The Finals devs tightening SBMM has reignited every FPS fan's favorite debate in record time
The Finals is the popular new FPS on the block, meaning the topic of skill-based matchmaking was bound to pop up sooner or later. With a recent patch tweaking just that for "better quality games" happening not long after the The Finals' full launch, that time would be now.
Now that the update has had a few days to settle, fans have been taking to online forums to air their thoughts – the topic has, as ever, been divisive.
"Whatever they did to the matchmaking turned it into the most heated, meta-filled, kill hungry, sweatfest it could be," one fan says. "The beta? Phenomenal. The first few days? Phenomenal. Now? Horrid.
"Why do I know? Because even with the enormous influx of players, I've faced the same sweats in different matches, on two separate days. I'm tired of modern gaming. I was excited for this game because it was just fun for the sake of fun."
The arguments against The Finals' current form of skill-based matchmaking are similar to what you see elsewhere. The FPS has a ranked mode designed for intensely competitive play, so why not let the more casual playlists be just that?
Players also say they generally don't mind the idea of skill-based matchmaking – especially when it's loosely implemented – though the current version offered in The Finals is too tight.
"You can keep the top 20% and the bottom 20% in different lobbies," a fan says. "But the 'average team skill' model that pretty much every modern shooter uses is utter trash."
Meanwhile, others don't mind the implementation of SBMM at all. While it's likely to lead to more closely fought matches, in theory, it shouldn't mean lopsided games where you're stomped into oblivion – fun for one party, not so much for the other.
"If you can't have fun playing a
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