I recently gave FAF another go after about a 7 year break. It turns out its still a fun game, but using my old account is proving a real ball and chain when trying to actually play the game.
The issue is relatively simple. When I re-started my rating was 1651 (apparently 1700 in a lobby) leading to a situation where I was apparently too skilled for the noobs and too poor for the pros. I find that I am either kicked for having too high a rating or disparaged at as a consequence. My rating has since dropped to 1500ish which is better, but still suggests I'm a better player than I am which makes finding a balanced game difficult.
I personally find this quite irritating as I do not want to ruin anyones game by folding like a stack of cards, but the only other option is not to play at all. I also find that there are some pretty passioante players out there (particularly on Setons) who don't enjoy others not meeting their expactations which leaves a bad taste in the mouth of all involved. As such I would suggest that FAF implements something to aid returning players such as:
- A one off abilty to request a rating decrease
- Adding a incremetor to the sigma element of ratings (rating +-) after say 6 months so return players ratings rapidly adjust back to a reasonable level
- A gradual rating avg decay
- An ability to totally reset an old account to a beginner rating
