TLDR: Modify the Blitz match-making system so that Duo-Queued players are always matched to a team with an equal number of Duo-Queued players on the opposing team (Which in this case with 2 healers is a maximum of 4 people on each team). THIS COMPLETELY ELIMINATES ANY DISADVANTAGE FOR SOLO-QUEUED PLAYERS WHEN MATCHED WITH DUO-QUEUED PLAYERS.
Let me ask you guys a question - If I asked you if we should allow Duo-Queueing for solo shuffle (if solo shuffle was originally just 1 round instead of 6), what would you say to that? I’m betting almost everyone would say something like, “WTF NO,” or “That would be incredibly unfair,” or “2 people are working together, how is that fair to the solos on the opposing team?”
Well - I hate to break it to you guys, but that is EXACTLY what’s happening in Blitz right now, albeit on a different (smaller) scale.
I think most of you guys playing Blitz this season have figured out already - a Duo-Queue pair has an advantage over a Solo-Queue player. Why? Because of the smaller 8/8 format and the different variations of each map compared to traditional RBGs (such as capture points being different and capturing a lot faster; example below), a Duo-Queue pair can provide substantially more effectiveness to the team over a Solo-Queue player.
Let’s make a simple example as a Solo-Queue player (and I’m sure A LOT of you guys seen some variation of this exact scenario happen in your many Blitz adventures):
You are playing a shadow priest in Arathi Basin mid-match. You rotate to goldmines as it’s on the timer to become capturable and you have a fellow teammate DPS coming with you, while the rest of your team is elsewhere, doing things. Approaching the capture point, you see two enemy DPS also approaching from the other side to fight for the point. You check BattleGroundEnemies and notice that both DPS have burned their trinkets elsewhere - SWEET, a CC-capture opportunity. Both enemies start attacking you, you drop a Psychic Scream (AoE Fear) and both enemies take a non-DR’d full duration Fear. You look to your teammate to capture the point and you approach to also try and capture. Your teammate had no idea the Fear was coming and was mid-DPS-rotation and blasting both enemies and your Fear on both targets is immediately popped. You look at your teammate for follow-up CC in an attempt to salvage the CC-capture. No good. Now the chance for CC-capture is greatly diminished (literally) and a drawn-out 2v2 ensues.
Now let’s look at Duo-Queue players in this same example:
Approaching goldmines you notice both enemies don’t have trinkets. You call it out over Discord to your friend; perfect. You call out for the Fear. Your partner hears you, stops attacking, and starts capturing the point. Enemies are stuck in a full duration Fear. Point captured.
Obviously, this was one very specific example, but there are MANY situations across all maps (Carts, CTFs, etc), comps, and strategies where Duo-Queued players have an advantage.
Let’s make this EVEN SIMPLER:
2 people are fighting 2 people. One pair has played together and is talking live in Discord. The other pair have never played together and aren’t communicating at all. All other factors being equal (which is obviously not usually the case), which pair has the advantage here? Now if these fights are taking place all over the map, wouldn’t you say the team that has these two people playing together stands a better chance to win?
Ok, I think we all get the idea with these examples. Now AMPLIFY this problem into Battleground Blitz and you have the current state of this so-called “SOLO” game mode.
A Duo-Queued pair queuing into Blitz represents 2 out of 8 or 1/4th of the team, whereas a Solo-Queued pair queuing into Blitz only represents 1/8th. Obviously, this isn’t quite the skew of a hypothetical “Duo-Queue Solo Shuffle” where it would be a 2/3 representation, but the advantage is still present. It’s this stark representation that gives Duo-Queued players an advantage over Solo-Queued players in the long run over the course of many games, particularly when they queue into lobbies where OPPOSING teams are comprised exclusively of Solo-Queued players.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking - “What does it matter? If someone Duo-Queues and I’m Solo-Queue, there’s a 50/50 chance they’ll be on my team or the other team. Sometimes I’ll have the Duo-Queue on my team, sometimes I won’t, so who cares?” You’re right - but consider this - for someone who Duo-Queues, they’ll have a 100% chance of having a Duo-Queue on their team, EVERY SINGLE TIME (them!). Which means in the long run, they will simply have an advantage over a Solo-Queued player.
I’ve seen a lot of discussions asking for Duo-Queue to be removed from Blitz, but honestly, I think we can all agree it’s a pretty nice feature to play with friends, and from what I understand the mode has been a part of Blitz since the beginning. And c’mon… us healers… we need morale support <3
Instead of removing it, how about we make this change:
Modify the Blitz match-making system so that Duo-Queued players are always matched to a team with an equal number of Duo-Queued players on the opposing team.
For example, if 2 people on one team are Duo-Queued, then the opposing team must also have 2 people that are Duo-Queued. If 4 people on one team are Duo-Queued, then the opposing team must also have 4 people that are Duo-Queued.
THIS COMPLETELY ELIMINATES ANY DISADVANTAGE FOR SOLO-QUEUED PLAYERS WHEN MATCHED WITH DUO-QUEUED PLAYERS.
The one “con” of doing this is that Duo-Queued players may experience slightly longer queue times as the system attempts to match them against other Duo-Queued players. However - if this system is implemented optimally - this should have ZERO effect on Solo-Queued players if the system prioritizes filling lobbies with Solo-Queued players and only filling lobbies with Duo-Queued lobbies when they are matched in 1:1 quantity. IMHO, this is a necessary sacrifice for Duo-Queued players to keep the game mode fair for Solo-Queued players.
P.S. If this is already how matchmaking works, then I will delete this post (but I’m not under the impression it is).
P.S.S. I don’t hold any negative regards towards people rising to high ratings by Duo-Queuing - the guys who got up there are super good players and there’s no denying that.
P.S.S. And yeah, there are many other issues with Blitz, but guh-dang I’ve been having fun with it and I think anything we can do to smooth out the “disadvantages” people feel in the game mode will go a long way for the longevity of the mode and PvP in general.
edits: formatting, TLDR up top.