Comp Mode Rank Improvements (And What We're Working on Next)

tf2.com

L13: Stunning Member
Jun 16, 2010
1,146
703
Just a quick update while we keep working on the Meet Your Match fixes we posted a few weeks ago. We wanted to call out a few noteworthy things shipping with today's update, as well as keep you up to date on some more substantial fixes that are on the way.


We're currently working on a more comprehensive Elo rating system to improve how Competitive Mode ranks are determined that we'll be shipping in the near future. This update will make the rank system more self-correcting and better distribute players based on performance.


In the meantime, though, we've shipped some rank balancing improvements in today's update that will help distribute ranks more evenly in the short-term. Players with high win-loss ratios will now be "fast-tracked" to higher ranks that better reflect performance (without having to grind through unchallenging matches). Additionally, players in the first tier of ranks (1-6) will now be penalized less for match losses, making it easier to gain low ranks at the outset without getting stuck.


Additionally, with today's update, we are rolling out our first matchmaking bans on problem players you've reported. Problem players will receive a six-month ban from Casual and Competitive matchmaking. We've also made it easier for you to report problem players by adding a new feature that lets you report directly from the scoreboard. (See today's update notes for more information.)


We also wanted to touch on upcoming improvements to the Casual Mode experience. A high priority is providing better flow for continuing play at the end of a match. To that end, we're currently putting the finishing touches on two features that many of you have requested: The option to rematch with the same players on the same map at the end of a match, and the ability to re-queue into a new match from the win screens for both Casual Mode and Competitive Mode.


Finally, we are working on issues with the region system that have been causing poor connections for players in certain areas. The next few updates will be integrating TF more tightly with the global server network already used by games like CS:GO and Dota 2 to provide much more reliable connections and the best-possible latency.

Read on the TF2 Blog...
 

Hi5TBone

L1: Registered
May 28, 2015
41
57
I'm interested to see how they will handle the regional issues with such a small team. Compared to DOTA and CS:GO, it's probably going to take a lot of work.
 

nickybakes

You should've played Rumbleverse
aa
Jul 28, 2015
911
1,739
I hope they implement a region picker, similar to Dota and Overwatch. That way me and some of the EU people can play MM without having to worry about connecting to US servers.
 

Lain

lobotomy success story
aa
Jan 8, 2015
724
757
They're t-talking?

Also 6 month bans for cheaters? Please Valve make that shit permanent.
 
Aug 30, 2015
359
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Yeah but we prefer to not talk or thing about MvM
 

EArkham

Necromancer
aa
Aug 14, 2009
1,625
2,773
I never used quickplay, always used the server browser and just joined in to the quickplay valve servers. Why? Because using the quickplay interface constantly tried to put me on servers in Luxembourg or worse (I'm east coast US). So that last paragraph certainly sounds promising, but I'd feel better if it was something we could specifically choose in game, like a drop down with region or ping choices.

Haven't even made it far enough to see my ping in the current matchmaking... every time I've tried, I got a 5-10 minute wait before giving up. That doesn't sound like a long time, but considering you have nothing to do but stare at the screen plinking the medal -- and compared to being able to hop onto a server knowing exactly what map you're getting and who you'll be playing with within a minute or two via the server browser -- it's pretty damned horrible.

As a result, I've played less TF2 the past month than I think ever have. For a competitve match, I suppose that's not a nightmare to wait a few minutes for a good solid ranked game (assuming no one leaves early and ruins it), but for casual, you really shouldn't have to wait any longer than it takes to join via the server browser.
 

Nuke

L4: Comfortable Member
Jul 5, 2016
163
115
They're t-talking?

Also 6 month bans for cheaters? Please Valve make that shit permanent.
its not for cheaters only, basicly anyone who gets enough reports. It would be cheaters mostly, but like already, once a half-a-year, they get 2-3 matches, done.
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Also, they aren't retiring VAC.
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
What worries me is that they don't seem to realize that ELO is one specific algorithm and that said algorithm is not for team games. It is for one vs one games.
 

Yrr

An Actual Deer
aa
Sep 20, 2015
1,308
2,743
What worries me is that they don't seem to realize that ELO is one specific algorithm and that said algorithm is not for team games. It is for one vs one games.
Its a simplification, CSGO and DotA use a specific ELO variant designed for their team games, but saying "ELO" is easier than "Our specific variant of ELO"

Additionally ELO seems to be used in place of MMR by people in games even not using the ELO system.

(technically I think CSGO uses a variant of Glicko-2)