I have no idea why these terms aren't explained anywhere, but I'd really appreciate a thread with some basic info on these important designations. They affect your access to many elements of the game, yet are shrouded in complexity and mystery. I've searched high and low for explanation without success, so let this be the place wisdom can be found!
Here's what i know:
Level is gained by XP (experience points) which are granted based in how MUCH you play. As far as i know, it doesn't matter how WELL you play, just how many strokes and events etc. you have. You get bonus X-points by playing multiple days in a row. You get 100x the number of your level in coins every time you "level up". Plus, equipment unlocks at specific levels, so you need to level up in order to upgrade your bag.
Tier is how they classify your Skill level - hack, amateur, pro, master, legend, and champion (with "tour----" status between levels). I did find a helpful thread from 2014 that outlined the method for moving up in this category. Too long for me to carry over, but if one of you helped out by sharing specific details, most would appreciate it! basically, you have to play a minimum number of ranked rounds which will determine your average. To move up, you have to reach the number of rounds AND get under the required average for that tier. I remember that 10 rounds with an average of less than 100 took you from hack to amateur. But the number of rounds gets much higher the longer you go, so Legend status can't be calculated until you have over 500 ranked rounds! AND your best 100 scores have to average less than 60 or something like that. Tough to accomplish, especially because your average resets every time you reach a new tier! When you go up in tier, you have to start playing from more difficult tees. Honestly, other than as a status symbol, i don't know the advantages to moving up in the tier ranks. You can access more difficult tournaments and events, which have bigger payouts, bit obviously you'll face stiffer competition. I did remember you get some gold tokens when you advance...
Those 2 ranking systems are independent of each other, so you might see a level 80 with a Hack tier, because they play a LOT but don't score very well. Or you'll see a level 50 legend because the majority of their time here they focus in just ranked rounds all the time.
Then there is the division ranking, which is supposed to put you in competitions with people closer to your overall performance. Ideally, being confined to head-to-head matches with people closer to your performance means more evenly matched games, which is more fun. Here's where i need some help: what are all the different divisions? There's a class (I'm in diamond now) and 3 steps in each class (I'm in level 2 now). These divisions get shaken up each week, regardless of how much or little you play. All that matters to what division you are in each week is how much money (coins) you win in head to head matches (as far as i can tell no other coins count?). basically, you're in competition with all the other people in your division room, and it's just a continually changing rank based on who has the most coins at the moment. When the week is over, the top third of players in that division advance to the one above them (with better players and tougher to win matches), the middle third of players stay put, and the bottom third who couldn't hang with the others get demoted to the division beneath them, where they will presumably face easier competition, allowing them to win more coins, and get promoted back into a higher division. Then the whole thing starts again for the next week. If you play but don't win, you get demoted. If you don't play enough to keep up, you get demoted. I think get even if you are in the middle third of your division for 2 weeks in a row, they demote you just so things don't get stagnant. The only advantages to being in a higher division that i see, other than more compelling competition, is that the top 10 players in each division at the end of the week get a big coin bonus in addition to being promoted. The higher the division, the higher the coin reward.
Again, they just base this in your coin earnings, so if a hack busted his tail all week and won a lot, he might advance into a room with a legend who only played a few matches. There will be all levels and tiers mixed among the rooms, but I've generally found that i can win easily in several rooms and advance, then i reach my skill level in a room and can't seem to win anything that week. After i get demoted, I'll do better, so it seems to work. HELP me identify all the divisions please! Is there a division above diamond?? What's below it? I don't know!
So to wrap up, you can focus on each of these individually based in your interest. The others will follow as you improve, but whatever your goals are will affect what types of games and events you concentrate on. Gold tokens are needed to buy equipment, and you can't get that without entering tournaments, show downs, or other official events. You do get some gold when you tier up, i think? And you can ALWAYS buy it with real money!! Coins are for upgrading your apparel to look cool and get some stat bonuses (have to go to other posts for that info!).
So please add some specifics to this thread so folks will know exactly what it takes to advance in each if these very different categories, and why they should care?!? Thanks!