REPUTATION SYSTEM BETA: STATUS UPDATE
In Y9S1 and beyond, we'll continue to update the Reputation System Beta to ensure its accuracy before any Standing Impacts go live.
This season, we've made several changes to the Reputation System. In this article, we'll share more on what these changes mean and how we plan to continue improving this system.
Y9S1 - POST LAUNCH LEARNING
Following the Y9S1 release, it became clear that certain aspects of the Reputation System were not working as intended. Our teams gathered and analyzed player feedback while completing internal investigations, leading us to identify issues affecting the player experience.
COMMUNICATION PENALTIES - VOICE & WRITTEN
We found that players were receiving communication penalties at a higher rate than expected. In response to this, a decision was made to disable the voice chat and written chat penalties. These communication penalties will remain disabled until we can implement further levers to ensure that all penalties given are fair, while also providing players a clear path to improvement.
On consoles, we were made aware of another issue which led to increased voice chat reports being visible in the Reputation Center. We also found that in some cases, misconduct such as Griefing or Voice Abuse was incorrectly labeled as "Excessive" in the Reputation Centre. A fix was released addressing these on March 21st.
COMMENDATION EFFECTS
After season launch, we became aware of an issue affecting the speed at which Commendations would be reflected in a player's Standing, resulting in lower Standings for many players. Commendations are now affecting Standings promptly and correctly.
Y9S1 - REPUTATION SYSTEM UPDATE
STANDING DEFINITIONS & BALANCING UPDATE
With the launch of Y9S1, we implemented our latest balancing update for the Reputation System. Here we used the built-in weights and levers to better define the attainment of each Standing, aligning more closely with our intentions. The five bracket Standings were also redefined to provide more meaning to each of them.
The aim behind system balancing is to ensure that your Standing mirrors your actions. Right now, many players will find themselves in the Respectable bracket. Being in Respectable is a great place to be and should be the aim; it means you're the core of the Siege community, you're not detracting from others' experiences, and you're playing with care, making Siege enjoyable for players around you. Some players with consistent positive behavior might also enter the Esteemed and Exemplary brackets, but maintaining these can be more challenging.
Looking at the two lower brackets, falling into Disruptive doesn't necessarily mean your behavior is always negative, but it does indicate that you're not playing to the Siege ideals overall. With some effort, the Respectable Standing can be achieved. However, if a player finds themselves in Dishonorable, it means there are clear negative trends. In these cases, players need to adjust their behavior and remain consistent to improve their Standing and experience for the community's benefit.
WHAT'S NEXT?
MORE LEVERS, MORE CONFIDENCE
We've learned a lot since the Reputation System entered, in Y8S4, in its grace period and we're continuing to integrate those learnings to ensure that the Reputation System is fair, resilient, and understandable for all players.
We are currently making progress in incorporating protections that make a player's Standing more robust, going beyond reacting to player reports, and instead using additional factors. These improvements are directly driven by the feedback you have shared with us.
Our work continues so that we can develop further levers that will enable us to reactivate the communication penalties. We want to ensure that our system applies penalties only where necessary, and that players have a full understanding and trust in the Reputation System.
STANDING IMPACTS & RELEASE STATUS
Thanks to your feedback, it's became clear that large changes are needed in order for the Reputation System to meet the requirements that we've set. With this in mind, Impacts based on your Standing will be no longer be introduced in Y9S2 and will instead come in a later season. Consequently, as the Reputation System will not see its full release in the coming season, it will remain in Beta for now.
We'll be sharing more information soon on when you can expect to see Impacts and the full release of the Reputation System. The deployment of Impacts will also be announced ahead of time so that players can be prepared. Once this feature does go live, we'll be monitoring the system closely and listening to your feedback on the update.
CONCLUSION
The Reputation System will continue to retain its Beta status, reflecting its current form as we continue to make improvements and collect further feedback. Our priority will be to ensure that everyone is confident in the state of the Reputation System as we focus on reducing toxicity and making Siege a fun and enjoyable game for everyone.
We aim to continue to provide transparency and responsiveness around this system, and as we move forward, we want to keep hearing about your experiences. We're always listening as we work to provide a safe community.