Ch.504How They View Ranker Users.

Meanwhile, at the exact moment Icarus was planning to lavishly spend resources on the base’s level 10 upgrade…

In one corner of the gallery, analysis posts about rankers were suddenly popping up.

Of course, since such posts frequently appeared under the pretext of “roasting” whenever users were bored, people didn’t pay much attention at first…

Should we call it good timing?

Until now, there had been so many in-game events and incidents that users couldn’t possibly spare attention for such matters.

But now, with the 4th anniversary event concluded, along with Icarus’s rise to Earth Federation leadership(?) and the elimination of Humanity’s rebel forces…

—

Title: Forget ranker roasting, honestly want to know rankers’ characteristics, agree?

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Nodding toad image.gif]

Yeah, I agree

Comments:

-[lololol]

-[Looks like roasting but I agree]

-[Nothing else to do, might as well do this]

—

Bored users welcomed this unexpected topic as a perfect chance to kill time.

Of course, if other ranker users—the user moderators—had seen this situation, they would have mercilessly deleted it without hesitation.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment when users were rolling with this topic…

The moderators who were also rankers were all busy, coincidentally unable to manage the gallery.

During that brief moment of peace, users’ fun and pleasant moderator roasting… no, ranker evaluation time had arrived.

—

Anyway, the alpha and omega of such rolling topics was, of course, the VS game.

During this time without moderators, users initially tried to conduct VS battles using various rankers, but…

As they attempted to use collective intelligence for VS battles, users realized one problem.

And what was that problem?

—

Title: Damn, doing VS with rankers is too frustrating!

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Tournament bracket image.jpg]

No matter what, that crazy overpowered Raksha just destroys everyone

That damn a**hole, like some martial arts novel drug user

Comments:

-[Well, if we’re just talking about skill, he’s overwhelmingly #1]

-[In terms of pure skill among rankers, it’s Raksha >>>> all other users]

-˪[Not easy]

—

That’s right.

If they were to conduct simple 1-on-1 matches, the result would always be that the 2nd-ranked Raksha’s insane tactical abilities would crush all other rankers.

Of course, people then wanted to determine 2nd and 3rd place rankings, so they struggled to produce those results.

The problem was that at this point, due to each ranker’s “specialty area,” combat results varied dramatically from one extreme to another.

—

Title: Hey, rankers’ specialties are way too different;;

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Image of Antares’ Griffin-class heavy battleships ambushing Mona Lisa’s Anomalocaris carrier fleet.jpg]

And since they’ve all built their fleets according to their specialties, combat results vary wildly depending on the map and situation

Comments:

-[How so?]

-˪[If you reduce the combat map size, mobility-specialized rankers can’t maneuver and die, while ranged DPS or support-specialized rankers get hit and explode before they can function](Author)

-˪[But if you increase the map size, it’s the opposite—tanking or in-fighter type rankers die](Author)

-˪[Can’t you just use a medium-sized map?]

-˪[Then the results change completely depending on the map situation, damn it](Author)

-[I see]

—

So users began collecting information about rankers using collective intelligence and big data, taking advantage of this time when moderators were absent.

Although all ten rankers would later engage in mass blocking and post deletion under the pretext of “unauthorized collection of personal information”…

No one was concerned about such trivial matters at the moment, so users’ strange obsession with rankers accelerated with no brakes.

As a result.

—

-[(Long post) Complete compilation of rankers’ tendencies, characteristics, and specialties](556,119)

—

During that very brief “time when all moderators were absent”…

An incredibly detailed information post(?) about rankers was uploaded.

And the contents of that post were as follows:

—

Title: Complete compilation of rankers’ tendencies, characteristics, and specialties

Author: Anonymous

Content: [Astral Lagrange logo.jpg]

Keep in mind this is just the personal perspective of myself and other users, so it may differ from reality

1. Antares

Specializes in direct confrontation using large ships, primarily heavy battleships

Skill-wise, ranks second after Raksha, on par with pure solo players like Laura or Indefatigable

Appears well-rounded but is more focused on clan command

However, once past a certain level, seems somewhat mediocre when unable to receive help from clan officers

Though Antares appears to be a dictator, in reality, hundreds of officers under him exercise collective intelligence, with Antares serving more as a figurehead

Detailed tendencies and characteristics are as follows:

…(omitted)…

That’s basically it!

2. Raksha

Thoroughly 1:1 in-fighter user

Worst leadership among rankers (personally I think this is unfair, but it’s largely because user clans or alliances led by Raksha have completely failed)

Purely skill-based user, so regardless of personality or leadership, his skill is overwhelmingly #1

And besides skill, other details are:

…(omitted)…

That’s about it?

3. Icarus

#1 in politics (he considers this unfair)

Evaluated as a master of politics after creating a neutral zone where three factions united

The main culprit who ruins users’ ranker VS games

Since all his ships are uniquely strange, he can create extremely diverse strategies and tactics

Produces weird combat methods that mess up predictable results lol

However, when matched with identical ships, his personal skill is probably in the mid-to-lower ranks

Basically achieves high ranking through strategic sabotage by creating variables

And there’s much more:

…(omitted)…

Yeah

4. Arcadia

#2 in politics and master of mobile warfare

Unlike Antares or Raksha, she has a subtle balance between leadership and combat ability

But there’s a rumor that in fleet battles outside of mobile warfare, she becomes worse than average users

One-trick pony in fleet mobile warfare, so in clan battles, she shares command with other officers rather than handling politics

Personality description:

…(omitted)…

Like this

5. Betelgeuse

Honestly the smartest among rankers

Gets criticized unfairly, but the fact that he’s led the problematic Loki Clan until now speaks for itself

Fleet battle skills are at least mid-tier regardless of situation

But his real specialty is leadership, so like Antares, he becomes exponentially stronger as scale increases

1:1 is questionable, yeah

Just consider genuine commander-type users as lower-tier in skills outside their specialty

…(omitted)…

And I’ve explained various characteristics too

6. Laura

Arcadia’s 2nd Division, similar tendency with good mobile warfare skills

Surprisingly, her skill level is second only to Raksha

But zero leadership ability, literally hasn’t changed from her solo player days

She knows this herself, so in large-scale battles, she follows instructions from Arcadia or Justice Clan officers

…(omitted)…

Even found out her three sizes

7. Indefatigable

Lower skill than Laura, but higher in politics and leadership

When she was in the Central Zone, she was ranked #1 in politics instead of Icarus

Even now, she maintains connections with acquaintances from her solo ranker days, working as a mercenary agent affiliated with Humanity

Style-wise, she’s like mobile defense between the front line and rear

Just moderately good at everything, making her one of the most similar rankers to average users

…(omitted)…

Yeah

8. Menaldo

Similar yet different style from Indefatigable

Personally feels like Laura and Indefatigable’s specialties reduced by 10% each and combined

And his personality feels that way too, maybe because he’s ambiguous in both aspects

…(omitted)…

Anyway, the most annoying to face as a regular user

9. König

Political veteran

The rest is ambiguous, not because he’s bad, but because König not only works with his own clan

But also frequently moves around as a negotiator, conversationalist, or consultant for other clans

Lacks data because he rarely conflicts with other rankers

…(omitted)…

Still, I’ve compiled this much, agree?

10. Mona Lisa

Evaluated as a ship one-trick, but her skill level is actually appropriate for a top 10 ranker

Many disagree, but when you actually face her Anomalocaris-led large carriers teleporting with Rafflesia II-class and ruining your day

You’ll seriously want to throw your command console

But she’s evaluated as less skilled than other rankers because

Her fleet composition is too carrier-centered = ranged DPS, unlike other users

Can’t compete against other users once they close in lol

…(omitted)…

This was exhausting to write, bye

Comments:

-[How did you even find out three sizes]

-[This seems to cross into the realm of obsession;;]

-[Crazy, the scroll is endless so I came to read comments first]

-[What kind of person are you]

-[Are you a private detective?]

-[Something, something, something]

—

As this excessively detailed yet oddly specific information post unfolded…

Users forgot about their VS game plans and decided to contact the absent moderators to report the user for stalking.