Ubisoft took to their official XDefiant Blog, to discuss and have a dialogue about Skill Based Matchmaking (SBMM) process. They detailed a list of processes of how Skill Based Matchmaking works, and what it entails when you get into a XDefiant lobby and/or match. This article is a full excerpt of what Ubisoft said about Skill Based Matchmaking, this is their verbatim. No interjections, no opinion. This is Ubisoft.
This article can be likened to a Press Release, if you like. This article will be used as a reference point in the future. Future articles will have opinions unless stated otherwise. Here we go… Official from Ubisoft:
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As we get closer to our long-awaited launch, we wanted to take some time to outline matchmaking systems in XDefiant. We know this is a hot topic in the FPS space, and in-keeping with our commitment to transparency we have put together some details for you.
The most important thing to know is- there is no skill-based matchmaking in our casual playlist. We believe that no SBMM is paramount to a fun and varied game experience in the long-term. Frankly, skill-based match making means every casual game is repetitive- constantly repeating matches that are just as stressful and matched as ranked. We believe casual playlist should be fun and no SBMM is the way to do that. If you want that competitive every second counts go all out playstyle – you’ll find our ranked mode to your liking.
Matchmaking Factors
Each playlist will prioritize different factors when finding you a match. These factors are sorted based on the intended gameplay experience for the individual playlist. In short:
Casual Play matchmaking puts a priority on fast connection times. It will try to match latency and regions where possible.
Ranked Play matchmaking prioritizes quality matches; it will wait longer for appropriate players. It is segmented by Rank levels and will only matchmake players within Rank range. It also employs latency and region preferences where possible. Ranked play will be added in a future season, so make sure to keep your skills sharp in Casual Play until then.
The complete list is below (in descending order of priority):
For Casual Play
- Latency
- Prefers similar pings.
- Blocked Players
- Restricts matchmaking between any players currently avoiding one another through blocking.
- Party Size
- Prefers to match parties against parties of similar size.
- Region
- Prefers players from the same region/language.
- Input Device
- Prefers players using the same input method.
- Platform
- Prefers players using the same platform. (PC, Xbox, PS)
For Ranked Play
- Rank Points (RP)
- Only matches within acceptable Rank range.
- Latency
- Prefers similar pings.
- Party Size
- Prefers to match squads against squads of similar size.
- Region
- Prefers players from the same region/language.
- Input Device
- Prefers players using the same input method.
- Platform
- Prefers players using the same platform. (PC, Xbox, PS)
Additional Info
Team Balancing
Once a lobby is populated, Teams are balanced based on players’ Skill Rating. The casual lobby does not use skill to determine who gets into the game, but once everyone shows up it balances the teams for a fun match.
Input Device Lock
Some playlists will enforce Input Device Locking. (Such as Ranked) When players start matchmaking, the input device they are using becomes “locked-in” and cannot be switched without leaving the lobby. This is to prevent players from intentionally joining with the wrong input device to trick the matchmaker.
Lobby Persistence
Coming to the game later this year – In Casual playlists, the default behavior of lobbies is to persist between matches. This means subsequent games will often include the same players from the previous match. Teams, however, are shuffled each match.
Waiting Queue
It’s possible for players to queue for an open slot:
- If players join a Party that is already in a full Team.
- If a player joins a specific lobby that is full.
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Source: Ubisoft’s Official XDefiant Blog
We’ll learn more as Ubisoft posts more information about Skill Based Matchmaking. This post is meant as archive for the future posts to reference on. This is NOT the site’s article. This is Ubisoft’s article, word for word, and straight from THEM.
