Agree with all, with small differences:
* create a separate ranking for each queue, since the queues are already separate
* make "leaving game penalty" more dissuasive : minus 1 rank + 30 min without launching possibility
Additions suggested:
- add rank points decay (force upper ranks to play regularly to keep their rank, see the LoL decay system if not inspired)
- take overall account stats (including siege/TDM...) into account for placement (eg less than 1 K/D ratio = silver 3 max)
- make tiers exactly the same in each team (if there is a sergeant in a team, there has to be one in the other) and strictly compensate different ranks within a tier between teams (eg if there are 2 gold2 in a team, there should be either the same or 1 gold1 + 1 gold3 as equivalent in the other team)
- no leaving during warmup allowed : same penalty as leaving during game
- balance scoreboard (particularly if at some point you want to take score into account for points gained/loss at end of game): take damage dealt without speed bonus as score (to prevent cavs from topscoring at same level of skills), or take damage dealt divided by half as score when mounted. Find another similar way to diminish score by archers (projectile damage without speed? Dont really know how it works)
You should do this and take scoreboard into account for points gained at some point, otherwise you will end up with mostly cavs in top top ranks, because it's easier to carry games as cavs. If you let things as they are, high ranked matches will be "off meta" and weird to play, eg 4 cavs vs 4 cavs.
Also, if you take scoreboard into account, matches will naturally turn into "kill race" (we have already experienced it in pickups). To prevent this, you should also introduce extra points gained on specific actions (like extra points for assists, extra points for hitting multiple targets in a round, extra points for blocking and parrying, put back 100% points for hitting horses, extra points for gold left at end of round, extra points for caputuring/contesting points, extra points for killing an opposite MVP or topscorer... and many other things that make a strong skirmish player compared to a strong duellist)
- force choosing a class when queue (can chose multiple classes : inf / arc / cav, all three slected by default) : matchmaking tries to balance classes in each team (if 4 cavs in queue, 2 in each team).
This to balance matches (at same skills, 2 cavs vs 0 cavs is a game changer).
- balance factions : this one is tricky. The way around is to have a "match" be played on both sides (2 sets match in ranked).
Whatever the way, plz avoid us having to find 20 games with leavers to finally be able to play one.
Public skirmish is ruined right now.
So true.
Kwen.
