Fairer Matchmaking Based on Levels and Party

Suggestions
1

Right now, the matchmaking system in PVP games like Capture the Flag or Bedwars only separates players based on platform — Touch, Console, and PC — but doesn’t consider party size or player level, which can lead to unbalanced matches.

For example, a duo might get matched against a full party of six, or a solo high-level player could end up on a team of mostly low-level players, while the enemy team has several mid- to high-level players, just by chance.

I’m not saying low-level players aren’t skilled I understand that a low-level or alt account player can be just as good. Likewise, high-experience players can still perform poorly. But when it comes to fairness, the teams should be formed with better balance not because of skill assumptions, but because players naturally feel more confident with teammates who appear experienced. It’s about trust and perception, not judging actual ability.

To be clear, I’m not asking for players to be placed into different games just that within the same match, party sizes and level distribution should be more fairly balanced.

Ideally, full parties (such as a 6-player squad) should queue into matches against other full parties, and not be frequently matched against solo, duo, or trio players.

This doesn’t mean it should be impossible — just that the system should prioritize full-party vs. full-party matchups when possible.

If the active player base is too low (e.g., under 500 players), then the full party should enter the regular matchmaking pool, where it might get matched against solo, duo, or trio players but still stay together as a team of course.

Just to clarify, I’m not saying solo queue players should never be matched with full parties, or that full parties should only face other full parties. I’m simply suggesting that the system should prioritize full-party vs full-party matchups when possible, to improve fairness but still allow flexible matching if needed, especially when player counts are low.

For solo or small-group players, they can stay in the regular queue, and party members should always stay together but matchmaking should try to distribute player levels more fairly across all teams, focusing not just on individual pairings, but on keeping the overall team compositions balanced…

In modes like Bedwars Duos, where some players are queuing as a party and others are solo queuing, party members should of course stay together — but for solo players, the system should aim for team-wide balance. For example, low-level players could be placed with mid- or high-level teammates, and mid-levels could be paired with either high or low-level players — as long as all teams end up with a similar overall mix of low, mid, and high-level players. High-level players may still be matched with other high-level players, and sometimes teams may lean stronger or weaker just by luck — and that’s fine. But overall, the system should prioritize keeping matches fair by spreading player levels more evenly, while always keeping party members on the same team. This helps avoid situations where one team has all the stronger or more experienced players while the other team struggles from the start.

This kind of matchmaking would make games feel much fairer and more enjoyable, especially for players queuing solo or in small groups, and it would reduce the frustration of being put into clearly one-sided matches.

2

Hello, your idea is not relevant and duplicated, using the selection of players by level is pointless since there will be no strong balance, but I proposed a better option for selection, namely by PriorityScore!
please read here - Player selection system based on «PriorityScore»!

2 Likes
3

I don’t think level-based balancing is pointless — even if a player has a low K/D, having a higher level usually still means they have more experience with the game. It’s not about perfect skill matching, but more about creating fair team distributions. For example, if one team has mostly low-level players and the other has all high-level ones, it feels unfair right from the start, even if the actual K/Ds vary. Level gives a simple and visible way to help balance teams, especially in casual modes where advanced stats might not be available or accurate for every player.

Also, just saying my suggestion I don’t think is a duplicate of yours. Your idea focuses on calculating skill using a formula (PriorityScore) and using KD-trees to group players based on stats like K/D and winrate. That’s more about finding players of similar skill.

My suggestion focuses on team structure and distribution making sure full parties aren’t constantly matched against solos, and that levels are fairly spread out across all teams to avoid one-sided matches.

Even if a system like PriorityScore is used, you could still end up with unfair team setups unless there’s logic in place to manage how those matched players are placed into teams. That’s what my suggestion is about it’s more about team fairness and party handling, not just skill-based matching.

4

Or everyone could stop complaining about match making systems.

2 Likes
5

Yall matchmaking is fine as is. Party I can understand but LEVEL DOES NOT EQUAL SKILL>

4 Likes
6

I’m not saying level equals skill — a low-level player can be good, and a high-experience player can be bad too. But let’s be real — you wouldn’t know that just by looking. If I gave you a choice between teaming with a level 50 or a level 25, most people would still pick the higher one. It’s not about actual skill — it’s about trust and how the teams are formed once the game starts.

Now how about this: you’re level 40, and when the game begins, you’re placed on a team with three level 10s and one level 30. Meanwhile, the other team gets one level 10 and the rest are level 40–50. That happens purely by chance, and it already feels unfair before the match even starts.

I’m not asking for strict matchmaking — I’m saying the system that assigns players to teams once everyone is already in the match should try to make the teams more balanced. Not by judging who’s better, but by giving everyone a fairer, more enjoyable experience.

And yeah that’s my whole point

1 Like
7

My proposal, besides choosing players by PriorityScore, has another feature, it is the difference in levels, and as we know, for each level we get cosmetics, and of course it will be bad when others have the same levels with the same cosmetics. Well, and once again I repeat, like all the people who told me, LEVEL ≠ MASTERY.

Addendum to the answer:
And yes, regarding trust, you can display PriorityScore above the player, so players will trust players with the highest PriorityScore.

8

Exactly. I keep seeing new ones of these le every day

4 Likes
9

This is a really good idea, I’m tired of getting put into games with people that don’t touch grass.

10

I agree with @NotYoshi2

I’m lvl 48 (as of 3/24/25) and I suck pretty bad at bedwars.

2 Likes
12

If it succeeds for you, great. As you see, not everyone have your point of view, it’s the point of the forums. (I dont mean to be rough here)

1 Like
13

I don’t mind you contradicting me. I’m just giving my personal opinion; you’re giving yours. Which is in fact the point of the forums, lol.

2 Likes
15

Lmao fr like he wouldn’t complain if he was good

2 Likes
16

I really dislike the term ‘no-lifer’ or saying someone doesn’t touch grass. You don’t know if they have a life, and even if they don’t, you certainly may not judge; that’s not your position. I personally get called a no-lifer because I’m decently good, but I definitely have a life; I’m just good because I play an hour or so everyday or every other day, and I have been for a long time; I also play with some of the best Hypixel players. And Minecraft is the only videogame I play. Please don’t insult players for their skill, especially if you have no idea how they developed their skill. Let’s keep the forums polite.

Perhaps saying something more like, “I’m tired of being put in games with more skilled players.” Which, as @AJtheAlter has said, is a hilarious thing to say in a skill and strategy based game.

Maybe consider the phrase: “git gud.” In my humble opinion, this is a good and true phrase.

3 Likes
17

I completely agree with splitting up solo players based on level between teams as much as possible. For example, 4 solo lv 50s queue into a lobby of ctf along with a bunch of low-level players. Right now, they could all end up on the same team, or it be a 3v1, etc etc. A better system would be them being split as evenly as possible (in this case, always 2 lv 50s on each of the 2 teams). Introducing a party wouldn’t change this - if there was a party of 4 lv 50s, they’d go on one team and every other lv 50 (unless it was more than 5) would go on the other. That seems fair and easy to implement to me, and idt it would cause any problems.

This would make games more fun for me (a lv 50) because sometimes I wanna fight other level 50s I see in my ctf lobby but they end up on my team and that sucks. Under this system games would be more fun as teams would be more fair. This would make games more fun for lower level players bc they’d be more likely to have at least one good teammate in any of those team games.

I get levels don’t equal skill, but unless ur on an alt acc or play other servers more they certainly equal experience and familiarity with the game.

18

This is so relatable. People tell me to touch grass all the time and they have no clue that I actually do. Like I play multiple sports and I don’t need some random person online telling me to go outside. I know I’m not the only one in this situation. But yea it’s always annoying when people assume you constantly do something just because you’re half decent at it

1 Like
19

These are among the best points why level is a bad gauge of skill, but you miss the most common reason for level being a bad way of predicting skill: the point that you might main in a different game. For example you might be a level five CTF player, but be level one hundred skywars. Obviously you’re going to be good at CTF with that much skywars experience. And if you’re at the maximum level you could also have double games played as someone the same level.

All these things happen extremely frequently. I find that people my level in bedwars (57) can sometimes be complete noobs and others might be gods. Level is not the best way to do a match making system. Stop suggesting level base match making systems; they are useless.

2 Likes
20

:rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: you completely got me there
ooohh bro I was tired or what
yeah you’re right that’s the point of the forums
remembering myself to reflect twice next time

1 Like
21
!

I wasn’t planning on chiming in to the discussion of this thread, but I would like to share a fairly eye-opening experience for me.

Quite recently, I became friends with and truly gotten to know a Hive player who had every game maxed, including Murder prestige V level 100… and they are literally the person with the most “life” that I have ever met on the Hive. They’re doing so many activities in real life, and uh… even have school on Saturdays. And that’s not even mentioning a variety of more large-scale admirable circumstances that make their life harder than the average person.

It just goes to show that you really can’t assume anything about anyone based off of appearances!

5 Likes