This thread was originally a reply to genbor's post on my other thread: http://pokemon-universe.com/index.php/topic,4278.15.html However, it became so long that i decided to create a new one.

The following is based on the thought process of 'How will Arena PvP work in Pokemon Universe?'
When a Player decides to enter the Arena, and then gets paired up with another player, what Exactly governs who he gets paired up. Under what system does the coding in the game follow so you get set up with the right person, first time, every time.
This is my conclusion:


There are a few ways in which the PvP Arena system could categorize and match up other players.
I will list them:

1)
A very Halo 3 system could be used to group players. Every player is given a PvP in-game Rank from 1-50 (for example) and if a player has never battled before, then they will be given the rank: 1. So that player will be paired up with another player with the rank of 1. whoever wins the battle will go up a rank, and whoever loses will not go up. Eventually peoples ranks with rise and drop until they reach a rank that fits their skillset/pokemon levels accordingly. However, the higher the rank you are, the more battles won in a row it will take until you level up, and the less losses in a row it will take for you to level down.
For example: Geotrainer is at arena level 35, he wins 3 games in a row and progressed to level 36, but then loses 2 games in a row and goes back down to 35.

2)
The system would match you up against someone of your similar Pokemon level. So lets say someone tries to cheat the system by leaving their PvP level at one and training/Buying 6 Pokemon at level 100. If they enter the PvP arena they would be paired up with another player who also has 6 level 100 pokemon (or Pokemon with very similar levels)

3)
If there are Pokemon trainer levels in-game which are governed by how many Pokemon you have caught, how many battles against the wild you have fought, how many Pokemon of yours have evolved, how many gym badges you have won, and how many Pokemon levels you have gained via training. This level would govern who you are matched up against, and the system would match you up against other players of your level.

4)
The system would sort players using win/loss statistics. So a if a player has won 0 and loss 0 (never PvP'd), hey would be paired up with someone with the same/similar statistics. If a player has won 40 and lost 20 the system will pair that player up with another similar player to the best of its abilities.



However, all 4 of these Arena categorizing systems have flaws which I will list.

1)
A player has never PvP'd in their life decides to enter. However, this player has been playing the game for enough time to catch every Pokemon out there, aswell as get a good number of them to level 100 (this would be very common for people who just like roaming, and are not very PvP orientated). So this player enters PvP for the first time and since he has never had a match, he would be up against other players with level 5 pidgeys.
And the same thing goes in reverse. If a player has reached a rank of 35 through hard work, but decides to test out battling with a team of Pokemon that are much lower level (wanting to learn how they play to further increase their skills), this player being level 35 would be matched with Pokemon of a much higher level, thus getting his ass whooped and dropping a couple levels in rank. Obviously most PvPers wouldn't want to ever risk losing their precious rank so they would only ever battle using their highest leveled pokemon (which would a very repetitive experience for that player, eventually, potentially making them quit over it)

2)
This is system is the best so far, forcing people to fight with Pokemon of their level, but it completely obliterates any idea of pair players up depending on their skill and knowledge. Instead it blindly matches up trainers Pokemon together regardless of the skill in using them. So in the end, if a player who has never PvP'd before enters the arena with his team of 100 Pokemon which he has gained via playing solo and grinding. He will get completely slaughtered by all the other level 100 teams who have trainers who have been PvPing for years, thus not ever learning a thing or two and potentially deterring them from playing the game because of it.

3)
This obviously wouldn't work, because if a player has reached trainer has reached level 20 (for example) from only ever leveling up 6 Pokemon, and another trainer has reached level 20 but has done it by playing with many many Pokemon and leveling them up. Player 1 would have a team of 6 at much higher levels across the board then Player 2 does. Therefore making this way of matching up players unfeasible.

4)
This wouldn't work for a couple of reasons. If a player has a win/loss ration of 40 wins/10 loses, but decides he wants to try and see how his lower leveled Pokemon play, he would be put up against someone with the same win/loss ratio and probably against much higher leveled Pokemon, not allowing for him to learn a single thing with his lower leveled Pokemon, giving him a +1 to loses, and making him really pissed off (possibly make the occasional player quit the game). Also if a player has never PvP'd and has a team of 100's he would be winning a lot of matches against other 0 wins/0 lose players, Pissing them off. So out of all the possibilities, i would say this is the least likely should happen.


Option (1) is the best way of getting players to battle against other players of their own skill level, but doesn't cater for higher ranked players wanting to test their lower leveled Pokemon in the arena out of fear of losing rank.
Option (2) is the best way of making sure players who want to play with a team of level 100's get paired up with an opponent, but is lacking when it comes to who you are up against skill leveld wise ("If you a have level 100 Pokemon team, I'm sorry mate, the systems the system and you are going up against other trainers who are PvP kings and are destined for failure")

So the obvious thing to do is to combine the two. For example; if a player has reached level 35 in the Arena ranks with a team of Pokemon averaging level 55, but then decides to give a team of 10-20's a crack because he wants to test their skills. Then that player will be teamed up with another player who has a team of Pokemon with level 10-20's, BUT (big but), that player who he is teamed up with will have to be of a similar rank to himself. So in the end what is happening if player A is level 35 and battles with 6x level 15 pokemon, then he will be paired up with Player B who is level 30-40 who has a team of Pokemon of levels 10-20.
This system eliminates many problems previously encountered.

Now I know some of you are reading this and are saying to yourselves 'But Vaderico, i can already see a flaw in this system regarding wait time'.
Well I say to you that wait time will not be an issue unless the Player is trying to enter the arena using an unreasonable team.

Unreasonable player (1)
A player is Arena level 1 and is trying to enter with a team of Pokemon leveled 100. The system has to pair the player up with Another player leveled 1-5 with a team of Pokemon leveled 90-100. Seeing as this would be one of the less likely events, Player 1 will be waiting a very long time for an opponent.

Unreasonable player (2)
Exactly the same as (1), but in reverse. A Player with and Arena level of 50 is trying to enter with level 5 Pokemon. This player would be sitting there pending until someone with the same setup comes along.

The way to avoid this is simple. when entering the arena, there will be a list telling you which Pokemon levels are suited to each Arena rank.
It would be set out like this:

Level:                                 Recommended Pokemon Levels

Levels 1-10                          1-20
Levels 11-20                        21-40
Levels 21-30                        41-60
Levels 31-40                        61-80
Levels 41-50                        81-100

The recommended Levels are just an example and would have to be adjusted.

So this is my suggestion. Please don't skimp out on the creation of Arena match up system. There are pro's and cons of many arena match-up systems, and if you find a con in my end result please post a comment, I love to discuss things.