Written by the HoopDreams team
Original game strategy · Reviewed in-game
Online matches are four rounds, twenty seconds a decision, and every pick resolves against your opponent's pick. It is a read game with a scoreboard attached.
The triangle
Attack beats Control, Control beats Lockdown, Lockdown beats Attack. The margin also scales with the scene, so a correct read in a high-leverage round swings more than a correct read in the opener.
Round one tells you who you are playing
Most players open with Attack. Opening Lockdown is a cheap information trade: if it lands you take an early lead, and if it loses you have learned that your opponent is not a default attacker.
Do not repeat a winning pick twice
Human opponents adjust after a loss far more often than they double down. The pick that just won is the pick most likely to be countered next round.
Rating moves on quality, not volume
The ladder is Elo-based, so beating a higher-rated opponent moves you more than farming several lower-rated wins. Queueing when the pool is active gets you closer matches and faster climbs.
Keep reading
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Reading the shot clock: how clutch decisions are actually scored
A full walkthrough of how HoopDreams scores a clutch possession: the attribute weights, the defender read, fatigue, and why the same choice can be right in one game and wrong in the next.
Surviving your thirties: mileage, decline and the last ring
Mileage, decline curves and roster choices in the back half of a HoopDreams career — how to squeeze two extra elite seasons out of an aging player.