How To Fix SBMM

@Babbediboopi I disagree. Not only is K/D an absolute reflection of skill but it's likely the ONLY reflection of skill regardless of a broken or fixed SBMM algorithm. But more on the irrelevance of SBMM in regard to skill in a moment. To play Devil’s Advocate, IF K/D ISN’T the best reflection of skill in this game, then what is? I present to you the following stats that just don’t compare.

• Damage – Anyone regardless of skill can rack up enough damage to look “skillful” if given enough time, but the true indicator should more likely be Damage Per Game. But even that stat can be skewed given the wide variety of options available to achieve this SAFELY and without skill thanks to factors such as throwables, sniper rifles, and Ultimates. Doing damage from afar is the Achilles Heal of why Damage Per Game is NOT an indicator of skill.
• Champion Wins – Even I was able to rack up a handful of Champion Wins within the first few days of release, but that had nothing to do with skill at all. Many skill lacking players can win simply by being carried by other “more skillful” squad mates. Combine that with tactics such as camping to avoid fights until the end, scavenging abandoned death crates, and 3rd Partying the Final 2 Squads. Winning as Champion only proves you have abilities to execute a sound strategy, but strategic acumen is NOT an indicator of skill at all.
• Revives & Respawns – Although I admit it DOES take some skill to be able to pull off a safe revive and/or respawn during and after a fire-fight, I would also like to add that it also matters on other factors such as appropriate cover, coordination with your downed squad mate, communication with your surviving squad mate, and a bit of luck. And not a single of these factors are indicative of YOUR skill… if anything, it better reflects the skill of your squad mates as a whole.
• Assists – Unless I’m wrong, an assist is granted for simply causing SOME damage to an enemy before your squad mate gets in the final blow to earn the knockdown. Unfortunately, randomly spraying and praying at an enemy squad, attracting their attention and relying on your squad mates to finish them off is NOT skill. That’s just you being a good sidekick for fodder. High assists per game just proves you are brave enough to always be in a firefight to inflict damage, but sadly, no skill is necessary for that.

Any others I miss? Kill to Death ratio on the other hand proves you possess many traits not readily highlighted by the stats mentioned above. It takes skill to time and down an enemy in a fire-fight, it takes skill to ward off other supporting squad mates, it takes skill to squad wipe in a 1v3 situation, it takes skill to finish off a downed enemy and earn the kill, it even takes skill to survive and escape a fire-fight going bad.
No amount of masterful strategy or tactics will EVER trump an ambushed player with HIGH K/D ratio skills. I’m living proof of this. I have been in squads where we would silently 3rd party a surprised winning squad with throwables and Ultimates, all while shooting from all sides behind cover using the high ground, only to be out-skilled as they would all turn around, jump and crouch like possessed and mow us all down with precise fearless headshots.

Throw SBMM in the mix? It doesn’t matter. When SBMM works as advertised, you’re “supposedly” facing off against opponents with the same lethality as yourself. Shine and excel against those, and that’s a true reflection of your K/D avg. With a broken or nonexistent SBMM system? Now you’re mowing down noobs in a lobby where you’re equally likely to face off against a Diamond – Predator, only difference is, you have no idea what type of opponent you’ll be encountering in any given lobby. You could be picking on noobs, or you could be picking on a bully. As for me, I’d be better prepared knowing I’m about to engage with an enemy that in all likelihood is just as good as I am. Yet comforted in knowing they shouldn’t be significantly better than me. A broken or missing SBMM system is just what we have now… Public lobbies where only Diamond+ thrive as they feast on the rest of us because they KNOW the odds of encountering a higher ranked opponent is slimmer compared to running into the rest of us.