Out of every 10 games I play, maybe one of them is a close, even game where everyone is on roughly the same skill level - and that’s probably me being generous.
Almost every game has people on either team not just losing their lane but going something like 0-17. I know it’s early alpha and has had a huge influx of players recently so maybe it’s to be expected to some extent, but even back in my Dota days matchmaking was never this bad. This is like, public WC3 Dota 1 lobbies level.
How are you guys finding it? Anyone break through the MMR barrier into a point where you’re getting consistently good games? How long did it take, and what MMR? (you can check here
I can explain a bit better.
You can have even games without every player on your team being exactly the same skill level as you. All you need is for the overrall competence of each team added together being equal.
I don’t mind uneven games happening occasionally because they are over quickly. They could be over even sooner if a team could vote to surrender, but that isn’t in the game yet.
Such matches are still valuable as learning experiences, and pulling off good battles even if you fail to win the war is perfectly viable fun.
But the type of evenness enforced by MMR ratings makes every player in a match interchangeable, or close to it.
If every player in a match is at exactly the same skill level, that means there is no skill gradient to climb.
In fighting games, rematching over and over against someone that utterly beats your ass is when you are learning the fastest, provided you are able to take pleasure in analysing and modifying what you are doing in attempts to improve your performance.
Even if you don’t win, losing slower and slower is its own reward, because you can feel yourself improving.
The same happens in reverse. When I’m the better player, seeing something click in my oppent and have them pull off something to successfully get at me feels amazing! Actually seeing the moment someone gets better at a game is insane!
Neither side of that happens in games where the matchmaking only ever lets you play with people who already know everything you do and vice versa.
You don’t need to be in VC to set an example, all you need to do is exist.
You don’t need to be in a VC to look at what the player carrying your team, or the opponent crushing yours is doing, and learning from it.
Evenness enforced by only ever matching players of the same skill-level IS MORE SAMEY than the evenness that can happen when matches that have a range of skill-levels are allowed to occur as well. And personally, I am perfectly willing to trade in some matchmaking misses for that additional variety.
And it doesn’t even mean that even matches where everyone is at the same skill level can’t still happen, too.