How Titanfall 2's Matchmaking Is Being Improved

Among the areas of improvement in Titanfall 2 is its matchmaking, which should now be faster, make better matches, and generally be easier to understand.

That's according to a blog post and video (above) by Respawn server engineer Mike Kalas, who laid out the various problems with Titanfall's matchmaking before explaining what's been changed. These issues cropped up in a number of ways. Players' skill ratings were updated match-to-match, but this was largely based on wins or losses and couldn't dictate what games they ended up in without that player backing out of a match.

The game also did a poor job of communicating what matchmaking was doing, making it look like you'll be in an unbalanced match (causing some players to back out during the process, creating more problems). Servers couldn't be merged properly as players left. And the inherent problems with only some players owning DLC maps made everything worse.

The DLC issue, for one, is gone straight away--EA has already announced it plans to give away all future maps and modes for free. Kalas said this is so "we could have the fastest and best quality matchmaking possible."

Titanfall's 2 skill system "is similar to what we had before" but now takes into account "your overall contribution to the match." That means a strong performance for the losing team won't penalize you. As a result, Kalas said the game will "figure out your skill bracket much more quickly and pivot you into matches we think you'll enjoy."

Other changes come to the way matchmaking is allowed to operate, as explained in these bullets written by Kalas:

• We decided we needed the ability to find a new match for any player after every match.
• When you now have 100% of your playerbase entering matchmaking after every match, we could now create matches much more quickly than before. That would also let us make sure those matches are interesting matches for everyone ­ getting stuck in a bad match won't continue on. We can also make sure that these matches are full much more often.
• When it's fast to make matches, it doesn't make sense to make players sit and watch teams being formed around them anymore. You'll be hanging out in your active Network instead, prepping for the next match.

The Network feature still hasn't been detailed in full, but Respawn previously described it as something "that lets you make groups of friends and play together a lot easier." While you're there between matches, you'll be able to edit loadouts, review stats, and so on.

The new matchmaking system will be put to the test during an upcoming beta. An exact date hasn't been announced for that, but we do know we'll be seeing a live multiplayer match soon.