Old time player here. I have a lot of maps that I wanna play in ranked because they can be very fun and competitive. However, no one joins unless it's a cap game which I personally don't like at all or it's classic fixed. Is there any way to get more people to join my games?
#How to get games in ranked more consistently?
lone cypress
spark bane
Im also looking for an answer to this👆
fiery drift
It is a patience game when it comes to filling a lobby. I play zombies, fixed, on maps that allow for small bonuses that tend to incremental development and a cautious strategy (and sometimes a player can seize and opportunity for big moves that shake up the game). So, I swim in a small niche of game format and play style that is not very popular and I understand your situation. I have a couple things for you to consider, from my own experience, and I hope it helps fill your lobbies!
Consider the time of day. There are times when the player pool is lower and getting a game going can be harder. Try to play during peak hours and be patient no matter what.
Maybe start the lobby with 1 bot in seat 6 so the lobby is more attractive to players trying to get a game going faster. You can choose to remove the bot when your lobby fills up and open another human slot or just go with it.
Emote when someone joins a lobby. It's like saying "hello, it's good to have you here" and let's them know you are active and ready to host a friendly, fun game. I've noticed that engaging with other players is more likely to keep them interested in staying in my lobby.
Consider your settings. 60 second turn timer is intimidating to new players and mobile users. I use 90 second turn timers to allow less experienced or less comfortable players time to make their decisions in less popular game formats.
Send friend requests after the game. It's like saying "that was fun, let's do it again sometime "! After a while, some users will recognize your game format in the lobby and have a positive association with that particular game. I play with a lot of other zombie addicts and see the same accounts all the time in games I host or join. I have learned to be humble in defeat after so many games and like to give "good game, well played" to build camaraderie and I think that makes people feel good and more likely to play again.
Post in looking-for-game channel
Be patient.
I hope this helps just a little bit. Hopefully you get some competition rolling in. I also like the less popular game formats. Good luck! 
mortal verge
I have also ran into this plenty. One thing I have tried that seems to actually is if you are having issues getting more than one or two people to join and then leaving is to exit out, reset the connection and restart the lobby
midnight stirrup
same problem for me, the incentive to buy more maps is just not really there, in my opinion,
try casual maybe, in some cases they fill up well.
you'd think the devs would want money, but they completely disregard the problem of people not being able to fill lobbies for world dom, if it's not classic / europe / airship.
I have stopped playing regularly because of this, thats like 10 months (1500 ~ games I would've played, adding to the playerbase)
the biggest problem is the current match maker: where people spawn in, see there is x players missing, so they leave immediatley, or after just 10-20 seconds.
I have proposed an additional MM-system where players can "cue up" on multiple games, they'd be inclined to play, without having to sit in just 1 lobby for 5 minutes or eternity, hoping that enough players will join AND the current players in the lobby staying patient too.
but it was completely disregarded and worse:
the underlying problem ignored.