Seasonal Ladder

Seasonal Ladder is a War.app ladder which was announced by Fizzer on the 23rd of November, 2011^[1]. Unlike the other ladders, which are never-ending grinds for top spot, the seasonal ladder is divided into a 60 days seasons, where each season will use different settings. The first season started on 9 December, 2011^[2].

Games

Each player that plays in a season will get 20 games ^*, and will never play the same opponent more than once.

On the first day of a season, every player will get 4 games. Every 3 days after that, one more game is added until all players have 20 games. If a player joins the season late or leaves it early, they are not guaranteed to get 20 games. However, the ladder will try to catch them up with the crowd. It will not create games for the last 11 days of the season.

Force-finish

In order to ensure a winner can be declared and the rankings can be finalized, all games in a season must end by the ending date, which is exactly 60 days after it began. If a game isn't finished when the season ends, War.app will immediately end it. The winner will be determined by adding up how many armies each player controls on the map, then adding in each player's income times two.

Players are expected to make a reasonable effort to finish a game before the season ends. If you try to intentionally win a game by force-finish that you would have otherwise lost, the win will be taken away from you.

Ratings

Once you finish 7 games in a single season, you'll be awarded a rank.

The ratings are determined using Bayesian ELO (Bayeselo). See Bayeselo for details about how this works and how to run your own simulations.

Your rating will change based on the results of other player's games, too. For example, if you beat a player who ends up becoming the #1 player, you get the full results of beating the #1 player even if they were not #1 when you beat them.

Players who play fewer than 20 games (due to leaving the ladder early or joining late) get a penalty of 65 rating points per game. It’s best to join the season before it starts and stay in it for the whole 60 days to ensure you do not receive a penalty. The penalty exists to ensure that players can't game the system by intentionally joining the season late and riding to a high-rank by getting a few lucky games.

Rules

A player may only play on the Seasonal Ladder with one account per season. Violations will be punished with a suspension on all implicated accounts.

Manipulation of the force-finish in the Seasonal Ladder is not allowed. Violations will be punished with a suspension. In egregious cases results may be modified, possibly resulting in the loss of games and/or trophies.

Notes

* - some players may get more games, since there are cases where it's not mathematically possible to give everyone exactly the same amount without duplicates. Getting more games is neither an advantage nor disadvantage.

Seasons

Below is an incomplete list of seasons. For the complete list of seasons, see https://war.app/LadderSeasons

Season I

Seasonal Ladder (Season I) was the first season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 9^th of December 2011, and finished on the 7^th of February 2012. It was won by Rubik87 and played on Medium Earth map.

The settings of Season I were based off the Strategic 1 v 1 template, with following modifications:

• Light Fog instead of Normal Fog
• In-distribution neutrals were 0 instead of 4
• Cyclic move order instead of random move order

Season II

Seasonal Ladder (Season II) was the second season of Seasonal Ladder. It started on the 9^th of February 2012, and ended on the 9^th of April 2012. This season played 20 games instead of 15, as it was in Season I. Season II was won by PaniX. Like season I this season was played on Medium Earth map.

• Each player gets exactly one diplomacy card
• Light fog
• Cyclic move order instead of random
• In-distribution neutrals was 4, unlike 0 in Season I
• Number of cards you can hold without being forced to play one was raised from 4 to 5 (to account the diplomacy card)

Season III

Seasonal Ladder (Season III) was the third season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 13^th of April 2012, and ended on the 12^th of June 2012. It was won by Rubik87. He was the first player to win two seasons. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the East Asia & Oceania map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the East Asia & Oceania map

Season IV

Seasonal Ladder (Season IV) was the fourth season of Seasonal Ladder. It started on the 22^nd of October 2012 and ended on the 21^st of December 2012. It was won by Fizzer. This season used a luck-less version of Strategic 1v1 template. Like seasons I and II this season was played on Medium Earth map.

• Rounding mode was set to Straight Round
• Luck modifier was set to 0%
• Move Order was set to cyclic

Season IX

Seasonal Ladder (Season IX) was the ninth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 7^th of May 2013, and ended on the 6^th of July 2013. It was won by brisk ? apex. Just like the previous season, this season was played on the Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the previous season, season VIII, with the following modifications:

• 85% defensive kill rate, instead of 70%

Season V

Seasonal Ladder (Season V) was the fifth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 21^st of August 2012, and finished on the 20^th of October 2012. It was won by professor dead piggy. Unlike some of the previous seasons, it was played on the Battle Islands V map.

The settings of Season V were based off the Strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Battle Islands V
• Five wastelands with 15 neutrals on them, instead of 7 with 10 on them
• Straight round, instead of weighted random
• Includes the reconnaissance card - 3 pieces, Its weight is 1, receives min of 1 per turn, 0 pieces at the start and lasts a turn
• Can hold up to 6 cards without playing any and receives up to 5 pieces per turn

Season VI

Seasonal Ladder (Season VI) was the sixth season of Seasonal ladder. It started on the 22^nd of October 2012, and finished on the 21^st of December 2012. It was won by unknownsoldier. Just like seasons I, II and IV this season was played on Medium Earth map.

The settings of Season VI were based off the Strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Automatic instead of Manual Distribution

Season VII

Seasonal Ladder (Season VII) was the seventh season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 2^nd of January 2013, and finished on the 3^rd of March 2013. It was won by fatality. Unlike the previous seasons, it was played on Heavy Earth.

The settings of Season V were based off the Strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Heavy Earth
• Only 1 starting Army per territory
• One army for neutrals that are not in distribution, 2 armies for in-distribution neutrals
• Nine instead of seven wastelands with 10 neutrals on them
• Straight round, instead of weighed random
• Doesn't include the order priority or order delay cards
• Can hold up to 4 cards without playing any and receives up to 2 pieces per turn

Season VIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season VIII) was the eight season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 5^th of March 2013, and ended on the 4^th of May 2013. It was won by Heyheuhei. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Modified Medium Earth
• Randomized bonus values - bonus value +/- 1

Season X

Seasonal Ladder (Season X) was the tenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 9^th of July 2013, and ended on the 7^th of September 2013. It was won by The Duke of Ben. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Four Castles map. This season was the first season that was a four player FFA instead of a 1v1.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• It was a four player FFA
• Played on Four Castles, using the Four Castles scenario distribution
• Used the army cap at 15 times their income

Season XI

Seasonal Ladder (Season XI) was the eleventh season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 10^th of September 2013, and ended on the 9^th of November 2013. It was won by Yeon. Just like seasons VIII and IX, this season was played on the Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Used cyclic move order, instead of randomly determined each turn
• Four armies started on each territory
• Used local deployments

Season XII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XII) was the twelfth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 12^th of November 2013, and ended on the 11^th of January 2014. It was won by Ruthless Bastard. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Turkey (Trkiye) map. This was the smallest map to be used on the seasonal ladder.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Turkey (Trkiye)
• Used cyclic move order, instead of randomly determined each turn
• Four armies started on each territory
• The base armies per turn was 3
• Used no-luck settings
• Used local deployments
• There were overridden bonuses
• Only used the reinforcement card and the blockade card

Season XIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XIII) was the thirteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 15^th of January 2014, and ended on the 16^th of March 2014. It was won by Krzysztof. Just like seasons VIII, IX and XI, this season was played on the Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Used Randomized bonus values - bonus value +/- 1
• Four armies started on each territory
• Used 0% luck modifier, instead of 16%
• Used local deployments

Season XIV

Seasonal Ladder (Season XIV) was the fourteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 31^st March 2014, and ended on the 30^th of May 2014. It was won by Killua Zaoldyeck, a known alt from [WM] Gnuffone. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Imperium Romanum map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Imperium Romanum
• Territory limit of 4, 5 armies started on them
• There were 15 wastelands with 3 armies on them
• Used straight round, instead of weighed random
• Used overridden bonuses
• Only used the blockade card

Season XIX

Seasonal Ladder (Season XIX) was the nineteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 22^nd of April 2015, and ended on the 21^st of June 2015. It was won by Rento. Just like seasons Seasonal Ladder, IX, XI, XIII and XVI, this season was played on Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Modified Medium Earth.
• Light fog was used, instead of normal fog.
• Multi-attack was used, and attacking by percentage.
• Attack only and transfer only were not used.
• No luck cycle was used, instead of random.
• Luck modifier was 0%, instead of 16%.
• Straight round, instead of weighed random.

Season XV

Seasonal Ladder (Season XV) was the fifteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 10^th of June 2014, and ended on the 9^th of August 2014. It was won by JV. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Poland Big map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Poland Big
• No wastelands
• Used 0% luck modifier, instead of 16%
• Straight round, instead of weighed random
• Used overridden bonuses
• Only used the abandon card

Season XVI

Seasonal Ladder (Season XVI) was the sixteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 12^th of August 2014, and ended on the 11^th of October 2014. It was won by Verzehrer. Just like the seasons VIII, IX, XI and XIII, this season was played on the Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Used no-split mode
• Four armies started on each territory

Season XVII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XVII) was the seventeenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 4^th of November 2014, and ended on the 3^rd of January 2015. It was won by Gol D. Roger, a known alt from Timinator ? apex. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Ancient Greece map. This was the first season to be chosen by the community.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Ancient Greece
• Territory limit of 5, 5 armies started on them
• There were 10 wastelands and 5 neutrals started on them
• Luck modifier was 0%, instead of 16%
• Straight round, instead of weighted random
• No cards

Season XVIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XVIII) was the eighteenth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 23^rd of January 2015, and ended on the 3^rd of March 2015. It was won by timon92. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Snow Mountains map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Snow Mountains
• Territory limit of 4, 4 armies started on them
• There were 9 wastelands and 6 neutrals started on them
• Luck modifier was 0%, instead of 16%
• Straight round, instead of weighted random

Season XX

Seasonal Ladder (Season XX) was the twentieth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 10^th of July 2015, and ended on the 8^th of September 2015. It was won by Latnox. He was the first to win a season unbeaten. Just like seasons VIII, IX, XI, XIII, XVI and XIX, this season was played on Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on Modified Medium Earth.
• Light fog was used, instead of normal fog.
• Multi-attack and attacking by percentage were used.
• Attack only and transfer only were not used.
• No luck cycle was used, instead of random.
• Luck modifier was 0%, instead of 16%.
• Local deployments were used.
• Straight round, instead of weighted random.

Season XXI

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXI)) was the twenty-first season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 28^th of September 2015, and ended on the 27^th of November 2015. It was won by #Master[QB]. Just like seasons I, II, IV and VI, this season was played on Medium Earth map.

It was based on the old strategic 1 v 1 template.

Season XXII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXII)) was the twenty-second season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 10^th of December 2015, and ended on the 8^th of February 2016. It was won by master of desaster. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the France map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• 6 starting territories of 3 armies
• In-distribution neutrals set to 2
• 6 Wastelands of 4
• No cards
• Light fog
• 4 Base armies per turn
• One extra armiy for every 2 territories
• Overridden Bonuses

Season XXIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXIII)) was the twenty-third season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 11^th of February 2016, and ended on the 11^th of April 2016. It was won by Master Jz. Just like seasons VIII, IX, XI, XIII, XVI, XIX and XX, this season was played on Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• 3 Base armies per turn
• One army must stand guard was turned off
• No Attack Only
• Commanders

Season XXIV

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXIV)) was the twenty-fourth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 16^th of May 2016, and ended on the 15^th of July 2016. It was won by MisterT. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Red Dead Redemption map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Red Dead Redemption map
• In-distribution neutrals set to 2
• Only 5 instead of 7 Wastelands of 10
• Random Move Order
• Luck modifier 16%

Season XXIX

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXIX)) was the twenty-ninth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 16^th of June 2017, and ended on the 15^th of August 2017. It was won by Deadman (previously known as Master of the Dead). He was the first player to win two seasons in a row. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Eberron World map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Eberron World map
• Random cities distribution
• 3 Base armies per turn
• Four starting territories of 3 armies
• 85 Wastelands of 1
• Reinforcement Card for 75% of turns passed
• One Reconnaissance Card
• Overridden Bonuses

Season XXV

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXV)) was the twenty-fifth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 15^th of August 2016, and ended on the 14^th of October 2016. It was won by timon92. Just like seasons VIII, IX, XI, XIII, XVI, XIX,XX and XXIII, this season was played on Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• 3 Base armies per turn
• One army must stand guard was turned off
• Commanders
• Local Deployments
• No Transfer Only
• No Attack Only
• No Attacking by Percentage

Season XXVI

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXVI)) was the twenty-sixth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 2^nd of November 2016, and ended on the 1^st of January 2017. It was won by USA Biches. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Floating Rocks map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Floating Rocks map
• Four starting territories
• In-distribution neutrals set to 3
• 8 instead of 7 Wastelands of 10
• Random Move Order
• Weighted Random
• Reinforcement card for 4 instead of 5 armies
• One Reconnaissance card in 1 piece for 3 turns
• One Blockade card to multiply by 400%
• No Order Delay Card or Order Priority Card

Season XXVII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXVII)) was the twenty-seventh season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 9^th of January 2017, and ended on the 10^th of March 2017. It was won by master of desaster. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the INSS Africa map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the INSS Africa map, featuring a new concept of getting income from bonuses
• Seven starting territories
• Full Distribution
• In-distribution neutrals set to 2
• 116 Wastelands of 2
• No-Luck cycle
• One Gift card
• Two Order Priority Cards

Season XXVIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXVIII)) was the twenty-eighth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 13^th of March 2017, and ended on the 12^th of May 2017. It was won by Deadman (previously known as Master of the Dead). Just like seasons I, II, IV, VI and XXI, this season was played on Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Medium Earth map
• 4 Base armies per turn
• One army must stand guard was turned off
• Commanders
• Non-distribution neutrals set to 3
• In-distribution neutrals set to 5
• Weighted Random

Season XXX

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXX)) was the thirtieth season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 3^rd of September 2017, and ended on the 2^nd of November 2017. It was won by Rento. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Succession Wars map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Succession Wars map
• Random cities distribution
• 0 Base armies per turn
• Seven starting territories
• 50 Wastelands of 3
• Non-distribution neutrals set to 3
• In-distribution neutrals set to 2
• One extra army for every 5 territories
• Local Deployments
• Reinforcement Cards for 2 armies
• Reconnaissance Cards in 5 pieces
• Overridden Bonuses

Links to exemplary games:

• Lew vs. Rento (6 turns; Winner: Rento)
• Rento vs. Gulius J„sar (10 turns; Winner: Rento)

Season XXXI

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXXI)) was the thirty-first season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 9^th of December 2017, and ended on the 22^nd of February 2018. It was won by Buns157. Just like seasons VIII, IX, XI, XIII, XVI, XIX,XX, XXIII and XXV, this season was played on Modified Medium Earth map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Commerce with 10 army cost multiplier and cities costing 4 gold

Season XXXII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXXII)) was the thirty-second season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 25^th of April 2018, and ended on the 9^th of July 2018. It was won by Deadman. Unlike the previous seasons, this season was played on the Biomes of America map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Biomes of America map, featuring the INSS with varying bonus sizes
• Seven starting territories
• Full Distribution
• In-distribution neutrals set to 2
• 130 Wastelands of 2
• 0 Base income
• One Reinforcement card for 5 armies
• One Gift card
• Two Blockade cards
• Sanction cards for 25% in 4 pieces

Season XXXIII

Seasonal Ladder (Season XXXIII) was the thirty-third season of the Seasonal ladder. It started on the 5th of August 2018 and ended on the 19th of October 2018. It was won by NoMercy. This season was played on the Volcano Island map.

It was based on the strategic 1 v 1 template, with the following modifications:

• Played on the Volcano Island Map
• Four Starting Territories
• 5 wastelands of 10
• Reinforcement Card in 4 pieces for 4 armies (instead of 5 armies)
• Blockade Card in 16 pieces for a 351% multiplier. (instead of 19 pieces)

See also

• 1 v 1 Ladder
• 2 v 2 Ladder
• 3 v 3 Ladder
• Real-Time Ladder