Players conceding voiding achievements

[Nemesis Sieg]

I know the addition of achievements doesn't appeal to everyone, but for me it's just an extra list of challenges/targets in the game which for me at least, push me to try new strategies and decks to make work.

The main issue I'm having however, which I'm not sure how it can be worked around, is players conceding before you achieve your objective because the outcome is already guaranteed. Take for example winning with 10 poison counters or fully milling an opponents deck - the outcome is clear before you get to the end point so naturally players just gg go next.

This isn't a criticism at all, I'm not expecting my opponent to sit there and watch the remaining turn(s) and animations etc play out just because I may unlock an achievement for doing so. Curious if anyone can think of the best solution for this as it's a 'feels bad' when the opponent concedes immediately before you pop your achievement.

[Tom the Mime Artist]

Something that could be nice would be is if someone scoops you have 2 options - "Claim victory" and "Continue against Sparky". If you're in a dominant enough position that they concede, you don't need to have an AI that's any good at the game play because it's going to lose anyway - it's just there to be a goldfish. Should also satisfy the people complaining about people scooping as their combo gets started because they can just play it out if they want to to get their dopamine hits without someone else having to sit through it.

Feels like it would probably be too clunky outside achievement hunting to be worth implementing though. Given that Sparky would be forced to sit there and take it in situations that would make it look like bullying if an actual player was forced to stay in the game, it could make for a funny April fools joke of "Revenge of Sparky" - Sparky is done taking your ♥♥♥♥ and any of your bot matches for the day are against a stupidly upgraded deck of banned cards such that the bad AI doesn't matter. Think power 9 and tinker into blightsteel colossus.

Side note: "A taste of power" is currently confirmed to be bugged with multiple bug reports and an official statement from a WoTC on reddit.

[Ripshot Blue]

Only solution I know of is to rework all achievements that require specific victory states to use a lessened version of the challenge, i.e. win with 10 poison changes to apply 9 poison counters in one match, Win with zero cards in library to Have Less then 5 Cards in a match, win a game the same turn you sacrifice 6 or more permanents to win a game the same turn you would (effects in stack) or have sacrificed 6 or more permanents, etc.

[Nemesis Sieg]

These are both really viable options I hadn't though of; I guess it depends how seriously the developers want to take the achievement system which will determine whether they address the issue in any way.

In regards to continuing against Sparky, I'm not sure this would satisfy a combo player knowing their opponent isn't suffering on the receiving end of it, but giving them the option to play out the combo they've set up would be a nice option. The issue with this from an achievement standpoint though is that if a player concedes really early due to bad opening hand, land issues or just general rage, they give the player an easier chance to go for an achievement which they may have otherwise not have gotten against an actual player. Maybe if this were the solution, Sparky could only continue the match if x number of turns had already been played.

[Senior_Torte519]

Ill concede because I can , screw those achievements. The entire player base has for years jacked off to the idea that the game is "competitive and about winning" and conceding is the way to go. Otherwise your'e wasting time in the game. So conceding has been accepted as the standard, you not getting your achievements because of conceding is your problem.

[Teric]

Honestly, It isn't.. THAT bad. It's mostly just a matter of continuing to try. I got the Poison goal after a few tries, but that didn't bother me because I already had a poison deck built for Historic. It's probably harder in slower games if you don't have a deck for it and just scooped some poison cards together.

I'm mostly just knocking out achievements that my main decks already do, but I'm moreso worried about a handful of random achievements. Swinging with a creature that has 21 power or higher feels like it'll only happen against a Lifegain player in brawl, for example.
Or, trying to win at 1 life or less is a bit of a tough prospect. Just... pray they don't have removal for the Platinum Angel you played? I guess it's not IMPOSSIBLE, knowing Brawl players, but still.

The achievements around getting to a higher rank in Limited do bother me a bit, though. Having that achievement tied to a gamemode that requires spending coins/gems to play is just annoying. You basically have to go 5-3 every draft to not go negative, which is an unrealistic goal as you climb higher (even IF you're actually good at draft)

[Yorik]

What are the actual criterion for whether you make achievement progress or not? I've had games that end on turn 3 with me conceding count for achievements but games where my opponent conceded turn 2 did not. Is there any reason your opponent conceding shouldn't count as a game for achievements?

[Kolarahidumgarabashtelarimdugarn]

Originally posted by Yorik:

What are the actual criterion for whether you make achievement progress or not? I've had games that end on turn 3 with me conceding count for achievements but games where my opponent conceded turn 2 did not. Is there any reason your opponent conceding shouldn't count as a game for achievements?

Once, an opponent conceded a game before I was able to play any creature, and I got an achievement because I won the game without playing any creatures. So technically you can get an achievement even if your opponent concedes, but some achievements are difficult to finish if your opponent concedes too early.

[Yorik]

Originally posted by Kolarahidumgarabashtelarimdugarn:

Originally posted by Yorik:

What are the actual criterion for whether you make achievement progress or not? I've had games that end on turn 3 with me conceding count for achievements but games where my opponent conceded turn 2 did not. Is there any reason your opponent conceding shouldn't count as a game for achievements?

Once, an opponent conceded a game before I was able to play any creature, and I got an achievement because I won the game without playing any creatures. So technically you can get an achievement even if your opponent concedes, but some achievements are difficult to finish if your opponent concedes too early.

How early though?

[Ashman]

I concede every game at turn 3 as long as the other guy did not. #mtga2025

[Kolarahidumgarabashtelarimdugarn]

Originally posted by Yorik:

Originally posted by Kolarahidumgarabashtelarimdugarn:

Once, an opponent conceded a game before I was able to play any creature, and I got an achievement because I won the game without playing any creatures. So technically you can get an achievement even if your opponent concedes, but some achievements are difficult to finish if your opponent concedes too early.

How early though?

I think it was turn 4-6.

[ʍolɟ ǝɥʇ ǝsɹǝʌǝɹ]

Getting achievement isn't a race. And it makes more sense to me to get them naturally in the course of play.

First world problem my guy

[Nemesis Sieg]

Originally posted by ʍolɟ ǝɥʇ ǝsɹǝʌǝɹ:

Getting achievement isn't a race. And it makes more sense to me to get them naturally in the course of play.

First world problem my guy

I don't think anyone suggested getting achievements is a race? You're saying you should "get them naturally in the course of play" which just suggests you haven't read what anyone has said.

And yes, I would suggest that issues raised in Magic arena forum posts, or any gaming space for that matter is very much a first world problem; highlighting this doesn't give you the morale high ground you seem to think it does.

[ʍolɟ ǝɥʇ ǝsɹǝʌǝɹ]

I said it. :v
Its not a race