Dredg/Thiarkh matchmaking imbalance

    The issue of matchmaking imbalance has existed in Dredg for as long as I can remember.


    In a game so gear dependent, it seems only logical that players queuing as solo individuals should not be matched against premade groups which in majority of the cases will be higher geared players.


    This situation places players who are either new or less equipped at a huge disadvantage, making their participation in a daily activity more frustrating than enjoyable. This is not sustainable.


    Consequently, also the geared ones forming groups, will not have anywhere close to entertaining experience just steamrolling through unorganized groups.


    To be fair, out of all the games/mmorpgs I have played, there is yet to be seen more uninspiring matchmaking experience for a pvpve instance.


    Suggestion: implement a system where groups exclusively match against other groups, while solo players match with other players that have queued solo.


    This would contribute to more fair and balanced gameplay experience for all involved.


    We could also consider matchmaking based on gear score or some kind of MMR, but I find it improbable to be able to be implemented. We could also consider equalized gear, but that would also be far fetched.

    Or a really crazy Idea:

    Search for a group?

    Take the time to either recruit or join a party. Dont be undergeared. It´s a PVP Instance that requires PVP Gear

    i don't think the game have enough population for that + there still are some somewhat low gear groups on lfg, if they would be always matched with "geared" premades it would just be decouraging to organize groups

    Quote from Technique

    Or a really crazy Idea:

    Search for a group?

    Take the time to either recruit or join a party. Dont be undergeared. It´s a PVP Instance that requires PVP Gear


    Undergeared people grouping up vs geared premades does not solve this imbalance noticeably more than randoms queuing vs premades as you won't get accepted into geared groups.


    'Dont be undergeared.' - that's gotta be ironic. You need AP to get pvp gear.


    The game will always be gear dependent. However, matchmaking having absolutely no limitations for premades vs solo would be a fundamental flaw for any pvp based game.


    That being said, I have asked streamers and not even one had disagreed that it is not enjoyable for them to stomp undergeared players in dredg as it ends up just being a pve instance as opposed to an enjoyable pvpve experience.


    However, one could make an argument of unskilled player with good gear being unhappy about being matched against geared groups that play better as opposed to the chance of getting more free wins vs randoms.

    Quote from AionRetailFanGirl99

    i don't think the game have enough population for that + there still are some somewhat low gear groups on lfg, if they would be always matched with "geared" premades it would just be decouraging to organize groups

    Could you elaborate how population would affect this solution? Do you think this would stop people from queuing group or soloq for Dredgion/Thiarkh?

    Sometimes there are indeed lower geared groups on LFG and they are the proof that grouping up with low geared players will not be a noticeable increase of positive experience doing a pvpve instance. However, it does prevent bad comps from being formed. Such as having 4 chains or what not.


    It would still be more optimal for geared groups to form a group and face another group instead of having the setup of gear premade vs people that got grouped in random comp and more likely to have worse gear.

    while i agree it being a flawed matchmaking, i do not really mind getting rolled by better geared players and teams that play well together.


    what vexes me is that many winning teams just need to rub it in for ~30 minutes. like preventing the losing team to get any shugo/surkana, to complete any quest, to have any points at all. the reward gap in winning and losing is big enough. leave the losing team something to gain as well.

    Quote from kesekki
    Quote from AionRetailFanGirl99

    i don't think the game have enough population for that + there still are some somewhat low gear groups on lfg, if they would be always matched with "geared" premades it would just be decouraging to organize groups

    Could you elaborate how population would affect this solution? Do you think this would stop people from queuing group or soloq for Dredgion/Thiarkh?

    In simplified way, atm we have one pool of groups that are applying to dredgion - it include premade groups and groups automatically formed with single players applications.

    With your suggestion, that would be split into 2 separated pools: one with already premade groups and one for single applies. That would make waiting time to go in longer.


    Also, it doesn't quite tackle the topic of not full groups. If i apply as 3 ppl should i be matched with premade groups or solo applies? Also if I apply with 5 ppl?

    - If such group got matched with solo applies it also wouldnt be quite fair going by your logic

    - If they get matched vs premade, then how a single player is added to them if they can only be matched with solo players only?

    I do not have any data regarding the number of players queuing in different ways. However, queue times would not be affected unless a disproportionately large number of people per faction were queuing for one mode over another. Generally speaking, this scenario seems unlikely, even without specific statistics. It would likely have no noticeable effect, but I could be mistaken.


    If anything, these queues would be influenced by faction populations. Still, there's no reason to assume that queue times would slow down due to an anomaly where people disproportionately queue for different party types within each faction. Since you only need 6 people for a party, this isn't a significant issue. However, if parties were larger, say 24 people, this could potentially pose a more noticeable problem.


    Regarding wanting to queue up with 5 people, this is self-explanatory.

    If you choose to group queue, the quick apply feature will still be available. This feature fills all empty slots in any type of party (as it does now). Alternatively, you can find the last member from the LFG feature.

    Great idea, lets implement a complicated search algorythm so everyone waits 2 hours for entry and can´t join dred because algorythm can´t find a match, man man.......


    Why do you guys always pretend that dregion is serious business? I never understood the "only +10 weapon + pvp accs" clowns....... and then what? More important than a +10 weapon is communication, every premade but random group with +10 weapons but no communication will loose against a premade with discord/teamspeak, is that way, was ever that way, will ever be that way... but go on and believe that +10 weapons alone solve the problem.


    It´s quite simple, if you wanna tryhard the pvp part of AION, get yourself gear, join a premade with communication and don´t suck. If you don´t care (like me) go build a random premade for faster entry, make your dailys and let the coin decide if you win or loose. No need for a special matchmaking detected...

    Wonder sometimes how current search algorythm for dredgion works. Played usually solo (yes, i wasnt geared for the glorious +10 only parties but thats not the point) dred as SM and often waiting time was arround 1h but mostly had normal team composition, always healer, either both chanter and cleric or either, rarely without tank. Rerolled then to Chanter, lvled up and started going dred, almost always it was only Cleric/Chanter party in solo entry. Ofc i rather spent some time and searched for some pt or created one but still WTF.

    Dont be undergeared. It´s a PVP Instance that requires PVP Gear ....*Facepalm*

    Quote from SukiHideharu

    Wonder sometimes how current search algorythm for dredgion works. Played usually solo (yes, i wasnt geared for the glorious +10 only parties but thats not the point) dred as SM and often waiting time was arround 1h but mostly had normal team composition, always healer, either both chanter and cleric or either, rarely without tank. Rerolled then to Chanter, lvled up and started going dred, almost always it was only Cleric/Chanter party in solo entry. Ofc i rather spent some time and searched for some pt or created one but still WTF.

    Dont be undergeared. It´s a PVP Instance that requires PVP Gear ....*Facepalm*

    Think algo gives them prio, as them being capable of healing and when it starts to form a grp it looks for them first. Then it adds candidates, but extra healers still have prio somehow and it doesn't takes into consideration it has already added a healer.