When Halo Infinite launched, Ranked Arena had separate playlist options for input as well as Fireteam size. In order to fix an issue we combined them, and as time went on, we've kept them combined in order to promote a better matchmaking experience (ping, time to match, and skill). We also combined them to have a unified ranking experience instead of some players being a certain rank in solo/duo and another rank in the unfiltered option. This year we’ve seen growing feedback from players around solos and duos matching against Fireteams of 3 and 4, and we’ve been closely monitoring the data at the same time.

Today we’re going to talk about what we've done and will be doing to address the feedback.

ADDRESSING THE FEEDBACK

In July, the services team delivered a backend update that will now factor in a Fireteam’s collective CSR when matching.

Here’s how it works:

When a Fireteam enters matchmaking, the system will offset the CSR based on the size of the Fireteam (more players in Fireteam means a greater offset). For example, this means that a Fireteam of 4 will match against higher CSR players, but only in the case fireteam sizes are imbalanced between teams. The philosophy behind this is that a Fireteam with 2 or more players will have a greater chance of winning against a team of solos due to the teamwork, coordination, communication, etc that comes with Fireteams. This offset is meant to account for those natural advantages that Fireteams have.

On top of this, we’re also working on a longer-term solution leveraging Fireteam search restrictions.

Here’s how it'll work:

• If your CSR is 1500 and above (Onyx), you'll be unable to search with a Fireteam of 3 or 4, and will be shown an error message.
• This is not based on Fireteam average. If even 1 player on the Fireteam is Onyx and the rest are below Onyx, the Fireteam will not be able to search.
• Effectively, this means that the Ranked Arena playlist will be solos and duos only if you’re an Onyx player.

The reason we’re making this change for Onyx only is because that’s where we see more of these issues, and we still want to encourage the vast majority of players in the playlist to party up with friends. Once this is implemented later this Summer, we will of course monitor feedback and data in order to make further changes if required.

Please keep an eye on @HaloSupport on Twitter to see when this feature goes live.

See you online!

-Tashi