Rule Updates

Date March 22, 2016

With us striving towards making the league as fair as possible we’re changing the following rules. These are general rules and are in immediate effect.

1.4 Use the match comments to record agreements on mercs, servers and other cases

We encourage using the match comments to keep in touch with your opponents. Any agreement between two teams regarding the use of mercs or servers must be recorded on the relevant match page, and cannot be retracted. Only Leaders and Deputies are given the authority to make decisions on these issues.
If your opponent allows a merc, you are expected to extend the same courtesy to them.

3.5 Switching line-ups or hijacking teams is not allowed

Only half of a team’s active line-up may be changed during one season. Any player that joins the roster after the main season starts is classified as “new”. If half or more of the players you use in a match are “new”, you may receive a warning or suffer a default loss. A team can receive multiple punishments during the season if they continue to use a roster of “new” players, even if that roster remains the same.
In order to allow leniency for teams that are forced to change their line-ups, we require team leaders to contact admins on IRC when facing extreme roster changes. We will deal with each case individually, and all factors will be taken into account.

3.6 The amount of players with higher experience that can join after the Provisional Tiers are published is limited

A point system is used to determine this restriction. A player will be given a “point” for each tier of experience higher than the division of the team he joins. For example, a high player joining an open team will count as 2 points.

A player counts as “experienced” in the tier if, during the last three seasons, they played 3 or more officials in that tier. For example, for Season 10 experience, we will look at matches from Season 7 onwards.

Each team has a 2 point limit (3 for Highlander). Please contact the admins on IRC if you need your case to be reviewed. Admin discretion will be used when dealing with specific cases.

The following is a Highlander specific adjustment to the wording of this rule. This will also be in immediate effect.

1.4 One mercenary allowed by default and up to 3 mercenaries if the opponent agrees

One mercenary is allowed by default and up to 3 mercenaries are allowed if the opposing team agrees. In order for your mercenary to be allowed by default, he cannot be more experienced than the tier the match is being played in. Experience in other leagues is included. Opponents can allow exceptions. To use more than one mercenary , you will need specific approval from the opponent for each mercenary .

A player counts as “experienced” in the tier if, during the last three seasons, they played 3 or more officials in that tier. For example, for Season 10 experience, we will look at matches from Season 7 onwards. If a player is on a roster of a team in a higher tier than the match in question, he cannot be claimed as a default merc.

Use the match page to present mercenaries and ask for allowance. Even the default merc has to be presented, so that your opponents can make sure he is not too experienced. If you wish to contest the default allowance of a mercenary , please contact an admin (support page), so that he may decide whether or not the mercenary is too experienced.

All mercenaries have to be registered on ETF2L. Teams caught using an unregistered mercenary , or a mercenary without their opponent’s permission, will receive a warning and possibly a default loss.

29 Comments

  1. shoras said:

    So if someone who doesn’t have Leader or Deputy status on the team posts a chat log of merc approval, it won’t count?

  2. Jon: ETF said:

    Probably just needs a leader or deputy from both teams to approve the chat log anyway as being true. However both leaders/deputies posting the chat log each is quicker to show agreement.

  3. Mo: 00X said:

    Finally

  4. letto said:

    as long as nobody pays to play in the league and we all just play for fun and passion anyway, why do you tell people where they can play and where they can’t? you’d have to consider so many things in a rule like that, what classes is the person experienced at, has he played the game inbetween, etc.
    smh etf2l admins

  5. quintosh: wL. said:

    why would you use the word merc in the rule, then mercenary twice in a row and again use merc for the rest of the rule description

  6. Aoshi: (Legend) - :think: - GRAHAM said:

    @letto, thats why you can contact us and we’ll review your personal case. But allowing 3-4 prem players in open isn’t something should just be ignored seeing that this would most likely ruin the fun for the other teams.

    @quintosh, will update it in a bit

  7. Chill Collins said:

    Big + for the sandbagging point system!

  8. Raptor: BTWFC - S-O said:

    as long as nobody pays to play in the league and we all just play for fun and passion anyway, why do you tell people where they can play and where they can’t?

    Why should the prem players have fun in open and destroy the fun for every other team that actually tries to win but cant because one team has way too experienced players

    Really good rulechange, good job admins!

  9. Muuki: sirkkels - GG said:

    is there any possibility for admins to set a rule regarding when maps have to be picked? im tired of waiting for my retarded team leader to get to it so if you had a rule governing that it would be great

  10. TBE pez: SUAVY - ; said:

    didnt expect that u change rules coz of me and my mates hah. am i 2nd kaidus now? i wanna cp_orange in that case

  11. Aoshi: (Legend) - :think: - GRAHAM said:

    @Muuki The starting time depends on too much factors I’d recon but we can look into it I guess :D

  12. Mo: 00X said:

    Sure the rule has odd cases, but for the most part it tries to encompass as much as possible so I think the admins have done a great job with this.

  13. firej said:

    “and we all just play for fun”
    this rulechange is made so people can have more fun / people cant destroy someone elses fun.
    if you feel like destroying way more inexperienced people you dont have to do it in a season :)
    ++

  14. fränk: [HA] - #T4F said:

    Finally… ty admins!

  15. Bulow: GG said:

    So I can finally play at my own level in Open, thanks admins!

  16. Maxi: BRIT said:

    Or the tier of the current team that they are in, in the case the team is participating in the active season.

    please rewrite this

  17. Collaide said:

    Might need better wording on the higher experience rule, but I agree with everything

    <3 love u admins <3

  18. Muuki: sirkkels - GG said:

    also, will prem teams who get demoted get banned from playing in high?

  19. Muuki: sirkkels - GG said:

    oh, its only after provisionals are released, what a shame

  20. Aoshi: (Legend) - :think: - GRAHAM said:

    @Maxi, we’ve changed it a bit now. We hope its easier to understand and/or makes more sense

  21. Carlos Kaiser said:

    When I first looked at this rule I thought ETF2L felt for the UGC curse where the poor logic and assumptions of open players (that are scared of prem medics/heavies/pyros/engies or something) is above the objectivity. And forgetting that skill divisions are for teams and not players.
    But after I saw “We will deal with each case individually” and “Admin discretion will be used when dealing with specific cases” the hope wasn’t lost.

    On a side note, was that EVER an issue? Like a real issue and not the joke like the “Joe in steel drama” or the two div4 hl teams getting dropped because some of their players quit the game and they had to find replacements.

  22. TBE pez: SUAVY - ; said:

    cool that u make new rules coz of me and my teammates
    i didnt expect that uk+ger are scared of poles, good day good win like in the 45
    cp orange in s24 is coming, thx

    gonna delete that comment again coz its the truth?

  23. Aoshi: (Legend) - :think: - GRAHAM said:

    @pez The rule was already in discussion before your case arose. But if you wish to flatter yourself in the fact that you were too shit to play in open without high players then you can go ahead and do so.

  24. wonszu: yeti said:

    Aoshi > pez

    Wow, he destroyed you pez in 3 lines :o

  25. TBE pez: SUAVY - ; said:

    destroyed indeed lol
    thats why u r deleting my comments
    changing rules during season show how badly u “discussion before”
    couldnt wait 2-3 weeks?
    btw if u r saying im too shit for open thats shows how bad your knowledge about tf2 is

  26. Aoshi: (Legend) - :think: - GRAHAM said:

    I don’t see any deleted comments and if there were any then it wasn’t me. Which season is currently fully ongoing then? We posted this before any HL s10 match and only 6s S23 playoffs are happening anymore. Or at least that’s what I think you’re getting at seeing that your sentences aren’t really comprehensible. And me typing some friendly banter doesn’t have anything to do with my knowledge of TF2. Now please refrain from any additional comments as this is going completely off topic, if you do however I will just end up deleting them :D

  27. TBE pez: SUAVY - ; said:

    didnt say u did it but its aint 1st or 2nd time, freedom

  28. spammyh: brew said:

    LOL PEZ SIT DOWN

  29. ponche: SSKP said:

    SUAVY song : https://youtu.be/ABhDiXbUaBE?t=42s