Following the MM debate / conversation over the past 2 weeks, I think it’s the right time to explore the idea of a basic Ranking system in Destiny within the current game we have (reason being that this presumably takes less time from a development perspective and a separate play list would likely suffer population and thus MM issues) which would go a long way to satisfying some of the current frustrations the more dedicated and/or higher skilled players have with MM. Get some coffee, it’s a long one… [b] [u]Current MM and Higher Skilled Players[/u][/b] One of the effects of the current MM is that it makes it difficult to - Assess your true skill at any given time. - Know whether you skill is improving as you are always matched to players of the same skill as you. The traditional WR and KD statistics that would give a broad measure of your current skill for example are not reliable within the current MM framework. If we compare normal crucible to Trials, a major difference is that [b]Trials gives a sense of achievement for winning[/b] i.e. 5, 7 wins for loot and then the ultimate prize of the flawless victory for the lighthouse trip.[b] It’s also easy to know whether you are improving[/b] as a player/team in trials by looking at the average wins per card over time. This is why you hear statements from higher skilled players that Trials is the most enjoyable game mode and why some players only play Trials and not normal Crucible. [u][b]What is a Ranked Playlist?[/b][/u] I’m not going to go into detail about the current MM and what I do agree with don’t agree with but the fact is because Destiny has a broad definition of what is deemed a good connection it means that they can achieve lobbies with a tight skill range a lot more often than not (see note 1). Outside of a general playlist, other games such as COD/Halo have a ranked playlist whereby you choose to play competitive matches against other players for a ranking and your ranking goes up and down over time depending on your performance. For the competitive portion of the player base this provides a means to go head to head with other competitive players to assess and improve their skill.[b] Improving an official skill rating provides a sense of achievement missing in Destiny crucible.[/b] Players have taken to overcome this by using popular 3rd party sites that provide their own skill rating and ELO statistics. Of course an ELO ranking has some major flaws as it can be manipulated and is not officially supported or acknowledged ‘in-game’. [b]Destiny essentially has the MM of a Ranked playlist, without offering any of the benefits the more competitive player seeks, which can lead to a lacklustre, unenjoyable experience.[/b] [u][b]What about MLG Game Battles?[/b][/u] The problem with MLG game battles is a) its external and thus players have to arrange games which is time consuming, often frustrating experience and b) the ranking system is somewhat basic c) no tangible rewards and d) no competitive ruleset MLG GB’s just don’t offer the same experience or enjoyment as an in game ranking system within the current playlists would. [u][b]Basic Ranking Systems[/b][/u] The design goal is to give players an accurate enough assessment of their skill in a simple but intuitive manner but also enough information that they know whether they are improving and close to ranking up hence why Halo 5 has a Gold 1, Gold 2, Gold 3 system so you know when you’re getting close to the next rank. It’s also important for the best players to know how far they are from the very top of the rankings, that’s why some games choose to display your actual rank when you’re e.g. top 100 in the world. The most common ways this is achieved is either via number e.g. from 1-100 (100 being top rank) or a tier system (Bronze, Silver, Gold), or a mixture of both. Designing how to display any ranking is simple relative to the problem of how to calculate the ranking and what variables should be considered. For example, is it a purely win based ELO style ranking - in which case how do you deal with FT’s v solo players? Is it a mixture of win and player performance within your team (the latter is how Combat Rating currently functions to an extent). [b][u]Destiny Ranking and Issues[/u][/b] Destiny has a wide variety of playlists, but they can be grouped together into 6v6, 3v3, 1v1 and it would make more sense in my opinion to keep any ranking as simplified as possible and ONLY apply to a) the core playlists (excluding trials, elimination and classic) that are available all the time i.e. excludes all the weekly rotating playlists and b) give a ranking for those game types i.e. a 6s Ranking a 3s Ranking and a FFA Ranking. Of course cosmetic rewards could be considered for achieving certain ranks etc. Potential problems: - Potential to increase players leaving a lobby whilst matchmaking is in progress - Potential to increase players quitting games early - How to deal with FT’s of varying ranking - How to deal with FT’s and the inherent advantage it brings v solo players - How to deal with unbalanced games from a numbers perspective e.g. 5v6 - Potential to create community divides / elitist attitude - No opt out – players of lower skilled or more causal players are less likely to be interested in their rank and it could become a frustration. - A balanced game from a general perspective is not necessarily a balance game from a competitive perspective. [b][u]Solutions / Comments[/u][/b] None of the above issues are new issues to the gaming industry, they are all issues that other games face and have dealt with sufficiently to allow the game and ranking system to work. Uneven games, players quitting early, FT’s advantage are all things that can be factored in when calculating the ‘skill points’ you obtain / lose for any given match. Penalties are often used if you quit matches early – in Halo you get timed out for a certain period of time if you quit too many matches in succession. This could be a bigger problem in Destiny as the frequency of disconnections which are not the player leaving deliberately is much higher; therefore a ranking points penalty is much more viable. For me, the biggest issue is for the casual player base who doesn’t care about rankings and for which it could become an annoyance for their ranking to be displayed. It also brings up a point as to whether rankings should be displayed in a public leader board or private to the player only? IMO, rankings should not be public at the outset and you should have the option to turn off your ranking so you don’t see it if you don’t wish too. This way a casual player can go about playing the game as they do currently without any noticeable changes. I’m not going to go into detail on game balance as that’s a whole different topic. All I’d say is that balance is more difficult in Destiny than other games in my opinion. But Bungie needs to commit more time than they currently do to make sure balancing doesn’t become an issue. [u]Note 1[/u] See this well thought out paper and look at Figure 1. Notice the high correlation between team A CR and team B CR – that demonstrates that the MM manages to achieve teams with relatively close average CR ratings a lore more often than not. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6lujxAutvwBRTItSzJLSGRKS0E/view [b][u]TL;DR[/u][/b] Destiny essentially has the MM of a Ranked playlist, without offering any of the benefits the more competitive player seeks, which can lead to a lacklustre, unenjoyable experience. A ‘simple’ Ranking system within the current playlists we have right now would help to provide a sense of achievement from winning/good performance within the current MM framework. A ranking system also overcomes issues the more dedicated player can have with the current MM, namely inability to assess their current skill (as basic statistics are not reliable in an SBMM style environment) and inability to understand whether their skill is improving over time. Externally measured statistics, skill rating and GB’s do not provide the same experience or satisfaction as an in-game / officially supported ranking system does. A ranking system can be designed in such a way that it is makes normal crucible a more enjoyable experience for the more dedicated player without negatively impacting the more casual player who does not care about their ranking.