About Kingdom Nexus
How rankings and leaderboards work: Glicko-2 rating system, tiers, and category definitions.
Kingdom Nexus uses the Glicko-2 rating system to rank kingdoms based on KvK match results. Each kingdom starts at a rating of 1500 with a rating deviation (RD) of 350.
Key Concepts
- Rating — The main skill estimate. Higher is better. Defaults to 1500.
- Rating Deviation (RD) — How uncertain the system is about the rating. New kingdoms start with RD = 350. As a kingdom plays more matches, the RD decreases and the rating becomes more reliable. RD increases again during periods of inactivity.
- Volatility (σ) — How much a kingdom's performance fluctuates. Consistent performers have low volatility; kingdoms with unpredictable results have higher volatility. The system parameter τ = 0.5 controls how quickly volatility changes.
- 95% Confidence Interval — Displayed as “±X”, this means the true rating is within [rating − X, rating + X] with 95% probability. Calculated as 1.96 × RD.
How matches are scored
- Prep and battle phases are scored separately (win = 1, loss = 0), then combined.
- Winning both phases (domination) gives a full win score; winning one phase gives a partial score.
- The rating change depends on the opponent's rating and both kingdoms' RD values — beating a strong, well-known opponent gives more points than beating a newcomer.
- Matches are processed chronologically by KvK season. Bye matches (unknown opponent) are skipped.
Stability Labels
- Stable — RD < 60. High confidence in the rating.
- Volatile — RD < 120. Moderate confidence; rating may shift with more data.
- Uncertain — RD ≥ 120. Low confidence; the kingdom needs more matches.
Kingdoms are grouped into tiers by percentile rank — their position relative to all other kingdoms sorted by rating. This means tiers adjust automatically as the competition evolves.
- S-TierTop 5%
- A-TierTop 20%
- B-TierTop 50%
- C-TierTop 80%
- D-TierBottom 20%
Each KvK match has a prep phase (preparation winner) and a battle phase (castle winner). From the kingdom's perspective, that gives four possible outcomes:
- Domination — Won prep and won battle. Counted in the Dominations leaderboard; also drives the domination streak.
- Comeback — Lost prep but won battle. Counted in the Comebacks leaderboard.
- Reversal — Won prep but lost battle. Counted in the Reversals leaderboard.
- Invasion — Lost prep and lost battle. Counted in the Invasions leaderboard.
Leaderboards also track Prep Win Streak and Battle Win Streak (current consecutive wins in each phase), Leading (times a kingdom was a “Leading” server in transfer events), plus Rating for overall strength.
On the Leaderboards page you can see top kingdoms for each metric:
On the Compare page you can add up to 5 kingdoms and see their ratings, win rates, records, and phase stats side by side.
Kingdoms can earn badges based on performance. These appear on kingdom cards and detail pages:
- Unbreakable — Zero losses in 3+ KvKs
- Iron Prep — Never lost a preparation phase
- Iron Battle — Never lost a battle phase
- Dominator — 70%+ domination rate
- Comeback King — More comebacks than other result types
- Veteran — 10+ KvK seasons played
- Proven — Rating is stable (low uncertainty)