 Altador Cup Aspirations: Ranking Up
by parasitequeen
--------
Altador is a place of many, many wonderful things. See some fantastic architecture, browse some long-buried ancient knowledge, sample some fine foods...you simply haven't lived until you've experienced your chef fry up an Altadorian cheese platter for you at your table! The inside of the cheese gets delightfully warm and melted, and don't get me started on the hummus. Mm-mm. Of course, at this time of year, Altadorians only have one thing on their mind...that is, the Altador cup. It's an event centered around competition, honor, glory...and of course, the fantastically rare Petpet known as the Yooyu. And you now have a chance to participate in this incredible tournament of valor and skill! But where do you start? And how do you get the most out of it? Well, grab a handful of pita chips and listen up, friends. Getting Started First thing's first, what team should you pick...? Well, pick your favorite. I'm usually a contender for a place like Shenkuu or the Haunted Woods(so my dear Korbat can feel proud of her homeland), but it's really up to you! Don't let past losses discourage you, because your help can bring them to victory this year! Once you've picked a team, they'll be put up against other teams every day, and the eventual fate of that match will depend on how many points the team's supporters rack up during that day. The team with the most points wins. The way your team(and you) get points is by playing any one of four games...and often, playing them quite a bit. The more you play(the details of which are discussed alter), the more points your team gets, and the more points you get to redeem later! Ranking and Calculation When you start, you'll be at Rank 0, the 'Beginner' rank...and the very top is 'All Star', which is technically the 21st ranking. "How can I possibly get there?" you may be asking? Well, it's a daunting task. I'm not going to lie to you about that. However, it's possible. If you click on your ranking, it'll show you how! More specifically, it shows you how many plays of each game it would take to raise your ranking, if you were to only play that game. I typically prefer to play each game to add some variety, but if you want to play only Yooyuball, it would be possible. Whatever you choose, you'd best get ready to flex those fingers. See, there is a minimum score(or condition) in each of the four games that you have to get in order for your play to count towards your team or rank, and a maximum number of 'counted' games you can play per day. Just like any other game, you could keep playing them for practice afterwards, but it wouldn't count towards a score.
Yooyuball 'Win' Condition: Win or achieve a draw in the match Max Per Day: 46 plays To All-Star: 734 for wins, 2,200 for draws Of course, the main attraction for this tourney is Yooyuball. This is the game that nets you the most points towards your team and towards your ranking. It pays to learn the ins and outs of this game, trust me. You have 3 minutes to score as many goals as possible by (lightly!) tossing the Yooyu into the opponent's goal. Your job is to guide a chosen player around the field. They'll automatically pick up the Yooyu(or any other nice things that are on the ground), they just need you to get them where they need to go. Of course, you've also got to avoid the opposing team, protect your own goal, and adjust to the many...quirks, shall we say, of various Yooyus. Unpainted Yooyu will go in the direction you toss them, no problems or questions. Snow Yooyu and Fire Yooyu will do the same, but their thermal properties will affect your speed. For a Snow Yooyu, you need to pass more, because your player's speeds will be affected and it'll be harder to cross longer distances. You'll also have to be closer to the goal and really charge up the throw before you make the shot. Clockwork Yooyu are slow...probably heavy little guys. You don't really need to worry about that part, since they explode after a timer of anywhere from 7 to 10 seconds. You...really just have to be quick with these guys, and use a lot of power behind the throw. If you can't get them into the goal, just keep them away from your opponent. That round will be over pretty soon. Faerie Yooyu, owing to their light frames and pretty wings, tend to curve slightly in the direction your player is facing. Left, they curve to the left, and vice versa. This is a very slight curve, though, so don't try to get too far on the side of the goal. Aim for the very middle. Darigan Yooyu are mischievous little devils. They'll go basically wherever they please when thrown, and there's not much you can do to stop them! Your best bet is to stick as close to the goal as possible, and remember that it misbehaves as much for the opposing team as it does for you...you can actually end up getting your opponents to score a goal for you on accident! Finally, the Mutant Yooyu. This little guy is a chaotic mess, and really wants to be just like the other Yooyu...so much so that it emulates the behavior of one of the others at random every time it's thrown! Your best bet...I'd say, stay close to the little devil. You can sometimes get it to shoot straight if you shoot hard enough, but keep close so you can keep trying. The same thing applies to the Darigan, though. If it mimics Darigan behavior, your opponents could score you a goal by throwing the Yooyu backwards!
Make Some Noise 'Win' Condition: 2,700+ points Max Per Day: 401 plays To All-Star: 8,800 plays One of the two lowest-scoring games, along with Shootout Showdown, presumably because of how simple it is to control. I'm not the most fond of this one, really, but it's fairly simple. Your score is tied to your volume meter. You need to hit the two keys indicated as accurately and rapidly as you can to get more points, and you want that needle to go into the red. Crank it up to 11! If you'd like to save time, you can hit the space bar as soon as you've hit maybe 2,900 points, so that the pause to press the space bar doesn't affect your score as much. Bonus buttons(any other button on the keyboard that isn't one of your two chosen buttons) can earn you quite a few points(I've heard up to 500!) so you'll want to hit those. This one...this one is not fun for your poor hands, and unfortunately one's pet Peophin is terrible at giving a relaxing hand massage, so if you're going to pick this one, take breaks. Please.
Slushie Slinger 'Win' Condition: 270+ points Max Per Day: 86 plays To All-Star: 1,467 plays This is one of my favorites. Slushie Slinger seems quite heavily based on old arcade games, though instead of root beer, you're dealing slushies. And those pets clamoring for them should really pace themselves. Chugging a slushie is the quickest way to a nasty brainfreeze. Oof, my head hurts just thinking about it... You need to make the slushie(Zeenana, Jumbleberry or Chokato), send it sliding down the counter to the customers and then collect the cup as it comes sliding back. Note that you have to be facing the empty cup to grab it, but as long as you're facing it and standing at the same counter, you can be holding a slushie and collecting a cup at the same time. One thing I've noticed playing it(and presumably others have as well) is that the perspective here has an effect. You notice how the top corner looks slightly shorter? It is...this has benefits and drawbacks, of course, as it allows angry customers to swarm you much quicker, but it does mean that slushie cups will reach the end of the top counter much faster. If you've got several cups coming at you from all three counters, they're going to reach the end of the top first. What's easiest for me is, as customers start getting faster, to start giving them whichever slushie I'm closest to. The slight point decrease is worth far more than a lost life, trust me. While it may also be tempting to try and serve the closest customers first, you do end up losing a few seconds of precious time running back and forth, so in some cases it seems far more efficient to simply stand at a single counter and sling slushies for every customer in that row, then move. Don't get overzealous, though. If you sling one of those slushies down a counter and it doesn't get grabbed, that's a lost life as well! Shootout Showdown 'Win' Condition: 35+ points/1+ goals Max Per Day: 401 plays To All-Star: 8,800 plays Ahh, I remember back when we only had three games! You kids today and your four Altador Cup games! Well, either way, it does add more variety. It plays a bit like the Lost City Lanes, but your main obstacle here is the 'Practice Team' Chia, Wartroot. He moves from left to right to try and intercept your ball, but your main goal is to try and get 5 goals in under a minute. Shooting down the center is the least accurate. The Chia's no fool, he's expecting that, and he technically will be spending the most time in there because he moves from left to right. Your best bet is to aim for a corner and make the shot as quickly as you can. What's interesting is that you can, with a bit of timing, fake the Chia out. If you move the ball back and forth a few times, he'll follow you, and if you're quick about it, you can shoot the ball into the corner of the goal when he's on the opposite side. This is risky, though. This is probably the most simple of the games, which is why it shares the same requirements as Make Some Noise. It doesn't come with the same sort of hand-aches, however!
Common Tips -For Slushie Slinger, Make Some Noise and Shootout Showdown, you can end the game as soon as you get the minimum score so you can submit scores much faster(and therefore score points for you team and your own ranking much faster). -You can't lower your team's score or rank, so if you're only able to score the minimum, submit it anyway. It's far better to submit a lower score than to not submit any at all. Final Thoughts -Remember, though this is well-publicized, this is just a game! Or, rather, a series of games. There is no reason to get hostile with anyone if they root for a different team. -Just like the athletes, remember that you yourself will need a break every now and then. Go for a nice walk, get a cool drink, have a healthy meal and maybe put your feet up for a bit. No sense in exhausting yourself! -Don't be discouraged if you're not as good at some of the games. Personally I'm not the best at 'Make Some Noise'. There are four games for a reason, so everyone has a chance! Find the game that works for you. -Above all? Have some fun!
| 
