Matchmaking System?

[Ryuko]

I would like to see a Matchmaking System introduced to PvP, but I also realize that there are reasons why it would not work with the ranking system.

There are a few situations in which players are at a severe disadvantage.

1) The player that JUST started PvP, is admittedly new, and is playing in either i90 PvE gear or i55 crafted PvP gear (those are their options). They desperately want to get better, but they continually lose against teams that are better at communicating and clearly have better gear.
2) The player that has spent a lot of time working on PvP, has decent gear, has a decent understanding of the game... and yet, they continually lose because they don't have a good team, or they are getting torn apart by R30 premades.

A matchmaking system, such as the ones introduced in other MMOs, would do its best to match players against others of equal skill and (presumably) similar gear. Mediocre players would play against mediocre players. New players would play against other new players. Hardcore players would play against other hardcore players, etc. The 'matchmaking' in other MMOs functions through a rating system that rises and falls with each win/loss.

The problem with this game is that we ONLY have PvP rank to 'judge' someone by... and what does that dictate but what gear they have access to and how long they've been doing PvP? You cannot judge a person's skill based on rank alone -- and that is because everyone will theoretically get to Rank 30 after grinding 'enough'. Give it a few months, and even the least-skilled PvPers will have the same gear as others (similar to PvE, right?). You don't lose rank. You can only gain it. There is no penalty for losing a match except the fact that you won't gain as many points as the winning team.

Yet, I am not proposing that we change the way ranks work. Those are fine, and linear progression for gear is okay... But playing matches where you lose over and over again because you are trying to gear up is frustrating. Veteran players suggest that newer players try the level 30 or 40 brackets because gear 'caps' put most people on an even playing field (as far as gear is concerned), but there will come a time when these players want to try level 50 games... and they will be met with fierce opposition.

So, here is my suggestion: introduce a 'hidden' matchmaking system, with each player having a rating based on their performance against other teams with higher/lower/equal matchmaking rating. Let's say in one game, you get teamed up with one new player, one R30 skilled player, and two mediocre players... That would even out the team's matchmaking score. Meanwhile, the other team has two new players and two R30 skilled players. Would that be about even? Well, it would certainly make the match more exciting than a group of R30 people against a group of newbies. Premades would still be an option (groups of R30 people who are very competitive), but the non-four-man groups would do its best to even out teams based on the available people in the queue. As of right now, the game makes no attempt or recognition of anyone's rank, skill, or gear.

I understand that any changes to the PvP system will take time, and it was JUST introduced... but this is something I would like to ask other people... how do you feel about it? My 'suggestions' and speculations are just that... speculations. I'm not saying "this is definitely how we would solve the problem," but I do think we should start talking about solutions to a problem that a lot of players feel.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I doubt a group of skilled R30 players enjoy farming newbies. I mean, sure... free points, and it's fun to just laugh as you kill people... but, there's no challenge to that.

As far as my experience... I think I'm Rank11 now, just now working on my i70 set. I have found the most success by queuing solo for all brackets in the late hours of the evening when pickings are slim for PvP. Getting a 'good' team is about 50/50, and there seem to be less R30 premades at that time because less people are awake. It's also a learning experience because when I get to play with R30 people, I can pick their brain for ideas.

[Spyrit]

2.2 will bring match making based on rank.