There has been a lot of debate on stacking lately, and I think that maybe a random only server maybe an option. With a good AFK kicker, random only may at least (if anything) give the sense of fairness to the game. Not ELO based shuffling. And not the Random where you can immediately f4 and join the team you want. Forced Randomizing, every game, may be be the best solution at this point.
I feel the pain of both sides. I play on rookie free servers because I don't want to play with unskilled players. But I also like to com on rookie servers as well to help newer players learn. So I know the sense of impending doom when you look at the roster, and know your best efforts are not going to be enough to carry a team to a win. Its tempting to adopt a "can't beat em, join em" mentality.
The other alternative would have the community police itself when it comes to games (after all its a voteable option on many servers). But who wants to do that most of the time? Most people want to win, and be on the winning side, not spend their playtime coaching a team they know are going to get drilled (not fun). NS2 is a competitive game, and competitive players want to win. I totally get that.
But seeing how only a month after humble bumble this playerbase has tumbled severely: a few hundred during the weekday compared to when it was close to 6000 a few weeks ago (which is a whole other topic in itself). This may be the best way to give newer and midlevel players a sense of fair distribution of talent in the game itself.
I feel the pain of both sides. I play on rookie free servers because I don't want to play with unskilled players. But I also like to com on rookie servers as well to help newer players learn. So I know the sense of impending doom when you look at the roster, and know your best efforts are not going to be enough to carry a team to a win. Its tempting to adopt a "can't beat em, join em" mentality.
The other alternative would have the community police itself when it comes to games (after all its a voteable option on many servers). But who wants to do that most of the time? Most people want to win, and be on the winning side, not spend their playtime coaching a team they know are going to get drilled (not fun). NS2 is a competitive game, and competitive players want to win. I totally get that.
But seeing how only a month after humble bumble this playerbase has tumbled severely: a few hundred during the weekday compared to when it was close to 6000 a few weeks ago (which is a whole other topic in itself). This may be the best way to give newer and midlevel players a sense of fair distribution of talent in the game itself.