Welcome to Ultros League, where everyone is octopus royalty! This is a “light competitive” league centered around playing the Worlds Collide Final Fantasy VI Randomizer.
Note: Weekly async races begin at ~2PM EST every Saturday and end at 11AM the following Saturday.
League Structure
Play revolves around seasons that run for 8 weeks. Players are seeded into roughly 6-8 player divisions (participant count dependent). Each division has a dedicated role on the Discord server, as well as a thread in the #ultros-league channel to chat with fellow competitors and plan sync races.
(Note: Division size/player count and promotion/demotion counts are subject to change during the sign-up period and will be finalized upon the start of the first race of each season, based on the total number of players.)
| Tier | Name | Divisions | Players | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Megalixir | 1 | 8 | The strongest eight players in the league. Bottom 4 risk demotion. |
| 2 | Elixir | 2 | 7 | Top 2 in each division get promoted, bottom 3 may be demoted. |
| 3 | Potion | 3 | 7 | Top 2 in each division get promoted, bottom 3 may be demoted. |
| 4 | Tonic | 5 | 6+ | Top 2 in each division get promoted. |
The top two players in each division are guaranteed a promotion and the bottom two (or more, see chart above) players are likely to be demoted. Note that to ensure that tiers 1 through 3 are filled, extra participants each season may be promoted (and saved from being demoted) based on the previous seasons scores and the number of sign-ups for the subsequent season.
Races
Each week, an async race occurs for each division. Based on finishing order in that week’s race, each participant earns a set number of seasonal points:
| Race Finish Position | Seasonal Points Awarded |
|---|---|
| First place | 9 |
| Second place | 6 |
| Third place | 4 |
| Fourth place | 3 |
| Fifth place | 2 |
| Sixth place or lower | 1 |
| Forfeit | 0 |
(Note: In a tie situation, both players receive the higher reward. For example, let’s say Cloud and Krile both finish week 1 with the exact same time of 1:23:45, a tie for first. Both Cloud and Krile would receive 9 points. Zell, who had the next best time of 1:27:30, would receive the third place reward of 4 points. Git gud, Zell.)
Players should aim to participate in at least 6 races over the course of each season. Players who complete more than 6 races will have their 6 best finishes counted for points.
Season End
When the season ends, the top seasonal points earner from each division is declared that division’s winner and is enshrined in the Airship of Fame. Additionally, the player overall in the whole season with the lowest total score over 8 races without forfeits (excluding Megalixir) is awarded the Spirit of General Leo award, to recognize their perseverance and spirit.
Promotion and Demotion
The top two players in each division are guaranteed a promotion and the bottom two (or more) players are at risk of being demoted. To ensure that the middle tiers are filled, extra people each season may be promoted and/or saved from being demoted, based on last season’s score and the number of players who opt out of the following season.
The number of players vulnerable to be demoted can vary, depending on league size and division. Megalixir in particular is subject to more aggressive demotion – the bottom half of the division will always be at risk of demotion. It’s not easy to stay at the top!
In situations where a reduced number of players end up being demoted, players will be “spared” in order of points performance, from highest to lowest. Ultimately, the lower a player places in a division, the more likely it is that demotion will come for them. As a result, players are strongly encouraged to race hard right to the end of the season!
Tiebreakers
Total points score is used for determining divisional winners, promotions, and demotions. When there is a tie, total overall time for each racer’s fastest 6 races will be used for tiebreakers, with the faster total time across 6 finishes placing higher. In the highly unlikely event there is still a tie, random draw will be used to determine placement.
Offseason
After a season ends and winners are announced, league action pauses for several weeks. These breaks are typically where other non-league events in the FF6 WC community are held. League breaks may last for several weeks in order to minimize overlap between league play and tournaments/events.
Registration for the following season will generally open up during this break. New and returning players are both required to sign up for each season in order to ensure the league structure will be sized correctly for the number of participants.
Race Info
Once a new round starts, an async race channel will be created per division, with the seed rolled by a league official within the appropriate race channel. Race rooms will be announced in the #races channel with an indication of which division each room is for – please read carefully to avoid entering the wrong race.
Races are run blind – players are not allowed to run the seed multiple times, restart the seed due to a poor start, etc.
Upon completion, runners will enter their time into the race channel as with any standard race (i.e. by typing !done xx:xx:xx with their final time). Anyone who has not submitted their time by Saturday 11:00am EST will forfeit that race.
Flags
Races in the Ultros League are played using the following standard racing flagset:
-cg -oa 2.2.2.2.6.6.4.9.9 -ob 3.1.1.2.9.9.4.12.12 -oc 30.8.8.1.1.11.8 -od 59.1.1.11.31 -sc1 random -sc2 random -sc3 random -sal -eu -csrp 80 125 -fst -brl -slr 3 5 -lmprp 75 125 -lel -srr 25 35 -rnl -rnc -sdr 1 2 -das -dda -dns -sch -scis -com 98989898989898989898989898 -rec1 28 -rec2 27 -xpm 3 -mpm 5 -gpm 5 -nxppd -lsced 2 -hmced 2 -xgced 2 -ase 2 -msl 40 -sed -bbs -drloc shuffle -stloc mix -be -bnu -res -fer 0 -escr 100 -dgne -wnz -mmnu -cmd -esr 2 5 -ebr 82 -emprp 75 125 -nm1 random -rnl1 -rns1 -nm2 random -rnl2 -rns2 -nmmi -mmprp 75 125 -gp 5000 -smc 3 -sto 1 -ieor 33 -ieror 33 -csb 3 14 -mca -stra -saw -sisr 20 -sprp 75 125 -sdm 5 -npi -sebr -sesb -ccsr 20 -chrm 0 0 -cms -frw -wmhc -cor 100 -crr 100 -crvr 80 100 -crm -ari -anca -adeh -ame 1 -nmc -noshoes -nu -nfps -fs -fe -fvd -fr -fj -fbs -fedc -fc -ond -rr -etn
In addition to the Ultros League preset on the FF6 WC website, practice seeds can also be rolled using SeedBot on the WC Discord with the command !preset ultros league in the #seedbot channel, or by direct DM to SeedBot2000 on Discord (Thanks @wrjones18!).
Ties and Reviews
If one or more racers finish a race within two seconds of another player by their timers, the race may be retimed by league officials (either by racer request or at the league’s discretion). The league officials/moderation team will review both racers VODs and compare the two runs, measuring from the first frame of the start of the seed to the first “flash” of Kefka’s death animation. If the reviewed times are less than a full second apart, the result will be ruled a tie. Note that if a racer cannot produce their VOD in a reviewable format to assess a tiebreaker, that player will be considered the slower of the tied times.
Additional Race Rules and Notes
- All runs must be streamed or recorded for posterity. Recorded runs do not need to be uploaded but should be made available upon request to league officials. A random selection of races may be requested each week by league officials – failure to provide a recording or VOD link may result in warnings and/or race forfeitures.
- Streaming races is highly encouraged! For fairness, it is recommended that you set your Twitch channel chat to emote-only and/or communicate to your viewers that tips, advice, and race spoilers are not allowed.
- All runners must abide by the cheating rules listed in #how-to-race
- Anyone caught cheating will be eliminated and may receive further punishment from the admin team
- If you no-show or accidentally run the wrong seed, this will result in a forfeit for that week. Once you turn in a time, you’ll have access to that race’s spoiler channel, so you won’t be able to run another one at that point
- If you suspect someone of cheating, please contact a league official or a member of the WC admin/moderation team
- You may watch runs from runners in other divisions, since theirs will be a different seed. You may not watch runs from runners in your own pod unless you have already turned in your time for the week.
- Racers may not apply external patches to their roms, including those which only make aesthetic changes (no/different music, etc)
- Glitches allowed for this tournament:
- Ifrit/Shiva run
- Save point glitch
- Cursed shield swap
- Endless Morph
- Fixed encounter skips (K@N, Moogle Defense, and Burning House, for example)
- Glitches NOT allowed:
- Reverse Joker Doom
- Infinite Retort
- Things with flags (not sure you can do anything about it anyway, just sayin)
- Timer glitches (incl. door timer, Kefka kill)
- Revivify+Crusader (or related visual effect targeting exploits)
- Anything that skips a normally unskippable encounter (e.g. skipping KT statue encounters)
- If in doubt, ask a league official whether a trick/exploit is allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
I played in last season, do I need to sign up again for the new season?
Yes! Sign-ups are posted before every season, and both new and returning members will need to sign up to be entered in a season. This allows the league officials to accurately seed the divisions, account for non-returning players for promotion/demotion, and ensure the league structure is large enough to provide a good play experience for all players.
How do I drop from the league?
We’re sorry to see you go and hope you come back. If you need to drop from the league mid-season, you don’t need to formally quit or notify the league in any way. You will still be included in the standings but will forfeit all races you do not participate in.
If you’re dropping between seasons, there’s also no need to notify, just avoid signing up for the following season.
I didn’t play in previous seasons. Can I still join the league?
New players are always very welcome! New entrants to the league will be assigned into a division of the lowest tier (Tonic).
Is there a qualification/preseason process before each season?
No! See Promotion and Demotion above for details on how players are assigned to divisions at the start of each new season.
If I was in Potion A last season and got promoted, will I be in Elixir A this season?
Specific divisional assignments within a tier are randomly determined before the start of the season. For example, once the season begins, all players who are currently slotted to be in the Potion tier will be randomly assigned to one of the specific Potion divisions.
Can new players join mid-season?
Late sign-ups remain open for a season until the end of week 2. After that, sign-ups will be closed to avoid divisional imbalance and to maintain competitive balance and consistency. Note that returning players who sign up late may not be able to be placed in their expected division and may be assigned to a lower division, depending on division sizes. To avoid this, make sure that if you are a returning player, you sign up before the season begins!
I’m a returning player who skipped a season, what division will I be in when I come back?
Players who miss a season and then rejoin will re-enter the League up to one division lower for each season missed, starting from the season that would have been assigned to at the start of the season the player missed. For example, if Yuffie finishes in the middle of Megalixir for season 1, then doesn’t play in season 2 but rejoins the league at the start of Season 3, she would be placed into Elixir division. If Balthier finished Megalixir at the end of season 1 at the bottom and was going to be demoted, then doesn’t play season 2, he’d rejoin the league in season 3 in Potion division (since in season 2 he was going to be assigned to Elixir). And finally, if Vanille wins Elixir division in season 1 and earns a promotion, but then no-shows season 2 before coming back in season 3, she’d be right back in Elixir since her missed season would have technically been a Megalixir season.
Are different divisions in the same tier better or worse than others? Is Tonic A higher than Tonic B?
No! All divisions within the same tier are equivalent. At the beginning of each season, all players who would be assigned to a given tier are placed into a random division within that tier. This allows for players who remain in the same tier for multiple seasons to continue to enjoy racing against a wider variety of opponents.
What is Dried Meat tier?
Dried Meat tier was a proposed fifth tier during the preseason that was ultimately removed in favour of expanding the tiers to include multiple divisions, resulting in smaller divisions for more exciting races and more variety in division-mates between seasons.
Dried Meat tier may return in the future if the league expands significantly.
What happens if the league grows/shrinks?
League growth is planned and charted out to account for significant increases to the total player count. As the league grows, potential changes could include:
- Addition/removal of divisions within a tier (i.e. Tonic A & Tonic B)
- Adjustment of numbers of promotions/demotions
- Addition/removal of a tier (note: this will likely occur only once the league exceeds 100 players)
Any changes made to league structure will be announced before the start of a league season. Promotion may be affected by league structure changes (i.e. extra people might get promoted as a side effect of league expansion/contraction).
Who got to start in the Megalixir division at the beginning? Was everyone in Tonic to start?
Before the inaugural season, there was a three week qualifying preseason period during which all players competed together in one big async race. The total overall time from the qualifying rounds was used to seed players into the appropriate divisions for the start of season one (i.e. the top 8 times were assigned to Megalixir, then the next 12 into Elixir, and so on).
For subsequent seasons, any newcomer to the league begins in the Tonic division.
Will the flags change between seasons?
Generally, Ultros League flags are consistent and static. Other than minor quality-of-life changes, the Ultros League flagset will typically mirror the current “standard” flagset. Ultros League is designed with the aim of providing a way for players to see how they measure up against the rest of the field on “standard” flags, as well as providing players a regular avenue to race in a standardized format.
That said, there are a number of fantastic options in the community to explore the full depth of options in Worlds Collide. The Tournament of the Month, the Seed of the Week, and ongoing races such as the Weekly Draft, Blame the Bot, the Living Seed are always available to scratch the non-standard itch at various levels of competitiveness. Larger community events typically take place during Ultros League off-seasons and also frequently feature unusual or unique flagsets. Ultros League players are always encouraged to check out the wide world of flagsets beyond Ultros League and enjoy the full breadth of flagsets shared by this terrific community!
League Officials
The current league commissioner is DoubleDown (doubledown#5317 on Discord). Please feel free to reach out to him if you have any questions or need help with anything league related!
