I'd like to bury the hatchet on this discussion in as concise of a manner as possible.
A few things to take note before we get into the state of AFA/post-AFA as we see it now:
1. The Academy was meant as an event, a one day occurrence, which means that AFA as a concept and as a physical entity has a shelf life. Post AFA, the server, wherever it may be located, is to revert to a conventional PUG server.
2. Remember what a PUG server is meant for. It’s a Pick-Up Game server. This idea entails that random players, anyone, can join a game, get picked, and play in an otherwise unscripted 6v6 scenario.
I’ll put aside the issues with management, which for reasons ranging from lack of time due to personal commitments to disillusionment, and call a spade for what it is. The core of the problem is, and has always been in the past, attributed to a few bad apples. Imbalanced picks, senseless stomps and laments of lack of mentorship have contributed to the situation we have now. Taking decisive action on these players feels like the natural enforcement role of Admins, but as we all know, the Admins can’t be around all the time. The lack of a governing rule set in determining what is right and what shouldn’t be allowed goes back to lack of decisive action from the management crew, and in that absence, I’ve had to step in to perform litmus tests on restrictions.
Sandvich Fort was created partly to move on from AFA, simply because AFA has run its course, and players, whether they are ready or not, have to face reality and embrace pugging for what it is – rolling with random teammates who may or may not be good. The move to ban Division 1 players from playing in Sandvich Fort is a reflection of majority sentiment, one which I loath, but one I begrudgingly catered to, if only to serve to prove a point. Or rather, points. And the points are simply this:
1. The calls from some of you to ban competitive players, or in particular, Division 1 players, are misguided, simply because it is due to the efforts of Div 1 players that many had the opportunity to receive mentorship in the first place. To state that competitive players are contributing to the problem is akin to painting the entire crowd with the same tainted brush, and it serves to undermine the work that has been put in by those who did help, during and after AFA.
2. You do not deserve mentorship anymore than you deserve to ask for competitive players to be filtered out. Remember that most top tier competitive players earned their stripes through trial by fire – they did not have the luxury of having an Academy to coach them along as they found their way to better teams, so complaints about lack of mentorship is an entitled request one should be ashamed of. The general lack of appreciate despite the mentorship of a few is frankly shocking.
3. Competitive gameplay by nature weeds out the weak, you’re just going to have to accept that. It is a tough environment to break into – there is a reason why the top tier teams remain as the top, and skill levels between Division 1 and 2 teams remain distinct. In other words, consider what it is that you’re committing yourself to, and remember, it weeds out the weak, so in essence, don’t be weak, and stay above the curve.
There’s not been much to consider in the case of Sandvich Fort in terms of how we are going to manage this situation. The solution is clear – live up to the pugging spirit. This means, it’s a true free for all. Stomping and unfair picks can and will happen, but that doesn’t mean the acts of a rotten few has to put you off pugging altogether.
Stronger administration against malicious players will help to ensure harmony during picks and play, and while we cannot and should not expect the Admins to do everything for players, suffice to say, we’ll all be around to help turn the tide. There’s no one perfect system to administer this, but if we all take responsibility to work as a collective, the community can eventually move out of its comfort zone of easy, similarly-skilled environments to migrating to what the AFA set out to achieve in the first place: introduce players to pugging, and elevate their game to a competitive level. How you reach that level is entirely upon your own inititiave.
TL:DR Read the damn thing, it’s worth it.
