this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
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Deadlock

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Anyone else struggling to enjoy the game due to insane skill gaps and horribly lopsided matchmaking? (feddit.nu)
submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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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

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's not just you, according to the developer on discord the MMR system isn't finished yet and isn't working properly. There's usually a skill gap in matches and it's pretty common to see people that are clearly better than everyone else and rack up 20+ kills.

It hasn't been too bad on my end, most of my games don't feel too unfair. Sometimes though a game is just over 20 minutes in due to snowballing. I also did feel like games got better the more I played so it might be that it evens out over time.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

public WC3 Dota 1 lobbies level

so true.

wtf, someone already has 803 games played?!

[–] President 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A lot of the games I've played have had DC's, afk, people treating it like an fps and feeding a lane, and always a few consistent heroes.

I'm apparently in the top 6% and it really doesn't feel like it. Either the MMR system isn't very good or there are a ton of people still learning.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm apparently in the top 6%

How do you know? How would I find out?

[–] President 4 points 2 months ago

OP provided a link to and I found my profile on there.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

I'm having a great time. I'm def low level, but I learn something every game. On the shit games with griefers or some cheese ass enemy comp, i just pick a thing to practice and I dont worry about winning as much.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I try not to care too much about that.

I've had games where half my team has disconnected, and still had fun. Won, even.

As long as I'm not getting utterly stomped, I can usually pull off some cool moments. And getting my fun that way has been a lot less toxic than worrying about team balance, ranks, and winrates.

I've had some matches where the other team just utterly overpowers mine, and some where my team completely stomps the other, but those matches tend to end quite quickly.

And personally, I find a certain pleasure in fighting against impossible odds, trying to make up the difference with skill and strats.

Matchmaking that makes every match even, tends to mean every match plays the same. That there's never a beginner on your team to mentor, never a beginner on the other team that you can teach about denies the hard way.

Never a single god-tier player on the other team that you overcome by coming together as a team.

So, I've actually been enjoying the shit out of the fact that each match tends to have range of skill levels.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I don't really share your perspective at all. I'd probably be happier if I was able to extract fun out of those things, but I can't. Bullying a new player in lane to "teach them how it's done" isn't fun to me, and attempting to mentor teammates would be socially exhausting to begin with even if I had a working mic - and that's not even considering the fact that you're happy if half your teammates speak English.

Matchmaking that makes every match even, tends to mean every match plays the same.

I don't really feel this at all, to be honest. To me it feels like the opposite is true. Snowballing stomps all pretty much play out the same way every time, the only thing that changes is whether it's your team or theirs that has the highest impact low skill players.

Even games all play out differently, because the balance of power is always on a knife's edge. Both teams are constantly dancing back and forth, trading outplays. A single seized opportunity or a single mistake can change the entire game. Going off-script to improvise and buy a perfect item at the right time can clutch a crucial teamfight. Having the presence of mind to go for mid boss after an unexpected team fight win when you're behind can turn everything around.

Even games are amazing, they are the reason I keep coming back to this game despite most matches being frankly more frustrating than fun.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Even games are amazing, they are the reason I keep coming back to this game despite most matches being frankly more frustrating than fun.

It was the same for me, but the last five or so games my teams were stomped. I think it's because I stayed in a match after everyone had been disconnected which maybe screwed up my rank, I dunno. Anyway, I stopped playing because that was a bit too much to be worth it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I suck at the game but I still enjoy it.

I actually love playing against higher tier players and not having skill based match making. It's how a grew up playing games and it refreshing running up against cracked players. It's also how I learn to play better.

For instance I had a match last night that lasted 41 minutes. A large part of it was that I was so out matched I just pushed the objective. The other team had to keep running back to defend the base. Died 24 times but we won and I did my part. I also know I should never play Abrams. I suck at Abrams.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Sounds like someone needs to get good

But seriously, it’s brand new dog, give the devs a chance to level everything out, the bots that Valve have coded can barely play the game, it’s not crazy to think that people are going to have a hard time adapting

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Sounds like someone needs to get good

Toxic shit yo.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago

Theres no way youre having that bad of matchmaking. Almost every game im in the matches can go either way. I found that the match is easily more likely to go either way than what you might find in LoL, smite, etc.

I barely started playing the game and havent had what youre experiencing.

Have you considered that maybe you just need more time to learn the game? Maybe you understand the game but perhaps need to be more diligent on changing up your plays and adapting to each unique match?