this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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The popularity of skill based matchmaking decimated game design that allows people of different skill levels to play together and progress in a multiplayer setting. Most games actually punish you for playing with better players on your team instead of allowing you to help somehow without being a liability. And when you are, the game is no longer winnable and people get extremely pissed off ensuing you won't get to play with them again.
Everyone i play games with gets the "sbmm is one of the worst things to happen to video games" rant every single time i play a game that has it. I dont play them often thankfully
Any way you can clarify the negatives of SBMM or have a good yt vid or something that explains it? In theory I like the idea because I think back to unranked halo 3 and one game I'm a god and the next I'm getting absolutely destroyed and it kinda sucked having such a wide gap lol
The short of it is really 3 main issues and ill use cod as the example:
First it makes it difficult for friends of different skill levels to play together and have fun. Me and my boys cant play cod together because ill go 30-6 one game where they barely break even and then for the rest of the night theyll go like 6-12 because i popped off too hard. Making it so we play 3 games before they arent having fun cause im just better at the game than them.
Second reason is it ruins any casual experience. Most days, for me a grown adult with a full time job, id like to just hop and play casually in my free time but with sbmm and the constant fluctuation in the system and where it places you can spend many, many games in a row in an absolute sweat fest without any reprieve. The skill level of a playerbase is typically on a bell curve meaning your much more often to face average players without sbmm, because thats where most players fall in the skill range. With sbmm you are waiting for whatever algorithm to have mercy on you and give you an easier lobby. Which can lead to a cycle of getting stomped for a couple games then stomping others for a game, rinse, repeat. Most people would i know would rather just roll the dice than trust some arbitrary system to place them in a lobby that may be fun.
Third issue is its redundent. In most competitive games there is a casual and competitive/rabked mode. If i wanted to play against people guaranteed to be my skill level id play ranked. Refering back to issue one, i dont play ranked with those friends because we vary in skill, casual would be the mode for that situation but due to sbmm being in casual both modes really just seem to be ranked.
Bonus reason: When mw2 came out in 2022 there was talk about using sbmm to manipulate people using the data to keep them winning just enough to keep playing but not enough to ruin others experience. Sounds great to some but to me thats not what competitive games are about. And i definitely dont need some studio dictating how much fun i have in a game, telling me essentially when i get to win.
Interesting points, thanks!