Altador cup max out games

Looking at SK's Altador Cup history is depressing reading. They started out with so much promise, but after losing the championship match in the AC4 they started a downwards spiral that at some points was very dramatic. This reached the all time low of 16th in the AC7, and things looked very dire indeed. But last year, there was a ray of hope. Shenkuu finished 12th, tying with the Lost Desert we talked about yesterday.

Finally, for the first time in 4 years, Shenkuu managed to gain places rather than lose them. But will this be a trend that continues? Well, as with the Lost Desert, it will be difficult for Shenkuu to rise any higher for the time being. There is a large drop off of power in the bottom tiers, and although Shenkuu is at the top of that drop off, it is a long way to the next group of teams. Shenkuu will struggle, but at least they have begun the journey. They are an outside bet for ASG help, but not altogether unlikely.

Team size might mitigate their power to a high tier team, just missing out on the podium, however. Either way, the future may not hold gold for Shenkuu immediately - but it is still brighter than it has been in a long time.

A finish of 12th is hardly something to shout about from last year. What could this year hold? Given that in the first year of the brackets LD finished 5th, it was a dramatic fall. Whilst the bracket draw might be partly to blame, it isn't all the story - the desert had a fairly mediocre draw, avoiding the 'hard' brackets on several occasions.

So why the fall? Well, freeloaders might be part of the problem. A lot of people last year were featuring the Lost Desert in their pre-AC chatter. Of course, none of us predicted the utter chaos that the ASGs caused, but a fair few people may have joined LD ahead of time based on predictions. What of this year, then? Well, the Lost Desert will need the luck of the draw.

Without an ASG, the Lost Desert can at least take heart that a drop in the standings would also be unlikely. They are far and a way the highest scorers of the lower tiers, meaning another 12th position finish is likely the worst they can expect. Will this year be any different? KD had long suffered under the round robin system due to finals, where they tended to fall apart. Brackets removed that, and Kreludor capitalised on it, taking gold, albeit with SOTAC assistance, in the first year the brackets were introduced.

Last year, of course, they suffered the winner's curse - there's simply no avoiding it. Interesting, they fell to 7th, the same position the Haunted Woods, Darigan Citadel, and Krawk Island got the year after they won.

Of the winning teams, Krawk Island is the only one to bounce back after only one year. Can Kreludor do the same? Well, I'd say yes under normal circumstances. The Kreludor team are loyal and play hard. But with brackets and the current glut of ASG influenced positions, it is hard to see a place on the podium for the Kreludor team. Their main competition will of course be Krawk Island in that regard. But Kreludor have an advantage there - they have already proven that the brackets are their format.

A top two tiers finish is not only possible, it is something that should be expected. Let's follow that up by talking about the other podium team that fell short of winning that year - Meridell. It was that group that took Tyrannia to victory last year. But the thing with Meridell is that, despite having the same power applied, they didn't get the same result. Well, the obvious answer is that Meridell is a much larger team than Tyrannia, meaning the efforts of the ASG were mitigated slightly.

Either way, lots of people quietly wrote off Meridell to a fall last year. And then the standings came out. Meridell got 6th position - nothing to sniff at by any stretch of the imagination, and certainly not a dramatic fall.

Again though, the brackets paint a deceiving picture. They had a relatively easy showing in their bracket picks. Their raw scores were not as impressive, that's for sure. This year? I'd expect a small fall in the standings for Meridell. It seems unlikely they'll attract ASG attention due to the previous failings of that strategy, so if Meridell do rise, it is likely to be under their own power.

May 24, , am NST - Mystery Island has been having a bad time of it lately, but can they improve in this coming season? They finished in 15th last year. Hardly surprising in that they finished 14th during AC5 and AC6. That's the interesting part about MI's downfall last year.

They finished up in roughly the same position they had been in before the ASG joined, as if the ASG itself didn't have much impact on the base team's play. That, at least, is something to be proud of. The Mystery Islanders are loyaler than most. Obviously, the upcoming changes to max scores and potential other changes to the Cup may alter things. It's hard to say at this point without knowing firstly what the new caps are, and secondly how much of an effect they will have on powerhouses as that would level the playing field slightly for teams like MI.

At this stage, there is simply too much unknown. Given the tried and tested jump MI can get with an ASG, it makes them an obvious choice for another go, perhaps from Stealth since they have a prior association.

There isn't much between the teams at the lower end of the standings, so with a bad bracket draw MI could easily find themselves falling a couple of places. Same position, but slightly different stories. Where HW was on the rise, MQ by contrast has fallen since the brackets were introduced. They peaked in 4th during the AC6, after a steady rise. And it is no surprise that MQ were a team that suffered under the new system.

Maraqua have always played a very tactical game, which suited the round robin system perfectly. But the brackets add a sense of randomisation and chance into the contest which scuppers the team's chances almost entirely. There's a certain sense of irony in the fact that a system set up to allow new teams a shot at the Cup has effectively excluded one of the most likely teams to upset the balance, but there you go.

MQ may pick themselves up this year, they did have reasonably bad luck in the draw last year which may have been a contributing factor. But until there are some significant changes to the system, it is hard to see how Maraqua can return to its former glory.

The Cup is due to start on June 2nd, however the rules page has a group of dates only partially updated for this year. However, assuming the rules page is current For those who remember last year and the year before , the bracket system appears to be returning in exactly the same format.

Woo :. Those signing up for the ninth cup in a row will get a new item when signing up: Altador Cup Bunting Other sign up bonuses from previous years remain the same.

New caps on the number of times you can submit your scores have been instituted for this year's tournament. Everyone will still be able to strive to achieve their desired rankings and do the utmost to benefit their teams, only now they'll be able to do so without feeling like they have to spend all day playing. So, if you max out: take a deep breath, feel a sense of satisfaction, and maybe go for a walk around the block or make a tasty sandwich?

This potentially means there will be new caps on scores sent this year - the situation is unclear at the moment. May 22, , pm NST - With Altador Cup signups set to begin in a little over an hour, we have evidence of the NC accompaniment that will happen alongside regular game play. The Hidden Altador page has been posted and whatever takes place will be starting on June 1st! It appears there may be some sort of searching involved in this event as well.

May 22, , am NST - We've spent a lot of time talking about the bad side of the brackets and the teams they punish and boy are there a lot. But today let's focus on a team that, so far at least, the brackets have been kind to - the Haunted Woods. Team HW have had a lackluster career in the Cup since winning in the first outing, reaching an all time low in the AC5 of 12th.

Since then though, the team has been on the rise, and the last two years of the bracket system they have managed the exact same placing of 9th. Last year especially, the bracket placing allowed the Haunted Woods to avoid the big teams a lot of the time, giving them a boost in the standings. Certainly, through scores alone, HW was nothing to write home about.

It's doubtful this lucky streak can last, so a drop in the standings seems likely this year. Even if the team's luck holds though, there's a problem that might prevent them from getting any higher regardless.

Although the jump from 9th to 8th is only one position, it is a lot of raw points. Last year, it was 8 points to the nearest team - a difficult score to make up for a mid-range team. But otherwise it looks to be a year of the same position, or worse. Krawk Island is still technically the strongest team in the Cup, narrowly missing out on being the first repeat winners to a Stealth powered Virtupets in the AC6. Last year they finished 4th on points, of course, the bracket system doesn't allow for the traditional finals playoff.

And here's the thing. The brackets punished Krawk Island last year, they really did. There wasn't a single bracket where they weren't placed with at least one ASG powered team. In round 4, they were put up against all three. And yet, despite this, they only finished 7 points behind Roo Island.

That's how close it really was. To illustrate it, if Krawk Island had been placed in the Minitheus bracket during round 4 last year, instead of the Vaeolus bracket, they would have taken 3rd place. Krawk Island's strength last year has been overlooked by many. If it returns this year, and if they get a better selection of brackets, Krawk Island may well have a solid chance at pushing an ASG off the podium.

And that, in the Cup we now find ourselves in, would really be a glittering achievement. It's unlikely Krawk Island can take the Cup this year, but a medal is a very real possibility that the pirates should be focusing on. May 20, , am NST - Stepping outside of the smaller and lower ranked teams for a bit, what of the powerhouses? The Darigan Citadel is a historical powerhouse in the Cup, coming the closest to a repeat win under their own steam and remaining in the top two tiers for their entire AC career.

Obviously, with so many ASGs now cornering the market, it is hard for such traditional powerhouses as DC to compete. The sheer size of DC means that it is hard to change tactics to any great effect, but they can only play their best and hope that somehow, ASGs slip up. The size of the Darigan Citadel has always made them a slightly silly choice for an ASG some estimate that nearly a quarter of all AC players are Darigan, easily the largest team in the Cup , meaning that the effects of any joining them may be mitigated.

But perhaps we'll wait and see on that front. The problem with DC is the same one it always has been though. When it becomes clear that success is unlikely, the Darigan team falls apart, and all hope is lost. With such a situation as the Cup is currently in, there is little hope to start with. It is a question as to whether DC will be bringing their best game to the Cup, and if they aren't, they certainly aren't going to best their rivals. May 19, , am NST - We glossed over this while discussing cheaters in other teams on previous days.

But the time has come - we need to talk about Terror Mountain. Terror Mountain finished 7th last year. Not a bad showing for a team that was once ranked 15th, but also not a position you'd expect a team with cheaters helping to finish in.

And that's true, but when you delve into the scores Terror Mountain was posting last year, you get a different picture. The Cup began last year with Terror Mountain posting fairly typical and expected scores in the first bracket.

But then the second bracket kicked off, and things changed. Half way through the second bracket, Terror Mountain's scores jumped pretty much overnight, almost doubling in some cases. Alone, of course, this isn't unusual.

Many teams began focusing on one game to force up that score for a single day, at the cost of the other three games. But that didn't happen with Terror Mountain - the other scores did not decrease, and the increase lasted for the remainder of the Cup, posting a high score of 14 in the third bracket.

When you consider the highest score of Terror Mountain's first bracket showing was 6, you can see something is amiss.

Of course, the rise came too late. Showing the scores last year highlighted another flaw of the bracket system because you can never have enough, it seems.

Results from previous brackets directly determine standings in the current bracket. This effectively means that teams that have a bad start to the year have no hope of performing well in the standings, no matter how well they start scoring. Obviously, the vast majority of the Terror Mountain team isn't to blame for this impossible rise, but it is interesting.

This leads to an interesting possibility. Unlike other groups, this one might be sticking to the team, and if that's the case, Terror Mountain might be a fifth contender for the Cup this year.

Could the new year bring a changed team? Well, first, let's make something clear. Virtupets won during the AC6 because they had the backing of Stealth, one of the major All Star Groups in its first outing. This may seem like a trivial fact, but keep in mind what happened last year. SOTAC returned to the team where they started, and ended up in a podium position.

Could Stealth this year be tempted to return to the team where they started, and if they did, would they see similar results? Well, certainly, any team that gets an ASG will be top tier. No doubt about that. But enough to win the Cup? Perhaps not.

Last year proved that legitimate ASGs cannot truly compete with cheaters, but more than that, Virtupets is not in the same position it once was. Before gaining the main bulk of Stealth support, Virtupets was already in their ascendancy, charting a steady rise over three years. The reverse is now true, however.

The winner's curse took them down to 13th, and last year they fell further to 16th. The base Virtupets team is not the same one that Stealth joined, and that may alter their prospects. Without an ASG, Virtupets will struggle to regain mid-range standings unless of course the brackets are in their favor.

But I would be surprised if, either way, we did not see at least some rise from the team this year. May 17, , pm NST - Brightvale is a team that has flown under the radar for a number of years now.

What will this season hold? Brightvale has charted a steady recovery from their low of 16th in the AC3, though they still haven't equaled their initial showing of 8th. Last year's final position of 11th was the second time in a row a position, incidentally, that Tyrannia held for a long time. It seems like an unlikely target for ASGs, but perhaps just that is enough to make it more likely , as ASGs can second guess those who try and figure out their movements.

It is a team roughly the same size as Tyrannia, occupying a similar spot in the standings. Seems like a perfect fit, right? Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not. You see, Brightvale isn't really in the same position that Tyrannia once was. The brackets are a tricky system that can paint a different view of a team compared to the old round robin format.

Brightvale did get 11th last year, but this was largely as a result of being placed in the 'easy' i. This perhaps has inflated the team's standing, and if they don't get ASG backing, may lead to what on the surface may seem like an unexpected drop in the coming season.

That said, Brightvale may get a decent pick of brackets again. And if that's the case, there's no reason why they can't improve on last year's showing.

May 16, , am NST - Amongst the low ranked teams, Moltara is certainly statistically the worst. Though a reputation is hard to shift - to many, Faerieland is still the worst team, despite leaving that title behind a long time ago.

Faerieland has remained down at the bottom of the standings since the creation of the Cup, never rising above 15th. Although certainly not the worst team in the Cup any longer, they are perhaps the most consistently bad team. It has long been a mystery exactly why, given that the only statements TNT made about the original AC suggested that Faerieland was in fact a favourite. It has been suggested that whilst people do join Faerieland, they do not then actively play for the team.

I know, I know, the old argument that freeloaders don't alter standings. But that depends on what you class as a freeloader. In a system with averages, people playing less but not zero games must hurt that average compared with people sending lots of scores. And that poses a problem to Faerieland in terms of ASGs.

They capitalise on small teams, and while there is no doubt that an ASG could lift Faerieland up, the relative size of the team compared to others lower down the standings may lessen the rise. This, and the perception that playing as Faerieland might be a bit Without such a boost, it looks to be another year of the same old stuff for Faerieland. A finishing of above 15th would be a real goal to aim for, but of course the bracket system puts much of this up to chance.

Given that Faerieland typically occupies an initial bracket with an ASG-influenced team due to the previous year's standings, they certainly are facing an uphill battle. So which are the smallest teams? Well, Moltara seems a likely candidate. Having only been a participant in the Cup since the AC5, Moltara hasn't had as much time to form a large fanbase as many other teams. Their scores reflect this, quickly usurping Faerieland's position as the worst team ever, racking up loss after loss after loss.

Moltara have finished dead last three of the four years since they arrived, and it can't get much worse than that. No doubt an ASG could give Moltara a boost up to the top leagues if not the podium itself. The bracket system punishes Moltara more than any other team. An animation accompanies the introduction of each Yooyu to the field, also, but this can aslo be skipped using the space bar. For the first four years, the Altador Cup Tournament consisted of sixteen teams representing the lands of Neopia.

Following the introduction of Shenkuu , one team sat out each year to keep the numbers even, until the discovery of Moltara allowed a full roster of eighteen teams to play in Altador Cup V. Users could only support one team in a season, and could only switch between teams in the first season Altador Cup I , between rounds. The first team to cancel participation was Kreludor for Altador Cup II - in a statement by Derlyn Fonnet , this was due to a malfunctioning gravity generator leading to reduced "muscle and bone" density.

The following year they returned to the competition, but Kiko Lake could not participate due to travel issues. Brightvale was unable to participate in Altador Cup IV as King Hagan thought it would make the country harder to govern. An additional team is available each year as the practice team, from Jelly World.

While the members of the team are unknown, it's known the Goalkeeper is a Jelly Kougra and the forwards a Jelly Kau and Usul. Nowadays, all the players are Jelly Chias.

Added in the games, Slushie Slinger is an game users could play for lower points besides playing Yooyuball. Depending on what team the user joined, the Slushie Concession Stand would be the team's official slushie stand.

Players would lose a life every time an empty slushie bottle falls to the floor or the customers reach the end of the counter. A further alternative to normal game play, this game featured recurring character the Techo Fanatic.

Added in the games, Make Some Noise is an game users could play for lower points besides playing Yooyuball. Assuming the role of the Techo Fanatic , users must cheer as loud as they can by tapping two randomly chosen keys together, raising the sound meter, for as long as they can in 30 seconds, then though this is not necessary pressing the spacebar before the time runs out.

Depending on what team the user joined, the Techo Fanatic would be seen wearing that teams shirt, and cheering for them. Shootout Showdown is a game added as apart of the games. The player takes control of a Yooyuball player and tries to score goals against the opponent's Keeper.

The aim is for the player to score 5 goals as quickly as possible, within 60 seconds, without missing or letting the Keeper save their shots. They did this in , and again in In to , they did it annually.

Neopets Wiki Explore. The stakes are higher than ever to make sure your team performs well throughout the next few rounds. Each bracket will be worth different amounts, so winning the top bracket will earn more bracket points than the top spot in the second bracket, which will earn more than the last.

Game on, Neopians! This is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic Altador Cups yet! Those of you wanting to read between the lines - the lowered scores are due to cheating on those teams. The other interesting part is that the final bracket this year will be a finals bracket in the style of old!

Although it will still be points that determine the final standings. The second week of this year's NC element to the Altador Cup, the Insider Experience is yet to begin, but the image for the next area has already been uploaded: This image features a lot of reused art assets for trophies - but you'll notice in the trophy cabinet there is one we have yet to see. Have TNT accidentally leaked this year's gold trophy? Or is it just unused art? Let us know what you think in comments!

Update: The staff competition is now live. You can fill in your first week's guesses. Looks like there'll be a mix of old and new players this year. The staff tournament should be launching later today, and you'll be able to make your first guesses then. The Altador Cup is now live! You can now play the 4 games for prize points, and to help your chosen team. Unlike last year, TNT have updated the schedule so you'll be playing different teams each day compared to last year - also a reminder that game caps have been reduced this year.

We'll update you once it becomes clear what those caps are exactly. In other news, the Insider Experience NC portion of the Cup is now live, with the first area, a Garden Party, available to those who purchase a pass. If you've been waiting for the Altador Cup countdown to end You can now sign up for your team.

NOTE: Sign ups are currently showing the wrong item bonus for some people, but the correct item is awarded in your inventory.