[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] zz BIG Biv yy and sometimes i'll even win 7 in a row and get mvp out of three of those and still not go up in one of those matches.[/quote] First, I'll take this in general as 7 is a rather low number to be complaining about, (according to the OP you should be looking at 50 or so) but that feature of your ranking experiences does not belie its validity. This is the sort of thing to which would-be helpers would inevitably respond: "you have to win against higher ranks!" (Along with certainty calculations, etc.). And they will start flaming and indicting you on various charges of being ignorant of the trueskill dynamics, of not being good, and the like -- almost as if it's your fault that you are not getting to play against the type of enemy (taking into account their certainty and ranks) against whom you will benefit from beating. It is rather silly that 10 or 20 wins against opponents of slightly lower ranks will get you nowhere, but one slip-up and you go down. This is nowhere near the 50%-50% win ratio that should be attained. It would be more in the interest of the "stuck" player if he were to play consistent games against higher ranks and once in a while lose. I, for example, have gone on long winning streaks against players slightly lower -- but the thing is I probably would just as well go on such streaks, with an occasional loss, against higher players if I could. (That is, I wish my wins would be significant but I'm winning against lower levels, which I have no control over and which are expected). So there is a legitimate question there, a latent concern that many people mean but are not asking, and that is: [i]why am I not allowed the opportunity to rank up? I know I have to win consistently, but what do you expect me to do except hope and pray that the enemy has higher levels? I'm already winning consistently against lower levels, but you can't blame me for getting matched with them![/i] In Halo 2, you did not have to have a fear that you would not rank up, regardless of games played. In a game where a disparity existed among player ranks, everyone could prove themselves and rank up but now only half can (the lower). And we've been accused of wanting to "grind the system" -- but that's somewhat misrepresentive of the situation. Our very concern is that we [i]don't[/i] want to grind it, we don't want to have to win x games, with an auspicious fraction of that x counting towards rank. I just think I'd like to throw that out there and I hope it clears up some of the unrecognized ambiguity and unwarranted acrimony that usually accompanies the question (why am I not ranking up?). (The only definite solution I can see is to play in a party where your teammates are higher -- but this can be difficult, especially as you get closer to 50). And while there are certain other troublesome peculiarities that the OP doesn't really address, I think it's overall a very good write-up on trueskill that will certainly prove instructive to the masses. [Edited on 11.12.2007 7:42 PM PST]