You come for up­dates on cus­tom the­or­ies? Let me en­lighten you: noth­ing new…

• Big news: someone com­pleted a chal­lenge run to ee50k! Well, that does­n’t sound that amaz­ing you say. But what if I told you, it was done without ever touch­ing T5? And also without ever com­plet­ing T9 and thus only us­ing the ori­ginal the­or­ies? Con­grat­u­la­tions to Alex, our Dis­cord bot au­thor, for this achieve­ment!
• For T1 e700 was broken on a main save! And it was drum roll …Playspout! Wait, I got trolled? Sorry, it was ac­tu­ally JR (ap­pro­pri­ately nick­named JR[T1 Lord]) who did the deed while Playspout just wanted to scare every­one (and be hon­est: who would­n’t be­lieve him?)
• A lot of the top play­ers have gone into a hi­berna­tion, push­ing mainly idle the­or­ies (T2 sends its re­gards!)
• The rank­ings were ac­tu­ally earlier than the month be­fore, wow!
• Yeah, not much to tell about this last month (or maybe it was also in part be­cause I was kind of ab­sent)
• As the 6th news I can re­port that in the wake of the T2 mad­ness d4N­f6Bg5 has reached 6.66e666 T2 and has now entered a life-crisis by be­ing torn between the wish to con­tinue push­ing and leav­ing this per­fect num­ber there forever

Ob­lig­at­ory plea for feed­back: If any­one has ideas, please let me (and/​or the guide team) know. If you have cri­ti­cism do it as well. If you don’t want to end up in any news/​rank­ings out­side the server, then con­tact me so I could either ex­clude or an­onymise you.

So after once again avoid­ing the rank­ings in fa­vor of news for a bit (and be­ing ex­tra late any­way), it is fi­nally time for the up­date!

March 2023 Top 20 on the lead­er­board, their $F(t)$ at the time the list was com­piled and their Dis­cord con­nec­tion (Dis­cord names in brack­ets are not their nick­names!):

1. HeadedArt26 (Playspout) - ee68230:

If you ever looked at the record sheet you should know him because he’s literally everywhere there (still holding him off from T2/​T4 for now^^). Also pretty active here, doing everything imaginable! Added fun fact: did ee50000 without T9. I wonder if there is anything he isn’t active in^^

Playspout is the Ling Ling of Exponential IdleActive with 40 hours a day (and more saves than any person should have) and still searching for new theory strats and writing and and and. Having established a firm lead the only question to remain seems: will Gen still try again or will Playspout lose some motivation and allow someone else to get close? So could you slow down please? The answer is: yes and no. Gen is trying but not showing, Playspout hasn’t lost motivation or slowed down, instead playing for the long game (and slipping by getting his updated score here, so no longer shadow #1).

2. Adam­H99 (nemesis) - ee67939:

Found the server some while ago and no longer an unknown! Looks like he is going fast and steady, this time overtaking me. There we have someone on a mission…

So for quite a while now he is consistent in doing hardcore active pushing and so I just hope he loses motivation he continues to go strong. Good at minigames! Too bad for him Playspout just posted his score again but I doubt this will deter him.

Also whatever EI steroids he’s on, I think I’d need them too^^ I mean at some point he’ll have to pay the price of not overpushing but that spirit is commendable.

3. (+1) Vin­tage­Sur­fer­56606 (kinger55) - ee67927:

He has discovered the main reason to be on the server: the tau bot^^ Well, that joke lost its meaning a few months ago but it is hard to let go^^ Else he’s not really participating (unless I ask for a tau update) but he’s a force on the leaderboard for sure. He certainly figured out CTs and firmly planted himself in the Top 5 until Adam showed up. If I had to bet I’d say he’ll get at least Top 3 one day! Not that anyone above would want to give ground though but that is not necessary if he keeps pushing harder. And there we go! He’s up here and regardless of the courtesy of Gen not updating and me not really pushing harder it is an incredible achievement!

4. (-1) Eld­rail (AfuroZamurai) - ee67870:

Always a bit difficult to write about oneself^^ Activity here is more in phases but at least pretty regularly (so hopefully daily), in the game I do like my idle theories (who could’ve guessed?). Favourite phrase: Time for active theories I guess^^ (while not doing that until I set myself a challenge). Also loves chess.

Finally got #1 in the rankings but without actually ever being #1…! Too bad Playspout showed up again before the cheater was removed. I guess I’ll have to keep hunting! Note: hunting can be defined broadly and this absolutely inefficient phase of idle is certainly just a long-term plot to regain my #1 spot for real. Totally.

5. Black­Seal94 (Black­Seal) - ee67687:

Seldom seen here but always great to see him update his insane T6 stat (discounting Playspout who shouldn’t count anyways)^^ Custom theories have kind of awoken him to be more active here, which is nice. It also made him more active in the rankings, which is not so nice ;)

He had turned on CT overdrive but as the new CTs lose their power he’s back to catching up. Looks like he is firmly settled into 5th place (well, with a grain of salt being Gen) after kind of losing the battle against his adversaries.

6. (+1) some gib­ber­ish I won’t even try type­writ­ing[name may change any second] (nubest) - ee67497:

She has been a long time member of this server, with quite a lot of messages a name to know. Maybe not the founder but excessive user of a rather unusual kind of text emoji: ouo and variations of it. She also likes to call hax and people bad which seems to correlate with her orthographic skills.

Unfortunately life came in the way and besides a pause on the server her leaderboard placement was suffering for it. Fortunately she is now back! And what a statement to get back into the Top 10 and even climbing and climbing! Maybe its the cat emojis^^ Or the elaborate strategies which are surely not active because nub only idles, sure.

7. (-1) Fi­nalul­tima (Fi­nalul­tima) - ee67457:

While they showed up a day before the rankings they got into the Top 20 in “real” Discord conversations (after some month of talking with the tau bot!) activity is still almost negligible but happy to have them and looking forward to seeing more!

Amazing fast progress and now the gap to close is pretty big. Still an impressive achievement getting here and after seeing their distribution I have no doubt it is fully deserved! Though others aren’t here to settle down either…

8. colinc719 (?) - ee67363:

They were maybe the biggest surprise when entering the rankings, shooting up from somewhere I cannot even remember directly into the Top 20 and never looking back. We cannot even know more about them because it looks like they are still not on the server. Maybe the future will give us more (so far not). For now they just entered Top 10 after first disappearing for a bit from the leaderboards completely and staying after not disappearing this month.

9. (+3) Up­Artz (?) - ee67182:

Seems to be active on Reddit but not here, though this is unclear.

They were already out of the Top 20 and were often on the edge but because of that I’m even more impressed by their fighting spirit, seeing the gap closing to actually entering the single digits! Applause for reaching the Top 10!

10. (+3) Reck­on­Crew (Reck­on­Crew) - ee67139:

They have all their messages on the server from a single day about 23 months ago, which is an achievement in itself I guess^^

Not much else to say except they are pretty stable, mainly gaining a place now and then (and sometimes losing one). I do like stable players for this ranking^^

He did give me some work by switching places but at least he remains mainly in the same rankings group (which is now irrelevant but whatever)^^ And back to the Top 10 as well!

11. (-1) TRE­DEC42 (XLII) - ee67109:

I don’t even know where to start but he’s doing amazing in-game and out of the game! Rising more and more thanks to his CT prowess (in absolute values currently #2), original theory pushing, the newly reached insane 1e9 stars and lots of pushing. To add to that he’s a minigame record hunter, sim programmer, CT balancer, helper and very active on the server!

I was really happy to see him enter the Top 10 for a ranking and not only for a short time! I heard he’s ready to cash in and start the hunt, so my expectations are high^^ I should not have said that, now I jinxed it. Or maybe he’s just taking his time^^

12. (-1) spqcey (ran­dom­name) - ee67090:

No idea what the name means but not that random of a person^^ We have another minigame master with a very impressive 2.55e8 minigame stars. Not only that but he’s also pretty active in the realm of collecting data in sheets like the theory strats, variable power or (sadly inactive for now) the tau graphing sheet and the $F(t)$ sheet. He’s pretty active on the Discord server and a very impressive custom theory master.

When Top 10? Not this month…

13. (+1) An­thari­on1988 (An­tharion) - ee67039:

The original legend, longtime #1, creator of the original tau simulator and sadly not that active anymore (both in the game and on the server), though we can still see him (and he’s certainly not given up^^) from time to time.

It was a surprise but a welcome one to see him back in the Top 10 at some point and even staying for a bit! Now the competition sadly got him but no reason to give him up. Gogogo!!!

14. (-5) Gen­Er­a­tion­Na­tion (Gen) - ee67017:

While he cannot consistently keep up the 1000 messages per month, the Juggernaut is not stopping any time soon, neither in-game, nor in the server. Don’t be deceived by his stagnant $F(t)$, he’s actually very close to Playspout!

Maybe not at the absolute top for CTs (though I think in terms of efficiency he actually is or at least very close) but still going strong enough with accel (the madman^^) to keep closer to Playspout than he should. If this will be enough to get back his #1 can be doubted though he will try it. I also wonder when he’ll be updating his score (and similarly dreading it because it will be high). Will a drop out of the Top 20 bring him to update?

15. (+1) ad­equateryan (ad­equate ryan) - ee67000:

Entered a few month ago. But who do we welcome into our ranks? I have no idea as they are seemingly on the server but with a whooping 0 messages so far. While I always feel a bit of sadness seeing veteran players fall, I do like new players coming in, showing all is fluid and you can catch up.

Now I wonder if they’ll stay or even rise or maybe even more surprisingly start to talk on the server! So far only rise and no talk… Or no rise and no talk…

16. (-1) har­u­maki200 (har­u­maki) - ee66984:

So far with the lowest amount of Discord messages but at least still here^^ Custom theories required some posts but that was it somewhat sadly.

Activity on the server is no where equivalent to activity in-game and this held true here very well. For a while they had stopped playing completely but now grinding is back on the menu! Welcome back!

17. SnaekySnacks (SnaekySnacks) - ee66799:

Had a hard time not to think of sneaky but okay^^ Maybe the most active person on the server [citation needed]. Also known for his contributions to the guide and answering questions seemingly everywhere and everytime^^ Due to his work he’s been less active lately (which seems still pretty active to me). You’re doing a great job though! Same goes for his own custom theory idea (EF) which got implemented with the help of peanut and XLII.

Despite all this distractions he’s still consistently in the rankings! Now I’m even looking forward to him entering the Top 10 for the first time (in my rankings, in between he already reached it). Okay, so close but yet so far… Don’t drop :( Too late…

18. (new) Melv0r (Melv0r) - ee66719:

I have a vague feeling he should’ve been already in last month, considering my notes on f(t) but hey, he’s here now! It has been a while since he was seen on the server, with messages dating back to 2021 making him an old veteran but still below a hundred messages. But what matters is not activity in the server (though still nice) but activity in the game. And there he fought his way up and up until he got into this prestigious list. Now it’s time to see if he can hold his place!

19. (-1) birrel69 (birrel) - ee66679:

The rival of d4Nf6Bg5 (or rather the involuntary rival). While falling behind, he now made his move and passed him for a first time entry into the Top 20! He popped up on the server to announce his entry into the Top 20 in December, only to be overtaken again before the rankings was made. For now he’s safely in utilizing the same strat of having 2 saves. Sometimes he shows up and exchanges some words with his rival, staying committed to the strategy of not sharing information, instead preferring to use what we find to better climb. Well, its not like anything is forced and in the end it depends on how you play your save, so on you go!

20. (-1) Fire­burn­er80 (Gull Dew­cat) - ee66573:

His in-game activity seems to mirror his server activity: preferably idle (though he is an old veteran who was somewhat active back in the days). He did idled out of the rankings before but already showed the fire for a comeback. And he did it again! I wonder when I’ll have to look up who had the most comebacks, though I wonder if he’ll stay for longer this time. Not necessary to look for now^^

Some enter the list and so some have to leave the list as well. Here is our fallen fel­low from this month:

23. (-3) hot­ab1 (hotab) - ee66475:

A new entry a long time in the making! Recently with some increased activity on the server and before a steady climb until he jumped into the Top 20. Right now he’s the player with the second highest T4 and a pretty decent theory distribution - but his T5 looks like it could help him get even higher. I’ll be interested to see if he can keep up the pace or if pushing T6 will cost him at some point. Well, that went not so great. I’m even feeling slightly confused over my notes and his presence in the Top 20 but regardless of what was, for now he’s out. But comebacks were made enough, to not lose hop for him!

1. (on iOS) neasi_cz (neasi) - ee66946:

A new face on the top of the iOS leaderboard! Overtaking Phask and finally getting to rank 1 after a long hunt, no working on increasing the difference. He is not that active on the server but not unknown either. Maybe we’ll see him more in the future? It might be possible we have in him somebody who is ready to challenge the established overall Top 10 hold by Android players, though it is still to early to say that. For now he climbed to #17 on the combined leaderboard.

2. (on iOS) Phask (Phask) - ee66800:

He was the longtime leader on the iOS leaderboard and actually in the Top 20 overall if combined. For quite some time it looked like he actually might be pretty close to the Top 10 on Android but lately he fell pretty hard, even losing the #1 spot for iOS. He’s actually still in it though, now being even back at #17 in the combined leaderboard (or rather #18 behind neasi_cz) which earns him the continued mention! He’s also on the server, though his active times are some months ago. Also known as the creator of the first Tau data collection sheet. Unfortunately he finally lost his top spot but it was still a very impressive long reign!

And in the end it is of course time for the “real” hon­our­able men­tion (please nom­in­ate someone with a reason for fu­ture in­clu­sion of play­ers if you have some­body in mind) as neasi_cz and Phask are tech­nic­ally in the Top 20 rank­ings:

284. (on iOS) blephin (Eyland­ing) - ee55439:

It is not the f(t) that matters - well not always, even for this ranking. There are also other ways to contribute and they are usually even more impressive (and certainly useful) for the community then just being great at pushing and grinding. Here we have a player who is nowhere near the Top 20 but active on the server, helping people out these last months at every stage of the game. This finally (and probably overdue) earned him the rare role of “Helper”, joining the ranks of Snaeky, XLII and Playspout in their quest to help out and be available to all kind of questions on the Discord server. Not enough with this, he’s also assisting on the keeping up the bot. A well deserved mention and I’m sure I don’t even know everything and have mentioned everything!

A fi­nal note: there is one player, who popped up this month on the lead­er­board and right in the Top 20. As they were nowhere to be seen be­fore and so far an­onym­ous, this seems at least a bit sus­pi­cious. Be­fore it is not veri­fied I won’t in­clude them here, though I won’t be ac­cus­ing them either be­cause you never know - maybe they just wer­en’t con­nec­ted be­fore.

As it turned out to be quite the un­der­tak­ing to write this month edi­tion (as al­ways, even after the re­lo­ca­tion this is­n’t writ­ing it­self), we might had some changes but be­cause I did­n’t look, noth­ing happened!