Finally, some news about matchmaker.
Most important question, will you implement ranked UI window to show amount of solos and full 6mens in group (ideally split this parameter as "1. full 6 in q" "2. <6 groups in q"? Im convinced its most important first step to do.
Archetype Balancing (2-2-2 System)
Scenarios now try to make 2 Tank – 2 Healer – 2 DPS composition. This applies even when backfilling players. This helps avoid unbalanced setups (e.g. 4 DPS, no healers). As an example, a scenario will no longer pop if one side has healers but the other does not.
This change does mean that there will be times when one faction may have tons of DPS but lack the Tanks or Heals to get a scenario to pop. In these situations, we're introducing a new bonus to not only allow players to see which archetypes are needed, but to reward them for playing them:
How do you plan to fix que times then? This has been done already in RoR back in 2017/2018 iirc. Experiment has been shutdown very quickly.
Nobody will wait an hour or so to get into SCs.
Need flexible, step-by-step checks to form as balanced matches as possible but system has to launch games, not wait in q for eternity.
1. It checks how many full 6mens in q. Say there are 2 order 1 destro. Priority is to form as many instances as possible, so 1 premade vs 1 premade. Another premade will go into other instance in this case. Priority to put one premade against another is as strict as possible - system takes time to make it happen. Put 2 minutes calculation period before it launches anything at all. Showcase for 1 prem vs 1 prem next.
2. It match 1 order vs 1 destro into one instance
3. Now it checks whats not 6 in q. Say there are order 3men of 1-1-1 and a duo of 0-1-1 and 5men destro
4. It now pulls 3men+duo and 5men into same category to potentially pop SC. Now it looks into poll of q again and checks if missing archetypes available. Say they are
5. It pulls 1 order tank with longest q time now and 1 missing destro with longest q time
6. Now it sends invites for those players, launches ready check and forms an instance. In paralel it does all the same to create another instance with 1 leftover order premade.
So, filling priority is full groups -> lower then full groups -> solos. Further MM improvement lay in spec/build checks, but those are already in with ranked code (DPS pairings priority check for healdebuff etc).
If, say, there are 4 order premades and none for destro then logic is to spread out premades as possible. So it should be working in a following way - check solos destro q, scrab how many 2-2-2 are possible, do the gear check, do the healdebuff check, check for preset typical DPS pairings, then evaluate how many balanced matches are possible and now most important,
HARD PUNISH PREMADE OVERSTACK WITH NO POP (!!!). Priority will be to let in most balanced gearwise premade into an instance vs. whats in q on other side, rest will have to sit in capital or in the lakes. Introduce groupwide bonus to swap realms and form on other side.
You have Killboard/Instance gear check, implement those gearscore numbers for better spreading. Do simple checks of what you plan to match within an instance, its no biggie.
If all checks fail and no priorities meet, then just launch as is.
P.S. I've done warfront previous weekend. Within 2 hours ive meet 1 strong order group and 1 strong destro premade and i check killboard afterwards. As solo tank i managed to meet them both, either my side or against but they didnt meet each other at all for 2 hours. This is a known fact of course, but system that has no checks whatsoever and just creates an instance then full 6 presses q button has to be gone.
P.S.S. Also main issue of barriers, unnecesarry buffs, no guards etc are not adressed. Do you have any plans for that?