Global RulesGameplay

RulesSemi-FinalsWorld Finals

GLOBAL TOURNAMENT RULES

TEAM AND PLAYER CONDUCT

Participation in the Tournament is conditional upon strict adherence to all conditions of the Terms of Use, Code of Conduct, Privacy Policy, and all other Tournament Rules contained in this document.

Fair play and good sportsmanship are critical components for ensuring an enjoyable and welcoming Tournament experience for everyone involved. If you choose to participate in the Tournament, be mindful that this is a Team-based endeavor. Your actions as an individual have the potential to reflect poorly on your whole Team, compromising their eligibility for continued participation in the Tournament. As a globally broadcast event, intended to be enjoyed by participants and spectators alike, this Tournament should not simply be an opportunity for people to tune in and catch some high-skill MechWarrior action from the best Pilots in the world; it should also demonstrate the high degree of relative respect and maturity of which the MechWarrior Community is capable.

Strictly for the purposes of this Tournament, the expectations for Team and Player Conduct apply not only within the scope of all official PGI offerings such as the forums, in-game communications, or Support avenues, but additionally extend to your conduct or communications through 3rd party platforms or services. This extension of the Tournament Conduct Rules to include 3rd party platforms and services is solely intended to prevent harassment, intimidation, or otherwise unsportsmanlike conduct toward or in reference to other participants through any such services where discussions or coverage regarding the Tournament may be taking place. Whatever action is taken by PGI moderation services in response to such behavior will be approached with extreme consideration and attention.

Any breach of the conditions required for participation will be reviewed by Piranha Games and will be subject to whatever moderation action is deemed necessary. At any point we reserve the right to disqualify players from the Tournament, and to permanently suspend players from MechWarrior Online and all PGI offerings when such a response has been deemed appropriate.

COLLUSION & OTHER VIOLATIONS

Collusion at any point of the Tournament between two or more Teams - or between Participants from two or more Teams - in an effort to manipulate the performance or placement of a Team or Participant within the Tournament, whether for the purposes of aiding or hindering that Team or Participant, is strictly forbidden.

Other general violations include, but are not limited to, actions such as:

• Win-trading.
• Farming.
• Throwing a match to lower the Elo rating of your Team or raise the Elo rating of the opposing Team.
• Utilizing an Alternate Team to manipulate the Elo or performance of a Primary Team.
• Utilizing an Alternate Team with a 'fresh' Elo rating for the purposes of being more likely to compete against other Teams within an Elo range lower than that of your Primary Team.
• Cases of anti-participation/anti-competition will be dealt with on a case by case basis.
  

GAMEPLAY RULES

This section covers rules and restrictions pertaining to all matches.

Stock Mode

All 'Mechs will be restricted to stock mode only. 

Champion 'Mechs, and other similar special 'Mechs, do not use their own stock loadouts, but rather they use the stock loadouts of the original variant they are based upon.  For example, the Commando COM-1D(C) champion 'Mech uses the stock loadout of the Commando COM-1D.

BattleMech/Technology Limit

Technology and 'Mech Chassis are limited to 3039 technology. While 3039 technology is the same as 3025, the later year limit allows a few more chassis to be played in Comp Play. All 'Mechs that fall outside of the 3039 tech limit will be filtered out of the selectable 'Mechs found in Comp Play. (All other game areas such as Quick Play, Faction Play and Solaris are still full technology limits and this change only applies to Comp Play)

A full list of valid 'Mechs is here:

New Map Rotation

• Canyon Network
  
• Rubellite Oasis
  
• Mining Collective
  
• Caustic Valley
  
• Grim Plexus
  

Map voting will remain the same as previous seasons with each team taking turns banning a map for the upcoming match.

(Note: When the top 12 teams are determined at the end of Open Season, the remaining matches will be played out on the tournament build which is separate from the public production build.)

Game Mode

The game mode that will be used in Comp Play will still remain as Conquest like the previous 2 years of Comp Play.

Drop Deck Restrictions

• Maximum of 3 'Mechs per weight class
  
• Total Drop Deck tonnage restricted to 480 tons
  
• No duplicate chassis allowed
  

Skill Trees and Consumables

• Skill Tree enhancements will be VALID in Comp Play.
  
• Consumables will be VALID in Comp Play.
  
• Quirks will be VALID in Comp Play.
  

Team Rosters

• Teams will consist of 8 primary players and 4 alternates; a total of 12 players max.
  
• During open season Comp Play/Seeding process, there is no lock on the player roster.
  
• When the MWO:World Championships enters the semi-final phase, all rosters will be locked and players will no longer be allowed to be added or substituted from the 12 registered players.
• Creating alternate teams for practice/strategy planning and playing in Comp Play is not allowed.  This creates an unfair Elo adjustment to teams vying for prizes outside of the top teams.

Scheduling

For details see schedule.

Semi-Finals and Finals Brackets

• Semi-Finals will be a double elimination bracket consisting of the top 12 teams on the Comp Play Leaderboard.
  
• Each Semi-Final match will be a best of 3 games.
  
• The top 3 teams at the end of the elimination process will be invited to Vancouver, BC to participate in the MWO:World Championships 2018 Finals.
  
• Each Final match will be a best of 5 games.
  
• The first set of Final matches will be played on Saturday, December 1st and will be streamed live from Mech_Con. (Time TBD)
  
• The final match-up will be played on Sunday, December 2nd and will be streamed live from Mech_Con. (Time TBD)
  

SEMI-FINALS

This section covers rules and restrictions pertaining to Semi-Final matches.

STANDALONE TOURNAMENT BUILD

All Semi-Final and World Final Tournament matches will take place on a dedicated Tournament Build, distinct from the standard MechWarrior Online client.

• Semi-Final participants will be required to download and install this separate Tournament Build.
• Access to the Tournament Build will be restricted to eligible Semi-Finalists only.
• The Tournament Build will be a clone of the standard MechWarrior Online client taken from the August 15th patch.
• Participating accounts will login to the Tournament Build using their standard credentials, but accounts on the Tournament Build will essentially be 'fresh' in terms of content.
• Existing 'Mechs, Loadouts, inventory items, and other account-specific aspects will not be carried over.
• Instead, Tournament Build accounts will be provided with large amounts of in-game currency and experience/skill points with which to acquire and customize 'Mechs for use during the Tournament. This injection is only present on the Tournament Build, and does not carry over to the main client.

This Tournament Build will be used for the remaining duration of the Tournament.

MATCH PREPARATION

• Teams are expected to be ready to launch at the specified start time of their match.
• Any Team or Player on a team who is late or otherwise not ready to launch at the specified start time will be allotted a grace period no longer than 2 minutes in which to ready up.
• If a Team does not have all 8 Players ready to launch within 2 minutes after the official match start time they will forfeit the match.

MATCH REFEREE

All Tournament Matches will be refereed, either by a PGI-appointed Official Referee or a PGI Employee.  All matches are also open for broadcast by sanctioned PGI broadcasters.

3RD PARTY SOFTWARE

Prohibited software includes (but may not be limited to):

• Graphical enhancement software, such as SweetFX.
• Cheat/exploit tools.

Any competitor found using or attempting to use such tools will cause the disqualification of their entire Team.

Top 3 Team Results

The team captains of these 3 teams will be contacted for travel and accommodation information in order to attend the World Finals at Mech Con.

At least 8 players per team must be legally permitted to travel to Canada, as the travel and accommodation booking process begins once the Semi Finals have ended and top 3 teams have been concluded. This includes travel documentations such as a passport. If a team cannot meet the requirement, we will potentially move to the next team in line that is able to travel.

WORLD FINALS

This section covers rules and restrictions specifically pertaining to the on-site World Finals in Vancouver.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for participation in the 2018 World Finals you must meet the following requirements:

• You must not be prohibited from participation in any aspect of this Tournament due to any laws or restrictions applicable to your country or person.
• You have read and agree to abide by all conditions of the Tournament Rules, Terms of Use, Code of Conduct, Privacy Policy, and any other conditions which may apply.
• You must be 19 years of age or older.
• You must be legally permitted to travel to Canada. (This includes travel documentation such as passports.)

WORLD FINALS TOURNAMENT BUILD

The World Finals Tournament Build will not support edits to any external config files, such as the user.cfg. Any player who attempts to launch the Tournament Build with modified files will be disqualified.

The following settings will be locked in the World Finals Tournament Build and cannot be adjusted by the Player:

• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Windowed Mode: Fullscreen

All other items in the Settings screens will be adjustable by the Player.

MATCH PREPARATION

• Teams will be allotted a period of 10 minutes prior to the start of the match to discuss their strategy and 'warm up' for the match ahead.
• Teams are expected to be ready to launch at the specified start time of their match.
• Any Team or Player on a team who is late or otherwise not ready to launch at the specified start time will be allotted a grace period no longer than 2 minutes in which to ready up.
• If a Team does not have all 8 Players ready to launch within 2 minutes after the official match start time they will forfeit the match.

MATCH REFEREE

All World Final matches will be refereed either by a PGI-appointed Official Referee or a PGI Employee.

3RD PARTY ACCESSORIES

Players are prohibited from using 3rd party accessories other than those expressly provided PGI. Prohibited items include (but may not be limited to):

• Gamepads
• Mice with built-in Macro capabilities
• VR gear
• Head-tracking gear
• Trackballs

In the event of a player disability, wherein the use of some 3rd party accessory may be necessary for participation, PGI will evaluate the situation on a case-by-case basis and such participants must notify PGI well in advance of the World Championships.

3RD PARTY SOFTWARE

Prohibited software includes (but may not be limited to):

• Macro software
• Graphical enhancement software
• VoIP (VoIP for the World Finals will be handled via a local comm system)
• Cheat/exploit tools

EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

Players are prohibited from the use of any external communications while the matches are underway. All players will be required to submit any prohibited communication devices to Tournament officials prior to the start of the match. All devices will be returned once the match results have been publicly announced or broadcast. Prohibited devices include (but may not be limited to):

• Cellphones
• Tablets
• Laptops
• Any device with Internet access
• Internet access will be removed from computers used for matches

COMPETITION HARDWARE

Aside from input devices, Competition Hardware will be uniform for all players in all matches of the World Finals. All systems will have identical components. All Competition Hardware will be provided and managed by PGI. Players are not permitted to bring or use their own Competition Hardware, aside from input devices. Competition Hardware refers to the following items:

• GPU
• CPU
• RAM
• Audio
• Communication devices
• Displays

PGI will provide input devices if necessary, but World Final participants are allowed to bring and use their own 3rd party input hardware.

All 3rd party input hardware must be presented to Tournament Organizers prior to being connected to Competition Hardware. It is imperative that participants understand that the Competition Hardware will not be connected to the Internet and downloading specialized drivers to facilitate the use of 3rd party input hardware will not be possible.The Competition Hardware will however be pre-configured with common/popular manufacturer drivers. If participants need specialized drivers outside of these common suites, a request must be presented before the World Finals begin. It is completely at PGI's discretion to allow or disallow the installation of any input software.

EXTERNAL DEVICES

Players are not allowed to connect any external devices to Competition Hardware. Any player caught doing so, or attempting to do so, will cause the disqualifiction of their Team. Prohibited devices include (but may not be limited to):

• USB drives
• External Hard Drives
• FOBs
• Flash memory