My MMR conundrum

Competitive Discussion
1

Hi all, hope you’re doing well. I’m looking for help in regards to the MMR system and what it means for me.
I started out on Overwatch as a very bad Bronze, with a comp rating of about 700.
I then found friends to play with, over a number of months I climbed a little to SIlver 1120 or so, then even further.
Since then I have placed high silver and only just recently climbed to Gold 2125 as my season and career high.

Problem though, I played with some Platinum players for a while and the difficulty of my games since then have shot up.
In solo queue and arcade I am up against high platinums and even Diamonds.

I see it as a challenge to get better - but my matches used to be fairer before I met friends and played with them, since then I have a permanent lasting MMR bracket that pits me up against those much higher than me.

Is this intentional? Back then I didnt understand the ranks so just played with friends who did. I know over time I’ll continue to grow until I hit my own plateau/ceiling but for now, I’m faced with very difficult matches which are mostly alt accounts/smurfs.

Anyone got any info as to how this has happened? Is it because I played with platinums for a while and unwittingly forced myself into a new bracket that can’t be undone?

2

I’m not an expert on the MMR system myself, but it sounds like we’re in similar situations. This season I did my placements with a friend in low gold. I’ve been mid-high plat for the past few seasons. Since he was the group leader for our lfg, the people that joined were in his SR range (low-mid gold and some silvers). I placed high gold this season and since then have found it difficult to climb back to where I used to be. My best guess is try grouping in a 6 stack with other players around your rank (or even below your rank, just not higher) and see if that works out?

3

As you win games, your MMR goes up, and as you lose games it goes down. It only gets stuck when you win about half your games or stop playing.

Also, note that the MMR for quick play / arcade is separate from the MMR for competitive. So losing games in competitive won’t affect your quick play MMR and vice versa.

I have a more complete explainer here: How Competitive Skill Rating Works (Season 11)