XDefiant Matchmaking explained: SBMM, Ranked, and Casual

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 have an answer to the matchmaking problem with XDefiant.

Skill based matchmaking in XDefiant

Ubisoft has made the decision to scrap skilled-based matchmaking for XDefiant in 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 much more 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 be a 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 can bury some serious hours into becoming 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 it casual matchmaking and 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:

• Latency
• Avoided players
• Party size
• Region
• Input device
• Platform

The limits are very slim and are more based on hardware than player skill. However, once you’re in a lobby, the XDefiant matchmaking will split teams into skill-based teams. This ensures that both teams have a more or less fair spread of skill.