The matchmaking elephant room.

I've played the game for years, thousands of games a season. This is from the heart, I want to see the game improve. Clearly it is not going to improve in its current state, as it hasn't for years. There are core fundamental issues at play that are not being properly addressed. They should be painfully obvious, although I do not think it is obvious to those it needs to be obvious.

Solving this is another issue entirely. I'm a programmer for a living, so I see this at a deeper level than most. I also know how to solve these issues from that perspective. At least in conception.

Matching is bad because you have players of widely different skill sets in the same game. That is the problem. Simple, completely obvious. Likely very overlooked, as it seems too simple, its not.

So why is this the case? I think some may even argue this is not the case. I'll provide some simple reasons why this is unquestionably the case.

Players are placed using a x game system. Within these x games, players are estimated of skill, while being placed within games appropriate to the estimation. What I mean is that you have a circle here. You are basing player estimated skill via players that you have estimated their skill as well. If the system works... its not optimal, but its ok. If the system doesn't work.... you may think you have a working system, when in actuality all of your data is self-influenced and completely garbage. Its 100% the second, because its very clearly not working.

Players are wildly mismatched. I've played thousands on thousands of games, I know this for a fact. Also please pay careful attention to my words. I said wildly, as in its not even close.

As the player base gains new players, as champion balance is more on or off, as the early game is more or less important, this becomes more obvious.

Second argument.Players are judged based on their performance with 4 other mostly random players, up against 5 other randoms. The more times you do this, the more inaccurate your data will become, because you are introducing tons of random variables into the calculations. All of these variables effect one another. It doesn't narrow their skill level, it restricts/inflates their skill level by the systems guesses.

For instance, a player kills his laner in the first 3 minutes. Then does it again, then gets camped by the enemy jungle and can no longer go ham. The rest of his team feeds (unlucky), and he can't snowball his lead. He appears to be a worse player, but its because the enemy jungle and toplaner played well. Those simple decisions completely change the game. They also completely change the judgment of the system against that player. Next game this doesn't happen and he wrecks everyone. Its not because he is better, its because the jungler didn't respond this time, the jungle was worse. Your calculations are inaccurate due to just this one factor. There are hundreds of factors in one game. You simply can't calculate a players skill in this manner.

I realize there is a new system out now, it may as well be the old system. I actually can't tell the difference.

Lets make a test that goes the opposite direction and isolates down all variables.

For instance, what if we have a test, that places a player on a locked champion, with no ability usage. Everyone plays the same one, where they go into the mid-lane alone and try to get as much farm as they can in 10 minutes.

This would REMOVE all the outlier variables and confine the rating to the most simplistic format. Players will be expected to get x amount of cs within x time, from that you could guess a ranking. A new player will not get anywhere near what an experienced play would. A player could attempt as much as they want, or a limit, whatever. Even if they are bad and get 10 to start, but then do it 500 times in a row and now get 90 @10... they are a vastly improved player.

This is a very simple example and only one aspect of the game, it is also likely capped quite early in the ladder, however I would far more trust this test than the current system. Simply because I have one variable, vs 10 impacting one another. Granted this doesn't tell us everything, but something like this, perhaps with some other similar tests, would be reliable.

I bet in its current state, if you simply took the same person and had them do placements a couple times in a row... you would likely end up with completely different placements. I've done it a few times, and it did that for me. New and old system. Its simply unreliable for the limited reasons I've mentioned.

Of course there are more reasons, but the core things I believe are player frustration and bad matching. These play off of one another, also creating a kind of infinite loop, similar to placements.

Good players get frustrated because they are grouped with bad players. Then they bitch at those players, who bitch back, and everyone plays worse. Creating... lets call the NA spiral. Its really nothing to do with na, but just people in general.

A big piece of this problem is that the na mentality right now is shit. Players have extremely weak mental in general and are basically spoiled brats. They think they are smart, when they are stupid. Since they think they are smart, this inhibits their ability to learn.

Its not hard to see. We even see such behavior from pro players. Doublelift is a classic example of a player that has gone from a toxic shmuck, to someone that can single handedly improve a teams mental, pull members to work in unity, while dominating himself. What he did with liquid is proof of this, not many players can just randomly jump into a roster and pull a team together to win. He was not always this way.

The unique situation here is that no one can do anything about their situation. Player x is throwing the game for all of the other players, while calling them bad and making fun of them. No one can do a thing about it...or someone is playing very bad for the elo, and having the same mental effect on their teammates with their play. Even if the teammates do not bitch, the game is still ruined, the frustration is still there.

I would argue its better to let players vent, especially at the person that is the problem, than to not. This current system of punishing those that bitch at the players who clearly do not belong in the elo... is completely dysfunctional. Although lets not lose focus the player/troll who doesn't belong in the elo is the main issue.

This isn't a usual system, where players are playing with the same people over and over. So this encourages the 'next' mentality. You can't bitch, you can't do anything about it, so the only answer is to get this waste of time over and go next. That isn't bad mental, thats a bad player creating bad mental for others.

We need to be careful to notice that difference. What I mean by this, is some of it is bad mental, however most of the problem is created frustration from the origin bad mental.

I realize the current system is trying to get bad mental out of the game. However it can't accurately target trolls, so its only creating problems. Banning by keyword will not work. You will punish those that love the game and are frustrated, and very likely not get the trolls at all.

For instance you have one or two players in a game that just feed like crazy. Regardless of if they SAID anything, they ruined the game for everyone else. They boosted the enemy team, and they inted their own team. Either way its bad. On top of this, the players that have lost are now frustrated. Regardless if they react, it may not be 0 to 100 frustration, but say its just 8 for one and 10 for another and 20 for another. Then say they HAD frustration already from this happening previously, so you add those amounts up. Now you have x player at 60 of 100, another player at 10 of 100... you get the idea. The mentals are all over the place and building, your competitive passionate players will explode at some point given enough time. For me it took three years before my main account was banned.

Players that feel unheard, will say worse and worse things in order to get heard. Then when they are heard, they are not actually heard, and banned.

Currently, if anyone says 'bad things' to the inting players. They will get in trouble. This also adds bad mental to a player. So now bear with me. We have say someone that has played 10 games. 4 had something crazy that was legit, an afk, feed, whatever. Their mental is 60, then they say some shit when at 60, then they get reported, then they get a chat ban. The chat ban raises their mental to say 80 or even 100. It doesn't matter the number, the point is that the restriction hurts, instead of helps. Furthermore it is the authority that you rely on to make your games well matched, that has just punished you, for yelling at someone that was ruining the game. Its a wombo combo on the mental.

This is why our server loses its shit and why it seems like we have so many psycho players. The authority is not properly making sure our games are good. We're here to have fun, be competitive, do our best, and someone on the team is sandbagging. Then we yell about it, knowing that nothing will be done about it, then the yeller is punished.

You end up with trolls who are unpunished, and extremely frustrated players.

This is an american thing, because we're very opinionated and vocal. Where as I think koreans are very reserved and restricted. They are expected to behave a certain way, while americans are free and inherently a little wild. Its just different society. I won't say its better or worse, there are advantages to each.

Currently I do think americans are far more troll. In general americans do not respect video games the same way as koreans, so that also effects trolling in na. Players also get away with it, the true bullies go unpunished because they know how to game the system.

These are the core issues for league at the moment. Actually game ruining problems. The only thing saving the game currently, is that players think they are the problem. It takes a long time and a lot of knowledge in order to realize these problems in the system. Most players just assume the system works. Most players when I bring this up, don't even think it is actually the systems fault.

Most players blame the trolls, instead of blaming the system responsible for create quality games. Players complain about balance issues, but actually balance doesn't even matter if this issue is at the core. I mean, it does, but it can just be 'close enough' and the game will be fine. Players already play around when champs are strong and weak, they would do the same for a broken champion. Where as game quality can't remain in its current state and league be a healthy game.

League is hemorrhaging, it feels like it is a dice roll if a game will be fun or not. All it takes is one person that doesn't know whats going on getting caught, and its baron and game. Not to mention the other bazillion possibilities in a game.

I just got out of my millionth game where I lost not due to me. Which is why I bring this up. I'm being punished for my teamamtes, and its not fun. I had two teammates with a collective of 21 deaths. The entire enemy team had 29, the rest of my team had 16. I was most cs in the game by about 50 over anyone on the enemy team, I was 11/6/11. Had 800 more gold than anyone on my team, and 2400 over anyone on the enemy team.

I can't win games if the monkeys on my team just run in and die for free, give up baron, and auto lose the game. Could I have played better? Absolutely, I did some stupid shit, I'm sure I could've won that game. However, I should not have two players in a game with me that are no where near my skill level, and then I get demoted for it.

It happens all the fucking time, my mental is huge, but its always gone in this game. Mental doesn't reset, it creates baggage that we carry with us into our games that we struggle to ignore. Usually you can deal with it, you can talk to people, you can work out an agreement, assess and fix the situation. In league you can't, so we need the authority to do so for us.

Rant fine.