Why is online player matching so broken?

[Tronotron]

So I enter Ranked Match mode (which is where all the action seems to be) and set the player matching parameter to "About Same "...

 

Most of the time the players who turn up to challenge me are way above my league.... Even when they are around the same level they will have played like 100 times more games and have a much higher victory ratio and Rebel Points, whatever they are.  Some of these guys just chain their combos relentlessly and do not even seem to realise I have let go of the stick and I'm just sitting back waiting for the match to end.

 

Why do I level up even when I lose???

 

How can someone be at around the same level as me when they have played hundreds more games and have a much higher win ratio?

 

Do people with a lot of games under their belt somehow reset their profile so they can be matched against newbies for easy wins?

 

Why does the game not show me the opponent's details before I choose to accept the challenge?

 

Seems like a lot of Japanese l33t mentality. 

[StylisH]

So I enter Ranked Match mode (which is where all the action seems to be) and set the player matching parameter to "About Same "...

 

Most of the time the players who turn up to challenge me are way above my league.... Even when they are around the same level they will have played like 100 times more games and have a much higher victory ratio and Rebel Points, whatever they are.  Some of these guys just chain their combos relentlessly and do not even seem to realise I have let go of the stick and I'm just sitting back waiting for the match to end.

 

Why do I level up even when I lose???

 

How can someone be at around the same level as me when they have played hundreds more games and have a much higher win ratio?

 

Do people with a lot of games under their belt somehow reset their profile so they can be matched against newbies for easy wins?

 

Why does the game not show me the opponent's details before I choose to accept the challenge?

 

Seems like a lot of Japanese l33t mentality.

I think this belongs in the pet peeve thread, but.....

A LOT of fighting games have questionable ranked (*sigh*) matchmaking and players who exploit this. I believe the game does show their color/rank before the match as well. Perhaps you would consider player matches before diving into ranked?

Side note: Going AFK during a match because things aren't going your way won't teach you anything. Please stop doing this.

[Airk]

Here's the thing.

There's nothing wrong with the matchmaking.

Allow me to explain. This game has been out for 5 months or so. The infinite majority of the new players picked it up in the first month. Most of them have probably given up by now... or gotten better. So, in order to match you against someone who has "About the same" ranking as you, first:

There must be someone with about the same skill as you online

Second:

They must be within a playable connection of you.

Third:

They must be looking for a ranked match at that very moment.

The game looks at the available player pool, says "Welp, this is the best I can do, I bet he'd rather play than sit there and stare at the menu screen" and matches you up the best it can. Would you rather it gave you no one to fight?

Maybe you should try extending a friend invite to some of the people in the numerous "Hi, I'm a new player" threads around here.

[Dreiko]

First gigantic error; Ranked is NOT where all the action is. Most people play in Player matches or Arcade lobbies with chibi avatars. Only people seeking to unlock icons or trophies or just wanting a couple quick matches rather than a longer set play ranked. (And I guess a few bad players who think skill is tied to your online rank and wanna make themselves seem good when all they do is the exact opposite :p)

Second gigantic and even more crucial error in your reasoning; your "level" is not affected by all the matches you play. It's affected by only the ranked ones. Suppose there was a person with 200 ranked games of about rank ten and another person with 2 ranked games at lvl 1. Suppose also that the first person played no player matches while the second person has played 6000 player matches. Who do you think will be better? Do you think the levels really mean anything? Cause, you know, when you ask the game to match you with same skill, you're asking it to use these meaningless levels to do it. How could it be possible for that to ever turn out right.

[mAc Chaos]

Matchmaking systems only really work that well when you have a gigantic player pool to draw from like Halo. Then there's enough matches to accurately give someone a level, and there's enough players of all levels online at all times for you to actually be matched up against.

 

I'm not sure what you expect them to do when you've put down the stick though, lol.

[Dreiko]

When people do that I just back up and mash JA until they return. If they don't after 30 seconds or so I just end it by killing em as quick as possible so I can go play people who fight back. I think most people do something like that.

[mAc Chaos]

I do that unless they make it a habit. In which case I just bust out my best combo video moves.

[StylisH]

I think people who go AFK mid match should be made to watch a full tournament of Injustice. Cruel, but effective.

[Tronotron]

Thanks for the explanations. I don't really understand ranks and levels here.

I guess the answer is to not play ranked matches for now.

 

Side note: Going AFK during a match because things aren't going your way won't teach you anything. Please stop doing this.

I didn't say I go AFK when things aren't going my way.... It's when the other player is so out of my league that there is nothing to learn because I can barely land or block a single attack. . .
 

 

This game has been out for 5 months or so. The infinite majority of the new players picked it up in the first month. Most of them have probably given up by now... or gotten better

 

 

The infinite majority? There are always new players. If this means "you're not good enough, give up" then why did you bother to comment?

 

 

  I've been playing BB against the CPU on and off for 2 years now... Online for a month or so, but only a few hours a week at the most. I have a win ratio of around 17% in the ranked matches. Occasionally I get a good game (win or lose) with someone around my skill level, just not very often...  As it is I get a challenger every few minutes- I'd rather wait a little longer between games if it means a fairer match, but whatever.

[Dreiko]

I think he was saying you should be expecting to lose a lot, not thst you should give up. That you should acknowledge most people online have played way more than you have and that it means something.

Playing vs the AI does nothing to prepare you to fight people. If anything it can build bad habits. Lots of people have been playing vs people competitively for 5 years. This is a niche game so there's more people with tens of thousands of matches played over the series history than there are newbies.

[BoltofShadow]

Defeat is inevitable, it's something anyone should realize when you go online.

[Icekin]

The matchmaking itself is also a bit wonky. Since player matches do not count, and level resets with every character, you could be an amazing player with tons of experience who just never bothered to go through ranked on that character, and you will be matched with other lvl 1-ish players. Some who will be like OP, newer players.

[D.R.F.]

^ I ate and tore apart a lot of players in ranked. Tbh though im only an avg. Ragna player (i seriously need to go to my scene in nor cal or so cal). And the end of the day dude I encourage you to muscle on in player matches. You will see improvements am if you take active measures to get better (like practicing, watching your archives, etc.

[Airk]

I think he was saying you should be expecting to lose a lot, not thst you should give up. That you should acknowledge most people online have played way more than you have and that it means something.

This.

This isn't rocket science. Most new players appear when a game is new. And over 5 months, they either get better or give up - one or the other is pretty much inevitable. So the only players who are going to be 'on your level' are the very small number who started around the same time you did. And since it's a 5 month old game, that's not going to be very many. So you're going to lose a lot, because most of the people playing have way more experience than you.

And as for "I'd rather wait a little longer for a fair match" how would you like it if it gave you zero matches all evening because no other newbies decided to show up that night? :P Change the matchmaking and you end up with two possibilities: #1) You end up waiting a little longer for basically the same matches, as the game waits in vain for a close match then gives up, or #2) You end up with no matches as the game waits in vain for a close match and refuses to give up.

[Speakeasy]

I just want to know how that points thing works. I can be level 16 and double perfect someone that's level 12 and I'll get 8 and a half points while they'll get 96 million.

[mAc Chaos]

I just want to know how that points thing works. I can be level 16 and double perfect someone that's level 12 and I'll get 8 and a half points while they'll get 96 million.

i think you get less points for playing someone below you and more for playing above

[Speakeasy]

i think you get less points for playing someone below you and more for playing above

Oh, I guess that makes sense. I would still assume that you would get more points for winning, but that's neither here nor there.

[Liminal18]

You level up when you lose because experience is experience. You might not win, but at least you learned something. When I get in games with more experienced players (and that happens to me 90% of the time) and I am losing, that is usually when I just decide to try something new or well at the very least it gives me some information on which moves take priority. Regardless, what you are complaining about is rampant in all fighting games match making. I remember in SF IV being regularly matched against people near max level with their character on my first match with a character. BB:CP at least usually finds someone with in 2 levels of me. I only played a level 12 once as a level 6. Also while you might not find that many players near you and playing at the same time, if you try you will find people playing at the same time with minimal lag. Ask to friend them and then you will know when they're online and vice versa.

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