Here’s the most awaited blog post about matchmaking https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends/news/matchmaking-2023

@Cheese9ManI stopped making comments on this forum because the matchmaking data I was sharing wasn’t cared for by the majority of the forum community— but I feel inclined to comment here on this matter:1) HUGE props to Respawn for even having a convo on matchmaking. Like seriously, I respect this so much. Lack of communication is a literal middle finger to the community, so this is appropriate and appreciated.2) Parts of this are— unfortunately, disingenuous.What parts? These:“We don’t purposefully put you in harder matches to slow you down if you’re winning a lot, nor do we intentionally put you in easier matches because you’re on a losing streak.”By designing their “dynamic matchmaking rating system” that is LITERALLY EXACTLY what they do. They 100% punish people for doing well, even in one single game. The algorithm reads your 3 kill 1st place win and the next game you are playing with people significantly above your skill level. Next disingenuous statement:“Either way, this is the system accounting for your recent changes in skill. This process tends to be slow, so you should only feel these changes from long streaks.”This is true for many accounts but definitely not for all. I have literally studied this across 20+ accounts and shared my findings (something I’m sure Respawn wasn’t betting on) and the results prove this to be untrue.Accounts with a lot of data that show that a player is above average do NOT have slow mobility down the matchmaking ladder. Win a game with just 2 kills and above 50% placement and the next match is right back to the top of the MMR ladder. I’ve literally tested this almost every single day for the past 2 years so I am going to need a PhD level argument/rationale to convince me otherwise.I guess I’m happier that they are addressing MM, but tightening of matchmaking in pubs for no reward is an ABSOLUTELY bad thing. People need to be rewarded for their proficiency, EVEN IN PUBS.Tighter matchmaking means more people playing their doppelgänger team at any given time, which results in outcomes being more similar for people, regardless of skill.Players who are more proficient should have better outcomes (wins, etc) in pubs. I’ll say that again: Preds (by virtue of their proficiency) deserve to beat players of my skill level in pubs. Similarly, Diamond-level players should have better outcomes than gold-level players.Tighter matchmaking and everyone breaking even feels super forced, curated, and exhausting.But the needs of the many outweigh what’s actually fair. So it is what it is. We should probably just commit fully at this point and have a system that does in-game adjustments for players performing too well or too poorly. So players on a hot streak should have their bullet damage decreased and their movement slowed slightly. We need to push for a system that results in uniform outcomes for all players.

@HappyHourSumwur Agreed. Seems broken on a fundamental level. Either that, or the pros have figured out a way to game the system.MM is broken both in BR and in Mixtape modes.Not even joking, keep having games where the MM puts a bunch of randoms together who can't even get more than 500 damage each against two full stacks of clubs. Games are going back to 50-10 blowouts again.Same with BR, where I get matched with TimTheTTVGawd0057Wraith who has more kills than I have damage on my entire account. Good stuff.

What i’m taking away from the article is that cradling lower skilled players to the detriment of higher skilled players is all that presently matters if not in a premade.Also, no concrete dates have been mentioned other than “early 2023” which means nothing when so many broken promises seems to be a reoccurrence with Respawn.

@Cro_PitttThat’s also how i’m reading it, which means if I perform well, i’ll be matched against preds, all the while having two ball in chain teammates.How did they think this would be a winning formula is beyond me, maybe because they assume everyone would play as a premade? Give me solos pls 🤣

The official Matchmaking blog post

308 Replies

Cro_Pittt
3 years ago
@Cheese9Man Lol you were faster than me posting this.
I like the in-depth look and analysis, it gives you a better idea of what's going on. Some things said though do not match with what i've experienced in Apex until today and i disagree with some other choices they've made this far.
For example, a Platinum player can be in a Predators lobby if he's having a win streak? Is that correct?
dSKyNafinchin
Hero
3 years ago
@Cheese9Man Pretty in-depth! I'll definitely be reading through this, after work. I'm curious to read more about the system
Asmodeus566
Hero+
3 years ago
@Cheese9Man
thanks for the share.
Cheese9Man
3 years ago
Gotta be honest haven’t read it yet since I’m playing now with the boys to get ready for the ranked split.
hayhor
Hero
3 years ago
@Cheese9Man It is really well written and pretty much confirms my experience with the game.
hayhor
Hero
3 years ago
@Cro_Pittt I read the ranked comment that way, which I think is a bad change. The reason it happens now is speed of MM is too high a priority for the preds.
Gabrielmojo26
3 years ago
What i’m taking away from the article is that cradling lower skilled players to the detriment of higher skilled players is all that presently matters if not in a premade.
Also, no concrete dates have been mentioned other than “early 2023” which means nothing when so many broken promises seems to be a reoccurrence with Respawn.
hayhor
Hero
3 years ago
@Gabrielmojo26 They are going to try and seperate the lower skilled more. The charts were pretty clear. A low kd, low win rate player was being put with anyone decent. They may have better chances now to have fun.

Higher tiers may get sweatier as a result but you will get better teammates, like I found in season 13.
Gabrielmojo26
3 years ago
@Cro_PitttThat’s also how i’m reading it, which means if I perform well, i’ll be matched against preds, all the while having two ball in chain teammates.
How did they think this would be a winning formula is beyond me, maybe because they assume everyone would play as a premade?

Give me solos pls 🤣
HappyHourSumwur
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago
@Cheese9ManWe'll see, I guess. I thought I saw imrpovement a few weeks ago but it seems like that disappeared and now I'm back in the "10 horrible games just to get 1 good one" world for solo queuing pubs.

The post really doesn't go into how skill ratings are calculated, just how they use them. I always get the feeling the game thinks I'm a 7 or 8 when I'm really a 4 or 5. I don't want details of the formula or what my actual skill rating is, I would just like to see what things make up that number. Level doesn't mean anything relative to skill and their post seems to confirm it, so what else do they measure to calculate a skill rating? Do they care about how lopsided your kill feed is when you die, for example.

Using the highest rated person's skill for premades is just wrong, IMO. The lower skill players tend to pull squads down rather than the better players carrying the squad, especially when the skill gap in the squad is bigger. They've been operating on a completely false assumption when matchmaking premades so I'm glad that's gonna change at least.