League play - What it is and how to join

Onward Competitive Leagues

What is "League" in Onward?

League play, or competitive play, is practically the eSports community within Onward. People that play league are typically associated with a team, and that team is registered within one of the three major leagues within Onward (see below for more info on those). These teams, and the people within these teams, play to win. They care less for realism, and more for effectiveness, efficiency, and metas.

While each league has pros and cons, they all serve the same purpose - to help the competitive eSports community within Onward to better flourish, and to help the Onward player base increase in overall skill level.

Are you looking to up your level of play and try out the competitive scene for Onward? If so, keep scrolling and you will find information on how you can join each league... and remember, you can participate in all of them actively at the same time if you choose to.

What are the different leagues that Onward currently has?

Onward has three main leagues - Dub City VR Esports, the VR Master League, and the VR eSports League. You can find a short, objective pros, cons, and facts list for each one of them below, as well as how to join.

Dub City VR eSports (DCVR)

Prize Pool For Most Recent Season:  Approx. $1500 worth of cash and items/prizes/subscriptions.
Maximum Team Size: 10 Players
Rules Page:  CLICK HERE
Match Format: Competitive uplink, 3 maps played, win is determined via which team has the higher number of points over the course of 3 maps

Pros:
- Large prize pool
- Active and engaged moderation/staff team
- Smaller, tighter knit community
- Large number of beginner teams, meaning it is more beginner friendly
- Directed/moderated/staffed by high level players within the Onward community
- Transparent with elo system, moderation decisions, rule making, etc. Transparency is a main part of their mission statement.

Cons:
- Less teams than the other leagues
- Newer to the Onward competitive scene
- Less developed infrastructure
- No region seperation at this time, meaning EU/NA teams can match up against each other.

How to Join:
1. Join the DCVR discord at this link: CLICK HERE
2. Get Onward roles by going through the prompts on the introduction channels of the Discord
3. Go to the #teams-recruiting page in the Onward-Community section of the Discord, post a bit about yourself and say you are looking for a team, or message recruiting team captains that have posted there.
4. Choose a team you like, tryout, get accepted, and have them add you onto their official roster by making a ticket.

VR Master League (VRML)

Prize Pool For Most Recent Season:  $500 worth of cash and items/prizes/subscriptions.
Maximum Team Size: 8 Players, allowing 1 league reservist per match
Rules Page:  CLICK HERE
Match Format: Competitive uplink, 3 maps played, match win is determined via whichever team wins 2 maps (all 3 maps must be played)

Pros:
- Large community with a lot of teams
- A large skill range within the teams, meaning that finding a team for your skill level is easier
- More developed infrastructure (website, elo system, etc)
- Well established and well known by the larger Onward community
- Large moderation staff, meaning tickets/issues are resolved sooner.

Cons:
- Small prize pool
- Harder to get to the top tier and actually compete for the prize pool
- Moderation team is often reported to be unjust/unfair/bias
- Toxic teams/players are more common due to the size of the community
- Large disconnect between the main player base and the staff/moderation team/directors
- Lack of events/tournaments during the 2-3 months between seasons

How to Join:
1. Join the VRML discord at this link: CLICK HERE
2. Follow the prompts to get roles.
3. Go to the Recruitment Center forum page in the League Operations section of the Discord, post a bit about yourself and say you are looking for a team, or message recruiting team captains that have posted there.
4. Find a team you like, tryout, get accepted, and register on their website (vrmasterleague.com/onward), and request to join that team on their team webpage on the VRML website.

VR eSports League (VREL)

Prize Pool For Most Recent Season:  Nothing
Maximum Team Size: 10 Players
Rules Page:  CLICK HERE
Match Format: Competitive uplink, up to 3 maps played, match win is determined via map wins, best 2 out of 3 (so not all 3 maps need to be played if one team wins the first 2)

Pros:
- Unique ruleset with more restrictions, leading to fairer play at times
- A large skill range within the teams, meaning that finding a team for your skill level is easier
- Decently developed infrastructure (website, elo system, etc)
- Fairly large number of teams
- Code of Conduct is enforced heavily, meaning less toxicity

Cons:
- Harder to get to the top tier and actually compete for the prize pool
-  Smaller prize pool
- Slower, less active moderation team
- Large disconnect between the main player base and the directors
- Lack of events/tournaments during the 2-3 months between seasons

How to Join:
1. Join the VREL discord at this link: CLICK HERE
2. Follow the prompts to get roles.
3. Go to the #recruitment-onward channel in the Onward section of the Discord, post a bit about yourself and say you are looking for a team, or message recruiting team captains that have posted there.
4. Find a team you like, tryout, get accepted, and register on their website (vrel.gg), and request to join that team on their team webpage on the VREL website.