Ranked Arena discourages play leading to a player decline vicious circle

Ranked Arena, as it is now, is in an inevitable circle of decline. I say that as someone who has been grinding the mode and as such have a lot of experience with the updated ranked system for Arenas. It's disingenuous to label the Arena system as Ranked when matchmaking is not based on skill, or even your hidden MMR, but instead on queue time. The hidden MMR seems to only be a determinant of AP gain or loss, whilst the opponents you face are drawn from the pool of players available RIGHT NOW. In the ranked BR players are matched according to skill, Platinum vs Platinum, Diamond Vs Diamond, with ranks displayed. This rank is concealed in ranked Arena because of the way matchmaking is set up. Rather than have players wait for any sensible length of time to play against equally "ranked" opposition, the system seems to pull from whoever is closest in waiting time.

This is most obviously seen when you find yourself matched against the same players again and again, and even more painfully obvious when those players turn out to be Arena Predators. Hiding ranks is ineffective when people actually stream and ranks can be verified. It becomes painfully obvious that matchmaking is ...problematic. And what happens is that people who play at off peak times, solo or even just because the system doesn't really care, well, those people lose and their personal MMR dictates that they should no longer gain points of any real value. And let's be clear, the MMR is determined unfairly (or perhaps let's just say that it's not skill based) because matches are being played that are one sided from the off...there is no kind of protection from people who clearly belong way above you in Arena ranking and if you lose (which you will because you shouldn't be having these face offs in the first place) you are deemed worse, instead of playing at your level. (Forgive another analogy but a green belt in judo shouldn't ever be expected to beat a black belt, and it's not a negative mark against them if they lose, but if they lose against another green belt then it's a much better indicator of ability)

I know making a complex ranking and matchmaking system is difficult, especially in the less popular mode, but right now if players are losing incentive to play a mode (diminishing AP returns in whatever part due to poor skill based matchmaking) they become disgruntled and disincentivised. People should absolutely be penalised for losing, but they system now is deliberately opaque, hiding ranks and pitching all ranks against each other. It almost feels like a roulette who you'll be facing next in terms of skill and that's not fun. And that means fewer people will find the mode appealing, making the matchmaking struggle harder to equate skill levels which in turn makes the mode less rewarding and less of a ranking mode.

Please, if you want to keep the mode working, do something quickly before the only people left playing are the very best of the best who are at that top skill level. Right now it's really not working for anyone (the Pred team that I had to play against quickly realised the inequality of matchup and started only using Mozambiques to fight us) and unlike in the BR, where you always feel that you can claw your RP back with a win, in the arena, once you have lost a few unfair matchups there doesn't feel like any real way back...and if that's the case why even play?