Rocket League has introduced significant updates to its Competitive rank system aimed at improving match quality and combating smurfing, Psyonix announced on June 14.
Addressing Smurfing Issues
Moving forward, Rocket League will evaluate players’ Competitive ranks during placement matches and adjust them upwards if their initial rank is deemed too low. This adjustment is designed to tackle “unintentional smurfing,” where players are placed below their actual skill level, leading to imbalanced matches.
Successful Testing and Rollout
After successful testing with small groups of players across all Competitive Playlists, Psyonix observed a notable positive impact on match quality. As a result, they have decided to implement these changes across the entire player base.
How the Updated Ranked System Works
Psyonix explained that a player’s predicted rank will now be influenced by their performance in other Competitive Playlists within Rocket League. By analyzing skill transfer between Playlists, the system can accurately predict a player’s rank with high precision.
Rank Adjustment Criteria
The system will automatically adjust ranks under the following conditions:
- Fresh Players: Players who have completed at least 10 matches in a specific Competitive Playlist in the previous season.
- Stale Players: Players who did not participate in the Competitive Playlist they are currently queuing for in the previous season.
- Significantly Below Predicted Rank: Players whose current rank is notably lower than the system’s predicted rank for that Playlist.
Example and Application
Psyonix provided an example scenario: If a player was Silver in both Doubles and Hoops two seasons ago but is now Diamond in Doubles and hasn’t played Hoops since, their rank will likely be adjusted upwards when they start placement matches in Hoops.
Playstyle Consideration
While the system uses ranks from other Playlists to predict ranks, it also considers playstyle differences between Playlists. Performance in Casual Playlists does not affect Competitive ranks.
Limitations and Future Plans
Although the system will automatically increase ranks based on these adjustments, it will not decrease ranks nor apply these changes to tournament ranks at this time, according to Psyonix.
Conclusion
These updates represent Rocket League’s proactive approach to enhancing competitive integrity and overall player experience by addressing smurfing issues directly. Players can expect fairer and more balanced matches as these changes take effect across all Competitive Playlists.