XDefiant is being heralded as the COD Killer, the next big game to take over the competitive world of first-person shooters. To take the title of the top FPS, XDefiant is going to need to nail its matchmaking, providing balanced ranked, SBMM, and casual game modes.
How does Matchmaking work in XDefiant?
An FPS with bad matchmaking is a dead FPS. If you’re constantly getting pitted against players far beyond your skill level, the game will quickly become boring, and the audience will move away. This has been the case for many failed FPS games in the past, but Ubisoft thinks they havean answer to the matchmaking problemwith XDefiant.
Skill based matchmaking in XDefiant
Ubisoft has made the decision toscrap skilled-based matchmakingforXDefiantin favor of having only casual and ranked game modes. This decision comes with a few, I think, very good reasons. They believe that using skill-based matchmaking creates a repetitive and boring gameplay loop in which each new match is more or less the same.
By getting rid of this game mode, unranked matches will have a lot more variety. It throws together teams of muchmore varied skills. This keeps things fresh and gives less experienced players a chance to learn from the masters.
Ranked in XDefiant
Of course, for any FPS to be considered competitive, there needs to bea ranked playlist. For all the XDefiant players out there who fancy their chances on the world stage, ranked matchmaking will be the place to be. This is the arena in which it’s possible to earn those bragging rights. Here you may bury some serious hours intobecoming the best.
Casual in XDefiant
This is where I will be staying I expect. I am not sweaty enough to step into the ring with competitive ranked XDefiant players, so I’ll keep itcasual matchmakingand be happy about it. However, there will be a few factors that come into play to ensure that causal play is still balanced. These include:
The limits are very slimand are more based on hardware than player skill. However, once you’re in a lobby, the XDefiant matchmaking will split teams intoskill-based teams. This ensures that both teams have a more or less fair spread of skill.
Leo Gillick
Leo is a Freelance Writer for PC Invasion. He has a degree in English Literature and Film Studies and more hours buried into videogames than he cares to admit. He has worked extensively in the Videogame and Travel writing industry but, as they say, get a job doing something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. He uses his writing as a means to support indefinite global travel with the current five year plan seeing him through Latin America.
