The official Matchmaking blog post

@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.