Regarding the New PVP Matchmaking System

Apologies in advance but this a repost of my thread on Reddit.

To the Warmane Leadership I submit the following in response to the recently applied changes to the pvp matchmaking system.

So far, from my observations, this new system as implemented has not been wholly well received. So far I have seen many disgruntled players in the higher brackets. I cannot speak for the lower brackets as I have not yet played those. The reasons for the complaint I believe are multifaceted.

• The matchmaking system has dramatically increased queue times all around for Icecrown. This is increasingly the case for Alliance players on Icecrown who can see queue times as high as 15 min while their horde counterparts can usually see a 5 min queue at max.

• The battleground community has become toxic. The melding of servers has largely created hostility between the servers. We don’t want to play with them and they don’t want to play with us. However, over time this could potentially level-out, but I more-so see it as something people just get used to.

• Custom Killing Blow Emotes are only amplifying the toxicity. “Bigbootysampson REKT ANOTHER ***** *** *****, poorguyplayinathome! Streak of 9000! (screenshot is available). This is an obvious exploitation of an in game mechanic for the sole purpose of harassing/trolling other players. It has become so prolific now that it floods most pvp chat logs. This should be addressed.

• The brackets themselves are inherently flawed in the fact that they don’t necessarily work towards their intended purposes. As far as the higher bracket, the change was made to address the disparity in gear. However, it did not take into account for skill or other factors that play a large roll in PvP. You can’t make a system based on skill, but making one based on gear doesn’t solve much, and might create unintended impacts (i.e. unkilled players in excellent gear playing against pvp veterans in excellent gear). Also, a large portion of this community ARE very well geared. They don’t want to be constantly playing in the environment as described above. Furthermore, the way the system was is how it’s always been for WoW retail, especially during WoTLK. There was no bracket system for bg’s during that expansion. People will get gear and get better, wrath was praised, and cursed, for its easy access to gear. More people spend time with very good gear then they do getting to the point of having very good gear, so why have the experience waiting for them when they get into those higher brackets be so ****ty and toxic.

• Finally it is my personal opinion that your serious pvp-only players, diehards, and people who just love spamming bgs make up a large portion of this system and is what keeps the pvp system so active. I believe that if not corrected you will see a drop in numbers for PvP. This will exacerbate the issues described above, especially queue times.

Finally, I will say this, I do not have a solution that compromise between the issues. I believe if I did know this I likely would solve a lot of issues for WoW in general. But this is the way the system has always been, it’s what we know and expect. The tinkering with system mechanics can have far reaching impacts both positive and negative. I would only suggest considering the above and potentially considering the possibility of taking a new approach. Although I would highly recommend discretion when making large sweeping changes. One last note, this is your server, any changes you make are absolutely your prerogative. However, in the future, perhaps reach out to your community for suggestions. I don’t know how many you are, but I know quite a few people enjoy your servers, some very passionately. I would suggest leveraging that audience in the future when considering major decisions.

Thank you for maintaining this server. It is still something I enjoy.