A way to balance out SBMM
SBMM seems to be a topic on that the Apex community has long debated. Some think it is broken while others think it is fine. I find myself on the side that thinks it is broken. I believe it is doing more bad than doing good within the public matches of Apex. Before I get into how I think it could be balanced out, I would first like to explain how SBMM is currently known to work in Apex. The listed elements are what go into the "idea" of skill (SBMM):
- If you are in a pre-made squad
- And they are of a similar overall skill level to you (Example: Above average)
- Or they are of an overall higher skill level
- Your K/D ratio
- Your account level
- Your ranked tier
- Your performance in the last few games (kills, damage, placement, or wins)
The purpose of SBMM is to try and make games more fair by putting players up against other players of their own skill level or slightly higher. The problem comes when an above average player (1.0-2.0 K/D for example), is being paired up with teammates whose stats are no where close to those of the originally mentioned player. A lot of above average players are becoming frustrated with the fact that they are being paired up with teammates who simply cannot play at a higher skill level. It would seem that the more skilled players are being paired with lower skilled players solely for retention purposes in the game. The problem with this is that higher skilled players are not playing in lower skilled lobbies with the lower skilled teammates. They are instead playing in higher skilled lobbies with lower skilled teammates.
The solution is simple. SBMM can be fine tuned so that it calculates teammates skill levels and place players in teams with similarly skilled players. This would balance out the games. Players would be paired with teammates that are of their skill and would play against other players within or slightly above their skill range. The games would feel less lopsided and make players feel like they can actually play without a burdensome "lower skill" teammate. A lower skilled player has no place playing in a higher skilled lobby, where they are out skilled and are just going to drag their team down. The lower skilled players should play with the lower skilled players and the higher skilled players should play with the higher skilled players in an ideal SBMM system.
The second option would be to remove SBMM entirely from public matches and revert back to the old way, which was just have a mash-up of randomly skilled players all in on game. It is less likely that Respawn would choose this.
Let it be noted that this solution would not affect pre-made squads as it is meant for solo-queue players to play with others around their skill level. The SBMM for pre-made squads would essentially stay the same as it is now, with maybe a few minor adjustments.
Please feel free to ask questions and leave Constructive Criticism.
