Match Maker Broken?

tl;dr: 3/3/3/3 is working, both matchmaker and when making your group.

Problem is that not everyone plays the right weight classes. It's impossible to have 4*3 in every game when 50% of people is playing mediums for example. So, in almost every match, matchmaker will have to compensate. That's the difference, while in a group it can be set as a restriction, the matchmaker will only use 4*3 and tonnage as a suggestion. If it was hard-ruled you'd not be able to find a match in a considerably longer time than it takes now.

 

Considering the 'abundance' of lights playing (last figure i saw was ~6%), the average amount of lights per 100 mechs would only be 6 right, so considering there are 12 mechs in a team (or 24 in a game), there should on average be 0.72* lights per team, or 1.44 per match in general. Even if the figure was higher, say 15%, the average would only be 1.80, and randomness (or for example group queue, where it also has to account for picking the right group size, limiting the amount of possible outcomes for the matchmaker) could still mean you get a row of games where you're the only light. I've dropped 13 consecutive times on tourmaline once due to randomness.

So then, 'being the only light on your team' seems like a highly logical possibility.

I trust that the matchmaker is doing it's best, it's only an algorithm that tries to get people in as many matches as possible in the most balanced way possible. It's the people who pick mechs that screw up 4*3 working as you want it.


* 6x12/100 = 72/100 = 0.72


TL;DR Leave math alone!