The MMR issue is very old and it keeps getting worse and worse. I was stuck in Alchemist 4 for months, then had a loss streak after a patch when a lot of returning players that stomped all lobbies because their actual ranks got decayed so they got put in low elo. This happens every patch because of the returning players combined with the rank decay system which is crap, sorry to say this. So I went from Alchemist to Initiate, it took me 2 months to get to Seeker, then from Seeker idk how I jumped straight back into Alchemist have been stuck there for 3 months and then then the devs updated the ranks so I got put into Emissary, which actualy started to feel good. I climbed from Emissary into Archon and the matches were getting even better, much better than in Initiate or Seeker which tells a lot about how the rank system works, if it works at all. I then dropped from Archon to Emissary because I wanted to try some heroes and the system decided that I need totaly unskilled people in my lobbies. Then after I dropped back into Emissary I went on a 13 matches loss streak which dropped me straight into Arcanist 2, it's like I skipped Ritualist, the system decided that I am Arcanist 2. Christmas Challenge arrived so I started doing that, altough I'm still stuck in Arcanist 2 and my rank has changed only once to Arcanist 1 then back up to Arcanist 2, all my overall matches rank is Alchemist 6, barely Arcanist which makes it impossible to rank up because I get put in lower lobbies so if I win that win doesn't have a high efficiency into ranking me up and if I lose it affects a lot my MMR because I'm losing lobbies lower than my actual rank so that indicates to the matchmaker that I suck even more so ranking down is much more viable than ranking up. It doesn't matter that I carry the team or not, it's the same result at the end.
Many people say that the ranks are just for show, or placeholders. If the ranking system is just for show then why is it even there? To put people into stresfull situations? To make people hate this game because of the constant bad matchmaking? If the developers don't care about the ranks, than why are they ruining the player experience by making matches very unfun. Many times even if I win a game it doesn't feel right because the enemy team is clearly heavily underskilled. Also many days we keep wasting time of our lifes by playing for 50minutes a match that clearly ended in the first 15mins, but we have to stay in the match because otherwise we get punished for abandoning games. If the rank is just for show then why are getting punished for not wanting to be part of a waste of time?
There are a few things that don't add up:
1. Why are there 66 ranks in total and the ranking up system is very slow? It should either be lesser ranks with slow ranking up system, either 66 ranks but with more rapidly ranking up system.
2. Why is the system so quick to punish losses, but so slow to reward winnings?
3. Why is there a hidden hero-based rank?
4. Why player performance doesn't matter, but only wins/losses matter? This contradicts question number 3.
5. Why do they allow us to see ranks (when the system is clearly not working properly) and allow so many players to get mad because of this? I played other MOBAs too and none of them are making players get frustrated so much. That's why the community is already toxic in a game that it's a private playtest.
Please, Valve, either fix ranking system either remove it.
Oh... Did I mention that many many many players have alternate accounts just because of this? This means massive smurfing, which is not allowed from what I can remember. Or is it the fact that many people make alt accounts beneficial to Valve? I know it is financialy beneficial, but I don't think Valve wants to destroy a full playerbase community just for 5$.
