So I tried the “Focused” search parameter today. I’d read that some players thought it might benefit the lower level players by matching their skill levels more closely, while the “Expanded” option would make it easier for the highest level players to find matches. Well the first part certainly is not true. Here is a screenshot of one of my Focused search results at Silver 3, before I ranked up to 4 a couple matches later.
Yes, that’s a Platinum 2, Gold 6, Gold 3, Silver 5 and an unranked player (that they had apparently marked for a Gold placement based on his competition) against a Silver 3. The game was not a complete blow out from a skill point of view. If thats’s what the MM system does then the placement rank system is broken. Based on the skill level either I should be ranked a full tier higher or the players at my level should be a full tier lower. But there is still no explanation of how the placement system and matchmaking actually works. It’s bad enough that a few matches earlier I took 2nd place with nine kills to a Bronze 3 player with SR 11 who went 25-3 with 17 head shots and 5 perfects (using “Balanced”). I’ve come to expect the low self esteem smurfers. Now I feel like 343 is telling us, "You want better placements and matchmaking? Go -Yoink- yourself.
As far as balancing connection the “Balanced” option still had at least the same level of teleporting and rubber banding as before. Maybe I’ll try matching some Diamonds and Onyxes in a lag fest later with “Expanded” LOL
I understand that I’ll only get better by playing better players, but I thought that the new search parameters would give me a little say as to when I want to do this. Obviously they don’t. I’ll still keep playing H5. It is what it is (was) and it ain’t gonna change.
I mostly play big team, so I was really hoping the new preferences would prevent me from getting matched against the parties that have always somewhat ruined the playlist for solo players. If anything, it seems like I am getting matched against a lot more parties or into games that are complete blowouts. I only had time for 4 matches today… The result: 26-100 Slayer match, 37-100 Slayer match, 32-100 slayer match, and a CTF match that ended 3-0 at 11:56. This was with “focused” skill matching. In that last game, there were 5 players below level 40 on my team, while the other team had one level 15, and two over 120. How the F*ck are these teams “balanced”? Big team is becoming literally unplayable. /endrant
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> I mostly play big team, so I was really hoping the new preferences would prevent me from getting matched against the parties that have always somewhat ruined the playlist for solo players. If anything, it seems like I am getting matched against a lot more parties or into games that are complete blowouts. I only had time for 4 matches today… The result: 26-100 Slayer match, 37-100 Slayer match, 32-100 slayer match, and a CTF match that ended 3-0 at 11:56. This was with “focused” skill matching. In that last game, there were 5 players below level 40 on my team, while the other team had one level 15, and two over 120. How the F*ck are these teams “balanced”? Big team is becoming literally unplayable. /endrant
I hear ya dude. It seems my expectations about improved matchmaking with the update were unrealistic. I don’t play a lot of different games, work in the gaming industry or write code, so it very well could be that my thoughts about what can be done with the system are completely out of touch with practical reality. For all I know 343 is doing everything humanly possible with existing technology to ensure that they have the most balanced system for every player, at every level in every region. What do I know? I was just reading/ listening to their description of the updated functions. Like I said before it’s not like I think it got any worse. Every time I fire it up I hope for a nail biter that, win or lose, comes down to the last couple points or OT. Every once in a while I get one and that’s why I keep playing.
I thought that focused was meant to match opponents based on connection, expanded for people who can’t find a game so may incur lag and balanced in between. Obviously, I was wrong
As an eu player on focused i still get some games blatantly on us servers, which should never happen. However, my ffa kd jumped from 0.96 to 1.37 over my first 12 games on focused (1.03 overall) and i finished 2nd or 1st all but twice against higher ranked opponents than i had played previously. My losses were on us servers. And my csr skyrocketed too. This is why region lock should be an option. I dont ever want to play on us servers unless i choose to. The difference in my game is alarming.
I’m onyx 1900 in ffa. Last night I played like 30 games and 15 with the EXACT SAME PEOPLE. Best part is, there were only 2 or 3 onyx each game.
I backed out changed to expanded, same people same thing, focused, same thing.
Now the games weren’t all blowouts or uneven per say, but, it didn’t really make sense because it ranged from plat 3 to me, onyx 1900.
And since the update games take way longer to get started, and it takes longer to find one.
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> As an eu player on focused i still get some games blatantly on us servers, which should never happen. However, my ffa kd jumped from 0.96 to 1.37 over my first 12 games on focused (1.03 overall) and i finished 2nd or 1st all but twice against higher ranked opponents than i had played previously. My losses were on us servers. And my csr skyrocketed too. This is why region lock should be an option. I dont ever want to play on us servers unless i choose to. The difference in my game is alarming.
That’s great news. With a decent starting placement and region lock you might get that Champion rank in FFA which would be awesome. You need every edge you can get in FFA and it’s a drag feeling like you’re always starting at a disadvantage. It can be pretty stressful knowing everyone else on the map is gunning for you, but winning or even placing top two in a tight match is so gratifying. I’m in the US and I’ve been trying to stick to Focused also, more for skill matching. It seems I’m consistently playing people better than me, but I’m still grinding up gradually, and learning so I can live with it.
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> I’m onyx 1900 in ffa. Last night I played like 30 games and 15 with the EXACT SAME PEOPLE. Best part is, there were only 2 or 3 onyx each game.
>
> I backed out changed to expanded, same people same thing, focused, same thing.
>
> Now the games weren’t all blowouts or uneven per say, but, it didn’t really make sense because it ranged from plat 3 to me, onyx 1900.
> And since the update games take way longer to get started, and it takes longer to find one.
>
> I, too, would love an explination.
Yeah, without an explanation we’re just guessing at what goes into the MM algorithm. It’s obviously based (especially in FFA) on a lot more than Tier/Rank. I think your K/D and Up/Down trend factor into it a lot. Keep placing 1 to 3 with a decent K/D and you match better players. Place 6th a few times going way neg and you get some easier competition. But again, I’m just guessing. Sometimes I think the game throws me into my statistically worse map on purpose just when I need 10 or 15 CSR to rank up a tier. LOL
OP or anyone for that matter, do remember the changes focused put on only take effect if you select it, quit the build and restart. I don’t know if this is official, but from my tests, there is no change when doing it within the build, however, when I do restart, I very much notice the changes.
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> OP or anyone for that matter, do remember the changes focused put on only take effect if you select it, quit the build and restart. I don’t know if this is official, but from my tests, there is no change when doing it within the build, however, when I do restart, I very much notice the changes.
I’ll have to check that out. It does show my current selection during the search even if I don’t exit the lobby and start from the beginning if that’s what you meant.
I’m not worried about ranks for Arena with focused, I’m worried about connection, and for that, it wins.
Connections I’ve been getting on OFcused compared to prior are chalk and cheese. back to their region lock best. Stats generally doing better, and games feel much more solid. (Still lost three in a row last night by playing terribly myself, but that’s on me.)
Only problem is that it appears to really only be worth trying in busy playlists.
As 343 said in their updates, wait times are longer on focused, and in BTB, I cannot get a game on focused or balanced. Expanded drops me into some ugly US servers. Will give it a few more goes, but until more Australian players get playing BTB (or I play at more regular times for Oz) I’m gonna have to stick with Team Arena.
I have noticed i get put on us servers betwen 1 in 3 and half the time on focused mm now, and i dont get mstches either (1 every hour). At onyx 1834 on ffa as an eu player i just want fair matches and plenty of them cos i think i could make a serious push for champ if the system would let me. I fear playing on default will dump me on us servers and back to unwinnable matches due to shots not registering.
Also god placements wouldnt harm either- you dont end season onyx 1809 and then be a play 6 in placement unless the placemenr system is broken to pieces.