Roller Beetle Exploits.

Five people have over 75 of the top 100 times in Roller Beetle Arena.
Its almost exactly the same as the last 2 times Roller Beetle Races have made an appearance.
Either Fix Box camping or limit the # of top 100 times to 1 per account or dont bring this arena back.
People being rewarded for box camping is bad enough but allowing them to monopolize over 3/4's of the top 100 times is so not cool its not even funny.

you know the best way to get around all that?

Beat their scores.

I don't understand ''box camping'' explain if you care to. otherwise this makes little sense to me.

Some of the scores they have been getting are awesome, im not sure how the same people get so many instances up there, assuming they are all getting the scores from echo super rollers i find it hard to believe that anyone can get so lucky in a run more than once, nevermind 10 times.

Ive had a couple in the low 70's now, each with only 6~ seconds spent on waitng on box spawns for an echo beetles so i find it hard to imagine someone getting a score in the 80's more than once.

I lag and can't even finish if it makes you feel any better.

It's not like it matters now since they aren't giving out any roller beetle minis any more. The chart is meaningless at this juncture.

If they really wanted to mess with exploiters the best way to do it would be to give everyone who participates in roller beetle racing the exact same roller beetle mini that the "top 100" (who are of course, the same exploiters which are on there now) got originally.

I've seen some of the top scorers and raced against them. What they do is beat everyone off the line, get to the 2 boxes at the water first, and sit for 10 seconds while everyone catches up. Then basically if they haven't got the echo super rollerbeetle by then they leave and try again. Box sitting shouldn't be possible and I think needs fixing.

I can understand 75 and below.. anything above is just crazy...

What i think would have been beneficial would have been a limit to the number of times per account. But ya, I doubt this thread will even find the eyes of those who can rectify the problem.

edit- 74% of the top wins come from 5 people.. that's damn lucky... ? They should buy powerball tickets.

There's no argument I'm going to make that will mollify people who feel that "box camping" is "exploiting". I do wish I could impart to people that, while camping may potentially help you win a race, it will not get you a top 100 score.

But while I don't share the view of those crying, "Exploit!", I agree (and have from back when they were giving out prizes) that the Top 100 should only reflect the best score from each individual account. I think it would make people feel a lot better if there were 100 different names on the list instead of just a few like there are now. Once upon a time I thought Gaile mentioned that ANet was looking into making that change, but I guess it was considered too small a thing to bother with (which is a shame).

can some1 explain me how camping a box is supposse to get you int the top 100? I had a very big luck once and wonder what? I got 3 super rollerbeetle WITHOUT CAMPING!! I was amazed to see my score!... 464 000...

I saw alot of people camping boxes and I usually beat them at the end so there's surely another exploit to get over 470 000

In answer to your questions, no, there is no exploit that will earn you 470k+ points, and box camping will most definitely not get you into the top 100. Spend more than a few seconds by the boxes and your chances of a top 100 score are shot. You certainly can come back and win a race after spending a deal of time on the boxes, but no amount of of Echo/SRBs will get you into the top 100 if you don't get that combo very quickly.

There are four elements that go into a top 100 run: setup, map familiarity, skill timing, and luck. The first three you can provide with practice; luck is out of your hands. Best you can do is set aside a chunk of time to play... eventually you'll catch a break. Whether you can capitalize on it or not is dependant on your skill level.

There is a 5th method. Sync entering with friends, with your friends running inteference to ensure you can win without be in danger of being KD'd. I believe this is how a few people get the scores they did..

I've had a run without getting KD'ed once and getting 2 SRB's+1 echo, and I was 2k short of making into the daily top 100. This was without much messing up and taking the shortest paths possible (in regards to RBRacing not having any physics restricting you from simply always racing in straight lines and always taking the sharpest turns possible).

I have 600 victory points from racing atm and I don't think I've ever raced with anyone who got over 470k.

thats probably the most likely thing, and is almso an exploit of sorts (basically rigging the race) same crap people pull in RA...

Maybe those five people who have 75% of the top scores just have no lives and race all day. Haha! I laugh at them. Really, I do.

The top scores are "exploits" in the sense that in order to get them everyone who is getting them must box camp combined with everyone must be familiar with and execute the exact one route & tactics posted by the guy who "outed" the secrets of the map when roller beetle racing first came out.

In other words, a non-hardcore player who did not mediate carefully and understand perfectly everything on that guide when all of this was "outed" has zero chance of ever getting in the top 100.

True that the luck of what box camping gives you and how fast is a factor in the scores, but nonetheless if you know how to do these things, then eventually luck will go your way and can then be combined with the above "exploits" to get top 100 scores that a "normal player" could never get.

If they didn't fix the "exploits" when they were giving away the mini beetles...why would they fix them now when all that is at stake is some victory tokens and the reputations of the people involved?

Seriously...I complained about this crap when it first happened...when it mattered...and they didn't do anything about it. So who the hell cares now? I sure as hell don't.

I Care.
And btw It takes at least 3 super beetles to even come close to a top score. The number of Super's on times of 475 & better is usually 4 or 5.
Disagree all you want....It more than likely shows that you just dont know.

Dragou If box camping doesnt win races....Why are you among the worst of its abusers? rofl Why do you have almost 20 of the top 100 times?
Why do you & roflcopter have almost 60 top 100 times between the 2 of you?
As far as box camping definetly not getting you into the top 100... Thats just a Bold Faced Lie. In Fact, the only way to get into a top 100 slot is to Box camp.

There are lots of factors to this.

Firstly, there is no "secret" exploit. The tactics used by the top scorers are available for everyone to use and are widely known.

For anyone who doesn't know, the basic tactics are simple - Get a fast start, get to the water boxes first, get an echo/SRB within a couple of seconds of reaching boxes. Use the echoed SRB to shortcut across the water and then race for the finish hoping to pick up another good box on the way. If you don't get a perfect start or don't get the echo/SRB within a few seconds, then /resign and try again.

However, you still have to be damn good to make the most of these tactics, and the difference between the best racers and the merely good racers from a pure skill (taking the best lines at the corners etc) point of view is in the region of 10-15 seconds.

Secondly, the score table should ONLY show each person's best time. This has been an issue since the first weekend when I (and several others)failed to make a top 100 place by a couple of hundred points and probably/possibly, missed out on a roller beetle prize. And yes.. I am still pretty bitter about this! LOL

Thirdly, whatever your tactics, you still need a high amount of skill and an equal amount of luck to get that top 100 time. You can't make luck, but you can increase your chances by quitting and trying again if you dont get the right start or the right box combination.

Using these tactics I scored a top 50 place in the second week of racing *unfortunately there was no prize that weekend*. It still took me around 20 hours of racing to perfect my racing line and to work out exactly where to use the skills to their best advantage.

Whether or not you "should" be able to use these tactics is an entirely different subject, but as I said, while they are there ANYONE can use them.

Lastly, I know Dragou and he is totally honourable, he just happens to be the very best there is at this particular mini-game!

At some point I may be tempted to post a "mythbusters" thread on rollerbeetle racing, but for now I'll just say that there's a fair amount of incorrect assumptions floating around out there.

For one, sync entry: maybe someone is doing this, but no racer that I know is. I've played with a number of top 100 racers and watched several earn ranked times, and none of them had help from the other racers. Honestly, given how many runs you need to make just to get the lucky box drops you need, wasting time trying to sync up with others on entry is going to hurt your cause a great deal more than it's going to help.

Two, new players certainly can break into the top 100. Just this weekend two racers that haven't been featured prominently on the board (at least to my recollection) posted not only top 100 but top 10 times. One of the neat things about a game like this is that anybody can succeed with enough study and practice. So don't be discouraged from playing!

Three, you don't need 3 SRBs to get a top 100 score In fact, you don't even need two. Believe it or not, just one Echoed SRB is all it takes to land a top 100 score.

Finally, just to reiterate, box camping is absolutely, positively not going to get anybody a top 100 score. Box camping can help you win a race (again, depending on luck). If your goal is to win, camp away and hope for the best. But if your goal is to place top 100, you need that Echo/SRB combo within your first 4 box touches. Otherwise it's /resign and start over.

I completely agree with Hengis: they should make the change to the leaderboard so more people can be recognized. Maybe a little notation to the side of a racer's name indicating how many top 100 scores he/she has could be added. But it's more important (and more fair) for the top 100 individual scorers to be recognized for their efforts.

lol 1 Echo/Super Beetle is going to break the 470 mark?
Ill need to see it to believe it. Maybe 455 No way 470.

its mor ethen that, you need to use super beetle atleast 3-4 times to get high score

I won the roller beetle about 40% of the times and confirm that only the 2 box by the checkpoint 2 is the only good spot for box camping the other spot is doesn't give much chance to get those super beetle/echo camping there ohter give you the chance to nail down the other beetles

One way to ensure that box camping is obsolete is to make sure that box camper not going to take benefit from gaining a lot of item and fire all of those at once

Maybe just make distracting lunge disable time longer based on how many skill does target have on them.

Brilliant post Dragou, im sure there is some method of getting to the end very quick, and i have had two echos at same time as SRB, along with another two SRB, and while i may have wond only got 440's,

However getting an 1 echo and srb in quick i managed to get closer to 460.
I've improved route and most of the time i'm just wanting to get a high placement, but what Dragou says makes sense, and if i wanted to investigate im sure i could improve my play.

Agree with only allowing best score of any individual player too.

MAinly I think RBRacing is the most fun game they have done, love it and would love to see it more regularly

Learn how to race Icey.

PWNED!!!!!

Why are tactics you dislike (but that work) "exploits"? We all come into rollerbeetle with the same skills on our bar and the same rules. Some optimal playstyle HAS to exist under those conditions. Further, there IS a way to post top times without using the technique you find so abhorrent, which I have observed in action.

Why is the Top 100 is somehow "unfair"? While I'd also prefer to see only individual bests listed in the top 100, the scoring system that's in place is the same system that ANet has used in every other competitive mission they've created. Go look at, say, the Amatz Basin score chart. It's comprised of the same 10 or so guilds. It's unrealistic to expect the devs to code a new scoring system just for rollerbeetle. Sure it's popular, but it's also not available all that often.

How do other players manage high scores? You CAN figure it out if you put your mind to it, and it doesn't take all that long. I worked it out with Dark Sentry over the course of the first event weekend. Our method was competitive - each of us experimented to find new ways to beat the other's best time and then shared the new techniques. We started trying to figure out how to go fast on Friday night, and by the end of Saturday we had worked out the proper methods. It's really not all that difficult; it boils down to learning what the speed boosts do for you, when and where to trigger each boost, and nailing down the proper line and cornering methods.

You also HAVE to have an up-to-date video card; my wife's computer gets about 15-20 FPS and there is NO way I could post a time on it, because I can't take turns quickly on that computer and all the little delays add up in a big way. I get 60 FPS on my computer that I built last year; your comp probably doesn't have to be quite that good, but every little bit helps.

How to experiment: Find obvious landmarks in the race. Mine are the first checkpoint, the two water boxes and the top of the big hill before the 5th checkpoint. When you implement a change, you've done something right if your change: a) gets you to a landmark faster AND b) gets you to the NEXT landmark afterward faster as well. Sometimes it's possible for a change to get you to the next point faster but to cost you momentum overall, hence the double check.

I also know what score I *should* get if I trigger the combo at a specific time; I can thus check how well I'm running by how quickly I finish races and comparing to the expected score. Obviously if I get disrupted or KD'd, this doesn't work.

Addressing some other points:

1) One echo/SRB - Dragou understates the case. You can post a top 10 with just those tools. Granted, you've got to get the echo/SRB from the first 3 boxes you open (first box after checkpoint 1 and then the two water boxes) but it can be done. You can still post a top 100 time if you get the combo while rattling around in the water boxes - if I get there fast enough I have about a 5 second window to get and trigger the combo, which widens if the later boxes I hit provide an echo or an extra SRB.

2) As noted by Dragou, getting the combo early isn't all of it. If you don't know EXACTLY what to do with it, you aren't ever going to break 475k. Very small mistakes cost many seconds, and the spiral bridge in particular will ruin you every time if you don't learn how to get through that section quickly. Realistically, you get fortunate enough with the powerups to get an opportunity to post a top 100 time every 40-60 minutes. So it's no surprise that a knowledgeable player that logs a lot of hours on the event weekends will post a ton of top times, as there's plenty of opportunity for the better players to keep cranking out 476-478k times in the eternal quest to be the first to post the perfect 485-486k run.

3) The famous "map" that was "outed" was wrong in several respects. It was a great resource for the newer players; it also left a good 4-5 seconds on the table. It would be tough to make the top 100 for a weekend (monthly best scores) using just those techniques now - you have to be several seconds faster these days, so you'd still need to improve on it to consistently make the top 100.

4) I observed an insanely unconventional method this weekend that posted a top 15 score WITHOUT camping or echoing SRB. The racer was pretty consistently 465-ish without even an echo or SRB, and given some lucky boxes could post better times. I did not observe the top 10 score itself, but I did see this player break 470 with the method, so I'm convinced that it's how he did it. It's worth noting that this player is also from Europe and had about a 500 ping; I'd tell you that you have to have a good connection (sub-300) to post top 100 times, but apparently if you're persistent enough that isn't the case.

If you're that upset about boxcamping, there IS a way to do it that doesn't involve the "cheating" you seem to find so offensive. You'll still need to do what the rest of us have done to get into the top 100: experiment to figure out the absolute fastest methods, do a significant number of runs in order to get the lucky powerups, and have practiced enough to be ready to convert on the opportunity when it finally arises.

5) I can't even imagine anyone entry spiking, and here's why. After the last event ended, those players that were still in the arena could continue to play, but no new players could get out to the races. I therefore played for a couple of hours with the same small batch of skilled players. Sensibly, a gentleman's agreement quickly evolved to not deliberately KD the other players (since it would just ensure retaliation in the next match). Normally this doesn't happen, as such a contract is unenforceable, but here it was self-enforcing since it was in everyone's clear best interest.

It quickly became obvious that despite the runs being filled with good players (several of whom were in the top 100 already) no one was going to post a top time. All of the good players simply got in one another's way. Touching other players results in lag, desynch and rubberbanding, and since everyone was running the beginning of the race in more or less the same way, no one could get to the boxes with any kind of speed due to latency issues.

In short, you're actually much better off running races over and over in order to get some runs where you get a healthy lead on a group of largely sub-par players. This permits you to get to the boxes much faster and post a faster time.

People don't get multiple prizes for being in the top 100 multiple times anyway. The top 100 should reflect the top 100 account holders, because that's how the prizes are distributed.

I remember seeing someone posting a very very very good guide on how to get into the top 100, all you need to do is go and search for it yourself. There's like a very specific route that has to be taken, and it tells you when and where to use the default skills that are given to you.

And box camping is NOT how people get into the top 100. Every second wasted camping an area makes it more likely that you'll not score in the top. Pay attention to the scores that box campers reel in - it's not top 100 material.

No prizes have been distributed since the original event. You received 1 prize for your account regardless of the number of times you put in the Top 100 during that event. I wish they'd given me 9 rollerbeetles.

Now you get 7 Victory Tokens for winning races. That's it. The only reward for top 100 now is pride, which makes all the sour grapes about it just silly IMO.