Co-op leaderboards have been under work for a long time, but we know very little how they will work. In my opinion they have a potential but also their share of problems.
I see the main difficulty in making them interesting for players of all skill levels. If rewards are tied to reaching the top of leaderboards, then majority of playerbase won't achieve that, and there is very little reason for them to care about leaderboards. The interest in leaderboards would go down with time except for a few players competing for top spots.
weekly mission focus
I think there are two things that could make leaderboards interesting for a wider audience. First, there could be rewards for set challenges—for example finish a certain mission under 12/14/16/18 minutes. These timings are just an example, leaderboards will likely use points combining various performance metrics and difficulty settings.
Each of these challenges would provide in-game experience similarly to weekly mutations. The goal is to engage players in leaderboard ranking. Once players try to complete those challenges, they can compare their own score with that of the top records. And while they are at it, they can look at mastery allocation and replays to improve their own game.
The second part is to focus on one map at the time, changing it weekly and resetting its leaderboard. This would bring a new challenge each week—letting community to focus on sharing tips and learning maps one by one.
Concept – User interface of Co-op leaderboards
Combined leaderboard
Apart from weekly leaderboards there would be a leaderboard that aggregates and combines scores from each map including weekly leaderboards. Resets would happen only after big gameplay patches and for specific commanders. This combined leaderboard is likely what has been in development. It should contain both combined ranks and records for individual maps—letting more dedicated players track their progress.
Other notes
- Placing in top X% in either leaderboard could be rewarded with a special portrait or banner. However, at least some reward should be achievable for majority of players each week.
- Support for solo play and leaderboards would be nice, but I don't think it's likely to happen.
- Limiting valid records to arranged teams could potentially reduce toxicity.
- The calculated score for missions should be fair and transparent—making it clear what can be improved.
- Should there be set challenges for only certain commanders? It would add more variety. But since many commanders have to be purchased, it might not work as well.
What are your thoughts on leaderboards, and how would you make them work?
