don't know really how much it's is used. I don't really think dst is Venger or working with him; right now he likes to mess with the heads because he has nothing else to do, or so he says, and when he gathers heads, he doesn't lose to only Venger. I know No one took a lot of heads from dst here and there. Otherwise, I assumed that they were all using the gather-heads-log-off method to stay off the chart until they had a lot and could gain a big lead over the others. They might have used 2nd accounts, but I wouldn't know.

[Grido]

you cant use multi's to gain heads, you have to fully log off one character before being able to log on with another, otherwise your ip gets blocked if you use multiple browsers, i think. if that makes sense.

[Morgana Le Fey]

And furthermore teams are not against the rules

teams help each other out and should be a group effort

say forming teams of 3 and the winning team gets some bonus if they all 3 win or something

or having the heads contest randomly choose teams or something

that would solve the team thing about family teaming up again though ip adresses can be blocked

now for starters i would like to say yay reaper death seal and evoker morganjade are bout to get places in both mp3 and mp4

team work is the key otherwise you are on your own against hundreds

keep that in mind next contest

[Lulu]

you cant use multi's to gain heads, you have to fully log off one character before being able to log on with another, otherwise your ip gets blocked if you use multiple browsers, i think. if that makes sense.

I think it's supposed to be like that, but Glai and I are on together all the time.

[dst]

@SoulTear(Aqune) & all the rest: there are 3 different persons: dst / Venger / no one. And I also play with others as well (but not as often). Your problem is that you don't play in a team.

@Aqune : sorry to tell you but ... you weren't all the time (i know I waited a long time to get some 200 from you).

If you would have made the alliance with Laz earlier ... you would have had a chance for the first place.

As for this game & head contest ... by now ... i think I can write a small book.

So, stop whining and play.

[SoulTear]

@SoulTear(Aqune) & all the rest: there are 3 different persons: dst / Venger / no one. And I also play with others as well (but not as often). Your problem is that you don't play in a team.

@Aqune : sorry to tell you but ... you weren't all the time (i know I waited a long time to get some 200 from you).

If you would have made the alliance with Laz earlier ... you would have had a chance for the first place.

As for this game & head contest ... by now ... i think I can write a small book.

So, stop whining and play.

First of all I'm not whining I tried to present an issue which I think needed to be addressed and which explains the Head contest results. At the very least it will allow Manu to know more about player behaviour which was the original purpose of the contest if you can recall and I think you have to admit I did it in as non confrontational way as possible. I neither said that they shouldn't have won for using this tactic nor did I say it should be made illegal (though Manu made hiding in inaccessible areas illegal and this is basically the same thing with the logouts) I simply brought up the question.

Secondly just because they used this cheap tactic to win doesn't mean I should stoop to their level. Yes I could have teamed up with Laz and done that but I didn't because it would ruin the contest for everyone. The agreement I had with Laz was completely different, after Venger and No One 'stole' the 2nd and 1st positions I wanted him or anyone else for that matter to get 3rd place so I could participate in the next contest. I helped him a little cause I thought he had the best chance of winning but neither of us logged out with any heads. It wasn't just me and Laz that refused to use this tactic either. Godsend who got about 500 heads from me after harassing me all day did so on the suggestion of Shadowice (they know each other). Now he could have just given them to Shadowice to help him win but considered it a dishonourable thing to do.

Thirdly yes sometimes I was offline with some heads but that’s because I can't play this game 24/7 even idle mode only lasts 6 hours and thats completely different from taking heads from someone then logging off immediately so they can't attack back then logging back in when they leave to hide and sneak in a score. I do believe running and hiding is an important and fun part of the contest but taking heads then instantly logging off ruins it. You can ask people that participated I was online very often and quite active during the contest you even attacked me several times but I was unable to attack Venger and No one even once and they were both hardly ever online.

At first I just wanted to raise the issue but since you implied that I'm being a sore loser I will have to answer the question:

How does doing this ruin the game for everyone?

It does so by freezing the entire contest so no one is able to change their rank and get scored once all the heads have been taken out of play. By using it your are effectively guaranteeing a win for yourself, only if someone developed an invincible ritual which no one could break (an exploit in itself) could they win against it (assuming they are also fast and active in getting heads). By logging off with all the heads and then almost never logging in with them you prevent anyone form even attempting to try and score since there are not enough heads in play for them to score thus freezing the contest. Scoring is based on how long you are online with the heads rather then just how many you have and is at random times to prevent players from blocking other active players from scoring. The entire second stage of the contest for MP5 was ruined because of this. Near the end when Laz looked like he might have a chance of getting second place Venger came broke through his ritual only once took all the heads and then immediately logged off before anyone even realized what happened. Just like that the contest was over not just for Laz but also for everyone there that was trying to get the heads in the hope of beating him. It was a forgone conclusion that No one would win even before the contest was over because he had 80% of the heads and never logged on so most players just gave up rather then fighting to the bitter end like in previous contests. He ruined the contest for everyone by hogging all the heads. Imagine if everyone used this tactic then the head contest would become more about quickly farming new heads at the beginning and then logging off before anyone else notices you then a real in game competition between players. Whoever is lucky enough to be logged in when no ones else is around is the automatic winner.

Finally sorry for singling you out dst. I regret now naming you and Venger in my previous post. The game is still in the testing stages and players should do whatever they can to win but ...

My complaint against dst:

I would like to point out your hypocrisy dst in participating in this contest in such an oblique way when you complained about someone else that already won and so couldn't win again (I think it was savelfuser) participating in the previous one and harassing you for your heads when you were in the top position.

See: http://magicduel.invisionzone.com//index.p...=1521&st=20

However at least that person was playing for real and not just siphoning heads for players to cowardly to fight on their own.

Sorry my post are always so long but I always try to be as through as possible in my explanations.

[Morgana Le Fey]

I find great things in this last contest

first of all about my last post in regards to all after it

Teaming up helps keep the heads in play all the time and gives everyone the opportunity to get them

one of us at mp4 were online the whole time save for a little time to sleep adn we passed the heads back and forth to keep it that away

MP5 players this is for you:

i think that so far any tactic is and should be used from teams to logging in to gather heads due to the fact that if someone logs in they show up for a few seconds as logged in you can attack them just click on their name and click the ritual and attack

even if they have logged out by this time you will still have a chance for your heads back

a chance most if not all passed up

FURTHERMORE THIS REALLY IRRITATES ME

Mp5 players complained about not being able to hold heads from noone or dst or venger maybe if you werent idle for 3 or more hours at a time you might have noticed he came by and took them then ran and hid

i believe that areas such as necrovian and the islands and golemus golecarium should incur a negative point gain during updates if you are there not just having no gain at all

this would discourage more not to try and hide there even if you are top and have all the heads as only a few can go there a lucky few indeed

THIS PART IS FOR MP4'S ONLY

MP4's should be able to go to loreroot so that should stay a viable hiding spot

make sure if you do wish to compete you know what you can do to get victiorious's not just wins as one head is not as good as 50 or even 100

wait on the next contest at mp4 if you feel that you arent strong enough for the one currently going on trust me age is everything and so is knowledge

analyze rituals seems to be the most powerful tool one can gain for any mp level at mp4 you need to start learning this and how to beat other rituals based on this

MP3'S THIS ONE IS FOR YOU

at mp3 you need to make sure during this contest you dont go overboard with to many wins

like i did lol

you need to maintain a balance most of all here so you can get your extra experience

once you do that you will learn how to find out what your creatures can do and how they work

try exploring new areas do a few quests pass the time you can gain alot if you ask and try

knowledge is all that matters with it anything can be done

now for new suggestions on what should be done in the heads contest

when i was online for a long time with a bunch of heads the timer was easy to figure out when it would update

every 60 minutes almost on the dot i gained score

this was exploited alot by some as they knew that it wasnt random at all

the timer should indeed be random

negative scores for hiding in innapropriate areas

and you cannot gain score on the next update after you log on

also if you are idle with the heads you should suffer a penalty to stats even more so than normal since you arent actively playing in the contest

this will give all a chance to get them making them switch hands faster

and clarify the rewards too please

and the final thing

name all the uncharted places

removes the doubt of the top 8 hiding places

THANK YOU ALL WHO COMPETED AND HOPE YOU HAD A BLAST

[dst]

About your complaint Aqune: I learned from the best. If savelfuser harassed me last time and nothing was done to prevent such behavior I thought it was legal so I did it when my turn came.

As I told you: I play how I want as long as I do not break the rules.

Fair? In war you are allowed to use every method you can think of. This war has rules

So what if you stayed online all the time with the heads? It's your choice. Nobody forced you.

I can hardly wait the next contest.

See you then.

[SoulTear]

MP5 players this is for you:

i think that so far any tactic is and should be used from teams to logging in to gather heads due to the fact that if someone logs in they show up for a few seconds as logged in you can attack them just click on their name and click the ritual and attack

even if they have logged out by this time you will still have a chance for your heads back

a chance most if not all passed up

FURTHERMORE THIS REALLY IRRITATES ME

Mp5 players complained about not being able to hold heads from noone or dst or venger maybe if you werent idle for 3 or more hours at a time you might have noticed he came by and took them then ran and hid

i believe that areas such as necrovian and the islands and golemus golecarium should incur a negative point gain during updates if you are there not just having no gain at all

this would discourage more not to try and hide there even if you are top and have all the heads as only a few can go there a lucky few indeed

If someone takes your heads they can easily log out before you have a chance to react. Once they do you can't spend all day staring at their name to see the instant they come on. We have lives outside the game you know and can't spend all day glued to our computers waiting for the second the head hogs log on. Well maybe you don't Mr. 3 characters.

About your complaint Aqune: I learned from the best. If savelfuser harassed me last time and nothing was done to prevent such behavior I thought it was legal so I did it when my turn came.

As I told you: I play how I want as long as I do not break the rules.

Fair? In war you are allowed to use every method you can think of. This war has rules

So what if you stayed online all the time with the heads? It's your choice. Nobody forced you.

I can hardly wait the next contest.

See you then.

Looks like Lulu was right in the chat you did do it for revenge. Well I hope it was worth becoming what you used to hate

[dst]

Yes Aqune, for revenge!!!!!! That's all I'm thinking of!!!! You're really good at discovering people's motives. Keep up the good work.

[Morgana Le Fey]

and soultear i do happen to have a life and little ones

but i do also find the time and devote time to the playing and enjoying of this game

that is where teamwork comes into play if i am not online lookin for heads one of my teammates is

so when say 'noone' logged in with the heads as i saw him do every now and then and was indeed close by with my mp4 could attack him

i am not saying anything or trying to offend anyone but activity is a must in the heads contest

and staying idle then coming back and going idle again isnt gonna cut it for a win sorry

and dst revenge i doubt it teamwork is why i think you did that but hey

my opinion

laterz guys RL calling again

[SoulTear]

and soultear i do happen to have a life and little ones

but i do also find the time and devote time to the playing and enjoying of this game

that is where teamwork comes into play if i am not online lookin for heads one of my teammates is

so when say 'noone' logged in with the heads as i saw him do every now and then and was indeed close by with my mp4 could attack him

i am not saying anything or trying to offend anyone but activity is a must in the heads contest

and staying idle then coming back and going idle again isnt gonna cut it for a win sorry

and dst revenge i doubt it teamwork is why i think you did that but hey

my opinion

laterz guys RL calling again

I was very active in the competition, online almost all day long yet I never saw No one online even once and Venger only very rarely and when he did log on it would only be for a little while and he would log off the instant anyone was coming near him. Many other MP5s were just as active if not more so then me yet if you ask them I can guaranteed they will tell you they hardly ever saw those two online and they would log off as soon as anyone came near. You saw No one online cause he didn't log off when he saw you because as an MP4 he knew you were no threat.

Venger and No one on the other hand were not active at all and hardly ever came online. Their only advantage was they that were lucky enough to be chosen by dst who siphoned heads for them because he was board had won the contest before and so had nothing better to do with his time then collect heads for them (he told me this himself in a pm). You can call that "teamwork" if you want but I call it cowardice which disenfranchised all other players, active players from fighting for the heads at all. They couldn't do anything because the heads were not in play simple as that. In the 2nd stage of the contest there were hardly any heads at the Gazebo of Equilibrium and so the second stage was ruined completely because of this.

If everyone used this kind of "teamwork" it would be an absolute disaster for the contest. Everyone would stay logged off most of the time and those that didn't would quickly lose their heads and then it would be over for them. The contest would be a matter of who is lucky enough to log on when no one is on. I said this in my previous post but apparently you don't read very well.

It was impossible for anyone no matter how active to do anything against those two but how could you understand that since you didn't even participate at MP5? Because of them the contest was over before it even began as any MP5 that seriously participated could tell you.

Shadowice and a couple of other MP5s sent Manu some suggestions about how the heads contest can be improved so this kind of "teamwork" will probably not happen in future contests.

[Morgana Le Fey]

I am not disagreeing with you i was almost always online everymoment of the contest i could be

i noticed alot of people online at mp5 some had heads but most were idle as always

look in willows shop tell me how many mp5's you see idle versus active

that is what i am taljking about

i didnt participate in mp5

due to the fact even when i win a fight with the regen bug that most are utilizing i cannot upgrade any creatures which i need to even stand a chance

at mp4 and mp3 noone usually has max trees and 4 to 6 of them

but at mp5 i get atleast -30k from each fight in xp to my creatures so why should i subject myself to that during a contest

that is why i didnt participate

any other questions

no noone didnt log on to much just enough to gather heads and log off

while we at mp4 and mp3 stayed online most if not all the time with the heads

that is the teamwork i speak of

not loggin out everytime someone came close

thanks for misunderstanding yourself soultear

[dst]

I was very active in the competition, online almost all day long yet I never saw No one online even once and Venger only very rarely and when he did log on it would only be for a little while and he would log off the instant anyone was coming near him. Many other MP5s were just as active if not more so then me yet if you ask them I can guaranteed they will tell you they hardly ever saw those two online and they would log off as soon as anyone came near. You saw No one online cause he didn't log off when he saw you because as an MP4 he knew you were no threat.

Venger and No one on the other hand were not active at all and hardly ever came online. Their only advantage was they that were lucky enough to be chosen by dst who siphoned heads for them because he was board had won the contest before and so had nothing better to do with his time then collect heads for them (he told me this himself in a pm). You can call that "teamwork" if you want but I call it cowardice which disenfranchised all other players, active players from fighting for the heads at all. They couldn't do anything because the heads were not in play simple as that. In the 2nd stage of the contest there were hardly any heads at the Gazebo of Equilibrium and so the second stage was ruined completely because of this.

If everyone used this kind of "teamwork" it would be an absolute disaster for the contest. Everyone would stay logged off most of the time and those that didn't would quickly lose their heads and then it would be over for them. The contest would be a matter of who is lucky enough to log on when no one is on. I said this in my previous post but apparently you don't read very well.

It was impossible for anyone no matter how active to do anything against those two but how could you understand that since you didn't even participate at MP5? Because of them the contest was over before it even began as any MP5 that seriously participated could tell you.

Shadowice and a couple of other MP5s sent Manu some suggestions about how the heads contest can be improved so this kind of "teamwork" will probably not happen in future contests.

Hi Aqune,

1. Sorry to disappoint you, but I won most of the heads by my own...dst only helped me a bit at the end of the contest

2. In MP5 head contest, I only noticed few players actively involved in it:

- Aqune

- Laz

- Godsend

- Khalazdad

- pdragos (clever & sneaky guy)

- Jonn

- Tsann

(sorry if I missed anyone else)

The most MP5 players didn't care too much of this contest.

See ya

[SoulTear]

@Venger Shadowice was also very active but he gave up after you and No one started hogging all the heads. He was actually in the lead before me. Glasitg was also pretty active and was the contest leader at the very beginning.

@Morgana Sorry I got a little carried away in my previous posts. On thinking about it some more I think I know what you meant by teamwork. You meant that 4 or 5 players should get together and make a pact to watch No one and Venger all day at different times so they will catch them when they log on eventually. Then the allied players could decide among themselves who would win the contest and so get the heads and then repeat that for future ones until all their members have won using the same tactic as No one and Venger and dst did when necessary. The problem with that is that it would mean that a small clique would have effectively gamed the contest in their favour. Multiple groups would make things more interesting but still the contest would then become more about finding an alliance to join rather then actual fighting, running and hiding and I don’t think that’s Manu intended when he created it.

By the way how do you like my avatar? Runehawks suck, Mystraven all the way

[Faraday]

@Venger Shadowice was also very active but he gave up after you and No one started hogging all the heads. He was actually in the lead before me. Glasitg was also pretty active and was the contest leader at the very beginning.

@Morgana Sorry I got a little carried away in my previous posts. On thinking about it some more I think I know what you meant by teamwork. You meant that 4 or 5 players should get together and make a pact to watch No one and Venger all day at different times so they will catch them when they log on eventually. Then the allied players could decide among themselves who would win the contest and so get the heads and then repeat that for future ones until all their members have won using the same tactic as No one and Venger and dst did when necessary. The problem with that is that it would mean that a small clique would have effectively gamed the contest in their favour. Multiple groups would make things more interesting but still the contest would then become more about finding an alliance to join rather then actual fighting, running and hiding and I don’t think that’s Manu intended when he created it.

By the way how do you like my avatar? Runehawks suck, Mystraven all the way

I personally preferred the head contest before the 'teaming up'. It use to be about u outrunning, outsmarting n outlasting all the other guys for the reward at the end. Won't we be having enough teams when the alliance side of things come into play. I didn't really participate in the last one we had, could never find anyone with the most heads to do battle, so really didn't stand a chance. My opionion only

[dst]

except from the MP5 players that Venger and you mentioned ... how many were online ?

do I have to mention that there are a lot of them offline for more then a month now due to maxed exp?

don't worry, maybe I'll get bored myself (neah, not very soon) and i'll get offline for the next contest so that you can gather a team and win ( i'll help anyone but you :) )

Don't worry, i cannot win now, nor my adepts, I still have friends in the game that would like to win, but the most funny part would be that the contest would take like 3-4 weeks maybe that will ruin the contest even more but who knows, maybe it will force manu to make the counter measures that are required

@Morgana: there are many things that can be improved so that the game & contest could become nice, but I cannot reveal all on the forum as i'm afraid that it will destroy the game (for a long time).

but when they will start working on it ... i'll pm them with necessary modifications

@Aqune (again): please stay short and to the point

[dst]

I personally preferred the head contest before the 'teaming up'. It use to be about u outrunning, outsmarting n outlasting all the other guys for the reward at the end. Won't we be having enough teams when the alliance side of things come into play. I didn't really participate in the last one we had, could never find anyone with the most heads to do battle, so really didn't stand a chance. My opionion only

I'm sorry Faraday, and to all that wanted to win the last contest.

You must also understand that not everyone that wants to win can spend a lot of time in the game and that "gather & logout" is a better solution the "run" strategy.

As you have all seen, i've played most of the time and others just from time to time. The 5k limit would have been reached faster with "no one" online but he couldn't. (you know, being away, exams and stuff).

So, next time ... let's wait until then

[Faraday]

I'm sorry Faraday, and to all that wanted to win the last contest.

You must also understand that not everyone that wants to win can spend a lot of time in the game and that "gather & logout" is a better solution the "run" strategy.

As you have all seen, i've played most of the time and others just from time to time. The 5k limit would have been reached faster with "no one" online but he couldn't. (you know, being away, exams and stuff).

So, next time ... let's wait until then

I wasn't referring to anyone in specific or targetting anyone, i was just adding my opinion as to how i feel about the contest. I don't keep track of specific players, sometimes if i see someone on line, i will go after them, depends on my ve etc. I usually just cruise round for a while n if i bump into someone with any heads then i will go for them, as others do to me.

And yes i am guilty of logging on n searching, then just waiting somewhere or i forget to log off as i get caught up with something else. As i am now in full time employment again and a family to look after, i no longer have the hours n hours that i could dedicate to this game, which irritates me at times, as i feel like i am missing out on whats happening.

As a result this does impact on my time of making friends on here. I have one person who i am friends with and has been very helpful with advice etc, but we are on opposite side of the world, so when im on he's asleep vice versa. So i suppose that's where i find the 'teaming up' a little bit unfair. This game shouldn't be about how many friends/alliances u have and i hope it remains that way. That's my two cents worth lol

[SoulTear]

except from the MP5 players that Venger and you mentioned ... how many were online ?

do I have to mention that there are a lot of them offline for more then a month now due to maxed exp?

don't worry, maybe I'll get bored myself (neah, not very soon) and i'll get offline for the next contest so that you can gather a team and win ( i'll help anyone but you :) )

Don't worry, i cannot win now, nor my adepts, I still have friends in the game that would like to win, but the most funny part would be that the contest would take like 3-4 weeks maybe that will ruin the contest even more but who knows, maybe it will force manu to make the counter measures that are required

@Aqune (again): please stay short and to the point

Those players mentioned were mainly active near the end, there were also a number of MP5s that were moderately active especially at the beginning. I know since I was constantly roaming around looking for heads and there were a number of players here and there with 30 to 90 heads though I never really kept track of their names. However since most of the heads were out of play few MP5s were able to get enough for a decent score or even to compete with those mentioned which is probably why you didn't notice them (e.g. Faraday, Lulu, Constantine etc.). You only went after players with lots of heads that had already done the grunt work of gathering them (e.g. me) before logging out to once again take them out of play.

I keep my posts as short as I can given that I want to express myself clearly and prove the validity of what I am saying. If you prefer that forum discussions consist of making cryptic comments, conceited assertions and snide remarks then you may want to go to a chat room for that kind of discussion. If on the other hand you have trouble reading large paragraphs and understanding what they say then just say so and I will break it down for you

I am expecting you to answer with yet another barrage of snide remarks or shall we leave it at that

[dst]

Old issue. Finished from my point of view.