Delphi - So a newbie player should not have the opportunity to play a top ranked player for points? Instead of losing 100-150 to a newbie player, top ranked players would feel more comfortable losing 10-30 points against someone their own level. Who's to say that newbie is not skilled?

Maniac - With my college and sites i usually dont find time for more then a few games aday..and since quickmatch matches me with 3000+ ranked people(tonight so far ive been matched with 2 7000 rankers and one 3000 ranker) i really dont see how im supposed to increase my rank when faced with people who seem to have no purpose in life but to quickmatch over and over and over again. The fact that i can beat them within seconds if faced in battle seems to be totally lost.

Delphi - Is it possible that not many top ranked players are looking for a game when you are? The few that are on could already be in games, thus the system is matching you with an alternative. Quick Match tries to match you with the most suitable opponent based on rank/ping. It may seem like it's not doing a good job, but it really is. But I go back to my original question shouldn't a newbie have the opportunity to play a top ranked player for points?

Maniac - XWIF was an awesome answer to this incredibly flawed ladder system.

Delphi - XWIF does interfere with opportunity and never allows newer users the chance to play the top ranked guys, which simply is unfair to all players. An XWIF player has the ability to see the rank, number of points to be earned earn, number of wash's, and keep your score free and clear of a XWIF who might kick your butt and steal some points and reduce that rank. Is that fair to other players who don't care to use XWIF?

Maniac - however Westwood has taken a very negative stance against it and totally disallows its use.

Delphi - I've been one of the biggest supporters of XWIF since it's release (I beleived in most of it's functionality and what it tries to accomplish). Unfortunately the team had other issues to focus in the game that were far more important. Now our sights have turned to this utility once again. With a little direction, XWIF could be improved to work 50x's more efficiently with our system, we'd also add some refinement to the interface so that even a NEWBIE would feel comfotable. In the future I would love for XWIF to be positioned as the "The utility you can't live without to play RA2."

Who's to say what the future holds, we'll let the developer behind XWIF decide that fate.