As a former tv producer and casting person (who has cast and directed hundreds of voice actors over the years) and now as a full-time vo artist and V123 member, this site is definitely playing some games. Now, to be fair, I've gotten some really amazing gigs on this site... most of which I had to hunt down payments from, over the course of 2 to 4 months, but I digress.
The ranking system? Just silly. Most casting people are way too busy to worry about hitting the Like button on auditions or the heart icon on profiles... they have a job to do and fast. Which, of course, hurts Talent and forces them to "beg" for reviews/ratings, which can be annoying to clients. So, why does V123 bother with it if no one seems to really want/need it? To create a sense of insecurity so that when it goes down Talent become worried enough about their reputations (motivated) to spend more money on the next tier up that promises more auditions and earlier delivery. Until you do that and discover that you only get a handful more auditions an hour or two sooner than before. Pretty gamey.
But, I'm here to tell you that it's all about the audition, regardless of what tier you're on. If you're the right fit for the job and have great sounding audio quality, that's all that matters. Just choose your auditions wisely for the best chance. All this ranking business is just a distraction and a manipulation. Focus on your performance and you should see some progress.
That being said, however...my biggest issues with this site are: the economically discriminatory tiers, the fact that all clients aren't required to pay the money up front to guarantee payment as soon as the job is complete, and way too many mismatched audition opportunities (again, most likely by design... to get us to pay more money for more expensive tiers).
Also, V123 encourages offsite client/talent relationship building, which on the surface, looks great, even generous. However, if the client doesn't pay up and you reach out to V123 for help, they'll tell you they legally can't do anything about it (since it's technically happening off their site) and the most they'll do is send them an email. So, in other words, they encourage you to work off the site so they don't have to take any responsibility. Womp womp
Which brings me to this issue--what if clients prefer to audition Talent on the site, but book and work with them off the site? Or, message them saying how much they like their voice and would like them to audition off the site? Talent doesn't get V123 credit for booking those jobs or being "liked" (happened to me many times) unless they ask the client to do that... which can be very awkward and "needy". Hear that downward whistle sound? That's the sound of my ranking percentage plummeting, despite my bookings and "Likes". Haha. In other words, the ranking system is so not a reflection of reality at all. And clients know that, that's why they mostly don't bother with it.
Anyway, I mostly ignore these tricks because guess what? It doesn't matter. Remember: clients are no more concerned about furthering your career than you are about furthering theirs.;)
Hopefully, V123 will make some changes to better serve Talent, overall. But, in the meantime, ignore the "noise" if you can. Don't give up. Keep going, keep auditioning. That one great opportunity/audition could be a life-changer.