Activision Blizzard combines the Call of Duty and Overwatch brands under one roof, but could hardly be more different in some respects. This applies, for example, to the topic of matchmaking – CoD has been silent for years, Overwatch 2 is currently giving deep insights.
Call of Duty has been silent on the subject of matchmaking for years. Is it skill based? How important is a good internet connection, how important is my gaming region? Quite simple questions that CoD has not answered clearly for years.
The term “SBMM” – skill-based matchmaking – has become a kind of battle cry in the community. The uncertainty surrounding this system is so great that players even suspect that there is skill-based damage. That means: If you are too good, you cause less damage.
Blizzard’s little cousin, Overwatch 2, shows Activision’s massive shooter franchise just how easy it can be to overcome such concerns. At least if you have nothing to hide.
Overwatch explains its matchmaking and MeinMMO shows you the details. The information comes from a developer blog – the first of two texts that revolve around the matchmaking of the shooter (via overwatch.com).
If you also want to know something about the latest hero Ramattra, start the video:
Overwatch 2 features gameplay of new hero Ramattra
Overwatch 2: It’s all about the MMR
What is the goal of matchmaking? The declared goal is fair matches across all game modes. The developers know that this is not always possible or works. But that’s what matchmaking is based on.
How is this realized? Overwatch is all about the “Internal Matchmaking Rating” or MMR for short. Players with similar stats come together in a match.
The developers make it clear: In Overwatch, matchmaking is based solely on your MMR. It doesn’t matter which division you play in in ranked mode – matchmaking is based on MMR only. The ascents and descents in the ranked have different rules again.
The MMR is constantly changing, even when you’re not playing – or especially when:
The most important factor that you influence yourself are your victories and defeats. It is not entirely clear in the blog whether other factors play a role here, such as the headshot rate, the amount healed or the kills/death ratio. Possibly a topic in the second blog on matchmaking.
What is important is what your opponents’ MMRs look like. In the theoretical case that all 10 players have the same MMR, then nothing changes in all ratings. So you have to play against better opponents to increase the MMR.
Your MMR can also increase as players’ overall skill levels go down. If everyone else plays worse (on average) and you don’t play, your MMR will still increase.
The 3rd point explains the matchmaking chaos that often occurred after the start of new seasons or the introduction of new heroes. If you don’t show up in Overwatch for a long time, your MMR will drop. So many players start who actually come from another MMR.
If you want to get better at Overwatch 2, our extensive hero counter list will help you:
Overwatch 2: Counter List – How to Counter Every Hero
Groups receive skill mirrors, beginners “win guarantees”
How about groups? Here it is made clear that this is a complicated and technical topic. In the next few months there will be further improvements to counteract unfair and one-sided matches.
The plan: Each team member should play against a kind of skill level. If you have a strong tank in your team, your opponent’s tank should be of a similar level. A healer with a low MMR should also meet a similar healer on the other side.
However, it can still happen that the bundled MMR is further apart than usual.
What about newcomers? You want to give newcomers a 50% win ratio and build matchmaking accordingly.
For this, newcomers have been given an MMR at the ranked level of the lower silver ranks. However, analyzes have shown that this value is set too high. Now it’s closer to Bronze 5.
Then, in order to quickly determine the actual MMR, the first matches are weighted more heavily until the win ratio approaches the targeted 50%.
However, the developers in the blog do not reveal how many matches fall into this newcomer phase.
Overwatch 2 puts the cards on the table, but has always been more open with its matchmaking systems than Call of Duty. However, many players in the CoD franchise would also like such a blog for Warzone or CoD MW2.
All that’s left for Call of Duty is to look at analysis from experts who have their own matchmaking stats. The guideline applies here: Matchmaking should keep you in the game for as long as possible.
You can find comprehensive information about CoD matchmaking here: CoD Warzone: All information about the SBMM – function, tricks and problems with matchmaking