The change to matchmaking that happened on 10/10/25 was nothing short of incredible. Like many, I was frustrated with the quality of matches. The rank redistribution brought new life into the game for me. Prior to the 10/10 update, I was mid-high Arcanist rank, and stuck in Alchemist/Arcanist lobbies. I have been playing since summer of 24' and have nearly 900 matches played as of today. I am not an amazing player, but I like to think I understand many aspects of the game. After the 10/10 patch, the game placed me as Emissary IV.
Right away, I noticed a dramatic improvement in the quality of matches. Teammates were communicating more, strategizing lane match ups, itemizing, counter-itemizing, prioritizing key objectives, etc.. From 10/10 to 10/24 I played almost 100 matches. I learned a tremendous amount about how to be a better player and where I need to improve. The complexities and nuance of movement in Deadlock is insane.
During that time, I managed to climb from Emissary IV to Oracle III. Since 10/24, I have fallen to Archon */Oracle I. It is very possible that I have plateaued and this is an appropriate rank for me. My concern is that, after the patch on 10/24, I have seen a big uptick in behaviour that is more consistent with the Alchemist/Arcanist lobbies that I spent so much time in.
I have no evidence to back up my claims other than feelscraft. Is it possible that something happened with matchmaking in the 10/24 patch? Is the game ranking up other players with less overall matches and the current rank distribution is becoming skewed again?
Unrelated.. Can there be an option to turn off playing with pre-made groups if you prefer to play solo?
Could we also get an option within audio that allows for game sound attenuation when teammates are speaking please?