Player vs. Player Mode?

This afternoon about 200 files were downloaded to the game. A bunch of updated pictures to the area maps and... something about ladders and ranking. Could this mean that a brand new player versus player mode is coming? Will we be able to go head-to-head with other player's teams very soon? This is going to be a huge new thing for the game. It will change the entire landscape and the way that we interpret strengths and weaknesses of our rangers.

Below: Pictures of badges and possibly the scenery for battles between teams?

This comes at a very interesting time in the game. We have a huge exhaustive list of rangers with a wide variety of attributes. And as such, the stages in the game are no longer much of a challenge if you have the most powerful rangers in your possession. I do believe that at this point, Line Rangers is one of the most profitable games in the LINE family, so clearly many people are shelling out the cash for KSM, Ola Brown and friends. Perhaps we only got 1 new area in the last release because development effort was put into working on a ladder mode where the best of the best can match up in a game of skill using those powerful rangers.

Any time a multi-player 1v1 type of play is introduced, my first question is how the matchmaking will be done. Will it be based on player level? Ranger levels? Do we get to pick our team? Do we get to pick our opponent? Then there is the question of rewards. What will be the incentive for players to submit themselves into the pit? Coins? Or some other currency? (Rubies, please!)

One of the things that I think will have to be addressed is team composition for multi-player. It would not be fair if players simply picked a team like Level 80 Hip-Hop Brown, KSM, Dwight, Dumpy and Sorcerer Cony. Maybe it will be an offering of choices, like if you want to do a [5★ vs. 5★] full team battle, or a [two 5★+three 4★] team battle, or pick one of each star rating, or maybe even a 1 ranger vs. 1 ranger solo brawl (lol). Will they normalize the rangers, i.e. if you have a level 70 Warrior Jessica, it will be knocked down to level 50 Warrior Jessica stats, so that anyone with access to that ranger will be battling at a level playing field? Maybe they won't; perhaps they will just take your rangers as-is and let you knock the teeth out of some unsuspecting challenger!

And will items, Thomas and missiles be disabled? Will minerals be regulated to some preset level?

Will there be one ladder ranking for all players internationally? We don't know!

Side note: I wish we could use the NFC-enabled devices to somehow create a cooperative play mode. Your team + a friend's team in a 2 vs. 2 brawl. That would be fun, but I might just be dreaming :(

By the way, before I get too carried away, I want to reiterate that this is speculation based on the files that were pushed down today. It might be this, or it might be something else entirely.

More to come soon...!