MM is Constantly Changing
I should've posted this earlier but this is about matchmaking in Apex and how it is constantly changing, using different variables to determine what type of lobbies you get into. I feel like Respawn...
Forum Discussion
@pandareno1999 yeah, no idea. According to Tyler Owens, they use various data for MM. Maybe you got easier lobbies because the previous day you had tough ones.
I use to play with a scuf impact but that thing had so many issues. Now I use a ps5 controller.
I use to play with a scuf impact but that thing had so many issues. Now I use a ps5 controller.
@swift07 No, I meant that my quickie no fill lobbies had much more serious looking champion squads than usual - possibly, I propose, from my gun run stats.
- @pandareno1999 I spent a couple seasons (12 and 13) no fill queueing. The game seemed to treat me like a premade squad. One single top 5 would boost me into lobbies with all trails.
- @pandareno1999 Yeah, I always wondered if different modes had any affect to each other regarding MM. I have tried playing different modes after I won and lost a game in ranked but didn't really notice that much of a difference. Maybe not enough of games to know.
- @hayhor Don't forget, our no fill games are entirely different. I just do them to spawn, finish some BP objectives, and then leave. Whereas, you're actually playing the game!
Anyway, my only point really is that I have definitely noticed differences in the MM in the last week or two.
I STILL have my BR account that I have 350+ deaths (no kills and no damage). However, I tried playing hard on this account in Control, Shadow Royal, and in Gun Run. I’m a level 64 on this account and ALL of that XP is from the LTM’s.
I can say this: performance in LTMs does not effect BR. After doing really really really really well in Gun Run, my BR lobbies are still level 5-10 and just really new players.
So LTM matchmaking rating is indeed separate from BR matchmaking rating.- @Axs5626Sxa5001 Even though you become the champion in a BR game after winning in an LTM game?
@Cheese9Man
Yep. I was champion but everyone (teammates and opponents) remain new players. Tested this Thursday, yesterday, and just a few moments ago.
It should noted though, that after winning a few matches by a huge margin in Gun Run, I’m put in the right LTM lobbies with Diamond and Masters, and smurfs. But no, this doesn’t increase the MMR of my BR lobbies.It should ALSO be noted that I’m actively against smurfing. I’m not using these accounts to giggle and have fun; I’m genuinely bothered by Respawn’s silence on matchmaking, so best believe I will test things for myself.
- @Axs5626Sxa5001 Always appreciate your work on investigating how MM works.
- @Axs5626Sxa5001 Yeah so, just the typical end of the season MM gone mad for me then I guess.
- @pandareno1999 I was just thinking that in that time you open bins and get materials you end up top 5 cause the lobby dies so fast lol
- @pandareno1999
You know, that’s another thing I think people don’t talk enough about: the very clear change in matchmaking that happens in the 2-3 weeks before a new season.
I know people have proposed that it’s the result of lower player count but I don’t buy that. I genuinely feel like some sort of switch is intentionally flicked. Lobbies on my lower MMR accounts are extra lax and my higher MMR accounts are pred fest lobbies. @Axs5626Sxa5001I actually do believe the player count drops significantly. People take breaks end of season. It's either the grinders or the new players playing at that point. We see it in the steam player data and the twitch watched data.
@hayhorBut then why do my lower MMR accounts become significantly easier and forgiving? Shouldn’t less people mean more variance in lobbies (because lobbies are prioritizing quickly made matches)?
I’m experiencing the change on both ends. I feel (personally) like the algorithm is tighter towards the end of the season. And maybe that’s a strategic thing. If lower MMR players (the majority) are feeling good about the game, then they’re more likely to spend money on the new season?
@Axs5626Sxa5001 wrote:@hayhorBut then why do my lower MMR accounts become significantly easier and forgiving? Shouldn’t less people mean more variance in lobbies (because lobbies are prioritizing quickly made matches)?
I’m experiencing the change on both ends. I feel (personally) like the algorithm is tighter towards the end of the season. And maybe that’s a strategic thing. If lower MMR players (the majority) are feeling good about the game, then they’re more likely to spend money on the new season?My matches have not been getting easier. I still keep getting paired with brand new players, then see the 400+ levels as champs. I know I'm terrible, but I still got more experience at level 300+ than the level 10's or 20's I keep getting.
Other then when those low levels are a clear smurf account... like this one...
Supposedly that Pathfinder was level 8.
- @Axs5626Sxa5001 Well if there are only top players and new your low mmr accounts get stuck with the newer players. So it would be easier.
- @hayhor I guess that’s possible. Whatever the case, matchmaking definitely feels different during the last two weeks of any season. Maybe this is entirely due to the reduced player count, but it does seem extreme and consistent enough to make me think it’s some sort of intentional internal thing.
The idea that matchmaking would intentionally ramp up and become tighter just to increase sales for the next season is definitely a bit “tin-foil-hatty”. But we’re also all smart enough to know that nothing— and I mean nothing, is prioritized more than maximizing profits.
So if it were (hypothetically) revealed that companies are using creative and or unethical means to increase the likelihood of sales, would you be shocked? I definitely wouldn’t. - @Axs5626Sxa5001 No I wouldn't be surprised but every season since I can remember, my lobbies get harder during the last month. Giving me harder lobbies isn't making me feel better. The only season this wasn't the case was 13 but that is because 13 was the hardest solo pub lobbies I've ever had throughout the whole season.
@hayhor Exactly what I experience. I'm in low MMR for solo q and the session I described several posts above sums up my solo experience this end-of-season pretty well. As for queuing with my buddy, we typically experience horrendous MM at the end of seasons together, just skies full of masters and pred trails, and so we almost never group match make together at this point of season. Thankfully this season we have all these LTMs, so we have something to do together in Apex. Usually we're just straight up taking a break the last couple of weeks, after finishing the battle pass.
I'm pretty sure they mess around with MM all the time. Add in changes with the number of players at any given time and you get weirdness on a regular basis.
All I know is that I get teammates much worse than me and opponents much better than me quite a lot. Makes me stop playing when it gets especially bad.
@HappyHourSumwur Yep, yep, I’m thinking the MM is changing multiple times throughout a season. I come back to the forums to see if that change is for the positive and see if my favorite FPS has returned. However, after reading over the forums, I’m guessing I’d still struggle vs preds and masters in my ranked matches.
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