Let's talk about the matchmaking

Hello to all Zone researchers!

The hot topic...the one that concerns most of the players is the matchmaking system, which we are actively working on.

This part of game mechanics has been sparking a lot of rumors and myths.

Par for the course, it's been a top secret thing until now, and any information was learned by bits and pieces. Let alone the devs could never answer the players' biggest question: «Why is it me in vet gear against someone in master gear?»

This article was prepared with the assistance of the matchmaking system's designers and it'll lift the veil of secrecy, explain the matchmaking system in detail, and put down the most popular rumours and myths about it.

So, let us begin!

Content

The article turned out to be very voluminous and complex, so for your comfort, it is divided into sections, interlinks to which can be found below.

• The history of the system
• The system's main purpose
• How does the system work
• Gear levels
• Key aspects of the system
• Conclusion

Why would we need this system in the first place?

Everything was fine without it... was it? It was any gear player against any gear player.  The old-timers certainly fondly remember this time as they already had good gear back then. Of course, it was fun to come to the newbies' locations and not let them out of the base for hours, giggling at angry chat messages.

At the same time, the newbies had no chance – we emphasize, absolutely no chance – to fight off the full master-gear killing machine. Just think about it, people used to create rather big squads to defeat at least one such player. What does it mean to him? He will run back from the base in a couple of minutes and is going to do so until he gets tired.

This taken into account, it was not surprising that players used to abandon the project without playing for even a dozen hours.

At first, the devs created separate servers for beginners, they were playing there for the first 100 hours of the game or until putting on their first non-beginner gear. 

This system was only a temporary solution for an outdated basis and also did not solve the problem.

The player spent the first 100 hours in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere, fighting with the newbies like himself. However, at the 101st hour of the game, everything changed dramatically when the player reached the main servers with its conditions being far from pleasant, and he had to face players of completely different levels. Such a sharp jump in complexity invariably led to the fact that newbies left the project en masse.

How did the developers manage to address this issue? Essentially, quite simply. By dividing game servers based on the gear levels of characters, they created the familiar matchmaking levels where players compete against each other without facing opponents who are too weak or too strong for them.

So, based on this, let's formulate why a matchmaking system is necessary.

The system's main purpose

This is the key point: you should encounter opponents whom you can defeat, but who also have a chance to defeat you. If players only met others with the same level of equipment as themselves, what interest would there be in leveling up at all?

Operation of the Matchmaking System

Now, perhaps we can discuss how the matchmaking system currently works. If you enter Stalcraft and look in your inventory, you will see such numbers.

Basically, it's simple – you earn "power points" for your equipment. Currently, these figures are just for show. They do not display any true values. However, they are excellent for explaining the operation of the system, which still functions based on power points. These points, using Mr. Acid’s secret formula, are transformed into a power index. It is this index that determines which matchmaking level you end up in.

But at the moment, the real figures are hidden from the players. 

They are impossible to view, and determining your real power index based on items in your inventory will not work. Although we cannot yet reveal exact numbers, we can understand what your power index depends on. 

It’s important to note that your power index is calculated based on the strongest equipment. However, this does not mean that just because the weapon and armor most strongly influence the matchmaking, you can assemble a build of legendary artifacts and, by wearing weak weapons and armor, go dominate newcomers. The system works comprehensively and takes into account your overall power level relative to other players.

Thus, if your total combined characteristics make you as hard to be killed as a fully Centurion, you will be on equal level with him. No matter how you reached that level.

Perhaps the only point that can be taken out of this equation is the open world K/D ratio. It has a strong influence only at the very beginning levels. It can be ignored after players reach the Bar.

This is because players in the south have a much lower skill level than players in the north. As a result, a strong player who randomly appears in the south can ruin the game experience of other players, as his skill will be much higher. In such a case, he should be calibrated for players of a higher open world matchmaking level. In the north, however, such a player will meet opponents equal to him in skill, so there is no need to move him somewhere in the matchmaking system.

It is also important to note that detectors, containers and backpacks, attachments, and melee weapons do not affect on your matchmaking level.

With all factors taken into consideration, one of the most important parameters of the current system should be kept in mind:

Gear levels

How many levels are in the system now? Many would think that they are directly dependent on the rank of a gear (veteran, master, etc). However, "veteran", "master" servers are just rumours and never really existed. In general, there is nothing surprising in the appearance of such a myth. It's just more convenient for players to think so, dividing the servers by the colour of their gear. What do we have in reality?

Impressive number, isn't it?

For example, the Albatross Heavy Assault Armoured Exoskeleton has a 26th gear level, but the Centurion has a 24th. It is possible to divide the matchmaking levels by ranks only, taking into account the diversity of the current system, of course. But it will have little to do with reality.

And the system counts strength points for a particular piece of gear based on its characteristics and modification. For example, a conditional Worn Legionnaire +15 will be equal in strength points to a Worn Centurion +2.

The story is the same with artefacts. Artefacts are counted in the matchmaking system according to their usefulness, quality and level. Obviously, a level zero Sparkler of 56% quality will not equal a Whirlwind of +12 level and 124% quality.

But, as with anything else, you have to evaluate the usefulness of an artefact. Though the same Sparkler is weaker than Whirlwind, but with enough quality and upgrade it can reach the power points of a low quality Whirlwind.

Key aspects of the system

To reiterate. The fact that you with "veteran" gear can find yourself up against "master" gear is a perfectly normal game occurrence, and there can be several reasons for this:

1. Within one matchmaking level, your gear may be at the lower part of the level, while your opponent's gear may be at the upper part. Conversely, your opponent may be weaker, in which case he will be at the level's lower end.
2. You have better gear.
3. You have better arti builds and artefacts in it.
4. The enemy is still calibrated with the new gear in the system.

The last point is probably worth talking about in a bit more detail.

In other words, by going out into the open world in new gear, the player continues to stay at their old matchmaking level for a short period of time, and that's the only reason why the now-conditional Zarya can meet SBA Tank.

The developers are aware of this problem, so player calibration will be removed when the matchmaking system is updated. 

Conclusion

That's it... It was a good story. Interesting, funny, sometimes a little sad, and most importantly - useful. It helps to understand the matchmaking system as a whole and understand what will happen to it in the future.

What do you think? Did you like the article? Would you like to see something like this in the future?

Sure to leave your opinion in the comments! Feel free to ask questions and we will try to answer them soon.