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MMR matchmaking and Divisional Status, counter intuitive?

Itzon··1 votes·924 views

So help me understand something here which to me makes no sense. The whole point of divisions is to show you how you're ranked, and MMR is suppose to create this balanced gameplay mechanic so that the teams are somewhat evenly matched when you're playing.

So when your MMR is higher because you've been on a win streak, and you're in a division much lower than you're suppose to be, why is it that it matches you with people out of your division? I mean isn't the whole point to prove that you're better than the people you're currently ranked around?

For example, say you're Bronze 2, and you're on a win streak, why would it match you up with Silver 5-3 people if your MMR get up that high? Wouldn't it be more logical to match you up with only Bronze 2 people, and if you're beating them that badly increase your LP rewards to boost you out of that division to be more accurately matched to what you're suppose to be rather than be pigeon held to that division because you get matched up with people out of it say if you get to your Advancement matches?

I see the same problem with Silver 2s being matched up with Gold 4s-3s also. I know it's not a flawless system but I just want to understand the thinking behind it.

7 Comments

MackleDoge1 votes

My best guess would be that it's matching you against those players to ensure that it isn't just a lucky streak or that the other team had bad players, feeders, or AFKs? That way if you continue to win a lot or even a decent amount then it shows that you really should be playing with that MMR?

Itzon1 votes

Even if you do go on a lucky streak or etc, would theoretically gaining that high and being where you're not suppose to be knock you back down?

MackleDoge1 votes

Now that clamping has been removed and ranked tier demotions are possible yes. Say we have a player that is a Bronze 2 player, that's their skill level and that is where they belong. If that player gets a lucky streak or gets carried by a higher MMR player they are duo-queuing with they will begin to receive ranked games against that higher MMR. The thinking is that if the player is genuinely increasing in skill and talent then they will be able to play against that higher level of MMR player base as opposed to the previous level of MMR that the player was at (Bronze 2). Riot wants to, and should want to, ensure that a player is capable of playing against the individuals at the level that the player would be promoted to before promoting them, otherwise you end up with the player being promoted to Silver 5 and not actually being at that skill level, damaging the integrity and competitive nature of the game for the people he gets teamed with.

Essentially it boils down to the concept of MMR being an attempt to ensure that players play against people around their skill level, and then being ranked accordingly once they prove they can hold their own against the skill level that that ranked tier and division possess.

I hope that sort of clarifies this for you, and if it doesn't please go ahead and reply to this and I'll try to help explain it in more detail or clarify any portion that confuses or concerns you.

Itzon1 votes

"Riot wants to, and should want to, ensure that a player is capable of playing against the individuals at the level that the player would be promoted to before promoting them, otherwise you end up with the player being promoted to Silver 5 and not actually being at that skill level, damaging the integrity and competitive nature of the game for the people he gets teamed with."

Wouldn't that then result in him dropping back to where he's suppose to be? Wouldn't that make more sense?

pwndras1 votes

Your division standing != your actual MMR rating.

The division thingy is just a visual eye candy. Before you literally could see what your mmr was (back in season 2 and prior). Riot changed it up so it would feel a bit more accomplishing when moving up tiers instead of being like "wow I moved up 100 mmr!".

As for your question, if you are in a lower division/tier than the people you are playing against (so i.e. you have silver IV mmr but are in Bronze II) and you are winning your LP gains will be accelerated as the system is trying to get you into the division that matches more closely with your MMR.

Would write more on this but I gtg, hope that helps clarify some things. There are tons of forum posts explaining mmr and this system might be a little annoying to search them up though

Sexypistachio1 votes

its okay I get matched up with gold and silvers on my team and im bronze iv, and it never fails that the gold feeds, rages, and then afk's and then I lose and get bumped back down. now this is probably due to the difference in play styles between bronze and gold tiers. which is why it shouldn't match bronzes up with golds.

Roaranor1 votes

You pretty much said it yourself. Your MMR is what determines who you play against. If, let's say a Bronze I player, has the mmr of a Silver 3 player which would indicate that he's playing with the skill of a mid Silver player, would it really be fair to the opponents (who are at a mid-high Bronze skill level) to have to play against that? Or would the match be a bit more fair if the player were playing with players around his own skill level (Silver 3-4)? The obvious answer is the latter of two.

The amount of LP you gain/lose is based on the relative difficulty of the match by comparing your current division, your mmr (the actual indicator of your skill level), and the overall mmr of the opposing team. Going by this, someone with the skill of a Silver 3 player should, by the system, win against Bronze 1-2 players. Since the expectation is that it will be relatively easy, it wouldn't show very much in terms of your skill, so you're LP gain would be average. However, were you to win against other Silver 3 players by comparison to your Bronze 1 division, this says quite a bit about your relative skill to your current division and will yield much higher LP gain in an attempt to raise you to the level at which you are consistently winning.

Remember that the system has no real way with which to judge "how badly" you beat the opposing team. Only that you won or lost. In terms of this, being able to consistently win against Silver 3 players says a lot more about your skill than being able to win against other Bronze 2 players, and as a result, you should be able to climb even faster. The occurrence that you're referencing is also what allows players to skip up multiple divisions after winning a promotional series (ie skipping from Silver V to Silver III).

Hope this makes sense.

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