How to Form Leagues Around the League Bug

[Apparition]

The league bug has been on Homecoming since it launched thirteen months ago.  I had hoped that it would be squashed by now, but alas.  Unfortunately, most Homecoming players don't know that the league bug exists, and even fewer know how to work around it.  Here is my guide.

 

 

What is the league bug?

 

Should a league leader invite someone to join his or her league who isn't already on a team, the game sometimes (seemingly at random), won't actually place the player in a team.  The league window will show that the player is on a team, but if that player opens his or her team window, that player will see that he or she is not actually on a team.  There is no way for the league leader to know however, unless that person realizes it and mentions it to the league leader. 

 

The ramifications for the league bug don't impact Hamidon raids.  The league bug definitely hits it, but few people notice because you actually don't need to be on a league to get your rewards from Hamidon raids.  You only need to get in your attack chain. 

 

The real problems are with Rikti mothership raids (both zone and instanced), and Incarnate trials.  For zone Rikti mothership raids, people show as on a team in the league window, but actually aren't.  If that person is on a level 40 Controller, they're not being sidekicked up to level 49.  Up against level 54 Rikti, that is one very dead level 40 Controller.  In addition, those affected by the league bug in zone Rikti mothership raids don't get full Vanguard merits.  There have been many zone Rikti mothership raids where, at level 50+1, I would only get 550 - 700 Vanguard merits when most on the raid got double that.  Why?  Because the game only counted the Rikti I personally damaged, not the others that the league window showed were on my team, as I was not actually on a team. 

 

The league bug also causes players to be booted from instanced Rikti mothership raids and Incarnate trials.  Some league leaders lock their teams and their league, but some people are not actually teamed despite the league window showing otherwise.  Once the trial starts, those who aren't actually teamed are booted because the team they are supposed to be on is locked.  The player order and player teams are also jumbled as a result.

 

After some experimentation, I came upon a method to work around the league bug, and a second but similar method was provided by @GM Solace.

 

 

How to work around the league bug:

 

1a. Ideally, the league leader should invite team leaders directly to his or her own team first, (invite to the team, not to the league).  Then split them off to separate teams, (one or two for Incarnate trials, two to five for Rikti mothership raids).  This will result in creating the league.  Then each team leader should directly invite people that want to join to his or her team, (not to the league).

 

or

 

1b. The league leader keeps his or her own team small at first... three to five people.  Then the league leader invites people that want to join directly to his or her team, (not to the league).  Once joined, the league leader should move the new league member to the appropriate team.  Only shortly before starting should the league leader fill his or her own team.  This is the method that I use, personally.

 

2. Do NOT lock the league, and do NOT lock teams on the league.  On the extreme off chance that, even with step 1a or 1b, a player is impacted by the league bug, this will still allow him or her to zone in to the instance.  Otherwise, if the person is impacted by the league bug and he or she is not actually on a team, he or she will be spat out when the league zones.

 

Zone Rikti mothership raid league leaders only need to use either step 1a or step 1b to work around the league bug, as no instance is involved.  Instanced Rikti mothership raid and Incarnate trial league leaders however must use both steps 1a or 1b and 2 in order to work around the league bug.

 

 

Using this method, I have not once ever had an instanced Rikti mothership raid drop someone upon zoning in, nor "blow up" teams, and I've run multiple instanced Rikti mothership raids per week since it was added to the game in October 2019.

 

I hope that this guide helps, and will hopefully lead to more players getting their due Vanguard merits in zone Rikti mothership raids, and lead to less league breakage on instanced Rikti mothership raids and Incarnate trials.

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Apparition

[Mikewho]

Great info! At the same time I don't want this to de-emphasize the need for a fix to the bugs, as there are several reasons to want to lock leagues. We reeaaaally need a fix.

[Apparition]

2 minutes ago, Mikewho said:

Great info! At the same time I don't want this to de-emphasize the need for a fix to the bugs, as there are several reasons to want to lock leagues. We reeaaaally need a fix.

 

Oh, I agree.  Just that it's been thirteen months now with no fix in sight, so I figured some sort of guide would be helpful until it is fixed.