ranking question

[ToneMastaG]

So I was as excited about the rankings decay as anyone else, but I think its proving just how little I knew about how they actually work. And here is why:

The day before yesterday, I won my last match of the night and checked to make sure that I was still at a rank of 275.
The next day I log in and my rank is 274. Only one less right? No biggie.
I then play a game that sync errors (getting ridiculously old at this point) and my rank stays at 274. No loss, no big deal.
I then play a game where my battery dies in the middle. I drop to 169. Ok so, I "got beat" by a player of lower rank that I am, so I lost the maximum.
So I continue to beat all my next 3 opponents which brings me up to a whopping 270!!! Why only one point you ask? Because even though I am consistently winning, the computer is matching me with players 50 ranks (or more in one case) below me EVERY FRICKIN TIME!

So, is this the way its supposed to be? Why did I lose rank even though I shouldn't have? How are matches determined? Is the system supposed to punish losing more that it rewards winning?

[Zhou86]

TMG, you meant you drop to 269 after you lost the match where your batt died? But to lose 5 ratings due to a match where your batt died, thats quite frustrating...

[ToneMastaG]

TMG, you meant you drop to 269 after you lost the match where your batt died? But to lose 5 ratings due to a match where your batt died, thats quite frustrating...

It was frustrating, but to be expected. As far as I know that is how it works. Lose to a lower rank and lose more rank points. What u don't understand, is how I lost rank without even playing, and why I keep getting matched with players way under my rank even though I keep winning.

[FDL]

The system sometimes takes a few minutes to adjust. So it can happen that you finish a match without getting a 'Rating change' message butthat a few minutes later, your rating will increase/decrease (it's mostly increase that happen that way in my experience). I don't know if that explains your situation though.

The rating system is a bit misleading in the sense that it shows a score (like your 270) but uses a range to evaluate match difficulty. There is a post somewhere explaining it but basically the system might show you have 270 skill point but behind the scene you're considered a 270 +/- 20. So if you meet a 250 +/- 15 or a 290 +/- 10 the system will consider you all of equal skill because your ranges overlap.

Now I pulled all the numbers out of nowhere so don't quote me on them, but that's my understanding of the system and it's quirky ways. Feel free to correct me anyone.

[stevevai1983]

it's just a really really bad system. I strongly recommend they implement Starcraft2 system (with only 1 or 2 divisions)

[Maldazar]

it's just a really really bad system. I strongly recommend they implement Starcraft2 system (with only 1 or 2 divisions)

You know that behind the scenes, the real rating system of of SC2 is very alike from the one of SE, the league's/ranks that you see in SC2 are just for showing, because they say nothing about your real skill, that is a hidden rank, equal (probably a little beter) then the one from SE.

Anyway, there should be implemented a system that would start looking for opponents at 10 diference, then after like 30 seconds without finding anyone it goes up to 20, then after another 30 seconds goes up to 30, and so on.

This way at any rank you will eventualy find an opponent, but at the same time you will be placed against a similar ranking more often. (and not only against 50 above/bellow)