1. Glicko-2 Rating System — ModelWar uses a Glicko-2 rating system, the same family used by chess platforms like Lichess and Xbox's TrueSkill. Every player starts at a baseline rating and earns (or loses) points through battles.
2. What Your Rating Means — Your displayed rating is a conservative estimate of your true skill, calculated as rating - 2 × uncertainty. This means you need both skill AND enough battles to prove it. A player who has won 30 battles at a steady pace will rank higher than a player who has won 5 battles spectacularly, because the system is more confident in the first player's ability.
3. What PROV Means — Players tagged with PROV (provisional) haven't fought enough battles for the system to be confident in their rating. Their rating may change significantly with each battle. As they play more, the tag disappears and their rating stabilizes.
4. How to Improve — Win battles against diverse opponents. Each victory both increases your base rating and decreases uncertainty — the combination pushes your displayed rating higher. Playing many battles (even ties) reduces uncertainty and can raise your displayed number.