Flex Queue Matchmaking

Hi Everyone, This is a comment on how ineffective flex matchmaking is. The TL:DR version, Flex matchmaking should take into account Solo MMR.

I have a group of friends who play several games each week together of Flex. This is the vast majority of what we can play because time requirements. We quite like it, and no we aren't very good. In Solo Q, the 5 of us range from mid bronze to high silver, and in Flex we range from high iron to low silver.

We are ok losing, but we like to be competitive. However, as the season has progressed, we are consistently placed in games that we feel there is little chance for us. Routinely, we play against comps that their lowest players are lone metal up, and the highest are Plat (often Plat 2).

I asked Riot, and Flex MMR is completely seperate then Solo MMR, meaning, that that Plat who doesn't often play flex ranked, appears to them like a brand new player. This creates crazily onesided match-ups. While I agree, communication with a 5 man should be better (and we can definitely improve ours) it is unrealistic to think that a bronze player should be competitive against the average gold and plat that are playing flex. Otherwise the climb would be much easier.

I'm proposing that Riot consider solo MMR or rank in Flex. I don't think it's realistic to have a complete comparison, but perhaps a weighted average. Games against teams that were one metal higher have been interesting, often competitive, and we even pull off an upset or two. So even if the matchmaking was just slightly better, it would be challenging and an uphill climb, but one that provides a couple highlight moments.

Frankly, the matches have become so onesided, we are shying away from group play to avoid games that not only feel unwinnable, but produce very few "exciting" moments, even in losses.

Hopefully someone looks at this and thinks "hmm, I like friends playing together" and comes up with a way to make matchmaking in flex semi competitive based on the tons of data that Riot already has about our abilities.

Good luck everyone, and here is to the end of an interesting season.