How the Crucible Works

The Crucible Rating (CR) system is a modified Elo rating system — the same foundational model used by FIDE chess, FACEIT, and many competitive platforms worldwide. Every team has a single numerical rating that goes up when they win and down when they lose. The size of the change depends on how likely that outcome was before the match started.

The core idea is simple: beating a stronger team earns more CR than beating a weaker one, and losing to a stronger team costs less than losing to a weaker one. This keeps the leaderboard accurate over time and rewards teams that challenge themselves.

Before any CR changes, the system calculates the expected probability of each team winning. This is based purely on the difference between the two teams' current CR ratings using the standard Elo formula.

The result is a number between 0 and 1 — think of it as a win probability. A value of 0.75 means the system expects that team to win 75% of the time given their ratings.

A 200 CR gap makes the higher-rated team a 76% favourite. A 400 CR gap makes them a 91% favourite. Equal ratings give each team exactly a 50% expected score.

Once the expected scores are known, the actual CR change is calculated. The actual outcome is either 1 (win) or 0 (loss). The difference between the actual outcome and what was expected — multiplied by the K-factor — determines how much CR moves.

The key insight is (Actual − Expected). If Alpha wins (as expected at 76%), the surprise factor is small: 1 − 0.76 = 0.24. If Beta wins the upset, their surprise factor is huge: 1 − 0.24 = 0.76. This is what makes upsets worth so much CR.

Notice how an upset is worth over 3x more CR than a routine win. The system is always zero-sum per match — exactly as much CR is gained as is lost between the two teams.

The K-factor controls the maximum CR swing per match. A higher K-factor means ratings change faster; a lower one means they are more stable. The Crucible uses two values depending on how established a team is.

• K = 50 (Provisional): New teams have a higher K-factor for their first 10 matches. This allows their rating to reach its true level quickly, since a brand-new team at 1200 CR may be much stronger or weaker than average.
• K = 32 (Established): Once a team has played 10 or more matches, the K-factor drops to 32. Their rating is now more stable and harder to move dramatically in a single result.

The Dominance modifier is a multiplier between 1.0 and 1.2 that amplifies the CR change for a particularly one-sided victory. It is agreed upon by both Team Contacts before the result is submitted and reflects the margin of the win, not just the outcome.

• 1.0 — Standard match. Use this for close games where the scoreline could have gone either way.
• 1.1 — Clear win. The winning team was in control for most of the match with a notable scoreline difference.
• 1.2 — Dominant win. A convincing, one-sided performance where the loser had little chance after the early game.

Both teams must agree on the dominance value. If there is disagreement, 1.0 is the default. Misrepresenting dominance in a submitted result is treated as a false report under the rules.

CR is always a whole number — results are rounded to the nearest integer after each calculation. CR cannot drop below 0 regardless of how the formula resolves. This means a team at 5 CR that loses a match will drop to 0, not into negative values.

To keep the leaderboard dynamic and competitive, teams that go inactive will gradually lose CR over time. This prevents teams from reaching a high rating and then sitting on it without playing.

• Grace period: No decay occurs for the first 14 days after a team's last match. Teams have two full weeks to schedule their next game before any penalty applies.
• Decay rate: After the grace period, the system checks how many full weeks of inactivity have accumulated beyond 14 days. Each week costs 10 CR.
• Maximum decay: The total CR lost to decay is capped at 100 CR. A team can never lose more than 100 CR solely due to inactivity, regardless of how long they are inactive.
• Resetting the clock: Playing any confirmed match immediately resets the inactivity clock and clears accumulated decay debt. The team starts fresh from that match date.
• Decay is cumulative: The system tracks total decay applied. If 30 CR has already been deducted for inactivity and the team goes further inactive, only the additional amount above 30 CR is deducted — never the same CR twice.

Here is a complete end-to-end calculation for a match between two established teams (K=32) where the lower-rated team pulls off an upset with a dominant performance.

Vortex gains 29 CR for pulling off the upset with a dominant performance — nearly four times what Storm would have gained for the expected win at standard dominance. Storm drops 29 CR, a significant penalty for losing to a lower-rated opponent convincingly.

The Crucible operates in seasons. At the end of each season, staff may elect to reset all CR to 1200 and begin fresh standings. Season results, match history, and final rankings are archived before any reset occurs.

• Season resets are announced in the VALIS Discord in advance, giving all teams notice.
• Historical data is preserved — final season standings will remain visible as a permanent record.
• A new season gives every team an equal starting point, regardless of prior season performance.
• Staff may introduce rule adjustments or formula tweaks between seasons based on community feedback.