Preferential Matchmaking Vehicles in Update 1.2

~ Veroxx

NOTE: it may be posted twice but this time it has the stat updates. Enjoy

Source: Portal

In May we have shared our plans for preferential matchmaking and later detailed an update in July, detailing our plans on how we aim to improve the vehicles themselves and the current issues we have with the matchmaker itself.

Of course, it’s still a very important topic to you, so we are happy to share a more advanced version of our improvements to the preferential matchmaking tanks. These improvements will make them much more competitive in both Tier VIII and IX battles. As the team’s been hard at work finishing the first stage, we’re ready to share the results. So, let’s start off with a brief overview of what’s happened to these special Premium tanks.

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If you missed out last time, here’s a brief overview of the current situation.

The Situation

  • Problem: Tanks with preferential status are likely to get matched into dual or single-tier battles, where their status combined with combat parameters does more harm than good. In certain battles, they can’t compete with Tier IX and feel inferior against regular Tier VIII tanks.
  • Goal: Improve the experience for preferential tanks while keeping the preferential matchmaking parameter and their unique characteristics intact.
  • Solution: All-around vehicle rebalances on a tank-by-tank basis to improve their statistics combined with matchmaker rule revision. The latter is aimed at reducing instances of getting matched at the same position (top/middle/bottom) on the list for several battles in a row by fixing the current template distribution. Tanks that have the same base model, such as the WZ-111 and the WZ-111 Alpine Tiger, will get the same improvements.

As a side note, regular Tier VIII vehicles face a similar issue with matchmaking, amplified by the fact that they also compete against Tier X tanks. The underlying problem for these vehicles is too many battles versus Tier X. The matchmaker rules revision is designed to better the experience for them, too.

The First Stage—What Has Been Done

First, we will detail the steps we have already taken We started with making characteristic and statistical changes to ten preferential matchmaking tanks we currently have in-game to make them more competitive in same and +1 tier battles, without making them perform better than non-preferential tanks as they will see +2 tier battles.

All of this was done on the Supertest and that we believe we have gotten the desired result. Now, these special Premium vehicles are much closer to non-preferential matchmaking ones, in terms of combat effectiveness.

For example: The IS-6 has received buffs but will not eclipse the IS-3 as the IS-6 only sees up to Tier IX, but the IS-3 must be competitive against Tier X tanks.

The Iterations

The following changes were on available on the Supertest.

  • First iteration: Level the preferential matchmaking tanks with each other
  • Second iteration: Choose the parameters for improving the vehicle’s characteristics on a case-by-case basis
  • Third iteration: Polishing these changes

Using statistics, it’s easy to see the big things that need changing. However, we also wanted to make minor changes and this is where your feedback is vital as certain things cannot be monitored so well with stats. For example, a request to improve the number of shells the IS-6 carries doesn’t affect its combat effectiveness but will affect gameplay and how players feel while commanding the tank.

The work has been completed for this step but we will continue to monitor the stats and feedback so if we see a need to make more changes they will be made and also delve into working with Tier VII and other preferential matchmaking tanks at a later time. Now onto the more pressing issue for these vehicles, the matchmaker.

Next Steps

After the release of 9.18, the new matchmaker was introduced (with the 3-5-7 format). The problem is that this system is not efficient for preferential matchmaking vehicles, after all, they aren’t as effective against their own tier and the tier higher. So, what can we do about this?

Our initial plan is to look at ways of changing the matchmaker and the control of distribution between all 6 template possibilities. The main issue is that we cannot improve the current system without a full rework of the architecture and this is planned for the future.

We are actively disassembling the current matchmaker, making important changes and then adding them to the new system. It’s a complex adjustment and our team will need time to do this without breaking anything. and we will share any details in the future, along with the current status to that point.

The matchmaker and the changes needed deserve their own articles because of the complexity of the issue. It’s a going to be complicated in comparison to the individual tank changes listed above as it will effectively require delving into the entire architecture of the matchmaker. We understand you want as much information regarding this as you can get so we will release this as soon as we can.

We hope you are pleased with the current and upcoming changes to these tanks and how it will help adjust the game for the better. Now, get out there and test these tanks out, you will be pleasantly surprised!