Quickmatch Changes [old]

[Shadow Era]

Note: this is the old, now defunct thread that first outlined the quickmatch changes

We're happy to announce some progressive changes that are now live, related to how the season rankings will be tabulated going forward.

Each player will have a rating (similar to TrueSkill on xbox) that goes up or down based on your opponent's rating. This value will still be used when matching games and is displayed in the lobby. It is a relative value to indicate your skill at the game. The problem with the old system was that with very few games played, it can be manipulated to get players to the top of the ladder.

Starting now, a secondary value called score will also be tracked, and this value is what the top player rankings will be based on. If you win a match, you will get 3 times your current rating added to your score. Lost games, draws and games that are too short won't get you anything. In this way, your score will continue to rise as you win, and at higher ratings your score will rise much quicker.

This change is live already, and players have begun increasing their score. Check the Status page in the game itself for your current ranking and score.

We feel this will lead to a more active ladder, and result in a more fair ranking system overall!

Good luck everyone!

[busti]

So whoever plays more wins the ladder?
That doesn't sound very healthy, if loosing removes 1* your rating instead of adding it, it would be better

[pyrogene]

So whoever plays more wins the ladder?
That doesn't sound very healthy, if loosing removes 1* your rating instead of adding it, it would be better

Yar, with the current model, it's almost just like meltdown when activity is more important than skill. Not saying that it's wrong or anything but just to be aware the result might not be what you hope for.

[Peter1st]

Exciting change!

But I want to adjust it a little bit:
"If you win a match, you will get 3 times your current rating added to your score. "
It's better of this:
"If you win a match, you will get 3 times of your opponent's current rating added to your score."

[Shadow Era]

Skill is very important, it's certainly not whoever plays more will win. Eg player at 300 rating who wins 10 games will get 9000 points (plus even more when rating goes up). A player who only can win 50% of games will be stuck around 200 rating, so 10 games is 3*5*200 + 1*5*200 = 4000 points. Huge difference!

But of course all the players that are going for the top 100 should be expecting to play a lot, the old system was the exact opposite where the top players were perching there after relatively few games and afraid to play any games or their rating might drop!

[KA Xing]

Anyways, the QM is just a joke right now and not worth playing at all because of this stupid score system. It has no relationship with player's skill. Whatever your strength, your cant get high score as long as u cant keep playing over 20 games per day. Do u think a real high-skill player have so much time to play games every day, Kyle? Or in your heart, u dont care player's skill, u just want more players to play this game to acquire more benefit.

[Veles]

Why is my score 0? Games played so far didn't count?

[busti]

Skill is very important, it's certainly not whoever plays more will win. Eg player at 300 rating who wins 10 games will get 9000 points (plus even more when rating goes up). A player who only can win 50% of games will be stuck around 200 rating, so 10 games is 3*5*200 + 1*5*200 = 4000 points. Huge difference!

But of course all the players that are going for the top 100 should be expecting to play a lot, the old system was the exact opposite where the top players were perching there after relatively few games and afraid to play any games or their rating might drop!

I think that in the process of changing the major flaw of last system (activity not encouraged) you went totally overboard and reached the other extreme of the spectrum, a.k.a. only activity matters. I think there are a lot of intermediate solution which would be more suitable and keep the skill aspect intact, especially knowing that WC spots are given this way. (Although it may not be the case anymore).

To take your example: what if the bad player can play 30 games because he has a lot of time, for every 10 games the good player can play? He comes ahead. And it is even more important to play more when the skill gap is smaller than what you mentioned.

[Preybird]

Skill still counts. A 300 rated player will gain points 3 times faster than someone rated 100 (assuming identical win rates). Basically it seems to me people are upset they actually have to play.

This system isn't perfect, but its a damn sight better than the old, and promotes competition and activity throughout the season.

[Shadow Era]

It's the "highest scoring players" and not intended to be "best players". The old ranking system didn't rank on the best players either, more like who could play as few games as possible and manipulate their ranking the best. The bottom line is that this season is awarding based on score, to encourage activity. Other rating systems such as tournament points and the rating system overhaul with leagues are still coming in the future.

If anyone does have specific suggestions for improvement though, I'm here listening!