LoL: My frustration with matchmaking
I hate to make this post so soon after my “avoid your matchmaking woes” post, but I’ve been in some seriously frustrating matches lately, and it’s worth stating the reason. I think matchmaking prioritizes finding a game within the estimated queue time too highly.
Here’s the deal: I queue up in Arranged Team with two friends, both of whom have less than half my games played. As a long time DotA player, I’m also willing to assume that my ELO from solo queuing is a bit higher than theirs. Because matchmaking can’t find a perfect match for our composition, it instead attempts to account for my high ELO by placing someone with very low ELO on my team. As a for instance, I played a game last night in which my opponents were all around their mid twenties. My friends and I received a level 11 as a teammate. She played Annie. She went 3-14 and cost us the game. Consider also the image I used for this post. This was an actual game I played. The other team didn’t have a player above level 12. In case you’re wondering, I’m “The Wiggin Boy.”
I understand that fast games are better on the whole. Players want to experience the game as quickly as possible, not sit in the lobby waiting to find a match. As ELO improves, though, I think it’s fair to assume that players are more invested in each game, more concerned with winning. To put those players at a disadvantage just because a match couldn’t be found in 60 seconds or less doesn’t make sense. I would gladly sit in queue for 3 minutes before each game if it improved matchmaking results.
For a game that has been downloaded over a million times, LoL has a long way to go before it provides a smooth playing experience.
Posted in: PC, league of legends
Tags: bad matches, bad matchup, elo, high elo, league of legends, low elo, matchmaking, matchmaking problems, skill cap, skill ceiling
One thing I noticed about a month ago is that, because the game tries to make your wins and losses completely even (50/50), if you start winning a lot of games in a row, the game will pair you up with weaker teammates. I think this is both unfair and frustrating. If I’m lvl 30, I’d much rather be teamed with two lvl 25s against three lvl 29s, instead of being teamed up with two lvl 10s, even if we were against three lvl 20s. You should be paired up with people of your own bracket (who are no more than a few levels below you), so they will at least have a good understanding of the game. I shouldn’t be forced to team up with noobs, just because the game is purposefully trying to make me lose.
I totally agree with waiting a little longer to play. When most games last over 20 minutes and the rare few REALLY EVEN games lasting close to and slightly over an hour I would gladly wait 5 minutes to play for a better experience when I do.
(P00dle is my actuall nick online)
Well when I started, I started with a group of friends. I rarely play without at least 2 friends. Go look at my stats. I’m only level 17 or so, but I played ONLY practice matches until level 10, because my friends insisted that was the better way to do it.
We are all experienced DotA and HoN players, so we adjusted quickly, although we are still getting the hang of some of the mechanics, the importance of monster buffs being one of them.
However, I frequently find myself in your dilemma as well, being teamed up with very bad players who dont take advice (I never shout at people, I give advice)
I also agree. I wouldnt mind waiting 3-5 minutes longer to play if it meant being teamed up and agaisnt players that are closer to my own level.