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TXC_Rafael's avatar
TXC_Rafael
6 years ago
Solved

How does the SBMM actually work?

hello everyone, how does the SBMM actually work? I'm around level 460 with 4k Kills on wraith, a 20 kill badge and a 4k damage badge but my winrate is only like 4%. There's literally at least 5-6 pr...
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  • Axs5626Sxa5001's avatar
    Axs5626Sxa5001
    6 years ago
    @TXC_Rafael

    I am NOT a dev. But I do have plenty of time played on the game and have played over many accounts of varying stats. My main account has 26,000 kills on Pathfinder. I have made other accounts where I specifically perform poorly to see what kind of lobbies SBMM puts me in. So here are my observations:

    -If you load into a lobby solo, the SBMM algorithm will try to build BALANCED teams, to the best of it’s ability. On my main account, that means my two teammates are often far less skilled and experienced than me. On my “intentionally bad” accounts, that means that I am often paired with one player who is pretty decent at the game.

    -If you load into a match with your friends, the SBMM algorithm tends to put you against other players who have partied up with their friends. This is a good thing, because premade squads should probably be playing against other premade squads. Unfortunately there is a serious issue with this too. I have plenty of friends I enjoy playing with who aren’t as skilled or experienced as myself. So when I party up with them and we jump into a game, the SBMM algorithm places us in premade lobbies based on MY skill level and stats (if I’m using my main account). This means my friends get absolutely melted each and every gunfight. They now hate playing with me. I sort of find this unacceptable. A game should NEVER discourage others from playing with their friends.
asukojo's avatar
asukojo
6 years ago

@TXC_Rafael SBMM also consider your previous game performance.

If you play "Sucks" and struggling (0 kill and <100 damage) for few times, they will downgrade you to lowers players lobby with similiar performance with you. It's ladder step, so you don't directly go to the bottom.

If you don't believe, test it out, sucks at least 3-4 games.  You will see the Champion level is decreasing lower and lower.

Note: This's similiar to GRE test, if you ever took it, you know what I mean.

Aegis_Kleais's avatar
Aegis_Kleais
Rising Hotshot
6 years ago

Trios. 60 players, 20 teams, 3 players per team.

Let's say 1000 players in queue. Queue is traditionally a FIFO system (first in, first out), think of it as a line at the supermarket. The SBMM might be using a "priority" queue, where users can be pushed up the queue to serve the immediate needs of balancing. That being said...

Let's say you're level 300. This isn't SOLO, so the sample size is 3 people. And yes, because many people group up, that messes with the skill balancing. But ultimately it finds the average skill level per team. So if you did NOT squad up, and the average is, say 450 per squad, then you should EXPECT either 2 level 150's (or some combo, like a level 100 and a level 200, etc) to join up. Yes, they'll be of lower skill. That's not THEIR fault. Woe are you to be teamed up with lower-skilled players, but that's just the roll of the dice; it's statistically happening to every other team as well.

You're bringing a solo mentality to a trio game. 

If the game were to wait until it was assured that nobody was of lower skill than you, why are YOU the sample then? It can't say "Oh, Player 1 of 60 is skill 300, so I should only let 300+ in to ensure that the PLAYERS which COMPOSE the Teams are of similar level. Well, what happens when Level 600 player comes in and he now feels the same way about being teamed up with a "pitiful" level 300 player?

Everyone wants a perfect system, but variances are always at play.

  • Axs5626Sxa5001's avatar
    Axs5626Sxa5001
    6 years ago

    @Aegis_KleaisSome people have suggested that having lobbies populated randomly is a solution that is technically “the most fair”.

    What’s your stance?

    I certainly want to provide a safe space for newer players to learn the ropes, but I do think that after a certain amount of “time played”, lobbies should be random.

    I do want to acknowledge that I don’t think the solo experience is horrible at all, because ultimately the lobbies aren’t selected to be full of “killers”. There are a fair amount of players of all skill.

    Playing with friends is freaking grueling though. I think something needs to be tweaked here and fast. It takes actual tournament level focus for my friends and I to survive to the top 5. Its fun when we are in a “super tryhard” mood, but that is simply not sustainable. Even after losing 20 games straight we don’t see any relief. Not fun.

    • a24zxc5411011ab's avatar
      a24zxc5411011ab
      6 years ago

      it doesnt work. predators play in gold lobbies and get easy games and pubs are just like ranked games so have fun. ty sbmm

  • TXC_Rafael's avatar
    TXC_Rafael
    6 years ago

    @Aegis_Kleais it's fine if my teammates aren't as good as me, I don't play to win I just want kills and good plays BUT for real dude, my teammates are around level 50 90% of the time, means they are completly new to the game so how are they supposed to face predators if I already struggle against them? Doesn't seem very beginner friendly to me and I can't imagine it's fun for them getting deleted by 2 PK shots before they could even pull out their gun lol.

    Matchmaking right now just feels wrong.

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