Hi,
I would like to request an investigation into the rank distribution of the metal ranks.
On the external side rank adjustment is done at the same rate as higher ranks, this assumes that the same amount of game sense to go from say S5 to S1 is the same as M5 to M1.
Problem is that when you have placements putting everyone in metal ranks it becomes a mess with a lot of inconsistencies in the MM.
Same issue which happened with old placements, FTUE did help this a bit but there are still some issues with how new players are taught to play/understand game modes.
In QP you get quick games with half matches which don’t represent the full matches comp has, there is also no in game explanation of game modes at all.
Additionally you have Match Making forecast, this is when a large group of the player base logs in to play comp who are still cold, sleepy or affected by other external factors to the game which distorts MM. (cold as in not warmed up)
Cold players who just jump into comp are a considerable factor when playing in comp, the games can be harshly one sided or so inconsistent that it can be hard to determine if what you as an individual player are doing the right thing to climb.
Sure, Streamer’s may do an unranked to GM and call it a day but it doesnt reflect how lower ranked players are learning as they climb the ladder.
Because Metal ranks are the majority the skill distribution is also condensed you can see this in the Season 8 rank distribution where the sudden drop in player base is in diamond https://dotesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/image-192.png
It feels like there needs to be an additional rank to distribute the playerbase better or smaller increments of rank progression, but I feel like the playerbase wont have that sense of progression with smaller increments and placement boosting may show up again.
I get that the hidden MMR maybe doing its black magic behind the scenes and doing well but it feels god awful yo-yoing across 3 tiers when things feel so inconsistent and out of your control.
A suggestion for a solution:
A unranked/warm up mode could be introduced, same comp rules to better teach new players.
This mode could also be a requirement for metal ranks before entering ranked per day, say you need to play 8 warm up games if you are bronze, 6 if your silver, 4 for gold and 2 for Plat or use 4,3,2,1 method if excessive. (wins or losses dont matter)
A new rank for majority ranks?