Showdown season3 discussions - end of the first season and the start of the second season

[edlllpt]

Showdown looks pretty similar to last season, so let's continue with a familiar series of posts.

This is a post talk about:

* your first impressions - if you do see differences compared to s2, or if it is indeed pretty much the same.
* what were the most memorable quarters you experienced/saw
* how much you're playing - and there's an achievement that is counting your number of wins to help us with that.
* season-ending-pulls and whether or not your efforts were worth it.
* The new prize cards.
* The change in prizes with only hours left
* 18 UTC as showdown's deadline.
* Or any other doubt, issues, goals, desires or concerns related to showdown.

 

[edlllpt]

Answering my own post, I reached 1.723M fans and 204 SD wins - before today's late push I had 1.56M/180 wins and the visible match history was showing a 110-36 record, which I found a good winning %.


my first quarter was a 20-4 win. one of my first defeats was the worst of all time - I kept forcing the pace and not a single jumpshot dropped - 2-15 vs 15-4, for a huge 30-6 loss. 22-0 was the best quarter. I didn't score more than 23. And I think that's the noteworthy stuff.

I preferred when showdown ended around maintenance time instead of this 18 UTC as closing time. Changes in announced prizes introduces a degree of uncertainty that is terrible in view, independently of the change being favorable to us.

Prize pull was 80 Griffin with boost. And legendary Pack had 80 Boogie with no boost

 

[Anatdoc]

Ended at 454.. 1.573 mill fan.
Pulled Ben Simmons(elite player) and drummond(legend pack)
Showdown was interesting.. found it different from last year.. was having difficulty in the lower levels but as I advanced found it easier..
No memorable matches per se.. but like others have experienced lot of close losses and wins.. the last 7-8wins I eked out were all in 1-3 point range..
Gameplay wise definitely layup animations take some getting used to.. but when u time it right the block animations are great..
230 wins this season

 

[betaman411]

Ended at 336 with approx 1.64M fans (exited too quick for exact total). Not too happy about the last minute tier changes for awards but with everyone quitting at Legend status, I was able to get in the Top 400 with a late push. Of course, no ads today so didn't have as much stamina to keep playing SD. As mentioned in another thread, I got 80 George and 80 Giannis from the two packs (no boost). What sucks is I already had an 80 SF in Wiggins whom I really like using.

I felt like this season was the most difficult I've played thus far. Probably due to the lower OVR team but maybe also due to the increased player pool since everyone is playing in the same tourney now - not sure. 80 Harden was definitely a turning point for my team. Best quarter was 23-0. Worst quarter was losing 7-14 or something close and just happened during this last minute run playing on my phone and missing buttons like crazy.

I agree with Anatdoc that some of the block animations are fantastic if you time them right. My favorite is using AD to come from behind on the loop layup (offensive player scoops arm around primary defender to avoid block) and block it off the backboard which starts an immediate fast break if you get the rebound!

I think some credit is due for the gameplay improvements. Very few (single digits, maybe less than 5) crashed quarters this tourney that resulted in a forfeit/expired match. Very little lag as well which makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

 

[edlllpt]

Gameplay wise definitely layup animations take some getting used to.. but when u time it right the block animations are great..

yeah there are a few animations that are giving me trouble as well. specially in the final hours I faced Trae Young often and he was slowly driving inside and I didn't know what I was doing in my attempts to stop the animations.

But generally It was fine. I think I played with ovr advantage more often than not and that helped, I think. However, the percentages of ovr advantages are not as high, so I guess OVR didn't matter as much as it did in a 99ovr vs 100 ovr in s2.

Meanwhile, from new prize cards, there's already a 81ovr Peja'02 in the AH. But 873k/944k is out of my reach

 

[edlllpt]

I think some credit is due for the gameplay improvements. Very few (single digits, maybe less than 5) crashed quarters this tourney that resulted in a forfeit/expired match. Very little lag as well which makes for a much more enjoyable experience.

Regarding the improvements, one thing I'm liking are the lay-up put-backs.
they basically looked like auto play before and now it seems you have more control.
We can't do a putback dunk yet, but it's looking better.

I had no crashes during games which was great, but there was a couple of laggy quarters at some point
I've had crashes while in the SD main screen only - a pair of them I think, while I waited for a match.
But had no problems returning to the game and playing the quarters
I also did let a pair expire but that was my distraction.

The whole game also seems to be initializing quicker which is a *welcome improvement.

 

[Anatdoc]

Yup the game is definitely smoother than the start of season 2.. by a mile..
Dont have much hope abt the offseasons movers promo.. just hoping once the season starts some nice events are there.. really miss the live events which coincided with real matches that were there in season 1..

 

[Commondjapan]

I grinded Showdown for the 250k rep for Harden and stopped once I reached 250k so I could concentrate on his blitz event. I reached Superstar II and received a 77 OVR Morris with fan boost that helped boost my lineup from a 76 OVR to a 77.

Showdown finished in the middle of the night in Japan so I missed all of the maintenance drama. It wouldn't have affected me but it's ridiculous that they made the decision in the final few hours when they received feedback about the Showdown rewards during the Game Changers' previews. But I'm happy for you guys that you got a couple of elites for your efforts.

This was my first Showdown season on the global server. I wasn't sure how I would stack up against global players but I did all right. I was only a 76 OVR so I struggled a bit once I reached Superstar I since most people at that level had a 77-79 OVR lineup but I was mainly focused on rep and didn't really care about fan count.

It was also my first time to play two and a half minute quarters. We played two minute quarters last year on NBALM Asia. I found the extra 30 seconds helped me salvage a few quarters but there were also quarters where things turned pear-shaped because of the extra time.

My best quarter was 27-6. My worst game was where the other guy beat me 21-0. That knocked the stuffing out of me for a while.

Props to the guy who finished second. He was one of the leading Showdown players on Asia last season and has taken his talents to the main game.

 

[Commondjapan]

I also noticed the improved gameplay. Everything feels much smoother. Now I feel like I have a decent chance of grabbing a loose ball or forcing a turnover from a block. I especially liked the improvement to the animation where your player tries to stop the ball from going out of bounds. No more tipping it straight to the opposition. And I get a kick out of that animation where everyone dives on the floor for the loose ball.

I do have a tough time guarding the AI's layup animations, though. That will take some practice.

Not sure if I'll spend a week grinding for 1.5 M fans but I guess it's worth it at this stage with a low OVR lineup. Peja sold for over a million which is the biggest AH sale I've seen to date.

 

[bigballer607]

Everybody is starting this new season at Rookie 1 level, or only those who didnt reach legend?

Damn, if the season is gonna be 1 week long, we should start at Pro 1 level like last year...

 

[edlllpt]

Everybody is starting this new season at Rookie 1 level, or only those who didnt reach legend?

Damn, if the season is gonna be 1 week long, we should start at Pro 1 level like last year...

I guess that's the case for everyone. And yeah, being only one week this is gonna be heavy.

 

[edlllpt]

I do have a tough time guarding the AI's layup animations, though. That will take some practice.

Not sure if I'll spend a week grinding for 1.5 M fans but I guess it's worth it at this stage with a low OVR lineup. Peja sold for over a million which is the biggest AH sale I've seen to date.

you are still using the auto-switch isn't it?
I am, and these animations make me re-think my choice, but whenever I try the manual switch, I'm not stopping the animations either, so I continue to opt for the lazy auto-switch as it seems I have one less thing to focus on, and actually play better overall.

regarding big sales, When I first spotted the new Peja, there was a Howard with a 1.4M bid in my AH - and even 83 Durants, i think I already saw at least one with a 1.6 bid.

besides Peja, in other players introduced with new SD cards I've seen Ewing in the AH, some top line-ups with Allen, but no others yet like the Steve Francis that is advertised in the current prize-pic.

 

[AussieMJ]

I finished at 361 on 1.62m fans and ended up with Kemba and fan boost Giannis.

I woke up at 2 am and just took a look at the forum, if it wan?t for you guys and my weak bladder I would have missed out on the top 500. I ended up grinding for another 2 hours and half a packet of chocolate biscuits.

So thanks for the card and the extra lard.

 

[edlllpt]

So thanks for the card and the extra lard.

Yeah, credit to betaman and G2theMoney. Without their posts I would probably have missed it as well.

Meanwhile, with the change in Showdown bonus, people directing their stamina to the new campaign and the elite prize becoming potentially less valuable , I'm not sure they'll get 500 people reaching legend.

 

[betaman411]

So thanks for the card and the extra lard.

Yeah, credit to betaman and G2theMoney. Without their posts I would probably have missed it as well.

Meanwhile, with the change in Showdown bonus, people directing their stamina to the new campaign and the elite prize becoming potentially less valuable , I'm not sure they'll get 500 people reaching legend.

Thanks for the mention!

I agree on SD. That's why I played as much as possible the last 3 days and basically only managed to get half way to Legend. I'd imagine they might add an offseason mover bonus at some point but who knows if that will be before this tourney ends.

 

[jack_george]

So thanks for the card and the extra lard.

Yeah, credit to betaman and G2theMoney. Without their posts I would probably have missed it as well.

Meanwhile, with the change in Showdown bonus, people directing their stamina to the new campaign and the elite prize becoming potentially less valuable , I'm not sure they'll get 500 people reaching legend.

Thanks for the mention!

I agree on SD. That's why I played as much as possible the last 3 days and basically only managed to get half way to Legend. I'd imagine they might add an offseason mover bonus at some point but who knows if that will be before this tourney ends.

Yes. I've gotten spanked a lot the past 3 days but that rookie bonus made it somewhat even. I also was on pace for legend, now who knows with the change. Maybe they forgot to add the bonus? Maybe if brought to one of their attention they will change it.

 

[jack_george]

Finally reach 79 but can't have 76 Lebron in the lineup or I drop to 78 lol

 

[edlllpt]

I'd imagine they might add an offseason mover bonus at some point but who knows if that will be before this tourney ends.

Maybe they forgot to add the bonus?

Fortunately it didn't take too long. So I guess we can exclude the scenario of a small amount of players reaching legend.

 

[AussieMJ]

The off season rookies made it easy for me to get to 79, I should have more luck this time. Getting to top 500 and Legend is 2 free elites that costs nothing but time, and 1 probably with fan boost. Making 200k to buy them is still not easy

 

[AussieMJ]

Playing for a solid hour and I?ve gone up 16,000 fans

6/24 now after an hour and a half, 2 of those wins were forfeits