Guild Wars 2

Season 2’s matchmaking has two main problems:

1. Games are not fun: since teams are matched by division and not mmr, you get lopsided match ups all the time, where the winning side is determined before the match begins. Free wins are boring, and inescapable losses are frustrating.

2. player improvement does not lead to success: say average Joe has 1k mmr. He trains at unranked and/or duels and studies up on the meta, and now his skill merits 1.3k. However, he still gets matched up with 1k players and so will still lose to any team of higher mmr – five 1.2k mmr players will usually beat one 1.3 and four 1ks. His rise or fall in terms of mmr is still determined by random chance before a game is even began.

To solve this, we have to bring back mmr based matchmaking. However, to avoid last season’s main problem – better players forced to fight tougher opponents, making skill almost irrelevant in terms of ladder climbing speed – I suggest we determine the number of pips accorded the victors by the mmr of the team they beat. So if player A is in the top 75% in terms of mmr in his division, he will face equally skilled teams, and be rewarded with 2-3 pips for beating them. Player B, who’s average in terms of mmr, will get easier match ups but fewer pips for winning.

The pips awarded for winning have to be determined not by flat mmr, but by the position of the team you beat in the mmr ranking of your division.