You wait to get into a match, an opponent gets selected, and you are wisked away to the arena. There is always that 3 second window where the anticipation leads to relief or dread. The starting order does factor into an advantage-there no way around it. There is a way to make it fairer without reducing the spirit of the game.
Its been a couple of years (maybe longer) since suggesting this.
Turn based combat systems will always pose the challenge of the second reacting to the starting person. Some can play from the second, but it is an uphill battle. It seemed unfair to let the computer pick who goes first because there is always that feeling something is not right or "why do I always go second?
The first suggestion was random number generators that players could actually see prior to being assigned first or second. Each play clicks numbers generating, coins spinning, or whatever. The highest roll goes first. In most sporting events it is always an advantage to go first. Calling heads or tails would add a sense of having some control over the fate of the match. Even if that fate means going second. I'm sure Wizard101 uses some type of generators in the code. The only difference is letting the wizards flip the coin instead of the system.
I suggested another idea long ago and it was never considered. This is a card game. Similar to the card game ENO, create a Reverse card. If I am the wizard going second I use the card and it stuns the wizard (unless they have a block) for one turn. The difference is now the cast order is going the other way. Now I'm first and they are second. Would this possibly cause Reversal wars? Maybe, but if they are rare cards, not so much.
It doesn't cure everything but it offers some type of a chance in what occasionally seem like a hopeless situation. It would bring a sliver of much needed balance to that aspect of the game.
