Halo Infinite SBMM

Yeah I agree there deff should be some parameters, I think the best sbmm is the kind where you dont even know if its there. I did some reasearch before making the thread and found out sbmm has actually been in halo since halo 2. Infact Bungie helped pioneer the technology itself back then. So its always been around, 343 just needs to understand that social playlists need to have that degree of freedom within them.

Hate to say it but I agree with you entirely…its a -Yoink!- situation to be in, but the games developers are the ones who have put us gamers in this situation. I’m already playing on a secondary account whilst I learn the game, aim and control mechanics before using my main account…but it would appear that my secondary is already too high level for my friends. I dont know how they are populating the Ranked bandings yet and I haven’t completed all my ranked games yet, but one of my friends ranked Gold1 so on that basis I would expect to place high Platinum. I don’t want to be in the situation where I’m literally forced to keep on having to create smurf accounts just to circumvent the SBMM…but if I do, then that’s the situation and route that 343i will have put me in and forced me to go.

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343 and lots of other devs think that people have the most fun when every game is 50-49, even in social.

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It really does seem like that, its a damn shame. I just hope that theyre testing the waters with the beta and will make their final tunings for full release.

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If last nights experience is due to SBMM and we’re correct, then they should provide us with more information as to how lobbies are being matched. If they are basing it on the MMR of all players in the team and matching it against similar teams, then in theory it should be relatively balanced games…however if they are basing it on the player with the highest MMR then that opens a whole world of pain for the Social playlists.

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100% agreed, unfourtantly I really do believe its based on the highest MMR due to my expierement a few days ago. I do know other games do operate like that, rocket leauge as an example.

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That would totally suck if that’s what they have implemented. If it is then it will force me to either stop playing with them or create smurfs, as the games last night felt like and could easily be matched like this…

Team1: P6, G2, G1, S3
Team2: D1, P5, P4, G6

That situation would be acceptable as a random one off game, but if strict SBMM is being implemented on a highest player skill level then it’s totally wrong. Hopefully they are just testing SBMM mechanics and will see the error of their ways.

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Its a damn shame I just hope they sort it out before full release, so you can enjoy playing with your kids and me with my friends.

Amen to all of that OP - my biggest frustration is that most of my buddies are silver/gold tier players, so it isn’t fun at all for them to jump into a game with me. How is that addressed?

I don’t think that it can be addressed. Not in the current format.

If your buddies are the lowest ranked on your team… they will always tend to be the lowest ranked in the game. And the bigger the difference between you and them - the bigger the gap is maintained.

That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. It sucks (and as mentioned in a previous post I’m often on both sides of this coin).

The only way around it is to go a bit left field. Instead of applying SBMM to select the teams… then use some sort of handicap system to even out ā€˜random teams’. Move to a (flexible) damage based scoring system. Boost struggling players with stronger scoring, better shields, increased damage, and priority access to weapons / equipment. Opposite for the higher ranked players.

They’re doing the same thing they do currently in MCC… total up the skill of each team and make sure the totals are as even as possible.

So you can have a pro, two average players, and one five year old on each team and the game thinks that is balanced and fun for everyone, and 343 goes ā€œLook at how loosely we implemented our SBMM! There’s a pro and a 5 year old on each team! We listen!!!ā€.

It would be so much better if they just made games essentially random.

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No. Random is not the answer. For an Onyx player ā€˜random’ matchmaking gives you weaker opponents 98% of the time… with an average skill gap of 23.2 ranks (1-50). You are basically feeding good players chum to feed on.

And… from the other side of the normal distribution. A new / weak player has the opposite experience. Not fun.

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Have they actually published details of how they are matchmaking Social games based on SBMM or is that just a hunch? Do we know for a fact that it’s based on team totals or could it be based on best player (as discussed above), team average or host? Do the same rules apply to full squads and incomplete teams with random players?

I’ve finished my ranking games this evening and placed P3 (very close to P4), and all my friends are either low Gold or Silver. Trying to play Ranked with them would be pretty much pointless and painful, so I just hope that SBMM is relaxed in Social otherwise this game won’t be much fun for them if the matchmaking means they get stomped every game.

That’s what ranked is for. SBMM has no place in social.

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That would obviously be the case for an Onyx player when it’s pretty much safe to assume that the majority of the player base will be around Gold levels. Onyx players obviously have the right to play in Social playlists and they also have the right not to be playing in sweaty matches all the time so there has to be some kind of compromise somewhere whether it be level difference parameters to protect the lower level players or total random with triggers to prevent lower players matching against high ranked players in (let’s say for arguments sake) no more than 10% o their games.

At the end of the day, the Social playlist should be fun for all players regardless of skill level so it’s up to 343i to implement a system that compliments that…and I’m not convinced that SBMM in Social playlists is the answer.

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So social is just a place for good players to ā€˜chill’. And by this we mean lay back and destroy low to average ranked players?

Because that is what ā€˜random’ generates for them.

On a normal distribution curve there is a lot of area under the curve to the left of Onyx. As I said 98% of ā€˜random’ opponents will be of lower rank. And they will be the ā€˜top dog’ in 9/10 games. Must be a hard life.

Aren’t you essentially just describing SBMM?

The problem is defining ā€˜fun’.

For good players it’s destroying low ranked players.

For low ranked players it’s playing close games and improving.

The two are not compatible.

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Social should generate a random sample of games. If you are way above average, then yeah you should be able to chill and basically dump on everyone in social. If you suck, then yeah you should get dunked on.

And you should play ranked if that’s boring/frustrating and you want competitive matches.

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Which brings us nicely around to 343’s comments that SBMM increases player retention by 30%.

Is there any other sport or past time that throws players of different skills into games with each other? Can you imagine rocking up to your local tennis club with a couple of lessons under your belt and then get thrown into match against an ATP pro? Nothing like trying to return serves at 180km/h to ā€˜git good’.

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Dont even get me started on party matching and its relation to sbmm

It’s funny how you put this, because this fits nicely into 2 playlists…a Ranked one and a Social one…funny…
In all seriousness though, onyx players playing Social are most likely playing with lower ranked friends and would probably not play to their peak performance. At the moment, they need to play all out because they feel they need to carry their teammates because of the other team’s skill level…