Forum Discussion

rickyressel's avatar
6 years ago

SBMM Needs to cater to more than the minority

My son and I have played Apex since before season 1. We loved the game and it became our primary game of choice through every state that the game has gone through. I know SBMM (Skill based match making)  has been a hot topic of debate for quite some time. I feel like the game in its current state is the worst its ever been and here's why. SBMM in the games infancy was very similar to the way it is now, except when the game first started the majority of the people playing were just learning how to play and most of the people were on an even playing field. As time went on a larger percentage of players became the top tier or the elite which accounts for about 10% of the player base. The rest of the players are either average or slightly above average. The one and only time that SBMM was actually functioning the way it should have been was I believe some time in season 3 for about a 3 month period. Players were all matched up accordingly to people specifically of their skill level. There were no longer the top tier players or elite players getting matched up with average player so there was no more PUB stomping or steam rolling. This meant that the best players had to always play against the best players. During this time several content creators that made Apex content (specifically YouTubers like Staycation and Zeusressurected) used their platform as a medium to whine and complain about how it was "unfair" that they had to constantly play sweaty every time they played PUBs. They couldn't play a casual game that didn't offer such a high challenge. Unfortunately because these content creators have the loudest voices in the community.  Respawn caved and set the SBMM back to the way it was. The problem with this is multiple things. First, every player who plays the game has to sweat their * off. If average players play against average players they have to try their hardest. Same with new players against new players and above average against above average etc. So why should elite players be exempt from having to do the same thing especially when they only make up for 10% or less of your player base. High tier players shouldnt get to PUB stomp and have casual games where they slaughter out when literally no other skill level has that luxury. How is that fair to the other 90% of the people who play the game. What your essentially doing is dropping 6 sharks into a fish tank with 54 sea bass. The 6 sharks compete to see who can eat the most sea bass while the sea bass try their damnedest to survive. In particular, now when the games been out so long skill levels have increased even more. To the point where anyone who isn't getting constant daily practice has no chance to play casually and come in and have a match where hes matched up against players of his or her skill level. I've played approximately a total of 5 hours total in season 5 and instantly lose desire to play after 2 or 3 games because the SBMM makes it damn near unplayable for a casual player. I can't imagine I'm the only one who is feeling this. If you want your game to have longevity your going to have to start thinking about keeping your majority invested in the game. What good is making your elite 10% happy if they have no one to fight because everyone has quit playing the game.  Apex is in such a sad state. Lobbies die out almost instantly to the sharks leaving 4 squads left running around after the first circle trying to find each other. Making 15 minute games of hide and seek. I truly feel like SBMM needs to be re balanced the way it used to in season 3 and the amount of squads should be increased slightly.

4 Replies

  • I don't see why it would be so hard to create an algorithm that compiles player information and matches them based on key factors such as level, lifetime kills, K/D ratio, time played, Rank, and badges obtained. I don't see any scenario why it makes sense that a PUB match with levelsl 10-100 or 100-200 with a lifetime total of 1,000 kills get into a match with a premade team of people who are all level 500 with 10,000 kills on a single character and 20 kill 4K damage badges. Thats not skill based match making. That leading lambs to a slaughter. 

  • @rickyressel I'm some place in the middle on the topic of SBMM, when it was full on, it was definitely easier to find a lobby you could compete in. But the top tier lobbies were extremely difficult. So I understand the frustration people had with it.

    It's hard to describe unless you've played in a lobby that has 7+ pre made pred trails coming out the drop ship and everything else is diamond players. There is 0 margin for error in those lobbies. The lobbies are mentally draining as well. You have to use everything at your disposal to win fights. You can't mess around with guns you normally don't use.

    But on the flip side, I get the argument you're making. I saw a smurf level 2 account the other night. I spectated the player after they smoked my squad. They mowed down the entire lobby 23 kills... It took 3 teams to down him. So I agree there needs to be some type of SBMM. But they need to find a happy medium with it in which everyone can find a lobby that's fun/competitive for them.

    SBMM in a BR is a tricky and difficult thing to achieve.

    The other side of it, no matter what they do with SBMM. If you're in a mid tier lobby and on the bottom level of the mid tier lobbies skill base, you're going to hate SBMM. If 75-80% of the lobby is better than you, it's going to be difficult. How ever if you're in the top 10% of the mid tier lobby, you'll love SBMM.

    The same is true for top tier lobbies, if you're in the top 10% of those lobbies you won't notice SBMM much. But if you're in the bottom 10% of that lobby you'll think it's horrible.
  • rickyressel's avatar
    rickyressel
    6 years ago

    I hear what your say and I agree with your points as well. In regards to your statement about the lowest end of each tier always not enjoying SBMM and the highest end being ok with it. If they would at least match people within the ballpark of skill level then at that point people’s complaints would be slightly more petty and self focused on their short comings as a player. There’s no denying in the current state SBMM doesn’t even come close to correctly matching people in lobbies of similar skill. It’s a melting pot of new players, smurf account, casual players, and sweaty try hards. I’m really hoping this fall when cross platform comes out they have a plan to match people up closer together since there will be more players all playing together from every system and PC.

  • DarthValtrex's avatar
    DarthValtrex
    Hero (Retired)
    6 years ago
    @rickyressel I think they are trying different things with regards to SBMM. Thus we such wild swings in the system.

    The big issue with SBMM is when you’re a top tier player with mid to low skill friends. You can’t really play with them anymore because you can’t get into lobbies where you can carry them. They just get instantly downed and it becomes you vs 3 people of equal or greater skill. It’s very frustrating for all involved.