I'd trust the players not to use vent except in custom games where they know everyone is using it.

Or I'd at least hope they wouldn't.

@ WickedBear. You said earlier stats are meaningless, then after a few posts, you changed your mind and said "yes, stats aren't pointless, and I agreed" ??. WTF? And you call people here stupid and can't read?

This point is irrelevant. The OP pointed out "As many have pointed out, the stat tracking system is bugged right now.  Host disconnects don't count, etc. But even if the stat tracking weren't bugged, the stats wouldn't be that useful in terms of judging someone's skill.". OP acknowledged the stat tracking is bugged and said it wouldn't be helpful even if it weren't bugged due to 3 reasons he mentioned which are valid. And Wickedbear, you call people here stupid and can't read? Out of 122 games that you played so far, almost 100% you played with someone you know or who is your friend. So for you to say that "real problem with stats is buggy games more than anything else" is ridiculous. Yo Wickedbear, I have to say though I find your way of naming game titles you hosted like " 3V3 US CENTRAL NO MILKSHAKSE @@@" and "3V3 US CENTRAL STARDOCK IS FAIL" amusing. Is "milkshakse" even a word?

Yes, I made a typo on the second time, congratulations for pointing it out. I think stats are pointless. You can have a cookie.

  Oh, and regarding the milkshakse, it's a refrence to my DOTA games. But that's alright, you got the inside joke apparently. Yes there are people from my old DOTA games that recognize the title. Sorry for keeping things consistent across games . You should look for more typos to feed your ego though.

Except for the fact I won I believe all but one of my games with pugs? What's an ALMOST 100%? And I don't see how this hurts my credibility any. I can tell you more than anyone, that playing with friends doesn't assure you victories the way you seem to believe. Much of those earlier games were losses by just having new players on my team. My highest chance of winning has been with Char, and he just started playing the game. It's not so much the fact we have voice communication as it is we learn from our mistakes quickly. After our recent loss we improved significantly.

@ Shadow: To be honest, I don't enjoy a level 4-6 victory other than a few laughs, which unfortunately has been increasing in rate. I would much rather win a game by a few seconds, much more exhilerating. Yes I don't want to put were a premade, because it would take longer to host. Yes I don't boot anyone from my games unless they're on my banlist for leaving, or they have a bad mouth.

I think you are arguing a seperate point. Yes, better communication makes a team do better. But he was talking about being better players, as in more skilled on their own. Voice gives the team using it an advantage, but it doesn't make them better at the game, it just makes them better at communicating their plans. So while being on vent won't make you any better at chasing, timing stuns, pushing towers, etc. it will make your team do better.

I acknowledge your point Shadow, though I don't see how this renders stats useless. 

In a team game like Demigod, the win doesn't solely depend on which individual player is better than another in a 1v1 setting.  Players A, B, C can each independently be better than D, E, F, but if DEF work together better and plan out their strategy in the game then they can surely overcome individual skill.  DEF would get the win, be higher ranked, and in my opinion the rankings would be fully justified.

Whoever says that premades dont hold advantage or not high enough are lying through their teeth. Same goes for voice communication.

Examples:

Daoc my first pvp mmorpg i played and where i stayed forever is good example. We had good, decent folks and we won a lot, but at the time we didnt use vent/ts. We had advantage that we played with each other and we knew what others will do and react in that way. Then came groups that obliterated us and we decided to switch to vent and suddenly we faced them pretty much evenly and winning most of the encounters.

Pugs is also prime example there, you could steam roll a group of 50 with 8 easily. Hell whole relic raids were destroyed by 8 (relic raids consisted of 100+ people). But they lacked good communication and playing together a lot so that was possible.

Then comes WOW and its arena. There without voice and knowing ppl you couldnt get beyond 1800 ratings.

Slide ahead to Warhammer and their pvp arenas. 15vs15 out of those 5 ppl were in premade, those usually destroyed all the rest. Simply stating over vent oom/oor you overextended so you fell back gave you huge advantage.

In retrospect most fun i had was against other premades, because bashing pugs is seriously boring. I mean whats the point when you win 500-0, where score = deaths for example. There is no challenge.

Now lets see demigod, i play with random and i try to type to him i am out of mana(sedna) and before i type that and he reacts, he will probably be dead.

On other hand two people who know each other and are on vent(lets say erebus/ub), one of the will say ill grasp him, erebus runs a bit ahead and when grasp runs out he bites and mass charms the guy(i have doubts anybody will survive this).

Problem is game has no real ladder system and no way for premades to fight each other. This will probably be fixed in near future, but there will still be people who will not use this system and prefer beating pugs.

Wicked - I really can't understand how can you claim, premades don't make you almost 100% wins against randoms !? If you are so good, why do you only play with 3 friends vs 3 randoms ? Why don't you join other premades ? Maybe to not make your stats worse (only 1 game lost in 27 games for now ?). You think you are pro, because you got almost all wins ? LOL ! Why don't you play against AI then ? You will win for sure (just like now), but you will not crush other humans (which, I assure you, isn't fun for them at all). It's no difference for you will you crush AI's or humans, unless you are sadist... Your games are all about crushing the others now, not about playing for fun !!

Maybe, instead of writing bullshits on this forum, you should spend this time playing IN random team vs good premade teams ? Try to tell your "random friends" what to do and how to win the game if that's so easy and obvious in your opinion. Then, show us your game ranking, to see how good you really are.

BTW: Don't tell me you really think someone will respect you because of 95% winning rate ?!

Sometimes, when I read this kind of "discussions", I have a known saying from my country in my mind:
"Don't argue with idiots. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience".

I think Milskidasith is separating two things: team skill vs. an advantage that one team has because they have an external advantage that the other team does not.  Team skill is what you're describing above: timing of stuns, synergies, etc.- essentially how well the teammates coordinate.  An external advantage is if one team has a device or set up that the other team doesn't have the benefit of, like Vent or if three allies are playing in the same physical room.  These external advantages can help communication, but if one team has it and the other doesn't, then the game is set up at a handicap.  The issue when interpreting the significance of a win is whether the teams are at a level playing field.  If not, then whose fault it is is irrelevant- it's not a fair game in terms of reading something from the statistics.

Just to be clear: I am not bashing anyone who uses Vent because they prefer talking.  I use it myself when running a premade.  But I'm not going to kid myself, if I am on a 3v3, and my allies are friends with vent while the other three are randoms, then we have a clear advantage. 

The flip side is, for people who've never used Vent, is that Vent doesn't automatically make you win.  I know this might sound weird, but Demigods is really is a lot about individual skill (knowing when to fight, knowing when to run, knowing how much you can fight without getting killed, having a sense for when you're about to be ganked, etc.) and Vent is not going to make a bad player good.  I've seen Vent freeze a lot of new players as they can't handle the sensory overload of people asking them questions and telling them what to do.  Timid players also second guess themselves a lot on Vent if a loud teammate starts barking orders.  I point this out not because having Vent isn't an advantage (it is), but Vent won't make a player good by itself.  And by the way, if you think rage quitting is ugly in chat, just imagine what it's like on Vent . 

EDITED: Fixed some minor things.

Skill has to be there i have to agree, but here is what you forget this is team game, so coordinating everything via chat vs typing is huge advantage. Put same skill people together, 3 premade, 3 random who you think will win?

I didn't point it out because I want to feed my ego. I pointed out to show you the irony. You obviousy did not get it. You called people "stupid" and "can't read" because they have a different point of view.

Look, just because people disagree with you or may have different point of view doesn't make them stupid ok? You're the one who sounds like an idiot to me. People respect your right to speak your point of view. You should respect their right to speak their point of view too. I respect a person who can state their views without malice and who can understand that others have different viewpoints. It is the people who push a view no matter what that lose my respect and others' respects

Voice chat does not make you better at any of those individual skills. Those were all taken as individual decisions you make, not as decisions you make with your teammates. I meant timing stuns as in interrupting the enemy, not timing with another person to chainstun.