Hi guys, I’ve never really bothered with ranked playlists at all in Halo 5 and have been playing for a couple of years now… A lot more so in the last 4 months. I’m fed up with the unranked symbol on my service record but can’t find a good team to get me the wins in 4v4 playlists. Been playing Halo since 2004 and would consider myself above average in terms of skill. I’ve not had any experience in ranked FFA but from what I’ve heard it’s the hardest playlist to achieve a meaningful rank (onyx, champ ). I’m hoping to hit Onyx in it but I’m not sure how I would go about it. Since social slayer and warzone are my go to playlists it’s not a lot of the time my team wins so I try to get a good KD. I average 1.5 k/d but often times I can get 3.0+ or -1.0 if my team/enemies are less skilled than me. Do I need to win every game in FFA or would a K/D of 1.5 - 3.0+ in almost every match be enough even if I don’t win? I don’t mean coming dead last but going 4 kills 1 death every game. I’m thinking somewhere in between 1st and 3rd place consistently. Would this be enough or do I really have to win all my games?
Thanks!
This might help explain the ranking system more clearly
(Quote from a 343 employee)
With an MMR (hidden value that is tied to CSR gains) system, whether you go up, down, or stay the same is relative to the MMR of the other players in your game. Think of the MMR system like it’s someone placing a bet on the outcome of your game - if the system expects you to lose or do poorly, but you do well, MMR and CSR go up. This is the system’s attempt at increasing its chances of properly predicting the outcome. However, say you’re matched against players who all have lower MMR and CSR than you and the system expects you to win, and you do, you’ll be rewarded with a minimal gain. This applies to losses as well - if you’re expected to place poorly and do so, your MMR/CSR losses will be minimal.There’s no static rule for CSR/MMR gains (for example, you’re not guaranteed to go up if you get Top 3), it’s entirely relative. Your goal is less about beating the other players and more about beating out the ranking system and the bets it places on you.
Source: multiple season Top 10 FFA Champ
Ben’s quoted explanation is perfect. I feel like a lot of the posts here that mention being dissatisfied with the ranking system arise from those unseen bets the system places on you prior to a match. I think it makes sense as far as mathematics and all goes (admittedly, I don’t play ranked because it’s not my cup of tea), but it’s not as transparent or straightforward as it was in prior games which can lead to some puzzled players after a match.
> 2535468801534271;1:
> Hi guys, I’ve never really bothered with ranked playlists at all in Halo 5 and have been playing for a couple of years now… A lot more so in the last 4 months. I’m fed up with the unranked symbol on my service record but can’t find a good team to get me the wins in 4v4 playlists. Been playing Halo since 2004 and would consider myself above average in terms of skill. I’ve not had any experience in ranked FFA but from what I’ve heard it’s the hardest playlist to achieve a meaningful rank (onyx, champ ). I’m hoping to hit Onyx in it but I’m not sure how I would go about it. Since social slayer and warzone are my go to playlists it’s not a lot of the time my team wins so I try to get a good KD. I average 1.5 k/d but often times I can get 3.0+ or -1.0 if my team/enemies are less skilled than me. Do I need to win every game in FFA or would a K/D of 1.5 - 3.0+ in almost every match be enough even if I don’t win? I don’t mean coming dead last but going 4 kills 1 death every game. I’m thinking somewhere in between 1st and 3rd place consistently. Would this be enough or do I really have to win all my games?
> Thanks!
The quote given to you is a good explanation. I just wanted to let you know about a few other things.
FFA is probably the 5th hardest champion/onyx to get at the moment. In order of difficulty here are the playlist.
- Head to Head (just because it is a new playlist and the way new playlists deal with high ranks.)
- Team Arena
- Slayer/Doubles
- Slayer/Doubles
- FFA
- Elimination
- SWAT
A high rank in FFA is a good idea to start out your ranked play however. I do want to warn you though that since you are starting so late the population for this game, especially ranked lists such as FFA, are so low that games will have a large range of skill for players. This will cause some games to feel unfair/stupidly easy. Just remember that while winning is important, besting the expectation the skill system has for you is meaningful to your rank. For example if you are expected to go 4-16 but you go 8-16 that still demonstrates and increase in skill.
Thanks everyone for the replies! I would personally quote each one of you but I’m a waypoint noob so this will have to do. I think I’ll hit the bottle tonight for some liquid courage and see what I can do, if I can find a game lol.
Something to note is your CSR will go up if you place in the top 3 in FFA. It does not count as a win however.