Welcome to Season 59 of the Dominion League!

Moderator Updates

For this season we have added two new moderators: Nabalaskar and Ruapadi, who between them have 32 seasons of experience as league players. Some of you who are new or coming back this season may have already gotten the opportunity to interact with them during your onboarding, and going forward you might see them moderating your divisions.

Feedback

On last season’s returning form we asked about the number of players in a division, and the vast majority of players indicated a preference for the status quo of 6 players per division. We also asked about break length and returning from breaks, which also was the topic of the season’s townhall. On the returning form most players indicated a preference for the status quo, but during the townhall points were made about how the current system can lead to extremely uneven divisions when experienced players return from long breaks.

We created new rules surrounding this topic that met somewhere in the middle. Players who take up to 2 seasons off will be placed in the division they would have been in the season following the start of their break, including creating flex divisions if needed. Players taking between 3 and 5 seasons off will be placed at the higher of the tier they would have been in and the tier they would be placed in as a new player, but this cannot create a flex division unless they meet the strict new-player cutoffs for doing so. Finally, players who have taken breaks of 6 seasons or more will continue to be placed as new players.

Scheduling Channels

Now more than ever I want to strongly encourage you all to do your scheduling in the division channel rather than through direct messages. With recent Discord modifications, often people will not get notified when they receive messages, and so posting in the division channel while mentioning them (type “@”) is the best way to make your message seen. Don’t worry about crowding the channel with scheduling posts - that’s what it is there for!

You might also find success posting in the division channel as soon as you know some future availability, and watching for others to do the same. General calls for days and times is how most scheduling in upper divisions gets done. If it works for people scheduling across time zones, it will probably work for you, but only if everybody does it.

Upcoming Break

The break between Season 59 and Season 60 will be 4 weeks to accommodate the start of the Dominion Online Championship, which will start the Monday after this season’s official end. If you want to fill that longer break with some competitive Dominion, keep on the lookout for signups. There will be an announcement to all league players once signups open.

As always, best of luck this season, and, even if it goes sour, be sure to still have fun!