Character-based ranking#1167

I tried looking for this suggestion but didn’t find it. Please rework ranking to be character-based, not account-based. Tanking my (already underwhelming) ranking even more because I want to try a new character feels bad. I’m somewhat shocked this hasn’t been addressed yet, since I quite clearly remember the topic being discussed when the game released.

The explanation given (“character counterpicks are a part of the game”) does feel a little bit like a cop-out since the rules infra for doing so is also poorly set up in ranked.

If this is done, a similar system to Rivals 1 (allowing you to pivot to a lower/equal elo character between matches) would be nice, in the cases where you get matched with someone far beneath you and want to use a character that gives them a fairer shot.

this has been rightfully asked for several times and a few months ago was marked as “planned but far” by the devs. So it might be coming in the far future, but they also never ever talked about it in any road map.

I am curious what the technical blocker here is, if any.

One feature I always liked from chess.com matchmaking is the +/- Elo for matchmaking. If you have a per character Elo, you could select a primary character, and then your opponent can select anyone within your bounds. Setting up a min +/- is also helpful.

Example:

P1:

• Bounds: +50 / -200 (bully)
• Primary:
  • Clairen (1200)
• Others:
  • Zetterburn (1300)
  • Fleet (900)
  • Loxodont (1150)
  • Orcane (1400)

P2:

• Bounds: +200 / -50 (sweaty)
• Primary:
  • Forsburn (1220)
• Others:
  • Etalus (1270)
  • Ranno (1050)
  • Olympia (1100)
  • La Reina (1300)

If they both initially match based on queueing with their primary, then:

P1 character pool:

• Clairen (1200)
• Zetterburn (1300)
• Orcane (1400)

P2 character pool:

• Forsburn (1220)
• Ranno (1050)
• Olympia (1100)

This way P1 never has to fight anyone stronger than what they intend and P2 never has to fight anyone weaker than they intend.

If you can’t find people within your preset Elo bounds, the game should just wait and then make a suggestion that’s like “try widening your matchmaking settings to decrease wait time.”