Call of Duty: Modern Warfare/Warzone - shutting down September

Did anyone notice a difference in the skill based matchmaking lately? I only played about 10 games so it might just be a fluke, but I'm seeing less top tier players in my lobbies. I'm seeing players that are less than level 20 too. I haven't seen low level players since the game launched. The skill matchmaking is still there, none of these players are scrubs, but at least they feel a little more beatable.

I'm hoping it lasts. I'm afraid it will just push me back down.

Here is what SBMM does to me. 1-2 good games, then the hand of doom pushes me down.

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I played some more and I have no stats or proof, but it feels like something changed with the matchmaking. SBMM is definitely still there and still strong, but at least in my skill bracket and playing TDM, things seem a lot more varied. Instead of seeing 12 people at exactly the same skill level, there's definitely some lowbies and lower skilled players thrown in. Not total noobs or anything, but players who aren't amazing.

Again, this is just my anecdotal observations, but it feels like I'm not so trapped in that 3 game swing. I'm seeing a lot more one sided games (which can be a positive or a negative depending on which side you're on). I've actually gotten some higher level killstreaks and even was able to use a non-meta gun like the Scar a little (it got buffed and is a little better but still not up to par of the top guns).

I'd be interested to see if anyone else notices or if the game finally took mercy on me as it had me in some difficult brackets.
 
Kerosene31 said:
I played some more and I have no stats or proof, but it feels like something changed with the matchmaking. SBMM is definitely still there and still strong, but at least in my skill bracket and playing TDM, things seem a lot more varied. Instead of seeing 12 people at exactly the same skill level, there's definitely some lowbies and lower skilled players thrown in. Not total noobs or anything, but players who aren't amazing.

Again, this is just my anecdotal observations, but it feels like I'm not so trapped in that 3 game swing. I'm seeing a lot more one sided games (which can be a positive or a negative depending on which side you're on). I've actually gotten some higher level killstreaks and even was able to use a non-meta gun like the Scar a little (it got buffed and is a little better but still not up to par of the top guns).

I'd be interested to see if anyone else notices or if the game finally took mercy on me as it had me in some difficult brackets.
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Didn't notice any difference Friday Night. We got our asses kicked pretty much all night.

I was using the FN Scar all night and like it more than the M4
 
menace-uk- said:
Didn't notice any difference Friday Night. We got our asses kicked pretty much all night.

I was using the FN Scar all night and like it more than the M4
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The Scar is definitely improved since the buff. It can wreck and 2 shot people at range which is fun. It still feels slow up close compared to the bullet hoses, but I don't have all the attachments on it yet. I still love the Oden with the good suppressor option.
 
Kerosene31 said:
I played some more and I have no stats or proof, but it feels like something changed with the matchmaking. SBMM is definitely still there and still strong, but at least in my skill bracket and playing TDM, things seem a lot more varied. Instead of seeing 12 people at exactly the same skill level, there's definitely some lowbies and lower skilled players thrown in. Not total noobs or anything, but players who aren't amazing.

Again, this is just my anecdotal observations, but it feels like I'm not so trapped in that 3 game swing. I'm seeing a lot more one sided games (which can be a positive or a negative depending on which side you're on). I've actually gotten some higher level killstreaks and even was able to use a non-meta gun like the Scar a little (it got buffed and is a little better but still not up to par of the top guns).

I'd be interested to see if anyone else notices or if the game finally took mercy on me as it had me in some difficult brackets.
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Hopefully this sticks for when I hop on tonight. Would love to play for an hour or two without getting fully destroyed. Don't even know what my KD ratio is, or care for that matter, just hate when I feel helpless for more than one or two games in a row.
 
Kerosene31 said:
The Scar is definitely improved since the buff. It can wreck and 2 shot people at range which is fun. It still feels slow up close compared to the bullet hoses, but I don't have all the attachments on it yet. I still love the Oden with the good suppressor option.
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Yeah you can't compare a fully kitted weapon to one in the works.But it feels roughly the same as the M4 did.
 
tumorman said:
Hopefully this sticks for when I hop on tonight. Would love to play for an hour or two without getting fully destroyed. Don't even know what my KD ratio is, or care for that matter, just hate when I feel helpless for more than one or two games in a row.
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I'd be interested in seeing if you see any difference. There's still very good players in my lobby, but there seems to be a lot wider range. There's more likely to be at least 1-2 lesser skilled players on the other team. I'm noticing people less than level 20, and I haven't seen that since launch.

Of course it could just be me. The game may finally have taken pity on me and bumped me down. Still though it feels like while there might be 1-2 really good players on the other team, the entire team isn't the same. Things are still frustrating, but a lot less than before.

My k/d for the week is actually positive which I have never been able to do in MW.

The other possibility is there's an influx of noobs coming in while other players are playing less.
 
Kerosene31 said:
I'd be interested in seeing if you see any difference. There's still very good players in my lobby, but there seems to be a lot wider range. There's more likely to be at least 1-2 lesser skilled players on the other team. I'm noticing people less than level 20, and I haven't seen that since launch.

Of course it could just be me. The game may finally have taken pity on me and bumped me down. Still though it feels like while there might be 1-2 really good players on the other team, the entire team isn't the same. Things are still frustrating, but a lot less than before.

My k/d for the week is actually positive which I have never been able to do in MW.

The other possibility is there's an influx of noobs coming in while other players are playing less.
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If it were noobs being the reason then you would have noticed it weeks ago.
 
menace-uk- said:
If it were noobs being the reason then you would have noticed it weeks ago.
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Right, that's my thinking. Seems like things changed rather drastically in the past week or so (can't say for sure as I mostly play on weekends). I'm in the same 6v6 TDM playlist.

It might have just been me though. The game finally realized I'm pushing 50 and getting too old to run with the big dogs, or even the medium sized cats. :)
 
menace-uk- said:
Didn't notice any difference Friday Night. We got our asses kicked pretty much all night.

I was using the FN Scar all night and like it more than the M4
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we didn’t do to bad.

and yeah. Love the FN Scar.
 
I am liking the Scar more and more. I've got it to like level 31 or something but I don't have everything on it. I'm hoping it has some sort of suppressor that increases the damage like the Kilo and the Oden. The Oden and Kilo are my go-to assault rifles, with a little Ram7 on smaller maps.

I'm still having my good run of matchmaking luck. Saw a level 9 and a level 20. I'm basically winning and losing matches equally. I'm not playing scrubs, but people who I feel even with. Sometimes they get the drop on me, other times I get them. I'm still barely going positive, but am hitting that more and having a lot more fun. I just keep waiting for the hand of doom to move me back up into higher lobbies. I've actually had people get the drop on me, shoot, miss, and I was able to turn and aim and take them out.
 
Didn't end up playing last night, had to download the Multiplayer Pack 2 or w/e and ended up just playing Rocket League with some buddies instead. Will hop on tonight!
 
Kerosene31 said:
I am liking the Scar more and more. I've got it to like level 31 or something but I don't have everything on it. I'm hoping it has some sort of suppressor that increases the damage like the Kilo and the Oden. The Oden and Kilo are my go-to assault rifles, with a little Ram7 on smaller maps.

I'm still having my good run of matchmaking luck. Saw a level 9 and a level 20. I'm basically winning and losing matches equally. I'm not playing scrubs, but people who I feel even with. Sometimes they get the drop on me, other times I get them. I'm still barely going positive, but am hitting that more and having a lot more fun. I just keep waiting for the hand of doom to move me back up into higher lobbies. I've actually had people get the drop on me, shoot, miss, and I was able to turn and aim and take them out.
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I playd 6 or 7 matches last night and got destroyed every time. ._like 0.5 KD destroyed.
 
menace-uk- said:
I playd 6 or 7 matches last night and got destroyed every time. ._like 0.5 KD destroyed.
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That's awful. That's the fatal flaw in this game. As a gamer you have no control over this. You just have to play through it and hope the system eventually corrects.

I'm wondering if they tweaked the system to make it not adjust so quickly, so now I just happen to be stuck in an easier bracket for now while you are stuck in a hard one.

This COD is one of the more fun ones in a long time, but this SBMM system will destroy it.
 
Kerosene31 said:
That's awful. That's the fatal flaw in this game. As a gamer you have no control over this. You just have to play through it and hope the system eventually corrects.

I'm wondering if they tweaked the system to make it not adjust so quickly, so now I just happen to be stuck in an easier bracket for now while you are stuck in a hard one.

This COD is one of the more fun ones in a long time, but this SBMM system will destroy it.
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Yep game plays great I just get tired of always having to play competitively to do well. I miss the days going against scrubs sometimes.
 
lowdru2k said:
Yep game plays great I just get tired of always having to play competitively to do well. I miss the days going against scrubs sometimes.
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It isn't even just that - for most of us the system seems to over-correct and put us in impossible lobbies.

It is also backwards motivation - the harder you try to get better, you just get stuck in worse lobbies. I get rewarded for playing poorly and punished for playing well.

I'd rather the system be gone completely too, but other SBMM games aren't like this. Destiny 2 has SBMM, but you still get a decent mix of players. It isn't great, but there's still a random element to it where you can still have fun. In Destiny, I'll get a bad lobby, but the next one hopefully is better. In COD, it doesn't get better for a long time.

COD is the only MP shooter I've struggled to go positive in since I started playing console shooters. That's frustrating. I'll probably still never get my overall k/d positive.
 
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lowdru2k said:
Wait... I thought the M4 was already nerfed awhile back.
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It has been nerfed multiple times already. The good thing is when they nerf something, they usually do only make minor changes. Even after multiple nerfs, the M4 was still borderline the best gun in the game. I'm ok with a little adjustment on the MP5. That thing is just so good.
 
There's a new playlist for deathmatch domination which is fun. It is just dom but where kills count as well, so that the players ignoring objectives aren't totally useless. I don't like regular dom but this plays a lot better.

The SBMM is still crushing me though. It is really hard to have any fun when every lobby is uber-competitive. I would feel a little better if I at least got some kind of indication of my skill level. I'd like to know if by getting thrashed that I'm improving and getting bumped up or if I'm just terrible.

Also I swear they stealth nerfed the Mp7. I get so many hitmarkers with it now. I switched to other SMGs and did way better. Of course the patch notes said nothing about it. Maybe I'm just bad, but why am I only suddenly bad with this SMG over others? I switched to the Bizon with zero attachments and was doing better.
 
So I played a bunch yesterday, and ended up having a lot of really good games. I think I played ~10 games and was above or very close to a positive KD ratio each time. So Kerosene31 you may be onto something with SBMM easing up a bit, but IDK for sure. Did see plenty of people under level 50 like myself which is rare.


Also, played like four missions of the campaign. So far it's really great.
 
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They’ve definitely made some changes to matchmaking. We barely got any competition all night. Never lost a match.

Now this feels a lot better, I was able to play more relaxed and just have fun all night.
 
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We'll see how long I last before I rage quit. The other issue with SBMM is I play on the weekends and kind of get into a groove, then I try and play on a weeknight for 30 minutes and my game is just a bit off, so I end up getting crushed. Double XP helps though. At times though this game really encourages me to play games on my single player backlog.

I'd like to get some more guns leveled up. For anyone who hasn't tried the Oden, it is worth leveling up for longer range combat. Once you get the monolithic suppressor it is a beast. Keeps you off radar and actually increases your damage. You can 2 tap people once you get the hang of the recoil. The Kilo also. Any gun you can get a suppressor attachment that makes your damage better is amazing. It really helps to be off radar in this game, especially on the bigger maps (Shipment not so much lol)

I've got to get most of the SMGs upgraded too, I seem to barely use them beyond the Mp5 and Aug.
 
Kerosene31 said:
We'll see how long I last before I rage quit. The other issue with SBMM is I play on the weekends and kind of get into a groove, then I try and play on a weeknight for 30 minutes and my game is just a bit off, so I end up getting crushed. Double XP helps though. At times though this game really encourages me to play games on my single player backlog.

I'd like to get some more guns leveled up. For anyone who hasn't tried the Oden, it is worth leveling up for longer range combat. Once you get the monolithic suppressor it is a beast. Keeps you off radar and actually increases your damage. You can 2 tap people once you get the hang of the recoil. The Kilo also. Any gun you can get a suppressor attachment that makes your damage better is amazing. It really helps to be off radar in this game, especially on the bigger maps (Shipment not so much lol)

I've got to get most of the SMGs upgraded too, I seem to barely use them beyond the Mp5 and Aug.
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Does Ghost not hide your position when not using a silencer?
 
menace-uk- said:
Does Ghost not hide your position when not using a silencer?
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Ghost keeps you off of UAVs and personal radars and such, but if you shoot a non-silenced gun, the enemy still sees a red dot from your general direction on the compass. That's the red dot that flashes on the compass. Not an exact fix, but enough that someone with good map knowledge can figure out where you are. Silencer removes that red dot from the compass when shooting.

Ghost + a silenced gun means in theory you should never, ever show up on radar other than an advanced uav. Your footsteps still show for that tracker perk though (which I hate).

In past games, silencers would reduce your damage and increase your time to kill, so they weren't always worth it. Some guns have them that actually improve your damage range (which makes no sense really). On the bigger maps it makes a huge difference. Not every gun has the "good" silencer option, but I know the Kilo and Oden does. They are pretty high up in level, but worth grinding for (especially the Kilo which is just a good all around gun).

Now, there's still the thing we've all run into where console players seem to still magically know where we are. I'm still not sure what causes that. My best bet is netcode, as we've never seen massive console cheats. My guess is lag makes people look like they magically saw you but in reality had more time.
 
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