The official Matchmaking blog post
Here’s the most awaited blog post about matchmaking https://www.ea.com/games/apex-legends/news/matchmaking-2023
Forum Discussion
I actually tested this new revolutionary match making system as a solo q. Purposefully didnt get a single kill for two days. Almost 40-50 matches of BR both ranked and pubs. Did some dmg in the fights but stopped shooting (got assist by fault not sure if it counts). Obviously no wins with few accidental top5 (whole lobby landed in one place with 7 teams alive after first ring. Our jumpmaster landed elsewhere so we just went around looting). According to the matchmaking post I shouldve noticed a change after 5-10 matches but I didnt.
Level varied from medium sweat to uber sweat.
There is no such thing as SBMM or its being exploited like there is no tomorrow. Or perhaps the EA SBMM algorithm has evaluated me as a masochist that will keep playing as long as the situation stands.
@Airish85As cited in several of my matchmaking tests over the years, the algorithm treats different account’s differently.
Accounts with certain “data” are flagged. So accounts flagged as “high” don’t get the same forgiveness that other accounts do. I’ve lost 100 (literally 100) games with under 100 damage and early elimination and still had lobbies comprised of mostly diamond players— but this is on my main account where I have hit Masters and what not.
On my other accounts that I intentionally have poor performances on, it only takes between 6-11 games for a lobby to reduce in difficulty (after a win).
Accounts are 100% treated differently. Literally all of my data tests support this.
So your results suggest the game sees you as someone who doesn’t deserve the “lower bucket forgiveness”. And also, some of those unintentional top 5 placements absolutely told the algorithm you were “doing well”, so it’s likely they kept you in a top bucket.
But please don’t think that there isn’t any “skill-based” dimension to the matchmaking. There is. It’s not perfect by many standards but it’s still 1000% working to protect under-average players by keeping high MMR players playing each other the majority of the time (top bucket lobbies).
@Axs5626Sxa5001 Fine so there is SBMM but then there is so much exploiting going on because.
To give you perspective I have 1800hrs in Apex. Scout record 88, Smoke 3400 and Bow 3950. I usually stop playing ranked when I reach silver because I feel that just enough for me and I play it only if certain maps are in rotation for change of the pubs maps. I have all time KD of 0.5. First part of this season I had like 0.7 but after some time I am now at around 0.46. I think this decline is due to most players on my under-average level play for sometime in the beginning of every season hoping for improvements and then quit after getting stomped too many times. So I know my place and level.
I noticed that the MM tried at some point setting me up with one or two very high level players which is just too obvious and lazy. Being carried by some exploiting rando as the solution in matchmaking is just depressing.
Which bucket would you now place me in?@Airish85
What bucket are you in? I’m not sure, man.
Rather than judging a lobby based on the presence of one opponent, I typically have to see divetrails and I have to look at boxes to see badges.
The top bucket lobbies are a majority of 4k, 20bomb, diamond to pred players. Playing with a friend will instantly increase the likelihood that you end up in this lobby. I think the only people who aren’t 4k 20bomb players in my lobbies are the (average skilled) premades that did well in their last game. It’s a terrible product of the algorithm.
I swear to you though, under-average to average pub lobbies 100% exist. I access these lobbies consistently on my intentionally weaker accounts. These lobbies often have absolutely no divetrails. And upon inspection of boxes, you very rarely see 4k 20bomb badges.
I urge you to not look at your KD as a “true measure” of success. The algorithm is also looking at your placement. And I have a hunch that accuracy might even play into MMR; I will be testing this in the future.
My point is, their algorithm is probably assessing you as higher than you assess yourself. I encourage you to make some more accounts and continue to run tests.Wacky MM. But despite the numbers it felt more even than it looks. The enemies weren't bad. Their team was just more balanced. Ours were not. For once I had an actual S-tier teammate who did stuff though. It is a weird way to run a sbmm system. Balance one team, then put people from extremely different "buckets" on the other team. 🤔
