Please show pics of all this 'clan stacking/pub stomping/seal clubbing' going on of late.
I remember making worried posts about this myself some years ago when there was real pub stomping going on, GK and Byz and Nord and whatnot going 10-15+ players on a server killing randomers but today I rarely see any clan but the Greys with more than 5-6 people on at one time.
Today it is more like:
Yellow Team:
3 Deserters
2 Krems
1 Byz
3 Ode
4 Fenris
2 Templols
3 Eques
4 Mercs
2 Varangians
2 Pecores
1 Grey
+ Randomers
Blue Team:
2 Ninja
4 Byz
3 Nords
2 Cataphracts
3 GK
1 Merc
4 Eques
2 Kapikulu
4 Greys
+ Randomers
If some clans stack a few players on one team the other team will have clans doing exactly the same. Few of which seem very organized, people are mostly just messing around.
I've taken round end screenshots for a few days now just to pool in in this discussion, and this is the picture I get from near every single one of them, including those of your own in the thread you've closed now, Sniger my friend. Doesn't look anything like pub stomps to me, usually it is just which team sticks together the most, has more bad players or which team has cavalry or ranged superiority. Which is a different discussion than banner balance.
But yes, it does happen that there's only some randomers on and a handful of players dominate the server for a few maps, which is not really hard if a few skilled players work together, and that can be really annoying if you are on the side of all the scrubs who just keep splitting up, team killing each other and dying stupidly on all sides, but I actually think it is less common than ever.
Please remember, that clan players are not necessarily organized and playing as a team or even on TS when just playing EU1 (know many Mercs certainly aren't), and also that there are many lone wolves who are as experienced as clan players, and it usually requires little else than just sticking together around a core of decent players with a varied troop composition, best with some shielders backed up by stabbers and with some ranged and mounted support. It is dynamic and changes around from round to round and from map to map, I focus less on winning and my multiplier and more on just fighting and killing. But if you expect high xp and gold most of the time I guess the system would seem quite bothersome.
I honestly think people aren't just destroying nubs for the sake of their e-peen, because who are those nubs exactly, last I checked the average cRPG player was decently skilled players with high level characters and looms, and most know how to gank these days.
I also don't experience 4-0 battles that much, mostly it is pretty balanced, and again; if you lose a match 4-0 you will most likely win the map after that (and if you don't jump over to siege for a few maps then return).
It was exactly the same picture in Native clan matches which were completely balanced in regards to stats and classes, only player skill and strategy made a difference there and even then some rounds and maps were just complete slaughter and others not, even with exactly the same clans pitted against each other. Guess it is just the workings of the game.
Sometimes I even think it is almost too balanced; you win one and you lose one. Rounds or maps it doesn't matter. And if you're doing well you are even often sacrificed on the altar of equilibrium and team switched to the losing team.
Think the main thing is to not worry about xp and multi and just focus on ones own experience and contribution, even defeats can hold some degree of entertainment, at least I don't personally worry too much about my team losing it is just part of the game, you'll always get a chance for revenge.
I'm also pretty sure the devs have done what they can to ensure balance, even if I think more should be done about class balance.
I know it can look like it and I can easily sympathize with your strain of thought, but think about it, it is very rare that one team is just made up of randomers.
