January 2020
This isn't another rant post about SBMM, I want to break down the system and look at the benefits and problems that is has, while also looking at possible solutions that could be put in place to make it better. It's clear that over the last 3 months or so, the general response to skill-based matchmaking in Apex legends has been very negative. However it's unlikely that you are going to hear from those that believe it's a positive addition to the game, because well... they're busy just enjoying the game and are probably unaware that it even exists.
There is no doubt that SBMM has a benefit to the game's new players, however in order for Apex to succeed it needs not only to be able to draw new players in, but also to keep them playing the game for years to come. This means creating an environment that works for all players regardless of natural ability at the game.
Being a Battle Royale there is always going to be one team of winners and the rest of those teams are going to be losers, this means it's important at every stage to even out the playing field as much as possible. However as long as there is a higher proportion of players in the mid-range then the high skilled players will be few and far between in each game.
One thing that I've been saying for a while now is that while the badges show a certain achievement they do not elaborate on the context on how it was achieved. There are a lot of players starting new accounts purely so that they can easily achieve the elusive "20 kill" and "4000 damage" badges. To anyone looking at these accounts later in time the context of which the badges were achieved would remain unknown, and therefore the gravitas behind the badges would wear off.
Solution 1 - Random tiered Lobbies.
Solution 2 - SBMM with XP variance.
I hope that this post puts SBMM a little bit more into perspective for people and allows for a positive and fruitful debate on the topic, I welcome ideas for how SBMM could work in the future, but for the game to welcome in new players it has to be more than just "Remove SBMM".
Kind Regards,
Cabowse.
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Hey there I'm a volunteered Champion! I don't work for EA I just like to help out around the forums, keep the peace and submit ideas to the community.
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January 2020 - last edited January 2020
@Cabowsenice post!
A couple of points that I think are very relevant to this topic:
- Queue numbers need to be huge in order to have balanced lobbies for every skill. It's not the case and this advantages highly skilled players, because their lobbies will be more often easier.
- New players will feel the evolution a bit slower but much steadier, unlike many old players that got nice badges and stats from unbalanced lobbies and are now falling to their actual skill bracket.
January 2021
In Madden all I get paired up against are 99 overall teams when I Marley have a 85 it’s so unfair and completely ruins the game makes me regret ever buying it, fix it please it’s so annoying and I know I’m not the only one
January 2021
All the "positives" you mentioned are completely false.
January 2021
This skill based matchmaking simply doesnt work. I constantly being paired with guys that have more kills on one legend that i have on all. Iam done with this game.