Gladiator elected combat

We are currently taking part in another ranked war and having our backsides handed to us. We dont mind too much as it can make for a good challenge....but how about Gladiator elected combat?

When a RW is set, the team on the lower end of the RW can elect to have a nominated gladiator fight the other sides best opponent. Much like they did in ye olden times... So maybe the leader from each side elects their gladitor and its one on one combat, winner takes all.

May not have the group participation as full RW, but then it gives a decent David v Golath vibe and then there is also the chance that a minor faction may be able to take out a large one in a fairer manner?

Yes yes yes. But I want a cool costume too.

I second the costume idea :-)

That sounds like a good way to guarantee every RW is a steamrolling. As most people who participate in RW's know, group attacks are vital to taking out big hitters. Making RW's 1v1 eliminates the ability to group attack, which would just mean whoever has the single strongest player is guaranteed to win.

Aesthetically, it's a cool concept.

Mechanically, it runs into a lot of fundamental flaws. A few off the top of my head:

• How do you quantify who the "strongest" member of either faction is? Total Stats? Stat Score? Both of these can be HEAVILY influenced by specific loadout, merits, and job perks.
• Why does the "stronger" faction not get to have ANY influence on this choice? If I have 40 other guys who are excited and ready for a War, and they get told "Sorry, the other guys said no," that seems kind of shitty.
• How do you decide who is the "stronger" faction too? I've been in wars where we were HEAVILY out-statted, and still won. Activity is really the biggest deciding factor in winning a war.
• Is this just a single-fight, and as soon as one person wins, the war is over? What stops me from negotiating the war beforehand and saying "Hey, I'll throw the fight, if you just split rewards with me," and then doing that? Now I've saved DAYS of warring and wasted Energy.
• How does this impact the loser's payouts? Participation Bonuses are a major thing for the payout, and only 2 people get to participate.
• Who attacks first? Just like Chess, the first person to move has a statistical advantage. In the case of Torn, it's a MUCH higher one. Defenders don't get to make strategic or tactical choices about which weapon they use when. They're stuck with whatever the algorithm chooses.

While I think it could be a lot of fun to have some more expansive dueling options, such as where people take turns being the "attacker" and choosing their response... As a Ranked War replacement, this is a fundamentally unworkable idea. I'm sorry.