What really happens once you hit “queue”? Join Overwatch’s system designers as they introduce the philosophies, goals, and inner workings of the matchmaking process.
15 Likes
Can’t wait for nobody on here to change their opinions on the matchmaker.
Still, thanks for the write-up. And big thanks for the updated rank distribution!
43 Likes
I generally don’t have a problem with the MM - it’s doing an impossible job.
Your MMR is based a lot on luck - the luck of the heroes your team chooses and the heroes the other team chooses in your games. There are so many different ways to put together a team comp and it’s generally the overbearing factor in how a game goes.
The MM can’t know what you are going to play and how those heroes will fit together. And, more important, how much your team will be countered or counter the other team. It’s impossible for it to produce games that always appear fair because it’s up to the players to pick effective comps and to adapt to the other team’s comp during the game.
The lower the rank, the less adaptation takes place and the more likely a game will be a complete stomp. Not because the MM messed up, but because of the team comps the players made themselves. At higher ranks players are much more likely to switch heroes and adapt, which makes it less likely they’ll see complete stomps.
When I’m in a stomp, on either side, it’s usually clear why it’s a stomp by simply looking at the team comps.
23 Likes
The issue with that is because our experience is vastly different. If the “win rate” goal is 45%-55%, it doesn’t explain the constant matches where they’re completely one sided. It’s not a matter of “Maybe just land a couple more key shots.”. Its more of a “Push the payload uncontested non-stop” or “Hold the point while the enemy is stuck contemplating life in their spawn”.
That’s the biggest issue. There should be some good give and take during the matches. It shouldn’t feel like you’re playing against a constant barrage of brand new trained AI bots.
19 Likes
Always nice to get information about this kind of thing!
6 Likes
“While this means you may see a Rookie in your high-ranked games, that player’s Stadium MMR reflects their actual skill”
This simply isnt true - I am all star support and LAST NIGHT had a tank playing their very first stadium game EVER. He didnt understand why he was in 3rd person. He didnt even have a Stadium MMR since he had never touched the mode before.
Where are the simple guardrails preventing that from happening?!
40 Likes
There are some reasons not related to the MM (well, partly in some cases)
- the team comp you get and the team comp the other team picks
- groups - it can make games the wild-west when a duo comes with a silver and a masters player in QP (and no, in QP the MM does not ensure there is a masters player on the other team). This is remarkably common, and duos of tank+support makes for the worst games (which is why I insta-leave games where the other tank is grouped).
- players that have lowered their MMR by practicing other heroes for a while and you get them on one of their main heroes. Their MMR is way lower than it should be.
- tanks: the game depends way too much on your tank (in 5v5) and if you get a bad one or one trying a hero they don’t usually play or one that is countered (think hog vs. orisa+ana) and doesn’t want to swap, then you’re getting stomped
- suitability of heroes to maps. If your tank picks sigma on circuit your probably in a good position vs. the other team picking hog or zarya.
I’m sure there are 10 others that could be added. None of these are things the MM can do much about. It can just look at your history, figure out a skill number, and match you the best it can to others with a similar number. It doesn’t know which hero you’ll pick in the game, and it doesn’t know which heroes the rest of your team or the other team are going to pick and how they will work out against each other.
I see my fair share of stomps, but it’s usually pretty obvious why (a lucio doing dps in a comp or map where speed isn’t helpful, a moira doing zero healing, a tracer going 1-10, and so on - how can the MM account for any of that?).
16 Likes
Separate QP lobby without map bans, when ?
Thanks in advance.
1 Like
"Our matchmaking philosophy is that fun stems from fairness."
Yeah, because that’s why loss of control abilities are littered throughout the game.
"Long queues are affecting high-skill players in specific roles—namely support—due to low populations of players at that skill level as well as general role disparity."
8 Likes
Why is hidden MMR a thing when you have smurfs every other game dodging MMR in competitive
10 Likes
This happens constantly. I’m only Pro level, but get stuck with and against brand new players with alarming frequency. It makes games a complete blowouts regularly. Balanced, fun games are a rarity.
21 Likes
As a silver/gold level, I shouldn’t be matched up with diamond or masters. I even have top 500 playing against me. Plat yes, those higher levels, no.
18 Likes
This insight is nice to see. Thanks for communicating this. I think there is a lot of valuable information here.
One thing that stood out to me, though:
Creating lobbies with a narrow skill range is important because inconsistencies show up at the team level.
Is this true? I’ve had multiple games where I am in Diamond 3 but had GM players in the lobby (while our tank is diamond, the enemy’s is Master’s 2+), or have games with Gold players. That is definitely not arrow, and the 1 or 2 people I queue with are the same rank as me.
I am confused why it brings in a far wider range?
That’s why MMR and approximate Stadium skill tiers sometimes don’t match up. Two players with similar MMR ratings and similar amounts of won Stadium games will have very similar ranks, but someone with a higher core MMR will still start in Rookie since they’re new to the mode.
I also find this…to be hard to believe. Because the way that I see some people play, even just basics, is hard to believe we are even remotely within the same MMR. So if the goalposts feel vastly different, I cannot imagine the other mechanisms are properly matching people with me.
I do understand why it is not based on rank, which is something I had not considered. This insight was very helpful.
12 Likes
You’ve done a great job describing how your system works.
But I will say my own general experience of the match maker is pretty bad.
Consistently, one team will have 3-5x the eliminations as the other team. And one team will win the vast majority (if not all) of the team fights.
Close or “good” games are the exception, not the norm.
In many scenarios, I even question if I’m playing with real humans or bots.
So whatever you guys are doing to produce fair and fun games is not working.
Or at the very least, the appearance of fair and fun is not there.
The face validity of your system isn’t there.
I cannot tell you how many times I have quit a session of Overwatch due to repeated stomps.
Because stomps are not fair or fun.
When a player gets 5 or 6 stomps in a row, don’t be surprised when engagement goes down.
And perhaps this is rose tinted nostalgia goggles, but OW1 never had stomps like this.
Yes, they happened. But the frequency and intensity was not like this.
32 Likes
lmao wait? Are they telling us There aren’t many high skilled supports/??? jesus lmao
3 Likes
Oh. My. God. An article about the taboo topic? I must read
1 Like
Came here to say this 
Everyone’s mind is made up at this point. The match maker either works well enough for what it is, or is totally out to get you and ensure you get loss streak after loss streak.
8 Likes
And you are only taking about team comps. Then there is also maps, some heroes better or worse on them. People being distracted / drunk etc. having throwers or Smurfs. Maybe one team is communicating and the other is not. There are just so many factors that go into a close match or not, and tons of ppl just like to blame the matchmaker somehow expecting it to work miracles.
6 Likes
My personal experience with the matchmaker in Stadium looks way different. I have been stuck for about 4 days in Pro3 and played several hours every day and man I wish that I was just the common denominator, then I could at least do something and work on myself.
Instead I’m being matched with a Zenyatta that does not heal. 100 (one hundred) heals the first round, 800 the next after he was asked nicely to please step it up a bit and the next and final round he finally found his Q key and had an ult that brought him to 1.3k heals. At the same time I’m working my butt off pulling 3.5k+ heals every round while the enemy is mopping the floor with us.
Or the Mercy, in an all stars skin that for some reason can barely get over 1k heals per round. Even the enemy team pointed that discrepancy out.
Or the tank that seems to have no idea how to play the game and what the objective is and keeps walking off while we try to fight on point in overtime they are dueling a Genji somewhere half way across the map.
Or the DPS who keeps running into the enemy team coming toward the objective and dying 1v5 again and again - there is basic understanding on how to play the game missing.
The general answer when I ask other players how they got to Allstar is that they queued up with others so they have less chances of throwers and people who don’t know how to play.
By now I’m a showering my team in praise and gratitude every time they are not in any way throwing. My avoid list is full to the brim with players that performed in a way that in a competitive match can be considered game play sabotage.
7 Likes
In fact I won’t change an ounce of my opinion, the mm is utterly garbage
13 Likes