Ranking the Top 10 Town of Salem Players

[Gustav 6,407]

(somewhat per the request of the ToS crowd)

 

It would be unfair to start this article without making mention of the fact that this has been done before (in this article, though I don't know why I should care as I wasn't on the list--the sheer and utter disrespect! Let's not talk about my only having played one game over there at the time). But, with that being said, let's talk about my experience as moderator of this lovely game in the VHL. So far, we've played a whole thirteen games, not counting a couple prototypical mafia-ish things that happened a while before either of those, and it has proven itself to be:

 

-A hell of a fun time for a lot of people. Sure, it hasn't been the cup of tea of everyone who's played, but we've got us a devoted group of people who legitimately enjoy the game and are here on our forum more because of it. Also, along those lines, it's been...

-A surprisingly effective tool for crossover between affiliate leagues. I myself am not active in the SBA and, as such, haven't had the opportunity to push Town of Salem down people's throats over there, but the common ground of there being the same activity on both the VHL and EFL forums (with our games usually being advertised in each other's Discord servers) has led to multiple VHL members joining the EFL for Town of Salem and sticking around. The effect isn't as pronounced over here, but I've definitely seen at least one EFL --> VHL Town of Salem crossover and I'd argue that the game has positively contributed to the forum activity of at least one other EFL member here.

-I thought I had more things to say here but I don't. Let's move on and get into the list.

 

My stat spreadsheets are here. I think I'm too much of a nerd for my own good.

 

 

10. @BarzalGoat

Record: 5-6

Barzal has often been an overlooked player, and that's because he isn't a particularly flashy one. Looking back on every game he's played, there isn't really one that jumps out as impressive on the surface--but he's generally managed to be on top of things with night actions and has quietly become one of the VHL's better players. He's the only Tracker (Game 3) to record two evil visits in the same game, the longest-lived Medusa (Game 4) and has managed to weed out and kill an evil player as Jailor (Game 6). As behind-the-scenes as he is, he's actually on top of the leaderboard in investigations, having looked into more players than anyone else (and generally being there to report results during the day phase immediately after and keeping a good will). So, sure, not a whole lot that would constitute a claim to fame, but a good group of parts that sum together into a pretty solid whole.

 

9. @solas

Record: 2-3

I did exclude everyone who's played fewer than five games from this list, and was a bit surprised to see that solas has only played five of them--because the five that he's been involved with have been generally noteworthy. On top of boasting the second-largest average duration of survival out of anyone with five or more games under their belt, he's also sixth on the all-time kill list and has made the most out of a few difficult roles. A relatively short-lived Escort in Game 1, he followed up an unimpressive exit with arguably the best cornered Neutral Killing play I've ever seen in Game 2, claiming Lookout as the Juggernaut as the last non-Town member left and actually somehow providing entirely correct results with his fake claims for a few days before getting lynched at random to end it. After that point, he led the Mafia to its first-ever win in Game 6. As a whole, his performances with the Town haven't been as worthy of mention, but when he's been evil he's been one of the most interesting and dynamic players to watch.

 

8. @MMFLEX

Record: 3-5

Flex has a fairly low average duration of survival, and seven of his eight games can more or less be chalked up as unimpressive overall. For the statheads, he ranks 7th in K/D among qualifying players, and that's just about the only number that officially warrants his being here. So why is he here? First of all, let's not forget that the deck has often been stacked against him (he's only been town once, and one of those losses was due to a modkill that wasn't his fault but the forum's). He's on this list most of all because of his performance as Coven Leader in the last game, bringing the Coven to victory in a showing which was quite possibly the best single game I've ever seen from anyone. Every use of his ability was instrumental to the Coven's success, from using the Godfather as his own personal assassin to controlling the Escort into the Doctor to help out the Poisoner and avoid detection from the Lookout in doing so in one move, to finally presenting a winning argument to swing a majority vote against the Pestilence to seal the deal at the end, the game could not have been played any better than it was. Before then, he likely wasn't on the minds of many, but as of right now he's firmly on the map.

 

7. @Ricer13

Record: 4-8

Record-wise, this isn't very impressive. Stats-wise, this isn't very impressive either--oh wait, he's second on the leaderboard for kills. He's got what's probably the most kills in a single game (with 7 as Arsonist in Game 12), and has put together the fourth-highest qualifying K/D ratio because of it. Apart from this, probably his most noteworthy game is a very quick victory as Jester in Game 5, where he managed to get lynched on Day 3. He's also someone who I can't point to a whole lot in particular for, but something that sticks out to me is that he's one of the more active voices in game threads, arguing to the very end when voted up and always doing what he can to find new and unique ways to play his role. Because of this, despite his record, he's deserving of a spot on the list.

 

6. @Mr_Hatter

Record: 5-7

Hatter figured out the game more quickly than most, reading up on some rules and becoming one of the more recognizable faces of the first few games. Leading off with the best-ever game from a Sheriff (three found suspicious out of five investigations in Game 1), he established himself as a strong addition to any Town's role list when he followed that up by catching an evil player in the act as Tracker in Game 2 and as yet being the only Transporter to directly cause the death of an evil role over a townie in game 6. As an evil, he's been slightly less effective, but probably ranks in the top five for town.

 

5. @jhatty8

Record: 5-7

From one hat to another, from one 5-7 to another, hatty is someone who's been able to establish himself as a strong player in leading roles. Twice a Godfather, he was able to take the Mafia deep into Game 1 and ended up winning Game 9--and on the town side, won as Mayor in Game 10. On top of that, he's the only Vampire Hunter to succeed in killing a Vampire (and killed the Mafioso as Vigilante after that), one of two Retributionists under the old Retri role setup to successfully revive someone, and is currently fourth in all-time kills. There have been a share of games where he's died early on, but when left alive he's proven himself to be a danger to the other team.

 

4. @omgitshim

Record: 6-7

When I made this ranking I was a bit surprised that I didn't have omg in the top 3, but results-wise I'd say it makes sense not to. On the whole, he hasn't managed to get a lot done that's particularly impressive, but has made a couple brilliant moves worth mentioning, saving himself and killing an evil role in one move as Retributionist in Game 11, catching a killer on the first night as Tracker in Game 5, and picking up investigative results galore as Lookout in the last game, leading to the lynchings of the Hex Master and Serial Killer. He's also easily the most knowledgeable player we've got (myself included) and it's not at all a stretch of the imagination to say that VHL Town of Salem would never have been possible without his help at the start. Bringing a respectable record to the table on top of that (4th among qualifying players), it's quite clear that he's deserving of a spot on our list.

 

3. @Mike

Record: 5-6

NOBODY else has ever been on top of the all-time kills leaderboard. Mike jumped on top with six kills as Werewolf in a Game 1 that he lost under a hugely unlucky set of circumstances and has stayed in the lead since, with 15 to date. He's also the only Witch to win a game (game 7), one of two players to record a perfect three executions of evils as a Jailor (Game 3), and would be on top of the kill list by a much wider margin had he managed to ignite in time in Game 5 as Arsonist. Known for a somewhat unusual play style in the game threads, he gets his actions done effectively at night and is respected and feared by just about any other player who has been around the block a few times.

 

2. @Berocka

Record: 8-4

With a record like this in a game where the majority often loses and sometimes only one or two people win, I was surprised to see that Berocka hasn't had many super-noteworthy games. Easily his biggest claim to fame is our one and only win as Pestilence back in Game 3, but after that it's his effectiveness as a neutral player, as he's 3-1 with neutral roles. Aside from the win as Pestilence, he's also the only player to ever win (and the only player to ever lose) as Pirate, and managed to pile up a win as Amnesiac as well. Generally doing enough for town to be of legitimate help when he's on the good side and doing enough on the other side to throw a monkey wrench into daily discussion, his results have reflected his contributions, and for that reason he's all the way up at #2 on the list.

 

1. @chatfan036

Record: 8-4

This should come as absolutely no surprise whatsoever. Eagles is someone who came in already experienced with Town of Salem, and that's been more than reflected in both his play and the outcomes of his games. His first "I'm not as dumb as I look" moment came with a perfect game as Jailor in Game 5 (something he repeated in Game 10), and he's been on the map ever since, only interrupting an 8-game win streak with a loss in the last game in which he died early on. Tied for the best win percentage out of all qualifying players, and with the third-highest qualifying K/D ratio, eagles is widely recognized as the best player we've got, and it would be foolish to have him anywhere else on this list.

 

 

So there we have it--there are some very dedicated people who I legitimately believe are good players and who didn't end up making this list, too! What we've got now is a fun game that's managed to bring together quite a few members of the league and been a positive contribution to the league--so for anyone who hasn't played yet, if you're able to be consistently active on both the forums and Discord, give it a shot! For those who have, I hope you'll find this list fair and I hope you'll see it as a bit of an incentive to keep at it. And, as always, a great big thank you goes to the VHL for being a community so good that there's even a reason to write articles like this in the first place.

 

 

2,047 words; I guess I can claim this for 4 weeks if I want but I plan on having something else out in good time...so don't be surprised if this doesn't last that long.

[JorgTheGoat03 53]

Great article Gus! I lived the breakdown on each person!

[bigAL 2,176]

.FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY

[bigAL 2,176]

Now do a Bottom 10 list

[solas 1,951]

Nice to be mentioned.

...I should play some more TOS games.

[eaglesfan036 4,602]

No offense to Mike but 3 is way too high for him -I always love being in games with him because he is such a wild card player, but between being busy with work and not really knowing the full game mechanics I don’t think he should be up there.

 

Also, Osens will be on this list the next time it comes out, man is learning:) 

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

Happy with where I sit; curious if I hadn't skipped a game if I'd move higher or lower; the world may never know

[diamond_ace 3,112]

Let's be honest here, a top 10 list for TOS is just Eagles 10 times. You can start mentioning other people in honorable mentions.

[Mike 708]

Just happy to be here.

[Jubis 1,348]

0-0 for that undefeated record 

[Gustav 6,407]

Week 2; thank the lord for multiclaims. 

[Gustav 6,407]

Week 3; give it up for week 3

[Gustav 6,407]

YEETING week 4 out of this. Back to making content next week.

[Spartan 4,402]

FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY