A Proposal For A New Skill Ranking System

Games Other Halo
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I browsed through the forum (and used the search engine) looking for posts that discussed this but didn’t find any. Not sure if this means this topic is a bad idea or just that no one has yet to express their thoughts about it. Of course, with thousands of pages I may have missed something.

Anyway, I just wanted to discuss an idea for 343i for a new competitive skill ranking system. As a veteran halo player, I’ve noticed that many halo fans loved the ranking system and want it back. As do I.

One of the main reasons it doesn’t exist now is because of the “boosting” problem. Players took advantage of a complex system that had a loophole. Nothing new about this concept. But why should that mean that our competitive ranking system be completely discarded?

Is it really that hard to fix? Maybe it is. I am not a computer science programmer, just a biomedical engineering student. My knowledge of C++ and Matlab means I know nothing about the technicalities of programming game algorithms. But I’ve learned that simple ideas often perform better than complex ideas.

What I propose is a system of consistent numerical increases or decreases instead of having a system of probability.

For example, If you are a level 40 and you play against a level 45 and win, you gain 1 point and become a 41. If you play against a level 35 and lose, you lose 1 point and become a level 39. Always.

The following chart is my proposal for how one would perform if you won/lost to another player as a level 40 player. The most you can gain per game is 1 point and the most you can lose is 1 point.

RANK__| 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 |
WIN(+)_|0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.2 |0.4 |0.6 |0.8 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |
LOSE(-)|1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |1.0 |0.8 |0.6 |0.4 |0.2 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |0.1 |

In anticipation of some questions:

I’m not playing against just one person. How would this work with 2v2, 4v4 or higher?

I would simply take an average of the people you beat. For example let’s say you are a level 40 and you are playing against a 35, 36, 42, and 45. Let’s say you win the game and you scored higher (based on the new points system in halo 4) than everyone except the 45. Then you would get a (0.1+0.1+0.4)/3 = 0.2. Thus your rank would increase by 0.2. If you had a higher score than all players, it would be (0.1+0.1+0.4+1)/4 = 0.4. If you didn’t score higher than any of them, you would receive no increase.

This is to ensure that boosting does not occur. Even if you are playing alongside level 50s you won’t be able to rank up if you yourself don’t do better than any of the players you are playing against.

It is just common sense. If you win a game, you should have gotten a larger score (or K/D) than at least one person on the other team. Otherwise, you are being carried and thus don’t deserve to rank up.

What if the number added/lost is odd? (0.1+0.2+0.4)/3 = 0.23?

The number will still be added/lost. The number should be coded as a double so that your rank will be a 40.23, displayed in halo waypoint. However in game the number will appear rounded so it will be displayed as a 40.

What about the other players on my team? How do they contribute to my increase/decrease in rank?

The other players on your team will not directly affect your skill. Their gaming experience is the same as yours and receive skill increases/decreases based on their own skill relative to opponents.

What if I’m a level 10 and I play against a level 50 and win? Isn’t it unfair to get a level increase of only 1?

First, if you’re that good then you’ll get to level 50 relatively quickly, so don’t worry!

Secondly, if you’re not that good then you got lucky or got carried. The hard truth is you don’t deserve to rank up more than that. (remember the boosting problem?)

Thirdly, the system should be such that you don’t get placed so unfairly. If it does happen, it should be a rare occurrence.

What if someone quits on the other team?

Then more than likely your chances of winning have increased. In addition, you have a better chance of achieving a higher score than that person by the end of the game.

What if I quit?

Nothing happens. However, I would implement some kind of deterrent for quitting. I played tons of halo 2 and 3 matches and always hated it when someone on my team quit because it usually meant that my chances of winning decreased. You would not get banned from play if you quit, but I would make it so you automatically lose 0.5 points.

Can I get a negative skill if early on I lose too many games?

No, the lowest rank you can have is 1.

I’m glad that 343i seems to be taking steps to implement some kind of skill ranking system. Hopefully this post sparks a positive, constructive discussion for a community-proposed system. Again, I don’t know if something like this has already been discussed or if this is even worth the time. I hope it is.

Thanks for reading.

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i like it.

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it’s a shame no one has notices this post yet. I think people need to spread out from halo 4 discussion forums

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The problem is MS doesn’t want you playing H4 until they turn off the servers. 343 has no control over skill based ranks as they are owned by MS and MS does not want a long lasting (4-5 years) Halo.
They want it to last until the next game comes out , if they give you an in game rank based on skill a lot of people will not leave until forced to. This effects the bottom line and MS likes money.

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Pretty good math there but it wouldn’t work if it was based off of w/l ratios.

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This is very well thought out…

And i have no rebuttal. I like what you propose, so all i can do is to reply in the hopes that this thread stays current.

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Like the OP said boosting was a flaw in the ranking system, a ‘loop-hole’ but it wasn’t the biggest problem nor was it the sole reason for the systems removal.

The reason the system was removed was because of all the negative behaviors that were spawned from peoples desires to achieve a more prestigious rank by any means necessary. Boosting, de-ranking, selling of accounts, bridging, standbying and DDOS attacks < These are why the system was removed.

OT: <mark>Bungie originally looked into the possibility of factoring in individual performance into the ranking system but dismissed it as it is irrelevant.</mark> The only way to assign ranks in a team game is by using the outcome of the team as a whole (win/loss) to adjust the ranks of all the team members.
It doesn’t matter how well or badly each individual does, what matters is how the team performs as a unit because it is a team game.

The keyword here is of course; Team

<mark>The system you are describing is not really new or different, it is basically how the ranking system works in a FFA playlist.</mark>

I think a better way to try and solve the problems caused by a ranking system is by converting it from a badge of honor to what it’s fundamentally supposed to be, a numerical representation of ones current ability and skill.

<mark>CSR should decrease in periods of inactivity</mark> and your current high skill should be shown on your service record not the highest skill you’ve ever managed to achieve.

People should not be concerned about ‘getting a 50’ they should be concerned about ‘being a 50’. If you want a 50 then not only will you have to get it but you’ll also have to keep it and for those who are able to do so, it will be much more meaningful.

I know a lot of players will have a problem with this idea but they need to be reasonable. If they want a visual in game ranking system to return then they must be willing to compromise, the negative impacts must be dealt with or I doubt we’ll ever see a VIGR in another Halo game ever again.

Furthermore, not only should periods of inactivity reduce your ‘mu’ (actual skill representation) and therefore lower your rank as it is seen by everyone else on your service record but it should at the same time increase your ‘sigma’ (uncertainty factor). This means that it will be easier and faster to re-gain your rank when you start playing again but only if you actually win. If you were to loose then unfortunately it would decrease just as easily/quickly because that’s how the TrueSkill system is designed to work.