SBMM vs Win Streaks They don't work well together

For anyone who has played a game with SBMM in the past if you see someone on a 10+ winstreak it usually means they are smurfing and not playing at their proper rank.

In any “other game” yes. It here. How are they smurfing? Maybe they got lucky? Maybe they switch between crews?
Idk adding ranks in this game over pvp will just be more a nightmare for players. This isn’t arena kids. Stop trying to make it so competitive

...Don't we have a new progression system literally tied to Season 8's main features, that increases infinitely?

Adding a rank is just gonna discourage already discouraged players from engaging with the system, and even really engaged players from wanting to engage further with the system because the game will actively judge their skill for them. This just doesn't make the feature feel welcoming when you just want to get a curse that makes you look like you're dead.

@burnbacon You dodged the point entirely. EVERY element of a competitive game exists because of SBMM. Player should NEVER get win streaks because of this if MMR is working right.

In other games if a player has a win streak by definition they are smurfing (new account) since with MMR you should NOT win more than 50% of you games.

@nex-stargaze This system adds a way for newer players to actually level and improve. Currently the system displays how much time you spent not how good you are at the game. Adding a rank will let players actually have a path to improving and getting more rep and a faster leveling system for all. The current system of winning through win streaks only works for people who have yet to be placed in their MMR or are the top of the top.

This new system helps everyone level while showing them how they are doing.

@nitroxien said in SBMM vs Win Streaks They don't work well together:

@burnbacon You dodged the point entirely. EVERY element of a competitive game exists because of SBMM. Player should NEVER get win streaks because of this if MMR is working right.

In other games if a player has a win streak by definition they are smurfing (new account) since with MMR you should NOT win more than 50% of you games.

And likewise, you're completely missing the point. This is NOT a competitive game, and never will be. Skill-based MMR will be impossible to judge, because matched battles don't take place in a vacuum, but in the open-world where others can intervene. We've already seen stories pop up where people will use Alliances or the Shores of Gold tall tale to cheese wins; how will you factor that into your matchmaking system? Because trying to force the match to be between just the two ships placed in the ring won't work at all.

On top of that, how are you going to judge skill when so many different aspects are involved in the battles beyond cannon aim? How are you going to measure how efficient a crew is at properly managing their sails, how quickly they can repair damage, or how effectively they can repel boarders or board themselves?

@blam320 said in SBMM vs Win Streaks They don't work well together:

On top of that, how are you going to judge skill when so many different aspects are involved in the battles beyond cannon aim? How are you going to measure how efficient a crew is at properly managing their sails, how quickly they can repair damage, or how effectively they can repel boarders or board themselves?

It's funny you mention that, cause that's one of the concerns that were addressed in the Deep Dive for S8, there's a reason the MMR is based on win/losses. How is the helm going to get ranking? They just turn a damn wheel and manage a sail or two, how does the bilge get ranking when they're just bucketing water out of the boat?

@blam320 Aight than just remove the Skill Based Match Making Entirely if you think it's not accurate. Is that what your vouching for?

You can't argue it should be in the game but it does not work...

@nex-stargaze Based off of win/loss ratio... This is not complicated. Just like how ANY other skill based matchmaking works in other games.

I don't think adding visible rank badges is a good idea and locking rewards behind "high ELO" is a really bad idea, but yeah the streak based system is completely incompatible with an ELO system and I'm kind of baffled the two things made it into the game together. I don't see how OP's solution would fix the problem at all though.

Sea of Thieves is a highly unpredictable game with a massive element of randomness in various forms (third parties, PvE, bugs, environmental hazards such as kegs, fog, storms etc) and losing a streak to these factors simply feels awful.

Killing Spree...
Running Riot...
Rampage...
Berserker...
Overkill...

@moogbeard I agree losing a streak feels awful to randomness adding a rank instead means that the amount of rep you gain per win is less vulnerable to randomly be lost... Losing 1 game w/ a rank won't effect much, losing 1 game on a streak is a huge problem.