⚔️ Dueling Ladder

Duels are best-of-9 (first to 5 wins). The winner's rating bonus scales with how dominant the victory was:

Note: The margin bonus only applies to the winner. Losers are penalized at the standard rate regardless of score.

A 1500-rated player beats a 1600-rated player 5-1. Since they beat a stronger opponent, their expected chance of winning was low — so the upset is rewarded generously. The 5-1 margin applies a 1.35× bonus on top. They might gain ~35-40 rating from this single duel. Meanwhile, the 1600-rated player loses ~25-30 rating at the standard rate.

Ranked duels take place in any zone where the ?duel command is enabled — typically a USL map. Dueling is only available in arenas that have "Duel" in the arena name, or in any arena where a powered player has enabled dueling with the *duel on command.

Once both players type ?rdy, they're placed into the arena as Dueling Marines and squared up side-by-side. A countdown ticks down in chat ending with a "FIGHT!" message — and the round begins.

After the initial side-to-side round, the victor is placed on the bottom for the next round, alternating back and forth from there. A score update and the victor's remaining HP are displayed in chat after every round. The first player to take 5 rounds wins the duel.

Once the duel ends, all match stats are recorded and sent to the website automatically. Your rating is recalculated and the result appears on your profile and the ladder.