Why were important matchmaking settings removed from the game? Wouldn’t matter if your AI was playable, but they’re not. They have crazy physicality to compensate for the fact that they have 0 hockey sense. People full queue and want to play full queued teams for a reason. Because your AI is insufferable and ruins games. So again, why are we going backwards and taking out important settings like match my room size and goalie?
I don't think there's been an in-depth explanation for the changes, and at this point I doubt there will be one. I know EA_Aljo has mentioned multiple times that the developers are aware of the community's desire to have the filters return, but I can't imagine them returning in NHL 25. Maybe in some future game.
I don't have any kind of inside information, so this is just me speculating, but to me everything about the matchmaking changes this year ( loose server selection, no player count matching, no rank/skill based matching ) indicates that the devs had a mandate to reduce the time people were searching for match-ups. And technically they've accomplished that goal. Each individual search is generally pretty quick, at least for my club. The problem is that it now takes multiple search attempts to find a match-up that results in an actual game being played because one team or the other backs out due to ping, player count mismatch, etc. The end result is we're spending at least as much time looking for games as previous years, if not more.
Definitely spending more time 🫠
but to me everything about the matchmaking changes this year ( loose server selection, no player count matching, no rank/skill based matching ) indicates that the devs had a mandate to reduce the time people were searching for match-ups.
I think this is the most likely scenario.
Something else to consider; the WoC population for any given mode is thinned out due to 3v3, 6v6, Live Modes like Threes Arcade, 3v3 quick play, 6v6 quick play, Threes eliminator, Ones Eliminator, etc. Not to mention HUT's gambling-esque mode siphons players as well.
It's nice to offer a plethora of modes, but not when it comes at the sacrifice of decent matchmaking.
It might be time to pull back on some of the World of Chel modes so that the core modes (3v3, 6v6) can have a decent matchmaking pool again.
Community ManagerYes. The goal was to improve matchmaking times. Obviously, that's coming at the cost of undesirable matches though. I would love to see this addressed for 25, but I think it's more likely we'll have to wait for a future game.
I know everyone is tired of hearing that we're aware of this. Unfortunately, that's all I can really say right now. I truly wish this wasn't the case. We obviously want a happy community and that's not happening at the moment. This issue very much on the minds of the dev team. The amount of negativity on this is recognized. The reality is that modifying the current matchmaking is a very involved process that is going to take time to address. Normally, major changes like this occur with the release of a future game. As soon as we have any new information on updates to matchmaking, we'll get it posted.
ThanksEA_Aljo because matching up in a 6 against 2 human players is the strangest concept. You should make it mandatory under 4 to have drop-in skaters. Therefore, increasing the chance of a drop in skater finding a club game instead of drop in game.
Community ManagerAppreciate the feedback. Thank you.
