If the consensus is 'we do not want any SBMM at all' then it doesn't matter of course, but I have a hard time seeing total removal of SBMM not creating its own set of problems. I don't know more than anyone else here, so not trying to be a smartass, just curious how folks know what is and is not factored into the current SBMM algorithm. I guess the other question is: does anyone know what the current 'equation' for matchmaking is? For instance how heavily is latency weighted, what coefficient does it carry in the overall equation, etc.? Do we know for sure that it does not factor in ping heavily - if so, how do we know? Have a matchmaking system that values only latency, and players who are either super skilled or alternatively not good at the game will lose interest. Have some form of SBMM, and people who want latency to be the only thing that matters will not be happy. That having been said, a decision does need to be made somewhere.

Put differently - is the issue that SBMM is present at all, or is the issue that players feel the SBMM algorithm does not work well? I can't imagine anyone except top tier players having a good time without any balancing at all, and even for them it would get boring fast. The matchmaking considerations would be considerably different depending which house I am playing from and there would have be some level of balancing, no? As an example, I own one house near a giant city and another house in a totally different part of the country in the rural countryside. I don't think making latency the biggest consideration is necessarily 'wrong' but I think there is more context to be considered. You are repeatedly placed in lobbies with crazy good players that dominate everyone else because they have the lowest latency relative to you. You are repeatedly placed in lobbies where you dominate everyone without even trying simply because they have the lowest latency relative to you but you are a much better player.

Would you do *any* skill balancing at all? (It sounds like no but I don't want to assume unfairly.) All players have lightning fast ping (common in big cities and increasingly common in rural areas). How would you handle the following scenarios?

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