[2023] Matchmaking

We decided to have Random Battles be Random. This increases the diversity of experience as you will encounter a wide variety of play and skill variance.

Also, MMR systems tend to move a player to a point where they have a 50/50 win rate even when pushing at their absolute utmost. When not, the result is a string of losses until the MMR has rebalanced to that different norm. There are positives and negatives to any system, but the constant uphill battle can and does lead to burnout as feelings of progress stall out.

For players that crave an MMR system, Clan Battles has a point-based ranking structure which comes close to the concept. Your team will escalate to the point where it finds itself steady-stating amongst its peers. Clan Battles is a constant high-effort game-mode, so burnout isn't uncommon over the duration of a season.

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Ranked Battles use the Random Battles Matchmaker, but with a restricted player pool. Players in a league can only be matched against other players in that same league. Qualifying for higher leagues makes for a system where the player pool reduces to only those who have qualified to the league being played. There is a significant reduction in player pool size with each move up a league.

I would strongly advise you stop using the mod as the main result of using it in my experience is people chatting how they've already lost and giving up early. Or just being angry in general.

Random Battles provides a random matchmaker. Play each match as its own thing, because it will be its own experience due to the amount of variables at play. If you want a more skill-measured environment, Ranked Battles provides the opportunity to separate yourself to a smaller, more exclusive matchmaking pool by going up to Silver or Gold. Clan Battles can provide the experience of rising to your height and then having an expectation of staying there short of altering your play or tactics to garner different results.

Ranked in Gold gives a great playground for highly invested players. The games tend to follow understandable patterns and play out well for the most part. They are still the result of a random matchmaker, but most players in Gold are quite able to give a solid contribution, though even the best can still lose.

Remember that skill doesn't prevent blow outs. Some of the greatest teams in sports routinely face off against each other and can go from having a match which is constantly back and forth for the duration to having a match which is a lopsided stomp. Things play out the way they play out.

Battles come down to the wire even in Random Battles. This was a recent match that I felt was worthy of saving, for instance.

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