I joined a game recently where I noticed that before it started a few of the same users were leaving and rejoining constantly. I've only ever really seen this when I do private matches with friends where we try to get bases near each other to team up on others.

As the game progressed it became obvious that these players were working together as they hardly attacked each other. They also had lots of extremely well coordinated attacks. The type of coordination you don't see from strangers.

Am I right to think that something strange is going on with these players and that they could be friends (or the same person) that join together? Or is this a common thing? It's just extra odd that it was the same couple of players who were alternating joining/leaving.

The joining and rejoining actually is not what you think it is.

Let's say username A joins, the leaves. Then username B joins. The game will actually say that username B joined, left, and joined again, even though it wasn't them joining and leaving. The whole extreme alliance thing may be true, but I can't give definitive proof on that. But as for the joining/leaving, that's just how the game works

So I've certainly seen that aspect of it before, but I'm not sure that's the case here primarily because it's the same set of people joining and leaving and at times it's hours apart.

No, that's what he's saying. Everyone who left is replaced by the log with the most recent person who came. So mathwhiz8 will come and leave. Then nojo35 will come and it will say Nojo came left and came again, when he only showed up once. Then Nojo leaves and tw5000 shows up. The log will say he came, left, came, left and came. Even though he only just showed up. The game counts him as mathwhiz8 and nojo35 even though it's not him.

aclonicy wrote:No, that's what he's saying. Everyone who left is replaced by the log with the most recent person who came. So mathwhiz8 will come and leave. Then nojo35 will come and it will say Nojo came left and came again, when he only showed up once. Then Nojo leaves and tw5000 shows up. The log will say he came, left, came, left and came. Even though he only just showed up. The game counts him as mathwhiz8 and nojo35 even though it's not him.

And the log will say:
5 hours ago, TW5000 joined (when it was mathwhiz8)
4 hours ago, TW5000 left (actually MathWhiz)
3hourz ago, TW joined (this one was nojo)
Etc.

A serial logger can mean a few things:

1) in an anonymous game, the player is rejoining to view the map.
2) a player is trying to get a different starting location to be closer to a real-life friend
3) nothing at all.

Always treat serial loggers with mistrust.

If you want to view the map on an anonymous game, just swipe left from the main menu. (As long as you didn't load the map of another game, because only the most recent map you have looked at will show up)