Proposal: Prohibiting Duos in Ranked Matches
Reason ・the devaluation of rank ・the complexity of the matchmaking ・the unfairness experienced by solo players The primary cause of the devaluation of ranked play is duo boosting. The presence...
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Sorry for the delayed reply. Been busy.
Like I said before this would not be a good idea.
Not allowing premade duos to play together in ranked and or pubs would not be good.
In affect when one of my friends could not make it to play we the other two would not be able to play together. This would impact me in a very negative way. I am sure there are a lot of other players would fall in the same boat.
If EA would do this they would lose a lot of players, which in turn would = less income which would mean less $ spent to improve the game. This would also mean less ranked players which would increase MM time and or MM quality as the skill gap of the players available would be greater because speed of MM takes priority over closeness of skill values. When you look at it this way it would be a loss for the players, community and the company.
Playing in a full team may or may not involves significant fatigue from scheduling and intense communication, That is dependent on the group of players themselves.
The presence of duos significantly encourages boosting behavior, thereby severely undermining fairness and competitiveness. The presence of duos does not encourage boosting nor impact the fairness or competitiveness of ranked play. As far as boosting goes report it if you see it. What would stop a one player in a premade squad of three boosting the other two? Solo's Duo's or premade 3 stacks are not the problem, the problem are players that cheat or boost.
Thank you for your detailed response. Here are my thoughts on your points:
Points I agree with:
・It's possible the number of players queuing for Ranked as duos would decrease if this change were implemented.
・Playing in a full party can indeed involve fatigue.
・The root cause of cheating and malicious behavior lies with the individual perpetrators.
Points I disagree with, and my reasons:
・Decrease in player count and revenue:
Casual modes already offer duo-specific content, so the opportunity for duo play wouldn't be entirely lost. Instead, by improving the fairness of Ranked matches, it's highly probable that participation from solo and full-party players would increase, potentially more than compensating for any decline in duo numbers.
・Slower matchmaking and wider skill gaps:
If duos were removed, the matchmaking algorithm would be simplified, which should actually improve both matchmaking speed and quality. The current rank distribution, with 33% in Diamond and 22% in Platinum at the end of Season 25 Split 1, suggests that ranks might not accurately reflect true skill. A clearer representation of genuine skill differences (i.e., a healthier ranking system) would be a desirable outcome, not a drawback.
・Fatigue in full parties:
In competitive Ranked play, forming a full party necessitates schedule coordination and consistent, close communication via voice chat. The accompanying mental and time-based fatigue from this is unavoidable.
・Duos not encouraging boosting or undermining fairness/competitiveness:
Structural issues that facilitate illicit activities shouldn't be ignored. Duos inherently have a structural advantage over solo players in terms of coordination. While full parties are prioritized to match against other full parties, duos are often matched with solo players. This "duo + solo" mixed party composition in matchmaking is what creates a sense of unfairness for solo players and easily facilitates boosting and smurfing, making it a fundamental structural problem.
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