FLOCK THIS! Jurassic World Alive: State of Tournaments

Welcome back everyone!  March 2025 has been a month of mixed feelings for me. There have been some good features and quality of life changes that have been implemented that honestly breathe new life into the game. But then there are some other features that have been sinking faster than a brick in water. I’ve gathered my thoughts and will discuss what I believe is the biggest issue at the current moment.

THE POSITIVE

Let’s start with the positive. The spawn changes are great. At the time of writing this, they are still sorting out the arena incubators, but if things are the way they were right after the update, then it’ll be decent. I had saved an epic and rare incubator for that day and received around 450 Sarcosaurus DNA, and a ton of Omega, Blonde, and a bunch of other valuable DNA. Once this is resolved, the arena should improve significantly, because right now, it stinks to play in, and the rewards aren’t worth the stress. The real kicker with the spawn changes is the map. Epics are everywhere, which is fantastic. There are a few interesting decisions that were made, like lumping almost half the Omegas in short range spawns and increasing the number of continental spawns, but the benefits heavily outweigh the drawbacks. There is no more DNA locked behind events and the shop. By playing the game and doing everything it has to offer, you can access everything. While obtaining some of the nonhybrid unique DNA can become challenging due to the poor state of the arena, I still think having the uniques up there is good to hopefully stop all the overtuned apex from dominating the library and aviary.

I have darted more Quetzalcoatlus gen 2 in the past three days than I have since it was released back during Dominion. In fact, while writing this part, I darted a Secondontosaurus in my range only for another to spawn right next to me. This is how things should be. We should be able to open the map and have a higher chance of seeing an epic or two within range than not. And with the DNA that was originally locked away now more attainable, grinding in sanctuaries won’t be as tedious. However, there are a few creatures with good value that are still locked away as continentals and thus, behind sanctuaries for most people- like Antarctopelta, Kentrosaurus, Skorpiovenator, Iguanodon, and both Pyroraptors. And while (thankfully) none of the night park spawns are too valuable, they are still tedious to hunt as most parks are closed at night. However, this is just nitpicking. In truth, I am very happy with these changes, as are most players from what I see in and outside of my alliance. Unfortunately, one thing most people can agree on is that there is another aspect of the game that has been going further and further downhill.

THE NEGATIVE

I won’t beat around the bush. In 2025, tournaments and battling have been abysmal. Now, hopefully battling in the arena will improve with the new rewards making it worthwhile. In addition, the unique rewards in higher arenas should put droppers back where they belong. However, the real issue is the tournaments. I planned to write this editorial after the flock tournament and focus on the negatives, but the spawn changes made me adopt a more balanced view. But truly, these formats are horrendous. Take the flock tournament. The number of good options was less than 10, and Alankydactylus had no checks other than Dsungascorpios, which it could run on or possibly play around. Alankydactylus mirrors (and many flock mirrors in general) are terrible to play due to the constant healing and speed ties.

I sent out a survey and asked four questions. One of which was on said tournament. Here are the results of the question “What is your opinion of the flock tournament that was for the weekend of March 7-10?”:

More than 80% of players disliked this format, and this is just the flock tournament. Right after I sent out that poll, the next tournament format was released, and it’s equally problematic. While there are ways around most of the Apex creatures that are eligible, Spinotops basically has no counters when sent out and no counters after the charge. This editorial will be published after the tournament is over but judging by some survey responses and general discussions, the feedback is quite consistent. Draw one creature and you win.

Returning to the survey, 80% dissatisfaction is not a good sign. If I was looking for a place to eat, I wouldn’t choose a place with one star. I would prefer to go somewhere with at least three or more. You wouldn’t buy a car with 80% negative feedback, nor would you buy your kid a toy for Christmas with negative reviews. And don’t take my word for it, here are some players who would like to voice their frustrations:

KillerCroc74 says:

“Ludia/Jamcity should definitely NOT throw in a bunch of random creatures into tournament restrictions and then put 1-2 overpowered apexes into the roster. Either allow all the apexes or none of them, because I’m getting sick of these rng tournaments where you must pull one of your apexes to win. It’s either a 3-0 or a 0-3 for me because of this.

  As a side note, putting Alankydactylus in this tourney was the worst decision yet. I get it’s a flock, but a creature that hard counters almost every other flock shouldn’t be allowed in the format.”

This is very true with both the flock tournament and the high critical hit tournament. One creature tends to stand out from the rest, and winning often depends on drawing this creature. I would like to bring up the legendary skill format from last November where you had top threats like Olorotitan and Rativates dominating. Heck, I called the article on that format “The Most Restrictive Format Ever” due to the limited number of viable creatures. Yet there was still a somewhat decent amount of balance to everything. Yeah, the Doe, Olorotitan, and Rativates were all pains to manage, but they had checks and weren’t impossible to slow down. Nodosaurus even made an appearance, and I took it to 5th because it could take on some of the top threats like Grylenken and Rebel. Olorotitan could be outsped and eaten away at by creatures like Rativates, Spinosaurus, and (if you did it right) Nodosaurus even. Rativates was a missed dodge away from dropping. The Buck was slow and bulky but could be pinned. Yutyrannus was super frail and could drop to a slight breeze. Lambeosaurus was tanky and could keep healing, but it could be eaten away by something like the Buck. While there wasn't a lot of balance, the top threats weren't without counters. But with Alankydactylus, you’re only real hope is Dsungascorpios, which isn't very reliable since you can avoid the counter using Cunning Resilient Alert. And with pin resistance, it always has a shot to just swap out anyways. After that, good luck. The same is true with Spinotops. Usually, you have to revenge kill with Sah Panthera after something like Tyrannometrodon inflicts big damage, but the best options to revenge kill it can’t keep it pinned down. This means Spinotops can come in later and charge again.

Ken also brings up another interesting point here:

“They aren't beginner friendly; most require the top creatures to even compete, and to people I've discussed with are deciding to quit the game entirely, or just not do any tournaments at all.”

WHATS THE ANSWER?

The game is slowly losing players. How do you compensate for this? You need to bring in new players. That’s how a business works. You need to get new customers to replace to potential loss of old ones. Designing a game that is really harsh towards newer players isn’t beneficial, especially for the skill formats. Advantage formats exist already, providing players who have invested time and effort with an edge, as the name suggests. The skill formats should showcase how well players can perform at all levels. It shouldn’t rely on some endgame creatures, which actually is a downside of the spawn and DNA distributions now. Most unique DNA is confined to the highest arenas, like Dracovenator, making it more difficult for new players to obtain this DNA and create the apex creatures needed for these formats.  On the other hand, a unique is much easier to acquire, even those locked in arenas, as they can be obtained through events more readily than apex hybrids.

An anonymous player responded with an opinion that I share:

“Put out Apex, they are for Arena, not tournaments”

I agree with this. If you want to use apex creatures, go to the arena. And if you want to use apex creatures in a tournament setting, have it be the less overtuned ones like Arctovasilas and Imperatosuchus, These apex have counterplay as far down as the epic format and are effective without being excessively dominant like the level of an apex that SHOULDN’T be allowed in a tournament format- as it gets plenty of love in the arena (for example Magnaraptor or Gryganyth). Many people, including myself, would prefer to return to tournament formats before apex creatures were included. Nowadays it seems we get one normal tournament a month and then three apex formats, which is getting old pretty fast. When I asked for opinions on this issue, only 12.5% of the feedback was positive, about 22% were neutral, and the majority were dissatisfied. This is a problem that Ludia seems to be addressing as they regain control. The question is whether they can resolve it in time.

These were the results of the question asking about formats since the start of the new year:

HOW ABOUT SOME FUN!

Finally, with the tournaments, I want to talk about enjoyability. These formats are not enjoyable for many players due to lack of counters. Another issue is the prevalence of creatures with repetitive healing abilities. I checked the Paleo.gg meta tier list to see which creatures are most commonly used in the arena, and the only creature that performs well without constant healing is Cerastegotops. Of the top 15 creatures used, only four have no way to heal themselves. This isn’t fun. I don’t want to sit through Gryganyth basically healing back to full every third turn nor do I like Rajadorixis constantly healing itself with greater shield. It’s boring. Tournaments used to offer a gameplay style that moved away from these creatures, introducing a faster pace with a few tanks here and there. While Dimodactylus may be bulky, it can’t heal itself, and its durability depends on the opponent’s inability to penetrate its armor and shields. Plus, it can quickly take down tanks, making it less reliant on stalling. Creatures like Concavenator may also have a way to just eat up hits, but they also dish out damage against creatures that also lack healing, making rounds go a lot faster. And with these lower-powered creatures, there’s always a reason to fight. In the arena though, if I run into a Gryganyth and I lack any counterplay to it, what’s the point. There is no excitement. I just lose. In the lower rarities, there are creatures that can just hard wall a team, but with the exception of Gigantspinosaurus, they are all relatively easy to work around. Nodosaurus may be the ultimate wall, but fierce like Albertosaurus can not only take it with ease, but they can also swap in on and handle it. The same holds true with Parasaur Lux. You have Rexy, The Buck, and Indominus Rex readily available that can take it down. However, with Gryganyth, you need creatures like Magnaraptor, Eremocanis, and Spinotops to counter it, which feels just like the arena. It lacks uniqueness, interest, and fun, which should be the primary focus of the game. It’s a game, and fun should be taken into account. With these formats, it seems there is no room for the most important aspect of any game.

BACK TO THE FUTURE (YESTERDAY)!

Hello there! Tuesday Ed wrote and finalized all of this, before the next formats were released. On Wednesday, they released the formats for the rest of the month. The one starting this Friday with epics is what I would like to see more often than the ones we currently get, but maybe a larger pool would be better. However, that isn't an issue. The issue is the final tournament this month. Minus Monolomoth, Cerastegotops, and maybe Protonodon or another niche pick, it's literally the arena. Mastodonosaurus, Ampleorex, Eremocanis, Trykovenator, Dilorizon, Gryganyth, Alankylodactylus, Compsovenator, Spinotops, Plateorex, Sah Panthera, Rajadorixis, Nominrex, and Magnaraptor are all very present in the top of the arena. And the format roster outside of this is very small while also being an advantage format. If I wanted to play the arena, I may as well use my arena team, which I can't even do here. And going back to the bit about how these newer formats are much harder for newer players, well they can't even use epics and below. And until the recent patch, the majority of these legendaries are locked behind exclusivity and still many cannot be hunted. Newer players cannot partake. And while I did say I like the epic format, both it and this format are advantage, making this the second month in a row with three advantage formats and one skill format. How can you expect to cater to newer players when your formats do not? And then they have the gall to put this in their description:

Of course these creatures do well in tournament formats. They're the only ones being used these days and the majority of these are stupidly insane compared to the rest of their respective roster. Especially the apex creatures, because when the top apex are legal, of course they'll dominate. There is basically no counterplay to them and they will do well. And I also thought these restrictive tournament formats were supposed to do the opposite. Once in a while take out the creatures in a format that have very little counterplay like the Doe, Blonde, Gigantspinosaurus, and Protonodon for example and let the underdogs shine more. This is so far removed from what a GOOD tournament format should be about. That's my piece on the new formats. I think it can't get worse, but I'm always wrong at the end of the day it seems.

FINAL THOUGHTS

That’s really all I have. I have found myself hunting far more often than battling as I find it so much more enjoyable. The tournament formats have been disappointing in my personal opinion, and half the time back in the day I would be most active during the weekend. I would like to get to use the tournament teams that I built. The increased spawning of higher rarities thankfully helps that, but if tournaments are just going to mirror the arena, I don’t really see myself enjoying the fruits of my labor. I thank you all for reading and will see you soon. - Ed