u/AmerpLeDerp

I am consistently being put in lobbies with all solo queue teammates against 5 stacks who seem to have never lost a game in their lives. Every single game I queue, without fail, is against players who are, on average, better skilled and higher rated.

I believe this is because of how the matchmaking, in its simplest form, decides to match players based on win-differential over anything like rank or skill rating, or more importantly, party status.

I'm currently +23 wins ahead of being 50/50 this season (used to be +50ish; now I'm on a loss streak), which means I'm likely matched with players who are around -30 to -10 win rate against teams who can range the same. Since players of any win differential can party together, balancing the match becomes a nightmare, especially for 5 stacks, so it's easier to grab a random couple of soloers with the same spread of wins and match them against each other (historically the worst decision ever made and remedied by any developer worth their salt who has ever built a competitive matchmaking system).

The problem is the matchmaker doesn't update the win rate status regularly, so if you're winstreaking with your party of 4, your win rate can go into orbit before you're matched against players of the same win rating. Same thing when you start losing over and over and over and over and over again. It doesn't update until you've genuinely thought about putting the barrel of a 44 magnum in your mouth and pulling the trigger.

Anyway, this needs to change, stat. I can't continue going on like this. I can't.

I don't have hard evidence of this, as I haven't been tracking all my matches (not all player data is available on the tracker). I have been Elite since Season 0 as a playmaker (and remain in Elite), and every season I've had just above a 50% win rate. This is my observation: I've When I hit below 50% win rate, the game consistently matches me with higher-ranked players, and my opponents are usually lower average rank. Often, I match with 3-group or 4-group lobbies that seem to be doing well. Sometimes I am the only Elite in the lobby in a game between golds or plats where I'm actually on the side of the higher-avg-ranked players.

Conversely, when I have a win rate above 50%, the opposite happens, where I am matched with lower-skilled players (often it's a single individual who is essentially throwing the game + a few average-ranked-players relative to my rank), against what is often a premade lobby of 5 players of a much higher RP rating. You've probably run across this too as a solo player where it seems you are matched with 4 other soloers vs a 5 stack, and if you hit NEW MATCH immediately after the game it is likely that your next game you will be the exact same teams going at it again, which, spoiler alert, if you lost the first time it's looking like a loss a second time and etcetera.

I've often tried dodging (if I see the same players), and while it's solved playing with the exact same group, giving me a higher chance of a win, it hasn't solved the main issue. I seem to be stuck in a category in the matchmaker. Either I am supposed to win, or supposed to lose, and it's not close. I've often had egregious win streaks where I barely made an impact, and egregious loss streaks where no matter how much impact I have, it's impossible to win the game.

The clear solution to this is to not play solo. The matchmaker has a harder time forcing the 50/50 anti-winstreak, especially in Elite lobbies where there are not that many better 5-stacks to play against. It's annoying because it doesn't matter if I take a break or play during peak hours or not; I will lose (or win). There are obviously hard-fought games where the outcome defies expectation, but as a trend it feels like I have no control over the game.

The mullet doesn't count lol

Title: Alternate Life

Format: 90 min feature

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Length: 101 pages

Logline: A group of young filmmakers have their friendship tested when one has to seduce an executive's daughter to save their low-budget show from cancellation.

Status: Third draft (and a half)

Feedback: Is it funny? Is it interesting? Is it propulsive? Is it endearing? Are you invested in the characters?

Beyond that, I think the ending could use some work. I'm worried that it falls flat because the protagonist loses too much audience sympathy.

P.S. I'm not a stickler for realism, but if there's anything that sticks out like a sore thumb, please let me know.

 

Script Google Drive Link